Your SUNNY SUNDAY DOWNdog Post!

A touch of poetry for you this morning!😉

“Just trying to get by”
Every day he comes and sits on the sidewalk
no matter the weather
He comes to entertain those who pass by
in the hopes of
making enough money to get by
Just trying to get by

For those of you who walk by or frequent Bridgehead on Beechwood, you will undoubtedly have noticed the man in his mid-forties out front, strumming away at his guitar.

Yesterday, I stopped to buy a pound of Expresso. I then went over to give him a donation. He began to say something to me as I walked away. I didn’t hear what he said and so went back and asked if he could repeat. “I am going to pray for you,” he said. It wasn’t only what he said, but how he said it. He looked at me with such kindness. There was a special connection.

Yoga philosophy underlines the importance of recognizing and appreciating the noble qualities in others. In that instant, I saw not only his kindness but his sincerity, generosity, patience and courage.

As I write this morning’s post, I am reminded of a quotation from Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire. “The kindness of strangers makes the world go round.” I am grateful for his kindness. The next time I see him, I will let him know.

An awesome practice awaits you at DOWNdog this week! Week 8! Yoga to celebrate kindness!

The Sunday DOWNdog POST

In honour of Valentine’s Day, this week’s DOWNdog POST is dedicated to love. I hope you enjoy this special Valentine’s edition.

The idea for this week’s DOWNdog Post came to me while reading Olive Again, a novel by Elizabeth Strout. Two characters in the story had a conversation during which they shared their belief in something beyond this world. Some unknown power or guiding hand…
***
My father loved to sing. Every year, my father’s side of the family held a family reunion in Shawinigan, Quebec. When we were at one of the annual family gatherings I remember, like it was yesterday, my father kneeling on his left knee next to his sister, Therese, who was in a wheelchair. He would have been about 83 at the time and she, 85. As I witnessed the scene, it was as if there was no one else in the backyard where the party was being held. It was just my father and his sister and myself looking on. The party was blurred in the background.

He was singing the song, “Mon hirondelle”. He sang every verse while never once turning away, gazing steadily into her eyes. When I looked at him, I was mesmerized. It was like looking at someone who was asking his beloved if she would marry him. He had so much love in his heart.

Whenever I recall this incident, my heart goes out to my father, a man who was capable of such deep love but who rarely expressed it in his lifetime. I know he would have wanted his life to have been different.

My father passed away February 27th, 2019 at the age of 97.

According to myths and legends, robins appear once a loved one has passed. Last spring, as many of you recall, a robin came to build her nest on a wreath next to the entrance to the yoga studio. I named her Robbie. I was mesmerized by this beautiful bird… just as I had been at the family reunion, 14 years ago, by my father. I believe Robbie was an angel sent by my father. She was my father’s harbinger of love.

Namaste my dear friends and students! Get set this week for another awesome practice: yoga for the heart.

💞Happy Valentine’s Day!💞

Jocelyne, Valentine and Dr. Jake

Dear students and friends of DOWNdog,

New Year’s is a wonderful time to give our life a new BOOST: be it a new beginning, a new direction, a new challenge. The New Year’s resolution or resolutions is/are most definitely a wonderful way to go beyond our limits and set a new goal or set of goals.

This year I made 10 resolutions for the New Year!

1. practice the ukulele daily
2. practice the piano daily
3. do crunches and pushups daily
4. make a grocery list once a week (I have never made a list.)
5. always floss before putting on my retainer at night
6. write in my “A Line a Day” journal daily
7. practice my Spanish daily
8. brush the dog once a week
9. brush the cat once a week
10. meditate on why I didn’t do most of the above.

Happy New Year everyone!

Jocelyne and the unbrushed dog and unbrushed cat wishing you good health, much laughter, new adventures, lots of love and peace in the New Year.

DOWNdog reopens Monday, January 6th!

This week I panicked. I was overwhelmed and thought I couldn’t make it through another down in the blue in my life. Sounds depressing and I’m certain you prefer some cheerful POST in the midst of what seems like our cloud-filled winter…. Bear with me my friends. 🐕😎

Wednesday night. I had just watched an episode, 🤔 actually 2 episodes of Suits 😉 to relax. I could not escape the blues. Despite my efforts to climb back up, the health issues of the past few weeks had come to anchor me down. I needed a ray of sunshine.

I know it sounds corny, but corny is good sometimes. I looked into my back pocket and looked at what I always store there: openness, strength and calm.

I looked back at other challenging moments, moments much more challenging than I have experienced this past week and realized, based on my record, I had a very good chance of getting through this. That my nurturing of openness (trust and patience), strength, and calm had gotten me through.

And so, if you ever have the blues, and I think it is safe to say most of us have, trust that there will be a moment soon when the sun will pierce through the clouds and send you a ray of sunshine.

Sometimes, we get more than a ray of sunshine. We get a jackpot! We get a rainbow to colour our world once again. I am happy to report that I got a jackpot on Thursday evening…

On a final note,

Some of you have asked me how my friend who had surgery last week is doing. I am very happy to say that she is doing very well. The surgery was a great success. She has a rainbow in her back pocket once again holding her and letting her know that all will be well.

Wishing you sunshine and rainbows,
Jocelyne and Dr. Jake

Namaste!