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    Found Exhortation?

    ByElizabeth

    When I was walking past this sign with a regular reader of my blog and stopped to take its picture, I said in response to the raised eyebrows, “found exhortation–triumph New York City.”

    “It’s just the local Triumph dealership.”

    “If one just read the sign, though,” without knowing of the brand, it surely could be read as an exhortation to New York City.”

    What a perfect example of how hard it can be to understand each other through only language. That words can have so many ways of being construed shows how much empathy and compassion for ourselves and those with whom we are in communication we need to foster in order truly to listen and be heard.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    Why Did It Make Me Feel Better? (and Pictures from the Middle of the Night with Irene)

    ByElizabeth

    Why did it make me feel better to think it could have been worse?  Hurricane Irene revealed a place that probably would not have leaked (into the living room) if mortar had not been shaken loose by the earthquake earlier this week.  As I was doing another check early this morning of the house and perimeter to see if I needed to do anything to prevent worse damage from late discovery, I thought that it probably would have been a lot worse for the earthquake to have revealed stresses from the hurricane than having had them do the reverse.  I guess it would depend on how the two impacted something to know which sequence would have been easier to weather.

    I am appreciating my good fortune in having seen the wind and the rain and come out  having no tangible material impact other than memories and relatively minor repairs that need to be done in a hurry.  Holding all in the path in the light.

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    Yoga Salutes Nonviolence

    ByElizabeth

    My friend and fellow Anusara yoga instructor Naomi Gottlieb-Miller just sent out advance information about the event “Yoga Salutes Non-Violence,” where participants will do 108 sun salutations together, and all proceeds will benefit the Abused Persons Program, Montomery County’s domestic violence shelter.  The practice is on November 5th at Willow Street Yoga.  Students can attend advance Friday night practices to get ready for the event and also purchase cd’s for a small fee to practice at home.

    To get involved as either as a participant or donor, you need TO REGISTER IN ADVANCE, on the Yoga Salutes Non-Violence website (http://www.yogasalutesnonviolence.org and http://www.yogasalutesnonviolence.org/participantform.php).

    Naomi writes:  “It is our hope to not only raise money for such an important cause, but also to use these principles of yoga that guide our own lives to encourage transformation, empowerment and peace for those in need.”

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    “Jobs Not War” (and the Power of Mantra)

    ByElizabeth

    I walked over to the Capitol building at lunchtime to see the rally in support of the Jobs Bill.  As I approached, attendees were chanting “jobs not war, jobs not war, jobs not war, jobs not war, jobs not war, jobs not war, jobs not war, jobs not war, jobs not war….”

    The act of chanting gathered the  energy together.  The chanting empowered those at the rally to deepen their resolve.  In this instance, their resolve was to seek in an ever more coordinated and expansive way a shift away from war and big finance and to community, environment, education, and infrastructure repair and development, employing the millions who have been out of work in this double recession.  Chanting also helped bring the message into the conscious awareness of those hearing the chant, which in its simplicity served as a sign post both for the more elaborate meaning and for a more universal call for unity and change.  This power to work both within and without with chanting at a rally can give a taste the powers attributed to the yoga practices of mantra repetition (japa) or meditation with a mantra.  Just how mantra and chanting work is a curious and wondrous matter, but it is hard to think of a culture that has not spontaneously used chants for both individual and collective worship and power.

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    Pradakshina?

    ByElizabeth

    The term pradakshina roughly means turning towards what is right, to move in alignment with nature. When I was in yoga teacher training, we were taught that to make sure that the practice was in accordance with nature, with the principle of pradakshina, we should instruct our students to roll to the right when coming out of savasana (final relaxation; the corpse pose).

    Those who take class with me may have noticed that a couple of months ago, I started just saying to roll to your side, whichever side feels better for you.

    Why should turning to the left be sinister (latin for left), or gauche (french for left), or subversive and contrary to dharma (left-handed tantric practices).

    Left-handed myself, I can assure you that not one of the salesmen in the expensive shop in India where I bought art and jewelry last year cared that I signed a credit card slip with my left hand (though in India it is customary to eat with the right hand and wipe oneself with the left to make sure that one never uses the same hand for both activities).

    Who wants to move the right if right means not correct, but conservative, fundamentalist, self-righteous, and rigidly traditional in societies where tradition is paternalistic, narrow-minded, racist, classist, religiously dogmatic, and sexist?

    I think turning to the side without the bum shoulder or the clogged sinus or turning to the side where there is more room or a beloved friend practicing beside you is turning in accordance with the principle of pradakshina–even if it means turning to your left.

    Practice pradakshina by all means, seek to align with and embrace the flow and forces or nature within and without and honor those social customs that support and expand love and community, but don’t just roll to the right (or teach that) because someone told you going to the right will bring you closer to the divine. It ain’t necessarily so.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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