Here and Now

There are many amazing opportunities coming my way right now, and dreams that have felt far away are close enough to reach out and grasp. This weekend I'm headed to Denver to be part of a Yoga For Eating Disorders training, and I'm very grateful for this opportunity. I was awarded a scholarship, but without my husbands support, I wouldn't be going. It means a great deal to know that he believes in my dream, and wants to help me make it happen. His health has been good since his radiation treatments, and will go in for a follow up MRI on March 17th. We will know for sure at that point how the radiation effected the tumor, but we feel positive that it will be good news. My teacher's training weekends have been wonderful, and I have been busy with studying, taking and observing classes, and immersing myself in everything yoga! A friend of mine that I met during the training took some photographs of me for a workshop she is presenting, so I will post a few here. I was wo...

One Summer I would swing for hours in the park feeling the resistance as I pushed through the wind the creaking hinges becoming a monotonous meditation Your summer house was musty Mold covered the bathroom walls my hair going unwashed for days When you would drop us at the sitters sometimes she would offer me a shower grateful to lose myself in the fog The sitter's husband was nice too nice... When she went to the grocery store to buy ice cream he sat too close his fingers creeping up my thigh I ran away locking myself in the bathroom until she returned Boys would ask my name in the park I was Erica, or Victoria I stole a pornographic book from the sitter's nightstand secretly reading it one night as I listened to my favorite Carpenter's album In the morning I threw it in the woods behind your house I wanted to go home but I wasn't sure where that was anymore...   Angela Minard 2014©

  A Yoga Poem   Take a breath Yes Take another but this time pay attention to your ribs as they expand Gathering courage... Feel how your entire body knits itself back together as you exhale Healing... You are connected to yourself Always     This is the part I love... How you can control the rhythm, or just breathe and pay attention   Attention   Stand at attention   Ahhh... Tadasana, Mountain Pose Like breathing it can be simple or complex I t is simple to stand  or is it? Do you shift your weight from side to side? Where are your shoulders? How does your neck feel? There is so much to think about in such a simple pose This is yoga... Standing breathing simply being aware   Just be and breathe...   Angela Minard 2014©

~Artwork by Nishant Dange   It is important for me to feel like I'm helping others, but I don't think I realized how much so, until the beginning of this week when trying to help someone didn't go the way I intended. I immediately realized my mistake when the person reacted to my well-meaning intentions with anger. I apologized because so often when another person comes to you with their pain, all they want is to be heard and comforted. What I tried to do was offer solutions instead of acknowledging their pain, and I still feel horrible about it. The experience has opened up some feelings inside of me that I'm trying to figure out and learn from. I have felt like crying ever since, but have been refusing to give in, as if it would be self-indulgent and weak. My feelings in general have been intense since my first yoga teacher's training weekend. Joy and gratefulness overwhelmed me, and I floated around for an entire week after, p...

"Tree House At Night" (pencil) by artist, Hazel Bryce   Confessions To The Sky She wanted a tree house to climb so she built one in her mind as children do; a hidden place where she could write to the sky... The splinters pierced the tips of her fingers as she let the blood drip down her weary arms   Words soared, twisting among the stars exploding throughout galaxies Secrets held inside an infinite darkness swallowed by the yawning night Her body; an offering a sacrifice Her words; an echo a confession an unspoken prayer...   Angela Minard 2013©

"The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling." ~Fabienne Fredrickson   This past week has been filled with many emotions, mixed with a dash of craziness, and ending with gratitude. It began Sunday with a bit of crazy. There was some freezing rain here in the evening, and as we were finishing dinner, Dave and I heard a crashing sound. The boys had gone downstairs, and we thought maybe they were goofing around. Dave went and looked out the front door, and someone had crashed their car into my oldest son's car that was parked on the street. Luckily the young man who was driving was not hurt, although both cars are in bad shape. Dave started his radiation Cyber Knife treatments this week, so we were both anxious about how he would be feeling, but so far it is going better than we expected. He has had a lot of nausea, some blurred vision, and dizziness, but nothing compared to what recovering from surgery would be like, so we are th...

Artwork~ Jennifer Healy   Interlude As the sun dips below the horizon Cool air gasping gripping the perimeters sinking on the exhale The earth sighs again and again Your heavy eyes close half moons hiding reflections of the day You are the deepest ocean a tempestuous storm burning sand and blooming Morning Glories returning to the shallow breath of sleep again and again Angela Minard 2013©