Author: Ki McGraw

Hearing my mother’s progress report, she is doing well at home with her healthcare workers. She’s not able to go to church yet. So she will watch the live stream from home.

Home Church preceded all the organized religious gathering historically. I have home church rituals I observe daily. In this way, all of whom have church at home are doing so in the great congregation.

What spiritual rituals do you observe at home? What location could be more sacred than where you live? Ki to Happiness sanctifies all spaces with intention.

Now that my mother has been discharged from the hospital and her home healthcare workers are on board, my brother has returned to his home. He is delighted to simply clean his cats’ litter boxes, unpack, and get back into his regular life. Resuming work, supporting his friends, and more space and time for his style of yoga ground him in his chosen life.

His delight is contagious as I joyfully live my chosen life. Practicing and teaching, conducting private sessions and caring for our world now can occur with greater focus. Attention is more generous when not at tension.

Whose delight ignites your own? Without tension, where can you focus your attention? Ki to Happiness focuses on the delight of this chosen yogic lifestyle.

Hearing my mom’s voice on the phone now that she’s home brings me relief and joy. My brother continues to attend to her as her home healthcare workers settle in. This progress propels me to make plans for my next trip.

I’ve unpacked my emergency bag as it seems no longer necessary. I’ve reserved my ticket, gotten Hatha Yoga Center class coverage, and set up all the details. Soon I will pack for the celebration of Mom‘s birthday, since it looks like she will get to have another one!

What conditions are required for your ability to make plans?  Once you’ve been in emergency mode, what does it take for you to downshift? Ki to Happiness downshifts with yoga, and plans to practice daily, no matter what.

Rain and wind greet our grey dawn this morning. Quiet and subdued, trees and plants recieve the blessing as birds chirp their welcome between squalls. Issues call my attention away from this peace, and yet I linger a little longer, soaking up the solitude.

The last 3 months have been full of elder alert throughout my mother’s multiple hospitalizations. Fortunately, she’s back home now with my brother’s care as the home healthcare workers begin their contracted shifts. These blessings compound those of nature for those of us with eyes to see.

Can you open to receive the blessings of nature? Do you have the privacy that solitude requires? Ki to Happiness gets up early enough to steep in the many blessings of the present.

Today begins mild and gray. The cool contrast between it and yesterday‘s heat feels fresh and gentle. It will make for comfortable yoga practice.

Students were concerned about the heat here at the studio. They found it to be shaded, with plenty of air movement, and completely acceptable. Our maple tree provides us with ample protection as well as magnificent beauty throughout the year.

What conditions support or inhibit your yoga practice?  What can you do to adapt to your conditions so you can practice in any circumstance? Ki to Happiness practices in clean safety throughout the seasons.

This morning, as I prepared to blog, I got a phone call from my mom. She’s still in the hospital, recovering well. She ate her first regular meal yesterday and has a much stronger voice today.

Hearing her improvement brings me joy.  That joy will continue as I serve in my capacity here. I look forward to teaching yoga and conducting my private sessions with joy and serenity.

What brings you joy? Can you use that joy to fuel your responsibilities? Ki to Happiness is fueled enough to use her own strong voice in service of the One.

May delivered its promised flowers for June’s arrival. As we prepare for Junuary, we’ll still have lots of blossoms and petals to brighten our path. June’s gloom may bring more much needed precipitation, so we adjust without complaint.

Students have been loving walking our petal strewn sidewalk to class. Our deck is lined with lavender, geraniums, pansies, petunias, marigolds and anemones as fuchsia and fern baskets hang above. Our altar continues to bless us with the remaining bouquets for May’s celebrations.

What blessings from May remain? Can you welcome the gloom as well as the rest of what June brings? Ki to Happiness adjusts without complaint, counting blessings with each petal.

Today’s full moon is the second one this month. In its rarity, it is called the blue moon. It gives a second chance to process the material that is being dredged up from our unconsciousness.

Especially at this time while Pluto is retrograde, the deep Roto-Rooter churns up stagnant material within. It makes it hard to sleep, and yet the information being revealed in our wakefulness is an opportunity. This is rare, so it’s best to take advantage of it.

What deep material is surfacing for you? How can you best work with it in alignment with your highest values? Ki to Happiness transforms these challenges into opportunities.

One of our long-standing community members joined us for his birthday yesterday. Later , I introduced him to our cleaning person whose birthday was just the day before. They connected well and made plans for her serving his cleaning needs.

Hatha Yoga Center has been a space for lots of mutually beneficial community connections in its 50 year history. Not all efforts in this regard have worked out. So we tread lightly without expectation or attachment to outcome.

Can you connect others and get out of the way? Are you able to detach from outcome? Ki to Happiness connects and detaches, observing without absorbing.

My brother reported that yesterday he had very light duty with Mom in her recovery process. That’s such a relief that I was able to resume my kind of light duty here, teaching yoga and conducting a private session. I was able to set my phone down and leave the ringer off for part of the day.

Aligning with the Light, dispelling the “darkness of unwisdom” is what yoga practice is about. Bringing safety and love to surround fear and its projections, we make better decisions. Joining my personal will with Divine Will, brings serenity.

How do you “dispel the darkness of unwisdom”? What helps you find the safety of love? Ki ti Happiness commits free will to Divine Will and surrenders into its Guidance.