Author: Ki McGraw

I am relieved to share that our counter proposal has been accepted and we will sign our new lease Monday morning at 9 AM. I will teach my 10 AM class immediately after. We are allowed to occupy the space five days before the lease begins, August 1.

In celebration, Bob drove us up to our future neighborhood to check out the local scene. He used his cane as he walked on the steppingstones out into the middle of Thornton Creek. In triumph, I took his picture, having recovered from his stroke as we now turn our healing attention towards our new live work space.

How would you picture triumph? When some thing is healed, what do you do with your healing potential next? Ki to Happiness pictures a future full of healing for us and our whole Hatha Yoga Center community.

In the midst of relocation, I contacted an old friend who lives in this area. I wanted to make sure I saw her before the potential move to the Midwest. In reuniting, we both celebrated that our move will be just 5 miles north so we can see each other easily again.

We are both dead heads from 40 years ago with many friends in common. As we shared our stories, we found many places where our zig zagging paths crossed. A line from a Grateful Dead song kept playing in the background as we visited: “the music never stopped.”

What music does your internal DJ play for you? What remains constant as all else changes? Ki to Happiness dances to the music that never stops.

One by one each object of our space needs reckoning. Having lived on several different islands I came to embrace the notion that each person should be buried with all the trash generated in their lifetime. I make it to practice to minimize mine.

With the curtains removed, washed, folded, and packed, now the bones of our studio are exposed. Packed boxes are stacked and covered with blankets ready for relocation. We adjust to these changes, able to rest as our slow decomposition of this space proceeds.

Have you ever lived on an island? Being responsible for every object we bring into our life, how will you reckon those when you leave? Ki to Happiness decomposes before recomposing

Our rental application has been accepted. As details are negotiated we will develop our plans to leave this place. In doing so, we release the past ten years of efforts, struggles, problems and solutions, all turning into memories.

Soon, we will sign our new lease. All of these practices will continue at yet another studio, my fifth. No matter what my address, or my relationship status, or my name, the practices remain the same: body mind spirit integration through the mixed healing arts we call yoga.

Are you ready for a new lease on life? What do you need to release in order to invite that in? Ki to Happiness releases this space in preparation for her new lease at 1020 NE 112th in the Pinehurst neighborhood of Seattle.

During this lengthy period of transition, I continue to ground myself with my yoga practices. As I meet the challenges of uncertainty with my head held high, I grow. Conscious breathing connects my growth to my grounding.

Slowly I release all attachments to what has been so that I am ready for what’s next. I feel like an air plant, greening as I am suspended. My few requirements are easily met.

How easily met are your requirements? What attachments do you need to release so you are ready for what’s next? Ki to Happiness grounds and grows with yoga practices on and off the mat during this and every other time of transition.

We entered in to our potential space for relocation. Until then, I cobbled together images from the rental listing with my glimpses through the closed curtains from the outside. Turns out, I came up with something close to reality.

Now that our applications are in, we wait for approval. We imagine ourselves and the Hatha Yoga Center to be a safe risk for the landlords, having made the rent continuously since 1977. Let’s see if this can turn into reality.

How active is your imagination? How far away from reality is it? Ki to Happiness imagines Heaven while reckoning with the reality on Earth.

With our great need for relocation, I am having to deal with people and processes far from my wheelhouse. In the post- Covid environment, each step is fraught with inconsistencies and misinformation. None of that is personal.

What feels personal is when others attempt to manipulate me into doing what they want me to do, by changing their behavior toward fake smiles and feigned interest. Being worked by others brings out my stubborn streak, resistance, and resentment. Recognizing this empowers me to make my choices evermore responsibly.

How do you respond to other’s attempts at manipulation? Can you recognize that is about them, not you? Ki to Happiness would rather work than be worked.

There are so many blessings in my life, counting them and focusing on them daily helps me to stay grounded in gratitude. This is the most basic spiritual principle and practice. Recently I’ve come into another way to do it.

As I look around, I am aware of the temporary nature of my present circumstances. In addition to being grateful for many aspects of this impermanent situation, I am also increasingly aware of the many things I will not miss once this, too, has passed. During this time of waiting acceptance of our application for the right next place, I’ve been alternating from one method of counting my blessings, to the other.

How do you count blessings? Are you open to other ways? Ki to Happiness counts you and your loving eyes reading these words among the many blessings in my life.

After morning practice and yoga class, we set off with our son to look at a potential spot for relocation. We looked at it a month ago, and are reconsidering it since they dropped the price a bit. From the outside, it looks great!

Since we couldn’t get in until our tour on Monday morning, we took a little walk to check out the surroundings. Suddenly we found ourselves wandering in the wooded wetlands behind the neighborhood grocery. This hidden benefit inspired us all to explore as our outing became a family adventure.

When’s the last time you allowed yourself to wander? What adventures await you if you divert from your intended route? Ki to Happiness shares her surprise discovery to inspire your exploration.

With all the right self-care and grooming, my cats and I are happy anyway. Nothing has changed in our circumstances. Joy abounds and issues forth from the great Well of being.

It is irresistible. I won’t try to repress or diminish it. I proceed along my yoga path, marveling at the mystery, with my lips upturned, my nostrils wide open, and my eyes shining.

Underneath your circumstances, can you feel joy bubbling up? Can you allow its expression? Ki to Happiness expresses it here.