It is an essential part of any true spiritual practice to question and to doubt, to explore and discover what part of any proffered teachings are authentic for your own experience.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
My friend Dan posted some interesting thoughts about democracy on his blog. He is writing in the context of the Unitarian Universalist community, but the thoughts are equally applicable to our lives as citizens. The thoughts on democracy also for me highlighted what is really meant in the Bhagavad Gita about “actionless action.” To embody our spiritual practice in the way we live our lives, we serve to our best ability out of love, out of delight in acting, out of a sincere joy in serving, but we do not get attached to a particular outcome.
Dear Friends,
The end of March is all sunshine and flowers after a turbulent month. I’m hoping for some April showers along with the sunshine, so that my garden greens will flourish. The pulsation between rainy and sunny, cool and warm, is a great reminder of the essential vibration of being!
There will be lots of great yoga opportunities to pulse with the shiva-shakti vibration in the next several weeks:
As always, William Penn House Tuesday classes are on a drop in basis with special pricing to make yoga affordable for public interest workers, students, seniors, and those in between employment. Invite your friends. Special for April, bring a friend new to the class and when your friend comes back for a second class, you or your friend get a class for free.
There are two more Saturdays of the winter session at Willow Street. Registration has already started for Willow Street’s Spring Session. My Spring session classes start on Saturday May 1st — Level 2 @ 8:30; Gentle/Therapeutics @ noon. We love it if you register for the whole session, but drop ins are always made welcome. While you’re visiting the Willow Street web site, check out the article I’ve written for the Spring Newsletter’s “Teacher Feature.”
This Sunday, April 4th, from 3-4:30, come celebrate the uprising of flowering energy at a special $10 community class at Capitol Hill Yoga. 100% of the proceeds benefit City Blossoms.
April’s Serenity Saturday — on April 17th — is certain to be a great way to foster growth of mind, body, and spirit, whether we are getting April showers or summery sunshine. Visit Capitol Hill Yoga to register.
Mark your calendars for May: on Saturday May 8th, when I’ll be leading an all-levels workshop on standing balances — Stand Steady in Your Light — as Willow Street’s Takoma Park’s studio.
Finally, a great thanks to all who come to classes regularly and support the monthly giving. Yoga for Gardeners attendees had a great time and enabled contributions of over $200 for the Youth Garden at the National Arboretum. The March and April classes will also support the Youth Garden.
Wishing a great blossoming to all. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
The other day I mentioned to my students the workshop I will be leading at Willow Street’s Takoma Park Studio on standing balance poses on May 8th. I received some responses that sounded basically like: “standing poses? But I am so bad at them.” “A great reason to go. You aren’t bad at them if you are present to your fullest whatever you are doing; you just find them more challenging than other poses. It can be great to work in those areas to try and reveal ease in being challenged,” was my basic reply.
In keeping with John Friend’s teaching that we come to the mat either to celebrate the fullness of our spirit or to remember its delight when we have forgotten, I think there are two basic reasons to come to a workshop. The first is going to one where we know it will concentrate on our favorite poses and practices. We know we will go a little deeper, discovery something new, and have an opportunity to relish our favorites for a solid period of time. Delightful!
The second reason is to challenge ourselves intentionally with poses that are difficult for us either physically or emotionally or both. For me, the mini-arm balances have always been the least accessible. They push my buttons in all sorts of ways. I found, though, that when I finally faced my fears and weaknesses and agreed to go to them and discover why for so many of my friends they are naturally joy-inspiring, bliss-exuding postures, my appreciation for the practice as a whole grew immensely. They still aren’t the “strongest” area of my practice, but because of that in some ways I know them better and can offer more when teaching when than when teaching the poses that I do with less concentrated effort.
I think we need to rest where it is delightful sometimes. Always going for the challenge can just give a sense that life is too hard and practice is not worth the effort. But intentionally studying and practicing from both perspectives is what gives us more ease and light in the full spectrum of being. Going to a full range of workshops, gives you both in a great way. I try to take workshops whenever I can. (Reminder for those in town: April’s Serenity Saturday at Capitol Hill Yoga is next Saturday, April 17th from 3-5–it’s a great way to get some yoga during Willow Street’s break week.)
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I might say that any belief worth having must be able to live alongside of doubt…