There's Nothing Like the Real Thing.
I have been studying yoga for a couple months now, deepening my understanding of poses and principles, so someday I can teach. My favorite part of any class or sequence is and always has been savasana. I never understood why but as I move through this journey I realize how the buzzing and overstimulation of devices and apps, created to supposedly make me healthier and manage my time, actually can do the exact opposite. No app or device can replace quiet, stillness, prayer, and connection.
How comical that my bedtime routine includes a nifty Hatch nightlight (thanks Instagram ads) where each morning I awake to “Forest Songs” with birds chirping and then I proceed to grab my phone and airpods for a morning walk, to drown out the sounds of spring. Hey, maybe I got through the trials of the last couple of years by using technology and apps to build healthy habits, track workouts, and optimize my health. Today, I’d rather “cram” in a morning meditation of 25 minutes instead of a 25 minute cardio or training session before the kids get up.
I enjoy tuning more into my rituals of daily life like washing and chopping the lettuce for my kale salad, hearing the sound of the pour from the coffee pot, and breaking out my watercolor paint set with the kids on random weeknights. Even further, pairing my affinity for painting with cookie design has been so much fun. Tapping into my roots while being able to replicate images that hold meaning for someone and make a design special lights me up.
Stoops the bulldog is the star of this bridal shower design. Watercolor painting on cookies just takes a little precision (thanks to my favorite projector) along with some food coloring and vodka. Clear alcohol is very cookie friendly because it evaporates. I use it to create gold details by making a paste with gold powder or with food coloring to paint a design.
Meditation has been like pressing '“pause” button on some of the hustle and bustle and pressures of daily life. What power lies in gaining clarity from stillness.