Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Second Sunday of Pascha, Counting the Omer, Buddha Jayanti, and/or working for peace (inside and outside).
“I know ten thousand women called Jane and Mary Jane I’ve not seen any two who really were the same (Mirror twins are different, although, their features jibe) And lovers think quite different thoughts While lying side by side”
— quoted from the 4th stanza* of the song (5th & 6th stanzas of the poem) “Human Family” by Maya Angelou (song by Maya Angelou / Shawn Rivera)
This following is a “renewed” and slightly revised post from 2023 (with some additional context from 2020). The first embedded link connects to the original post, entitled “The Force of the Mother.”
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms. No matter how you came to be a mom (or what your kiddos call you), you are a powerful force in the world and represent a powerful Force in the world. The Mother archetype is present in every life story, every healing story, and in every religious and cultural story or myth. In the monomyth (or “Hero’s Journey”), the Mother can represent life, death, and time; nurturing, nourishment, and protection; unconditional love, acceptance, and devotion; as well as unselfishness. The Mother can present as the Matriarch, as Mother Nature/Gaia, as a Fairy Godmother, or as a Divine Mother/Goddess. The Mother can be seen as the Good Mother, the Working Mother (which opens up into a whole host of other archetypes), the Stay-at-Home Mother, the Perfect Mother, the Devoted Mother. the Co-Dependent Mother, the Abusive Mother, the Abandoning Mother, the Critical Mother, or the Hovering/Helicopter Mother.
I used the word “or” for the aforementioned archetypal patterns; because, in many stories, maternal figures are often portrayed as one-dimensional. As if every Mary is the same as every Mary Jane and every Mary Jane the same as every Jane (or Jean). In real life, however, mothers can be more than one thing… simultaneously — and sometimes in ways that may seem contradictory. In real life, mothers are people: they love, they hope, they desire, they fear, they teach, and they fit into so many boxes it doesn’t even make sense to put them into a box… let alone to regulate them to a single day.
And yet, here we are… Mother’s Day in the United States.
“I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.”
— quoted from the end of 1876 Sunday school lesson by Ann Reeves Jarvis (words that inspired her daughter Anna Maria Jarvis)
I added that “in the United States,” because for years I willfully ignored the fact that other countries — not to mention a variety of religions — celebrate Mother’s Day at other times during the year and in very different ways than the way the observation has evolved here in the US. While I don’t know if I will ever go back to teaching on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, I will continue to offer the 2020 recordings and a philosophy-based alternative recording for those who are on my Sunday mailing list (or who request a recording via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com).
The Mother’s Day playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Mother’s Day 2020”]
“It is time for the preachers, the rabbis, the priests
Pundits and the professors
To believe in the awesome wonder of diversity
It is time for parents to teach young people early on
That in diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength
I note the obvious differences in the human family
Some of us are serious, some thrive on comedy
Some declare their lives are lived as true profundity
And others claim they really live the real reality”
— quoted from the 1st & 2nd stanzas* of the song “Human Family” by Maya Angelou (song by Maya Angelou / Shawn Rivera)
Since Mother’s Day 2024 falls on a day when I often focus on the common “threads” between different traditions, I am also sending the Sunday mailing list the practices from May 12, 2020, which feature another heart-centered (and hip-y) sequence inspired by Martha Graham.
The playlist for May 12th is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05122020 Threads, Instructions, & Truths”]
“We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.”
— quoted from the last (repeated) lines of the poem “Human Family” by Maya Angelou
*NOTE: The song “Human Family” contains the original poem written by Maya Angelou, plus additional lyrics by Maya Angelou and music by Shawn Rivera.
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).
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Bright Saturday, Counting the Omer, and/or working for peace (inside and outside).
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2023. Some formatting has changed. Class details, links, and an extra video have been added for 2024.
“Furthermore, Subhūti, in the practice of compassion and charity a disciple should be detached. That is to say, he should practice compassion and charity without regard to appearances, without regard to form, without regard to sound, smell, taste, touch, or any quality of any kind. Subhuti, this is how the disciple should practice compassion and charity. Why? Because practicing compassion and charity without attachment is the way to reaching the Highest Perfect Wisdom, it is the way to becoming a living Buddha.”
— The Diamond Sutra (4)
“By this name it shall be revered and studied and observed. What does this name mean? It means that when the Buddha named it, he did not have in mind any definite or arbitrary conception, and so named it. This Sutra is hard and sharp, like a diamond that will cut away all arbitrary conceptions and bring one to the other shore of Enlightenment.”
— The Diamond Sutra (13)
I have heard that the oldest (surviving) book with a printed date is a Chinese copy of The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion, a sacred Buddhist text commonly known as The Diamond Sutra. It was translated from Sanskrit and printed today (May 11th) in 868 A. D. on a 17-and-a-half-foot-long grey scroll using a block printer commissioned by one Wang Jie. A handwritten note along the lower right hand side of the scroll indicates that it was “Reverently made for universal free distribution by Wand Jie on behalf of his two parents.” The text itself indicates that there is great merit in being a “person who simply observed and studied this Sutra and, out of kindness, explained it to others.” (DS 24)
While the merit is great even if a person only understands and explains “four lines of this Sutra” (DS 8 & 12), it is a relatively accessible and short text, at about 6,000 words. The Diamond Sutra consists of a conversation between the Buddha and his pupil Subhūti, during which there is a continuous emphasis on the temporal and illusory nature of all things — including the teachings within the text! Despite the temporal and illusory nature of all things (including the teachings within the text) — or maybe because of it — there is great wisdom here. Wisdom that is summed up in the Tom Waits song “Diamond in Your Mind”: always keep a diamond in your mind (no matter the situation or circumstance).
This text can be studied and explained, out of kindness, with dialogue similar to the Buddha and Subhūti’s conversation. It can be explored through a deep seated mediation. Or, it can be studied, explained, and explored through a little movement — maybe even a little heart-centered dance.
“They say that dance and architecture are the two primary arts. That means that you have to have the gesture, the effort – the real effort – to communicate with another being and you must also have a tree to shelter under in case of storm or sun.”
— Martha Graham on Technique
“To walk out of one’s door each morning requires that you believe you are needed beyond your four walls and can offer something. To be grateful for the opportunity to simply walk out and live a life offers blessings and insight.”
— Martha Graham in 1990 telephone and in-person interviews with James Grissom
Martha Graham, born today (May 11th) in 1894 was a revolutionary dancer and choreographer, whose passion was partially inspired by her father’s work as a doctor, who used movement as a treatment for nervous disorders, and the art of Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. Her greatest influence, however, was the work of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Graham once said, “Everything I did was influenced by Denishawn.” And, like St. Denis, Graham would go on to leave an indelible mark not only on dance, but also on music, theatre, and performance art.
Graham developed a technique based on the importance of breathing and movement that was, she said, “fraught with inner meaning, with excitement and surge.” The Graham Technique is based on the idea of “contraction and release” (which is one way to describe the body’s natural response to breathing); combined with “spiraling” (diagonally positioning parts of the body, via a 45⁰ rotation of the spine, that is reminiscent of Kandinsky’s paintings) and Doris Humphrey’s “fall and recovery” (Humphrey’s principle regarding an individual’s constant engagement with gravity, as well as the life-death experience of living). Even though a Graham dancer’s hands and feet can have specific placement, the movement of the arms and legs (as well as the hands and feet) begins in the core, with awareness of the heart.
“The palm of the hand should be forward, and straight out (in) the audience. I give you myself, I give you what I have to give; that’s what it really means.”
— Martha Graham instructing dancers during rehearsal
“When I was young I studied with Martha Graham; not to learn to dance, but to learn to move on the stage. If Martha Graham could have had her way, she would have taught us all how to move – through life. That has been and will be her goal: proper movement through life, the relationship of the body to the mind and the body to the spirit. Martha Graham is a compulsive student of the human heart.”
— actor Gregory Peck on Martha Graham (in a documentary)
The mind needs what it needs to understand something, even ourselves, until it no longer needs a reference point. (People who attended a practice on May 9, 2020, or May 3, 2024, will notice a theme here.) The Diamond Sutra tells us that the concepts of a self or no-self, as well as the ideas that all beings are separated or connected, are such reference points. They are used in the text “the way that a raft is used to cross the river. Once the river has been crossed over, the raft is of no more use, and should be discarded.” (DS 6) Martha Graham used dance as a bridge — a way to express life experiences and emotions, as they were simultaneously shared and unique. Here, with the bridge as well as with the raft, there is the opportunity to go back and forth until you have what you need to live nobly through this thing we call life.
“Each one of us has all of life in us. And it is our choice to decide what we will reveal…. How many drops of blood have gone into the making of you? How much memory is in that drop of blood?”
— Martha Graham on life, living, and dancing
“Art is memory. It is the excavation of so many memories we have had–of our mothers, our best and worst moments, of glorious experiences we have had with friends or films or music or dance or a lovely afternoon on a sloping, green hill. All of this enters us and, if we are artists, must be shared, handed over to others. This is why it is so important to know what came before you. It is also important to understand that things will follow you, and they may come along and make your work look pedestrian and silly. This is fine; this is progress. We have to work with what life presents to us, and we have to work as well as we can while we can”
— Martha Graham in a 1990 telephone interview with James Grissom
Please join me today (Saturday, May the 11th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom featuring a sequence inspired by Graham Technique. 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.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05112021 Martha and the Diamond”]
NOTE: The original 2020 post included additional inspiration, which I will add to the YouTube playlist.
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.”
— Martha Graham to biographer Agnes de Mille (printed in Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham, 1992)
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).
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Bright Tuesday, Counting the Omer, and/or working for peace (inside and outside).
“Out of your whole life give but one moment! All of your life that has gone before, All to come after it, – so you ignore, So you make perfect the present, – condense, In a rapture of rage, for perfection’s endowment, Thought and feeling and soul and sense – Merged in a moment which gives me at last You around me for once, you beneath me, above me – Me – sure that despite of time future, time past, – This tick of our life-time’s one moment you love me! How long such suspension may linger? Ah, Sweet – The moment eternal – just that and no more – When ecstasy’s utmost we clutch at the core While cheeks burn, arms open, eyes shut and lips meet!”
— quoted from the poem “Now” by Robert Browning
Today is the anniversary of the birth of the poet Robert Browning (b. 1812), Johannes Brahms (b. 1833), and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (b. 1840). All three expressed their feelings in their art. While I don’t touch on Brahms very much, the other two inspired today’s practice. The following excerpt is from a related post entitled “Never the Time and the Place”:
“…You see, my dear friend, I am made up of contradictions, and I have reached a very mature age without resting upon anything positive, without having calmed my restless spirit either by religion or philosophy. Undoubtedly I should have gone mad but for music. Music is indeed the most beautiful of all Heaven’s gifts to humanity wandering in the darkness. Alone it calms, enlightens, and stills our souls. It is not the straw to which the drowning man clings; but a true friend, refuge, and comforter, for whose sake life is worth living.”
— quoted from 1877 letter from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to Nadezhda Filaretovna “N. F.” von Meck (who financially supported the composer for 13-years), as published in The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky by Modeste Tchaikovsky
Please join me today (Tuesday, May 7th) at 12:00 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.
There are two (2) playlist options:
A more “Christmas-y” option is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05072022 Rejoice We Are Allied”]
A symphony referenced during the practice is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “10282020 Feeling Pathétique?”]
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 a new app, which I have not yet 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).
“Happy Riḍván!” to those celebrating “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone observing Great Lent! Happy National Poetry Month!
This is the “missing” post with music links for Sunday, April 21st. My apologies for not posting before the practice. 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.
“The song title is taken from: ‘We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high; make it not, therefore, as wings to self and passion.’ – Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas”
— quoted from liner notes for the song “Ladder for the Soul” by Taraz Nosrat
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Ridvan 181 BE 2024”]
Music Notes: With a few obvious exceptions (at the beginning and end), this music is composed and performed by Bahá’i musicians and inspired by the Bahá’i Faith. One track in the before/after music is different on each platform. My intention was to include the track below during the practice music; however I could not find it on Spotify.
“We rejoice to see, in every country and region, true practitioners of peace occupied with building this haven. We see it in every account of a heart being enkindled with the love of God, a family opening up its home to new friends, collaborators drawing on Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to address a social problem, a community strengthening a culture of mutual support, a neighbourhood or village learning to initiate and sustain the actions necessary for its own spiritual and material progress, a locality being blessed with the emergence of a new Spiritual Assembly.”
— quoted from the Riḍván 2022 message from the Universal House of Justice “To the Bahá’is of the World”
“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Chaitra Navaratri!” Many blessings to all and especially to those observing Great Lent!
“All you have to do is open up a little bit and then you’ll be experiencing a part of that person’s soul. It’s just there – in the presence of a beautiful painting, a creation, something created by someone else. This is insight into not who they are physically, but who they are on this other plane. So, what makes it magical, always, is to hear music performed live.”
— Bill Conti
The following excerpt is from a 2021 post about Bill Conti (whose music is featured on today’s playlist):
“Consider, for a moment, the things that can bring people together… even tear down walls. Consider, for a moment, what ‘sooth a savage Breast,’ — music… sweet music.
Born today in 1942, Bill Conti is an Italian-American composer and conductor known for soaring scores that inspire (underscore) the indomitable human spirit. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Score (for The Right Stuff) and five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Musical Direction for three (of his nineteen) Academy Awards ceremonies. He has also been nominated for a plethora of Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe awards; has had his (television) music on the Billboard Hot 100; and was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008. He has written jingles and themes for every human emotion and a variety of situations in which we humans continuously find ourselves. He believes in the power of music to bring people together and, in composing music that brings people together, he composes music that opens us to possibilities… music that elevates us.
All we have to do is listen. All we have to do is listen — to the music and to each other — that’s how we open, that’s how we come together.”
“When the audience and the performers become one, it is almost nearly divine, where this oneness can actually meet in some, not physical place, but in some spiritual place, in the middle, not the performers performing, not the audience receiving, but all of a sudden that contact is made and it becomes wonderful.”
— Bill Conti
NOTE: This fifth day of Navaratri is devoted to Skandamata, who is a fierce mother as protector — who simultaneously holds her baby, rides a lion, and keeps her eyes (especially her third eye) open for any and all danger.
Please join me today (Saturday, April 13th) 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 myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “04132021 Reaching A Higher Place”]
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.)
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Great Lent or Eastertide / the Octave of Easter!
This is the post-practice post for tonight’s “First Friday Night Special.” You can request an audio recording of tonight’s Yin Yoga practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at 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.
“The body is like a pot with the lid on lift the lid to see if it is filled with the Water of Life or the poison of death. Focus on the contents and you will become a master focus on the pot and you will be misguided. Your eyes only see the body while the spiritual eye perceives the soul.”
— quoted from the poem by Rumi as published in Rumi’s Little Book of Life: The Garden of the Soul, the Heart, and the Spirit, translated by Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin (with an introduction by Narguess Farzad)
This First Friday Night Special fell on a night that could be, might be (and to many probably is), one of the holiest nights of Ramadān: Laylat al-Qadr. Since April is Poetry Month, there was poetry as well as an explanation about this sacred time. While I ultimately did not include references to scripture related to the the Octave of Easter, there was a bit of context about why we were focusing on these observations — and, really, a little context about why we focus on more than the body (as well as why that often includes things outside of the Yoga Philosophy lineage). This post is just a little expansion of the explanatory comma (with an excerpt related to Laylat al-Qadr).
As often happens at least once year, someone said they weren’t sure where I was going with my narrative. In this particular case (on Monday), the confusion was understandable and (to be honest) a little intentional. Later in the week, a very wise and dear friend asked me why I teach the things I teach. In some ways, these are the same question: What’s the proverbial (or metaphorical) destination? What’s the point?
I actually ask myself these questions all the and I normally have pretty standard answers. These standard answers can be delivered via any number of stories from any number of cultures, authors, songs, historical events, and/or my own history. For instance, since I grew up around so many cultures and religious traditions, I like “…looking at the same mountains from different angles.” (to quote Paulo Coelho) and value the richness and wisdom that can be found in so many manifestations of humanity. However, as we see in many of the Eastern philosophies and traditional sciences, everything has a flipside.
Just as some people have riches, some people have next to nothing. Just as some people are grateful for everything, some people are never satisfied. Just as some people take without thinking, some people give without thought. Just as some people have the time and the space to sit and meditate in quiet, some people are in the middle of (external and/or internal) battles. Just as some people express love and kindness, some people express anger and frustration. There is joy and peace, just as there is anxiety and worry. There is fear and there is wisdom.
Sometimes I find that dichotomy exhausting. In fact, I recently admitted to some friends that I’ve been feeling a little world-weary. That weariness has made it hard to put in the work to do certain things… to teach certain things — even to blog about certain things.
I know I am not alone in this…. I also know some ways to overcome this. That is one of the reasons I do what I do. Because, whatever we do (or don’t do) and how ever we do it (or don’t do it), makes an impact and leaves an impression.
“Use your time wisely. Spend it only in pursuit of things that are good. Hold the world in your hand if you so desire, but never let the world use your heart as its abode. Your understanding of the world around you will be based off of how you take care of the world within you. Treat your heart as something precious and let only what is good for [it] have the privilege of receiving its love.”
— quoted from a 2013 “Ramadān Reflection” for Huffington Post by Imam Khalid Latif
Our thoughts, words, and deeds make an impact on our own self, on the world, and on those around us. That’s what Dame Jane Goodall was saying on Wednesday… and that’s one of the lessons of the Yoga Philosophy: Everything we do is planting a seed — and also, nourishing, harvesting, and/or uprooting what has been planted.
We see it in all the major religions and philosophies and in various sacred texts and scriptures. Throughout the Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali outlined how we can be more conscious about the seeds we are planting and the seeds we need to uproot. In the Book of Proverbs — Mishlei, before King Solomon emphasized the importance of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discernment, and patience as being connected to “righteousness, justice, and equity, every good path” (P — M 2:9), he talked about the different ways “[one] who sows injustice will reap violence” (P — M 22:8). Of course, the latter sentiment is echoed in Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (6:7), where it is applied to whatever/everything. While it is spelled out in different ways by different authors, the message is the same.
We are creating the world in which we live and we are creating the path we will ultimately walk.
“Once a believer asked the angel of the Gate, ‘Is it true that hell is the road through which both believers and unbelievers pass? For on my way here I saw neither smoke nor fire.’ ‘The road you passed was hell indeed,’ the angel smiled. ‘but since you have overcome your lower nature to you it appears as a garden. Having planted the seeds of devotion, you transformed the fire of anger into compassion and ignorance into wisdom. The thorns of envy have turned into roses so now your fiery soul has become a rose garden where nightingales sing praises.’”
— quoted from the poem by Rumi as published in Rumi’s Little Book of Life: The Garden of the Soul, the Heart, and the Spirit, translated by Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin (with an introduction by Narguess Farzad)
The following excerpt is from a 2022 “renewed” post:
“Laylat al-Qadr, translated as ‘Night of Power,’ ‘Night of Destiny,’ ‘Night of Value,’ ‘Night of Measure,’ ‘Night of Decree’ or ‘Night of Honour,’ commemorates the anniversary of the Qur’ān being reveled to the angel Gabriel in a verse-by-verse recitation, which Gabriel then recited to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) over the last 23 years of his (the Prophet’s) life. It is also considered the night when a certain evil spirit can do no harm/evil, when past transgressions are forgiven, and when Allah decides everyone’s destiny. (Notice the similarity to the High Holidays in Judaism?) It is a night so powerful that people will stay up all night praying because it is believed their prayers are more powerful on this most holy night.
The April First Friday Night Special features a Yin Yoga Yoga practice (partially inspired by Sarah Powers and Yin Yoga with Matt). It is accessible and open to all.
Prop wise, this is a kitchen sink practice. You can practice without props or you can use “studio” and/or “householder” props. Example of “Studio” 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).
Friday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Ramadan 2024: Planting & Transforming”]
Some quick notes about the music: First, my playlists for the final days of Ramadān are not halal (“permissible”) in all Islamic traditions, because of the orchestrations. The do, however, feature musicians who are Muslim (with a few exceptions). This First Friday Night Special playlist is all instrumental (during the practice); includes women as musicians and composers; and the YouTube version currently includes some additional before/after music. Please note that all practices can be done without music and, in fact, some people prefer practicing yoga without music.
One of the notable exceptions — notable, because on the other Ramadān playlists she is the only female soloist and the only non-Muslim singer — is Reba McEntire. While this playlist is a little different, her song “Pray for Peace” is on the playlists because she re-released it during the month of Ramadān in 2014 — but not just randomly in the month, the song was released in the last ten days of the month!
Additionally, there are some songs on the playlist that are Nasheeds (meaning they are religiously moral songs) that, in some traditions, are meant to be sung without instrumentation or only with percussion. I have, however, included orchestrated versions of these songs, because this seems to have worked best in an in-studio setting. I mean no disrespect by this choice. As far as I know, percussion or voice only recordings of the Nasheeds are available (if you want to build your own playlist). Alternatively, you can practice without the music.
Finally, one of the songs is on the playlist three (3) times and was inspired by “the stories in In Baghdad Dreaming Of Cairo: In Cairo, Dreaming Of Baghdad by Rumi and by The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.” The song is moving in English (and as an instrumental, which is how it shows up during the practice), but it is next level in Arabic. Let’s go. Better yet, let’s make the whole world feel like home.
### ARE YOU READY TO KISS MY ASANA?
(April 13th – 19th) ###
Happy International Children’s Book Day! “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Great Lent or Eastertide / the Octave of Easter, today and throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and during all other seasons!
“‘Oh, I can hear your heart. It’s beating faster.
Flitter-flutter, thumpity-thump, pitter-patter, bumpety-bump.
The traveling story has jumped inside and set your heart racing.
You’ll become one yourself next, spreading your wings to fly.
And so, another traveling story is born.’”
— quoted from the 2024 International Children’s Book Day poem & message “Cross the Seas on the Wing of your Imagination” by Eiko Kadono (translated from Japanese by the author)
Please join me today (Tuesday, April 2nd) at 12:00 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.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “11142021 A Day for Children”]
Here’s a little excerpt from my 2019 post on this date:
“Pretty much everything Kęstutis Kasparavičius wrote about books, in his 2019 International Children’s Book Day message, can be stated about yoga. There’s something that happens when you get on the mat, when you tap into the breath — even when you move with the breath. Like reading, practicing yoga is accepting an invitation to explore.”
“And if I take an animal body, only the animal desires will come up, and the good desires will wait. What does this show? That by means of environment we can check these desires. Only that Karma which is suited to and fitted for the environments will come out. This shows that the power of environment is the great check to control even Karma itself.”
— quoted from the commentary on Yoga Sūtra 4.8 from Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
“Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan’s egg.”
— quoted from the children’s story The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen (b. 04/02/1805)
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.)
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open.) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Passion Week / Holy Week on Spy Wednesday or Great Lent, throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and during all other seasons!
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”
— Jaques quoted from Act II, Scene vii, of As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Please join me today (Wednesday, March 27th) 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 (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra(at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Spy Wednesday 2022”]
“Every person is unique and yet also like every other person. Our visible, external appearance is different from everyone else’s, of course, that is all well and good, but there is also something inside each and every one of us which belongs to that person alone—which is that person alone. We might call this their spirit, or their soul. Or else we can decide not to label it at all in words, just leave it alone.
But while we are all unlike one another, we’re alike too. People from every part of the world are fundamentally similar, no matter what language we speak, what skin color we have, what hair color we have.”
— quoted from “Art is Peace” the 2024 World Theatre Day message by Jon Fosse (translated from Norwegian by Damion Searls)
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.)
“Beannachti na fėile Pádraig. (Happy Saint Patrick’s Day.)” “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open!) Many blessings and compassion to all, and especially to those observing Cheesefare/Forgiveness Sunday, Lent and/or the 19-Day Fast throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!
Take a moment to notice how you feel on the inside, knowing that how you feel on the inside affects how you move on the outside. Of course, how you move on the outside is going to affect how you feel on the inside. This is especially true today, especially in the United States, when a lot of people celebrate feeling “Irish on the inside.” Like Valentine’s Day — and, even Saint Stephen’s Day, on a certain level — Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated more as a cultural holiday than it is celebrated as a feast day.
The way Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated is particularly interesting when you consider three coincidences about that the fifth century (or late fourth century) priest. First, when he was sent to Ireland to minister to Christians who were there and convert those still practicing the Celtic religions, he chose to co-opt — um, I mean, incorporate — the Irish culture into Catholicism. So, he was all about the heritage… but in a problematic way. Second, Saint Patrick was never canonized — which means that one of the most famous saints was (technically speaking) a saint in name only. While he has a feast day in several traditions, including in the Roman Catholic tradition, I find it fitting that he is remembered as a Saint because people felt like was a saint.
Finally, most of what we know about Saint Patrick comes from exaggerated stories, legends, like the one about how he ran all the snakes out of Ireland — and what would Saint Patrick’s Day be without “me good yarn?”
If you read the title of this post correctly, you know that I think Saint Patrick’s Day is a good time to have “a good time.” In keeping with the feeling, there will be music, dancing, and a story. The Irish tale I like to tell today isn’t about Saint Patrick (in fact it is most often associated with a different saint); but, it can be seen as an allegory. It is also fun to tell with the poses — because, y’all, there are a lot of bird poses in yoga!
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, March 17th) at 2:30 PM.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.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “03172021 The Wren Cycle”]
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.)
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open!) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Lent and/or the 19-Day Fast. May we be open to peaceful possibilities throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!
This is a post–practice note for Monday, March 11th.The post references racism, war, and famine (although these are not explicitly mentioned during the practice). You can request an audio recording of either 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.
“[JOSEPH] ASAGAI: Then isn’t there something wrong in a house – in a world – where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man?”
— quoted from Act III, Scene One of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
When there is conflict, particularly conflict related to religion and/or ethnicity and race (not to mention any number of other immutable traits), we sometimes forget that we do not live in a binary universe. There are not just people of color and white people in the United States. There are not just Jewish people and Muslim people in the Middle East. There are not just Christians and non-Christians in the world. Neither are there just two groups in any conflict. But, there is one thing we all are: People.
We are all people who deserve a little sugar in our bowl, metaphorically as well as physically. We will get to the physical; but, let’s start with the metaphorical.
“I want a little sugar in my bowl I want a little sweetness down in my soul I could stand some lovin’, oh so bad Feel so funny, I feel so sad
I want a little steam on my clothes”
— quoted from the song “I Want A Little Sugar in My Bowl” by Nina Simone
Metaphorically speaking, what is the little bit of sweetness you want in the bowl that is your life?
Above and beyond having the basic necessities in life — food, water, shelter, and the ability to rest — your experiences and the experiences of those around you determines how you visualize and conceive of that sweetness. For example, Lorraine Hansberry’s childhood experiences became A Raisin in the Sun, which premiered on Broadway, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, today in 1959. Named after a line from the Langston Hughes poem “Harlem,” the award-winning play is about a family whose American dream is to live in a nice, safe neighborhood without facing racism and hostilities.
We live in a different time than the Hansberrys lived and each of us may have experiences that lead us to desire something that appears very different — on the outside. Ultimately, however, all of our sweet dreams boil down to the same things: We all want peace, safety, contentment, freedom, and love (e.g., that sense of belonging/being part of something more than ourselves).
Many people seek that sweetness through their spiritual and/or religious practice. As I have mentioned over the last few weeks, this is the time of year when many religious communities around the world are observing and/or are about to observe their holiest times. People within some Western Christian communities are entering the fourth week of Lent; people in the Baháʼí Faith community are in the second week of the 19–Day Fast; and the holy month of Ramadān has just begun. Furthermore, Great Lent (in the Orthodox Christian communities) begins next week, more communities will soon celebrate a new year and a new season, Passover is next month, and there are even more celebrations in between.
“‘Yet others abstain from food and practice sacrifice by spiritualizing their vital energy – that is, by figuratively pouring their own vital life force into the Cosmic Life Force. The whole point of all these various methods of sacrifice (worship) is to develop a certain mental attitude. Those who live with a truly worshipful attitude, whose whole lives are offered up for improvement of the world, incur no sin (no karmic debt).
‘This world is not for the person who performs no sacrifice, no worship. But those who actually live their lives as an offering partake of the nectar of God. Through selflessness they reach the Divine.’”
— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (4.30 – 31) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
For some people, fasting during a sacred time is one of the pillars or foundations of faith and an important element of worship. The same is true for giving something up and donating to charity. From the outside, it may just look like a luxury to be able to do these things. To someone on the inside of a tradition, these activities can be necessities of faith. Yet, as I have mentioned repeatedly over the last few weeks, since fasting is not meant to be abusive and/or a form of punishment, each major religion has exclusions based on age and physical–mental conditions. Just as there were people who were not able to fast because of COVID, there are people who have not been able to fully observe Lent, the 19–Day Fast, Great Lent, Passover, the holy month of Ramadān, and a host of other religious traditions and rituals because of war and famine.
I am specifically mentioning famine, because it sometimes gets overlooked and because it is something that is so unnecessary. I do not mean to imply that war and disease are necessary or that they are easily avoidable. But, famine is a different story.
Famine is a different story because there is enough food in the world. In fact, there is enough food to feed 1.5x the current world population.
Just think about that for a moment.
We could break that down as food for everyone on the plant plus 2.5 – 3 billion people who don’t exist. Or, we could break that down as having enough food for 2.5 – 3 billion people to go back for a second helping. Just to put all that into perspective: The largest countries in the world are still under 2 billion people. And yet, people are experiencing famine.
Take a moment to give thanks for what you have. Then, consider how you can help someone else have that metaphorical sweetness in the bowl that is their life.
Spoiler Alert: While what you can do is not necessarily about money, it is always about power. You have the power.
“[JOSEPH] ASAGAI: You wanted to be God – ?
BENEATHA [YOUNGER]: No – I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. I used to care. I mean about people and how their bodies hurt –
[JOSEPH] ASAGAI: And you’ve stopped caring – ?”
— quoted from Act III, Scene One of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
The playlist used for the 2023 practice is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05192021 Being in The Middle”]
NOTE: The before/after music includes different artists performing Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” (with an intro I don’t think I had ever heard): on YouTube it’s Jennifer Hudson; on Spotify it’s Aretha Franklin.
“To Mama: in gratitude for the dream”
— quoted from the dedication of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
“MAMA [YOUNGER]: Crazy ’bout his children! God knows there was plenty wrong with Walter Younger hard-headed, mean, kind of wild with women – plenty wrong with him. But he sure loved his children. Always wanted them to have something be something. That’s where Brother gets all these notions, I reckon. Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, ‘Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams – but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worth while.’”
— quoted from Act I, Scene One of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
### Respect your dreams and the dreams of the children around you. ###
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A Joyful Practice 