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Just as I Was About to Get Ready

ByElizabeth

to pack up my things and leave work to go to yoga class, a co-worker stopped by my office to talk.  She started by asking me how I was, but I knew that was just an introduction because it was evident she needed some comfort.  It turned out that she had a bad fall off of her bicycle on her way to work late last week and had gotten beaten up something fierce by the way she fell.   One of the things I most respect about my co-worker is that she is someone who always looks for the good in situations and in others.  I found myself giving her permission to be sad and frustrated and angry, which she appreciated.  Just because things could have been worse did not diminish that she was suffering.  I think that is important for all of us to remember.  When we have compassion for ourselves and allow ourselves to react, it is then we can also find the good for ourselves and have compassion for others.

I did not go to class last night.  It was more important to listen to my friend.  But I had a good yoga lesson by allowing my friend in and a good practice when I got home.

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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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    John Friend on “The Art of Feedback”

    ByElizabeth

    I recently had a project that I did in connection with an organization of which I am a member.  The ultimate goal of the project was for me to transmit to another group a report of decisions made by the organization of which I am a member.  When I emailed my report, I “cc’d” my organization’s list serve.  In response, there were a few heated postings on the list serve about the subject matter, even though I had sent a “cc” of a final report, not a request for new input.  These postings in turn generated a number of emails both sent to me personally and postings on the list serve as a whole.  The “secondary” emails were as much about how we were responding and communicating on the list serve, as they were about the subject matter itself.

    It was hard for me to soften and to listen without defensiveness the emails that were well-intentioned, but stated strong opinions that could have been interpreted as suggesting the report was wrong or inadequate.  As I made an effort to finish my project from a place of service, which in my mind included appropriately addressing the after-the-fact postings and emails, I was deeply grateful for the teaching John Friend had offered last year to the Anusara yoga community on “The Art of Feedback.” It is an inspired teaching and one that applies with equal force to the situation I was in this week.

    For me, this is a deeply challenging area based on my personal history, but I work to grow.  What are your challenges in receiving and giving feedback?  How might shifts in how you receive and offer your opinions enhance your relationships and your goals for living and society?

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    Maya

    ByElizabeth

    What does it mean to see what is illusory? To see the illusion or to recognize that it is an illusion?

    Cultivate doubt, especially where you might expect illusion and delusion (such as political information on social media). Or when you encounter promises of enlightenment or salvation or the perfect thing.

One Comment

  1. E,YOU have so many beautiful qualities. Allowing someone the permission just to be in their feelings, as raw as they are is such a rare gift. I know you made your friend feel completely safe, and understood. I have many touching memories of times I have shared with you, but one of my most precious ones, is when you and I were sitting on the bench in the atrium of the studio. I didn’t know that I was going to have a meltdown, but you made it safe to let me just cry uncontrollably in your lap. You are genuine, compassionate & I love you. I always want for you to see the most elegant, beautiful, divine qualities in yourself that I see in you! With much respect and honor, T

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