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- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Photos
Found Exhortation (and Tapas)
What does it mean to excel, to do well? I think there is no excelling in yoga, at least not the way we conventionally think of excelling in school or career or sports. But to practice in a way that is more than casual, there must be ardor–tapas.
Tapas is often translated as fire, and the texts are full of stories of outrageous physical exertions done to prove the tapas of the practitioners looking for boons from the gods.
There is a fiery aspect to tapas, but I question whether it must necessarily be burning from physical exertion, though that is a path that calls out to many.
The fire of tapas could be thought of as doing what it takes to manifest the will to know something deeply enough to be able to experience the fluency and grace and delight of expertise. It could be the ardor to show up in a disciplined and committed way for hours and days and years of practice, always still wanting deeper, fuller knowing.
Grounding to Soar
Yesterday I participated in a practice led my brilliant activist friend Reggie (@oreggieglobal).
Class by Zoom doesn’t have quite the same bhavana as in person, but part of living yoga is adapting to the circumstances at hand.
Reggie demonstrates grounding to soar.

More Things to Like About Extreme Heat
1. A fine appreciation for anything that provides shade–even a highway.
2. The most outrageous of outfits is perfectly acceptable as long as it simultaneously is cool and provides protection from the sun.
3. Homemade popsicles.
Last batch–creamy cantelope-orange (pureed cantelope, orange juice concentrate, unsweetened soy milk, no fat greek yogurt); current batch–grape lemonade (whole red and green grapes, juice of fresh lemon, infusion of fresh stevia (could be replaced with water and a little sweetener of your choice); upcoming–minty watermelon lime (watermelon; fresh spearmint leaves; fresh lime juice; sweeten to taste).Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Photos
Thinking About Gratitude
When I was walking to work this morning, trying not to get enmeshed in anxiety about the stresses of the day to come, I invited myself to practice gratitude (and not just being grateful for having only first world problems).
I paused to look all about, at the beauty of this lush summer. When I turned around for a 360 degree appreciation, I saw the view following me was as engaging as the view in the direction I was walking.





