My hands were together in front of my chest and legs shoulder length apart. I inhaled a deep breathe, expanded my lungs, took another deep inhale, lengthened my chest and moved my hips towards the front then as I exhaled, looked back , raised my arms , saw the floor and planted my hands on the floor. After getting into the upward bow posture, I swung back-and-forth a few times and inhaled as I swung out with the intention to gain momentum to bring myself to the standing position.
When I am successful, as I exhaled, my body should naturally come back to the standing position. I failed more times than I can remember. There are many reasons. It could be that I failed to engage my legs when I am getting ready to move to standing. It could be that I didn't move my hip forward enough to get to standing. It could be that psychologically I told myself I can't do it. It could also be sum of all the above. One more reason, it could also be that I am distracted with other things in life and not be in the moment.
I have practiced with many experienced teachers and received a lot of good pointers as they guided me through the pose. Besides my regular yoga teacher , there are visiting teachers a few times a year at the studio where I practice Ashtanga Yoga. They observed me and provided me pointers afterwards. They were nurturing, nonjudgmental and patience as I worked on the pose. I am been told to relax and to not overthink the pose. I am grateful to all the advice bestowed to me.
I put two and two together and mindfully completed the pose. I did not do it out of brute force. I did not blindly go through pose without worrying about the result. I went through the pose in my head where I also incorporated the breathing sequence. My hands were together in front of my chest and legs shoulder length apart. I took a deep inhale and raised both my arms. As I exhaled, move my hip forward, arched my back, looked at the floor and landed my hands in a control manner. Then with one inhalation as I swung out my arms then on one exhalation, engaged my legs, moved my hip forward and let my vertebrate stacked up naturally. I wasn't hurrying myself and just let nature takes its course. I stand upright. It is a long time coming and glad I did it today.
This pose has thought me to relax and not to overthink the sequence. I have to trust myself and that there is no need to hurry through the pose. Most importantly, I enjoyed the sense of calmness as I work through the pose. My breathe is guiding me all along and I finally realized that. Indeed, it is a long time coming.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Thursday, August 11, 2016
End of Experiment - Letting go of CRV refund.
Have you noticed when you purchase beverage in recyclable bottles, there is a CRV deposit paid on sales ? I drink San Pellegrino sparkling water and I get mine from Costco. I believe there are 12 bottles per box so this comes up to $1.20 deduction for CRV. I wonder how much am I paying for CRV deposits each year. The recycling center is close to my home so I thought I will experiment for a year.
What I meant by experiment is collecting recyclable bottles and cans for a year. I wanted to know how much refund can I get by recycling. I placed two large recycled bags from Daiso in my pantry. I collected all the bottles and cans labeled with CA CRV for a year or more.
When I filled the two bags with recycled plastic water bottles and San Pellegrino bottles, I went to the recycling center. I stood in line, a long line. I recalled standing behind an old Chinese woman, she was giving me pointers on what to do: unscrew the bottle caps and flatten the bottles. I supposed I looked out of place. Clearly, I was new in the recycling business. For a moment, I remembered feeling proud of being a Chinese who embodied the virtue of being hardworking and frugal. She had many ginormous bags filled with meticulously flattened bottles and cans. She probably accumulated $100 with of refund. I had 2 small bags compared to hers. After queuing for at least 45 minutes, my refund was around $11 plus. I thought it was a good first attempt.
Did I mention a long line? There was a hispanic woman with a shopping chart filled with recycled bottles glass and plastics. There was also a scrawny looking man in his beat up bicycle. He cycled by with some recycling finds, took a spot in the line by planting his stash then swished off to seek for more recyclable bottles and cans in the neighborhood.
I just brought my house and therefore money was tight. For the first time in many years, I was watching my spending. I do not spend frivolously just free to spend without putting much thought. I did not shop for new clothes or new shoes for almost a year. I was deliberate in my spending. I also discovered a convenient place to get my refund with short lines. Now that I looked back, my circumstances at that point made it acceptable to wait in line to get a $11 dollar.
Fast forward a few months, I changed my job and my financial situation improved. I continued to collect recyclable bottles and cans. The regular place where I get my refund was closed permanently. I had to go to different spot, back to the place that I went for my first refund. The line was long and it was a hot sweltering afternoon. I was determined to off load the stuff so I stayed in line. I had wine bottles. Apparently, these bottles are not labeled CA CRV. But I really don't care however the people in the line seem distraught about my stash of non-CRV bottles. I was being told again and again by different people that those wine bottles won't get me much. This time round, the crowd was dominated by people that collect recyclable bottles and cans for their livelihood. I stood in line for almost an hour and received less than $6. I could have used my time more wisely than standing in line for $6.
I continued to collect recyclable bottles until yesterday. It was trash day. I don't know what got over me. I decided to put all the recyclable bottles into the recyclable trash bin. I felt like a load off my shoulders. I am officially ending my experiment. Now I know I put around $20 worth of recyclable bottles and cans into the trash bin.
What I meant by experiment is collecting recyclable bottles and cans for a year. I wanted to know how much refund can I get by recycling. I placed two large recycled bags from Daiso in my pantry. I collected all the bottles and cans labeled with CA CRV for a year or more.
When I filled the two bags with recycled plastic water bottles and San Pellegrino bottles, I went to the recycling center. I stood in line, a long line. I recalled standing behind an old Chinese woman, she was giving me pointers on what to do: unscrew the bottle caps and flatten the bottles. I supposed I looked out of place. Clearly, I was new in the recycling business. For a moment, I remembered feeling proud of being a Chinese who embodied the virtue of being hardworking and frugal. She had many ginormous bags filled with meticulously flattened bottles and cans. She probably accumulated $100 with of refund. I had 2 small bags compared to hers. After queuing for at least 45 minutes, my refund was around $11 plus. I thought it was a good first attempt.
Did I mention a long line? There was a hispanic woman with a shopping chart filled with recycled bottles glass and plastics. There was also a scrawny looking man in his beat up bicycle. He cycled by with some recycling finds, took a spot in the line by planting his stash then swished off to seek for more recyclable bottles and cans in the neighborhood.
I just brought my house and therefore money was tight. For the first time in many years, I was watching my spending. I do not spend frivolously just free to spend without putting much thought. I did not shop for new clothes or new shoes for almost a year. I was deliberate in my spending. I also discovered a convenient place to get my refund with short lines. Now that I looked back, my circumstances at that point made it acceptable to wait in line to get a $11 dollar.
Fast forward a few months, I changed my job and my financial situation improved. I continued to collect recyclable bottles and cans. The regular place where I get my refund was closed permanently. I had to go to different spot, back to the place that I went for my first refund. The line was long and it was a hot sweltering afternoon. I was determined to off load the stuff so I stayed in line. I had wine bottles. Apparently, these bottles are not labeled CA CRV. But I really don't care however the people in the line seem distraught about my stash of non-CRV bottles. I was being told again and again by different people that those wine bottles won't get me much. This time round, the crowd was dominated by people that collect recyclable bottles and cans for their livelihood. I stood in line for almost an hour and received less than $6. I could have used my time more wisely than standing in line for $6.
I continued to collect recyclable bottles until yesterday. It was trash day. I don't know what got over me. I decided to put all the recyclable bottles into the recyclable trash bin. I felt like a load off my shoulders. I am officially ending my experiment. Now I know I put around $20 worth of recyclable bottles and cans into the trash bin.
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