I hope this finds you safe and healthy and my energy out to those of you in the midst of challenges of embodiment of whatever kind.
I had not meant to take as long as I did between posts. Much gratitude to the wonderful person who administers the site for a quick repair in a very busy time.
The need for a fix naturally leads to the question of whether to fix or change and how. It is time for a change. Keep your eye out for updates and have patience with progress.
I hope to have more time to write than about practicing the various aspects of yoga. I have been practicing much and am delving back into the philosophy from today’s perspective. Please let me know if you would be interested in particular topics. And if you want to see more photos, I’m on Facebook as myself and Rose Garden Yoga and on Instagram as rosegardenyoga1008.
The other morning, Facebook put into my feed the answer given by a one of the many yoga teachers among my friends to the question, “what is the first thing you do in the morning?” The answer was “meditate.”
Besides again wondering why people answer these questions and why Facebook would put this in my feed, I questioned in my head, “really?”
I empty my bladder, feed the cat, make the bed, brush my teeth, drink some hot water, and move and stretch a little before sitting down to meditate.
And when I do sit, I first do a body scan and 5-10 minutes of pranayama. I cannot imagine sitting before meditation without most of that except in unusual circumstances.
My morning meditation is, though, before I start engaging in projects or eating breakfast or leaving the house.
What do you do first thing in the morning?
When do you meditate?
I used to note the first day of winter as a marker of the long, cold and dark season ahead. Now I mark the first day after the solstice as the an opening to the light. In only a few weeks, even though the weather will be wintry, the days will be noticeably longer. This time of year, I walk on the sunny side of street and choose the middle of the day to be outside, in contrast to summer, when I walk in the morning or late afternoon on the shady side of the street. When I went out at midday for a long walk, the light was almost blindingly bright. The blazing sun seemed that much more of a treasure for the cold blustering wind and the shortness of the day. That the light was so clear and vivid seemed an apt reminder that going through periods of cold and dark can clear us for newly illuminated paths if we are only open to the sources of illumination — inside and out.
This morning I was reminded by a friend and yoga student to follow my own teachings. I really appreciated it. That it was said, and that I could hear it. When we practice together for a long time, we are all each other’s teachers and students.
