When I feel a tightening or an uncomfortable burn in my Solar Plexus, I stop. I feel. I “listen” with my whole being. Is this anger? Is this a desire to be “right”? Is this a play of a sheer force of will? Is this over-excitement? Is this nervousness or shyness?
Read MoreIn her cheerful, quiet room, I sit as close to her hospital bed as possible, my hand on her bony shoulder, and turn my full attention to her. Even as she sleeps, I resist the phone….
Read MoreThere comes the time when we take deep stock of our lives. If we’re living a life grounded in the present and in the body, we will have taken stock frequently throughout the entire arc of our lives. What does it mean to take deep stock? When do we know it’s time to do so? How do we do it?
Read MoreSweating often communicates the state of our emotional well-being. How many times has a friend, partner, child, spouse said to you, “I broke out into a cold sweat”? How many times have you experienced the cold sweats yourself?
Read MoreThe feeling of happiness moved throughout my body like liquid gold, starting at my heart center. I understood what happiness feels like for me. Because I stayed present the thought was no longer just a thought – it morphed into a physical sensation….
Read Morehttps://www.greenlotusyogactr.com/training-yoga-school/kids-yoga-teacher-training
Read MoreWith each passing week, I meet another caregiver caught like me in the “sandwich generation”, people simultaneously taking care of their children and their aging parents. We are stressed doing our very best to support all involved – emotionally, financially, mentally, and physically….
Read MoreIn the introduction to one chapter, Oprah reminds readers (or listeners) that babies come into this world whole and complete. When they begin life without feeling safe, deeply grounded, and rooted into community and culture, however, the effects can be felt throughout their lives….
Read MoreMuch as we take in food, water, and oxygen, we also take in sights, sounds, and other sensory information as well as subtle energies and impressions from our environment. Our senses “feed” our minds and spirits, much like food feeds our bodies. If we are to truly cleanse, we must bring attention to what we feed our minds and spirits.
Read MoreWhat are beginnings and endings? Are there beginnings and endings? What is consciousness? What is its relationship to time? Is time real?
Read MoreAs we dive deeper into the practice of yoga and start to investigate the philosophies that inform our practice, questions like “Who am I?” emerge. Perhaps who I thought I was isn’t so clear anymore. Perhaps I am letting go of attachments and identifications, and I’m starting to feel differently now. Perhaps as my mind got quieter, I started to see more clearly. Who am I unbecoming?
Read MoreWhen grief comes calling, it rarely arrives alone. Sometimes guilt accompanies it. It’s complicated and many-layered. Sometimes relief does – the innate gratitude that the loved one no longer suffers – and inadvertently triggers more guilt….
Read MoreIn mindfulness, we can observe each moment in any situation with calm abiding, clear seeing, non-judgment, and non-attachment. This is a valuable practice to bring in to our daily lives. As the name implies, it is not something we can just do. It requires practice. It can be practiced during any activity, even something as simple and routine as doing the dishes.
Read MorePrior to lock-down, I walked regularly, often with Sally, our Jack Russell/Australian Shepherd mix. I enjoyed our walks (and Sally always enjoys her walks!), often leaving my phone at home, the better to enjoy our time together. Although I was never rushed, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature, there was always “something” to get home to do, a “next thing on the list”, My appreciation and enjoyment were of the “walk-thru” variety, and my mind might often wandered….
Read MoreIn today’s world, listening is undervalued. We talk over each other, shout each other down, or simply wait until someone is done talking so that we can share a similar experience, thinking we are listening, when we were really just preparing a response…
Read MoreIt wasn’t always easy to recognize positive outcomes in the age of the pandemic, given the brain’s preference for negative thinking. Especially in the darkest days our community faced together, all I focused on was absorbing the shock of the “unseen enemy” and its relentless assault…
Read MoreMy mother’s younger brother died a few weeks ago at age 88. One minute he sat chatting from his chair with his daughter, seeing her on Facetime, and the next he slumped over quietly. He left this world on the long, last exhale in an instant without noticeable stress or pain. In what certainly stands as a sign of these times, my cousin virtually witnessed her father passing, his energy moving from one dimension to the next in full digital view.
Read MoreGrief arrives for many reasons. We often identify the death of a partner, spouse, friend, child, parent, or colleague as the deepest form of grief – and rightfully so. We’ve witnessed the pain of this kind of grief etched on survivors’ faces.
Read MoreAt the appointed time, I wobbled up to the podium, took a deep breath, and opened my mouth. Gack. Nothing came out. I tried again and emitted a feeble squawk followed closely by an impressive dry-mouthed cluck.
Read MoreIn the days when we teachers taught face-to-face in the studios, the bond with students was close, in distance and in energy; the ability to see each other and learn how bodies step into poses, breath, and meditation apparent with immediacy; and feedback written on students’ faces and in teachers’ words. With the emergence of virtual classes, caused for the most-unbelievable of reasons, a pandemic, much has been lost in this bond. Without being able to see each other in person, or at all with so many at-home computers muting the video, both student and teacher reach for each other in a halting way, similar to the childhood game when we blindfolded one player who had to haltingly find the others.
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