Ouray Yoga™

Dhatu Yoga Sequence There are seven levels of Dhatu Agni: the healing fire of health. As we fire-up our Dhatu our body will produce a microchil of Ojas: Ahararasa. A sweet drop of protoplasmic honey-type substance found in the heart. When sattvic practices are introduce into our lives, the seven layers of our body take time to regenerate healthier tissue, layer upon layer. Each layer of Ahararasa requires 5 days of tissue rebirth. 7 layers and 5 days for a sum total of 35 days for each drop of precious Ojas. Think of it as a drop of essential oil mixing into the lubricating carrier oil of our body. A little goes a long way and with healthful practices we develop more and more Ojas. The spiritual fountain of youth.  This practice should be done everyday for 35 days, as time goes by, you will notice the practice gets easier and easier and concurrently deeper and deeper as you transform over the 35 days.  Level One: Rasa is our plasma, lymph, blood vessels and tendons. Bounces

This meditation is best done seated near a lighted tree or in front of holiday lights. After sun-down and before sun-up. Let the fairies dance upon the boughs, behold the magic within the needles. Each tiny orb is a memory, each light a window to the future. As yuletide is upon us - now find your presence. The sun is at it’s furthest from our realm and darkness lays across us like a patchwork quilt, sewn together with ribbons and traditions.  On this, our longest eve, invite our Lady of Light to grace us with her care, her grace and her maternal warmth. Gaze softly into the light of the fairy tree, let the embers glow, muted by your softened contemplation (drishti). Allow the aura of lights to be your key to your true identity; your key opens the door between your mind and your spirit. Upon entering, your space is void of attachment. What was a duality, a separation, is now a flow of consciousness, an ultimate awareness of I AM (so-ham).  As your gaze looks into the softness o

 Phase one: Tear-out carpets, curtains and dated cabinets; move some walls and create the ever desired "Open Concept." We have learned that Dave and Mary Wood enjoyed entertaining and were a huge asset to the community. We hope to follow in there footsteps. View from the Family Room into the kitchen, we are down to the studs! The Kitchen was very dark, nestled between two load bearing walls. On the right, through the studs, is a sunroom with a nice large window. On the left (green wall) is the formal living room, with a nice bay window. We have decided to open up both walls and insert beams. Let there be LIGHT!  I am guessing this is ArtDeco 1920s wall paper. Discovered behind drywall in the guest bath. We had open this wall due to a suspicious bulge in the wall, we found a black mold condensation problem from steam pipes from the coal/steam radiator system. Once this is all replaced and repaired, I plan to either have the wall paper recreated or handpainted.  The masterbath

I decided to create a new travel blog which may eventually become a website for our Bell Haus building located in Ouray, Colorado and home of K J Wood Distillers. However, my first post was placed on my ZogaWellness.com blog on health and wellness. Please click the following link for the first story. Coming soon - our adventures in NYC over 9/11/14! In the beginning there was a Colonial Home.  (Update: I was able to attached to this post, scroll down!) Yes! It's true! Me hubs, my kids and I are going to move to a little mountain town in SW Colorado, 45 minutes from Telluride. Ouray is a gorgeous mining town with it's own hot springs. We have wanted to live in Ouray since before moving to Loveland but it's a small town with little opportunities for vibrant income. Most people have their hands in many jobs. Nonetheless, we are at a position in our lives where we are able to move here. This is a total leap of faith but we have encountered so many signs that point to YES that w

As we transition from the sunshine of summer to the gold tones of fall, our dosha's go into a state of confusion. Grounding our dosha's whether you are vata, pitta, or kapha is beneficial for emotional balance. The following mandala vinyasa should accommodate a grounding and warming for our senses. Down Dog Step together at front of mat Inhale Half Lift Exhale forward fold Inhale Utkatasana (Chair Pose) Exhale Step Left foot back to Crescent Lunge (hands at heart) Inhale, arms above head Exhale, interlace fingers behind head or cactus arms Inhale Warrior 1 Exhale Fold forward to Runner's Lunge Rotate 1/4 turn to a Crouching Warrior to front of mat Take Crouching Warrior to back of mat repeat two more times, ending at back of mat 1/4 turn to face back of the room in low lunge inhale rise to crescent lunge exhale warrior two inhale reverse warrior exhale windmill down chataranga Down Dog Repeat Same Side: Stepping back with the Left Leg. After you com

The last time I was in the Seattle area, I was considering my acceptance to the University of Puget Sound . I was a naïve girl with no real thoughts other than whether I would get into San Diego (USD) . Hmmm... Rain, clouds and short days over sun, sand and Tijuana? I really didn't properly appreciate my parents paying for a trip to WA State. I really had no intention of going to PSU but it was one of the first times I travelled completely independently, first time I rented a car and first time I had to get where I needed to go all on my own. Really it was quite a good experience for me, and for that, I suppose the opportunity and expense was not lost on me.  This opportunity to travel was the first time my daughter was going to a major synchronized swimming competition. I have travelled tons in the last 30 odd years since my young age of 18, with husband, without husband, with three kids in tow and without, but somehow I felt completely disoriented. Basically, I never felt I had

An Original Crapper Bathtub Gin Anyone?  My take on Seattle as a city, I will admit I am not a city girl. Whenever I am in a city I feel a little bit of my soul is being sucked away. I don't like the condensed population, the incessant hum of activity, nor the fragrant mix of cigarette, exhaust and restaurant trash. Seattle, like all cities, has a homeless population, this population is allowed to congregate in the Pioneer Square area. I feel dirty seeing this destitution and it makes me sad. Nonetheless, city living seems so meaningless to me... Everyone working for someone else, needing a higher income because of the cost of living, food, clothing, keeping up with the cubicle next door. As far as cities go, Seattle is quite lovely, beautiful skyline, but I will take 14,000 ft overlooks over 500 ft concrete anyway.  Underground Tours : This is a must! We took the Bill Speidel Undergroud, there are other underground vendors, however, our tour company was the first in the a

The Lotus petals drifted to the earth. Drifting however the wind currents decided to carry the aged, velvet blooms. The geisha was past her blossom, her bound feet mutilated beyond desire. Her barrier long broken, her youth long sapped away. Her protector long buried under The Wars rubble. Now she twisted the orphaned girls into the same torturous ancient art. Sculpted like child's clay. Modeled into perfect dolls. White skin, red lips, twisted hair. Shuffle, Shuffle, as if the tiny, mistreated feet could do anything more. Be the ideal beauty, a man will pay well for your maidenhood. Stir the miso, light the cigarette with delicate fingers, wipe the mouth with the pressure of a mouse. Pleasure the man so he will take care of you. And someday, you will be the matron, the sunset, the wisdom of the seasons. Winter song, fuzzy bud, cherry blossoms, fruit to bare, colored autumn, fallen leaf. Life of your choosing? The writing prompt: once a vibrant dish used to catch

The ominous skull and crossbones has a much deeper past than being a warning sign that "thar be pirates aboard." Sumeria and Egypt The skull and cross bones is no other than a morphology of the Chi-Rho (Labarum). The Chi-Rho however goes back as far as 2500BC Sumeria as a combination of the two sun symbols . The Sun God and the ascension of the Conquering King. Chi for the Great Fire (Sun) and Rho for the Pater (Father). The term labarum (chi-rho) yields everlasting Father & Sun . It is not a great leap to see from Sumeria/Meopotamia; the belief in Re, the Sun God, Horus, the son of Re and the Ka, man, ruler, god, father; the earthly representative of the God. Enter the idol King Tutankhamen ; buried under the crook and flail ; the herdsman of humanity. KaRe. Chi-Rho. XP. The Oracle of God is mummified and entombed as the good Shepard of his Flock. Therefore, Chi Rho ☧ comes from early Egyptian Sun-God beliefs and further reinforcement of Greek Pagan sym

I'm back with a totally new flow! Remember: to do a Mandala Vinyasa you must move from front of room to side to face back of room, then repeat with the SAME lead leg then reverse via the other leg as lead. As always start is Down Dog Inhale (r) leg lift, Exhale sweep to low lounge, Inhale rise to Vira 1, Exhale hands interlace behind back, Inhale lift your heart (still clasped) Exhale Humble Warrior Inhale Vira 1 Exhale launch into one-legged, standing balance with floating leg extended out front = modified/easy Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana with hands at Anjali Mudra Inhale float back to Vira 2 Exhale Extended Side Angle Inhale 5-pointed Star Exhale Vira 2 towards the back of the room Inhale Step together Tadasana hands over head Exhale Cactus Arms/gentle backbend Inhale Tadasana Exhale fold forward Uttanasna Inhale Half-Lift Exhale Chattranga vinyasa flow to DD. Repeat (r) leg to return to front of room Repeat twice with (l) Enjoy!

Your skin like dawn Mine like musk One paints the beginning of a certain end. The other, the end of a sure beginning. Maya Angelou This is my Wednesday Evening Writer Group post - we were given a Maya Angelou prompt and told to write a story based off her poem. I share it, not sure that it is all that good, but I am a mommy-blogger, so this really is an outlet for me. Enjoy or not, my 20 other readers will do the same. He was young, virile. His skin sun-kissed by caramel dew. He'd been running, the days too numerous to count. Her shop was filled with sweets, glamoured in the window store front. His stomach growled with the force of a summer storm. His mouth watered opposite the pedestals of powdered goodies, taunting him. He scanned the road, right to left, beside his foot rested a discarded brick. No doubt from the construction site down the road. They had turned him down earlier today. "Too young," they'd said, "Go back home." He was str

SHIT™ work requires some serious ground rules. This is an individual endeavor. There is an I in SHIT™, meaning that you should take care of yourself and not compare your SHIT™ to other people's SHIT™. People have been known to SHIT™ together, often when camping is involved, but it is highly suggested that you simply take care of your own SHIT™. Taking your own SHIT™ is okay, but taking other people's SHIT™ is never allowed. SHIT™ should never be logged by a measured length. We are not a competitive group. Instead the following descriptors should be considered. For the more literal or those needing to report your progress to a doctor, we suggest: It was a _____ SHIT™ -long -compacted -well formed -rocky/pebbly -difficult -easy -smooth -average -wet My hiking buddy took two shits during my SHIT™.  for those that like a little more euphemisms in their life, the following would work: -colorful -bumpy -floral -unusual -spongy just to name a few Usu

What exactly is Speed Hike Interval Training? It is incline and intensity training that maximizes your fat-burning workout without the pounding of running or risk of crazy injury. Fundamentally, you find a Colorado trail with lots of hills and hike it as fast as you can. Or, basically, you hike the SHIT™ out of it. No longer can the orange therapy, cross-fit, enduro-bike, half-, tri-, and marathon peoples claim they are the SHIT™, because the real SHIT™ happens without injury on the trails of Colorado! Now, this SHIT™ is gonna be big and as soon as I can, I will schedule some SHITTIE locations. (Speed Hike Interval Train Touring Individual Events); however, first I must find some real SHITTERs (Speed Hike Interval Train Tour Event Resources). The idea during these events is everyone will pile into small groups. We will snake through some interval hills ending the tour at a deep, blue lake. People who cannot help themselves and must run down there legs shall be immediately flush

"Blueberries! Blueberries for sale," the little boy hollered. He had torn pedal-pushers and a dirty brown collar. "Bushel's and Basket's! Perfect for pies. Summer sweetness, made by the skies!" Please, he thought to himself, my sister needs a doctor, a nurse, or medicine to cure what disfigures her most. Please buy my lovely blueberries. I've tilled and I've toiled. I'm sunburnt and bruised. I hide all my tips for my little sisters health, Father's in brothels and barrooms spending our wealth. "Today, today only, I'll give you a deal. Blueberries, Blueberries - Special...for sale.

I cannot think of a better family airplane movie than " The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. " The story of a single guy stuck in a work rut that dreams of adventure. Only to find himself in a predicament where he finally must take the travel plunge. This movie sets the tone of don't hold back, don't play it safe and life is to be experienced. And so, my family travels to Puerto Rico . Another Wood Family Circus. PR is an American protectorate, territory and commonwealth and is hotly debated as to whether it should become the 51st state. As luck would have it, on the courtesy van ride to our car rental, the patriarch of the family riding with us was a hedge fund manager. He educated us on the bond trading of US businessmen and the huge debt burden related to this island. For all intents and purposes Puerto Rico is too poor to incorporate into the Federal system. It does have an incentive program for billionaires, baby boomers and aggressive investors trying to avoid i