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    Different Ways of Turning Your World Upside Down

    ByElizabeth

    Yesterday at the William Penn House class, we were emphasizing strong working of our tailbones.  One of the regular students came to class even though she was still exhausted from recent and sudden major loss and upheaval in her life.  She wanted to be with the spirit of the class even if she would not be able to do everything.

    When we went to the wall to work on half and full arm balance, I advised her to give it a try if she felt up to it and then said to do legs up the wall if she knew trying to hold the arm balance would be too much.  After all, I pointed out, legs up the wall (vipariti karani) is just half handstand upside down.  And what is awesome about both the poses is that the both turn us upside down (albeit in energetically different ways) and can thus help give us a fresh perspective on how we are in our bodies and minds.

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    Making a Pledge (and sangha)

    ByElizabeth

    I get lots of emails asking me to engage in e-activism — write letters to Congress, write letters to corporate executives, write letters to the President, sign petitions — and, of course, requests for donations.  The requests I get are from a wide range of public interest organizations, including environmental, women’s rights, peace, civil rights, worker’s rights, care for animals and other wildlife, organic food, good science, enhancing education, the list goes on.  Sometimes I just hit the delete button.  Sometimes I sign the petition.  Sometimes I hit the send button on the form letter.  Sometimes I edit the letter personally to make it a more powerful statement.  Sometimes I give money.  Sometimes I both write and give money.  Sometimes I learn something that invites me to change how I consume or invest my money, and I try to make a shift.

    I received an email today from the Rainforest Action Network asking me if I would make a pledge to help end mountain top removal.  I power my electricity with 100% wind energy, now through Clean Currents, so I am not using coal-powered electricity myself at home.  I sent RAN another donation; I really believe in what they do.  I also agreed to do a blog post on why it is important to end mountaintop coal mining as part of my pledge.  It’s utter and nearly permanent devastation is horrifying and wakens me to the repercussions of consumption without conscious knowledge of the impact.  Seeing the pictures makes me think about everything I consume (and I am already an overthinker).  I welcomed the invitation to pledge to spread the word.

    In yoga, the concept of “sangha” or community carries with it the meaning that you become those with whom you keep company (so therefore keep good company).  I subscribe to all these activist list serves and seek out those who are more engaged than am I, so that I will be inspired progressively to live with more consciousness.  I thank RAN for inspiring me to extend the invitation to look more closely at how we can shift our energy consumption still to enjoy reasonable fruits of our technology, but not in a way that destroys the possibility of a good life for others in the present and for eons into the future.

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    Where There Used to Be a Tree, Now There’s a Puddle

    ByElizabeth

    There used to be more trees at the plaza in front of Eastern Market. When a couple died in the drought, instead of replanting, they removed the old tree and bricked in the space. Now there’s a puddle that evaporates instead of going into the ground and nourishing a tree in the city. Sure is a pretty puddle though.

    Do you have any paved spaces under your control that could be transformed from a place of run-off into a space for plant life?

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

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    Walking and Shopping in the Neighborhood (and brahmacharya)

    ByElizabeth

    Yesterday afternoon when I came home from teaching I wanted to be out for a walk in the neighborhood more than I wanted to be alone in the garden, but I also wanted to be serving the garden.  I combined the two by walking the ten blocks to Gingko Gardens — our wonderful Capitol Hill nursery.  It is a little more expensive than some of the nurseries out in the burbs, but I know the owner and have friends in common, I always bump into neighbors when I am shopping there, and they are experts in what grows and works in our little urban gardens.  I was thrilled when they opened a number of years ago and want them to continue to thrive, so I make a point of shopping there.  I bought some seeds and some planting medium for starting seeds indoors and ordered a few containers and organic potting soil for delivery.

    In addition, after having done a bunch of research on rain barrels over the week, I also asked whether Gingko would deliver and install rain barrels from Aqua Barrel, which is located in Gaithersburg.  Answer, “yes.”  (For those of you in the suburbs, Amicus Green also carries and installs them).  It took me a long time to assess what style barrel would work for me and where it should be placed.  I was hoping to support a local manufacturer to cut down on wasteful transportation.  I also know that given my circumstances it is critical that it be installed correctly with a good diverter system.  It is good for me to do the research but then bring in a professional to make sure it is right.  I made an appointment and am looking forward to being able to align a little better with nature (by using rain water run-off instead of scarce, potable water for the garden) and to support the neighborhood (by buying locally and hiring resident professionals).  And I bumped into a fellow yogi and gardener while I was shopping; inspired by the chat, she, too, made an appointment to discuss rain barrel installation.

    To me, this is one way of bringing yoga off the mat.  One of the key principles in Patanjali’s yoga sutras is the practice of brahmacharya, which literally means aligning with Brahma.  The classical translation is celibacy.  Many modern translators substitute “moderation.”  This way of living, is of course, moderate.  It is living a western lifestyle on the grid, but choosing to consume in a way that supports friends, neighbors, and manufacturers who use recycled materials to create products that will help us all to be a little kinder to the environment, while nurturing my home and self.

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