Verbal Flow Archives
Yoga and Giving
Today, I met with the mother of one of the families we adopted for this holiday season. It is our tradition to adopt local families, but in the past, the families were anonymous, removed. The Jefferson County Community Ministries, in years past,…
Selfishness for Selflessness (and an interview with Brian Filon)
What is our yoga practice for? Do we engage in this practice to make our body feel good? Is it for mental clarity? Is it a selfish practice, one that takes time away from the outside world, so that we may focus on our internal landscape? Is it for the good of others? My answer to these questions is yes, it is for these things, and for so much more.
Learning to Ebb and Flow
as I settled into not practicing physically, I felt my practice with me endlessly. This is not something that I came to learn right away, but as I've grown to experience the effects of my practice when I'm living my life, out in the real world, I've grown to accept that this practice is available within me, is part of my living, no matter where I am. The key is in developing consistency in arranging your life around being a practitioner.
A Path Centered in Action
Krishnamacharya, who was the father of most of the yoga poses we know in our modern practices, said that yoga is the practice of seeking out the obstacles to our freedom and working to dissolve them. A yogi, he said, is someone invested in knowing their self better, someone investigating their self. Certainly this does not describe a practice that is for the uncommitted or for those who want only to experience sugar and spice and everything nice. That is not what a yogi is made of.
Union Ellen DeGeneres Style
Yoga, as DeGeneres defines, means "'uniting' because when you're doing it you're uniting your mind and your body. You can tell this almost immediately because your mind will be thinking, 'ouch that hurts,' and our body will say, 'I know.' And your mind will think, 'You have to get out of this position.' And your body will say, 'I agree with you but I can't right now. I think I'm stuck.'"
A Long Year, New and Untouched
It is upon us, the passing of the old year, the beginning of one new. There is beauty and renewal in the ceremony of beginning a new passage of time. Poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote:
And now let us believe in
a long year that is given to us,
new, untouched, full
of things that have never been.
Days of Growing Darkness
The earth is turning inward. Unlike many of us, bent on increasing our already over-stressed, too-busy lives with additional holiday activities, the earth is slowing down, retreating from over abundance and the work of outward growth. We are spending more time in darkness, which serves as a reminder that this is our time to turn inward so that we may reflect and rejuvenate.
Perfect Biscuits
Pillsbury biscuits are about as real as a Victoria's Secret model. Make some biscuits from scratch and you'll know exactly what I mean. But isn't this what we all do, try to make everything look "right," seem perfect on the outside, conceal all of our messes?
Darkness and Light
How did you practice yoga today? Did you sit on your mat this morning in meditation, breathing long and deep, in and out? Did you do 100 rounds of pranayama? Did you practice 3 sun salutations or perhaps a long set of asanas to warm and cleanse the body? Today, I did none of those things, though I intended to.