YogiPod Blog: PEACE DOGS!


My grandmother would call Bear and Reggie (my beloved rescue dogs, and two of the main characters in my own play of life) joyfully rambunctious. At leash time, which happens twice a day, they literally lose their ever-loving minds with excitement. This morning was no different. They were swirling around me in circles, drooling uncontrollably, appearing more like ‘hyper-kinetic swaths and swooshes of Black and Gold’ than the ‘good boys’ I constantly brag on. If I try to move around with the intention of catching one to place his leash on—it just creates more chaotic energy and I too am chasing my tail in tiny tight circles in the living room. This dance can be fun (occasionally) but only to a certain degree. Most of the time it is not a pretty sight to behold. Back to the daily dog walk…I have learned that if I become super earthy in my feet, stand with Mountain Pose awareness in my legs, initiate a few mindful Ujjayi breaths, and connect with my own center still point, the dogs come and sit at my feet and allow me to leash them. I now realize that this desired sequence of events is not random (as if it’s all just a game of luck-not), and that I can, through a set of sequential actions recreate the scenario day after day. This is yoga off the mat! I am grateful for daily my yoga practice on the mat that helps me to remember my center, connect with it, be still within it, allow and observe the natural course of things to unfold, and then to respond skillfully. When movement and action originate from that place of stillness and clarity, then I am operating from a level of oneness with Nature. The dogs feel it, I feel it, and we are literally connected by it. Now I can’t wait to get on my mat to practice it! PEACE DOGS!

Yoga is For The Dogs



Last Saturday at Yoga Birds, Yoga Day USA was to benefit The Haven, a no-kill, adoption guarantee shelter in Fairhope, AL. It was a great success. We raised over $1300 for the shelter. It was way more than I expected to raise. Goes to show I need to expand my expectations! Upon delivering the donation to the shelter, I was introduced to Reggie, a Baldwin County stray who has been at The Haven since November. My husband Burke and I signed the adoption papers today and now we have a new pet! Reggie is the perfect companion for our other Haven ‘graduate’ Bear. Everyone says how lucky the dogs are to become adopted. I feel it’s the other way around. The dogs are so ‘in the moment’, and they evoke amazing heart qualities. I may feed and house them, but these pups take care of me! They teach me the Yoga of compassion, patience, unconditional love and total devotion. What gifts!