Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating healing, kindness, friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, gratitude, and wisdom during Advent; during the Nativity / St. Philip’s Fast; and on one of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“I was beginning to see then what I have learned now. It’s not forgetting that heals. It’s remembering.”
— quoted from Bloodroot by Amy Greene
Silence and stillness. They are such powerful things and, yet, we can take them for granted. We sometimes take for granted that peace and healing and God (whatever that means to you at this moment) are found in silence and stillness.
Since today is the anniversary of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, we begin with a moment of silence (and stillness). As we remember those that died during the attack, we also remember those who survived. We remember survivors like Quartermaster Lou Conter, Fire Control Chief Petty Officer Lauren Bruner, and Petty Officer Second Class Doris “Dorie” Miller — all three of whom survived the attack and went on to continue their service (even though Petty Officer Second Class Miller would be killed later in the war).
Throughout this practice, in moments of silence and stillness (as well as in the movement), we are reminded that as individuals, as groups, as peoples and nations, we just need a little recovery time to heal. However, in our overstimulated, trigger-happy, litigious society, there are times when we have to very mindfully, deliberately, and intentionally cultivate silence and stillness. We very mindfully, deliberately, and intentionally cultivate these moments of remembering and healing.
“Of the more than 16 million Americans who served in the war, more than 1.2 million were Black American men and women, 500,000 were Latinos, and more than 550,000 Jews were part of the military. Among the many ethnic groups who fought, Indigenous Americans served at a higher percentage than any other ethnic group—more than a third of able-bodied Indigenous men between the ages of 18 and 50 joined the service—and among those 25,000 soldiers were the men who developed the famous “Code Talk,” based in tribal languages, that codebreakers never cracked.”
— quoted from December 6, 2025 Substack post by Heather Cox Richardson
Please join me today (Sunday, December 7th) 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 on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “12/7 and Healing 2021”]
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.
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 appreciating kindness, friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, gratitude, and wisdom during Advent; during the Nativity/Saint Philip’s Fast; and on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women / “White Ribbon Day” (in Canada), one of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”.
NOTE: This post references a violent act, but does not go into explicit details.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“At the last session of Congress a proposed amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United States passed the Senate, but failed for lack of the requisite two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives. Although the present is the same Congress and nearly the same members, and without questioning the wisdom or patriotism of those who stood in opposition, I venture to recommend the reconsideration and passage of the measure at the present session. Of course the abstract question is not changed; but an intervening election shows almost certainly that the next Congress will pass the measure if this does not. Hence there is only a question of time as to when the proposed amendment will go to the States for their action. And as it is to so go at all events, may we not agree that the sooner the better?”
— quoted from State of the Union 1864, delivered to the United States Congress by President Abraham Lincoln (on 12/6/1864)
Yoga means union and, every time we step on the mat, we have the opportunity to check in with the state of that union. In the United States, we typically think of Presidents giving a State of the Union address towards the beginning of their term and towards the beginning of the year. However, on December 6, 1864, then-President Abraham Lincoln gave a State of the Union address in which he urged Congress and the States to take action “the sooner the better” on an amendment to abolish slavery. He proceeded to very actively, more actively than had previously been witnessed in other presidencies, work towards securing the votes needed to pass and ratify what would become the 13th Amendment — which was, in fact, ratified exactly one year later, on December 6, 1865.
In addition to those U. S. anniversaries (which are related to efforts to end a violent period of history), December 6th is one of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”. It is also the anniversary of mass gender-based violence that occurred in Canada. Fourteen women were murdered, while an additional ten women and four men were injured by someone who said he was against feminism. In the aftermath of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, many people took stock of the state of Canada’s union. While some say that the media (in particular) arrived at the wrong conclusions, Canada recognizes this day as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women / “White Ribbon Day”.
“The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is about remembering those who have experienced gender-based violence and those who we have lost to it. It is also a time to take action. Achieving a Canada free from gender-based violence requires everyone living in this country to educate themselves and their families and communities on gender-based violence, centre the voices of survivors in our actions and speak up against harmful behaviours.”
— quoted from the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women statement by the Government of Canada
Please join me for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom, today (Saturday, December 6th) at 12:00 PM. 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 “12062022 Freedom, XIII”]
An instrumental playlist is also available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “12062024 Reflect, Remember, & Act for a Peaceful Union”]
NOTE: Start with track 1 or 6. Either option leads to a variation of a song that some view as liberating.
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.
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.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy, during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (November 25th – December 10th) and on all the other days of your life.
“As for him who neither possesses nor can acquire them, let him take to heart the words of Hesiod; ‘He is the best of all who thinks for himself in all things. He, too, is good who takes advice from a wiser. But he who neither thinks for himself, nor lays to heart another’s wisdom, this is a useless man.’”
— quoted from “Book I, Chapter II” of The Ethics of Aristotle: Volume The First by Aristotle (London: Arthur L. Humphreys 1902, Revised from the translation by D. P. Chase, published at Oxford in 1847)
Everyone needs a moment (or two) of discernment; a moment (or two) to pause, reflect, and reevaluate. Part of me wishes I could say that that is all I did over this last week. However, I am very grateful to note that my week away from teaching include a lot of craic: good food, music, laughter, and stories (sometimes in the form of movies) with some of my chosen family, friends, and a couple of wonderful doggies.
There were also some unexpected complications and those, it turns out, led to quite a bit of insight. Some of which I will share with you at a later date. In the meantime, here are excerpts (and a video) from some of the blog posts related to the last week of classes.
THANKSGIVING
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
“Will Rogers, billed as the Oklahoma Cowboy, in a rope act is a feature at the Orpheum this week. He does wonders in rope spinning but you get so much interested in his ‘patter’ that you forget to watch the tricks, as he calls them. He is a monolinguist disguised in chaps, and one of the best ever….
PD. Printed in Kansas City Post and Journal, ca. 26 October 1914. Scrapbook 1914, CPpR”
— quoted from The Papers of Will Rogers: From Vaudeville to Broadway: Volume Three, September 1908 – August 1915 by Will Rogers, edited by Arthur Frank Wertheim and Barbara Bair
“The reader who finds these three episodes of no interest need read this book no further, for in a sense the central theme of my life is about nothing else. For those who are still disposed to proceed I will only underline the quality common to the three experiences; it is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again. Apart from that, and considered only in its quality, it might almost equally well be called a particular kind of unhappiness or grief. But then it is a kind we want. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is.”
— quoted from Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C. S. Lewis
“‘Mine was the first cry for justice, and a loud one. I made it so that our own adult leaders couldn’t just be nice anymore. Back then, as a teenager, I kept thinking, Why don’t the adults around here just say something?’”
— quoted from Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
We shall breathe and break things down (i.e., metabolize things) during the First Friday Night Special on December 5th, 7:15 PM – 8:20 PM, CST)
&
I will offer in-person classes at the beginning of January 2026. (*DETAILS COMING SOON!*)
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.
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 cultivating kindness, friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, gratitude, and wisdom on one of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it.”
— William Arthur Ward
In addition to being grateful for this practice and grateful for each and everyone of you who shares this practice (on and off the mat & cushion, as well as on & off the blog), I am grateful for the opportunity to take a little break. Online (Zoom) classes are cancelled today through Wednesday, December 3rd.
I will post on the blog a little bit over this next week and people on the recording email list(s) will receive backup recordings. There are also some practice videos on my YouTube channel. You can check the “Class Schedules”calendar for upcoming classes. You can also 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.
For those who are interested, the November 26th playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “11262024 Gratitude & Pranayama III”]
MUSIC NOTE: Since I don’t normally teach on this date, I made a huge oversight and did not originally include any Tina Turner (born today in 1939). Some of her music is now in the before/after portion of the playlists.
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.
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 developing kindness, friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom on Evolution Day.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
This is the post-practice post for Monday, November 24th.The 2025 prompt question was, “What is something outside of your field of study or expertise that fascinates 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.
“The Gita [2.16] teaches: ‘That which is non-existent can never come into being, and that which is can never cease to be.’ The forms and expressions of an object may change, but all these changes of form and expression have existed, and will continue to exist, potentially, within the object. The past and future exist with the object in an unmanifested, subtle form. Nevertheless, they are there. Nothing in the universe is lost.”
— quoted from the commentary for Yoga Sūtras 4.12 – 4.14, in How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, translated and with commentary by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
It can be interesting, informative even, to look back and see where something or someone started. Last week, for example, I was talking about the beginning of the resurgence of the physical practice of Yoga that happened in the early 20th century because of Sri Krishnamacharya, who’s known as “Father of Modern Yoga”, or the “Father of Postural Yoga”. Sometimes, I talk about the beginning of the Yoga Philosophy or the beginning of Buddhism or Christianity or the Baháʼí Faith or Sikhism or some other religion or philosophy. Other times, I talk about the beginning of an idea. We can even look at where and how we start our practice — and/or where and how we start our day — and notice how that beginning informs everything that happens next.
Knowing the origins of things allows us to track the progress of things.
We can also look at how things have progressed and get a sense of how things began.
According to chaos theory, “small changes in initial conditions could result in vast differences in the initial outcomes”. Similarly, the Yoga Sutras (YS 3.14-3.16 and YS 4.12) indicate that everything (and everyone) contains elements of their past, present, and future — with “the cause for the different appearances of results, consequences, or effects” being the sequence of changes — and if we focus-concentrate-mediate on the three kinds of changes (“form, time, and characteristics”), we gain knowledge of the past, present, and future.
In other words: Noticing how things evolve is part of the practice.
Today is Evolution Day. It is the anniversary of the day, in 1859, when Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species (or, more completely, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life).
“We will now discuss in a little more detail the struggle for existence…. I should premise that I use the term Struggle for Existence in a large and metaphorical sense, including dependence of one being on another, and including (which is more important) not only the life of the individual, but success in leaving progeny.”
— quoted from “Chapter III. Struggle for Existence.” in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin (pub. 1859)
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
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 sitting (& speaking) with kindness, friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, wisdom, and gratitude.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
This is the “missing” post, for Sunday, November 23rd.One link embedded in the text will direct you to a site outside of this blog.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.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“For many of us, filling a segment of our day with a prescribed set of disciplines is practice. This type of practice is comprised of a list of techniques and injunctions, and we undertake it because we have been told it will bring us a specific result. It is a recipe for solving a problem. As a result, the value of the practice is dependent on when and to what extent it meets our expectations. If it does not meet our expectations, we dump it without hesitation.”
— commentary on Yoga Sūtra 1.20, from The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
We could make it complicated. However, when we really get down to it, this practice is simple. It’s not always easy, but it is simple. Combine your ethics, morals, and awareness; find a comfortable (and steady) seat; and, then, sit and breathe (with awareness). That’s it really. That’s the practice. In the Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali indicated that a “[continuous] practice” (abhyasa) and “non-attachment” (vairagya) ultimately lead to mental and physical vitality, as well as freedom and liberation from suffering. (YS 1.2 – 1.4; 1.12 – 1.15; 1.29 – 1.40; 2.18)
Our physical practice of yoga (hatha yoga, regardless of the style or tradition) is the way we get our mind-body ready for deep-seated meditation. Of course, we make it a little more complicated; because we move between seats. In a vinyāsa, we “place [things] in a special way” in order to flow in and out of poses/seats. So, that’s another complication. Some of the poses and sequences can be challenging — intense even — and one of my earliest yoga teachers use to say that our “yoga practice should be the most intense part of our day.”
Funny thing about my teacher Paul B’s statement: He never indicated the type intensity. Was the practice meant to be the most intense physically, mentally, emotionally, and/or spiritually? Was it meant to be intensely vigorous or intensely relaxing? Was it all of the above?
Or, was there some other level of intensity that we were missing? Could the intensity come from our devotion?
“Love for practice comes from knowing its importance.”
“The more convinced we are about the key role of our practice in enabling us to live a purposeful and meaningful life, the more we love and respect it. Love and respect springing from a true understanding of our practice is shraddha [faith]. We are joyful at the prospect of doing our practice. The reasons for delaying or dispensing with it become meaningless. We no longer care whether our practice lowers our blood pressure or relaxes our nervous system—we do it for the simple joy of doing it. According to Vyasa, shraddha is the joy that accompanies a practice. It is more than faith—it is the thrill of realizing that we are fortunate to have a practice that helps restore the pristine nature of our mind, takes us inward, and gives us a vision of life’s purpose.”
— commentary on Yoga Sūtra 1.20, from The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: Samadhi Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD
According to Yoga Sūtras 1.20 – 1.22, there are five types of effort; nine ways to practice (the overall philosophy) based on our “…intensity of feeling, vigor, and firm conviction…”; and how long it takes us to reach our goal(s) will be based on how much time, effort, and intensity we put into the practice. Swami J, in the Himalayan tradition, compares this paradigm to the race between the tortoise and the hare and has a great breakdown of the different ways to practice (which you can find here).
You may also consider, as one of my teachers (Lisa B.) once explained, that you don’t have to believe in (or understand) every aspect of the practice for those aspects to work. However, if you believe (i.e., have firm conviction), you will be more diligent about what your actions — and you may spend more time doing the things that are beneficial.
Your diligence may also serve as a reminder to practice non-attachment and remember that the challenges in our practice — such as poses and sequences we aspire to achieve — can be a distraction or obstacle to our ultimate goal.
“‘To work without desire may seem impossible, but the way to do it is to substitute thoughts of Divinity for thoughts of desire. Do your work in this world with your heart fixed on the Divine instead of on outcomes. Do not worry about results. Be even tempered in success or failure. This mental evenness is what is meant by yoga…. Indeed, equanimity is yoga!’”
— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.48) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
The dangers of an achievement simultaneously being an impediment is reinforced in texts like the Yoga Sūtras and the Bhagavad Gita (the “Song of the Lord”), which emphasize “non-attachment” (vairagya) and “non-grasping”/“non-hording” (āparigrahā). In fact, Yoga Sūtra 3.38 explicitly states that “They are powers/achievements in the worldly state, but the are obstacles to samadhi.” Both the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita (as noted above) instruct us to offer our efforts up (with trustful surrender) as if our very efforts are a gift to the Universe.
And, surely, that much gratitude multiplies the joy.
“‘I accept with joy whatever I am offered in true devotion: fruit or water, leaf or flower. The gift is love, the dedication of your heart. Devotion alone gains access to Divinity.’”
— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (9.26) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
Throughout the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna (as an embodiment of the Divine) breaks down different yoga paths and, in doing so, highlights the fact that everything we do can be an gift/offering. I thought about this idea as I was reading The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team by Patrick Lencioni, which was recommended by my yoga buddy Carl (in a discussion that included a similar book that I love). The parallels between these modern books on management and these ancient texts made me think about how often we express (or neglect to express) gratitude for the things someone else does that we’re glad we don’t have to do.
It also made me think about how often we take those things (and people) for granted — and how, in taking people (and things) for granted, we miss an opportunity to give thanks.
“And in the Gita [9.27], we read:
Whatever your action, Food or worship; Whatever the gift That you give to another; Whatever you vow To the work of the spirit:… Lay these also As offerings before Me.”
— quoted from the commentary for Yoga Sūtra 1.23 – 1.24, in How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, translated and with commentary by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09012024 Deep Listening”]
NOTE: The playlist contains John Metcalfe’s album Tree (with the remixes); however, one track has been moved. The story behind the album is beautiful. Additionally, I encourage you to deeply listen to Track #11 (which was the inspiration for the playlist and the September practice).
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.
Correction (& Errata &): During the 2025 practice (& on the music post) inadvertently cited the wrong Yoga Sūtra chapter for YS 1.23-1.24. (11/23/2025)
NOTE: In anticipation of the holiday(s), I have cancelled classes on November 26th – December 3rd.
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone sitting (& speaking) with kindness, friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, wisdom, and gratitude.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“‘I accept with joy whatever I am offered in true devotion: fruit or water, leaf or flower. The gift is love, the dedication of your heart. Devotion alone gains access to Divinity.’”
— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (9.26) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
Please join me today (Sunday, November 23rd) 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 on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “09012024 Deep Listening”]
NOTE: The playlist contains John Metcalfe’s album Tree (with the remixes); however, one track has been moved. The story behind the album is beautiful. Additionally, I encourage you to deeply listen to Track #11 (which was the inspiration for the playlist and the September practice).
“And in the Gita [9.27], we read:
Whatever your action, Food or worship; Whatever the gift That you give to another; Whatever you vow To the work of the spirit:… Lay these also As offerings before Me.”
— quoted from the commentary for Yoga Sūtra 1.23 – 1.24, in How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, translated and with commentary by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
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.
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 cultivating friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom.
May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“Yoga is awareness, a type of knowing. Yoga will end in awareness. Yoga is arresting the fluctuations of the mind as said in the Yoga Sutras (of Patanjali): citta vritti nirodha. When the mind is without any movement, maybe for a quarter of an hour, or even a quarter of a minute, you will realize that yoga is of the nature of infinite awareness, infinite knowing. There is no other object there.”
— Sri T. Krishnamacharya at 100, in an interview with A. G. Mohan
Sri. T. Krishnamacharya was born today in 1888. CLICK THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
“[T. K. V.] Desikachar realized that his father felt that every action should be an act of devotion, that every asana should lead toward inner calm. Similarly, [Sri. T.] Krishnamacharya’s emphasis on the breath was meant to convey spiritual implications along with psychological benefits. According to Desikachar, Krishnamacharya described the cycle of breath as an act of surrender: ‘Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God.’”
— quoted from the May/June 2001 Yoga Journal article entitled “Krishnamacharya’s Legacy” by Fernando Pagés Ruiz
Please join me today (Tuesday, November 18th) 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 in 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 “07112020 An Introduction”]
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.
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 cultivating friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom.
May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
This is the post-practice post for Monday, November 17th.The 2025 prompt question was, “What is your strongest heart-centered quality”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.
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
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.
Reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle, and plant a tree on America Recycles Day and Plant a Tree Day (in Sri Lanka)!
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2023 (i.e., it’s recycled). Class details, an extra excerpt, and some links have been updated/added.
“There seems to be a single starting point for psychology, exactly as for all the other sciences: the world as we find it, naïvely and uncritically. The naïveté may be lost as we proceed.”
— quoted from “Chapter I: A Discussion of Behaviorism” in Gestalt Psychology: An Introduction to New Concepts in Modern Psychology by Dr. Wolfgang Köhler
We may not have control over how a studio space is set up; however, when we make our way into the space — and/or if we have the luxury of creating our own home space — most of us put some effort into the space we are going to occupy. It may not be a lot of space, but it is ours while we are there and most people have some sense of what they need to be stable and steady, comfortable and at ease. (YS 2.46) Similarly, we don’t have any control over our genetics and the body into which we are born, but we can make an effort to be healthy and strong — or, at the very least, comfortable in our own skin (which is yet another environment). Then we get on the mat and the whole practice is about very intentionally and mindfully creating our internal (physical-mental and emotional-energetic) space… as opposed to just passively receiving the space we’ve been given.
Of course, as one of my first teachers used to say, how we do yoga is how we do life. As children, we all start off like someone entering the studio. We learn what works for us and what doesn’t (i.e., what serves us in alleviating our suffering versus what causes more suffering). However, we don’t always do the things that create steadiness, stability, ease, comfort, and maybe even joy. Sometimes, we remain a “passive recipient” instead of becoming a “co-creator” of your culture and environment?
Thanks to Merrick Rosenberg, I went down the rabbit hole almost ten years ago and came across the research of Dr. Wolfgang Köhler (a German researcher in the 1920’s and 30’s) and Dr. Gordon R. Stephenson (at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the 1960’s). Here’s an excerpt from a 2021 post about what I found:
“Dr. Wolfgang Köhler believed (a) that subjective experience matters; (b) that the human mind and behavior have to be considered as a whole (and that whole includes subjective experience); (c) that, like chimpanzees, humans are capable of problem solving through insight learning; and (d) that people could – and one can argue should – stand up for what they believe to be right and, in doing so, actively co-create the world in which the live.”
Throughout the year, there are different days when people from different countries (and/or of different cultures) focus on be active co-creators of this world in which we all live. Today, November 15th, is one of those days. In Sri Lanka, it is Plant a Tree Day. In the United States, it is America Recycles Day (and the 2023 theme was all about innovation).
“Problems may be found which were at first completely hidden from our eyes. For their solution it may be necessary to devise concepts which seem to have little contact with direct primary experience.”
— quoted from “Chapter I: A Discussion of Behaviorism” in Gestalt Psychology: An Introduction to New Concepts in Modern Psychology by Dr. Wolfgang Köhler
Please join me for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom, today (Saturday, November 15th) at 12:00 PM. 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 “11152023 Like Birds & Monkeys & More Trees”]
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.
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.) UPDATED: Theme noted above was for 2023.
### Be Like the Birds (who reuse everything they can get their beaks on). ###
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A Joyful Practice 