Seattle Yogini

The Nature of Freedom

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about the nature of freedom.  What does it mean to be "free", particularly in the context of relationships - with ourselves, with others and with the world?

According to the Mirriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the word freedom means:
1 : the quality or state of being free: as a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another  : INDEPENDENCE c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous   <freedom from care> d : EASE, FACILITY   <spoke the language with freedom> e : the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken   <answered with freedom> f : improper familiarity g : boldness of conception or execution h : unrestricted use   <gave him the freedom of their home>
2 a : a political right b : FRANCHISE, PRIVILEGE

Freedom is one of the goals of yoga, insofar as we seek freedom from pain (not just physical pain, but despair, disconnectedness from the Divine, loneliness, anxiety, jealousy, etc.).  According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the ancient text that lays out the 8 Limbs of Yoga, pain is the result of a number of things, including attachment, disconnection from our true nature, and an undisciplined mind.  Working within this context, I find it interesting that the very pursuit of freedom which some people seek ends up causing them a great deal of pain.

For one thing, I'm not entirely sure that it is possible to be free, in the dictionary-sense of the word.  Take 1a of the definition above:  if there is no constraint in choice or action, then how are we to choose the path that is ours?  If we do not have an abiding sense of direction, guidelines, or sense of ethics, how do we discern the value or the repercussions of the choices in front of us?  Would not the choices be limitless - and therefore overwhelming?  Is overwhelming the bosom buddy of free?

In my worldview, which is informed by my yoga practice and the Purna Yoga tradition, the path to true freedom is through knowing oneself, doing one's best at all endeavors, and surrendering to the Divine.  This means that part of my job, as one who is working on my growth as a human being, is to observe my reactions, my habits, my tendencies, my laziness, my strengths, etc., etc., and to cultivate a relationship with myself in which I truly learn who and what I am.  Then, out of recognition of my own true nature (that of love, joy, and - in essence - the Divine itself), how could I do anything but my best?  Working from this degree of self-knowledge and dedication to trying my best, I humbly recognize that many things are out of my hands.  I am working within the context of a human existence, and so I open to the Divine and trust that I will learn what I need to learn, and ultimately be taken care of in all matters.  This does not mean that I always get what I want, nor that all things will come easily to me.  It does, however, mean that a whole world of healing, joy, opportunity, and perhaps even freedom comes to me as I work to know myself and improve myself every minute of every day.

I do not believe that my chosen lifestyle resonates with the modern understanding of the word freedom, which often seems to me like an "Oh, well.  You're free to do whatever you want, and I am, too." attitude.  Yes, of course you have the choice to do whatever you want, and yet we all must recognize that there are consequences to our actions, our choices, our words.  It is misguided to believe that your actions do not have an inherent impact upon someone or something.  Oftentimes, people who behave as if there were no consequence related to their actions inflict a great deal of pain upon themselves and others.  Operating under the guidelines of a discipline or tradition - whether it be a religion, a spiritual path, or a philosophy - I believe that we find the kind of freedom few people appreciate.

Bound by principals, we make choices that are, in fact, constrained.  And yet, freedom from pain (as described above) is one of the results of choosing to live within those constraints.  So, perhaps we trade one concept of freedom for another.  Either way, I believe that the pursuit of freedom, with a healthy dose of accountability, is a worthy endeavor and one that can teach the meaning of what it is to be truly free.

Yoga is to Stretching...

...what cooking is to microwaving (thanks, Gordon, for that great analogy!).  Sure, the food you took out of the freezer and zapped in the nuker is warm, and some might say edible, but it is hardly "cooked".  Cooking refers to an art and science wherein ingredients are chosen, prepared, combined and then totally changed through the use of heat.  (Okay, so the Mirriam-Webster Online Dictionary doesn't put it quite like that, but still...)

The point is that when yoga is portrayed as a stretching regimen, it's only barely scratching the tippy-top of the surface of a very deep practice.  In fact, a well-rounded yoga practice does much more than increase physical flexibility.  Here's a cursory survey of what yoga does for the body:

    - Strengthening of the muscles in a way that supports suppleness of the fibers (this is good)
    - Re-training the central nervous system so that those who tend toward anxiety (for example) can shed it
    - Balancing the body so that scoliosis, high blood pressure, chronic illness, injuries, etc. heal
    - Support of the body's natural healing process

All of this is just the beginning, and yet it assumes a regular practice (not a once-a-week routine).  The sweetest fruits of yoga ripen in the warmth of a disciplined practice, not in dabbling with a stretch class  here and there.  Beyond the physical, benefits of a yoga practice include but are not limited to:

    - Learning to live fearlessly, and full of love
    - Living in a more spirit-filled way...fully embodying your spirit
    - Clearing the mind and feeling more centered
    - Understanding the intimate connection between yourself and others, and eventually seeing yourself in   
      others
    - Improving the three major relationships in your life:  with yourself, with others, and with your context   
      (environment)
    - Incorporating a true sense of responsibility for your own actions, which (perhaps ironically) creates a   
      great deal of freedom
    - Clarifying the importance of simultaneously caring deeply for the work of your life, and understanding   
      that in the bigger picture, leaving a legacy is unimportant

It is precisely because yoga is a deep practice that affects all parts of our existence (the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) that it is such a wonderful tool for healing.  We are more than the sum of our physical parts, and yet, as a culture we are very focused on the physical.  Forgetting to care for the mind, the emotions and the spirit leads to pain...which functions as a caution sign that something is out of harmony.

Stretching, while important, is not the same as yoga.  Stretching (if done properly) can of course make the body more comfortable, but for true healing...stretching does not even begin to compare to a whole-person yoga practice.

If you have any questions or would like more clarification on this subject, please leave a comment!

Yoga Therapy, a Purna Yoga Approach

Sorry I've been out of touch for a few days.  I am in the beginning days of a long-anticipated teacher training.  It's the Intermediate Intensive & Therapeutic Teacher Training, with my teacher, Aadil Palkhivala.  I've been signed up since August.  This is my first teacher training since finishing the College of Purna Yoga (last August).  A lot of my friends from school are back for this training, too, so it's really fun to get so much time with such good, fun friends.  :-)

So, what do we do in a training such as this?  Well, grasshopper, many many things arise in such trainings.  The set-up this year is different than other trainings:  we're doing a practice & review session first thing in the morning, during which time we go over therapeutic techniques learned the previous afternoon.  Then we have a short break, followed by the intermediate asana intensive portion - basically 2 - 3 hours of intermediate level asana class.  (Side note:  When I speak of intermediate asana in the context of a teacher training, I'm not talking about a "level 2" kind of class at your local studio.  I'm talking about a practice for people who have the practice deep in their bodies already.  As in, we practice, explore, and work the asana regularly...daily...and have been for years.  Just as in the far eastern arts, yoga practitioners are considered "beginners" for a very long time, and every tradition has a slightly different take on what it means to be a beginner/intermediate/advanced student.)  We get an hour for lunch, then we re-group for the therapeutics training portion.  We started on Wednesday, with only a half day.  Today was 8 - 5, tomorrow we get a late start, but go late (11:30 - 8pm) and then Saturday, Sunday and Monday we go from 9 - 7.  We really pack it in, but it's necessary if we hope to cover even a portion of the material we'd like to learn.

I've been looking forward to this training specifically because of the therapeutics portion.  In the college, we learned a great deal about the therapeutic application of asana (yoga poses/sequences), pranayama (breath work), meditation, lifestyle choices, nutrition and more.  I want to do more private/therapeutic instruction in my studio, and continuing education is a very high priority for me, so this workshop was an easy choice.  Many of my colleagues have noted that once they make the conscious effort to develop a specific aspect of their teaching, students who need that aspect start popping up.  That was certainly the case for me during and after Doula training - pregnant ladies are popping up all over the place, asking me about prenatal yoga!  Hopefully this trend will continue as I work to develop the private instruction aspect of my teaching.

So, what is Yoga Therapy?  There is no single, easy answer, but essentially it is the application of yoga asanas as a tool to help clients recover from injury, chronic pain, disease, etc.  Some therapists focus on psychological health, while others focus on physical health.  Like yoga teaching, there is currently no national or statewide standard for training or certification.  This means that clients must do their research in order to determine if the yoga therapist they've chosen has enough training and experience to be of service to them.  Many people with chronic pain, recent injury and those seeking to avoid surgery (i.e. fusions of the spine, hip replacement, shoulder or knee surgery) can benefit a great deal from private yoga instruction/yoga therapy with a well-trained, experienced teacher.

As a Certified Purna Yoga Instructor, I use the same underlying principle in yoga therapy sessions that I use in my classes:  humans are more than bodies, and our health is affected by many things.  We must take into account the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual "bodies" if we want to achieve balance and harmony in our lives.  Through this harmony, we find better health and increased vitality.  So I teach what the student/client is ready to learn, and when they open to that, I offer more.  When someone is in pain, for example, what helps them the most is learning ways to ease that symptom...they want out of pain.  I teach them gentle, basic asana sequences to ease the pain of their specific condition, and once out of pain they will (hopefully) want to learn how to heal the actual root cause of that pain. That's when the juicy work begins!

The NY Times recently ran an article about Yoga Therapy in which one client points out that in [the  average] class setting, the instructor may not know that you have a particular ailment or injury and/or may not be trained in how to individualize their teaching so that everyone can practice safely and effectively.  This is why understanding the difference between teacher training programs, and what constitutes the bare minimum in training, can really help yoga students and yoga therapy clients make informed decisions about their teachers.  I posted tips on choosing a yoga teacher here, but you may also find this chart helpful - especially if you're looking for help with a specific condition (narrow your search to teachers of a style that requires more training).  I am sure that as the Yoga Therapy profession grows, we will develop specific standards and scopes of practice to help clients navigate their options with confidence.  Until then, use the same care in choosing your yoga therapist as you use in choosing your yoga teacher, massage therapist, MD or any other healthcare provider.

Please remember that yoga teachers and yoga therapists use our expertise as a tool for healing, not for diagnosis of disease or injury (physical or mental).  For a diagnosis, seek medical attention.  Then, if you'd like to explore a yogic treatment plan, find a yoga therapist near you!

Almost there...

Remember when Clapotis was small enough that it resembled a bikini bottom?

Well, now I only have about that amount left 'till it's done.  Hooray!  Its chilly this evening, so while I worked on it, I covered my legs (feet up on coffee table) with it, and it's so long that it overlaps my feet.  I'm very pleased with the size, AND the coziness.  Hopefully will finish tomorrow, though Wednesday or Thursday is more likely...

New Dad, New Perspective

Last night in class, a very interesting issue was brought up that I'd like to address here.  One of my students, a new father, commented that now that he has a baby girl, he's noticing a lot of gender issues that he hadn't thought of before.  He's "tuned in" to them, if you will.

One example was the general assumption that moms do most of the parenting, and dad's are the "help".  He said that even "Parenting Magazine" caters to moms, and the subtitle says something to that effect.  It is so wonderful that so many men and women are sharing parenting responsibilities and joys, but sad that the myth of mom-as-primary-parent is still being propogated so widely.  We know more than every about the importance of baby-father bonding, and the huge impact that having a father (or at least a father figure) has in a child's development.  It seems that there's a lot of complaining about continued inequality, which is perhpas drowning out the voices of those fathers who are saying, "But I am involved, and I want to be supported in this role!"

It's a bit of a chicken and the egg conundrum:  if the media portrayed more egalitarian parenting, and magazines had articles about fathering, the important roles of fathers in children's development, etc., would more fathers become pro-active parents?  Or, do more fathers need to step up to this important role, publicly, and demand the support that they deserve?  I don't have an answer for this, but I certainly hope that this father can get plugged into a supportive community that recognizes the specific, but equally valuable, roles that moms and dads have in their child's life.  Do any of you have any leads?

The second example was the difficulty he and his wife have had finding children's books with female main characters.  He said that in all of the stories they've found, the main character - even if it's an animal - is always male.  He said that for Christmas they're going to ask for children's books with strong female protagonists.  :-)

I love to see people's perspectives broadened, and parenthood has an excellent way of doing just that.  I was sorry, though, to hear that there aren't more readily available children's books that support strong, independent development for our girls.  Have any of you found books that do this?  Do you have a resource for such books?  Any insight you can provide, that I could pass on to this dad, and any other interested parents, would be great appreciated!

Remarkable People

Yesterday I met a remarkable person.  This happens on occasion, and almost always in a serendipitous manner.  Every time, it delights me to no end!

As regular readers may know, Wednesdays are particularly odd days for me, schedule-wise, because I don't go to work until 4pm.  I spend the day doing whatever I need to do, and trying to conserve energy - on many levels - for my evening prenatal yoga class (followed by meditation, which can be quite demanding).  We were scheduled to have drywall installation yesterday, and I was more or less braced for lots of activity, noise, and male energy.  I set about my business and noticed that someone was working in the kitchen, and that whoever it was was very quiet, indeed.  He had music on, but with very low volume, and there was no sense of "ruckus" (you know, that boisterous energy that male colleagues often have when working together and enjoying each other's company) coming from the kitchen.  I didn't think much of it, as I was occupied with other things around the house.

Around mid-morning, our designer came by to check on things.  She recognized the man in the kitchen and had a nice chat with him, commenting on his energy and how compatible it was with working in our home.  This got my attention, as I had noticed that things felt different than on other days, when other guys are working in there, so I went to chat with him myself.  I wanted to see who this person was.

Ah, what fun to meet new people!  I mean, we'd introduced ourselves before, but this time we actually talked.  Face to face, eye to eye, heart to heart.  Have you ever met someone and really resonated with them?  Like you were actually on the same frequency, so to speak, and rather than spending half the conversation trying to "get" what they're trying to tell you...you have the feeling of what they're saying before the words are out.  This is what our conversation was like, which gave me the distinct feeling that we'd known each other before.  These are encounters, and people, that I consider remarkable.  There is something about them, and the way that we are able to relate to each other, that is truly distinct from encounters with other people.

The first time I experienced this it was pretty stunning, but the more it happens...well...the more it happens.  As I become more open to meeting such people, I come across more of them - at Pike Market, on vacations, even in my kitchen!  I think it is a lovely result of my yoga practice (as in, my life practice, not just my asana practice):  as I become more perceptive and more sensitive, I am drawn to (and draw to me) people with whom I deeply and smoothly resonate.  I rarely encounter "difficult" people, as like attracts like.  Also, I see our oneness, and endeavor to make time to really meet a person, not just introduce myself.  This makes every introduction an opportunity to meet a remarkable person.

If you'd like to meet more remarkable people, start with yourself - recognize your own gifts, wear and share them bravely, and see who comes to you.

Namaste.

Everyday Miracles

In doula training we talked a bit about the "everyday miracle" of babies being born:  it's an everyday occurence, quite literaly, as thousands of babies are born worldwide every single day.  For each mother, father and baby it is a miracle.  A baby was created, and born - it really is a mindblowing thing to see or experience.

Yesterday this was brought home for me even more, during my Mommy & Baby Yoga class.  I was watching a mom cuddling, cooing and laughing with her 9-week old daughter when it hit me:  that teeny little girl body will one day be able to do what her mother recently did:  give birth to a new person.  To see a baby girl, it's hard to immediatly imagine such growth, development and evolution.  Then I looked at another mom making eyes at her 3-month old son and thought, "Good God!  She grew a some-day man in her body!"

We are all born of women, and created of women and men.  This is not news, it is everyday information.  And yet the fact that we can do this at all is really quite amazing.

When the Media Does a Body Good

Sometimes I feel like the plethora of information and imagery available through all of our media options today is just plain overload.  We (including myself, I mean I keep a blog, right?!) put things out there because we can, or because we have a mission, or just to see what will happen.  Often times it seems like the bulk of what's out there is just going along with mass media/culture, but recently I have found a slew of sites, interviews, and radio documentaries geared toward helping women!  I thought I'd share some of them here:

It all started shortly after I decided to sign up for doula training at the Seattle Midwifery School.  I wanted to read more about the books on the required reading list, so I went to Mothering Magazine's website to read reviews.  If you've never read Mothering Magazine, or seen it's website, I highly recommend you take a look!  It offers many insights into the wonderful world of parenting, from pre-conception to having teenagers.  Their bias is toward non-medicated birth, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, etc.  Whether you already feel strongly in favor of that path or are curious and trying to decide what's best for you and your family, Mothering Magazine is a good resource for information and opinions.

Under their activism alert title, there was a link to a wonderful website called "The Shape of a Mother - A Mother's Body is Beautiful. Period."  this site is dedicated to "exposing", if you will, real mother's bodies.  As the founders puts it, "a post-pregnancy body is one of this society's greatest secrets; all we see of the female body is that which is airbrushed and perfect, and if we look any different, we hide it from the light of day in fear of being seen."  So she decided to solicit photos from mothers, for mothers (and anyone else who wants to see).  You may be surprised by the emotions, thoughts, and reactions you have upon viewing these photos.  When most of what we see is a false rendition of the female form, it can be shocking to see it in its natural state.  This is just the kind of site that can help a woman feel like she isn't the only one with (name that trait).  Know what I mean?

From The Shape of a Mother, I found a link to 007 Breasts (don't click on this link unless you're willing to see nudity, there's no "front door" as with The Shape of a Mother).  Another photo-based website, 007 Breasts is all about normal, non-sexualized breasts in all their variety.  Again, you may be surprised to see how very much variety there is, and to learn how many versions of normal and healthy we have!  I think that no matter your age, or how much nudity you've seen over the years, there's nothing quite like this website to help you understand that there is no single definition of beauty, or "normal".  It is sites like this that can help all women who don't fit a very narrow cultural ideal of feminine beauty recognize their own physical beauty - and that true beauty comes from a much deeper place.

The following week, I was at Zovo Lingerie in University Village, hoping to catch the tail end of their annual sale.  On the checkout counter, in a neat little pile, were business cards that I could not resist.  A lovely shade of pink, the title read:  "b00bs:  A Guide to Your Girls".  Having no idea what the card was about, but tickled by the title, I picked one up and put it in my bag.  I'm glad that I did!  As it turns out, a fellow Seattlite has recently written a book full of information - an owner's manual, if you will - on breasts.  Again, it is an effort to spread the concept of non-sexual breasts, what is healthy, what is normal, how they became sexualized, when they have been politicized, and "mammoirs" of the full range of experiences of having them or losing them.

Later that week, I'm driving home from teaching Mommy & Baby Yoga, listing to "The Beat" on our local NPR station.  It isn't a show I usually listen to, as I'm only occasionally interested in the topics.  On this day, however, the topic was near and dear to my heart:  women and body image.  Another local woman, Rosanne Olson, has published a book entitled The Body Image Book.  I can't find a link to the actual interview, but you can see more about this book here.  This beautiful collection of nude photos is offered as yet another forum for the dissemination of images of natural female forms in all their varied glory.  Each woman also offers a short essay about her body image journey.  One of the best points from the interview was how a regular (clothed) photos offer a certain perspective from which the viewer develops ideas about that woman and her life.  In the nude, however, and with a personal statement accompanying it, the woman has an opportunity to show a level of truth about herself that clothing hides.  For example, she spoke of a beautiful young woman who, if you just saw her (clothed) walking down the street, you might be tempted to think "Wow, she's so pretty.  I bet her life is easy."  (This is an amazingly common correlation people draw between looks and lifestyle.)  In the nude, however, you can see that she has had lung surgery.  In fact, she lives with cystic fibrosis, and had recently had a portion of her lung removed (she's only in her early twenties).  Yes, she is pretty.  No, her life is not "easy"...and yet it is full of joy.

Last but not least, this evening Rob and I were listening to a wonderful program called "Birth".  Again, I can't find a live link to the show, but if you click here you will find a listing of future airings.  If you are curious about the state of birth in the US, this is a must-hear show!  It compiles women's birth stories, interviews with doulas, midwives, doctors and nurses.  If offers perspectives ranging from "Of course I will have my baby in the hospital" to "There's no way I'm having my baby anywhere but at home."  It lays out the current statistics and some ideas as to how we've come to them (i.e.  Caesarians used to comprise only 2% of births, but now 1 in 3 babies are born this way.  What has changed?  Surely women's bodies haven't become ineffective at delivering babies in a mere thirty years.).  As the documentary shows, it is wonderful that we have so many options, and that women have choices about how (and where) they want to give birth.  It is important to remember, however, that despite all of the ways in which labor and birth can be directed by modern medicine, it is still a process that follows its own course - with the baby and mother leading it together - which may not always follow statistics or schedules.

I hope that some of these links give you food for thought.  I would love to hear what you think, especially about the photo-compilation sites.  Enjoy, and happy body-image boosting!

Anatomy and the Yogi

As a Certified Purna Yoga Teacher and a Yoga Therapist, I do a great deal of anatomy study.  I am continually fascinated by the human body and the ways in which yoga asanas can help (or hinder, if improperly applied/practiced) its healing.  Currently focused on the pregnant body, I am expanding my understanding of "normal" pregnancy and birth, as well as "complications in" pregnancy and birth through participation in doula training at Seattle Midwifery School.  This training has proven very valuable, and already I am finding ways to incorporate it into my prenatal and Mommy & Baby yoga classes.

My interest in anatomy was peaked in an Iyengar yoga class years ago, and it was through the detailed attention to physiology and alignment that I came to understand how very important it is for teachers to be well-trained in this subject.  We work with students who may not have any idea about the proper curvature of the spine, for example, and need some general education about it before they can independently correct their posture.  People with injuries often hear suggestions to try yoga, with no guidance in choosing a qualified teacher.  Yoga teachers should have not only a firm understanding of anatomy and physiology, but of proper technique in yoga asanas, as well.

As I tell my students, we don't receive an owner's manual for the human body.  We're left to build it as we go, page by page, often injury by injury (I've noticed that it's usually after an injury that folks start learning about a particular body part).  Purna Yoga is a great tool for developing an owner's manual without having to learn the hard way...through injury.  Each class offers an opportunity to explore the body's strength, flexibility, alignment, range of motion, and sensations.  All the while, students learn to interpret their body's language..."What does that sensation mean?"  "Is that discomfort significant, or the result of stretching muscle fibers?"  "My chest feels different...it must be because I opened it so much with all those backbending movements!"  "Wow!  My lower back was achey before class, but then we stretched our hips and it felt great the rest of the day."  As we learn this language, we become more responsive to our body's signals and better able to keep it healthy and injury-free.  This is but one of the tools for deepening the body/mind/spirit connection.

Because I am a self-described "anatomy geek", and because I believe that yoga classes are an excellent forum in which students can learn more about their own anatomy and physiology, I look for ways to bring anatomy lessons into my teaching. One of my favorite things to do is pull out the "Mr. Bones" chart, using it to help students more deeply understand - for example - what it means to lift the sitting bones in Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog). These discussions often lead to questions from students, and pretty soon they're learning all kinds of new things about their bodies.

Such a situation recently led to a "very unscientific experiment" by my student and friend, Kerrie. She polled her blog readers about any correlation they noticed about pain down the outer thigh and migraines.  Her results were not conclusive, but they did open up new questions for her.  She asked me to write a short article about this part of the body - the IT Band - and why so many people find it to be tender, or even downright painful.  Included in the article are suggestions for relieving this particular kind of pain.  If you'd like to read more, please click here.

Processing Projects

Amongst knitters, it is commonly understood that there are "process knitters" and there are "product knitters".  As mature people, we try not to attribute more value to one approach over the other.  That said, when it comes time to get stuff done (gift items, for example), I sure do wish I were a product knitter!

The difference, as I understand it, lies in the attitude toward the work.  As a process knitter, I love to learn new techniques, work with a variety of fibers - just to see how they knit up  I begin a project not because I might actually wear it (I can give it away, after all) but because the pattern intrigues me.  I get giddy over the ever-developing pattern in self-patterning sock yarn.  I am soothed by a simple, repetitive stitch pattern and awed (and often befuddled) by difficult, disciplined lace work.  I'll often have multiple projects going at once (which makes the going quite slow) so that I can satisfy my curiosity and love of variety without having to wait to finish one project first.

From what I have read, product knitters tend to get more joy out of the finished product and its wearing than out of the process of knitting itself.  I'm sure that they enjoy the craft, the fibers, the feel of the needles in their hands, etc., but it is the end result that keeps them coming back for more.  I don't know if this translates to more finished items or not.  After all, if a product knitter has their eye on five products this month, their going could be rather slow, just like mine.  Still, I have a hunch that some product knitters are able to get more done than, well, me.

Right now, I have the following items on the needles:

Simple, lacy mohair scarf that was meant to go in a care package for a spring-appropriate scarf, but not it's too warm where the intended recipient lives.  For that reason, it now lives in the knitting basket.

Clapotis, of course!  I only have three more rounds of "section 3", which means I'm just a little over halfway done.  Last night while knitting on it, I actually fantasized that I'd have it done by the weekend.  Simply.  Not.  Happening.

This is the third go at a "Jaywalker Sock".  I have to keep downsizing the number of stitches in the cuff so that it will actually "grip" on the intended recipient's calf.  I don't get it.  Why is a small listed to cast on 76 stitches?  Hmmmm.

This is the second attempt at getting gauge for "Green Gables", a Zephyr Knits pattern I'm hoping to actually be able to wear this summer.  Yep.  This summer!

Not included in this pictorial essay - only because I haven't officially cast on yet - is the second pair of this sock

which is all cast off, with no where to go (until I get the second one done)!  :-)

I also have multiple projects I'd like to start:  I've swatched for Rob's sweater (4 sts to the inch, not terrible but I'll probably be knitting it for the rest of my life).  I'm in Sockapalooza 4, and must complete socks for my pal by August.  Spring has sprung and so have the babies!  I have a couple of "due any minute" friends, and just received an announcement from old military friends living in Japan.  At least the baby items are quick.  :-)  This is my line-up for the summer (plus, I really do want to make the skirt from Spring Interweave Knits, which I saw here.

I'm certainnly loving the process, but I have noticed that my output is rather, ummmm, skimpy.  I guess it's a lot like life:  enjoy the process, and try not to get caught up in the results.

Are you a process knitter, a product knitter, or a hybird of the two?  How's your output looking these days?