Got sick right after and so did not post then. More coincidence than correlation. At the Capitol, the energy includes those giving their all for truth, decency, fairness, inclusion, etc. At the White House there is no balance.
Dear Friends,
What splendid fall mornings we are having. The neighborhood dogs are frisking in the park and the fall colors are starting to show. It is time to make tomato sauce and pickled peppers with the last of the summer harvest and continue planting greens (containers are great if you don’t have much space) for some fresh eating through December. Now is also the time to start shifting to a more introspective practice, seeking inner illumation as the days get shorter and the nights get longer.
This Fall, classes will concentrate on refining the principles of alignment to more sweetly and deeply appreciate your own inner light.
Join us any Tuesday night on a drop-in basis at William Penn House — bring a friend for a delightful all levels experience.
It’s not too late to join the Willow Street Fall session — Saturdays at 8:30 level II or, if you need a gentler practice, including a therapeutic focus, try the noon Gentle/Therapeutics class. Drop-ins always welcome.
October Serenity Saturday (October 17th, 3-5pm) is just around the corner. Sign up early to get the Capitol Hill Yoga early bird discount!
Starting to plan the holidays? If you’ll be in town, make sure to plan to join me for the 7th Annual Thanksgiving Day Fundraiser for Oxfam, which will again be at Willow Street in Takoma Park Thanksgiving morning. It is a great way to start the day and bring a focus of gratitude to this day of abundance. As always, in or out of town guests, friends, and family welcome whatever their experience level.
For the Wednesday night practice, October’s charity will be the Whitman-Walker Clinic to honor its work in providing health care in some of DC’s neediest communities and to help send energy for universal health care. I’ve decided that I have so much fun with these practices that in addition to donating all the proceeds, I will donate to attend too!
As always, feel free to email me with questions, comments, suggestions, or just to be in touch.
Info on all classes and workshops at www.rosegardenyoga.com.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
I’m cleaning out a drawer that had held an odd collection of pieces of paper with writing on them. Most of them I am tearing up into little pieces to feed the worms (who last night arrived alive, though dehydrated and groggy and are now set up as directed).
When I googled (that should not be a verb) “holiday madness” this morning, I got one million three hundred thousand hits. Yikes! Most relevant websites are about surviving shopping, over-eating, family, and travel. Madness in such a situation is a choice. We can choose what to consume, how much, when, and with whom. It is a choice whether “celebration” requires consumption beyond what our financial, physical, and emotional means permit.
The yamas and niyamas as revealed by Patanjali provide beautiful structure for thinking about the holidays.
Yamas:
Ahimsa–non-harming. Don’t consume more than is harmful to yourself, those who have created what you are consuming, and the earth.
Satya — truthfulness. Be honest with yourself about what is right for you to celebrate and observe and what brings meaning to you as a holiday celebration.
Asteya — non-stealing. Consuming beyond your means, especially financially, is a form of stealing (look at what generated the recession).
Brahmacharya — moderation (aligning with Brahma). Enjoy the offerings of the earth in a way that uplifts rather than sickens or detracts from spirit and self.
Aparigraha — non-greediness; non-covetousness. Enjoy what you have without coveting or trying in a detrimental way to have what others have and you do not.
Niyamas
Sauca — cleanliness, purity. Consume in a way that is healthy for yourself and the planet, that does not create illness, refuse, and waste.
Samtosha — contentment. Wherever you are, whatever you have, whatever is going on in your work and family life, think of that for which you are grateful, that which brings you happiness, and focus on what you have. Contentment is a practice.
Tapas — fire, ardor. Be on fire to practice, to shift, to make this a life-fulfilling year of generosity and compassion.
Svadyaya — study of text, self-study. Take the holidays as an opportunity to deepen your understanding of yourself, society, and your spiritual beliefs and how they interrelate.
Ishvara pranadhana — surrender, recognition of the spirit. Let go a little. Surrender to a sense of fullness. Allow the abundance and recognize it as a wondrous gift. Remember the word “holiday” is really two words: “holy day.” Make this time holy, whether or not you observe a particular religious tradition at this time of year or any other.
I was greeted this morning by a gentle fog. It is the softness of fog that I love. Sometimes perfect acuity glares, just as technicolor was louder than reality and disturbed perception. A good fog lets one slip into an appreciation of the essence of form without having to get absorbed in the details. If clarity is required, consciously moving closer to the goal will dissipate the clouding by the fog, and the details will emerge.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
