to those who relentlessly pursue, speak out, and fight for the RIGHTS of all to LIVE + LOVE FREELY. #LoveWins
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]
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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.
the invitation to move like a goddess is to inhabit your body
with full awareness.
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.
whipping wind,
conductor and choreographer.
snow-bleached leaves lifted from the composting bed
into a swirling tornado ballet.
brittle and brown — some cracked with lacy veins of decomposition, some waxy-smooth and preserved.
all, frenzied and alive.
reanimated to dance upon the whistling breeze.
walking is always, always a good choice.
we were built to walk.
every location of every muscle and every shape of every bone
offers perfection in walking…
our bodies want to walk.
and with the body as in life,
we will find that what attracts us is in our own best interest.
~joy colangelo
It’s 
been almost 15 years since I discovered that walking meditation was actually a thing! It happened quite spontaneously through the normal course of my day, trooping around New York City.
One moment I was mapping out errands and very likely puzzling out the “issue-of-the-day” related to grad school, work or relationships; and the next: I could only hear the sound of my breath and the rhythm of my boots on the pavement.
Everything else dropped away. The cacophony of the bustling neighborhood became a low humming in the background — alerting me of my surroundings but no longer as intrusive or overwhelming as it could be.
In the midst of the relentless “madness,” I felt surprisingly centered, clear and relaxed!
But it would still be years before I even stumbled across mention of walking (along with standing, lying down, and, of course the most commonly-known posture, sitting) as a form of meditation. “Ahhhh,” I thought. “So that’s what was happening?!”
Many moons later, I was introduced to the formal practice of walking meditation when I began studying the dharma with my root sangha. Those 20 minutes that we devoted to silently circumambulating the temple helped us transition from the hustle of the day into the quiet refuge of practice. Physically, it also helped to ease tension and to p
repare us to sit steadily in meditation for 20 minutes.
Beyond the temple walls, I’ve enjoyed walking meditation in yoga studios, at a labyrinth, on a park trail….and lately: around the rug in my living room!
So walk where you are to invite mindfulness and cultivate peace.
My foot, poised for motion, rests upon solid Earth.
My lungs balloon open to capture Air. An expansion that readies my heart for the journey.
Oxygen combusts into compassion. Fueled, I step into Wind’s welcoming arms.
Blade-sharp chill cuts through illusion.
Clear comprehension arises.
Movement is my refuge: those sensations, vibrating upward from sole to soul, become a massage that awakens equanimity.
Steady footfalls, rhythmic and soothing, lull mind inward.
Penetrating deeply but gently. Flushed through arteries to appendages. Aligned. Attuned.
The course (my design) landmarked by old injuries and hard-won victories in self-understanding.
A training in awareness: an inside-out, 360 degree study of my body gliding through space, covering distances immeasurable by miles.
No striving. No pursuing. (No race, no finish line, no medal.)
Simply abiding.
Cheered on by the thrumming of heart and the rejoicing of cells and muscle fibers.
Spirit soars. Boundless.
In call and response, I am guided by the synergistic conversation between my lungs and legs.
Who will lead? Walk now? Or run? They negotiate in whispers with the lumbar.
Adjustments are made to pace and posture. Muscles contract and relax in a reassuring hug.
My complex weave of supple tissues and resilient fibers, in harness, I am anchored–
Head to heart, hip to heel–as shoulder blades kiss my spine to bolster each vertebrae toward open Sky.
By my stride: 30,000 steps or so.
By my breath: a fusion of body, mind and heart.
Reclaimed. Reconciled. I am solid, steady, free. In this body. As it is.
The Grinch had a little something extra behind that exhale!
And, yes, whether a belly-deep laugh or cry,
such a release can happen as we unlock and move tension through the body.
tscottmiller 