“OUR TIME ON THIS EARTH IS SACRED, AND WE SHOULD CELEBRATE EVERY MOMENT.” ~ Paolo Coelho This morning I am saying goodbye to a treasured DC friend, Sovani Meksvanh. Since before Christmas, I have been posting on my personal and Urban Yoga Den Facebook pages about his battle with late-stage cancer, and how touched I’ve…
Category: Philosophy
Gratitude, Samtosha and Pratipaksha Bhavana (From The UYD Archives)
This post was originally part of my “Ahimsa Now” series regarding Peace Tools – everyday yogic actions that can create peace in our inner and outer worlds. Today I post it as a NOTE TO SELF: reminding Holly to put these tools into action, particularly during this difficult time of transition, responsibility, instability and sadness….
Holly Go Lightly
“There is a light and it never goes out.” ~ Morrissey * * * There’s some drilling or sanding or sawing going on in one of the apartments beneath me; and it’s piercing enough to make my skull feel like there’s a dentist office in its core. I’m using all of my yoga tools to…
Namaste: A Journey From Resentment To Relief
Namaste. I honor you. All of you. The good and the bad. The light and the dark. The divine and the human. I honor every part of you. The parts that doubt. The parts that feel certain. The parts that don’t know. The parts that leave. The parts that stay. The parts that hide. I…
Karma & The Big Blue Moon
I’m not sure how I’m going to flow with this today. I just know that today and tomorrow are my last days teaching upon this month’s “Karma & Karma Yoga” focus, it’s a Blue Moon, and I need to write the Monthly Class Focus blog. During August I did three things consistently: I practiced Crow…
The Yoga of Getting Tattoos
I WANT IT NOW and TRUST THE PROCESS don’t exactly go hand in hand. That’s why it’s important to practice yoga and get tattoos. * * * Lately, I’ve been grieving…OK, OK…I’ve been whining in self-pity about what I don’t have. I have completely forgotten: Be Grateful For What You Have; Time Takes Time; Everything…
Peace Tools: Raja Yoga
(Note: Much of this is adapted from my May 2010 post on “Transition & Balance.”) According to my teachers, the ancients invented Hatha Yoga so people could sit longer during a specific task. Back then, yogis were sages who were meditating toward the highest state of harmony, otherwise known as Samadhi. In his commentary on…
Peace Tools: Morning Routine
I thank you, ever-living sovereign, for restoring my soul to me in mercy. How great is your trust! – Traditional Jewish Prayer for the Morning * * * Like all of my days, as soon as I opened my eyes this morning, I said the above prayer. Then, in the period of time between splashing…
The Yoga of Turning 47
I would not have lived to see 47 if not for yoga. The morning of my birthday this past Saturday, I taught my beginner Vinyasa class with the theme of “Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhah” (Yoga Restrains Disturbances of the Mind). This early statement from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali has been a powerful promise for…
Ahimsa Now: 100 Days of Intention – The Final Word
Ahimsa Now. I just spent 100 days exploring violence, its patterns, its causes and the tools for avoiding it. (For background, see “The Roots of ‘Ahimsa Now: 100 Days of Intention’” at the bottom of this post.) What rings true in all of my observations and experiences – when someone is in pain, that person…
The Urban Yoga Den 