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- Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation
Going on An “Advance”
I am sitting at the airport getting ready to fly to Phoenix. At Sky Harbor International, I will join friends, and we will drive together to Sedona for a weekend of study, meditation and other practice, and companionship.
On the most recent study call, our teacher Paul Muller-Ortega said that we are not going on a retreat. We are not joining together to get away from things, to escape from our lives. Rather, we are taking an opportunity to deepen and expand our practice to live life more fully. Would it not be more accurate, then, Paul suggested, to think of it as going on an “advance” than on “retreat?”
Ways to Ask Permission
I’ve been on staycation for the holidays. I’ve taken a few asana classes around town in studio spaces I haven’t been in before.
In two of the classes, the teachers stated at the beginning that they give physical adjustments. Both teachers asked while students were in child’s pose, so that the response was only for the teacher.
One teacher asked students to make a sign if they did NOT WANT to have adjustments. The other said to make a thumbs up if they WANTED adjustments.
I noticed a palpable difference in the degree of consent because of the emotional difference for me between having to actively say no to avoid unwanted touch as opposed to being told I would be left untouched unless I specifically gave permission. There is also a difference between simply allowing touch rather than specifically having to say I want to receive it.








