Category Archives: all of life is yoga

scenes from sangha

“while our society’s goal is betterment of the self,
it is not a narcissistic self toward which we aspire,
but a connected self,
rooted in a loving transformative community.

it is because of our participation in the WE
that we learn to be an I.

“in our communities, we not only learn how to love and grow,
we learn how to forgive, negotiate, compromise, yield, or stand our ground.
imperfect communities teach us
how to love and care for others, how to listen,
and how to share our deepest thoughts and feelings.

They teach us consideration for others,
the limitations of the self,
and again, even most importantly,
how to be an I in the midst of a WE,
how to maintain a healthy individuality
when the pressure to conform to a majority is strong.”
~ Philip Gulley

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June 26 | Special Event Series
Walking The Labyrinth + Gentle Yoga

celebrating our community —
with new friends and old

tending to body, heart and mind
with movement, mindfulness + meditation

feasting on soul-nourishing food + fellowship!

a glorious day to stretch out! #upuptothesky #yogitoes
smiles of contentment after gentle yoga with ann lapo
centering for meditation
unraveling out
in and in
bread + jams! #homemade #nosh
friends!
more friends!
sweetness! #toejams
brothers!
the jam goddess! #jamber
a trio of jams. #howwedo
care + tending. #withheartandhand

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July 10 | Walking The Labyrinth

Heavy hearts make leaden feet, I remarked after practice.
We were a small group that Sunday morning, and could
have easily completed the meditation within thirty minutes.
But we spiraled slowly inward, then out —
walking with the weight of personal sorrows
compounded by those of the community and country
raw from the heinous brutalities
we witnessed in the days before we met.
An hour later, we emerged from our silent pilgrimage
still tender but together.

still tender but together. #restored
confession: not only was i judging the culprits for littering but for also drinking bad beer! #MICraftBeer
clean-up crew #sanghashenanigans

healing wisdom: on the embodiment of peace

“For a number of years, I believed God would
finally and dramatically intervene on earth,
initiating a worldwide reign of peace and justice.

I no longer believe that.

My Quaker morality will not permit me to assign to God
the work of peace that rightly belongs to us…

3jewels.gulleyquote

Jesus and other great spiritual teachers
provide signposts pointing the way to peace,
but they do not magically speak it into being.”

~ Philip Gulley, Living the Quaker Way


FOR A LIST OF COMMUNITY EVENTS

TOWARD HEALING IN #LOVELANSING,

VIEW the 3 Jewels Yoga Facebook page.  

touching the earth: adopting a beloved park

Old Stomping Grounds, New Refuge

As a child growing up in this Southside neighborhood, I have a lot of memories playing and swimming at Moores Park.

In recent years, it has become a place of refuge where I’ve hosted free walking meditations at the labyrinth each spring and summer. This year, 3 Jewels Yoga has officially adopted Moores Park through the City of Lansing Park and Recreation’s Adopt-A-Park program!

On June 12, Sangha participated in our first mini “cushion-to-community clean-up” and will continue our efforts to maintain the beauty of this park and the labyrinth through the practice of environmental stewardship after every meditation.

#WalkingTheLabyrinth | 12 June (“Do-Over” after the previous Sunday was rained out)
Official #AdoptAPark Letter
A Bowl of Dandelions
Exuberance
Sharing Dandelions
The Gifter of Flowers
#TouchingTheEarth

 

Landmarks to the Labyrinth

The Labyrinth is nestled in the lawn just a few steps off the Lansing River Trail, where its path funnels in from the Beal Avenue parking lot. It is bordered by two black benches and, perched above on a hill to the south of it, is a Pavilion (which can be rented out for parties).

Trivia + other points of interest: The Grand River, Michigan’s longest river, runs along the northern perimeter of Moores Park. This segment of the river is intersected by the Moores Park Dam, which provides power to the city’s oldest power plant.  Also sitting across the riverbank is the GM car assembly plant.

3jewels.maptolabyrinth

 

 

abiding in light

We have not forgotten nor begun to recover from the massacre in Charleston on June 17, 2015. And here we are once again, nearly a year to the very day in a month that has become bloodied by another act of terror against people who were simply being themselves in what was thought to be a safe haven to celebrate, dance, laugh, connect with others.

With hearts heavy with sorrow, let us turn toward and abide in light to cast away this looming darkness. I bow deeply to dharma teacher Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel for the healing wisdom she offers in this relentless cycle of violence and recent loss of 49 precious lives in Orlando.

 

 

For All Beings
excerpts from the chant written by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

May all beings be cared for and loved,
Be listened to, understood and acknowledged despite different views,

Be accepted for who they are in this moment…
Be allowed to live without fear of having their lives taken away or their bodies violated.

…Be treated as if their life is precious,
Be held in the eyes of each other as family.

…Feel welcomed anywhere on the planet,
Be freed from acts of hatred and desperation including war, poverty, slavery, and street crimes,
Live on the planet, housed and protected from harm…

Read and share Zenju’s Chants Against Hatred.

 

special event {6/18}: 18th annual allied media conference

amc16

On June 18th, I’ll lead a healing session at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit. This opportunity has given me pause to pick up an old thread + follow it back to the faded memory of my former life as a graduate student at NYU, where I studied media through a sociological lens — examining race, gender, culture, representation + impact — and earned my M.A. from the Tisch School of Arts/GSAS.

Now, I have the deep honor of helping to cultivate a healing justice practice space for artists, educators, activists, and radical media-makers + offer them an immersion in mindfulness to foster compassion, skillful understanding + authentic connection.

Learn more about the AMC Conference: http://www.alliedmedia.org/amc

mi ice pops yoga kick-off event

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to kick off this new community yoga series at Hunter Park, which drew families, friends, first-timers, and experienced students!

Organized by artisanal ice pop-maker and long-time yoga practitioner Danielle Welke of MI Pops with support from Joan Nelson, director of Allen Neighborhood Center, MI ICE Pops Yoga will be offered once a month through September.

My friend and fellow teacher Lacey Ingrao and I will alternate as Lead and Supporting Teachers:

June 16 – Lead: Tara
July 21 – Lead: Lacey
August 11 – Lead: Tara
September 29 – Lead: Lacey

 6 – 7 PM | Hunter Park*
*(unless otherwise noted)

 

 

teaching empowered with mindfulness

a couple years ago, i volunteered to teach yoga and mindfulness to elementary schools in my district. when the coordinator shared the announcement that i (and a fellow yoga teacher friend) would be offering 30-minute sessions for 4 weeks, she was met with overwhelming requests from teachers who were eager to introduce these calming, focusing practices into their classrooms. that spring, i was able to teach about 45-50 kids in 3 classrooms at 2 different schools.

since then my focus of my programming has been rooted deeply in the call for spiritual self-care that fosters compassion, skillful understanding, authentic connection and healing justice. and, as such, focused on serving adult practitioners.

but i was happy to accept the invitation from Lansing Schools Education Association to participate in its Teaching Empowered Rally on Saturday, May 7, where i offered two mini-movement demos.

i had oodles of fun co-creating adventures–stretching our imaginations into silly stories and bodies into silly shapes–and teaching my new little friends to wake up the bell and to listen closely to the sound as it faded.

the joy in sharing this practice with children for as  little as 20 minutes: the sweet connection that develops when we offer them our attention, care, smiles, laughter, and the freedom to make a contribution. bursting with energy and kindness, they helped arrange, reset, and roll up the mats; fed me snacks; hung out with me between sessions — sticking close by as i enjoyed a chair massage (where i could hear the middle of 4 siblings explain that she was waiting for ‘my yoga teacher’); and even took over my camera to get silly with the selfie stick and snap a dozen random photos!

when we nourish kids with the gift of our compassionate listening and empower them with mindfulness, they will shine.