Paws for a Moment

Hello friends, and welcome to this month’s
newsletter,

This month is my dog Lucky’s 14th birthday.  Weeks
ago while we were on a walk I started to think of all the joyinmovement
lessons I had learned from her over the years, as well as lessons about
health and longevity.  Four years ago when my Coach Steve Ilg asked me
to name people who I admired and learned the most from, the first
“person” I thought of was Lucky.  So, if you’ll “paws” for a moment and
read this,  I’d like to share with you some what I’ve learned.

Here are some of Lucky’s ways to have
joyinmovement:

1–dancing–I lead, she follows.

2–snowballs–leaping and catching.

3–running/hiking/walking–she only recently
decreased her mileage, though she is still good to go for a solid 2
miles.

4–swimming–she is a Labrador, afterall.

5–jumping–in
her younger days she could vertical leap many feet off the ground.

5–golf ball hiking–this is a sport we invented.  If you want to know
the closely guarded secret methods of golf ball hiking, e-mail Lucky.

6–Yoga—downward facing dog is her favorite, of course.  I marvel at
her spinal twists.

7–soccer–our living
room (which at one point had no furniture in it) was the perfect field.
Beckham studied under Lucky.

8–strength training—tug of war is her
specialty.

From this we can learn the
importance of cross training vs. being a sport specific athlete.  My
Teachers have taught me well and I pass those Teachings on to
you…….we are meant to train across both the physiological and
anatomical spectrum.  Get moving, breathing, sweating in as many joyful
ways as possible.

Let’s talk nourishment. As Lucky’s guardian, I have
always maintained a hard line with her—-NO people food.  Of course
there was the time she ate 15 falafel which were left in the car with
her while I ran into the grocery store.  Her yoga practice came in handy
as she spent hours in wind removing pose later that evening.  That’s
another story altogether!  I truly feel that my attention to what she
takes in as food aids in giving her healthy years.  And I do mean
healthy.  Not sick or injured a day in her life. She has maintained a
fit and trim body all 14 years.

Now I must admit that I do tell my students and
clients “NO dog food” and that seems to work pretty well.  Really
though, how many of us as guardians of our own health have made peace
with our own nourishment and intake.  In Yoga the term Mitahara means
“appropriate intake of all substances.”  Learning what we need vs. what
we want, cravings, learning to feel satisfied with less; we are all on
this Journey with these questions and I encourage you not to run from
these as they come up in your own life.  Embrace them, learn from them
and work your way through them…….not over or around or by turning
your back on these challenges.  As the Golden Retriever part of Lucky
would advise , these are your “golden” opportunities to practice self
care and grow in self esteem.

Two other lessons I have learned from years of
observing Lucky are how to stay in the moment and how to practice giving
and let the “getting” take care of itself.  We have all seen how
animals can be totally focused and stay on task. NOW I am eating, NOW I
am chewing on my bone, NOW I am giving you that look that says PLEASE
take me with you on your outing. Now is all that matters and all day
Lucky flows from one now to the next. No multitasking:  no exercising
while talking on the cell phone AND drinking the latte. Her bow-wow is
in the now!

Giving of her affection, devotion, companionship
and joy at just seeing my face, she continually trusts that she will be
provided for. She could have been named Faith for all the times she
patiently waited for me to provide for her needs. She is happy to
receive what she needs plus a few of her wants.  How many of us can keep
from grasping and lunging at our wants after our needs have been
satisfied?  As humans we are so ready to move on to the next thing that
it’s challenging for each of us to feel satisfied.

Well, as you might imagine I could go on and on
about Lucky dog……her beauty, grace, intelligence and charm.  Many
times while out on the trails I have overheard people say to their own
dogs, “Fido,why can’t you be more like that dog [meaning Lucky]?”  I
hope you would agree with me that insights about both physical and
mental health can be gleaned from these lessons from Lucky.

In closing, I encourage you to say a prayer, sing a
song, read or recite a poem, meditate, write in your journal, reconnect
with someone, share a positive outlook and ALWAYS find some
Joyinmovement. And when you are not sure about how to nurture yourself
or be in the moment, just ask yourself, “What would Lucky do?”

Yours in  health,

Shelli

PS—-I have archived all of the old
newsletters so if you want to reread them or share them with someone
there is now a link on my website.  Enjoy!