sitting in coffee shop post-yoga feeling a bit radical with my hot pink anarchist '09 planner, a shiny copy of "The God Delusion," my yoga mat, and a yerba mate.  

went to coworker Stephie's new "Studio Om" in Beaverdale Iowa.  she did her training at kripalu in Massachusetts.  i love her!  she's so funny and nice but also sort of hard core.  pretty technically precise sometimes and believes in push-ups and core-strengthening.  she told me i was dropping one shoulder well before the other in my chatturanga.  and i was!  i do hate chatturanga, so maybe this is just the fix i need.  she also helped me out with getting into handstand as well as a low lunge backbend.  

she emphasized the core/kidney areas a lot as places to lengthen, strengthen, and breathe into.  her languaging made sense- "lengthen the ribs up and away from the pelvis."  only one other girl in class.  a nice connection between all 3 of us.  

feeling very inspired right now to explore spirituality, yoga, life.  oddly, the way richard dawkins defines atheism, i feel i may fit in that category...he strips the label of its connotations of coldness and imperviousness and instead imbues it with the quality of wonder.  which of course i can relate to.  who can't?  the world AS IS is wondrous enough, far more wonderful if you don't limit it by labeling this or that god or spirit or soul.  those terms are too loaded anyway.  and yoga is basically practice at wondering.

stephie's studio is really beautiful especially in the morning with the sunlight shining in on the bamboo floors.  she has an interesting yoga library that made me feel like 'wow, i have so much to read and learn.'