Yoga Poses at Your Desk

Sitting all day at a desk can really work havoc with our bodies. Believe me, I know. But I have found a way of working yoga into my daily office routine, and it can be done even if you work in an open space with others around. Even if you have never done Yoga, just think of them as office exercise. They will have the same effect! And if you DON"T work in an office, you can do them at home, even if you do no other form of daily exercise, and still benefit from them greatly. Nothing too "weird" about these exercises and you can split them up, do them all in sequence, do them a few times a day, whatever works for you. Just do them. They really make a difference in how you feel at the end of the day.
Check out these two links (just click on them and they will take you to the proper website) and while you are at it, click on the link on my sidebar named "Yoga" and see the other great things offered on the full website . You can even sign up for a daily tip. Really nice.
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/231.cfm
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/949.cfm
With much love
Jane

Thoughts Become Things...Choose the Good Ones

A collection of interesting, perhaps inspiring, certainly thought-provoking quotes for your enjoyment. Would love to hear about the ones you liked the best, or the ones that effected you the most, and why.
With Love to all.

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." William Shakespeare

"If you take your eyes off your goals,all you see are obstacles."

One of the secrets of life is to make stepping-stones out of stumbling blocks.- Jack Penn

Some of us are like tea leaves: We don't know how strong we are until we are placed in hot water!

The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.-Swedish Proverb

Worrying about something that may never happen is like paying interest on money you may never borrow.-Unknown

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.-Unknown

Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.-Vesta M. Kelly

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just to enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate.-Thornton Wilder

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."St. Augustine, 354 430

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.W. M. Lewis

One who makes no mistakes never makes anything.Unknown

These difficulties are intended for us to become better not bitterUnknown

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
Helen Keller

Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out."
John Wooden

"Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."
Unknown

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." Thich Nhat Hanh

Growing old is inevitable, growing UP is optional.!

There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

Do the math.... Count Your blessings.

Faith is the ability to not panic.

Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.

If you worry, you didn't pray. If you pray, don't worry.

The most important things in your home are the people.

A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

We do not remember days, but moments.

Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it's just hearsay.

It's alright to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out it's neck.

Life is uncertain; eat dessert first.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
Mahatma Gandhi

When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always gets angry."
Thomas Chandler Haliburton

A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else."
Len Wein

When you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: There will be earth upon which to stand, or you will be given wings to fly."
Unknown

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."
Unknown

In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high."
Henry David Thoreau

When your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme…\Jimminy Cricket!

"The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."
James Crook

A leader's role is to raise people's aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there."
David Gergen

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."
Rosalynn Carter

"How far would Moses have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt?"
Harry S. Truman

Your future depends on many things, but mainly on you.

In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.- Janos Arany

Remember: Most smiles are started by another smile!

Don't wait for your ship to come in. Row out to meet it.

There ain't no cloud so thick that the sun ain't shinin' on t'other side.- Rattlesnake,an 1870s mountain man

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.- Will Rogers

Thoughts become things... choose the good ones!

habit is a hell to which people cling in an attempt to stop the flow of change

You can always change how you feel, and you can always feel whatever you like.

My Poetry

Before I post the poems, just a quick explanation. I've been writing all my life, as long as I remember myself-even won honorary mention in a short story competition once when i was in Junior High School for a sci-fiction story I wrote as an English Class assignment. Think it was with Mrs. Bacher in 9th grade...However, I don't remember writing poetry at all. The poems started coming to me the first time I was in India, but they come in a very strange way. Already completely written. I am "told" to get out paper and pen and they are kind of "dictated" to me. Very strange. But when I read them back the first time, it is really like reading something that someone else has written. They all came about at very specific points and relate to whatever was happening in my life at the time. I am sorry I never dated them, but will try to do so if there are more in the future. For now, these are what I have, and I myself enjoy rereading them often. They have great personal meaning for me but I think at least a few of them are quite Universal and that anyone can get some meaning from them. You are welcome to comment (or not) on any specific one which seems to have special meaning to you. I'd like to know that these poems weren't given to me for my own personal use only but that they are meant to touch something in others as well. I give them to you with my love and will add to them as they come to me.

New Poem from India Journey 2007- March 9th as well as insights at same time:

The Sudden Need to Know-

But knowing is not what it seems to be

Is knowing knowledge?

or is it understanding of TRUTH!

To know what your personal truth IS, is the most profound
form of understanding.

And when what you know to be TRUE is what guides you
along your path,

Then you may stumble at times, you may even feel a momentary fear
when faced with some new obstacle,

But you will never stray


Because you KNOW!!


LESSON ONE:
TRUST IN THE DIVINE AND PUT YOUR FAITH IN TRUTH


My TRUTH is service to others! I have know this for a very long time, but it was shot with an arrow which hit the target bull's eye this time!!


And, just as all this came together, I read the following in Paulo Coelho's book which I am now reading:

...Death is possibly THE most important thing. We are all walking towards death, but we never know when death will touch us and it is our duty, therefore, to look around us, to be grateful for each minute. But we should also be grateful to death, because it makes us think about the importance of each decision we take, or fail to take: it makes us stop doing anything that keeps us stuck in the category of the "living dead" and, instead, urges us to risk everything, to bet everything on those things we always dreamed of doing, because, whether we like it or not, the angel of death is waiting for us.

So, this is the poem, and the lesson, and I will now work and making things move along, always following the guidance I am so lovingly given each and every moment of each and every day (and night)!


ALONE
Why?
Why are others always an intrusion?
I don't seek them yet they find me...
Must I become invisible to be ALONE?
Or is this part of who, what I am
Flowing along and blending into the river of common pain
Floating as a log for those drowning to latch on to.
Where is the log meant to keep me afloat?
Or have I been given the strength to stay afloat ALONE?
Do I draw my strengths from my ALONENESS?
Or from the giving OF myself?
Who will be there to keep me from drowning
When there is no more strength to draw on?
I am surrounded by heavenly love and protection...
Spiritually I am never ALONE...
But...
I am physical as well
As is my life...
All the new that awaits me...
All the changes to be made...
All the wonders still to reveal themselves...
Are not meant to be experienced ALONE
My soul, my heart, my body all yearn
For the one with the same yearnings
To continue the journey together in our ALONENESS...

Can there be such a miracle?

HOME
Not a place.
A feeling!
You find it once and then have it with you always
It is mobile and goes with you everywhere
No one can take it from you
As it is nothing you can touch or hold physically
What is inside is yours alone
And you make it what it is
When you have truly found the feeling - Cherish it!
It is a precious gift you have worked hard for.

MY LOVE
My Love is whole
My Love is true
My Love runs deep
Deeper than ever before
But where will it flow to If it has no banks to direct it's course?
YOU must be the banks.
Strong, dependable, guiding the course of my Love... and our lives
I can now only be the river of love which flows within your banks
My energies can no longer determine the course
Envelope me in your banks of loving strength and direction
YOU must be the master of our love
If the banks collapse, the river of my Love will disperse
and may never find a true course again.

LOST
I've been lost for years
Seeking
Without knowing what I would find
Was I even aware that I was seeking?
I think so…
But seeking what - I did not know

Lost
Still lost
But no longer seeking
The search is over
But I am still lost

Lost in love!

I LEARNED TO BE PATIENT
I learned to be patient
I trusted your judgment
I believed in your wisdom
I joined in your dream
I embraced your love
I overcame my fears
I desisted from worry
I relied on your strength
I shared your desires
I felt your despair and your sense of betrayal by your lack of control over the Universe
And was stunned by your surprise in crude awakening.

LIGHT
Growing from within
Joining without
Becoming one with
And part of the Whole
Expanding into the oneness of the Whole
Bringing forth from the depths its love and protection to surround and enfold me
To make me one with Divine Spirit, Almighty
Our joining in partnership-
the supreme miracle of the Universal forces of Love and Light!

LETTING GO
Release anger,
Release fear,
Release Worry
Embrace love
Embrace faith
Embrace calm acceptance.
The river will take you swiftly along at certain points
And allow you periods of motionless calm
But the current will always be there to move your boat along
You may see places you would like to stop at
But the choice is not always yours
Release into the flow of the river
And calmly and joyfully accept whatever direction it takes you.

July 29th 2005
GET ON-BOARD!
Alive
Being
Wholeness
No more thinking to be done
It is all in place
And the river is flowing
The trees are rooted
The mountains majestically peaked
So it is with you…
Be Alive…
Be…
Be Whole.
Mind and soul are one, flowing together-
moved along by the same current of light, of love, of joy, of delight, of peace
The choice is made
The vehicle ready.
You just need to give your agreement and all will begin
Say YES! Smile and get on-board!

October 18th 2005 (Sukkot-Arcaffe)
SOMETHING NEW
New Year…
New Feelings…Some heavy, some light.
Take a deep breath.
Feel them all.
Feeling all is part of the lesson.
A wallop of an ending to Last Year!
A hint of things to come THIS Year?
New Energies.
New Direction
New People…New Love
New Awareness
New Car? New Clothes? HA!! YES!!
NEW REALITY!!!

November 11th 2005
WHERE HAVE I BEEN
Where have I been?
Where am I going?
In place-the right place for now.
Too much thought
Just believe-trust-have faith
Nothing else is needed.
Relaxed, calm, peaceful place if you let it be so.
Remember the silence.
Move toward it-move into it.
It is your sanctuary, your safe place.
Let it embrace you.
Hear it, feel it, become one with it.

July 24, 2006
TEARS
A wellspring trying to break loose,
And release its burden of unshed tears.
A lifetime worth of sorrow and pain...
Loneliness and Aloneness...
Of being known and understood by no one but You.
I've chosen my own way-no complaints.
But at times the burden is unbelievably heavy.
Can I get a porter for a few days????

New Poem with Background Story-Tears

This poem will find it's way to the "Poetry Post" with all my other poetry, but since it is new, I am posting it here as well for all to see. A little background. As mentioned on the poetry post, I do not "write" poetry. It seems to be sent to me already written, and I am just asked to get paper and pen and record what is being "said" to me. It goes straight down on the paper with no changes or work involved. What you see here is just as it went onto the paper this morning.
It comes after a month of dealing with my Dad's hospitalization, nursing facility and finally being released home today. In addition, I have left my job, (a true blessing I assure you), one of my daughters has moved in with me (forcing me to give up my clinic room), another daughter is leaving to set up her life in Boston and is also staying with me the past 2 weeks, another daughter arrived this week after 3 years of Embassy work in Uruguay with husband and 3 children. As they are Gush Katif "homeless", they have no home, no job, etc., and also find themselves in what will be a very stressful month until they find a place to live, get their kids registered in school and find work. Another daughter is also moving with her family from her city home to a country home and are also dealing with moving. And of course my youngest, my son, has moved in together with his wonderful girlfriend in Jerusalem (you can see pics of them on the post "A couple of lovely couples"). So, it has not been a quiet period and I guess the events have finally gotten to me in some way. Although my daily meditation, pranayama, yoga etc., has kept me generally quite relaxed and unstressed...just flowing...and my complete faith in God and His Universe has kept me from worrying about the future, as well as my daily dose of Reiki and the 5 Reiki principles which I meditate on each morning (see the blog title for a list of them), which give me much strength to deal tranquily with whatever comes my way, knowing that all is for the Higher Good of all concerned. However, we are human, and so, apparently the following poem found its way to me today...

TEARS
A wellspring trying to break loose,
And release its burden of unshed tears.
A lifetime worth of sorrow and pain...
Loneliness and Aloneness...
Of being known and understood by no one but You.
I've chosen my own way-no complaints.
But at times the burden is unbelievably heavy.
Can I get a porter for a few days????

Disappointment is Hell

I have just finished reading, as I do on a daily basis, an article from the Yoga Journal. (A link to the website is on the sidebar for your information). At first I thought I would summarize it here, as it relates in many ways to what we've been discussing recently re: mindfulness, getting out from the shadow of the past, living in the present moment etc. But it is so well written, I have simply given you below a link to the article. It is quite long but I hope you will have the patience to see it through to the end. There are some very important truths in it, very well written, and quite thought provoking. Just click on the link below and it should take you directly to the article.Your comments are most appreciated.Enjoy with my lovehttp://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/445_5.cfm