Astanga

I didn't feel like thinking through a Hatha sequence today, so I did the 'Short Form + 3' today. I've been thinking of ways to make Savasana more comfortable and enjoyable. Doing a bit of restorative yoga to release my low back seems to work - or using a bolster (though I always seem to be too lazy to get up and find it). Maybe I could try doing some Pranayama at the end of the closing sequence to ease into a more restful mode. I don't seem to have as much trouble moving into Savasana after a Hatha practice.

I love all of this experimentation in my yoga practice, trying new things, pushing my edge in news ways, mixing things up. It makes me a better teacher and expands my scope as a practitioner.

I just completed Month 3 of my Yoga Streak. By now, daily practice is one of those goes-without-saying things. I just do it. It seems so easy to just do it. Looking back on my Yoga-less Streak last fall, I recall how easy it seemed to just NOT do it. The lesson? Routines are easy. Get into one and anything is possible. Anything can become automatic and expected.

A few interesting things have come to light in Month 3. I started exercising daily again, taking 45 minute brisk walks up to the Big Park with my dog. The path to the Big Park includes the Big Stairs, about six flights up a steep escarpment. Usually, these stairs are the bane of my springtime walks because I'm out of shape for them. This year? I'm hardly out of breath when I reach the top. Sometimes, lost in thought, I ascend the stairs so effortlessly that I reach the top before I realise that I'm through climbing them.

The only difference between this year and last is daily yoga. In fact, I thought I was in much better shape last year (having skated daily for months), but last year those stairs kicked my keister for the first month. I believe it's because I'm stronger; my body isn't working as hard. I experienced a similar level of fitness when I started riding my bike again. I feel stronger and I have more endurance.

Little things like this surprise me. Daily Yoga fringe benefits, I guess.

Tomorrow: I move into Month 4 of my Yoga Streak. WoYoPracYea! (World Yoga Practice Year), continued...

Astanga

I started working today almost as soon as I woke. After a few hours of productivity, I took the dog for a walk. When I got back, I started a bean soup on the stove and hopped on the mat. Soup practices are always great because the apartment gets warm and steamy.

I steamed and sweated my way through my short form Primary +3. Bhujapindasana is fast becoming one of my favourite poses again. I'm even entertaining the thought of adding a few more poses to my medley soon.

I've been living deep inside my head these last couple of days, sorting through different options and reviewing my finances. The bottom line is, April is going to be a spare month and I'm at peace with that. I had to make some tough choices, but the rent will be paid, I will have food to eat and money for transportation. And I'm doing everything I can to move forward.

In the midst of my practice, I was looking around my beautiful little apartment: at the books, my computer, my bike, my dog curled up sleeping on the futon. I was thinking about my family and my partner and my friends and students. And I was suddenly overwhelmed with a deep sense of gratitude for it all.

Nothing is easy but everything is okay.

Hatha

Today was a 'Murphy's Law' day, so I stuck with a more restorative Hatha practice. Lots of forward bends and some shoulder/upper back openers, then a long, contemplative walk in the park with the dog. It was gray and rainy, which matched my mood.

I'm encountering some discomfort and obstacles in my daily life right now, which sometimes makes my entire existence feel like one giant, tight muscle that doesn't want to lengthen or let go. I'm breathing and moving into the difficulties gradually and trying to keep a clear head.

Hatha

This morning, I set aside plenty of time for a leisurely practice. So often, I feel like I have to rush through yoga, or squeeze yoga into my schedule. Today, I luxuriated in it.

I did a simple Hatha practice with a few standing poses that I don't do in my Astanga practice, notably Gorudasana (Eagle Pose). I did Utthita Trikonasana multiple times, experimenting with depth and alignment in the pose.

For my floor poses, I did some restorative yoga and eased gently into a long-for-me Savasana.

Astanga

I squeezed in a quick practice in the afternoon before heading out for dinner and a movie. The weather has been touch and go lately, but today was spectacular.

Practice was short form of the primary with my added poses.

I was out on my bike in the afternoon, running some errands and it seemed like the whole world was out and about - entire neighbourhoods filled with happy, light-jacket-clad people, full patios and children on scooters and bikes. The joy that filled the air made for an almost 'festival' atmosphere.

Almost spring, almost!

Hatha

I taught a kids class in the afternoon and did my practice right before, so it felt like my practice kind of segued into the class itself. That's always fun because we play a lot of games, which reminds me how much fun it is to occasionally bring my practice into a place of 'playfulness'.

I did lots and lots of standing poses, a few handstands and spent more time than usual in shoulderstand.

I'm going through one of my 3-second-Savasana phases, where I can't stand to stay in a the resting pose for very long. I'm sure this is tied to my non-existent meditation practice, but I'm not worrying about it for now. I'm carrying about as many worries as I can handle at the moment.

Astanga

Adding three poses into my Short Form sequence has revitalised it more than I thought possible. To be honest, I wasn't even aware that I was bored with the short form, but I look forward to each of my +3 poses with eagerness. Bhujapindasana, in particular, I'm really enjoying.

This is a bit of an epiphany for me, in regards to the Mysore method. Although I'm certainly not following it, I can better understand it. It makes me wonder if I should continue to add in 'new' poses every couple of weeks until my Primary Series is 'full' again. It's certainly a fun way to build a practice.

And my practice today was fun. That seems to be the theme of the week. This is my last 'slow' week until June. My full schedule of classes kicks in next week (and thank God, I'm skimming the dregs of my chequeing account right now). I've been doing work around the apartment, catching up on finances, submitted my tax materials to the accountant and reading book after book.

I had my fourth guitar lesson on Monday. I don't feel like I'm making a lot of progress, but I'm sure I probably am. It's all incremental and I can't hear the changes because they happen so gradually.

Hatha

This month, I seem to have settled into an alternating pattern of Hatha-Astanga-Hatha-Astanga. There's no rhyme or reason to the pattern, except I do it every day without fail.

My Hatha days are loose and unstructured and have taken on an atmosphere of fun. I'll try more challenging poses multiple times, challenge myself to hold them longer and longer or add my own playful variations. Astanga days are focused and flowing. The fun is in not needing to improvise - the sequence is laid out for me with soothing regularity.

Each practice nourishes me in a different way.

Today, I continued to play with balances. I experimented with looking back at my raised leg in Ardha Chandrasana to check the alignment, then looking back up at the ceiling. This work with standing balances has made Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana strong and stable on Astanga days.

I spent a lot of time on Bakasana today, experimenting with different ways of coming into the pose and trying to come into it in a deeper way. This means getting the knees into my armpit and balancing the knee tip into the very top of the tricep. Ouch. It also means straightening the arms. I managed to do these things, but not together and when I tried to jump my feet back to exit the pose, I fell over into a puddle of giggles. Fun!

Astanga

Guitar lesson #4 is this afternoon, so I spent the morning alternating between work and practice. I'm working on three songs right now and the first two are coming along really nicely, but the third involves a technique called 'finger picking' and it's not going so well. Need more practice. I think my right fingers need to do some vinyasa yoga to build strength and endurance!

Also, I've created a new Law of Kai. It's called the “Recession? What Recession?” law. I'm not talking about the stupid economy anymore. Specifically, I'm not using the economy as an excuse. For anything. There is no recession!

Today's practice was a new invention of mine I'm calling 'The Short Form +'. (I'm very inventive today, eh?). Today, it was the Short Form + Purvottanasana, Tiriangmukhaikapada Pachimottansana and Bhujapindasana. 45 minutes of bliss on my Manduka during which I thought of nothing else. Then it was back to work.

Hatha

I haven't been to a Quaker Meeting in quite some time and really missed it. I'm often not around the neighbourhood on Sunday mornings, but I was this week so decided to take the opportunity.

Clearly, I need to beef up my meditation practice! I can remember Meetings that passed by so timelessly that the end of the hour came as a complete surprise to me. Not today. Today, I was a wreck.

I did manage to restrain my watch-glancing to every 15 minutes or so but the time just *dragged*. I needed to cough (even though I hadn't coughed all morning). I twitched. My legs ached, so I stretched them. The elder Friend next to me clearly hadn't eaten breakfast because his stomach rumbled and squeaked. Soon, my stomach was sounding off in sympathy. Someone down the row started snoring and I felt my head nodding.

But it was nice to be back, all the same. There is a genuine atmosphere of peace in that room and I carried it with me all day. And I went to Chippy's afterward for fish and chips ;-)

Practice today was 45 minutes of Hatha. I focused on some hip openers (Pigeon - I'm still working on Hanumasana) and fun balancing poses (Bakasana, Ardha Chandrasana, and big toe balance). I played a little game with myself where I counted how many seconds I could stay in a balance. I ended with some restorative yoga and Savasana.

Astanga

We were awake by 5:30 this morning. It felt very odd to be up at that hour. Last year, I was a habitual early riser and I treasured my leisurely mornings. Over the winter, I got lazy. This spring, I would like to ease back into an early schedule. It makes everything so much easier because I feel like I have more of the day. Lately, I've been getting up around 7 a.m.

I went for a long walk in the park just after sunrise. During the winter months, I skate for exercise, but as soon as the snow clears I start my walks again. I have a favourite 45 minute route that traverses sidewalks, trails, city and forest, including a series of steep stairs up to the big park.

Usually, the stairs are difficult for me during these first walks of the spring, but not this year. I spring up the steps two at a time and I'm barely winded when I reach the top. I can only attribute this to my daily yoga practice, since I haven't really been skating consistently this winter and I do no other cardiovascular exercise.

When I got home, I did the short form. I was lazy, lazy, lazy and took a more hatha approach to the series with long holds and a leisurely pace. I teach a morning class and then I'm going to go to the farmer's market and run errands.

It's cold, but I plan to do this on my bicycle. I've been biking everywhere since the temperatures warmed to plus-zero. Like the walking, I'm finding biking to be an easy adjustment this year; I feel strong. I'm truly enjoying the outdoors and all this physical activity. Bring on spring!

Vinyasa

Today was chaotic. I can't pin down exactly where the time went but I felt like I didn't have enough of it. I had breakfast at the cafe, banana pancakes again. This banana pancakes thing is getting out of control. I need to stop the madness.

I taught a noon class and then rushed home to practice. I was strapped for time and feeling overwhelmed so I just did the sun salutations for 20 minutes. It was actually exhausting. I don't know how people manage those 108-salutation-yoga-mala things.

I proceeded to have a spectacularly awful afternoon. I don't think I'll ever go back to the listtle café I used to be so fond of. Their brownies are wonderful, but the staff seem to actively dislike the customers. This is not a new problem, but today it was particularly bad.

I never imagined that anyone could completely botch a cup of tea, but it was a disaster from the get-go. My cup was so hot that I couldn't drink out of it (turns out, they were storing cups on top of the espresso machine). I asked for another cup (after I got up to find some flatware, since the server was busy gossiping in the corner). I was given another too-hot cup and then a derisive look when I asked for a cup that was actually cool enough to drink out of . To add insult to incompetence, the chai tea itself was weak and tasteless (not enough chai mix in the tea ball, I suspect; they're economizing). I actually spoke up for myself and refused to pay for it.

I went home. I ate pizza. Life goes on.

Astanga

In January, I participated in World Yoga Practice Month to launch my Year of Doing Yoga Daily. As a daily participant of WoYoPracMo, I won a prize: A lovely OM candle donated by our very own YogaMum. The beautiful gift arrived in the mail this week and totally made my day.

Here it is, in a place of honour on my altar:


Today's practice was the short form. Yes, again. On the plus side, I seem to have settled into doing an Astanga practice every other day. It's working for me. Now, I just need to move it up to a full primary.

I'm feeling really tired today. I was up early and volunteering at the soup kitchen this morning. First time in a long time and it was great to see everyone again.

My low energy may also be due to the temperature, which has dipped back down into the single digits (and, Goddess-forbid, the minus digits). As I was biking to a class today, it actually started snowing. If garlic wards off vampires, what wards off snowflakes?

Whatever it is, I need some!

Hatha

It was so beautiful out today! The forecast was for rain, but by mid-afternoon, it had cleared up completely AND it was 15C out! I took my guitar outside and practised, enjoying the sunshine and the happy people out and about. The whole day felt like a celebration. When it warms up in Canada, people really get excited!

For yoga, I did a simple Hatha practice today with an emphasis on consistent holds. After the first few poses, the longer-than-usual holds actually felt like a treat. I even found myself holding for longer than I had intended. I started with 30 seconds and then moved toward a minute in each pose. Not too long, but long enough to really settle in.

I could feel my mind softening and I was deeply relaxed when I finished.

Astanga

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I celebrated by wearing a green necklace to the class. Practice was the short form and I played around with drop backs against the wall.

I taught one of my young students how to drop back today and it occurred to me how ironic it is that I can give all this great advice and guidance on how to drop back, but I still can't do it on my own. It's embarrassing. Part of it is due to an inflexible spine - I've never been bendy. Of course, there only one remedy to that: more back bends. But I hate them.

Really, really, hate.

It's so much easier to do the stuff I like - strength stuff like handstands and arm balances. Of course, I didn't previously enjoy hand stand either. It came with practice.

Harumpf!

Restorative

There are good days and there are bad days. Today fell into the later category. There was some tension in the morning. I felt this tension all day as I tried to sort through my own work. It doesn't seem to be an easy time for anybody. March is a cold, challenging month.

I'm pretty close with money these days due to the economy and my own (freelance) work situation, but I'm trying to continue with the hobbies and activities that are important to me. I'm sticking with my guitar lessons, even though they're pricey. Yoga, of course, is free because I home practice. Ice hockey is easy because my fees were paid up-front last year and I have all the equipment I need.

I came home after hockey, took a hot bath and did a half-hour of very gentle restorative yoga, legs up the wall in Viparita Karani with several variations to open up my hips and hamstrings. I nearly fell asleep in Savasana.

Tomorrow is another day!

Astanga

We're having a nice preview of spring! I took out my trusty little folding bike for the first time yesterday and again today. I headed downtown, riding across the university campus and through preparations for the St. Patrick's Day parade.

The range of participants was bizarre. There was a Chinese Dragon, the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong practitioners) marching band and Jamaican music on steel pans. Oh yes, and some Irish stuff too! Lots of green.

I continued down to the Sunday flea market and wandered around looking at stuff, then ate brunch at a funky little greasy spoon diner across the street.

After I rode home, I couldn't bear to be indoors, so I took the dog for a long walk, then grabbed my hoop and headed to the park.

The hoop is a new activity for me. I bought a folding hoop back in February and took one class (remember the bruises?), but I haven't done anything with it since. Today, it was warm enough to practice in the park without a jacket. My hoop was so pretty and sparkly in the sunlight!

I practised rotating the hoop both counter-clockwise (the direction most comfortable for me) and, less successfully, clockwise. Some people don't bother to learn both, but it makes sense to me to alternate between them. Interestingly, I found that it was easier to hoop in both directions when I focused on my breath - very similar to yoga. When I shifted my awareness to breath, my body seemed to know what to do.

I came home afterwards and did the short form of the Primary Series. I had a great practice! I felt so calm and connected to my breath. It was lovely.

Hatha

Today was pretty eventful. In the morning, I made a triumphant return to my Saturday class, which has been on hiatus since October. I really missed it. I started teaching this group five years ago, until the club we were at went bankrupt. The class moved to a nearby tennis club, which finally closed when the city refused to renew its lease.

We finally found a lovely new space for the class in the basement meeting room of a community co-op. We had a wonderful class and I'm optimistic that this little yoga community will come back together again.

I taught a gentle hatha class with hip openers and enjoyed it so much that I came home and did the same sequence for myself. Then I headed out into the sunshine for a long walk with the dog - our first walk to the Big Park this year. The weather is amazing right now and it looks like we'll enjoying it for the entire weekend.

Vinyasa

Today was one of those throw-away days. I hate to say that because it's so pessimistic, but in this case it was true. I was in a bad mood in the morning and burst into tears after breakfast. Then I felt icky all day. By the evening, I felt dully depressed.

I didn't feel like practising so, of course, I put it off all day (I'm good at that). By evening, I didn't feel like doing restorative, so I went ahead and did sun salutations. That's it - just sun salutations. I saluted the sun for 15 minutes, did one forward bend, then Savasana.

It was just a hard day, I'm glad it's over, tomorrow will definitely better. I'm not superstitious or anything, but today *is* Friday the 13th ;-)

Astanga

Half primary today. I didn't have a great practice and it wasn't a bad one either. I was a bit preoccupied through it all. I worked on lift-ups and jump throughs. I also worked on Hanumasana (splits) - it's been a while (yup, I've fallen off that wagon again, but I'm back on). Interestingly, I haven't lost any flexibility in splits but it's slow going.

Hatha

I did a brief hatha practice today, about 20 minutes.

I never really did my recap for February. I'm still on track for my goal of daily yoga practice in 2009. I made it through February (short month!) without missing a day. This month was interesting because of the distractions, mainly musical.

I've been distracted from yoga lately by my new obsession with guitar. It's amusing that this instrument languished in storage for three years because I couldn't find the discipline to practice. Overwhelmed by guilt, I restrung my guitar on February 2nd and I've been on a roll ever since.

My secret weapon is lessons! Since I started lessons in February, I've been very diligent about practising and I'm making some real progress. I think it has something to do with being accountable to a teacher. It would be just plain embarrassing to go into my lesson and stumble around. Also, lessons are expensive, so I feel compelled to make the most of them.

I enjoy music, I always have (I started university on a music scholarship), but learning an instrument is a completely different experience as an adult. I'm finding that practising music has a meditative focus for me; it gets my mind out of ruts. Playing my shruti box has the same effect and when I get into a groove, I can find this same serenity in drumming. Interestingly, since starting guitar, I've been drawn back into those instruments as well.

Years ago in YTT, my teacher asked us: “What sustains you?” (the question has hounded me ever since...) Of course, at the time, I thought: “Yoga.” And that's still true - some of the time, at least. But I've also found that as a yoga teacher and daily practitioner, yoga has lost some of its 'sustaining' quality. It's still powerful - in some ways more than ever - but it's also less of a refuge. I'm starting to reach for other activities to fill that space. Meditation is less of a refuge than a struggle. But music and art seem to be re-establishing a place in my life. In many ways, it's helping me find the balance I've been seeking all along.

Astanga

Okay, back in the saddle again. Between my Lady's, a rich brunch, a party with lots of cake, a dinner of sumptuous Thai food and a dinner party too decadent to describe, I'm feeling a tad pudgy again. And I won't mention the Mrs. Fields cookies...(oops).

I haven't been skating very much this month, even though the rink downtown is technically open for business. The ice hasn't been very good and I don't have a subway pass this month. I'm thinking that tomorrow might be a good day to re-launch my daily walks. Maybe the energy of my walking will hurry spring along because, really, it can't come soon enough!

Today, I resumed a more vigourous practice with the short form of the Primary Series. It's incredible how weak I can feel after just three days of restorative yoga. I could feel my energy levels climbing with each sun salutation.

Restorative

I had a really difficult day. Last week, I unexpectedly received a phone call about a job opportunity in an office. Normally, I wouldn't consider a long -term office contract, but the yoga business has been slow lately and this sounded perfect: part-time, interesting work, nice office, bike-able commute, friendly employer. The timing was just perfect. On Friday, I went in for the interview. It went really well and I was optimistic.

Then, today, I got the phone call: I came in second place. To be honest, I wasn't even looking for part-time work in the first place, but this was so ideal that I allowed myself to get excited about it. The let-down was harsh. I feel like fate threw me a bone, then snatched it way.

So I'm feeling a tad cynical.

Today's practice was a simple restorative practice. I did some supine backbending over a bolster, did 'upside down pigeon' to open up my hips, followed by some supine twists.

Tomorrow = a better day.

Restorative

Still not feeling well. With the exception of my obligatory 15 minutes of restorative yoga, I spent the day in bed reading and surfing the web.

So I don't have much to report, though I do have a number of new and interesting applications on my iPod.

My favourite is 'Heartbeat'. By feeling your own pulse and tapping on the screen in time with it, you can measure your heart rate. I found two new (and free) Binaural Beat apps, but Sleep Stream remains my favourite for getting to sleep at night. I also tried out Yoga Trainer Light (cute), a Zen Garden and I Ching app.

Too much time on my hands? Yup, that's me!

Restorative

And then Lady's Holiday hit me like a load of bricks.

My practice today consisted of laying on the floor doing every yoga pose I could think of to relieve menstrual cramps. Then I dosed up on Tylenol and went to a dinner party. Good times.

Not much more to say except, why, oh, why did my social life have to explode into a flurry of activity on this particular weekend? *sigh*

Vinyasa

I finally detected a note of spring in the air today and it's really warm out! The high was 18C, which is unbelievable, given that it was -30 this time last week. I went skating at the Square and the ice rink was like a big lake on top of ice. When I finished, my skates (and the bottoms of my jeans) were soaked.

Today has been a wacky day to try to fit in a yoga practice. I went to my favourite café for banana pancakes in the morning. Then I was off to a meeting that I'm going to be very mysterious about for the time being, but I'll drop a hint: it's part of Plan A to get myself through this recession in one piece. I taught a class after that.

However, I did managed to hit the mat for about 20 minutes. I did some sun salutations, a few standing poses, a few seated poses and Savasana. I'm addicted to forward bends right now - even standing forward bends. I feel a deep need to stretch my hamstrings and I'm really feeling the stretch deeply (and not feeling any strain in my back).

Astanga

I'm feeling better today. Things finally seem to be looking up. I spoke with my mother on the phone and she's moving through her grief, trying to keep busy.

I did an hour of yoga today and got through half of the Primary Series. It felt so good. I would have done more, but I needed to leave to teach my afternoon class.

Vinyasa

Today, I did a quick morning practice after walking the dog. I was feeling very low energy and managed to get through just the sun salutations and the standing poses. I felt *awful* throughout the entire thing. Usually, I dislike holding poses for a long time. Today? I couldn't get myself to move out of them onto the next thing. I was Tamas personified.

I did, however, do a cleaning project. I cleaned out the wall unit where my T.V., VCR, musical instruments, yoga equipment and the dog's toys all live. Oh yeah, and there's a a teddy bear and a folded up 'hoop' (for hula hooping - my new soon-to-be summer hobby) up there too. It's a busy wall unit! I reorganised everything, dusted, found a new home for my musical instruments.

Restorative

This has not been a good week. In fact, I think it's fair to say it's been a very bad week. On Sunday, I received word that a close family friend (who had been like a mother to me when I was young) died of cancer. The worst part is, she actually died last May, but no one told me. I emailed a member of her family (with a heavy heart because I knew the news likely wouldn't be good) to ask how she was doing.

And it's just piling on...yesterday, my mother's dog became very sick. The dog is a miniature schnauzer like my dog, but she's much older, going on 13. My mother emailed me this afternoon to let me know that the dog had passed away. It's difficult to go through something like this yourself, but I've found that it's even more excruciating to watch my mother suffer from such a deep grief. I feel so helpless to do anything for her. I've been emailing and phoning, offering any support I can.

All of that to say, today was a restorative yoga day. I did some floor poses for a half-hour, using a bolster and a strap (including my favourite Supta Padangusthasana sequence).

And I didn't clean a damned thing.

Hatha

For today's practice, I did a half-hour of Hatha Yoga. I did a variety of standing poses, then layed down over a bolster (mid-back) with my legs strapped into Baddha Konasana. And then I totally zoned out. Bliss. I've been feeling very run down this week, for a variety of reasons. I think I'm definitely fighting off a cold, though. Need to get the neti pot out.

Today's cleaning project: I tackled the clothes closet and the floors. The latter were very, very dusty. I spent a lot of time just mopping up the dust. The clothes closet mainly needed to be tidied. It looks much better now.

Hatha

For today's practice, I did a half-hour of Hatha Yoga. I did a variety of standing poses, then layed down over a bolster (mid-back) with my legs strapped into Baddha Konasana. And then I totally zoned out. Bliss. I've been feeling very run down this week, for a variety of reasons. I think I'm definitely fighting off a cold, though. Need to get the neti pot out.

Today's cleaning project: I tackled the clothes closet and the floors. The latter were very, very dusty. I spent a lot of time just mopping up the dust. The clothes closet mainly needed to be tidied. It looks much better now.

Vinyasa

Today practice was quick, because I was caught up in cleaning projects all day and totally forgot about yoga. I finally unrolled my mat in the late afternoon before heading to the house for the night.

Because I was short on time, I did the sun salutations and standing poses from the Primary Series. I had forgotten what a nice, compact, fairly complete practice the standing poses make. It took me a little over 20 minutes. This part of the Primary Series is focused on strength. I felt very grounded when I finished.

Today's cleaning project: The bookshelves. One shelf at a time, I took the books down and dusted the shelves. I also organised and purged a few things. My altar - you know, the one I meditate in front of when I 'get around to it' *shamefaced* - was really dusty. I took everything off, shook out the cloth covering it, then dusted and reorganised my various gods, goddesses and sentimental objects.