Find your yoga

Something was shared on Facebook this week, I never usually bother looking at these things but I obviously have too much time on my hands. It was called '18 life lessons I want my daughters to hear'. It certainly applies to sons as well and to yourself. It made me cry a little bit and also made my day:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/05/18-life-lessons-i-want-my-daughters-to-hear/

All that ranting about education and reluctantly raving of late has had my brain race and muscles tense, I needed to find my yoga. Rebecca Lemmerson suggests to her daughters that::

11. Find Your Yoga.
I don’t care if you ever do a down dog in your entire life, just find something that calms your mind, and devote yourself to it. Find something that keeps your mind and body connected, healthy and working together, because in the times when everything else seems disconnected, it will keep you centered and grounded.

Seeing as the sun was shining and there was a spare hour in the day, I decided to head down to the allotment where peace, calm and nature keep the mind serene. Gardening is such a fantastic way to connect, realign the chakras, exercise the physical body a little and get deep down and dirty. Gloves take away the sensations of working with the sticky, cold clay soil although removing the dirt from under the finger nails may take days. Today the allotment was empty, many plots overgrown and untended, nature clawing her way back and the bees eternally grateful.

You can see here I have been weeding. I love methodically removing the plants from the root, shuffling along on a knee rest feeling pride at where you have cleared. No phones, just birds, the occasional slow worm or lizard, no one else and only small discoveries to be made. In one hour I managed to clear the paths of ever encroaching buttercups, put up the runner bean wig-wams, plant mange tout seeds and erect their supports, plant out the french beans which have been bursting out of the green house at home and discover a little mother spider viciously protecting her white ball of eggs with her life. I could identify with that.

In one hour the mind had stilled, the morning's antenatal class of anxious parents had faded, worries both petty and huge had momentarily disappeared and a sense of an achievement accomplished. May we have many more days without the rain so we can till the land, fill our families bellies with fresh, organic, nutrient-rich food which adds to our emotional well-being to boot.