A new type of practice

I think I mentioned in a recent post that I was wanting to start practicing yoga.  Well I started watching some videos this summer on Youtube, and then got a book at Barnes and Noble a couple of weeks ago:

 and started practicing on my own...

But I was very happy today because I was able to do a pose I have been working on for a few weeks for the very first time:

A failed attempt...

It's called the "Bow Pose" or  Dhanurasana.

And here's another one, called the "King Dancer" pose, or Natarajasana.

 

They'll get better as I get more flexible.  Right now I can only hold each of these poses for a few seconds before I fall out of them... actually the bow pose I can probably only hold for two seconds, haha. 

 

But I really like yoga!   I think I'll probably keep doing it now for the rest of my life.  

 

 

 

New Video - Handel "Oh Sleep Why Dost Thou Leave Me"

Here is a new video from my recital at the San Francisco Conservatory in May.  It's one of the arias I sang by Handel, called "Oh Sleep Why Dost Thou Leave Me". 

A Beautiful Wedding

Yesterday my family drove to North Dakota to attend my aunt Shanna's wedding.  She got married on top of a butte on my new Uncle's farmland... It was so beautiful.  We took a hayride part way up to get to the wedding site.  Here are a few pictures from it:

My sister and her boyfriend and I sang a country song, "I Know How the River Feels" as part of the service.  My sister and her boyfriend played the guitar (I have to learn to do that!! :-)....

This is my dad and mom:

                            Me.

Some wedding guests admiring the beautiful view.

 Coming from the trucks/haywagon:

The ceremony beginning:

                                               On the haywagon.

My aunt and uncle:

Thoughts on the temple

And one other post (not a poem) on my "Reflections" blog today... :  http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/learning.html

Cleaning and a Wedding

Tomorrow my family and I leave for North Dakota, to go to my aunt Shanna's wedding.

I have been busy the last couple of days trying to clean up my room (which is a TOTAL disaster!!).  It's probably going to take me the rest of a week to get it all in order.  Seriously.  Aaaaaa!!!!    When I get it all cleaned up maybe I will take a picture for you... maybe. :-)

I have been busy reading and studying a lot.  I got the instructor copies of the theory books that I will be teaching my class from in the fall.  I'm kind of excited about that. There is so much to write and so little time because I have to go and pack... but I will try to write some more next week.

Ta-ta!!

p.s. -  new post on 'reflections':

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/look-down-on-me-with-love.html

Silver threads

New poem on my poetry blog:

http://jacquelynwrites.blogspot.com/2011/07/silver-threads.html

More

Sheesh I'm bombarding my reflections blog these last two days.

Four more new posts: (and my first post ever in Italian! Hopefully my grammar is, for the most part, correct...)

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-do-i-know-that-god-is-real-i-guess.html

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/che-cosa-dio-vuole-da-me-che-cosa.html

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/practice.html

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/teachers.html

New Reflections

A few new posts on my reflections blog... Actually only one of them is really "new" (the first link below), the other ones I actually composed several months ago and never published. One of them is just a scripture, two of them are poems, and the the last one is actually the very first post I ever wrote for this blog...  I finally just pushed the "publish" button on it today... so now my first entry on this blog has finally arrived! It's just a thought written in a couple of lines (the fourth link, below).

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/unto-furthest-ends.html

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-want-so-badly-something-which-i-do.html

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2011/07/evidence-of-things-not-seen.html

http://jacquelynsreflections.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-believe-that-depth-of-soul-is-as-wide.html

busy again...

It seems like forever since I've written but I guess really it's only been about ten days...

But I am home now in Montana.   And life is good.   I have a little bit of exciting news and that is that I am going to be teaching voice and music theory this coming year at the local college - Montana State University Billings.  That will be a very interesting new experience for me.

I also just accepted my first-ever improv student... a lady called MSUB looking for a teacher that could help her learn to improvise and understand chord progressions at the piano, and guess who they recommended?? That's right, me.  I'm a little intimidated since I feel like I'm still learning how to improvise myself, but I am sure I can help her.  There aren't many people in Billings, MT who do this sort of thing.   And we will continue learning together, right?

I tried to get a new video posted the other day, but my software is not sophisticated enough to do the things I want with the video editing.  I have a couple songs from my recital I am going to post but first I have to get the new software that will allow me to have more than one video track at once.   I have some different camera angles I want to use in a single video, but with only one video track --every time I try to make an edit all the synchronization gets messed up between all the other video cuts and the audio.

Guess what I've decided to do now?? Yoga!  I met this girl in San Francisco that was an AMAZING yogi...and she totally inspired me.  I'm going to start taking ballet too (I took ballet for a few years before I left for my master's degree), but I really want to start dancing again, and doing things artistically and expressively with my body.  I think it helps my playing to dance, as well, and of course it's just healthy in general.  Plus the flexibility and strength required to do yoga poses will really help me with my dancing, as well... I'm so excited!

Before I start yoga or dance classes though, I have to start teaching a few lessons again so that I can have the money to pay for them!!!  So much to do, always.   It's exciting though.  

I am about to go work on cleaning out the spare room of my house because we have company coming in a couple of days.   I will post more soon!!

Cable Car Ride!

One of the last days before I left San Francisco my friend Kelsey and I went for a ride on a cable car down to the warf.  




We stood on the back of the cable car in the open air and watched as the road fell behind us.














A man stood on the back with us who was the brake operator. He cranked the lever by hand every time the car had to come to a stop.










One of the stops of the cable car is the famous "Lombard Street", which is a very very curvy street down a hill, with a beautiful view of San Francisco.   Kelsey and I didn't get off here though.




We got of here: at the last stop on Hyde street, next to the water.