Campfire smoke and Queen Ann's Lace

When I spend some time to taste the ordinary or what I see as ordinary it may not be so for others. This is where our Summer goes.

 

Settling in to a quiet September Campfire in our back yard fire pit.

Having the chance to sit under the starry canopy and enjoy good friends and a little music or just to sit in silence and watch the flames dance in the cool evening shadows is an underrated joy.

We got to spend a Saturday on the land clearing undergrowth and windfalls from the last hurricane and, you know, there is a pleasant sense of satisfaction when you look back at the end of the day and see what you accomplished ...you can actually see something for your work when you are in the bush. Not real pretty but it's a start.

This is the cornfield along the edge of the property.

By the end of the day we were pretty raggedy and so we zipped across the way to the Bayfield Beach for a swim. Wow the water was as warm as bath water...and so clear you were looking at the ripples in the sand bar and it was hard to leave ...It reminded me so of the summer days I spent swimming there so long ago when that was my whole world.

 

Queen Ann's Lace and September apples.

These are wild and here for the picking.

Apple Jelly for Christmas.  If you get the chance or make the "chance" go for a walk today outdoors and spend a little time with something you usually overlook and see if you can look at it in a different way......The Yoga of being in the moment.

Love and Light
Chris
                     

                                   

The Closing Down of Summer

Canso in our wake

Path to the fortress ruins

Picnic in Grassy Park

Special K coming to fetch us

Hello folks

There is nothing like a drop in the temperature to bring you back to the reality of fall in Nova Scotia - Still NS dons her most beautiful gown at this time of year. We are still enjoying the crash of the surf and the smell of the brine but now there is the added layer of of the sweet smell of wild apples ripening, cranberries beginning to peek out from the bogs, and the occasional sighting of the autumn mushrooms in the mossy woodlands.

We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day on Monday when we ventured down to Canso with friends,Erich and Inge and hiked around Grassy Island Historical Site. Canso has such a rich history; a fishing town founded in 1603 and is now struggling to maintain its existence in the aftermath the collapse of the fishery. The fiercely independent natives constantly reinvent themselves as they have over the centuries in order to stay connected to the rocky land they love. No where is this more mind blowing than stepping off the boat on Grassy Island to walk the paths created by the first brave souls who struggled to stay (mostly)alive here at the edge of the earth during those first winters.

We picnicked, and as our friend Erich put it, you had to keep your elbows on your plate to keep it on the table .... oh but the food was wonderful as it always is outdoors! Smoked Pacific Salmon,Gouda cheese, homemade bread fresh from the oven and wine and watermelon finished off with a couple of thermos of tea and Jim's chocolate banana muffins.I know this was yoga of the mouth, ...talking, eating and living in the moment.

Those of you in the county have probably got an e-message regarding the start up of classes and you can check the calender on the website for class info as well. For anyone who did not get the message with the link to the article Why do Yoga? by Garrett Sarley www.kripalu.org/article/512 ...this is a wonderful article which articulately describes the science behind yoga -no frills - in a language we all can understand.

In conclusion, I'm shining the floors, blessing the space and I look forward to seeing you on the mats during the last week of September.

Love and light to all

Chris

Time goes on

Yes I’m still in the land of the living. We arrived home in Guysborough memories in our pockets and hit the ground running Life for the rest of the summer has been about hurry up and wait ….Like today for instance we hurried up to batten down before hurricane Bill and hold our breath and wait to see what happens.


We took in Stanfest a few days after we arrived home and found that the wettest festival in the history of the event still didn’t dampen the spirits of the thousands of fans who showed up to slop around on the muddy grounds of Canso (we didn’t camp).

After mowing and getting the house and yard set for summer we headed off to Halifax for a week Jim worked at marking Provincial English papers while I took in the Tall ships, “Festival of Sail “ and the Halifax International Jazz Festival . There were daily free concerts every hour from 12:00 noon till 5:00 PM. All this sandwiched between a concert featuring Sir Paul Mc Cartney on the Saturday we arrived and a concert with KISS on the day we left. WOAH!!!

This summer we have done something a little out of the ordinary for us we have toured around our local area and explored the beaches. From Salmon River beach where the beautiful Salmon River empties into the ocean, the Brule coastline, the lovely crystal clear waters of Crystal Cliffs, Bayfield, Pompquet, Clam Harbour, and Belle Cote where the force of the combers meet the gentle coastline and mix with the gentle folks along the coves and harbours.

We have discovered a lot about beach culture in that time too …for example the best time to swim is at 4:30 PM the water is warmer by then and the shores are almost empty. We found out the healthiest way to eat is to plan ahead and pack a small lunch …food always tastes better on the beach but some things travel better than others (we stayed away from chips and too much process foods) but that is another whole blog

Another highlight of the summer was a reunion of the Corbett family for our Parents 60th Wedding Anniversary. Milestones like that are fewer and far between these days. It was so nice to be with siblings and cousins nieces and nephews. Thanks so much to all who journeyed so far to be with us on that happy occasion!

September is fast approaching were life and the weather forces us back to the RW(real world) with it too comes the comfort of routine, old friends reuniting and yes folks our Sanga will reunite for the fall yoga classes. To my west coast friends ….I really miss you. The memories of Haida Gwaii will warm me through the winter months. To my Guysborough county yogies and yoginies I look forward to seeing you soon.

I came across this video by Dave Carroll this week and it sort of sums up the summer journey out of the mists and into the autumn. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ1wtftL3nA

Love and Light Chris

Soon To Be Heading Back East ...

As we ease through the Summer Solstice, savouring the longest daylight of the year (even more pronounced at this latitude), I present my final entry from the “Left Coast”, as we look toward our home in Guysborough where we will return with hearts brimming full of joyful memories and wonderful energy. The fifty days have gone by so quickly; the week that remains will be just a blur.

Since my last entry, I have been privileged to attend a Healing Circle in Skidegate, a Haida community near here. It was tremendously revealing and inspiring. I consequently heard about, and was able to take advantage of a session on an Amethyst Stone Bio-Mat. I will share much more info on that later(Google it, if you’d like); suffice to say that the experience was quite unique … I am going back for a second session before we leave in a week’s time.

Two other recent highlights would have to be the local celebration of “Hospital Day” (like all of Come Home Week squeezed into 24 hours) and our Fathers’ Day Hike to the Pesuta, an eighty year-old shipwreck 5 km up a beach. (that’s 10 k round-trip) The accompanying photos give a hint of both of those experiences.

My yoga sessions here on Haida Gwaii will end this Thursday, and, I must say that I have really appreciated the opportunity to maintain my focus both on and off the mat, and to have the privilege to share my time with some wonderful inspiring yoginis.

I will close now with a thought that I heard expressed at the Healing Circle in Skidegate …

“Each of us comes from different life experiences, and this combined diversity is a potent force.”; a great reminder that we are all connected. We are all One.

Namaste,

Chris

Concert at Skidegate

Things have e ramped up here and life is a paradox whereas the pace is very slow as you watch … everyone is busy almost every minute.

I was wowed when there was still light in the sky at 9:00 PM. Now my dears, it is still bright at 10:30 I plan to put a photo up on June 22!

On Sunday June 7 we took in a concert in Skidegate which proved to be very interesting. The theme of the evening was “Oceans Alive“, so all the performances connected with that in song and dance. It opened with a group of Haida singers and dancers in traditional costume. They sang a song of welcome in Haida and of in the forest and ocean. We were told of how important the salmon is to this culture. The salmon bring the spirit of the forest to the sea. They are born in the forest streams and return to the forest to spawn and die. The group also talked of how in the creation myths of many cultures, life begins in the sea and how we long to go back to the sea… That was just the colourful introduction to the evening.
There were offerings form the Gwaii Singers, Classical Piano, Atlantic Sea Shanties (by Sean Muise!),Story Poem, Pacific Jug band and a singer/songwriter who being a fisherman’s wife and a fisher herself sang her story with eloquence.

Today we took some time to go part way up Sleeping Beauty and I will leave you with that picture which is well worth more than a thousand words. The little village you see in the distance is Charlotte City.

Until next time ...

Welcome June

Joyful June Greetings

The weather is so spectacular here this week that I had to take a photo of the report. Hope this entry finds you well and in the process of detoxing from the madness of winter (I don't mean the weather) I mean where life takes you with stresses an schedules.

Last evening I got to enjoy a talk by Gabor Mate who is a physician and author who has studied the connection of stress and disease in our society he works with street folks in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The body,mind, spirit connection which the ancients taught us is finally being recognized by science in some areas.

The two strongest messages were that when we have been prevented from learning how to say no (to stressful situations)our bodies may end up saying it for us.-When the Body Says No

The second thing is that those of us who have experienced unconditional love, see life as a a challenge and those who have not, see life as a chore to get through. Eventually the latter leads to a build up in tension and addictions that cause physical health issues. -system overload. It's all about discovering our true nature which is not chronic illness or cancer but good health.

This may seem just too simplistic put this way, but in the scope of a couple of sentences I can't do justice to his theories. I would encourage you to check out his website http://www.drgabormate.com/ or www.whenthebodysaysno.ca/book.html

If you have children of any age, his book Hold on to your Kids Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers . "a loud wake-up call for mothers and fathers...This (book) offers what many of the others do not-that rare commodity known as common sense."-Winnipeg Free Press

His books support rather than condemn us in our journey through this realm and encourage us to support others around us.

Till next time

Love and Light to all

Namaste

Chris

Farewell to May

Greetings again from the Misty Isles!

Hope all is well on the East Coast I hear the weather is spectacular this spring. Christian, I imagine that you are experiencing the same climate in Bonny Scotland as we are here.

You know the rain here is different than home ….there is more of it but it is soft; a soft mist more than the driving rain that we see at this time of year in Guysborough. We get warm days here …comfortable but not Hot.
The evenings at our little cottage are deliciously quiet. No TV, sometimes soft music, the soft ticking of the clock, and sometimes the whispering hum of the clothes dryer. Evening walks to the Library, a stroll along the shore or in one of the forest trails or perhaps a game of cards and/or reading charges us up for the next day’s activities.

This week I started teaching a 10 session series of yoga classes. I am having an encouraging response and I truly enjoy the lovely yogis and yoginis that I have had the good fortune to meet here. Gotta love yoga peeps!

Speaking of yoga peeps I have been receiving mail from a friend who is volunteering and studying at Yasodhara Ashram here in BC. Jennifer I just love your updates! They help me to grow and in turn they also help my students too!

One I would like to share is the one following: Check out this link regarding the Chakras Something to chew on: www.yasodhara.org/about_us_kundalini.html

The picture I’m sending today is one we took on out morning walk with Isadore to the library. The blue building in the distance is The Living and Learning School, an independent school here in Charlotte. I got to visit the school last March (2008) when Jody was still working there part time.

Looks like the weather man is forecasting some sun for the weekend …

Hope we will be able to explore a new trail. So till next time…
Love and Light from the left coast
Chris

Moving On ...

Next week I will begin offering a ten session Yoga program here in Charlotte (on Tuesdays and Thursdays) What a wonderful way to get to know the yoga community here. Were I not giving the program I would take the session from whoever is here. It is always nice to experience the Sanga of a yoga community anywhere you go.
Sometimes I feel as if I’m just talking into space (which of course I am ) I would like to hear from you back home and how your practice is coming along. My address is on the website and any news (yoga or otherwise) would be welcome. If you are interested in looking at an article for inspiration check out the following website.

In fact if you were to cruise around http://www.yogajournal.com/, there will be something there of interest to almost anyone! Another good site is http://www.kripalu.org/

I’ll close with a few shots of my youngest yogi Isadore, prince of the Purple Onion Café. He keeps us pretty real and pretty busy too!

Life among the eagles and ravens

Ahh ... hope I’m getting a better grasp on the technology here. We’ll see if you get the pictures I hope to send. My yoga today comes from being able to hold space quietly while on the hike we are about to take. I’d feel a little less anxious if Sean had not said “We shouldn’t have to worry too much about the bears since we will probably be talking and and they won’t bother us if they hear us” Well we all know how I can talk did I ever think that that would keep me safe ….noooo

Life amoung the Eagles and Ravens

May 21 2009
Greetings from Haida Gwaii
This is not the land of the midnight sun but we are far north enough to enjoy more hours of day light than we see in Nova Scotia at this time of year.
The following pictures were taken around 9:00 PM . It is actually still pretty bright at 10;00! The sunrise and sunsets are beautiful.

So ‘ham
The meaning of this Mantra is “I am that”
“ A simple breath mantra. Repeat “so” on the outbreath then “hum” on the inbreath. When you begin, with each out breath, you may become conscious of the act of giving and letting go. With each inbreath you may be aware of receiving, of honouring the Self in this moment. Eventually, all intentions dissolve into the simple pulsation of the mantra’s sonic qualities, bringing stillness and peace within the rhythm that is like serene ocean waves”
-Christopher D Wallis (Yoga Journal May 2009)
Hummmmm Ocean Waves - The Ocean is different on the Left Coast so is the sky - in fact it is still bright at 10:00 pm where I am. The colors of the sky and the mountains are something you can’t feel on a photo and when you see the mountains you feel them. Feel the mountain when you practice tad asana. Be the ocean when you practice Fish !
Being blessed by the experience of feeling the salt water in my veins as a Nova Scotian and now tasting the salt of the Pacific rainforest on my skin my yoga practice is grounded in the knowledge of the connectedness of coastal dwellers.
People here are so friendly it is like I never left home - I do miss all you NS Yoginies out there and I think of you daily in my practice and I’m sure that I will bring home all the Lovely Yoginies of the west coast when I return in July.
I’m currently preparing to do 10 Kripalu Yoga sessions here in Charlotte during May and June starting May 26.
For the food network people at home I’ve connected with a network here who are working on the same issues we are at home and I hope to learn from them more about how that is unfolding here.
I live next door to a professional storyteller who is about to do a benefit show as a fundraiser for a festival that takes place here call “The festival at the Edge of the World” I’ll keep you updated on that since we plan to go.
The photos which follow are from a walk about of the village today. Hope you can get a sense of life here and its casual pace. Perhaps by the time I go back to Guysborough there may be folks here who would like to see the same photo journal of my home village
So’ ham
Find the mantra that works for you
Love and Light
Chris

Settling in ...

Hello folks in Blogland,
We are settling into life on the islands. And being introduced to the realities of of life that changes islanders! All food is brought in on the BC ferries thus almost everything is expensive even the Dollar Store reflects this - most items are $1.50 instead of $1.00 . We have to do as Sean suggests and shop smart …buy only what you need and don’t look at the price. I guess it’s a trade off for the peaceful life here. Yesterday however that ferry broke down -there will be no ferry or food delivery till Wednesday so by supper time last night, milk, bread and a lot of other staples are lost in the rush of panic purchase. The Fortunately we bought our groceries in the morning before any one knew about the breakdown.
On to more positive things we visited the Kaa Center (Haida Heritage Center )and enjoyed talks given by a group of graduate students on forestry and its effects on society and life here on Haida Gwaii. We can see that here, as in many small communities people wear many hats volunteering is a necessary element to make life happen.
Today Sean is taking part in a volunteer fire training session and we are preparing for a community hike at Anvil Point ….report and pictures to follow.

Wow what a forest and what a trooper little Izzie is. He spent the two hours of the hike humming and telling himself little funny stories and Laughing (at his own jokes) .The trees in the forest here are massive some of the trees are actually growing out of trees that died and rotted many of years ago. It is mind boggling to stand at the base of a tree that was a seedling 800 years ago.

Stay tuned more to come by the end of the week.

Flying to the West

Hi folks
We are currently in flight. To say that the day got off to an early start is an understatement. I think that I had about 45 minutes sleep last night and we were dressed by 4:00 am. Christian has landed safely in Scotland, Daniel is now in Calgary and heading for Athabasca for summer planting.

Note for the Yoginies in Canso I’ve started on my work sheet hope this works out well for all of us ….let me know how you are doing ….even if you only get to fill one small section in …a day ..that’s a start.

Note for the Dream work participants ..Thanks for the support in coming to the workshop during what I know is a very busy time for everyone. You made it a heart warming success. Keep up your journal and watch what happens.

For my younger friends Hope spring is Yummy for you and I look forward to seeing you when I get home. Did you check out the pictures in the Gallery of this website …maybe you were there!

More blog pictures will follow soon.

Oh BTW we've landed safely and you will hear from us soon I hope.

Love and Light to all
Chris

The journey begins

Baby Steps ...

Well folks, this is my first foray into the open space of the cluttered mind. Not only am I opening the top of my brain to the world; I'm trying to use a technology new to me at the same time. ie getting used to a very small key pad of a reduced size lap top.

How much stuff do we need in our head and our life to seek an adventure on the left coast?.....that is the work of the last hours in our beloved Guysborough. Pack, unpack, repack,tie up loose ends and say good bye to our friends.

Take time to breathe and practice what I preach. The Muises are all off on an adventure. Christian left today for Scotland for five months of study. Dan is off reforesting ...planting trees in Alberta. Tara begins a new chapter in Ottawa and Sean and Jody are about to experience their second year of parenthood with Jody going back to work ...Hope we can help a bit by holding space for them at home with Isadore and connecting the links of our family from east to west.

We managed to squeeze 2 yoga mats in and hope to keep the practice alive on the west coast ..I'll keep you posted !
To all my yoga students and Companions on the Journey - I'll offer intention for you and your practice this spring and ask you to do the same for me.

Namaste
Chris