In Prison The Entire Weekend

Hey Folks, like that blog title? Got your attention, didn't it?  

Will miss you all this weekend at yoga and at the meeting because of a project I'm heading up at the prison this weekend.  Think I won't be putting karma yoga to the test? Think again. Picture this:  me, 17 Purdue students, 20 offenders, and a muddy 60 x 60 foot area that has to become a park in 2 days complete with drainage pipes run, new soil laid, new sod laid, and two patios built.  

Add to that the projected weather that's expected:  Rain and tornados on Saturday and snow showers on Sunday. Whew -  starting to practice Uijay breathing at just the thought of it all.....suddenly, Chris's arm balances don't seem as challenging in light of this weekend and blending two rather diverse crowds of people in the midst of what will resemble a mud wrestling pit (minus any wrestling, I pray...the prison really frowns on that, you know).

Spent some meditative time late this afternoon focusing on creating salads with love and awareness. These will be part of the lunch I have planned for the folks tomorrow...the 7 or so offenders I work with regularly have shared how they are limited in the types of foods they receive at the prison (for example, iceberg lettuce vs. healthy spinach or mesclun). And so it was with this intention in mind that I put together two large, varied, colorful salads. I brought to mind with each cut of vegetables the look on the offenders' faces when I told them I was bringing in "real greens with real flavor"...you would have thought I told them they won the lottery. Such pleasure to know they would be getting flavorful, healthy food? Maybe tinged with the pleasure of knowing someone was doing something for them for no reason other I wanted to?  

It makes me think of  how each of us in the BTWG program have food at our disposal 24/7 -- and others do not. How many of us have the means to afford organic, and others don't. How we can pick and choose what we put in our bodies and others take what they can find.  How fortunate we are to have this choice. Makes me want to treat it with more responsibility.

Please, please tomorrow at yoga, send some good energy in the general direction of Indiana Women's Prison downtown. Send some compassion and understanding and nonjudgment toward all of us there working together.  Would love for that to rain down on us versus the skies unloading!  Namaste All.