Tag: Yoga

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11:59 – 500 Words a Day – Day 16

11:29 PM. I have exactly 31 minutes to write 500 words and I really have no idea what to write. My puppy is staring at me from the floor with his half, chewed up rope wanting to play tug-o-war. I ignore him, I need to write. I need to come up with something. But what? The puppy has realized I’m ignoring him and upped the ante, the rope is now in my lap. I give in and throw the rope for him. He bounds after the rope and up onto my bed. At full speed. The comforter gets shoved back and I wonder if he’s ripped my sheets. Again.

No time to worry. It’s 11:32 now and I still have no idea what to write. I guess I could just post after midnight, but then technically it’s tomorrow and it won’t be 500 words a day. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but I can split hairs at times. Besides, I already did that once. Shhhh….

So how did I get here, again? I was out at a friend’s place doing acroyoga. I know her place becomes a time suck. I always intend to leave at 10, but usually don’t get out until 11. Or 12. Ok, sometimes 1 am. This time it was better and I left at 10:45 because I knew I had to write 500 words tonight and post before midnight. 11:39.

The puppy is back. I try to ignore him again. Ok, not totally true. I picked up my phone to take a pic because 1) he’s cute 2) I can document it and use it for the blog post. Now I just have to think of how to get the damn thing off my phone and onto my computer so I can post it. Hope it turns out. I’m rushing a bit here if you hadn’t noticed. 11:41.

I usually take a good hour to get these things done. Between writing, editing, not like I do a whole lot of that, and finding a cool pic that I took because I don’t like using other people’s pics for some reason, it takes a while to get a post done. God, is that the most run on sentence I’ve written since 5th grade? I think so.

357 words down and 11:43. The puppy is now so close to me I can feel his hot breath moving the hairs on my leg. His rope is no where in sight, though, so I’m not really sure what he wants. Oh, he just went and got it, so now I know. All is right in the world.

Back to acro, because I have no idea what to write about. It’s a form of yoga I was introduced to a while ago, but didn’t start doing until a year ago. I was a little freaked out when I first saw it, but now I love it. It’s the only exercise I get. Not that it should be the only exercise, I seem to have become a little lazy, but that will change soon. I tend to go in ebb and flows, as I have written about, and I can feel the itch coming back to exercise. Maybe it’s the Chicago summer. Good chance of that. Then again, maybe I need to 30 days of exercise program. Who’s with me? 30 mins of exercise daily? Some form of cardio and body weight bearing exercise? Holy shit, 555 words and it’s 11:48. Where did that come from? Time to edit & post…

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Time – 500 Words a Day – Day 9

I wish I had more time in my day/life. Though, in reality, I’m not sure that would help. I have a tendency to fill up my days with things I have to do rather than things I want to do. On the one hand, that kinda seems like what life is, and that I should simply accept that. On the other hand, I don’t accept it at all. I feel like there is a way to design my life so that I can do what I want when I want. That said, here’s a snap shot of a perfect day for me. I wrote most of this a few weeks ago as part of a business planning exercise. It’s a work in progress, and I think it will always be a work in progress. I know a year ago this would have looked much different. Actually, it looked different a few weeks ago since I went and changed some things today. That’s partly me because I change what I like/want. And partly because I know more about what’s possible.

To be honest, I kinda want to do a perfect week, because I don’t want to do the same thing day in, day out. I’ve done that for a long time now and I pretty much hate it. It feels like it’s slowly killing my soul. But I think I’ll have to get to that later. So here goes…

I wake up at …… a little after the sun rises. I meditate for a while and have some tea. Relaxing in my loft, I look out over the city. I walk 5 minutes with my dog, Remy, to my holistic health center, Revel Living, where I take one of the morning yoga classes. Tomorrow morning I’ll be going over details of the center with my partner, and planning the next weekend seminar at Revel’s retreat/organic farm in Michigan. We’ll also discuss plans for the yearly retreat to San Diego.

This morning, however, is dedicated to writing for my blog. I’ll also  spend some time developing my curriculum for the 12 week couple’s series that starts next month. It’s about how to deepen trust and communication in a relationship.

I see clients in the afternoon, from about 1-6 today. This varies since I head out to the ‘burbs some days for dinner with my son. For today, I use several different techniques, some meditation and yoga, but I also pull out the kickboxing pads to use with one of my clients. I find he talks better when a good workout is added to the therapy session. Remy also comes in handy today, as he works his therapy dog magic with another client.

This evening I spend a couple hours working on the choreograph with my acro partner for our next performance. My evenings do vary. Sometimes I do Muay Thai workouts at the gym down the street. Other times I spend dinner with my son. I get to bed around ten, excited for what comes tomorrow. While I’m always excited for the next day, I especially am today because tomorrow is Friday and I always take Friday’s off.

 

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Acceptance of Self – 500 Words a Day for 30 Days

Another day to write and blog. Another day of bullshit. And I wanted to capitalize the bullshit part. Not sure why. I can journal, I can blog, but I feel like I need to journal about something worthwhile, something earth shattering. What is it about me that wants to do that? That isn’t satisfied with less? It’s a judgement on myself, that’s for sure. Could that also be a self victimization? Possibly. It’s also a lack of self acceptance. To do something, and not be OK with doing it where you are at in life, is a lack of self acceptance. So what would radical self acceptance look like?? I have no idea. The idea sounds great, and I feel like I’ve been able to have some sort of self acceptance in my own life. But what does it mean to truly accept yourself for who you are? I’ve heard it said that the toughest thing in life is to discover who you truly are. And the next toughest is to accept that. I feel I understand that, and believe it. It’s been a tough journey to get where I’m at, but it’s been good one. Part of my journey has been being interrelationships with people who don’t accept me for who I am. Either I’m too nice, too passive, too old, or too what?? I don’t know, seems like there’s always something. In the end maybe too worried about not being in a relationship and accepted for who I am. Well, it’s been true so far, so I guess that’s not an unfounded fear. It does tell me something about myself, but I think that’s for another post. So where was I?? Acceptance. No judgement, but I realized that for the first four days of this experiment I titled everything a little different. Now that I’ve come up with a way that I like, my light OCD wants me to go back and “correct” the titles that I’ve done so far. Is that stronger than the “fuck it” part of my personality? Who knows? Looks like that’s TBD. And look at me, I wrote “TDB” instead of spelling it out. If I really wanted to use up words and have to write less I would have said “To be determined.” Ha! See what I did there? I knew I couldn’t get one over on you…

Soooooo, no idea where I’m t or where I’m going. I have realized that yoga hasn’t been a part of my life for the past few months. I don’t like that. I need yoga in my life for a variety of reasons. Which means I need to find a way to get start doing it again. Part of the reason is my job. I love the job but the commute I now have is an hour minimum, and two hours at the wort. So basically I spend 12 hours a week in my car. That fucking sucks for someone who feels live/work balance is extremely important. And that really cuts down on the workouts I would like to do. Don’t get me wrong, I still do acro yoga several times a week. It’s an awesome workout, but it’s not yoga, it’s not kickboxing. I love it, but I love, and need other things join my life. That’s an interesting thought. How do we make time in our schedules to do the things we love? I feel like I love so many things and I end up dabbling. I’m a jack of all trades, but master of none. In some respects I’m OK with that. I appreciate being interested in a lot of different things. I just wish I had time to do them all. How to figure that out…

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500 Words Day Four – The Dark

I don’t talk about my depression much, except to some few trusted people. I fear people will misunderstand, and I’m not sure they can understand how deep and dark my depression has been. Maybe they can’t, and that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I’ve been on this earth for 42 years and I’ve spent 15-20 of those years clinically depressed. When I was 15 I was diagnosed with bi-polar depression and hospitalized for 3 months. Something that I’ve only told a few people, it was actually my choice to be hospitalized. I did it because the only way I could see to feel better was to kill myself and I wasn’t ready to die. See, I’ve always been in love with life, I just couldn’t see how to live.

In the hospital, I was medicated and went through individual and group therapy. It helped. It started me on a path, but it was still a long journey. I was still depressed, but I think I hid it better. Or perhaps I just had a couple more tools to make life seem easier. I clung to my friends. I drank a lot and did a lot of drugs. In retrospect, I hid from my depression and ran towards what seemed like the quick easy fix of sex, drugs and alcohol.

But nothing ever really helped. I was still suicidal. I thought about killing myself. I thought about killing myself at least once a week, usually more often, until I reached my early 30’s. I never told anyone. I knew that under certain circumstances that you could be, at least temporarily, committed to a psych ward against your will if it was determined that you were suicidal enough. I had decided that if I were to kill myself, that it would be on my terms. No one was going to take away my choice to end my own life. So I kept quiet. I didn’t tell my friends, the people I dated, the woman I eventually married, nor any of the therapists that I saw over the years. It was mine alone to deal with.

And I did deal with it. I quit drugs and drinking, which in retrospect probably made it worse for a while. When it did get better it was because of a shit ton of intensive self work. I became more real to myself, I began to accept myself for who I was. I think that was a big part of my depression, I didn’t like who I was very much and always thought I “should” be different, more, better. I’ll admit, it didn’t help that I married someone who reinforced those beliefs on a daily basis.

So after a ton of self work, I dove more deeply into meditation and yoga. I began to feel even better about myself, I learned more on how to truly accept yourself for who you are, and I began to love myself.

Don’t get me wrong, the depression is still there, but it’s much better. I’ve learned how to manage it, I notice what triggers it and, more importantly, I know how to get out of it. I no longer run from my depression. Sometimes people ask how I’m doing and I’ll tell them I’m feeling a little blue. Inevitable they ask, “Why?” When I tell them there’s no real reason, they don’t seem to believe it, but it’s true. It’s also true I know it will pass, it’s just an emotion. Some days it will just pass, and some days it means it’s time to care for myself. Maybe see some friends, maybe see no one for a while. It could mean I need to get outside and play, or head inside for a yoga class. What it amounts to is that I need to do things that are good for my soul, that’s what ultimately brings me out of my depression. And that’s great, because that’s what life is really about.

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Practicing Handstands

I did my first handstand press up the other day. It’s something that I’ve been working on for the past 9 months, so I am estatic that it finally happened. Of course, with the way my mind works, there’s a lesson in there. But first things first. For those of you who don’t know, a handstand press is when you start from standing, place your hands on the floor in front of you and, without jumping, simply lift your legs over your head. “Simply,” right? Hah! It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to do and for months my feet wouldn’t even leave the ground. And I consider myself to be in fairly good shape. I’d also like to say my feet went right up over my head into the perfect handstand. Hahahahaha, nope. The truth is, the moment my feet went over my head I freaked out, fell out of the handstand and almost landed on my face. It scared the hell out of me, mostly because I didn’t truly think it would happen. I’m still learning how to do a solid handstand, and yet I can now, apparently, press my feet over my head. Who knew? 

So, back to the lessons. The easy thing to talk about would be about perseverance, and it’s true you have to keep trying things in order to get better. And learning can be a slow process. I’ve been trying to do a handstand press since the first time I saw someone do one. It was so cool to see them just lift their feet over their head, and I wanted to do that, too. And I’ll admit it, there’s a bit of my ego involved with this. But I couldn’t do it. I tried and tried and tried. For months. I took and a handstand clinic to improve my handstand. Maybe two. Or three. But the best I could do was to lift my feet an inch or two off the ground. Even that was sooooo freaking hard. I gave up for a while. Stopped doing handstands every chance I got and what little gains I had made, I lost. Then a couple months ago I started trying again. My handstand improved. Still no press, but I’ve been been able to hold a handstand for about 8 seconds.

Then, last week, I was hanging out with one of my friends, who is an excellent yoga teacher, and the woman I’ve been seeing, who is also an incredible yoga teacher. The two of them both start playing with their handstand presses (because they both can) and they start talking about doing this one simple thing that I’ve never even heard about. Bending your knees. I’m amazed. I go off into a corner (because obviously I don’t want to be out in the open if I fail) and I try it. I do it! It wasn’t pretty, I didn’t hold it at all and I almost fell on my face. But I did it! I was amazed and happy! I turn to the woman I’ve been seeing and asked if she saw it. She said “yes.” I said, “I had no idea that bending your knees could help you do a press.” Her response?? “Well, yeah. It makes it so much easier. But why didn’t you tell me you wanted to do a press? I would have told you that months ago.” Oh…

I now realize that doing a handstand press seemed so far away from me that I never really tried it around the people who could help, let alone ask them for help. Even though it was something I REALLY wanted to do. It was always a far off “some day” goal. And I guess I felt a little silly for wanting to try it. I got in my own way because I didn’t believe enough in myself. And because of that, I stayed on the edge of being able to do something I really wanted to do. For months.

But that’s ok. I know how to do it now. Now there’s just more practice and getting better. And being ok with where I am in life, even when I get in my own way, is simply another practice I am incorporating in my life.

So, lessons learned 1) the things we want are often closer than we think 2) even if we think it’s a ridiculous goal, ask others for help. For that matter, surround yourself with people willing to help, not those who say it can’t be done. 3) this goes with #2, but always tell people what you’re doing. Bring it into the light.

As I’m writing these down, I realize that I’ve heard them many times before. So it’s clear I needed a reminder. That’s ok, too. I’m good with reminders. I’m just gonna keep on practicing. Practicing my handstand, practicing my handstand press, practicing life. Because that’s what life really is, practice.

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Adjust me…Please – A Letter to Yoga Teachers

Over the past 10+ years, I’ve taken a lot of yoga classes from many different teachers, and I’ve noticed teachers have different styles of adjustments.

Some won’t adjust you at all and just cue verbally, while others get a little too handsy. Some have firm, direct adjustments, while others give a light touch to the area they see needs to be corrected. I also know there are reasons both for and against physical adjustments; but, as the title suggests, I am in favor of being adjusted.

Here’s why:

In general, we live in a touch deprived world. This is especially true during a time when face-to-face communication is decreasing and more interaction is virtual. I’m not knocking virtual communication, I think it’s great and use it all the time. But I do think it can diminish physical interaction, which in turn effects us. Aside from this, I also have some personal reasons for wanting to be adjusted in yoga, which I’ll share because I don’t think I’m the only one.

Without going into detail, let’s just say that I carry some “emotional wounds” from my childhood and adolescence. These wounds have created within me a dichotomy where a part of me craves human contact. I love to be touched. I love to hug, get (and give) shoulder rubs and just in general be close to people. It’s one of the ways I feel loved and cared about. And I do want to take a moment to be clear, I’m not talking about sexual touch.

The dichotomy exists in the fact that I am also terrified of being touched. There was a time in my life where the last thing I wanted was for someone to touch me. It didn’t really matter who it was. Whenever I would meet someone who was overly touchy, my first thought was always, “What do you want from me?” This was usually followed by, “Leave me the fuck alone and quit fucking touching me.” This from someone who craves human touch. Like I said, I’ve got wounds.

These wounds of mine have gotten better over time. I’ve done a lot of work with a therapist, but I also realized that yoga was helping me. Specifically the adjustments. I found that receiving a non-sexual touch from someone who wants nothing more than to help me is very freeing. For me, it was the acceptance of that touch, which I didn’t always do.

There was a time that teachers would adjust me and I would scream in my head, “Get your fucking hands off me!” The memory of where I was mentally at that time actually brings tears to my eyes right now. But it’s a good thing. It’s good because I can recognize where I was then and where I’m at now.

Ask Permission to Touch Your Students

And that brings me to a point I want to make to you teachers. Ask permission to touch your students! I can’t emphasize that enough. I can almost guarantee that you have at least one student that doesn’t like to be touched. For that matter, personally introduce yourself to any students you don’t know. In my opinion it’s the right thing to do. It sets the tone of the instructor/student relationship and helps new students feel welcome and more at ease. This helps create a safe space for the student. You can then take that opportunity to ask if they are willing to be adjusted. Make adjustments an offer. Something they can refuse if they are not comfortable, for whatever reason.

Be Aware

Also be aware of what types of adjustments you give and to whom. Some adjustments can put your hands in pretty intimate places (you know which ones I’m talking about), and some can just feel more intimate than others. I remember the first time a teacher adjusted my Down Dog by laying on me, her front to my back. It was the first time I’d taken her class and I’d never had this done to me before. I’d never even seen it before. Now, I think it was a great adjustment. Both for the pose and at that point, I’d done enough healing that I wasn’t going to complain when an attractive woman pressed herself against me. So I’ll admit it, I enjoyed it. But it did throw me off mentally. And after it ended I spent the next few minutes of class looking around thinking, “What the hell was that? Is she adjusting other people like that? She adjusted that guy differently, what does it mean?”

In the end, save the more intimate adjustments for the students that you have known longer. Even then, communicate with them to make sure they are OK with what you are going to do.

I also ask that you try not to forget your students that are more advanced and have been around. I know I’ve been doing yoga for a while, that I’m good at listening to cues and self-adjusting; but, I’m not perfect. And, oh boy, can I be lazy.

I realized about a year ago that my hands are a little too far apart during Down Dog. Quite frankly, I was just too stubborn to change it myself. It seemed like too much work (did I mention I can be lazy?). And until recently, not one teacher that I’ve had has noticed, or if they did they never pointed it out. The fact is, I know I need someone to guide me at times, to notice when I’m not doing my best. Like a simple touch on my knee to remind me to keep that micro bend. This brings my awareness to an area that needs correction, helps me grow and makes me a better yogi.

I believe yoga has a great many healing benefits. Over time, I realized the gentle touch I received during yoga was one of the things that kept me coming back time after time. Allowing myself to receive a caring touch, from someone who clearly wanted nothing more from me, helped me along in the healing of my emotional wounds. As stated earlier, I know there are arguments for and against physical adjustments. But I believe that as long as you know how to safely adjust someone, explain what you are doing and why, and be respectful of the individual boundaries of your students, that your students will enjoy and benefit from being adjusted. And should you see me in class, feel free to adjust me.

– See more at: http://yoganonymous.com/adjust-please-letter-yoga-teachers/#sthash.Il266opl.dpuf

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Revel Life – 10 Steps to…What?

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of things about how to live your life in three easy steps and, to be honest, I’m getting sick of it. There’s no denying that at one time I thought lists were the greatest. All sorts of wisdom in one spot. Then I, too, could be rich if I followed these 10 easy steps. Or find my passion in five steps. Or find myself. Or get over someone.

This stuff is starting to bother me. Not because I intrinsically think they’re wrong, there’s some really good stuff there. But it bothers me because I feel they set people up to fail, or feel bad about themselves, if they don’t succeed in following the steps. Also, I don’t think life can be classified into easy steps. Life isn’t easy, and it isn’t neat. It’s messy, passionate…and beautiful.

First off, I’ve tried to follow steps before…three steps, five steps, 12 steps. You name it, I’ve tried it. I’ve searched for answers my entire life. I feel I’ve come close to so many things. I guess I’m a bit of a seeker that way. I’d try hard, so hard. And then, wait…what was step eight, again? Fuck. Gotta start over.

I suppose it’s not people’s fault for making lists. Many of us like to contain things, to classify them and put them in order. It gives us a sense of control and peace. But it’s an illusion. We don’t control anything, except ourselves, and many of us are so hindered by past hurts that we have trouble doing that. We react to life and flail wildly about trying to get things back under control again, back into order.

Maybe it’s me, or maybe it’s my life. As I write this, I’m going through a divorce, my son is 2000 miles away from me and has been for over two years since my ex and I separated. During those two years I worked full-time, finished my masters degree, met someone, fell in love, and then broke up because, well, some things can’t be overcome.

So, there is a lot of sadness in my life right now. And a lot of stress. So what are the five steps to fix it? What’s the easy, straight forward fix? I don’t think there is one, and that’s ok. Like I said, life is messy.

What keeps me going, what keeps me from killing myself, is beauty in the world, the love of my friends, yoga, meditation and some therapy. Almost sounds like

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Why I do Yoga

I feel like this topic has been done and re-done by so many people, but I still feel like I should write this. That I need to write it. A part of it is because I’m just starting this blog and a good portion will probably be about yoga, so I want people to know why. But I also think that some of this I just need to get out. So hear goes.

To be honest, one of the main reasons I do yoga is because I’m “good” at it. I’m fairly strong, and for a guy my size, I’m pretty flexible. A lot of yoga is about increasing strength and flexibility, so overall it’s fairly easy for me. But there’s more too it than that. If I already have the strength and flexibility, then why practice yoga? It’s to challenge myself, to see where I can go. You see, there’s always a next step in yoga. The first time a teacher encouraged me to go to a more advanced posture (lift one leg up while in a backbend) my response was, “Do what?!” The thought of being able to do it seemed so absurd that I fell to the floor laughing. It seemed that impossible. But it stuck in my head and few weeks later I tried it. And I did it. I was so excited and I got a little more hooked on yoga. Now when a teacher asks me to do something that is new and seems impossible, my first response is still, “Do what?!” but now that only lasts for a couple seconds. Then I think, “Can I do this?” A big part of yoga is self assessment. So sometimes I decide it’s a little beyond me, but other times I try it. I’ll tell ya, when you’re able to do something that you previously thought was impossible, it’s an amazing feeling.

Another reason I do yoga is that it’s good for my mind. I simply feel better mentally when I do it. There are times when there is so much going on in my head that my mind feels like a hamster running around inside a ball. In a pinball machine. It gets a little crazy in there. But yoga helps. To me yoga is like meditation in motion. It’s simply being present and staying as focused as possible for the duration of the class. One of the best thing a yoga teacher ever told me was, “For the next 90 minutes turn off your mind. As you go through the poses, listen to my cues and do what I say. My mind, your body.” That statement gave me the freedom to let go of what I was thinking about, to relax and simply be present for the duration of the class. And I kept that calmness with me as I left the yoga studio.

A third aspect is about spirituality. When I first started doing yoga it was strictly about getting in a good workout, and that was enough. Then, after hanging out in a yoga studio, learning more about yoga and making friends with other yogi’s, I realized I was getting another benefit, which was I felt better in my spirit. What I found is that being surrounded by like minded people (those who are trying to improve themselves and the world around them), really helps keep me inspired to do the same. It helps me take eyes off of myself and look more at the world around me. To me, that is what’s good for my soul and therefore, spiritual. Now, I also consider myself to be a Christian. While that’s not necessarily popular, that’s what I believe. And as I learned more about yoga, I found that many of the same principles are taught in both yoga and Christianity. In general, I simply try to stick with loving myself, loving others and hopefully making the world a better place to live in, for everyone. Then I try and leave the rest at the door.

In the end, yoga gives me peace of mind, and that peace of mind helps me deal with what’s going on in my life. Sometimes it’s from the rush of doing something new that I previously thought impossible. Other times it’s about doing something old but making that one small tweak and doing it better. Then there are times when it’s simply about doing something. To give myself a reason to get out the door, do something healthy for myself and be around positive people. For someone who tends to be introverted and deals with depression on a near daily basis, I often NEED a reason to get out the door.

There really are a ton of other benefits to yoga, but these are the main ones for me. They are the reasons that help get me out the door and back to the yoga studio time after time. And if I have to do yoga in a room full of fit, attractive women, I guess I’ll just have to suffer through…

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Why Revel Living

I’ve been thinking about blogging for a long time now, but it looks like I’m finally getting the guts to do it. There is so much that I could write about, but what do I really know? The first thing that pops into my mind is my depression. Over my lifetime I’ve seen a bunch of therapist, tried different drugs and herbal remedies, but they only seemed to work for the short term, if at all. The key for me was acceptance. To accept that sometimes I’ll be sad. It’s OK.

But the other side of that is knowing that I don’t have to stay there. There are things that I can do that will help me get out of, lessen, minimize, whatever you want to call it, my depression. Some things that have helped me are yoga, meditation, and eating healthy. Well, at least healthier. No more Blizzard a day keeps the doc away attitude (yes, there was a time I went for months eating a Blizzard daily). But also doing things that give me joy, and doing them regularly. Figuring out what I love about life, like yoga, bike riding, hiking…and my puppy.

So, do I want to focus on depression? No. What I really  want to talk about is living with it, and living fully. To understand what makes me tick and turns me on, and hopefully to help others try to figure that out as well. I’ve been blessed to have people in my life that have inspired me, and I want to try to pass that on, in my own way.

Now, why Revel Living? To be honest, I really liked Rebel Living. That speaks to me be cause I tend to be a bit of a rebel in life. If someone says “go left” I go right. If they say “up,” I say “down.” I often don’t mean to, it’s just one of the ways I seem to have been made, and something to note so I can catch it when it pops up in life. But, the first time I mentioned it to someone they mis-heard me and heard revel instead of rebel. And I liked the sound of it even better. So I looked the words up to make sure the message I wanted to convey was in the name. This is what I found.

Revel – enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, especially with drinking and dancing.

Living – a particular manner, state, or status of life or the pursuit of a lifestyle of the specified type.

Sooo, to me revel living means “the pursuit of a lifestyle of enjoying oneself in a lively and noisy way…especially with drinking and dancing.” Further translation – find out what you love to do, and DO it. Especially with drinking and dancing. Ha!

So get out there. Climb a mountain. Go for a drive. Pet a puppy, or kitten or bunny or chinchilla. Read a book, write a book. Sit down and talk to a friend over a glass of wine, beer, coffee or kombucha. And if all that sounds like too much, then just step outside, and simply breathe. That small step is a great start.