My dogs went to bed at 10pm and didn't wake me until 6am, woo-hoo!  I got up and let them out and about 30 minutes later walked Tucker for 1/2 a mile and meandered with Penny a bit.  I had to have blood work drawn at 8am and then came home to tackle Tyler's pit of despair. It looks better now but it seems to be a neverending story since he's a pack rat!


I had lunch with my friend Beth and her daughter Kathryn.  I love Beth because she's a Christian and just a good friend.  I love that she is smitten with my son Tyler. And, I love that she loves and will talk about sports with me!  I think she's the only "face to face" girlfriend I have like that!!  ( I do have some homeschooling and home exercise buddies I've met in other states via the internet who make me look like a pseudo-fan, lol).


Since I gave blood today I wanted a workout that wasn't too sweaty so I chose an oldie~Yoga Mind and Body with Ali McGraw, although the yogi leading it is Erich Shiffmann.  I loved the workout but my favorite part is always savasana, or shavasana (Sanskrit word for corpse pose, or relaxation pose).  When I first started practicing yoga I STUNK at relaxation.  (You lie on your back, like a corpse, and give yourself over to relaxing).  My mind wandered and I felt tense trying to MAKE myself relax.


So, I began having prayer time during relaxation.  Then, I listened to some cues and would tense muscles and let them go.  And, over the course of a couple of years, I've learned to breathe deeply and relax so I feel really heavy on my yoga mat.


As I thought about this today, I was pondering my relationship with the Father.  I tend to focus on Him when I am in shavasana.  I am longing for my entire life with him to be a reflection of this pose~I lie heavy in his arms, letting him hold me up like waves in an ocean.  Or I lie my whole weight upon him, like lying back against a giant tree.  Trusting that he will hold me.  Like a baby at the mother's chest, completely relaxing, trusting, accepting.  


Paul says physical training is of some benefit, but training for godliness is far more important (Cheri's paraphrase).  Yes I'm more flexible, ache less, can do more since practicing yoga.  But the greatest benefit by far is that I've learned to rest in him, even for a little bit.  And that has made all the difference.


Father, teach me the way of trust and complete relaxation in you, at all times, for all things, in all ways.  You are so good to me.


What I'm watching:  I watched Miss Marple's Body in the Library, a BBC production with Joan Hickson.