On the Way Home from Tuesday Night Yoga Practice at William Penn House
Similar Posts
- Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Miscellaneous (blog matters, etc)
Website Glitches
My apologies. I’ve been alerted that some photos haven’t been appearing (giving one of those pesky and disappointing error messages instead) and email being sent through the website is generating a message (erroneously, I add) that my mailbox is full.
I’m doing what I can and have asked for help. In the meantime, I will do workarounds. That about sums it up.
Autumn Colors (Grace and Gratitude)
May you find that for which you are truly and effortlessly grateful.
Twisting, Opening to a New Perspective (and radical affirmation)
This week I have been working on twists both in my own practice and in my classes. In so doing, I have been thinking about the difference between turning around or doing an about-face and staying steady and true to oneself, while truly being open to another perspective.
In order to get into twisted and bound asanas, it is critical to be steady in your place and to use the three self-affirming elements of muscular energy — hugging into the midline, embracing the muscles to the bone, and drawing from the periphery into the focal point — to be able to revolve on the midline and open the heart to a new direction.
The same is true off the mat. If we just flip our position or turn an about-face, we are not grounded or reliable. Inside the beltway, for example, I’ve heard people saying they think McCain and Specter should be voted out of office because it is not clear where they stand. Their positions seem more about expediency than about a steadiness of conviction, coupled with an openness to listen to and work with others with differing views.
Ideally, we want to embrace ourselves, our history, and our nature, and be sufficiently comfortable and secure with ourselves that we can hear others. Even if it feels convoluted or binding to open to true listening, by reaching while staying steady, we can better have compassion and recognize the light and humanity in those with whom we disagree. By doing so, ultimately, just as we create greater strength and flexibility by practicing twists, we experience a greater openness of spirit with respect to ourselves and all around us.
This is a big part of my current practice, and perhaps one of the very hardest. Steadfast commitment to a balance of steadiness and openness makes possible, I think and hope at this point in my practice, radical affirmation of the good in everything.
Eco-Tourism v. Eco-Travel
Last night I dreamed that I was taking a group of yoga students to the Galapagos. I was already on my way, and the dream information did not include the decision-making process that started the venture. Instead of being excited, though, I was feeling anxious and guilty about bringing my inherently destructive presence (the one that eats, defecates, urinates, bathes, wears sunblock, requires built shelters, and, to travel, uses fossil fuels) to a place that we value for its uniqueness in nature and relatively pristine qualities. I woke thinking it was absurd to have had that dream; couldn’t I have enjoyed myself just a little without feeling overwhelmed by questions, doubts, and guilt? Why on earth did my unconscious serve this dream up for me? Is it going to make me live a less environmentally conflicted life (that won’t even begin to happen until I move into a much smaller dwelling unit, my house being my biggest infringement on the environment)? Probably not.
For Christmas this year, I’ll be doing my own version of eco-travel — going to New York City. I’ll be taking the train both from DC to NYC and, on the day I go out to visit my parents, from the City to the Island. To get around NY, I’ll walk or take public transporation. I’ll eat mostly vegetarian/vegan food, some local and organic. I’ll drink tap not bottled water (which is easy to do in NY). I’ll have my bamboo utensils, cloth napkin and carry cup for the meals I don’t eat in a restaurant and my own carry bag. I’ll have handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues. I won’t have the hotel wash the linens until I leave. Oh yes, I’ll be consuming and enjoying. I’ll be eating and looking at art and seeing theater and/or music and/or dance and will inevitably do some shopping.
Where is your balance? Are you comfortable with it?
