Friday, February 24, 2012

Yoga Class and New Window Treatment



Yoga Class and New Window Treatment:

I know this title sounds rather strange; Yoga Class and New Window Treatment. Well, the truth of the matter is after taking a yin yoga class this morning, a type of yoga class I never usually take, I came back to my home office and was planning on doing some work. Instead, I found myself starring at the window treatment while sitting at my computer. I thought to myself, "forget it and get back to your work." But for some reason the ever so chatty conscious mind was shuffling through different types of fabric, color, curtain rods, and the list goes on. Alright I thought to myself, I will feed this urge. So off I went shopping. As luck would have it, the first store I went into I found the perfect curtain and rod, and both on sale. Okay I thought, the universe is really working with me now.

Hauling the bags inside and up to my office, I thought once again,"Why am I doing this? The curtains presently dressing the window look just fine."  Down the steps I went and into the garage to grab some tools and the BIG ladder. I realized the new curtains were marked down because they were 95 inches in length. Yikes, the curtains hanging on the window now were 84 inches. Okay, no big deal. I'll just create a more dramatic look and raise the new rod closer to the ceiling. This will give the impression of a higher ceiling and bigger room. Perfect I thought.

Patience Being Tested:

I'm struggling now to open the encased rod. It's as if this thing was made of gold the way the factory packaged it. Take a breath I thought, just a few more cuts with the scissors and I'm in. The sweat is now starting to drip from my brow.  For a moment I thought this was more of a work out then my yoga class this morning.

At this point, I decided to stop arm wresting with the curtain rod package and remove the old rod and brackets. Now the can of worms really opens. So, did I forget to mention that I had painted my office at least three different colors over the years, and you guessed it, I painted around these brackets to save time and now they are stuck to the wall like feathers to tar. Time for the hammer I thought. Oh yes, things are getting ugly now. I step back and again think to myself..."Why and I doing this?" Several bangs later and off pops the old wooden brackets only to find they were anchored in with screws that looked like they could hold up the Brooklyn bridge. Where's a power screw driver when you need one? Needless to say, those screws were not coming out. I thought, no problem I'll paint over them and the new curtains will cover them up.

Ujayii Breath:

As all yogis know the ujayii breath is the breath to calm the mind during yoga. Well, it was time to engage in this pranayama off the mat and onto my ladder. It was time to screw in the new brackets. Using the eyeball measuring method, I proceed to mark off where "bracket number one" will go." I'm on a roll now I thought. As I proceed to tap in the nail to prepare for the molly bolt, the nail comes to an abrupt halt. Low and behold I hit a stud or something that feels like the Great Wall of China. Okay, option two. Let's forego the molly bolt and just sink the screw. Unfortunately, to no avail. The screw will not budge through that cement brick or whatever it was. Without a handy drill I'm pretty much up the creek without the proverbial paddle. Now I find myself banging and tapping the wall to see where it is hollow. Four more inches over to the left and I find myself making new holes for the bracket. This time its going in. Not a chance. Off my ladder I go to dig deep into my toolbox for shorter screws. I come back into my office and shocked to see all the holes I have created around the window frame. Looks like I am going to be doing some painting as well.

I manage to get all three brackets in place and in alignment. Next, find the original paint. Digging through my garage storage tubs, I find it. Running up the steps with paint and brush in hand, I take a small stumble and spill a tiny bit of paint on one of the new curtains. I draw the breath in slowly, find a towel, moisten it, and blot away. Not bad I think to myself. I touch up all the nail holes with a little spackle, paint over them, and like magic the wall looks reborn. Up go the curtains and here I am writing this blog, green tea to my right, and a smile on my face.

It's amazing how the conscious mind pulled me from my desk today to this window adventure. It is also amazing how patient and calm I remained during the "not so easy project." Without the breath and yogic mind this could have been a different blog.

May you enjoy patience today.

Mary Jane Kasliner - Feng Shui Master & Yogi
President - Body Space Alignment
www.fengshuiyoganj.com
Aligning Your Inner & Outer Landscape Blog: http://fengshuihealthydesigns.blogspot.com/


 

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