Smile. You may not know it, but your life just changed.
Skeptical?
Take another deep breath. Now, deepen your expression.
Whether you are new to yoga, a dedicated practitioner, or just someone trying to sort out all of the hullabaloo (and not call it “yogart” in mixed company), a joyful practice can help you find things you didn’t know you needed – and explore gifts you didn’t know you had to offer.
Still skeptical? That’s cool. It doesn’t change the fact that somewhere between that first deep breath and this next one (Inhale….Exhale.) your brain chemistry changed!
And just think, you didn’t even have to step on a mat.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Dormition Fast and/or cultivating communication that leads to peace — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated & be kind, y’all!
“Do it differently So it won’t come out the same Step up, be strong, Get yourself out of pain.”
— quoted from the poem “DIFFERENTLY” by Donna Garrett
Have you ever noticed a pattern in your life? Have you ever noticed certain things happening around the same time year after year? I have. Some of those things are situations over which we have no control (like my mother passing away at the beginning of August 2020 and my brother being hospitalized in August of 2026). Then there are things over which we have some control… like how we deal with the patterns in our lives.
While I am doing some things differently this year (specifically to get myself out of pain/suffering), some things seem to be the same. I emphasized “seem”, because although I am once again cancelling some classes in August, I am cancelling them for different reasons… and some of those reasons are a definite choice.
There are no Zoom classes today (Saturday, August 15th) or Monday (August 17th); however, I am planning to hold the regular Sunday class. I apologize for the inconvenience (especially as I will be cancelling some upcoming classes so that I can visit my brother).
Meanwhile, I am sending recordings to anyone on the class email lists and, of course, you can always check out one of my videos.
Click on the excerpt titles below for the philosophical posts that inspired previous practices on this date.
“In the conventional practice of non-violence we are not led to entertain a stream of structured, organized non-violent thoughts. For example, when someone slaps us on the right cheek, we are told to offer the left one also—this is said to be practicing non-violence. But this approach to non-violence does not free us from pain, nor does it purify our mind. According to Vyasa, we must design a system of practice that neutralizes the force of violence, step-by-step and point-by-point. In violence, the mind is churning out negative thoughts involuntarily. To practice non-violence, we have to train the mind to churn out positive thoughts voluntarily. We accomplish this by the methodical practice of contemplation.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 2.33 from The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
You can request an audio recording of a related practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
The playlist we used for the 2023 practices is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “0123-24/2022 Doing: Lessons in…”]
NOTE: If it is accessible to you, please consider using the Spotify playlist as it contains the original music (referenced in the original practice). Even better, if you already have the album!
The original Keith Jarrett recording is not available on YouTube (in the US) without a “Premium” membership and, after listening to several different “interpretations” – which do not / cannot include the vocalizations – I decided the Fausto Bongelli sounded the closest to the original. Sadly, one movement is missing and so I used a recording by Tomasz Trzcinkinski, who was the first person to record the music using the transcription. There are also now transcriptions for other instruments – which I didn’t sample, even though I think some of them would be lovely. There are also “covers” using electronic instruments, which I’m considering a hard pass (even if it seems contradictory to the original theme), out of respect for the composer.
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone preparing for the Dormition Fast and/or cultivating communication that leads to peace — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated & be kind, y’all!
Please join me today (Wednesday, August 12th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class.You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08122025 Communication”]
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to creating histories of friendship, peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated & be kind, y’all!
Please join me today (Tuesday, August 11th) at 12:00 Noon or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08112021 The Roots of Your Story”]
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
“Poetry and philosophy will become friends. (II. 140) Philosophy is the highest poetry. (VI. 63)
Philosophy is no joke or talk. (III. 10)
Our philosophy does not depend upon any personality for its truth. (V. 207)”
— quoted from Pearls of Wisdom by Swami Vivekandanda (collected from speeches and writings, edited by The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture)
Sometimes people forget, or never knew, that Yoga is a philosophy. It is, actually, one of six (6) Indian darshans (“views” or philosophies). As I’ve mentioned before (and highlighted in the 2020 post I am quoting here), the word philosophy comes to us from Greek, by way of Latin, Old French, and Middle English, from a word that means “love of wisdom”. It is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, thought, reality, and existence. It provides a way to think about and understand the world, the universe, and everything. As stated in Wikipedia, it “is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.” The most basic question being, “Why?” – Which spirals out of some variation of even more existential questions.
Throughout the history of the world, people have come at these questions from different directions. In Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy we get “a survey course in ancient and modern philosophy (through the beginning of the 20th Century).”
“So now you must choose… Are you a child who has not yet become world-weary? Or are you a philosopher who will vow never to become so? To children, the world and everything in it is new, something that gives rise to astonishment. It is not like that for adults. Most adults accept the world as a matter of course. This is precisely where philosophers are a notable exception. A philosopher never gets quite used to the world. To him or her, the world continues to seem a bit unreasonable – bewildering, even enigmatic. Philosophers and small children thus have an important faculty in common. The only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder…”
— quoted from Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder (b. 1952)
Please join me today (Saturday, August 8th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04262020 Philosophy of Locks”]
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses.If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone travelling the road(s) with friendship, peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated & be kind, y’all!
“… my husband bought me a Maxwell roadster. There were scarcely half a dozen persons we knew driving motor cars, but nothing daunted, I took a couple of lessons and was ready to go. The still-young motor industry proved itself by indulging in what were known as ‘endurance runs,’ in two of which we participated. ‘We’ does not include my husband, for I had elected to spend my married life with a non-mechanical and non-travel-loving man, who ventured far from home only for fishing or hunting! His dread of the new contraption was clear when, with each new car we owned he look just one ride, and always asked, ‘How do you stop this thing?’
However, he was always magnanimous in his point of view toward me. When it came about, late in 1908, that a motor trip to the Pacific Coast was suggested by Carl Kelsey, then Sales Manager of the Maxwell-Briscoe Company, the proposal had considerable lure as we discussed it among the feminine members of the family. The journey had been made—though by men only—why not by us?”
— quoted from the article “Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron” by Alice Huyler Ramsey, ’07 (excerpted from the book of the same name and printed in Vassar Quarterly, Volume XLVII, Number 5, 1 June 1962)
Even if you’ve never taken a road trip quite like the one 22-year old Alice Huyler Ramsey finished today in 1909, you probably know the importance of rest stops and pit stops (and keeping your destination in mind when faced with detours). Mrs. Ramsey was the first woman to complete a cross country automobile trip in the United States. She was accompanied by her two older sister-in-laws (Annette “Nettie” Ramsey Powell [Lewis] and Margaret “Maggie” Ramsey Atwood) and her teenage friend Hermine Jahns1 in a publicity stunt for the automobile manufacturer Maxwell-Briscoe, but none of the other women knew how to drive.
This was during a time when less than 5% of the roads they traveled were paved; there were no service stations, gas stations, or charging stations at regular intervals. In fact, the fuel they needed wasn’t general used as fuel… at least, not by women. The group traveled for 59-days, from New York City to San Francisco, in a dark green, four-cylinder, 30-horsepower Maxwell DA, and they were met with great fanfare — even though they arrived 3 weeks later than they planned.
Like any road trip, the journey was full of rest stops to stretch their legs, pit stops to either fill up the tank or fix things on the vehicle, and detours… so many adventures disguised as detours. However, even the rest stops and pit stops were adventures that required them to stay centered and grounded.
“Now as I think back 53 years I honestly believe the really brave ones were the husband who trusted in my ability, after only a year’s experience at the wheel, and the three companions who put themselves in my hands to cross that long and little-known stretch of miles. It was not a comedy enacted, and there were many episodes to try our courage, but the challenge of each new day and the determination to drive every inch of the way, in spite of some advices to the contrary, finally brought us triumphantly to our goal in San Francisco.”
— quoted from the article “Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron” by Alice Huyler Ramsey, ’07 (excerpted from the book of the same name and printed in Vassar Quarterly, Volume XLVII, Number 5, 1 June 1962)
Please join me (TONIGHT) Friday, August 7, 2026, 7:15 PM – 8:20 PM (CST) for “Rest Stops, Pit Stops, & Detours”.
This Restorative Yoga practice is accessible and open to all.
(NOTE: There will be a little bit of quiet space in this practice.)
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09012023 Trusting, Listening… Deeply”] NOTE: You can start with Track #1, #2, or #5.
Prop wise, this is a kitchen sink practice and I will suggest using a wall, chair, or table during the practice. You can practice without props or use “studio” props and/or “householder” props. Example of Commercial props: 1 – 2 blankets, 2 – 3 blocks, a bolster, a strap, and an eye pillow. Example of Householder props: 1 – 2 blankets or bath towels, 2 – 3 books (similar in size), 2 standard pillows (or 1 body pillow), a belt/tie/sash, and a face towel.
You may want extra layers (as your body may cool down during this practice). Having a wall, chair, sofa, or coffee table may be handy throughout this practice.
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
NOTES & REVISIONS:1There are some discrepancies about Hermine Jahns’s age in 1909. Most of the sources I checked indicated that she was 19 years old. However, the Smithsonian magazine and a fictionalized account of the 1909 trip describe her as 16 years old.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating friendship, peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated, y’all!
For Those Who Missed It: The following note and excerpts were originally posted in 2025. A practice video, class details, plus some formatting, links, and excerpt content have been updated/added.
“I submit it, then, to those best acquainted with the man personally, whether the following is not Nathaniel Hawthorne,–to to himself, whether something involved in it does not express the temper of this mind,–that lasting temper of all true, candid men–a seeker, not a finder yet:–
A man now entered, in neglected attire, with the aspect of a thinker, but somewhat too rough-hewn and brawny for a scholar. His face was full of sturdy vigor, with some finer and keener attribute beneath; though harsh at first, it was tempered with the glow of a large, warm heart, which had force enough to heat his powerful intellect through and through. He advanced to the Intelligencer, and looked at him with a glance of such stern sincerity, that perhaps few secrets were beyond its scope.”
— quoted from “Hawthorne and His Mosses” [a review of the Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story collection, Mosses from an Old Manse] by Herman Melville, published pseudonymously by “a Virginian Spending July in Vermont” (as printed in The Literary World on August 17 and 24, 1850)
Every edifice (or physical structure) has a cornerstone. As I mentioned in one of the excerpted posts below, it is the reference point for everything that is built. In other words, it makes the building possible.
What is true about a physical structure is also true about everything else we build — including friendships, communities, and nations. The cornerstones and foundations of all of those make them possible.
A Possible Friendship
Herman Melville and Nathaniel Nathaniel Hawthorne met today in 1850.
The cornerstone of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal was placed on a rainy Bedloe’s Island on August 5, 1884. Mrs. Gertrude E. Rush was born in Texas today in 1880.
Click on the excerpt title above to discover why Lady Liberty and a Lady of Justice are today’s “Impossible People.”
“Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.”
— quoted from the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
Please join me today (Wednesday, August 5th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class.You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06172020 The Lady’s Power”]
NOTE: The practice video is set to the same playlist as the Zoom practices!
“In 1919 Mrs. Gertrude Rush, a prominent black lawyer and [WC] delegate from a Baptist church in Des Moines, Iowa, posited that the vote would enable women to fight for better working conditions, higher wages, and greater opportunities in business. Through suffrage, Rush maintained, women could better regulate moral and sanitary conditions, end discrimination and lynch law, obtain better educational opportunities, and secure greater legal justice.”
— quoted from “Religion, Politics, and Gender: The Leadership of Nannie Helen Burroughs” by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Chapter 8 of This Far By Faith: Readings in African-American Women’s Religious Biography, edited by Judith Weisenfeld & Richard Newman)
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. Stay hopeful and hydrated.
Pardon me while I catch up. There were no Zoom practices, but here is a post related to August 4th.
For Those Who Missed It: The following excerpts and video were originally posted in 2025. The excerpts are in “story” order. The 2025 prompt question was, “What do you have in common with someone who inspires you?”You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
“Of course, such classes must be somehow distinguished or distinguishable from others, or the symbols would not be significant. If I am to make use of the terms x and y to any purpose, I must obviously have some means of making it clear to myself and to others which things are x and which are not, which are y and which are not.”
— quoted from “Chapter II. Symbols of Classes and Operations.” in Symbolic Logic by John Venn Sc.D. ; F.R.S. (b. 1834)
Click on the excerpt titles below for more about the musician, the president, and the duchess — not to mention the mathematician and poet — who celebrate(d) birthdays today.
The playlist for the video practice is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08042021 Wonderfully, Hopefully, Fearlessly Impossible”]
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
Many blessings to everyone and especially for anyone praying, wishing, hoping, and working for peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
For Those Who Missed It: This post-practice post for Monday, August 3rd, was originally posted in 2025. Some formatting, links, and retreat information have been added/updated. The 2026 prompt question was, “What is something you believe that informs your actions?”You can request an audio recording of these practices or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
“If I am to confess what drove me, as a woman, to become a rabbi, two things come to mind. My belief in God’s calling and my love of my fellow man. God has bestowed on each one of us special skills and vocations without stopping to ask about our gender. This means each one of us, whether man or woman, has a duty to create and work in accordance with those God-given skills.”
— quoted from the doctoral thesis entitled “May a woman hold rabbinic office?” by Rabbi Regina Jonas
Rabbi Regina Jonas was born today in 1902. Click on the excerpt title below to discover why she is one of my “impossible” people (and someone once Overlooked*).
“She told Berna, a Swiss women’s newspaper: ‘For me it was never about being the first. I wish I had been the hundred thousandth!’”
— quoted “First Officially Ordained Woman Rabbi Regina Jonas 1902–1944” by Gabriel Popkin, published in Overlooked: A Celebration of Remarkable, Underappreciated People Who Broke the Rules and Changed the World by Amisha Padnani and the [New York Times] Obituaries Desk
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
A Quick Note About Music Used In Previous Years: I realize we are talking pennies here; but pennies add up. I also realize that some people may not care and that I don’t know the political leanings of every musician I feature on a playlist. That being said, I believe context matters — and I am highlighting events that happened during a genocide, as a genocide is happening in real time. I also believe in representation, not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and in transparency.
So, keeping all of that in mind, I am offering two playlists for this date. The 2022 playlists include more musicians who (at least in the past) publicly supported what is happening in Gaza.
The 2022 playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08032022 Always Answering the Impossible Call”]
The 2021 playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. Look for “08032021 Answering the Impossible Call”]
*QUOTE NOTE: The second quote above is one I did not find (or overlooked) when I first did my research almost a decade ago. So, there is a good chance I will expand the 2022 post, just a little bit, thanks to my yoga buddy Julie, who gave me a copy of the book Overlooked (cited above). The book features obituaries for people who made history, but were not always recognized (because they were part of marginalized communities). It is full of amazing — and sometimes “impossible” — people like Rabbi Regina Jonas, who is featured in the “Paddling Their Own Canoes” section. My thanks to Julie (and the authors)!
“Nothing can hold you back—not your childhood, not the history of a lifetime, not even the very last moment before now. In a moment you can abandon your past. And once abandoned, you can redefine it.
If the past was a ring of futility, let it become a wheel of yearning that drives you forward. If the past was a brick wall, let it become a dam to unleash your power.
The very first step of change is so powerful, the boundaries of time fall aside. In one bittersweet moment, the sting of the past is dissolved and its honey salvaged.”
— quoted from the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman.
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2024 (as the invitation to First Friday Night Special #46) and reposted in 2025 with the practice video below and a picture (visible to those on WordPress).
Class details, plus some links and formatting, have been added/updated.
“The light that’s in your eyes / reminds me of the skies / that shine above us every day—so wrote a contemporary lover, out of God knows what agony, what hope, and what despair. But he saw the light in the eyes, which is the only light there is in the world, and honored it and trusted it; and will always be able to find it; since it is always there, waiting to be found. One discovers the light in darkness, that is what darkness is for; but everything in our lives depends on how we bear the light. It is necessary, while in darkness, to know that there is a light somewhere, to know that in oneself, waiting to be found, there is a light. What the light reveals is danger, and what it demands is faith.”
“What a journey this life is! dependent, entirely, on things unseen.”
— quoted from the essay “Nothing Personal” by James Baldwin (b. 1924), original published as part of a collaboration with Richard Avedon
Born today in Harlem, New York, in 1924, the author James Baldwin was — by his own words (see excerpt below) — an impossible person. He was someone who said yes to life and yes to the light inside of himself. He was someone, as Maya Angelou pointed out, who lived with his whole heart and encouraged others to do the same.
To live with one’s whole heart is the original meaning of “courage,” a word James Baldwin put in the same category as words like “artist,” “integrity,” “nobility,” “peace,” and “integration.” Words that, he said (in the speech “The Artist’s Struggle for Integrity”), “[depend] on choices one has got to make, for ever and ever and ever, every day.”
Of course, to make those choices wisely, we need to have some semblance of balance — especially as it relates to the heart.
“I have slept on rooftops and in basements and subways, have been cold and hungry all my life; have felt that no fire would ever warm me, and no arms would ever hold me. I have been, as the song says, ‘buked and scorned and I know that I always will be. But, my God, in that darkness, which was the lot of my ancestors and my own state, what a mighty fire burned! In that darkness of rape and degradation, that fine flying froth and mist of blood, through all that terror and in all that helplessness, a living soul moved and refused to die. We really emptied oceans with a home-made spoon and tore down mountains with our hands. And if love was in Hong Kong, we learned how to swim.
It is a mighty heritage, it is the human heritage, and it is all there is to trust. And I learned this through descending, as it were, into the eyes of my father and my mother. I wondered, when I was little, how they bore it—for I knew that they had much to bear. It had not yet occurred to me that I also would have much to bear; but they knew it, and the unimaginable rigors of their journey helped them to prepare me for mine. This is why one must say Yes to life and embrace it wherever it is found—and it is found in terrible places; nevertheless, there it is; and if the father can say, Yes. Lord, the child can learn that most difficult of words, Amen.”
— quoted from the essay “Nothing Personal” by James Baldwin (b. 1924), original published as part of a collaboration with Richard Avedon
Please join me today (Sunday, August 2nd) at 2:30 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules”calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available onYouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Langston’s Theme for Jimmy 2022”]
The Yin Yoga playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08022024 A Brother’s Love”]
NOTE: The tracks on the Yin Yoga playlist are slightly different in length and duration, depending on the platform. Start with track 1, 8, or 10.
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses.If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
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A Joyful Practice 
[FTWMI] EXCERPT: “Impossible x3” (PLUS, a music note & video) the post-practice Monday post August 3, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Loss, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Women, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Amisha Padnani, commentary, Gabriel Popkin, genocide, Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Regina Jonas, Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, Religion, The New York Times Obituaries Desk
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Many blessings to everyone and especially for anyone praying, wishing, hoping, and working for peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
“If I am to confess what drove me, as a woman, to become a rabbi, two things come to mind. My belief in God’s calling and my love of my fellow man. God has bestowed on each one of us special skills and vocations without stopping to ask about our gender. This means each one of us, whether man or woman, has a duty to create and work in accordance with those God-given skills.”
— quoted from the doctoral thesis entitled “May a woman hold rabbinic office?” by Rabbi Regina Jonas
“She told Berna, a Swiss women’s newspaper: ‘For me it was never about being the first. I wish I had been the hundred thousandth!’”
— quoted “First Officially Ordained Woman Rabbi Regina Jonas 1902–1944” by Gabriel Popkin, published in Overlooked: A Celebration of Remarkable, Underappreciated People Who Broke the Rules and Changed the World by Amisha Padnani and the [New York Times] Obituaries Desk
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
The 2022 playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “08032022 Always Answering the Impossible Call”]
The 2021 playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. Look for “08032021 Answering the Impossible Call”]
Check out the practice video!
“Nothing can hold you back—not your childhood, not the history of a lifetime, not even the very last moment before now. In a moment you can abandon your past. And once abandoned, you can redefine it.
If the past was a ring of futility, let it become a wheel of yearning that drives you forward. If the past was a brick wall, let it become a dam to unleash your power.
The very first step of change is so powerful, the boundaries of time fall aside. In one bittersweet moment, the sting of the past is dissolved and its honey salvaged.”
— quoted from the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman.
### There Is No Call Waiting ###