Many thanks to all who came and participated in the yoga fundraising class for Oxfam. Special thanks also to Suzie Hurley and Willow Street Yoga for making the space available. True gratitude for the practice of yoga itself. Together we raised $935 for Oxfam, sharing our own abundance with those who are needier. Many blessings on this holiday weekend to all of you.
The nicest places to walk these days are the alleys.
This week I drafted, and today signed along with two witnesses, a living will. It has been on my “to do” list for a good 20 years, and I have been carrying in my wallet a card from the Society for the Right to Die (which no longer appears to exist) saying that I have a living will in my possession. Two things led me to get it done at this time. The first is my deeply held belief that privileging hospice is an important and mostly missing element of the health care debate. The second was witnessing a dear friend have the last few months of her life being attached to machines and receiving ever more painful medical intervention even with end stage cancer. I know that is not what I want.
This society gives you the medical care, though, whether you want it or not, if you do not say something loudly, clearly, and with technically the right jargon. I could not wait any longer. I did the research, drafted the document, spoke to my family and friends, and finally did it. It is hard to do. I am still anxious that I did not do it right or that in the end, should it come where the living will would be necessary, my wishes will not be honored. It is hard to think about death, illness, and accident. It is scary to approach legal documents that are so fraught with political and religious weight (a friend cautioned me to make sure I have lots of copies because of his experience of a nurse, who because of her religious doctrine, repeatedly “lost” copies of his mother’s directives when she was dying from advanced Altzheimer’s.)
The yoga helps me think about these things with some measure of equanimity. I have even heard teachers say that the whole reason for a steady practice is to be prepared for death and dying, so that we can go peacefully, comfortable with both our life and our death. Part of the yoga off the mat, in this regard, is recognizing how society is likely to behave, and what we need to do to be healthy within the confines of society.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Sometimes, the best thing to do is nothing.
The past few days have been very full. Last week was an intense week at work. I am enjoying having a house guest and deepening a new friendship. The workshop sessions on Friday night and this morning with Amy Ippoliti at Willow Street were wild and rich with information and play. I always enjoy teaching my two Saturday classes. Among all this activity, I hosted a little dinner party last night, which was quiet, but bubbling over with conversation.
After the workshop this morning, instead of going right home, I rode to Dupont Circle and had brunch with a fellow yogini, after which we walked up to Columbia Heights through Meridian Hill Park. We had a fantastic time talking and catching up, and I loved doing a little exploring in a part of the city that is outside my usual haunts.
All of these activities were healthy and life enhancing, but still, it was a lot. Just as including savasana is critical to assimilating the benefits of a good yoga practice into the fabric of being, taking a nap this afternoon before having one more evening of visiting with my friend Elisa and my getting ready for a couple of jam-packed, demanding work days, the sweet rest of a Sunday afternoon nap was critical for me to allow all the delights of the weekend to settle and integrate, to feel rested and enriched, instead of feeling like I need another weekend to rest from the weekend.
