Category Archives: all of life is yoga

#StraightOutta…The Archives

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I have vivid memories of the kids in my South Lansing neighborhood emulating our favorite West Coast rappers — we even dubbed ourselves “the Cooper Street Posse” in homage. Years later, at high school, their music was a contagion. Whether in the girls’ dorms or the academic hall of the prestigious suburban-Detroit boarding school I attended, we would readily burst into full chant Glee-meets-NWA style upon hearing someone muttering lyrics of whichever track had been ear-wormed itself into consciousness. (It must be noted that the “jock table” was the choice hangout spot for the black students and was situated directly across from the administrative office…call it a small measure of rebellion).

My musical leanings have changed, but those beats are encoded in my dna from every choreographed move (and misstep) of our 7th-grade dance routine for Something 2 Dance 2. So I’m repping my #LoveLansing roots with this Zen twist!

beginning anew: cartwheels, chocolate cake + a clear path

In honor of my birthday on August 4th, I vowed to spend time enjoying the people and activities I love: special meals with family; a mini-ice cream party with my son, nieces, and nephew; walking the labyrinth; a midnight birthday meditation; hitting the trail for a run; waking up at 4:30 AM to share my craft on the local news; and bowling with friends! Nearly every one of these last seven days has been a small celebration.

The locus of this joyful beginning: the labyrinth.

I set the intention to walk lovingly, mindfully and gently into my new year with a Sunday morning practice at the labyrinth. I invited friends to join me in this “embodied prayer” to generate the compassionate energy of mindfulness for self-care and social healing.

The small gathering was more than I envisioned! After practice, I was surprised with my favorite home-baked vegan chocolate cake (it’s so yummy, as one person joked, you “can’t taste the vegan in it!”). Then, to my delight, a new practitioner from another local sangha spontaneously grabbed tools from his car and took the initiative to dig up the overgrowth that had begun to bury parts of path. A mason by trade, he explained that he couldn’t bear to see the stonework covered due to lack of proper maintenance (it’s been mowed over but not adequately edged).

Pulling weeds and clearing the path became another embodied act of releasing what is old or no longer useful, removing obstructions, and making way for new opportunities, adventures and lessons. I am so grateful for all that I have learned this past year and excited to blaze new trails on journey before me!

The day before the practice, I brought my son and niece out to Moores Park to experience the labyrinth and burn energy on the playground.
A few silent but silly moments affecting the posture of walking meditation quickly dissolved into laughter and shenanigans — a foot race and cartwheeling.

littles on the path

embodied practice [7/5]: walking in freedom

This Sunday, we will walk in freedom and dedicate the merit of our practice meditateoncamus.3jyto those who relentlessly pursue, speak out, and fight for the RIGHTS of all to LIVE + LOVE FREELY. #‎LoveWins‬

Join us at Moores Park Labyrinth | 11 am – 12 pm.

HEAR HERE [for deep listening]: Opening The Question of Race to the Question of Belonging | On Being with Krista Tippett

And I think being human is about being in the right kind of relationships. I think being human is a process. It’s not something that we just are born with. We actually learn to celebrate our connection, learn to celebrate our love. And the thing about it — if you suffer, it does not imply love. But if you love, it does imply suffering. So part of the thing that I think what being human means to love and to suffer, to suffer with, though, compassion, not to suffer against. So to have a space big enough to suffer with. And if we can hold that space big enough, we also have joy and fun even as we suffer. And suffering will no longer divide us. And to me, that’s sort of the human journey.
~ john a. powell

I was invited to facilitate a dharma discussion for my root sangha to address the wellspring of emotions and concerns members have expressed following the tragedy in Charleston last week. Drawing on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, I entitled the talk “Good Spiritual Friends: Taking Care of Ourselves & One Another in the Face of Racism, Bias, & Injustice” and asked that we actively investigate our own perceptions, intentions and behaviors as we reflect on how to apply and cultivate the dharma in response to such devastation. We expressed our confusion, anger, shame, fear, helplessness, outrage. We cried. We breathed. We sat with our discomfort. 

I asked that we continue to find refuge in practices that help to nourish and ground us as well as those that illuminate unskilfulness, awaken clear comprehension, and inspire compassionate actions.

That sweet space of refuge is fleeting: Our hearts burst open with the victory of the Marriage Equality Act last Friday. Then they are crushed once more with every church that goes up in flames at the hands of racist terrorists. 

For sanity and nourishment, I am mindful about what I consume–attempting to combat this madness by sharing this dose of sustenance (clear, compassionate understanding) for the mind and soul.

Hear Here: john a powell ~ Opening the Question of Race to the Question of Belonging

KnowTheirNames
artist: sarah green

embodied practice: tonglen

I have to be real: even after a decade of practice, conjuring compassion or loving-kindness is not always my default response in the face of arising difficulty or suffering.

Anger, irritation, disappointment, fear — primal and deeply-programmed — seep to the surface when peace, stability, safety and simplicity are threatened. They are quelled with time and, most important, my faith, effort, concentration, mindfulness, and discernment (five spiritual faculties). To penetrate and dissolve those strong feelings first takes faith, or conviction, in practices that offer me a deep sense of refuge. I literally need to move through it by going for a walk or run. The effort of exertion generates a physical and energetic heat that helps me burn off tension and generate enough concentration and mindfulness to spark clear-seeing wisdom. As the body cools off, so too does the heart and mind. Emotions, though tempered by mindfulness, are not so easily released. I still have two hands to hold anger or frustration alongside this newly-stoked calm clarity.

The practice of tonglen speaks to me deeply because it allows space for the complexity of our human-ness, where both the suffering and the relief co-exist. It feels more accessible and authentic to me than the Metta Meditation, which seems to require superhuman leaps and bounds toward lovingkindness. Beautiful as it is, I find it reminiscent of the fake-it-til-you-make-it philosophy. It’s a worthy aspiration. Just not one that I can sustain in practice. Tonglen seems to honor the teeny-tiny baby steps and stumbles and the slow, tentative climb out of the pit back onto solid ground. Sometimes that’s all I can muster. I trust it to be enough.

 

More from Pema Chodron: The Practice of Tonglen [Shambala, 2007]

 

special event news: conscious + fit clinic on 6/6

Ready to get Active?! Whether you’re just getting started, are rehabbing from injury, or are refreshing your fitness regime — learn the foundations of dynamic + functional movement to keep you ‪#‎CONSCIOUSandFIT‬ this summer. BONUS: Get tips to decompress + relax + sustain physical + mental well-being!

Open to All Levels. Co-taught by Tara Scott, teacher of movement + mindfulness + meditation, + Bianca Guess, certified running coach + group fitness instructor. Cost: 20/person. Location: Heartdance Studio, 1806 E. Michigan Avenue, in Lansing.

REGISTRATION CLOSES 6/1. SIGN UP NOW: Conscious + Fit

consciousfitcolor

the sweetest spot between heaven + earth

 

 

 

What a glorious day to kick off the Broad Art Museum’s second annual summer yoga series! I’m grateful to be a part of this community education program once again.

Bring a friend + a yoga mat and join me in the Sculpture Garden for the next FREE class on Saturday, 6/27, at 11 AM. Advanced Registration is encouraged and will reserve your spot if the class is moved inside the museum due to inclement weather (first 50 registrants): Broad Art Museum Programs & Events.

yoga in the sculpture garden. may 2015

from cushion to community: navigating faith livestream

So a Rabbi, a Buddhist, an Inter-Spirtual teacher, a Hindu, a Christian + an Imam sit down at at table…

Yes, it sounds like a setup to a humorless joke but it was a joy to participate in this interfaith conversation where we planted seeds for building bridges and fostering compassionate understanding among people of various philosophies and faiths.

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Livestream for MSU Alumni LENS panel discussion: Navigating Faith-based Differences

Or click to view here: http://livestream.com/msualumni/FAITH

move like a goddess

move like a goddess

the invitation to move like a goddess is to inhabit your body
with full awareness.

to embrace its realities.

to tend to it in sickness and health!

to find physical activities that are meaningful and nourishing.

that don’t feel like drudgery or punishment.

that make you feel strong, healthy, capable, full of joy —
absolutely alive!

it is also an invitation to reflect on how we move through
a room, a situation, a day…our one and only life.

with head held high? with heart wide open?

grounded. centered. connected.

Awakening The Goddess : A Day of Refuge for Radical Self-Care
~ co-hosted by 3 Jewels Yoga + Sybil’s Healthy Way ~

Sunday, 19 July 2015 | 12 – 4 pm

REGISTER NOW at Sybil’s Healthy Way!