I love the Spokane River!

During the blogging workshop this morning put on by Jeff Gish and Pia Hallenberg Christensen, I met a young man who was new to Spokane. We chatted about what brought him here and I thought about having lived in Spokane all my life. I remember saying when I left, check out the Spokane River.

When I think about Spokane, what I love is the river.
I’ve walked the Spokane River for nearly 30 years now.  Originally I walked near Gonzaga University and now in Peaceful Valley where I live.

Domingo, my Cairn terrier mix and I love the walk to People’s Park. We walk across the Sanifer Bridge and I delight in feeling the water mist up on my skin.  A cacophony of birds lead us deeper in the park where Latah Creek intersects with the Spokane River.  The creek, also known as Hangman Creek changes seasonally from being like a rolling river, to a frozen lake and in late summer to a few puddles you can walk across. My favorite time is in the early spring when the frozen creek breaks and 6-inch ice chucks feed the river.
The Spokane River is a photographer’s dream!

Latah, or Hangman Creek is an area where the Spokane Indians used to camp. My friends, Bill Kostelec, The Blue Ribbon Tea Company wrote a song, The Pride of Vinegar Flats about this.
Enough writing, we’re going for a walk!

Listening to my body at the Ashram!

The last 10 days of July I had an incredible experience at the Yasodhara Ashram in beautiful British Columbia. I was aware of this Ashram because of the Radha Yoga Center in Spokane where I have taken yoga and dream classes for several years.

You may be aware of my experience with adrenal fatigue in 2008 and 2009. At the retreat one day our focus was on Relaxation and Rest. What happened for me was I realized (again) I didn't know how to rest. Previously, I would get tired and use caffeine and sugar to push through. We experienced Hidden Language Yoga and it was wonderful. After the pose, we journaled. First we did the Bridge and Tranquility Poses to become aware of our spine. Then we did the Cobra. We dialogued with ourselves after each pose. The question I journaled with was "What do I surrender to?" The answer could be another blog or newsletter. For me my back clearly disclosed that it needed further support and in the cobra I understood my abdomen needs to support my back. This will alleviate the back twinges I get occasionally.

Also, I contemplated the relationship between Joy and Surrender. I clearly understood I fight with mySelf inwardly by choosing confusion and indecision rather than surrendering and moving into a state of wait. I fight outwardly by resisting rather than accepting and letting life unfold. When I surrender, there is no struggle and I feel JOY!

Class focused on rest and we did some relaxation and visualization exercises. It was delightful. During lunch and on our break we were asked to be in silence. I spend a lot of time alone, but I became aware of how much rest I get when I am in conscious silence.




I spent time on the beach of Kootenay Lake and had quite a walk back up to my room in Saraswati. As I began the journey back I decided to bring rest into my life. I will write more about this when I write and share my Karma Yoga experience. On the way back I decided to stop to rest after a number of steps. I looked at the flowers, the trees, the birds, the cherries and the apples on each rest stop. When I got to the steps I decided to take 10 steps and rest, 10 steps and rest. It was an incredible experience. Whenever I stopped, the colors were so much more grand!

My desire for the retreat was rest. Now I am rested, have learned incredible tools and am more conscious of my life and my relationship with the Divine!

Bless your heart, Candess