DStress

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p347/heyemilyhey/807MarineCorpsEmblem.jpg

Callers will speak with veteran Marines, former FMF corpsmen with years of experience on 'the green side', and licensed behavioral health counselors who have taken Marine Corps-specific training to understand our culture. That's what it says on the website for DStress. It looks pretty cool, a service of the Marine Corps -- that seems like a good thing.  I think it's also for "attached sailors". Don't know if there is something like this for the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, 9/11 Firemen . . .



DStress
http://www.dstressline.com/index.cfm/about-us/

Thoughts on "Yoga for Vets". 

see "Nest of Stillness" on Facebook
(on the left)

One Bad Painting a Day

That's what my friend Jane said to me a long time ago when I was stressing about lack of talent, lack of ambition, time, whatever pathetic excuse I could muster, "Do one bad drawing a day." It takes the stress off of it. Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good.

I met an artist here at a studio in the Northeast Arts District and fell in love with her paintings. Then got up the nerve to ask if she had classes or workshops because I had the rare feeling that I could learn something particularly valuable to me, if that makes sense. No workshops or classes but I could stop by and talk if I wanted. So I did, a few Saturdays later.

I didn't want to impose on her but she kept diving into dark corners and bringing things out to show me -- easels, brushes, sketchbooks, paintings, photographs. I was there for an hour. At some point I realized I was getting my first lesson. I got invited back.

One of the things she told me to do was start painting every day, just quick little sketches of things at hand. This is the first one, done in 45 minutes.

Font for Women

Business Woman

Running Woman

13 done, 17 more to go. Just realized how tired I am so that's all I really have to say . . . 

Thank you

Seane Corn Teacher Training, Day 4. Intense, sweating and today there was also apprehension because we were all asked to teach a pose -- without knowing what that pose would be or when in the sequence. I didn't shine like I wanted to but I didn't suck either.

At one point, we were asked to think of the person who made us believe we could teach. That would be my sister Molly. It was a long time ago, before I thought of becoming a yoga teacher. We were talking about personality tests and she was positive that's what I should be. I dismissed it because I didn't think it was true. But obviously it stuck in my head and today it popped up again. So thank you Molly. And not just Molly but every one of my friends and family who said "I know you'll be a wonderful teacher." It means a lot to me!

FYI. I now have my 230-hour teacher certification, I'm registered with the Yoga Alliance and in September I will teach two classes at Pratt School in Minneapolis for Minneapolis Community Ed. That is, if enough people sign up!

P.S. Miss Nancy is what my mother used to call me -- it didn't come from Romper Room, which I vaguely remember . . .

Miss Nancy Drowns in her Own Sweat

It's not torture. It just feels like it sometimes. Holding a pose for a long time, really using your muscles and your mind to stay in it -- the end result is something like burning prairie grass to create new growth. Today I used my Mysore rug for the sweating, seemed to work better than the Gaiam towel which kept slipping.

Working the Shadow

So, the reason I'm taking this training. Yes, it's Vinyasa Flow and I love it and want to learn more about technique and sequencing and all that. Yes, it's Seane Corn speaking to teachers, training us. And, by the way, being in the room with other teachers is also a plus -- we are all learning from each other as well.

But the thing that pushed me toward her was her interview on NPR's "Speaking of Faith". We were asked to say why we were there. I said some of the above and then added that I liked the way she described faith, as something coming up from the street, a gritty, hard-scrabble kind of believing. "Yeah, you're a freak!" she said, with a big grin. "Welcome to the club." And gave me a thumbs up. That was kind of cool.

In the above video she talks about her teachers, the ones who have explored their own darkness, -- working the shadow -- and emerged with a deep faith.

"Like" Nest of Stillness. Click on my Facebook page to the left to see why I used to be the Yoga Teacher's Pet and why this was not a good thing.

Seane Corn, Vinyasa Flow

Vinyasa Flow Yoga with Seane Corn, a week-long, all day teacher training. I will post stuff every day. More tomorrow about why I chose to do this training.

I've been doing vinyasa flow forever, almost since the beginning of my yoga experience thirty years ago. Only it used to be called ashtanga and then Power Yoga. It's the practice of flowing from one pose to another, linking breath and movement. Last year I got to practice with and interview Bryan Kest, whose Power Yoga videos I used to practice to over and over and over.

Buckets of sweat. In the morning we did one hour and 45 minutes of vinyasa flow which included sun salutations, standing poses, forward folds, etc. all without stopping. I had no idea I could sweat that much and felt like a freak till I looked around and saw everyone was dripping wet. Tomorrow, my mat with towel. The good news is that it wasn't overwhelming, it felt very good, even wonderful. I think it helps that I do yoga every day.

Personality type. Seane has come up with her own psychological profile of people attracted to Vinyasa Flow Yoga. Type A, domineering, like to have their own way, want things to be perfect, driven . . . Interesting. I have to fight my own personality sometimes. I tell myself: "Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good." (Ted Kennedy) Doesn't always work.

La Femme Font

Working on another font. This one is all women, doing all sorts of things. We haven't thought of a name yet. There might be a contest, with a chance to win free fonts (from Outside the Line) if you can think of a good name for this font.

Rae says she likes them because they are simple yet tell a story. I like that because there is always a story in my head about each drawing. The woman at the top is Italian or maybe Ava Gardner. She is sexy and independent and she likes to buy flowers for herself and her home. I wanted a European feel, that's why the price is in Euros.

For this one, I looked at paintings of women reading. There are a lot of them over the centuries -- reading is an abiding pleasure. A lot of illustration that I do has a 40s feel to it. That is the decade where I feel most at home in fashion, style, furniture, movies . . . The woman is totally absorbed in her magazine, lazing in the sun but what I really had in my head was the lounge chair. It's definitely from the forties, with that solid oak, well made, folds up easily to be carried under the arm and back up to the house for cocktails.

Rest in Peace, sweet dog

Diego. Buddy.

Made in China

Got an email from a friend about things Made in China. It talked about a report done by Diane Sawyer. Everything not made in the USA was removed from a house leaving little or nothing behind and then replaced with stuff made in America for only $64 more. I've been trying to avoid Wal-Mart and buy US for a few years, mainly because I watched a crazy person named the Rev. Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping for a hour -- I couldn't stop watching it. They were traveling the US by bus and "protesting" outside Wal-Mart and other stores just before Christmas, shouting "Stop Shopping! Stop Shopping!"

This is the Reverend Billy. Yes, he's crazy but it's a good crazy. "Let's flip our own switch that says the Earth is a place that we love. We want to live here, exalt it, make it healthy . . ."

But. There are other places in the world that need our money, like Mexico. Artists need to make a living. Etsy.com is a very cool place to buy handmade goods. (I will have a shop up soon.) And there are quality goods made in China. Here is another opinion about that: "Made in China" wants respect.