LifeSoup by Cherie Dawn Haas

by Cherie Dawn Haas

Have you ever had a week when your head was spinning from all of the activities going on in your life? That’s how I’ve been feeling, between my kids’ activities, work, and my own endeavors, I look at my calendar each morning and take a deep breath just to get through the appointment gymnastics.

One appointment I made a priority was to attend my favorite hot yoga class. Before going, I thought it would be helpful to set an intention. As scatterbrained as I felt, I chose not one, but two.

Here’s what I shared on my Facebook page before class:

When I arrived, I decided to focus on Vishnu (It feels weird to say this because I don’t actively practice Hinduism, but I guess I sort of am. Bear with me – this is just an online journal, friend) and perseverance for the first part of the class, which always includes the standing (and for me, more challenging) series of yoga poses. I needed this reminder because I’m in the process of re-writing my novel draft and it can be a brutal exercise…

When my current friend/editor/beta reader recently noted that I needed to do some serious work on a chapter, it felt like someone told me my baby was sick – that the baby would get better, but not without lots of attention. I mean, this is my book baby after all. 

I’m not giving up, but I am going to give myself mental space for my muse to come back to me and whisper in my ear what needs to be fixed in the chapter – the medicine the baby needs. 🙂 Writing a novel is difficult, but possible. And until it’s much better, I’m going to ask Vishnu/Spirit/God for inspiration. 

As we transitioned to the second half of class for the floor series (whew!), I switched my gears to focus on nonattachment to planned events. I’m in a place where my life revolves around my calendar as I get my kids to where they need to be and also squeeze in oil changes. (These are fairly frequent because of said schedule.) 

When something in the schedule changes, I don’t often let it stress me out but this week was a good reminder to keep it that way. My calendar has things crossed out, checked out, taped over, rewritten. It looks like a mixed media project.

About 50 minutes into class, I realized that these two intentions actually have the same vein. 

I can rely on Vishnu/Spirit/God to help me get through my novel.

I can rely on Vishnu/Spirit/God to help me maintain sanity as a parent. 🙂

I’m endlessly grateful for everything in my life that allows me to share this with you. What it comes down to is I can rely on Vishnu/Spirit/God – for everything. Maybe you can, too.

Peace, love, and yoga,
Cherie Dawn

P.S.
During class tonight, my teacher asked us to consider three things we liked about ourselves. Mine were, in this order:

1. My increased physical strength
2. My inner peace, which I try to reflect outward
3. The love I feel

It’s worth noting that 2 out of 3 were not physical. Before my dive into yoga as a lifestyle, that would be very different. It would’ve been more difficult to come up with three, perhaps, because my self-esteem was married to my idea of my physical body – a thing that is constantly changing and has an expiration date. I hope that you can think of three things that you like about yourself, and I hope they are timeless.