The Dance (of my own consciousness)
I woke this morning with an intense awareness of a friend who left his body several years ago. That he and others who are no longer physically present in my life are so very much a part of my present… (READ MORE)
Nataraja (and dancing blissfully in life)
A work colleague of mine graciously said to me that he did not know how I got through certain meetings without yelling, he did not know if he could do it. I replied that lots of yoga helped. “Maybe I… (READ MORE)
Observing Another Storm Pass without Raining (and a moment of truth)
The third front in a row. It is starting to be a long while not to rain in the summer. It is a tough gardening year: extreme drought conditions all winter, overly cool and wet spring, now no rain again…. (READ MORE)
Shiva — By Almost Any Name (Summer Session Theme)
This summer, we will be exploring a very few of the names of Shiva and how they can draw us to a better understanding of ourselves on and off the mat. According to the sources, Shiva has either 108 names… (READ MORE)
Personal History (and Samskara and Opening to Grace)
A samskara is generally defined as an impression left in us by a past action or experience. I found myself thinking about the process of samskara yesterday, when I went with long time friends of my family to watch their… (READ MORE)
Prana+Yama or Prana+Ayama (and Global Climate Change)
The other day a friend commented that it seemed that a major contributor to global climate change is how we have set out to control our environment instead of aligning with it (my paraphrase). So much, he said, of what… (READ MORE)
Guru Purnima (without a “guru”)
A yoga teacher acquaintance once said rather dogmatically to me that it was not possible to be a true yoga teacher unless one had a guru. He meant having a guru in the traditional sense — being devoted to a… (READ MORE)
Choices, A Cardinal in the Grapes, and Viveka
This morning while I was out in the garden, I heard a chirping right above my head. Within arm’s reach was a bright red male cardinal perched among the grapes effusively talking. (I planted a tiny red, concord grape vine… (READ MORE)
Simulcast, Drama, and Perception
Last night I went to see the National Theater UK’s simulcast (tape-delayed) of Helen Mirren performing in Ted Hughes’ translation of Racine’s Phedre at the Shakespeare Theater. The tragedy of Phedre is misinformation, misguided helpers, and passion that has gone… (READ MORE)
In Watermelon Sugar (Starting Each Day Anew)
I have in my library books in which just one phrase or just the very beginning is most resonant. It is this time of summer, when the light seems endless, and the heat just setting in as if on a… (READ MORE)