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Did You Do Anything Fun for the Labor Day Weekend?

ByElizabeth

When I go back to work tomorrow, people will ask me whether I did anything “fun” over the Labor Day Weekend, just as before the weekend I was asked it I had anything “fun” planned.  At recent gatherings where I have bumped into people I haven’t seen in a while, all the questions have been about whether I did anything exciting this summer.  I have been pondering these questions and what they say about how we structure our lives.  For me, the seasons change based on what I cook and eat, how I dress, and to some degree, when I sleep (more at night when it is cold and dark; more afternoon naps when it is overly hot and bright), but I both work and take breaks throughout the year, so summer did not bring anything more or less exciting than usual.

I am acutely aware that part of the reason I have the luxury to live in accordance with the seasons is that I am not on a school schedule, and I have a job that allows me a little flexibility in terms on when to take breaks and when I come and go on any given day.  I also realize that I have blurred the difference between work and “fun.”  I have had a most enjoyable Labor Day weekend, but some would think much of it has been work:  I taught two classes; I gardened; I cooked; I’ve done some housecleaning; I am writing this blog entry, etc.  As I took pleasure in all of these activities, I think of it as having had fun, even though everything I did was something someone could have been doing as “work.”  I think that when we take pleasure in our work, we are less in need of grasping at “fun” and can find more joy in the leisure activities that are more usually labeled as “fun.”

I hope whatever you have been doing, whether working or playing, you are enjoying the day, and can take a few moments to reflect on those who fought long and hard for ordinary workers to be able to have the time to play in between working.

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    Preparing for Thanksgiving Eve Practice

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    When I get the studio ready for Wednesday night yoga class, I pick a puja card. I shuffle the cards and then pick a card from somewhere in the middle of the stack. More often than not, the card is aligned in some way with the activity, thought, or emotion that is most present in body-mind. Tonight, the card that came first out of the shuffled pack was krtajnata — gratitude.

    I am deeply grateful for my teachers, friends, and family–extensively overlapping categories–and wish a happy thanksgiving to all.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    In the Midst of the Turmoil

    ByElizabeth

    On Saturday, along with a few thousand other people, I went to the March for Our Lives at the base of the Washington monument.  Set out before the monument, in even rows, were thousands of vases of white and orange flowers (orange for the most recent) hundreds deaths from gun violence.  it was raining off and on; the speakers were on a platform with loud audio-video, people held signs–some expressing rage, discuss, and frustration, some suggesting productive action.  Near the vases, apart from the crowd and the noise, a person dressed in purple sat in meditation.  After spending some time in the crowd and focussing on the speakers, I went and joined the person who was sitting.  We talked a bit; Satyani acts as a “mindfulness mentor” and can be found on Facebook as “Kosmique Light Meditation.”  Satyani did not identify as a protester and felt uncomfortable fighting and felt moved to act, which was what led to coming and sitting for meditation.  I suggested, referencing Gandhi and Quaker practices, that being here meditating, holding the space, connecting with those who have died while being present for the living is very much participating in protesting.

    On Sunday (before going down to the Capitol Pride Festival), I took a class on Zoom with Michele Cassandra Johnson for Patreon subscribers.  She offered a soothing/cooling practice, and invited us to consider how we can cultivate cooling and soothing while saying amidst the fire and engaged in the fight?

    To stay in it for the intensity it is now and the life-long practice it must be, that is an essential question, the answer to which will shift depending on circumstances.

    Pictures from the March for Our Lives, the Capitol Pride Festival, and some fabulous bird sightings at Kingman and Heritage Island the Friday before, are posted on Instagram and Facebook.

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    Web Version of Fall Newsletter (Free Yoga, Annual Thanksgiving Fundraiser for Oxfam, New Props at Wm Penn House)

    ByElizabeth

    Dear Friends,

    Happy Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween.  We are slipping into the time of year that is good for dreaming and introspection, while things get wild and windy outside.  I can always tell when it is drawing to the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Autumn Equinox because the Christmas cactuses (which always bloom at Thanksgiving) start to bud.  When I went to bring in the tropical plants because of the pre-Samhain winter storm, I saw that a few of the orchids were spiking.  It is almost as much fun to watch the buds emerging and growing and taking on color as it is to see the flowers, which only last so long before the flowers must die so that energy can go back into making the whole plant healthy and ready to flower again.  Inside and out, my garden invites me to a deeper appreciation of the dance of dissolution, creation, and maintenance.

    It takes only modest intention, commitment, and nurture to have plants blooming through winter.  Just as we can cultivate gardens indoors in winter, yoga and meditation help us cultivate inner beauty so that we are at ease with our being regardless of what storms rage and how we are impacted in space and time and material body by the storms.  My solution:  practice of all kinds, and this November is going to be a wonderful month for yoga..

    Just as maintaining a garden in winter calls for props–containers, heat, indoor water source, etc., cultivating the fullness in our bodies, particularly if we are working with a challenge of embodiement, can benefit from the assistance of various props.  I am pleased to announce that we now have lots of blocks and straps for everyone (and some tennis balls, though we could use a few more for when the class is big) at the Tuesday night all levels yoga class at William Penn House, making it an even more supportive environment for those new to yoga or with challenges of embodiment.  As always, a portion of the fee from every student supports the work of William Penn House.

    I will be leading the Friday night free community yoga class at Willow Street Yoga’s Silver Spring studio, which I will be teaching this coming Friday, November 4th.  It is an all levels class that will include discussion of therapeutic applications of yoga alignment, and it’s a great way to bring a friend along with you to get introduced to yoga or to Willow Street.

    If you are in town for Thanksgiving, please join me to support a great cause.  From 10:00am-11:30am, Thanksgiving morning, I will be leading my ninth annual fundraising class to benefit Oxfam at Willow Street Yoga’s Takoma Park studio. 100% of the profits go to Oxfam.  I look forward to seeing many of you, both those coming back and those joining us for the first time.  Friends and family welcome, including children 12 and over.

    Veteran’s Day weekend brings Todd Norian to Willow Street Yoga.  On Sunday, November 13th, the focus of the workshop will be therapeutics.  Todd is an incredibly loving and knowledgeable teacher, and I am planning to be there to assist.  You can sign up on-line or in person at Willow Street.

    I am looking forward to the weekend workshops with John Friend in College Park, MD on November 19 & 20.  Both Mixed Level and Intermediate/Advanced workshops are offered.  This is the first time John Friend has taught in the DC area since 2007. Apply today to join your fellow yogis.  There are several of us going from the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  Feel free to contact me if you are looking to carpool, and if you can either offer driving or are looking for a ride.

    I always enjoy hearing from you by email or comments on the blog.  If you haven’t already, click here to be taken to the subscription page.  For short thoughts about yoga and meditation in your Facebook news, please “like” my public page for Rose Garden Yoga.

    Looking forward to sharing more of the yoga with you.

    Peace and light,

    Elizabeth

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