Two Words

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd

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Here’s a business idea for someone. In my clinic, we talk some days about having only two words left to say in your life.
Maybe your throat is closing permanently, maybe you suddenly find silence far more attractive than words, maybe you just run out of things to say – I don’t know. The important part is discovering the words you’d choose to say to yourself and the world if you only have two left.

I asked someone this morning what her words would be. She said, “Taxes stink.” It made us laugh, because those are so not the words she’d pick. So not the words any of us would pick if we only had two left.
When I play this game, lots of options come to mind:
Let go
Be brave
Beauty everywhere
Sing loudly
Forgiveness heals
My favorite every time is Love Wins. That’s the one I want stamped on my mat.
There’s the business idea. Custom stamping of yoga mats.
So let’s imagine you can have your own stamped mat. What would yours say?
Thanks to the person who starts this business. I wish you all the success you deserve. I will buy your mat. Thanks to the yoga mats we stare at, and thanks, always, to you for your two words.
Kristin
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario. Join her at kristinshepherd.ca, or at Dr.Kristin Shepherd on Facebook, or on Twitter at kristinwonders.
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Things I Learned Over My Summer Holidays

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd

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Holy Moly. I’ve just finished my first class in six weeks. I’ve been practicing almost daily at home, but not in studio.

Things I Learned Over My Summer Holiday, or Things I Really Learned When I Stepped Back Into Class:

1. I’m really good at Sun Salutations, because I love them. By good, I do not refer to form or finesse, but rather to enthusiasm and brute strength. I could now push my car to work if I had to.

2. I really am not good at almost everything that comes after Sun Salutations, because I practice what I love more than the stuff that makes me say, “Oh, god, here we go again.”
I am worst at Triangle Pose, which is still the bane of my existence  Closely followed by Extended Side Angle Pose. And by Camel.  Okay, there are others, too.

3. I was not holding anything for a count of five during the summer. I was holding for a count of “whatever”, which is almost always less than five. When in Triangle Pose, I count to .05.
On the other hand:
4. A good teacher is an incredible gift. There are about 7,000 things for me to learn, still, even during Sun Salutations.

5. I missed the quiet humor of our classes.

6. It is beautiful to be surrounded by yogis and yoginis, all loving this thing we do.

7. Oh, and the chanting. Yup. The chanting is better in class. My chanting was getting a bit thin and lonely.
It’s good to be back. Do you feel the same? No? Do you take holidays from classes at all?
Thanks to yoga for Solo Sun Salutations and Group Extended Side Angle Poses, and thanks to you for the conversation,
Kristin

Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario.  Join her on the net at kristinshepherd.ca, on Facebook at Dr. Kristin Shepherd, and on Twitter at kristinwonders.
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Things I Learned Over My Summer Holidays

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd

back to class.JPG

Holy Moly. I’ve just finished my first class in six weeks. I’ve been practicing almost daily at home, but not in studio.

Things I Learned Over My Summer Holiday, or Things I Really Learned When I Stepped Back Into Class:

1. I’m really good at Sun Salutations, because I love them. By good, I do not refer to form or finesse, but rather to enthusiasm and brute strength. I could now push my car to work if I had to.

2. I really am not good at almost everything that comes after Sun Salutations, because I practice what I love more than the stuff that makes me say, “Oh, god, here we go again.”
I am worst at Triangle Pose, which is still the bane of my existence  Closely followed by Extended Side Angle Pose. And by Camel.  Okay, there are others, too.

3. I was not holding anything for a count of five during the summer. I was holding for a count of “whatever”, which is almost always less than five. When in Triangle Pose, I count to .05.
On the other hand:
4. A good teacher is an incredible gift. There are about 7,000 things for me to learn, still, even during Sun Salutations.

5. I missed the quiet humor of our classes.

6. It is beautiful to be surrounded by yogis and yoginis, all loving this thing we do.

7. Oh, and the chanting. Yup. The chanting is better in class. My chanting was getting a bit thin and lonely.
It’s good to be back. Do you feel the same? No? Do you take holidays from classes at all?
Thanks to yoga for Solo Sun Salutations and Group Extended Side Angle Poses, and thanks to you for the conversation,
Kristin

Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario.  Join her on the net at kristinshepherd.ca, on Facebook at Dr. Kristin Shepherd, and on Twitter at kristinwonders.
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Yoga From Your Neck of the Woods

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd

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In my neck of the woods, trees twist up through rock. Canadian Shield is the name of the rock that is our foundation as far as you can see. In some areas we’ve got soil – our cities are as pretty and tame that way as any other – but outside the city things get wilder. Off the highway, winding gravel roads lead to lakes surrounded by masses of grey and pink rock. It’s a miracle that anything grows on it.
.  
But miracles happen. Lichen grows, moss grows, ferns grow, all of them creating the tiniest cracks in the rock. At some point, red pine and cedar find those cracks, attempt a few roots, and twist their way sunward. I was at one of these lakes this weekend, doing yoga on a platform about 15 feet above blue waves and whitecaps.
It occurs to me during practice that I am not so different than one of our twisted trees.
With every Downward Facing Dog my own roots sink into the rock.  (I groan while this is happening. The trees do not, as far as I know.) With every instruction to rotate my shoulders and thighs I feel as though I am untwisting my way sunward. Every bit of it is working against the hard-as-Canadian-Shield habits my body has acquired over a lifetime.
There is nothing pretty or tame about my yoga.This body grunts and sighs with each shift, all the while shifting from tree-trunk stiffness to something greener and leafier.
I am a Canadian Shield kind of beautiful. So’s my yoga.
What kind of beautiful are you?
Thanks to the living, breathing world out there for inspiring us. Thanks to yoga for showing me who I am, and thanks to you for the conversation,
Kristin
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario.  Join her on Facebook at Dr.Kristin Shepherd, on the web at kristinshepherd.ca, and on Twitter at kristinwonders.

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Yoga From Your Neck of the Woods

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd

Blueberry Island Twisted Tree.JPG

In my neck of the woods, trees twist up through rock. Canadian Shield is the name of the rock that is our foundation as far as you can see. In some areas we’ve got soil – our cities are as pretty and tame that way as any other – but outside the city things get wilder. Off the highway, winding gravel roads lead to lakes surrounded by masses of grey and pink rock. It’s a miracle that anything grows on it.
.  
But miracles happen. Lichen grows, moss grows, ferns grow, all of them creating the tiniest cracks in the rock. At some point, red pine and cedar find those cracks, attempt a few roots, and twist their way sunward. I was at one of these lakes this weekend, doing yoga on a platform about 15 feet above blue waves and whitecaps.
It occurs to me during practice that I am not so different than one of our twisted trees.
With every Downward Facing Dog my own roots sink into the rock.  (I groan while this is happening. The trees do not, as far as I know.) With every instruction to rotate my shoulders and thighs I feel as though I am untwisting my way sunward. Every bit of it is working against the hard-as-Canadian-Shield habits my body has acquired over a lifetime.
There is nothing pretty or tame about my yoga.This body grunts and sighs with each shift, all the while shifting from tree-trunk stiffness to something greener and leafier.
I am a Canadian Shield kind of beautiful. So’s my yoga.
What kind of beautiful are you?
Thanks to the living, breathing world out there for inspiring us. Thanks to yoga for showing me who I am, and thanks to you for the conversation,
Kristin
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario.  Join her on Facebook at Dr.Kristin Shepherd, on the web at kristinshepherd.ca, and on Twitter at kristinwonders.

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Explosive Insight

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd

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I jumped into yoga last year with great expectations of increased strength and flexibility.  I also had some notion that looking inward would be a part of it. Except for the astounding stubbornness of my left hamstrings, yoga meets all of my expectations. But there have also been gorgeous and unexpected benefits.
 
Yesterday my smoothie blew up at work. It’s a long story and isn’t the real point today, so I’ll just warn you not to put screw top lids on smoothies if you’re going to let them sit on your desk at work all day during the summer. Another tip: if you hear hissing sounds coming from your smoothie cup, call a bomb squad. If you decide not to heed this advice, be prepared to wash your walls, your computer, and your desk. Be prepared to throw out your favorite (formerly) white sweater. Be prepared for purple, goopy imprints on everything that emerges from your printer for 24 hours.  Be prepared for a purple, goopy bruise on your left shoulder.  Just saying.

The point is this:  When my smoothie bomb blew, my only reactions were amazement and laughter. Over and over, I said to an empty room, “This is amazing! This is amazing!”  And I’m still laughing. It wasn’t till later that I realized there’s been a shift over the year in my reactions to all kinds of bombs.

If that smoothie had blown last year, I would have done a prolonged dance with no-time-for-this frustration and woe-is-me drama. I think the daily focus involved in my yoga practice makes me more permeable to the goopy feelings. They pour through me more easily than they used to. My smoothie event stuck to everything in my office except me. This is a huge, unexpected benefit of my year of practice.
Have you had unexpected benefits? I’d appreciate you sharing them. I’ll bet we’d all appreciate you sharing them.
Thanks to explosive insights, thanks to yoga for delivering so much more than I’d hoped for, and thanks to you, as always, for the conversation,
Kristin
Dr. Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) from North Bay, Ontario.  Join her on Facebook at Dr. Kristin Shepherd, on the web at kristinshepherd.ca, or on Twitter at kristinonders.
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Walking the Plank of Change

Posted on September 3, 2010 by kristinshepherd

A few posts ago, i mentioned i’m ending my clinical practice of 20 years.  I told you i’d let you know how it was going.

Well, here it is.  My last day in clinic is October 22nd….  There’s the update, really.

I expected insomnia, gnashing of teeth, gnashing of finger- and toenails, scaly, weeping bald patches, you name it.  I expected a lot of fear.

True, i don’t know what i’ll do for a living next.  True, i haven’t been unemployed since i started babysitting 34 years ago.  True, this would have “shivered me timbers” (why a pirate idiom?  i have no idea) even two years ago.

Well holy anticlimax, pirates.  Maybe all of the gnashing happened before the decision.  I don’t know.  All i feel to date is an  sense of peace in my chest.  And freedom.  And a small thrill of adventure.

Funny.  It occurs to me that fear before the fact was my constant companion.  I’ll bet that background fear interferes with our vision in some ways.  I’ll bet it interferes with us seeing our own desires clearly.  (A bit like a black  eye patch, come to think of it!)

I’ve found a lovely, kind chiropractor with an open mind and good ears who is happy to welcome the folks from my clinic.  Thank you Greg.

And the folks at my clinic are as beautiful as ever, which will break my heart wide open at the end of October.  Nothing wrong with that.

I report this non-report in case you’ve been gnashing your own toenails about a decision.  It appears the gnashing ends with a step forward.

Granted, this may all change between now and October 22nd.  (I’ll bet not, but I’ll keep you posted.)

Thanks to every gorgeous heart in my clinic.  Thanks to the futures that call and call and call us forward.

And arrrhhh, thanks to you, you captain of the Caribbean,  for the conversation,

kristin

Join me on Facebook at Dr.Kristin Shepherd and on Twitter at kristinwonders. ( How many conversations can one pirate have?)

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Beyond Accidental Grace

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd
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I’m as acquainted as the next potato head with accidental grace: green lights on the way to work, finding one pair of clean underwear when the washer is broken and every other item of clothing in the universe is dirty (that’s this morning), a note from a friend I haven’t heard from in twelve years.
And to be clear, I don’t believe in accidents. I use the word the same way you do in music, in which accidental notes are outside the key in which the song is written. They’re surprises.  Their strangeness draws attention.
Something happens to all of this with yoga. Something about the daily focus and purposeful open-heartedness of yoga is spreading grace all over the place. I’m sure of it: This morning the custodian in my office building stopped to tell me he had to put his dog down last week, and he’s been crying ever since. I hardly know Bruce, but I have watched little Duke follow Bruce’s mop around this building for years. It was a wonderful moment of … well, of grace, I think, listening to his love pour out like that.
The guy who tried to fix my washer yesterday charged me almost nothing, because he felt he could have discovered its death knell within five minutes if he’d been more aware. More aware? This is not your average repair guy behavior.
And five minutes ago, after I started writing this, a woman came into my clinic. She is the daughter of Edna, a great friend of mine who passed away at Christmas. I miss Edna every day. Suzie and I chatted. After she left, I found a present in my back room. It was a necklace of Edna’s. My favorite. I have no idea how she knew it was my favorite, and she can’t possibly know how much this gift means to my skin. That’s grace, isn’t it?
It’s as though these accidental notes are showing up so often that they’re no longer accidents. It’s as though the music has changed key altogether.
Has this happened to you with yoga? Has it changed the music you’re sending out? Or the music you’re getting back from the world? I’d really love to hear.
Thanks to Bruce. Thanks to Mike, the repair guy. Thanks to Suzie, and to her mother Edna.  Thanks to yoga for its open-heartedness, and thanks to you for the conversation,
Kristin
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (about All Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario. Join her on Facebook at Dr.Kristin Shepherd, on the net at kristinshepherd.ca, or on Twitter at kristinwonders.
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Spectacular Change

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Kristin Shepherd

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I’m obsessed with menopause.  
Hot flashes, cataclysmic hormonal shifts, wonky sleep patterns, periods run amok before periods gone altogether – I feel I’m on the verge of something spectacular.
  
My cycles became iffy for a time in my early 30s and I thought, “This is it! Here it comes! I am entering the Wise Woman phase of my life!” I bought books, questioned older friends and strangers.  I anticipated great things.
15 years later I’m still waiting.
A woman had a hot flash in my clinic today.  I asked her if I could feel her skin.  
She said, “Sure, feel the inside of my elbows, feel my kneecaps.  Sweat just pours from places that have no sweat glands as far as I know.”
Another woman in my clinic calls them power surges.  She looks like she’s about to give birth to the sun when she’s surging.  How could I not be enthralled?
This transition is seen by so many women as a negative thing.  I keep wondering why it’s so different than what we feel as we progress in yoga.  Some days are great, some awful.  There are months when my hamstrings have tight flashes every single day.  Days when I can’t breathe properly, days when I can’t focus to save my life.  And still I love yoga.
I hope to love my body enough to experience menopause with wonder and admiration.  
What are your thoughts? Did you love it?  Not?  Do you look forward to it?  Not?  Has yoga changed the way you experience menopause?  Are you a man?  In which case, are you still reading this?  (In which case, speaking for all women, we love you.)
Thanks to our bodies for growth and (sometimes) wild transitions.  Thanks to yoga for the same thing, and thanks to you, as always, for the conversation,
kristin
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“The quality of my life is determined by the quality of my questions.”

Posted on August 26, 2010 by kristinshepherd

I love that quote for a million reasons.

1. Curious people are alive. This is what i want to be.

2. I can easily fall into asking questions like, “Why can’t you take the garbage out this week? Why is it only Monday? Why isn’t my career happening faster? Why is this awful thing happening to me/my kid/my best friend/Pakistan?

These are questions that leave me humming in a lousy place.

3. I appreciate the reminder to choose my questions carefully.

Here are some of the questions that serve me well:

What matters most to me at this point in my life?

Can I trust that I am enough, as is, to create the kind of life I want?

Do I trust in a beneficent universe or not?

Am i choosing this relationship/work/path forward out of love or fear?

What are the questions that serve you well? I’d love to hear.

Thanks, as always, for the conversation,

kristin

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