Archive for December, 2009

Holiday Cheer!

Monday, December 21st, 2009

From one of the poetic teacher trainees! Especially fun to sing…

On the first day of yoga
My true love sent to me
A monthly unlimited pass.

On the second day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the third day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the fourth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the fifth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the sixth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the seventh day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the eighth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the ninth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the tenth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Ten Vrksasanas
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the eleventh day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Eleven reverse warriors
Ten Vrksasanas
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.

On the twelfth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Twelve Chaturangas
Eleven reverse warriors
Ten Vrksasanas
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass

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Posted in teacher training, yoga | 1 Comment »

The End or The Beginning?

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Today is the last day of classroom, or “contact” hours for the teacher trainees.

This is a group of 17 people committed kindness, Truth, and The Practice. They have given every other weekend and countless hours in between for the last 6 months to learning, reading, sharing, breathing, moving, crying, laughing, supporting, and celebrating. They have humbled me in every way and there is no way to express my awe of their beauty.

In these darkest days of winter when the sun is “dying” to what it has been, it is a chance for the light in each of us to be “reborn.”

I am blessed to spend my day with 17 lights of the world, each of us forever changed, each reborn.

Namaste

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“No” is not a four-letter word

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Yes!

It is such a happy little word, so optimistic. It feels good to say, the way the tongue tickles the top of the mouth in a hiss.

Yes, I’d love to have tea with you. Yes, I’ll volunteer at that event. Yes, I can have it done by 5.

What about the times when the answer is, Yes, I need to take care of myself in a different way right now. Or, Yes, I need to crawl back in bed and read a book.

And what that probably really means is No.

I mean, we’re always saying No to something, just by saying Yes to something else.

Yes, I’ll go to your party, which means, No, I don’t get to take a bath tonight.

Or Yes, I’ll join the holiday gift exchange, translated as No, I’m not honoring my budget and personal boundaries.

With holiday obligations and opportunities on top of our already overflowing schedules, maybe this is as good of a time as any to reconsider what I am saying Yes to.

And how I’m saying No. I’m practicing right now (try it with me!) — big, genuine smile, as much love in the voice as possible… No.

Well, it will take a little practice. People-pleasing Yes habits are hard to break! In the meantime, let us consider how we spend our time this season… here’s Naomi Shihab Nye:

The Art of Disappearing

When they say Don’t I know you?

say no.
When they invite you to the party

remember what parties are like

before answering.
Someone telling you in a loud voice

they once wrote a poem.

Greasy sausage balls on a paper plate.

Then reply.
If they say we should get together.

say why?
It’s not that you don’t love them any more.

You’re trying to remember something

too important to forget.

Trees. The monastery bell at twilight.

Tell them you have a new project.

It will never be finished.
When someone recognizes you in a grocery store

nod briefly and become a cabbage.

When someone you haven’t seen in ten years

appears at the door,

don’t start singing him all your new songs.

You will never catch up.
Walk around feeling like a leaf.

Know you could tumble any second.

Then decide what to do with your time.

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Posted in health, lifestyle, poetry | No Comments »

Days of light

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Nature is amazing. The warm golden daylight of the sun is comforting, as the sharp brightness of the moon pierces through the vastness of the black night sky.

Many of my friends are experiencing the greatest joys (births, marriages, celebrations) and others are in the depths of dark, dark pain (deaths, divorce, illness).

And this is the nature of life… light, dark, joy, sadness.

My friend, Kira, recently posted the following:

Most of us were made in the dark, and so too most of nature. Cuz while it doesn’t look like it, the peaches are growing now.

New growth requires protective space and quiet. And in the tender new beginnings of a spiritual practice, we need a refuge.

And it reminded me that the dark times, the hurt times gently hold rays of light and hope as well. There is no such thing as a completely useless or painful experience (nor a completely joyful one). All things, if we are willing to look and see, contain the full cycle of existence.

Where ever you are in the pattern, let the studio, let the practice be your sanctuary. Be patient with that you cannot yet see. This too shall pass.

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