My friend Reya, who is an extraordinary healer and massage therapist, one of my teachers, and, like me, is one who enjoys walking around the neighborhood observing, thinking, and taking photos, has just started a new blog with her thoughts on healing. It is sure to be mind-expanding.
I contemplate (practice bhavana on) the yoga principle abhuta (wonder) on a fairly consistent basis. When we can find wonder in sheer miraculous diversity of manifestation, we can enter a space of joy whence we can more likely respond in the highest.
This afternoon, perhaps because I have so recently gone on a practice intensive, I experienced a spontaneous uprising of delighted wonder on receiving an email that would otherwise cause me some consternation and annoyance. Instead, my first reaction was, “My goodness! Another one just like the others, but still new and different! Amazing how that happens. And now I will have to respond.”
I felt that way again as I joined the rush hour crowds on my way from work to go lead the restorative class at Takoma Park. (If you’re in town, drop-ins welcome. Thursdays at 8pm at Willow Street Takoma Park through the end of May).
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Last night as I waited on the metro platform at Takoma Park after yoga class, a large man in a shabby black coat came up to me and said, “happy thanksgiving.”
“Happy thanksgiving,” I replied, thinking I like Thanksgiving better than I like Valentine’s Day, even considering the somewhat unsavory roots of both holidays.
“Oops,” he said, “I meant ‘happy Valentine’s Day; I’ve been getting that wrong all day.”
“That’s OK,” I said. “Every day should be a day of thanks giving.” I had been enjoying the day fully even though I had not engaged in any Hallmark-driven behavior and was feeling fully grateful for my life and not just because of the post-yoga class glow.
“I don’t have anyone to give red roses to any more,” the man lamented. “My mother has passed; my grandma has passed. I don’t have a girl right now.”
“Your mother and grandma are still here in your heart, and they know you love them. They do not need roses,” I offered. “In fact, you have helped the world be a better place not buying any roses today. Most bouquets of roses are laden with pesticides and cut and wrapped by women in poor countries who get sick from the pesticides.” At this, a young woman watching me with commiseration lit up with a big smile. Who would start giving advice on the hazards of Valentine’s Day flowers — I restrained myself from talking fair trade chocolate — in this situation?
“You’re nice,” the man said, “what’s your name?” The metro was still not due for another eight minutes, and, being the introverted, cautious, small, middle-aged woman that I am and thus feeling a little pressured by his longing for someone to talk to, I did the verbal dance to extricate myself from the conversation and get back to the email I had been in the middle of reading. He went away peaceably, so it was alright.
Dear Friends,
What a glorious Spring we’re having! I’ve just returned from an expanding, nurturing, and deepening time of study in Sedona with meditation teacher Paul Muller-Ortega. Later in May, I will join fellow certified Anusara yoga teachers in North Carolina to be with John Friend. Making sure to continue to study and gather with fellow yogis provides ever increasing appreciation of the benefits of practice and enhanced delight for the community.
May Day (May 1) is the first day for my Spring Session classes at Willow Street: Level 2 @ 8:30 am and Gentle/Therapeutics @ noon. Both are in the Takoma Park studio. While session registration is optimal, you are always welcome to drop in, whether you want to rock out in level 2 or get some healing and nurturing energy in Gentle/Therapeutics.
The William Penn House class continues to have the special $12 offering for public interest workers (broadly inclusive), students, seniors, and those in-between gigs ($15 for those who can afford it). Come join this collegial group 6:30 pm every Tuesday evening. A portion of the proceeds goes to benefit the work of William Penn House.
Looking to strengthen your practice: join me for Standing Steady in the Light: A Standing Balance Workshop, Sat May 8, 2:30-5pm, Willow Street Yoga Center, Takoma Park, $35. Find a place of deeper steadiness and balance in your own light and worthiness. Learn how to use the Anusara principles to enhance your ability to stand or your own two feet or on just one foot at a time. After we playfully explore a progressively expansive array of standing poses, we’ll finish with a few upside-down restorative postures to let our legs and feet feel the bright light created by the practice. Whether you find standing poses a challenge or revel in the dance, this workshop will illuminate your practice. Everybody welcome. To register, please visit www.willowstreetyoga.com.
As always, please take the time to enjoy and comment on the blog and if you haven’t already done so, friend me on Facebook for the latest news, photos, and quotes.
Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
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Thank you for the link!