Shadow and Light
The unseasonably warm weather is worrisome. I can be anxious and be thinking of ways to adjust the garden to optimize the circumstances and simultaneously just enjoy the upsides—such as this morning’s outrageous sunrise.

The unseasonably warm weather is worrisome. I can be anxious and be thinking of ways to adjust the garden to optimize the circumstances and simultaneously just enjoy the upsides—such as this morning’s outrageous sunrise.

I am using my lunch hour to renew my driver’s license. I have been waiting less than 30 minutes so far, and there are only 10 people ahead of me. Moving right along in this mix of young and old, well-heeled and evidently struggling, all races, and apparent levels of education. We all wait in the same line.
Is it moving smoothly (knock on wood) because I wore a necklace with an image of the elephant deity Ganesha (remover of obstacles)? Or was it because I read the website and planned my visit for a day and time that was less likely to be crowded? Perhaps it is a combination of the two.
What I do know is that coming with a good attitude and a meditational (yes, I know this is not a real word) level of patience and acceptance for the process makes it feel a whole lot easier.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Advancing
The practice.
Community.
I spied this sign yesterday in the exhibitor hall on the lower level of the Marriott in Woodley Park. I was attending a portion of the 38th Annual Conference of Enrolled Actuaries. (Go ahead: I dare you to put that into your favorite search engine).
Although this sign was to invite enrollment in one of the actuarial professional organizations, it seems most similar to the stated aspirations of various yoga groups and schools.
I’m not surprised by this symmetry. I think that anyone who seeks to live so that employment and dharma (aligned life) are in harmony and who supports, participates, and works in community, is living like a yogin, though perhaps never knowing about or having any interest in yoga per se.
There are many life paths and humanistic and spiritual practices that guide life towards a contented path of service, the true reason, to my thinking, for a steady, long-term yoga practice (including asana, pranayama, and meditation).
I personally find the yoga practices to be among the most helpful ways to engage my body and mind for my health and well-being. Among other things, the practices have helped me listen with open enough awareness to be able to comprehend with my law-trained mind some small portion of the language of actuaries.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Today is the 13th anniversary of Anusara yoga being officially named Anusara yoga. I am filled with love and gratitude for John Friend and all my friends and teachers who are sharing this extraordinary practice.
In thanks for the delighted and celebratory invitation to the practice, which for me is a hallmark of the Anusara offering, I share this quote:
“The more the yogi practices, the more visible everything becomes (yavad idam sarvam drstam).” Vedavyasa, quoted in David Gordon White, Sinister Yogis.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.