Dear Fellow Funny Shape Makers,

I am signing out for the rest of the summer. My body is telling me that I need to take a break...realign, recharge and refocus...literally from head to toe, but fear not, I won't shut down. I will be back in September full of stories, new inspirations and silly things.

In the mean time here are a few things that caught my attention this past week and on retreat this weekend...

1.  Everything is Connected by Peter Liversidge

2.Wise words...

3. Rising Mountain

4. Ido Portals Hanging challenge. This is good stuff!

5. next on my list of things to listen too...Jules Mitchell on The Science of Stretching.

6. And finally, since the sun has disappeared from this little island of late this quote from Anne Fadiman,

“It is a grave error to assume that ice cream consumption requires hot weather.”

I'm of to take a listen to the magic John Fahey makes with his guitar for the rest of the day now.
See you on the other side.
xx

Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed

In 1907, Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed became the first president of the Ladies Alpine Club. She wrote seven books on mountain climbing and over her lifetime climbed twenty peaks that no one had climbed before. Under the name Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond she made at least 10 films of alpine activities in the Engadine Valley of Switzerland. She is probably among the world's first three female film-makers. 

"There is no manlier sport in the world than mountaineering. It is true that all the sports Englishmen take part in are manly, but mountaineering is different from others, because it is sport purely for the sake of sport. There is no question of beating anyone else, as in a race or a game, or of killing an animal or a bird as in hunting or shooting. A mountaineer sets his skill and his strength against the difficulty of getting to the top of a steep peak. Either he conquers the mountain, or it conquers him. If he fails, he keeps on trying until he succeeds. This teaches him perseverance, and proves to him that anything is possible if he is determined to do it." 

—Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed (a.k.a. Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond) from the preface of her book True Tales of Mountain Adventure for Non-climbers Young and Old, 1903.

These photos are incredible!

What must that have been like in 1907 to be a female mountaineer?! 

To be in landscapes that maybe no one had ever seen before, climbing mountains waist deep in snow, all in a corset and skirt no less! Respect to you Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond.

via tomboy style

pose of the week

Tadasana (Mountain Pose)


"You want to stand on your head and you don't even know how to stand on your feet." 
-- B.K.S. Iyengar


Tadasana is the foundation of the asana yoga practice, everything comes back to Tadasana! Tadasana is also called Samasthiti, which translates as equal standing. For me the art of standing correctly starts with this pose.

Practice always begin Tadasana by placing the feet properly and work up from that foundation. Traditionally you have the feet together in this pose, but if you are new to it or find it hard to balance then start with the feet hip width apart. This description by Brad Piddy is the most precise i could find.

Sequencing whenever and wherever you like! Do it to establish strength and balance in your feet, legs and spine before standing poses, after standing poses, a the beginning of a session, at the end, when you are standing in line at the supermarket or waiting for the bus....

Benefits improves posture, Strengthens thighs, knees, and ankles, is said to relieves sciatica and reduce flat feet.