Yoga at Fifty-Seven

I LIKE THAT our yoga instructor is my age, however, that’s where our similarities end. She has long hair, virtually no bust line, a rib cage that you can see behind her T-shirt, a slim waist, trim hips, firm buttocks and legs that actually come straight down from her hips with that special gape at her pelvic bone that men love so much.

I’ve attended four classes so far and have enjoyed each session tremendously. While Ms. Robin contorts her body like a Cirque du Soliel performer, I do my best to achieve even half of the pose. My wrists and toes, at this point, cannot hold up my body as long as is required with the Downward  Dog pose, for example. I’m working on it at home.

The Tree is another funky stance that requires balance and concentration. At this point, I’m still using my big toe on the bent-knee side to stabilize me. We’ve been assigned the position as homework. Great fun!

My favourite place is the Corpse pose at the end of the session. We cover our eyes, drape our body with a blanket and lay quiet for a while just breathing. Ahhhhh.

Breathe...

4th Place winner

Bonnie The Birch

Submitted by Susan Black

I walk south on Dogwood Street several times a week and pass by a tree that seems to be calling out for help. I’ve named her Bonnie The Birch.

During the summer, her little leaves flutter in the wind, calling attention to herself, but no one seems to notice her. Instinctively, when the season changes, she releases her accessories and they fall to the ground around her. In the winter months she stands naked but brave, ready for the spring sun to rebirth her foliage.

She stands a meager four feet tall, stunted I suspect, from lack of water. She stands wedged between two huge logs and is strangled by tall grass and the encroaching bully known as the yellow broom plant.

At her roots, there is discarded debris and one of her branches has a plastic cup dangling on the end of it. That day I stepped up to her and removed the unwanted ornament from her outstretched limb.

The sweet thing is located on the northwest corner of the neighbouring property and it is obvious from her appearance that she is need of water. I’m not an arborist, but if this tree is a birch, as I suspect, then she has shallow roots, which need watering during dry periods. I look at her closely and decide that I will try to find her owner and ask if I can adopt her. So far, however, the property owner has not returned my calls. Patiently, Bonnie remains steadfast.

My story was accepted into the Story Tree category in a competition hosted by Greenways Land Trust in Campbell River. They let me know that I had won a tree book. I'm so excited!

Prize winners