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In the night I awakened to a terrible smell. with my window open noxious odor permeated my room. I became concerned for our safety. Homeless people often set fire to dumpsters in my area. Cats came by me for security.

Later, I found the source of the stench. Big skidmarks in the intersection at our corner validated my experience. Burnt rubber in concentric circles show the effects of acceleration while breaking. Knowing what the problem is, and that it has resolved itself, brings us back to the peace and quiet of morning practice.

Are you getting the validation you need? Can validation from your Self be enough? Ki to Happiness experiences Self validation through yoga.

Today I want to honor my website assistant, Karen Bullard. Last year when the pandemic hit, she and I used our additional time and resources to improve my website which hosts this blog. As she prepares to move onward to her next adventure, she leaves behind much love and appreciation for her every effort.

Karb is her nickname. This remarkable Yogini has worn many hats with us at Hatha Yoga Center. Having graduated from our training program as well as several others, she has covered classes for us. While I instruct, often she fills the screen with her loveliness when I need to relieve myself. Recently she has shared the soil from her property in which our urban garden grows indoors.

How do you honor those significant in your life when they prepare to take leave? Is there any good in goodbye? Ki to Happiness feels the goodness of all we’ve shared and honors it by telling you about it here.

I wanted to sleep in. Maybe it was the one extra mouthful of cashew cheese. Or my rearranged room. My cat friends insisted I get up anyway. Tending to their needs, in half sleep I begin my day. Then I sit for my meditation/pranayama/prayer/mantra practices as I become awake.

Without name, title, role, I breathe and open to Essence. Beyond and within words, I become full of my Self. Placing my hand on my heart, Its tenderness is present with me. And now I share It with you.

Can you place your hand on your heart? Do you feel Its tenderness? Ki to Happiness wishes a good morning to your heart from mine.

50 years ago the university district in Seattle hosted the first street fair in the USA. This lively two day event with crafts, musicians and vendors offering all of their wares has inspired many other communities to do the same.

Until last year. The pandemic shut it down, as well as so much else. This year as we near re-opening, it remains shut down. A much quieter day here will allow classes to continue in a more peaceful environment after a restful night.

Do you enjoy street fairs? Can you appreciate the quiet before re-opening in your area? Ki to Happiness loves both the street fairs and the quiet.

I recently learned about the history of our local Ravenna Woods. Until about 120 years ago we had the tallest, largest, and oldest trees in the Pacific Northwest just 10 blocks from here. There was a pond and 17 springs that fed it. It’s unclear what happened, or why.

What remains is a trickle of water and plenty of trees, although no record holders. I added my tears to the stream.

Do you know the history of your area? Can you align with the beauty that remains? Ki to Happiness flows.

After blogging about taking masks off, our newspaper said we need to put them back on. It’s easy enough to do. Using the flexibility that we gain in yoga is not nearly physical. Being flexible minded makes it easier to adjust and adapt to the constantly changing demands.

I have a strong stubborn streak. My educated mind has lots of opinions. In choosing serenity, I let all that go so that I can identify with my multifaceted spirit. There’s enough room inside it to hold all I’ve experienced in a loving embrace. Tu Twam Asi is the first manta I learned. It means I Am That, too. Mask off… I am that, too. I am that too.

Can you readily identify with your multi faceted spirit? How valuable is your serenity? Ki to Happiness thanks Ram Das and his work Be Here Now for teaching me my first mantra when I was 14.

Several of our students have been double vaccinated. One removed her face mask in class for the first time in 14 + months. So beautiful to see the shape of her nose, the curve of her lips, the alignment of her teeth, the shape of her strong jaw.

Her eyes continue to glow their magical light, which the mask never obscured. Now those windows to the soul reveal the path she has tread to bring her essence through the pandemic. She is an essential worker and a mother of two. She is one of the many unsung Sheroes of our time.

Are you starting to see more faces? Aren’t they beautiful? Ki to Happiness smiles with the awareness of so many sheroes and heroes of our time.

I began my primary education in St. Louis Missouri at the same parochial school my mother had attended. Along with the nuns, mass six days out of seven, and really bad uniforms, I always remembered my first best friend’s birthday.

Facebook is a mixed lot of positive and negative repercussions. I am loving the way it has reconnected me to her for reciprocal birthday wishes. She may have kittens for my brother, unless another old friend gets some to him first. The magic and mystery of decades of connection culminates in these simple pixels.

Who was your first best friend? Have you recovered all the relationships in your life that are most meaningful to you? Ki to Happiness is forever grateful for true friends.

I am appreciating the cooler morning with the cloudy dawn. It takes me back to last year when the Covid hit. Our district was like a ghost town. There was a sense of foreboding in the darker days. Now, it’s refreshing.

As we get closer to full reopening, this pandemic gets closer to being a memory. Our streets are full with pedestrians and shoppers in the daytime. At night, street musicians and partiers make joyful sounds. Lots of exposed flesh in the warmer sunny weather. Now, back to hoodies. We adapt. And we remember.

How do you want to remember the pandemic? What next needs to adapt? Ki to Happiness remembers to practice yoga to adapt with grace.

Blessed with the sunshine and a little free time, I took a walk yesterday to see my trees. The old growth redwoods remind me that they are our ancient brothers and sisters. When I place my hands on their huge trunks, I feel grounded in the earth as well as supported in lifting my head to the sky.

The urban setting of our home and studio is all concrete and glass without so much as a sidewalk strip of grass. Yet 12 blocks away, these Giants continue to observe decades of peace, growth and connection to all other trees.

Do you have a favorite tree? Can you breathe in the connection to it right now? Ki to Happiness grounds and grows with the ancient ones.