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    Social Distancing as a Spiritual Practice

    ByElizabeth

    This morning Maitri and I participated in Quaker silent worship with Friends Meeting of Washington via Zoom. I have friends offering for the first time, or expanding their offerings through various on-line platforms, of both meditation and asana practices.

    For those of us able to do so, it is critical to stay home to slow contagion and alleviate burden on our already stressed by poor and inequitable policies health care system. It is also critical to reach out to elected officials and into our own means to help others be able to stay home and get any needed care.

    What capacities for adaptability and generosity might we find in this situation?

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    Last Year’s Kale

    ByElizabeth

    To make room to plant seeds and seedlings of the cool weather greens, today I pulled most of the kale that overwintered.  I’m not quite sure how it survived even the visitation of the polar vortices, but my garden is its own private mystery.

    Uma’s not sure whether the kale is any good, but it is actually neither too bitter, nor too tough to be edible, though it will need to be picked over well and would be best cooked thoroughly.

    To go with the kale, keeping in mind the next wintry front coming through, I am soaking chickpeas overnight.  Tomorrow I will braise the kale with wine, garlic, rosemary, and onions, and then stew it together with the chickpeas.  The combination of braising and stewing will make tenderize the kale, but still keep it  flavorful.

    With what I planted new today, the next time it is feeling spring-like, there should be some tender new greens to pick and taste.

    kale 1a kale 1b kale 1c

     

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    Thanksgiving Yoga (Web Version of E-Newsletter)

    ByElizabeth

    Dear Friends,

    I am perhaps a little late in sending out this announcement.  The time when I usually would have sent it was smack in the middle of the enmeshed and engulfing energies of the election and Hurricane Sandy.  In contemplating what I should write in my invitation to the annual Thanksgiving Day Yoga Fundraiser for Oxfam, I had such an assortment of ideas about gratitude, about abundance, about service, about expressing and receiving thanks, especially when so many are experiencing conflict, hardship, pain, and loss, that I found myself as if I had nothing to say.  It occurred to me, among my many musings, that as long as I have something to give, it wouldn’t matter if I have nothing to say.

    One of the key reasons I meditate and practice asana is to spend defined periods of time being intentionally one-pointed (ekagrata) in my focus.  Out of the apparent maelstrom of experiences, sensations, emotions, and ideas to which we are exposed and in which we can be immersed or even submerged, a point of focus can arise for speaking or acting that frees us from being so caught up in the whirl that we cannot move.  Being intimate with and knowing how to get to the space of stillness and focus–and remembrance of what is most important to us, which I think is a critical element of true gratitude–can help us better take care of ourselves and the society and ecosystems with which we are intertwined.

    In a light of focused intention to make offering, I invite those of you who will be in town to join me for an all-levels class at Willow Street Yoga, Takoma Park, from 10:00-11:30am on Thanksgiving  to celebrate the day and to share our abundance and gratitude with those in need. A tradition for me and for Willow Street and a perfect way to expand the holiday. Friends and family of all levels welcome, including teens, tweens with yoga experience, seniors and everyone else in between. All proceeds go to Oxfam.

    To all of you, I wish you much spontaneous experience of gratitude.  I think of all of you and send my well wishes, especially those who are facing difficult challenges.

    Peace and light,

    Elizabeth

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