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    Notes on Practicing

    ByElizabeth

    On Friday, on the cusp between late afternoon and early evening, a friend, who has been under significant stress, came over to hang out for a while. I brought my friend up to the yoga studio, invited putting legs up the wall (vipariti karani), which invitation was accepted. To create more ease, I took a folded practice blanket and rolled about a third of the way and placed the rolled part under the neck, with the unrolled portion under the head, to support the cervical curve. Then I offered the placement of soft weight (in this case, buckwheat-filled, silk, travel meditation pillows) for grounding on the soles of the feet. With the placement of the first, came the involuntary sigh that sounds like a “yes.” I asked to be sure and added the second. With the assurance that I would return soon and staying in the pose was entirely voluntary, I then went to feed the cat and then rejoined my friend in the pose.

    As the day was one of the really hot ones and even in the house it was 79F, we then just massaged our feet and practiced moving our toes before we moved from practice to sharing food. Having never been asked to move her big or little toes independently of the others, my friend discovered how delightful it can be to pour one’s focus into something so small and notice also what else in the mind-body is responding to the attempts.

    When I am working on alignment of my body (into shapes or controlling movements), that is all my mind is doing. While I appreciate focus on alignment is not for everyone, the structure and focus are soothing for me. What about for you?

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    Fine Day in the Garden

    ByElizabeth

    Yesterday I went out into the garden first thing and fed and deadheaded and trimmed and harvested and pulled seedlings and rearranged and swept for several hours.  One of the most delightful things about planting decoratively with herbs and greens is that trimming and pulling things back transforms directly into meals and gifts for neighbors and friends.  My visitor to the garden walked away with bunches of oregano, lemon balm, and mint and lemon balm with roots to plant in her own garden.  We drank a cool lemon-mint infusion (mixture of spearmint, peppermint, lemon balm, and lemon verbena) and ate a few strawberries (some from the garden, some from the farmers’ market).  Later in the day, my lunch included a salad with lettuce, radishes, baby spinach and chard, spring onions, and various herbs.  For dinner, I used chard, beets, and green onions to make a stew of chickpeas and greens.

    With today’s rain, everything will keep flourishing, and I’ll be out there doing the same later in the week.  My morning visitor and I agreed that one of the great delights of gardening is that the garden always welcomes more attention.  The garden never asks to be left alone; it drinks in whatever attention and nourishment we are able to offer and returns it with grace.  There are few things that both are comfortable with steady attention and fully nurture us the more attention we give.  I find that meditation, too, always gives and receives graciously steady attention, which is one of its great gifts and joys.

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    Present from a Vandal

    ByElizabeth

    When I was out walking at lunch time, I noticed several pieces of lilac on the sidewalk. Somebody with nothing better in his own mind to do had randomly picked pieces of lilac sprays and then dropped them on the sidewalk.

    The blossoms were still perfectly fresh. Although I would not have picked any of the lilac’s blooms myself, it seemed a waste to just leave them lying on the sidewalk to be stepped on and to wilt. I picked up a bit, enjoying the scent as I returned to work. It will scent my room for another few hours and then will fade away.

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

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