MORNING CUP OF YO!

I miss coffee. I really, really, truly do. So much that the last week and a half, I've considered a quick swerve to the right everytime I passed Starbucks....I could just go in and smell it! But I know I would totally break down and buy a dreamy, creamy iced latte. I don't even add sugar or syrups-just coffee and milk, you'd think THAT would be okay! Nope. Doc told me last fall that I can't have coffee, it's much too acidic for my stomach and I really don't want to feel the pain I felt that led us to that discovery! I'm still hoping it was a temporary ailment.....
So, how does a non-caffeine drinking person function? YOGA! I have some friends that can get up at 5am and enjoy an hours practice, meditation and breakfast before anyone else in the house gets up. Oy! I do love my sleep! And getting my eight year old out of bed is like, I'm imagining, getting a teenager to speak or smile.
So, I have much work to do...and 5am is just not my friend. 6am my husbands alarm goes off...for the FIRST time...and I hop out of bed. Sometimes I won't leave the bedside. I'll just begin to deepen the breath while I stand there and then gently move into a very slow sun salutation, stopping and enjoying every spot that feels good. Sometimes, just this couple of minutes to breathe and stretch is enough to wake me up. Then I have a whole thirty minutes to a quiet house! I may grab a book, meditate or my personal favorite, I cuddle up on my couch and watch the sunrise in my back yard. See, Yoga does rest heavily on a physical practice, but the asanas are only one of the eight limbed path of Yoga. SO, sitting in silence, meditating, even just enjoying nature are all parts of this practice.If you're not sure what to do, I've added a little script further down.
I know many people who would rather die than give up their morning cup of Joe....but consider this, would you trade that cup in, say every other day or maybe once or twice a week...for an hour to yourself? An hour of quiet? An hour to reconnect to your inner voice, maybe your inner child even? Would you trade it in for a half hours worth of making your body feel really, really good? Maybe. Give it a shot! Pick a day that is a little less hectic than the others, get yourself up a smidge earlier than normal and see where the quiet takes you! I think you'll be surprised, but if I am completely off my rocker....well, starbucks is open late :)

Namaste' and HAVE A GOOD DAY!


Simple salutation
Standing up, inhale reaching your arms out to the side and then up over your head
Exhale bending at the hips and coming to a forward fold. Let your upper body and head be heavy
Inhale, arch up half way with a flat back and long spine
Exhale back into your forward fold
Inhale sweep the arms back out and up over your head as you stand.
Exhale dropping your hands to the heart.

You can add in lunges, down dog, up dog, whatever else comes. Just enjoy and remember to balance! What you do on one side, you must do on the other.