Day 108

Smile breathe and go slowly ~ Thich Nhat Hahn

Today I woke up to snow! Not lots of snow, just a dusting of light snow, and it’s still snowing. Which is great because we don’t have to go anywhere! So now I love the snow! If I had to go anywere or do anything, I wouldn’t be as happy.

I changed my phone wallpaper yesterday to something I want to keep in mind as my intention for 2017. It says simply, over a backdrop of stars,  Breathe. Smile. Live. That’s what I want to do.  Remember to consciously breathe, smile, and by doing those things I’ll hopefully be living more in the present moment.

It’s day 108 in my yoga teacher training journey! 108 has spiritual significance in yoga circles. Mala beads (basically a rosary for the purpose of chanting or prayer) have 108 beads, and sometimes you hear of people doing 108 sun salutations. From this article about The Mystic Meaning of 108: The number 108 has held a multi-dimensional meaning throughout history.  In geometric terms, it is a natural division of circle (108=36+72=9 X 12). In the Eastern part of the world, different traditions talk about the 108 navamsas.  The Shiva malas^[1], or rosaries, both Tantric and Tibetan^[2] are composed of 108 beads. The number 108 is also one of great significance inside of the Rosicrucian order since it exemplifies the timeframe of some of their cycles. Interestingly enough, a leap year displays 366 days, and 3 x 6 x 6 gives 108. The number 108 is considered sacred in many Eastern religions and traditions, such as Hinduism^[3], Buddhism, Jainism^[4], Sikhism and connected yoga and dharma based practices. Even the pre-historic monument Stonehenge is 108 feet in diameter.

Food for thought, anyway, my fellow yogis!

Today I did another video on You Tube. A 40 minute Christmas Holiday yoga routine from a teacher in Kent, England, which I thought was really good. Then I did a very very short body scan meditation, day 2 of the ‘7 day starter’ of my Simple Habit app. Still trying to feel it out, and see if I like it as much as I do my Calm app.

Later today my husband has agreed for me to lead him through my Week 1 restorative yoga class! I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully he likes it! (I know he isn’t looking forward to it!).