Well, it’s happened again. Although I can proudly say that it’s only happened twice so far: I am posting a day late. What happened, you say? Well, yoga happened, theatre happened, and life happened.

Yoga Happened
Yesterday was the start of the classes I will be teaching at BCIT this fall, kicking off with none other than Dance Yoga. Now, I have been dancing since I was a child and doing yoga since I was a teenager, but aside from my own at-home practice, I had never really blended the two. At least not in a public way. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I had no idea what my students would be expecting from a combo dance and yoga class, and while I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to teach, the weight of what I imagined their expectations to be was weighing on me. Top it off with the fact that there were technical difficulties at the school causing class to start 10 minutes late, and I was not in a yogic state of mind. Of course, I needn’t have worried. I forgot that most people arrive at a new class or event with the sole expectation of having a good time and maybe learning something new. They also tend to be pretty understanding of things outside of your control, like random technical difficulties. In the end, we had a great time!

Theatre Happened
My company is coming up with a new kind of event called Q&A: A Community Interview. It’s sort of a new kind of audience storytelling event and I am really excited about it. Last night we gathered together a random assortment of friends and workshopped the format. It was wonderful – first of all, to hear the stories from friends and strangers told in a casual, light atmosphere. Secondly, to receive thoughtful feedback from people who really seemed to care about what we were trying to do. I felt wonderfully supported by my community.

Life Happened
A friend of mine who I haven’t seen much of in the past year has gone through some big life stuff recently. She made it out to the workshop and we were able to go out for a quick drink afterwards and reconnect.

It could have been a frightfully busy and stressful day, but at each turn I found myself surrounded by a friendly, supportive, fun community, and that’s something to be grateful for.

I know I’m at risk for being a crazy cat lady here, but lately my little kitty seems to be teaching me so much!

The main thing I’ve noticed is that she has a knack for sitting on my lap and becoming incredibly affectionate right when I’m about to get up from the chair and go do something, or right while I’m in the middle of an intense multi-tasking session.

It sounds like it might be annoying, but it’s actually not. On the contrary, having a soft, fuzzy, purring machine jump into my lap and give me a nuzzle has got to be one of the most relaxing things I’ve experienced. Suddenly, even if only for a moment, there is a great stillness that comes over me and I stop multi-tasking or planning my next action and just sit there. Me and my cat.

It’s like a whole new kind of yoga where random moments of stillness and peace infiltrate my day. I’m calling it kitty yoga, and I encourage everyone to practice it.

Now, I know everyone isn’t lucky enough to have a cat who’s as sweet as the one in my life, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bring random moments of meditation into our lives. Here’s a few other tools you could use to bring these random moments up in your life:

Pick a time of day and no matter what you’re doing at that moment, take a brief break. This does involve keeping an eye on the clock so it might not be realistic for everyone. Consider setting an alarm to go off a few times a day to remind you. This isn’t exactly random, but is still pretty good.

There are apps you can get for your computer or smart phone (if you’ve got one) that goes off at random intervals, reminding you to take mini-stillness breaks.

Decide on certain things to be cues for meditation breaks. Whether it’s seeing that coworker walk by your office, at the end of every phone call, or every time you get an email from a certain person – these will be just as randomly distributed as my cat’s loving, and can kind of make life into a game!

Whatever you do, try to find ways to bring stillness into your busy life however you can.

Lately I’ve been observing my cat, Miss Gertie Marie, a little more closely. Here’s a few things I’ve observed that we (or at least I) can learn from her:

Eat when you’re hungry! No point in waiting and making yourself starve – you’ll only eat more later.

When you choose to relax, do it all the way! Cats never relax halfway. They don’t lie down but try to keep paying attention to what’s going on at the same time. When they choose to relax, they lie down, roll around on their backs, and flop over in the sunshine. Divine.

Give all your attention to one thing at a time! There’s an old adage in theatre to never act with children or animals. Cuteness factor aside, there’s a very good reason for this: when an animal (or at least a cat) is paying attention to something, be it a mouse or a piece of lint floating through the air, they are giving every ounce of attention they have to that one thing. Their entire bodies are ripe with the potential that attention brings, and it is captivating to watch. The same goes for life!

There you go! Cats = life.

Another holiday, and I’m in Portland for the long weekend!

Happy Labour Day, my friends.

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Jack Layton has passed away from his cancer at the age of 61. For the non-Canadians: Jack Layton is a politician who has lead the NDP Party for as long as I can remember. Whether or not you agreed with his politics, he was a hard-working man who fought hard to make our country a better place. I never once doubted his intention to do what he thought was best for us as a nation, and that is saying something. He was a fighter and a classy guy. He wrote a letter to all Canadians before he passed away, originally posted on the CBC. Here it is:

August 20, 2011

Toronto, Ontario

Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

A lesson that I have to learn over and over again in every different area of life is about living in the moment. One more place that I get reminded of this is probably one of the least zen-like places on earth: public transit.

Here’s the beauty (and frustration) of riding the bus: you have no control. You can’t impact when the bus will get there, how long it will take for that person with a stroller to get off, what the other traffic on the road is doing, how many times it will have to stop, or anything else that might make your bus arrive early, late, or just on time. All you can do on the bus is be there.

I am one of those people who hates being late, but who often ends up very nearly being late because I pack way too much into a day. It’s not uncommon for me to find myself bussing from one side of town to another, anxiously willing the bus to move faster as I’ve neglected to account one of the many factors that are making it slow. Unfortunately, my mind control powers are pretty weak, and I never quite manage to use the force of my brain waves to move other cars out of the way.

Now I try a different tactic, and instead of using my bus ride as an exercise in frustrating futility, I remind myself that I am powerless to do anything but enjoy the ride.

It doesn’t always work, but hey, life’s a journey, right? And when public transit is part of that journey, you might as well pack a book and relax.

For those of you who don’t live in BC (or Canada, where I believe this day is a holiday for most province), today is a holiday!

So even if you don’t get an actual day off today (or if you’ll be spending your day off locked in a darkened theatre teching another show like *ahem* some of us), find yourself a bit of holiday in this day. Whether it’s a cookie break, a walk around the block, or sitting out in your yard after work enjoying a cold beverage, take a break!

I’m currently reading David Suzuki’s The Sacred Balance, and his chapter on breath is one of the most beautiful descriptions on our connection to breath I’ve read. You can read the whole chapter online here. This is my favourite quote:

“Air is a physical substance; it embraces us so intimately that it is hard to say where we leave off and air begins. Inside as well as outside we are minutely designed for the ‘central activity of our existence – drawing the atmosphere into the centre of our being, deep into the moist, delicate membranous labyrinth within our chests, and putting it to use.”

Later, he talks about argon. Argon is an inert gas that makes up about 1% of the air we breathe. These wonderful little atoms never go away, so every single breath you take contains argon from someone in history. According to Harlow Shapley, quoted in the book, “your next breath will contain 400,000 argon atoms that Ghandi breathed in his long life.” That means that every day you are breathing in atoms that were present during every major historical event! Talk about power!