Happy New Year (and “Flow Into Grace”)
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May your new year and decade be abundant with peace and light. For locals, please join me tomorrow at Capitol Hill Yoga (suitably mid-afternoon for those who like to revel until the wee hours on the eve) for “Flow Into Grace” a special intention-setting all-levels flow practice, followed by yoga nidra. Register on line at Capitol Hill Yoga or just come and register in person. Hope to see and hear from you all soon.
holiday greetings from nyc
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Marveling at the amazing diversity of being and wildness of the human creative spirit. See some evidence here.
20 Years
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This week marks 20 years since I moved into my house. I have been thinking about how grounding myself to living in one place has shaped my life. In some ways, it has narrowed my path, in others opened it.
Eco-Tourism v. Eco-Travel
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Last night I dreamed that I was taking a group of yoga students to the Galapagos. I was already on my way, and the dream information did not include the decision-making process that started the venture. Instead of being excited, though, I was feeling anxious and guilty about bringing my inherently destructive presence (the one that eats, defecates, urinates, bathes, wears sunblock, requires built shelters, and, to travel, uses fossil fuels) to a place that we value for its uniqueness in nature and relatively pristine qualities. I woke thinking it was absurd to have had that dream; couldn’t I have enjoyed myself just a little without feeling overwhelmed by questions, doubts, and guilt? Why on earth did my unconscious serve this dream up for me? Is it going to make me live a less environmentally conflicted life (that won’t even begin to happen until I move into a much smaller dwelling unit, my house being my biggest infringement on the environment)? Probably not.
For Christmas this year, I’ll be doing my own version of eco-travel — going to New York City. I’ll be taking the train both from DC to NYC and, on the day I go out to visit my parents, from the City to the Island. To get around NY, I’ll walk or take public transporation. I’ll eat mostly vegetarian/vegan food, some local and organic. I’ll drink tap not bottled water (which is easy to do in NY). I’ll have my bamboo utensils, cloth napkin and carry cup for the meals I don’t eat in a restaurant and my own carry bag. I’ll have handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues. I won’t have the hotel wash the linens until I leave. Oh yes, I’ll be consuming and enjoying. I’ll be eating and looking at art and seeing theater and/or music and/or dance and will inevitably do some shopping.
Where is your balance? Are you comfortable with it?
Holiday Greetings and Schedule (website version of e-newsletter)
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Dear Friends,
Hope you all enjoyed the big snow. I missed seeing Saturday regulars and drop-ins with the snow canceling the last day of Willow Street classes and December’s Serenity Saturday.
If you are in need of a little last minute, holiday yoga, come join us tonight at William Penn House, 6:30 pm, all levels class.
For a great way to begin the year, on New Year’s Day itself, come to Capitol Hill Yoga for “Flow Into Grace” a heart-opening, body-shifting (gently), and intention-setting workshop with a combination of all-levels flow and yoga nidra. To register, please visit, www.capitolhillyoga.com. Late night revelers welcome; it doesn’t start til mid afternoon!
I’ll be taking my own holiday break so no Wm Penn or house classes next week, while I am in NY visiting friends, family, and enjoying the delights of the city.
Wm. Penn and house classes resume the first week of January. That week is also free class week at Willow Street Yoga Center (www.willowstreetyoga.com). I’ll be offering 8:30 am level 2 and 12 noon Gentle/Therapeutics on Saturday, January 9th.
If you were registered for Serenity Saturday in December, call Capitol Hill Yoga to switch your registration to New Year’s “Flow into Grace” or January’s Serenity Saturday (January 16th).
May you all have healthy and delightful holidays whether traveling or staying at home.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
Winter Solstice and Dancing Lights (Homage to the Goddess)
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How wonderful to be given a day to stay warm indoors with the lights of the solstice tree dancing.
Yoga Alignment for Snow Shoveling
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When out shoveling (see photos from tonight here), use these Anusara alignment principles as a mantra to keep yourself doing them: shins in, thighs out, tailbone tucked, upper arm bones integrated into the shoulder socket, shoulder blades hugged to the back of the heart. Oh yes, arm bones integrated, shoulder blades onto the back of the heart.
Afterwards, try a few slow sun salute variations to reintegrate and align. Follow with vipariti karani (legs up the wall), supported supta baddha konasana (supported reclining bound angle pose, and a few hip openers of choice.
Blizzard Conditions Cancel Serenity Saturday Workshop
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Why did it even take me this long to decide? I think sometimes that by today’s standards, I am too cautious and not enough “fun.” Going out in a foot of snow is not my idea of fun, but I was OK with giving it a try and finding it fun. As the snow continues to fall thickly, my innate cautiousness won out. What will it be like at 5pm when it is forecast to be even stormier, perhaps even with white out conditions? Not a time when I would be encouraging others to venture out. Enjoy being snowed in. Take some time for yoga. I’ll be spending a couple of hours this afternoon doing forward bends and inversions.
The Real v. the Unreal Redux (candy canes on the tree?)
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Dreaming of Rain, Actuality, and Viveka (yogic discrimination)
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Last night I dreamed that it snowed a couple of inches and then turned to rain, which melted the snow. As happens more and more often with my dreams, I was conscious that I was dreaming and knew that the snow still fell madly outside. As I practice more and more over a long period of time, I am experiencing a growing ability to discriminate between dreaming and waking. Yoga talks about the principle of viveka, the ability to discriminate between the real and the unreal. Being able to distinguish among the four states of being (waking, dreaming, unconsciousness, and turiya — the fourth state) is part of this practice.
As I practice more, I have experienced that when waking, with this type of discrimination, I am more subtly able to discern the difference between empty wishes or anxieties (so as better to release them) and what are possibilities (so to be able to expand my boundaries and awareness). Cultivating such discrimination can bring greater personal peace by allowing for a combination of fuller acceptance and growth.
Although I was disappointed the snow did not turn to rain, I will do my best to enjoy it. I’m not going to be able to melt it anywhere but in my dreams.
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