The smell of jasmine

It's a pleasant night tonight. As we got home we walked into waves of light fragrant of jasmine. We were wondering where the nice fragrant came from, and reminded ourselves the small jasmine plants were dug up by uninvited animal visitors. By the way, our older dog, Amy, had especial interests in those small rodents living underground, as one of her hobbies was to put her nose into the holes on our lawn. Finally Jack said the fragrant must be from our neighbor's yard.

We were thankful for the unexpected gift in this beautiful evening.

More on taking breaks

Yesterday I was talking to my co-worker about my weekend plan, and I told her I would be studying for my yoga training, she was quite interested.

The first thing and the last thing she said was: "I wish I could do yoga and stretching too, but I just don't have time."

Last year this time I would be saying the same thing. We are so busy everyday, even over the weekends, how do we find 20 minutes everyday to stretch? We have to work and even if we are not working, we are thinking about work. After work, we have to take care of every little thing at home, paying the bills, cooking, cleaning, shopping, and taking care of the family.

I am here to say, yes you can find the 20 minutes to do this important exercise, because it is good for you. You have to sleep and eat everyday, and you have to spend sometime for yourself and your body to relax and renew everyday.

I used to think that if I go to yoga class once or twice a week, it would provide all of my muscular stretches I need. I just realize that was not entirely true at this point of my life.

Block out 20 to 40 minutes a day. Preferably first thing in the morning, because then the benefit is available for you for the whole day. But you don't have to do it first thing in the morning. I try to do it before lunch, or any other time when I can take a break, as long as I don't have a full stomach or it's not too late in the evening. If you are at home, tell your love ones you need to be alone; if you are at work, be away from the computer, and go to a quiet and private room.

Of course you will have to learn from a teacher what to do when you are taking this break. To start with, I recommend Art of Living basic class: art of breathing. Of course, you may also take classes from a certified yoga instructor. The Art of Living classes are very well organized, that's why I recommend them.

The song that plays in your head

You know sometimes you have a song playing in your head, and you just can't shake it off? Today when I was doing cardio at the gym, I had Jingle Bell playing in my head. Actually my mind seems to favor Christmas song throughout the year no matter where I am. The other song that I play a lot is this Cantonese commercial song: Kikkoman soy sauce for steamed fish. How sophisticated is my little mind?