Author: Ki McGraw

One year ago, my dad had his last day of life. During this year without him, I have felt comfort in seeing his essence in ducks, hawks, and clouds, hearing his voice in the wind, and dreaming of him free from pain. Mom has survived this year without him and has taken her rightful position as Queen of her castle.

I miss his sweetness, so I’ve become sweeter. He was my step dad, so I learned from him the step dance I still do with my step son. He was an outdoorsman, so I spend more time outdoors, looking up at the sky for clouds and birds, remembering him with sweetness.

Do you still have your folks? How can you best honor their memory and legacy? Ki to Happiness honors her living mother’s choices and becomes sweeter in honor of her dad.

In the aftermath of my birthday celebrations, I reflect on the many smiles, stories, calls, gifts, and love that I experienced. Friends and family, students and clients, cats and one big old dog at my favorite turn-around shop all made for a memorable day. I’m growing in patience and gratitude as I recall the blessings of the day.

Flowers, books, cards, clothes, boots, jewelry, and Epson salt gel all surround my lit candles. I offer them all up as an offering to the great I Am presence within each of us who are living now. We share the Earth for this precious journey of growing into our Higher Selves for a while.

What love helps you grow? Who companions your journey of life? Ki to Happiness grows in loving companionship with those who show up.

After having a fabulous session with my doctor and a great morning of serving my clients, I rested into time off for my birthday. Bob took me out for a special birthday burrito. Then we shopped together for flowers to grace our ramp and deck.

As the evening progressed, I felt the day brought a good conclusion to my 62nd year, despite my broken wrist. Then an energy vampire tried to bring me down by triggering my old kid fears. After all these years, practices and healings, I simply removed myself from the situation and let it right itself instead of leaking triggered energy outward.

How gracefully can you remove yourself from situations that trigger you? Can you redirect you energy away from those who would attempt to take it from you and pray for them to learn to align with their own energy Source? Ki to Happiness celebrates 63 years of practices and healings with which to align with Source.

This full moon brings to light energies set in place a couple of weeks ago when the moon was new. Reflecting on our unconscious issues, now we can do something conscious with the innermost material that the full moon brings up. While this can be a challenging process, it’s well worth it as we view it as a growth opportunity.

Growing beyond our previous reactivity, we choose to respond in accordance with our truest intention. Utilizing yoga practices helps me avoid escalating problems into crisis so I can find calm solutions. Each lunar cycle gives us a chance to improve this natural process.

What has this full moon brought to light from your unconscious? What can you consciously do with that now, in alignment with your truest intention? Ki to Happiness consciously practices yoga to respond with peace to the challenges this moon has brought up.

With tomorrow’s full moon approaching, I feel the effects today. My sleep was filled with dreams. My awakening brings me to my unopened birthday gifts and bereavement over my dad’s approaching 1 year anniversary of his passing.

It’s a good day for alternate nostril breathing. The practice of anuloma viloma pranayama joins together the different energy channels for balance. Birthday/death anniversary, wakefulness/sleep, right/left nostrils and brain hemispheres unite with the practice.

Can you feel the moon filling? What helps you stay balanced? Ki to Happiness practices full moon salutations, one legged balances and alternate nostril breathing to stay balanced as the moon fills.

It’s been 15 months since our ceiling began to leak. We’ve had five different property managers in that time who kept passing the job on. Finally yesterday, the cosmetic improvements of sanding the puttied holes and painting finished the job.

That coincides with the cosmetic improvement of my healing wrist looking more like itself again. both my inner world and outer world are looking better. The yoga path addresses this mirroring in sublime poetic verse in the Chandogya Upanishad.

How is your inner world? Can you see it reflected in your outer world? Ki to Happiness delights in cosmetic improvements as they reflect deeper changes.

My girlfriend shared with me her early morning awakening to a tremendous Light that had no external source. Without fear, she stayed present as there appeared an energy body shaped like a person ascending into that Light. She reported a great wave of comfort as she interpreted this inner vision as indication that her dearly beloved recently deceased friend has made the journey to the other realm of Light.

No practices or beliefs, rituals, or observations were required of her. “All are forever welcome” is the way one mystic stated it. This awareness reinforces my practices, beliefs, rituals and observations so as to kindly allow my soul to bask in the presence of the All Pervading, All Forgiving, All Welcoming Light.

If all is forever forgiven, how does your life change? How do you honor the One who welcomes all? Ki to Happiness starts each day welcoming the Light of forgiveness into the soul.

My tenure as a yoga teacher is based on my daily practice. When someone teaches, and they don’t practice, it seems out of integrity to me. As a yoga teacher trainer, accepting students into our program requires them to have a two-year history of daily practice.

During this month since my wrist injury, I have continued to practice daily, albeit modified. As I gently return to teaching more, I will continue to modify my approach to teaching as well. Practicing and teaching brings integrity to body-mind-spirit which I have to share with the world through classes and private sessions.

What do you practice daily? How do you share it with the world? Ki to Happiness practices what she teaches.

Dr. Lee and I are very happy with my wrist’s progress. Reduced swelling and increased range of motion gives encouragement to this patient and increases my patience. Yesterday’s 4th treatment reminds me it hasn’t been very long since we started working together and I’m doing much better.

During times of shock, like trauma, sudden injury, or my girlfriend’s loss of her other best friend, distorts time. One day can feel like it’s a week long. Yoga practice, albeit modified, helps me to reconnect to the present moment, one breath at a time.

Do you have enough patience to be a good patient? Can you slow down enough to witness the miracle of healing? Ki to Happiness slows down with breath.

As my dear friend processes the loss of her other best friend, I reminded her of the Balinese approach which we are familiar with. Grief wants love to have a place to go. Taking that love to one’s altar for three days gives an opportunity to communicate with the soul of the dearly departed.

When we lost our son’s best friend who we treated like family to drowning, we all took turns at his altar. We gathered all of his favorite things and put them on the altar with a safe candle burning so we could regularly visit him. Each of us expressed our love for him as the shocking loss gave way to healthy grieving.

What do you do with your love when you have lost someone? Can you allow yourself to continue to express it? Ki to Happiness loves and looses and loves again and again, anyway.