“Chag Sameach!” “Happy Festival!” to anyone celebrating Passover. “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who was observing the holy month of Ramadān. Many blessings to all, and especially to those celebrating or observing Lazarus Saturday, Easter Week, Counting the Omer, and/or Riḍván!
I’m excited to once again participate in the Kiss My Asana yogathon, which is Mind Body Solutions‘ biggest fundraiser and a way to spread the message that a greater connection between mind and body can help all of us live with improved comfort and ease, no matter our condition, age, or ability.
I started Joyfully participating in the 2014 yogathon because I believe in the transformative, healing, and joyful experience of yoga. I also believe there is a practice for every mind/body/spirit – every veteran, every person with disability, every survivor of sexual assault and other trauma, every elderly person, every person living with chronic pain, every person with a terminal illness – and Mind Body Solutions is helping people find their practice!
Mind Body Solutions’ mission and message reach all walks of life – people living with disabilities, terminal illness, chronic pain, trauma, and PTSD – to name a few. Best known for their Adaptive Yoga Program, which provides adapted yoga opportunities for people around the globe. MBS also offers training and workshops for yoga teachers, healthcare professionals, and caregivers (so they can share this work in their communities, too).
Each year, in addition to hosting a fundraising page and making my personal donation, I offer a blog post and/or a YouTube post – sometimes even a whole practice. This year, I am making videos highlighting different parts of our bodies and, in doing so, different parts of our lived experience. Many more connections exist than the ones I’m highlighting. So, keep in mind that these videos – like the classes I lead – are just the tip of the iceberg.
What happens at Mind Body Solutions is the whole enchilada!
If you have two minutes to spare, I’d recommend you also check out the Mind Body Solutions video (below) so you can see exactly how your donation will help! Thank you for taking the time and for showing your support – and don’t forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate or join!
“Chag Sameach!” “Happy Festival!” to anyone celebrating Passover. “Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who was observing the holy month of Ramadān. Many blessings to all, and especially to those celebrating or observing Great Tuesday, Easter Tuesday, or Counting the Omer!
It’s the fourth day of Passover and, since I don’t have classes on Thursday and Friday, I’m returning to one of my favorite Passover class themes. Also, the message, which I originally posted in 2020, bears repeating! (Class details and links have been updated. Plus, there’s a special offering from my YouTube series about changing perspectives.)
“’Speak to the entire community of Israel, saying, “On the tenth of this month, let each one take a lamb for each parental home, a lamb for each household. But if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor who is nearest to his house shall take [one] according to the number of people, each one according to one’s ability to eat, shall you be counted for the lamb.”’”
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– Shemot / Exodus 12:3-4
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“’And this is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord.’”
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– Shemot / Exodus 12:11
Every year, as we approach the end of Passover, I think about the first Passover Seder. What would that have been like? How would have felt to celebrate freedom? How would it have felt to give thanks to G-d for that freedom? Charlie Harary points out that while it is natural to think the first Passover Seder occurred a year after exodus, it actually happened the night before exodus. That’s right: G-d commanded the Jewish people to celebrate their freedom and give thanks for being delivered out of Egypt before they were even free – even before they knew their freedom was guaranteed.
Can you imagine doing that? Can you imagine how it would feel? Can you imagine the faith it would take to sit in the middle of your suffering, in the middle of your family and friends as they suffer, and give thanks for what’s to come?
There is a history of this kind of observation in the Hebrew Bible. Remember, in Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus, the instructions for Sukkot are to celebrate what will be given – not what has been given. On a certain level, the High Holidays falls into this paradigm; as the 10 Days of Awe / 10 Days of Atonement are a period of reflection, but also a period of looking forward.
“If one thinks of onself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true, ‘Thinking makes it so.’”
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– Ashtavakra Gita 1:11
It seems completely backwards to the modern mind. Today we think we need to Have something, in order to Do something, in order to Be what or who we want to be. However, Harary, as well as Neale Donald Walsh in Conversations with God, point out that the Old Testament formula – the formula for success in the time of Moses – was very different. Instead of Have + Do = Be, Harary and Walsh say that the formula was Be + Do = Have. So, if we want to have certain experiences, certain relationships, and certain things in our lives, we have to conduct ourselves as the person that has the experiences, relationships, and things we want in our lives.
“This formula is infallible. There is no wish that has been fulfilled, nor any wish that has been denied, that does not adhere to the principle of the Creation Equation. Every time that you got what you wanted, your desire for it plus the energy you invested in achieving it were greater than the forces that resisted you having it. Each time they weren’t greater, you didn’t get what you wanted.”
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– Rod Styker in The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom
Think about it for a moment. One of the things with which people struggle at times is what to Do in a situation. Other times, we don’t struggle. We know exactly what to do and everything falls into place. Successfully achieving our goals still takes effort, it still takes work. But, sometimes, we know exactly what steps to take. How do we know? Because we’re in the mindset of the person who is going to do the work, we take that first step.
In The Four Desires, Rod Stryker codifies a similar formula for success, which he calls “The Creation Equation:” Is + Iv > Ik = P. Here, the intensity (or energy) of desire (Is) combined with the intensity (or energy) put into achieving the goal (Iv), must be greater than the resistance to achieving the goal (Ik), in order for the goal to be achieved (P). It’s easy, straightforward, and makes perfect sense. The problem is that we don’t always realize how much resistance we have to overcome – or that a large bulk of resistance comes from not believing in our ability to achieve success; and/or, in others not believing that we can achieve our success. When we spend a lot of time focused on what we don’t have, we don’t do. When we wake up each morning knowing who we are (BE); we get to work, (DO)ing what we need; so that at the end of the day we HAVE what we need and want.
But, going back to that first Passover Seder for a moment, consider that there is also a contemplative history of imagining one’s self in a certain situation and considering how we would feel or act in that situation. In the Roman Catholic tradition, contemplation is imagining one’s self in the situations of the Gospels. This type of contemplation, along with discernment (noticing the interior movements of the heart), is a big piece of Saint Ignatius of Loyala’s “Spiritual Exercises.” Another example of contemplation in the Christian tradition is moving through the Stations of the Cross. In the 8-limbed philosophy of yoga, one of the niyamas (“internal observations”) is svādyāya (“self study” or “self reflection”). Svādyāya includes noticing how we physically, mentally, and emotionally react or respond to sacred text, music, or situations.
“The study of scripture is another way of putting the principle of self-study into practice…. Elaborating on the concept of svādyāya, Vyasa emphasizes that only those texts that embody indisputable knowledge showing us the path to ultimate freedom are an essential component of self-study. In other words, svādyāya entails the study of spiritual texts that are authentic, contain experiential knowledge, and are infused with the energy to guide us on the path of inner freedom.”
– commentary on Yoga Sutra 2:1 in The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
If you’re interested in practicing a little svādyāya, by “attending” the first Passover Seder, please join me today (Tuesday, April 19th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom.Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. Give yourself extra time to log in if you have not upgraded to Zoom 5.0. 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 “04142020 Envisioning Freedom”]
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 you are following the Orthodox Christian calendar and would like a recording of last week’s classes, please comment or email me.
Also, mark your calendar for April 23rd – the beginning of Kiss My Asana!
Speaking of Kiss My Asana…
Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. This year’s yogathon is only a week long. Seven days, at the end of the month, to do yoga, share yoga, and help others. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga… for 7 days.
Can you imagine Kissing My Asana?
You don’t need to wait until the end of the month, however, to consider how you might participate. Start thinking now about how you can add 5 minutes of yoga (or meditation) to your day, how you can learn something new about your practice, or even how you would teach a pose to someone close to you – or even to one of your Master Teachers/Precious Jewels.
To give you some ideas, consider that in past years my KMA offerings have included donation-based classes and (sometimes) daily postings. Check out one of my previous offerings dated April 14th (or thereabouts):
“Thank you, God, Look how misery has ended for us. The rain has fallen, The corn has grown, All the children that were hungry are going to eat. Let’s dance the Congo, Let’s dance the Petro, God said in Heaven That misery has ended for us.”
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– “Merci Bon Dieu” by Frantz Casseus, sung by Harry Belafonte
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who is observing the month of Ramadan. “Happy Ridván!” to those celebrating the “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings, also, to those who are celebrating Chaitra Purnima (Tithi) / Hanuman Jayanti (and the Pink Super Moon), as well as those who are Counting the Omer.
[You can request an audio recording of today’s 75-minute Common Ground Meditation Center practice via a comment belowor (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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)
“‘My main point today is that usually one gets what one expects, but very rarely in the way one expected it.’”
– quoted from a draft of Charles Richter’s 1970 retirement speech, as printed in the Appendix of Richter’s Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man by Susan Elizabeth Hough
Over the last month (or so) I have developed a new guilty pleasure: watching the Lock Picking Lawyer’s YouTube videos. To be completely transparent, I will admit that I have known people who spent their down time at work picking locks from the “lost and found” (or locks that someone on staff had to break, because the owner locked themselves out). I will also admit that I found it an odd and eyebrow raising hobby – especially when they did it in full view of the very people who relied on locks for security. However, my previous opinions haven’t stopped me from getting hooked by these videos, starting with the first one I watched (which I will link at the end of this post).
The first video was the Lock Picking Lawyer’s annual April 1st video, which is slightly different from his regular offering (in that it is a joke); but still contains some of the same elements that are, frankly speaking, compelling and addictive. First, the videos are witty, logical, informative, and low-key ASMR. (ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is used to describe content that provides a calming experience for the brain and spine; what some people call a “brain massage.”) Second, the videos are philosophical on several different levels and reinforce some critical elements of our physical practice of yoga.
“Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open.”
– Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher
Born in Vienna, Austria today in 1889, Dr. Ludwig Wittgenstein was part of one of the richest families in Europe and (although he was the youngest of nine) he inherited his father’s fortune at the age of 24. Many people associate great wealth with great ease and comfort, but none of that wealth prevented Dr. Wittgenstein from suffering severe depression, contemplating suicide, or losing three of his brothers to mental health issues. He made anonymous donations to artists and writers (including Rainer Maria Rilke). Then he gave his entire fortune to his brothers and sisters. Throughout his lifetime, he worked in several different areas in an attempt to find some ease to his suffering, but he ultimately said that philosophy saved him and was “the only work that gave me real satisfaction.” His work in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of the mind, and the philosophy of language is recognized as some of the most important works of philosophy of the twentieth century.
As I have previously mentioned (specifically in last year’s blog post on this date), “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 as:
Who/What are you?
Why do you exist?
Where does the world come from? / Why does the world exist?
The philosophy of yoga addresses all of these questions, and the follow-up questions (like, “Why do we/I/other people do the things we/I/they do?” and “How do I find balance in my life/relationships/pose?”). Yoga addresses philosophical questions even when someone only practices the physical practice, because, ultimately, the physical practice is a container in which we can consider these questions.”
And, one of the questions that we address – especially through the physical practice – is the question of security/stability and comfort/ease. Many commentaries on Patanjali’s Yoga Sūtras (in particular, commentary related to YS 2.46 – 49) point out that “stability and comfort go hand in hand.” We see this on and off the mat. There is a bit of a dichotomy, however, between what we think will bring us security/stability and comfort/ease versus what actually gives us those feelings. We could, for instance, have all the wealth of Ludwig Wittgenstein and, just as he did, suffer greatly.
One way people with stuff suffer is when they don’t feel their stuff is secure. For instance, consider the uncomfortable feeling some people have when they think they have forgotten to lock their front door after leaving home. Since the emotional (fear) response is connected to the perception of a threat, the feeling that they may have left the door unlocked is similar to returning home and finding the door wide open. Although the latter may, understandably, be more intense and acute – and combined with the fear that someone with nefarious intentions is inside – both sensations can be eliminated if we are secure in the knowledge that the door is locked (maybe because we checked before we left) and that the door is closed and locked upon our return.
What becomes very clear after a watching a few of the videos from the Locking Picking Lawyer is that in most cases locks are “easily” picked. On one level, they provide a deterrent, but – more importantly – they are manifested maya (“illusion”). And, philosophically speaking, because they can be opened by someone you may not want to open them, the lock and the closed door only give us the illusion of security – and that illusion (or perception) is what gives us the feeling of ease/comfort.
One of the things I appreciate about the Locking Picking Lawyer’s content is that while he readily “picks” apart the illusion, he also provides information that can make us better consumers. In being better informed – about the reality of locks – we make better decisions and, also, may experience more stable comfort and ease. Remember, in the Eastern philosophies, like Yoga and Buddhism, suffering comes from attachment and the end of suffering comes from the practice of non-attachment. No one wants someone to steal or mess with their stuff – that’s why people lock their stuff up! However, letting go of the illusion of the lock (and key or combination) can alleviate some suffering. Not only can letting alleviate mental and emotional suffering, it can be one of the keys to unlocking physical suffering.
“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.”
– Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher
I don’t know much about the Locking Picking Lawyer (other than the obvious and the fact that he’s married to Mrs. Lock Picking Lawyer, who apparently has no interest in picking locks). However, I definitely appreciate that his videos (unintentionally) reinforce the following critical elements which are directly applicable to our physical practice of yoga:
You need the right tools.
You can access almost anything with the right skills/knowledge.
You have to start with stability (i.e., secure what you’re accessing the way you would access it “in the wild”).
It’s important to access the core.
Take your time and go by the numbers / step by step.
It’s important to listen (and pay attention to what’s “clicking” and “binding”).
More knowledge comes from the inside than the outside.
Sometimes you have to turn things around.
Never underestimate the power of a good wiggle/jiggle.
It’s important to have a sense of humor.
Also, as an aside, you can do something again to show it wasn’t a fluke.
“The most remarkable feature about the magnitude scale was that it worked at all and that it could be extended on a worldwide basis. It was originally envisaged as a rather rough-and-ready procedure by which we could grade earthquakes. We would have been happy if we could have assigned just three categories, large, medium, and small; the point is, we wanted to avoid personal judgments. It actually turned out to be quite a finely tuned scale.”
– quoted from the Earthquake Information Bulletin (January- February 1980, Volume 12, Number 1) article, “Charles F. Richter – An Interview” by Henry Spall, U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va. (regarding the scale Mr. Richter developed with Beno Gutenberg)
With regard to those last two bullet points, today is also the anniversary of the births of the seismologist and physicist Charles Richter (b. 1900, Overpeck, Ohio) and the award-winning Carol Burnett (b. 1933, San Antonio, Texas). Mr. Richter, along with Beno Gutenberg, developed the Richter Magnitude Scale in 1935. Prior to their creation, shock measurement was based on The Mercalli intensity scale, which was developed by the Italian priest Giuseppe Mercalli and used Roman numerals (I to XII) to rate shocks based on how buildings and people were affected. The Richter-Gutenberg collaboration was designed to measure displacement in a non-subjective manner. The idea of using “magnitude” came from Mr. Richter’s interest in astronomy. (There’s a good possibility that if he were alive today he would spend some part of this evening and the next checking out the “Super” Pink Moon.) In addition to being remembered for his knowledge and ingenuity, Charles Richter is remembered as being a little prickly on the outside, but warm on the inside and for having a sense of humor – although he didn’t often laugh at himself.
Maybe Carol Burnett, one of the funniest people on the face of the Earth, could have helped Charles Richter laugh at the fact that a man who wasn’t planning to become a seismologist became synonymous with seismology. She has won 6 Primetime Emmy Awards (out of 23 nominations); 7 Golden Globe Awards (out of 18 nominations); 3 Tony Awards; and 3 Grammy Awards. An actress, comedian, singer, and writer, she has also received everything from 2 Peabody Awards to a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Life Achievement Award; a Presidential Medal of Freedom; and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She was even awarded the very first Golden Globes Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award (for Television) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But, before all of that, she endured a lot of suffering as a child because of the instability of her first family – specifically her parents, who were alcoholics. Then she suffered as an adult when her oldest child suffered from drug addiction (and then died of pneumonia at the age of 39).
A natural born performer, even before she “went into show business,” Carol Burnett sang, created characters, and developed the imagination that would lead her to a career that has spanned 7 decades. One of the things that “saved” her from a life of complete misery and insecurity was her grandmother Mabel – who not only raised her when her parents moved to Hollywood, but also regularly took her to the movies. As a secret “I love you” to her grandmother, Ms. Burnett would tug on her left ear at the end of every episode of The Carol Burnett Show.
“The first time someone said, ‘What are your measurements?’ I answered, ’37, 24, 38 – but not necessarily in that order.’”
– Carol Burnett, comedian
There is no playlist for the Common Ground practice.
Unlock Your Generosity & Kiss My Asana!!
Yes, yes, it’s that time again! The 8th Annual Kiss My Asana yogathon benefits Mind Body Solutions, which was founded by Matthew Sanford to help those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. Known for their adaptive yoga classes, MBS provides “traditional yoga” classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. This year’s yogathon is only a week long! Seven days, starting yesterday (Saturday), to do yoga, share yoga, and help others. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga… for 7 days. And you can start today!!
The yogathon raises resources and awareness. So, my goal this year is to post some extended prāņāyāma practices and to raise $400 for Mind Body Solutions. You can do yoga starting today. You can share yoga be inviting a friend to one of my classes or by forwarding one of the blog posts. You can help others by donating or, if you are not able to donate, come to class Saturday – Wednesday (or request a class you can do on your own) and practice the story poses on Thursday and Friday so that I can make a donation on your behalf.
You can add 5 minutes of yoga (or meditation) to your day; you can learn something new about your practice; or even teach a pose to someone close to you – or even to one of your Master Teachers/Precious Jewels. You can also add an extra wiggle to your day.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also call the 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.
“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone who is observing the month of Ramadan. “Happy Ridván!” to those celebrating the “the Most Great Festival.” Many blessings, also, to those who are Counting the Omer.
[This is the “missing” post is related to Saturday, April 24th. You can request a substitute audio recording via a comment belowor (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; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)
“Everybody knows a hundred stories, you know, a thousand stories – the question is: Why does this story pick on you? Why this story and not that story? My guess is now this: the story or poem you find to write is the story or poem that has some meaning that you haven’t solved in it, that you haven’t quite laid hands on. So your writing—it is a way of understanding it, what its meaning, the potential meaning, is. And the story that you understand perfectly, you don’t write. You know what the meaning is; there’s nothing there to nag your mind about it. A story that’s one for you is the one you have to work to understand.”
– quoted from “A Conversation” (with John Baker, 1989) in Talking with Robert Penn Warren, edited by Floyd C. Watkins, John T. Hiers, and Mary Louise Weeks
Established April 24, 1800, the Library of Congress houses over 168 million items, in over 460 languages. These materials, housed in four buildings, as well as online, include millions of books and printed materials, recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music, manuscripts, “incunabula,” rare books, legal items, and other items designated as non-classified or special. While the Library of Congress was opened to the public in 1897 and is the de facto library of the United States and “the library of last resort” for all US citizens, the general public cannot randomly and at will check out books from the Library of Congress. However, if you find your way into its stacks – virtually or in real life, you will find stories by a number of authors, artists, composers, and cartographers who share the library’s birthday, including Anthony Trollope (b. 1815), Carl Spitteler (b. 1845), Robert Penn Warren (b. 1905), Sue Grafton (b. 1940), Eric Bogosian (b. 1953), and Kelly Clarkson (b. 1982. You will also find within those annals, the stores of those same authors, artists, composers, and cartographers.
Take Robert Penn Warren, for instance. A Southern Gentleman, if ever there was a Southern Gentleman, Robert Penn Warren was born in Guthrie, Kentucky, close to the Tennessee-Kentucky border. He spent his high school and undergraduate years in Tennessee, where he was a member of the poetry group known as “The Fugitives.” Some members of that group, including Mr. Warren, formed a group known as the “Southern Agrarians” (as well as the “Twelve Southerners” and a variety of other combinations of the same), which produced a “pro-Southern agrarian” collection of essays called I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition (1930). Robert Penn Warren’s contribution to the “manifesto” was “The Briar Patch” – a pro-segregation essay that was considered so “progressive” by some of the others in the group that it was almost excluded from the collection.
Now, right about here is the point where someone who knows that I’m Black and from the South might wonder why exactly I would highlight, even seem to celebrate, a man (albeit a poet) whose views are so antithetical to my own. I would wonder too, if that were the whole story. But it’s not, it’s not even close.
And, if you know anything about me, you know I’m going to suggest going deeper. Getting more of the story and, as Patanjali suggests, really focusing-concentrating-meditating on the various ways the story (and the subject of the story) changes in terms of form, time, and condition, allows us to see cause-and-effect at work/play.
– “By making Samyama on the three sorts of changes comes the knowledge of past and future.”
After graduating summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, Robert Penn Warren earned a Masters at the University of California, Berkeley; studied at Yale University for a bit; and obtaining a B. Litt as a Rhodes Scholar at New College, Oxford in England. He even received a Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts which allowed him to study in Italy while the country was under the control of Benito Mussolini.
He held all the national poet titles designated by the Library of Congress: serving as “Consultant in Poetry” 1944 – 1945 and then “Poet Laureate Consultant” 1986 – 1987. He won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (for All the King’s Men, perhaps his best known work) and both the 1958 and 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry – making him the only person to win a Pulitzer in both Poetry and “Fiction.” (Last week, I slightly erroneously, identified Thornton Wilder as a winner a Pulitzer in both Drama and “Fiction;” however the latter prize was technically known as the “Pulitzer Prize for the Novel” when Mr. Wilder won it.) He also won the National Book Award for Poetry (for the collection that won the 1958 Pulitzer); was selected by the National Endowment of the Humanities to give the “Jefferson Lecture” in 1974; and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980, a MacArthur Fellow in 1981, and the National Medal of Arts in 1987.
And that’s not only a small portion of his accolades; it’s only part of his story….
As if devoting a whole novel to a “controversial,” “radical” politician with “progressive” ideology wasn’t enough, Robert Penn Warren’s essay “Divided South Searches Its Soul” was published in the July 9, 1956 issue of Life magazine and an expanded version of the essay became the booklet Segregation: The Inner Conflict in the South. He would write another Life essay, in 1961, that became a book entitled The Legacy of the Civil War. As if his words alone were not enough to walk back his previous words, Mr. Warren started sharing his (very Southern and very prominent) platform with Black Civil Rights activists through a series of interviews published as Who Speaks for the Negro? (1965).
“The asking and the answering which history provides may help us to understand, even to frame, the logic of experience to which we shall submit. History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future.”
– quoted from The Legacy of the Civil War by Robert Penn Warren
Before publishing the collection, Robert Penn Warren traveled around the country and recorded interviews with leaders like United States Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (the first African-American elected to Congress from New York); Whitney Young (of the National Urban League); Dr. Kenneth Clark (the husband half of the husband-wife team of psychologists whose work was cited in the landmark Supreme Court trial “Brown v. Board of Education”); Bayard Rustin (one of the organizers of the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”); the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; and Malcolm X. He also interviewed authors like James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison; as well as (then) students like Ezell A. Blair, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Lucy Thornton, Jean Wheeler, and Ruth Turner; and additional college students at Jackson State University and Tougaloo College (both of which are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Mississippi, although the latter is private and Christian-affiliated).
For a variety of reasons, about some of which we can only speculate, a lot of interviews were conducted but not included in the book. These include interviews with educator Septima Poinsetta Clark (who became known as “the Queen Mother” and “Grandmother” of the Civil Rights movement); the businessman Vernon Jordan; Gloria Richardson (one of the five women who were recognized as Civil Rights leaders – but not allowed to speak – during the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”); and Andrew Young (who would go on to serve in the United States Congress, as well as the 14th U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations and the 55th Mayor of Atlanta).
Just to be clear, neither Robert Penn Warren nor those he interviewed seemed to (as far as I can tell) steer clear of controversial subjects – including violence with the Civil Rights Movement; social/cultural versus public/political segregation; cultural assimilation; the difference between the North and the South, as well as the difference between the different classes in the United States and the importance of history, education, and wealth in the United States. Mr. Warren has been quoted as stating, “The individual is an embodiment of external circumstances, so that a personal story is a social story.” In keeping with this idea, he not only asked people to define what it meant to be “a Negro;” he also asked their opinions about the works of people like W. E. B. Dubois, the Swedish economist and sociologist Dr. Gunnar Myrdal, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. Additionally, he asked people to share their thoughts on abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison and John Brown – not to mention Confederate heroes like Robert E. Lee.
“‘It is easy,’ I said, ‘I can change that picture of the world he carries around in his head.’
‘How?’
‘I can give him a history lesson.’
‘A history lesson?’
‘Yes, I am a student of history, don’t you remember? And what we students of history always learn is that the human being is a very complicated contraption and that they are not good or bad but are good-and-bad and the good comes out of the bad and the bad out of the good, and the devil take the hindmost.’”
– (Jack and Anne) quoted from All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
“Everybody knows a thousand stories. But only one cocklebur catches in your fur and that subject is your question. You live with that question. You may not even know what that question is. It hangs around a long time. I’ve carried a novel as long as twenty years, and some poems longer than that.”
– Robert Penn Warren quoted from a 1981 interview
Let’s Share Some Kiss My Asana Stories!!
Last year during Kiss My Asana, I shared a few people’s yoga stories; however, to kick off the 8th Annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, Mind Body Solutions, shared bits of stories (see links below) from people who directly benefit from the yoga practices offered by MBS.
This annual yogathon benefits Mind Body Solutions, which was founded by Matthew Sanford to help those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. Known for their adaptive yoga classes, MBS provides “traditional yoga” classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. This year’s yogathon is only a week long! Seven days, starting yesterday (Saturday), to do yoga, share yoga, and help others. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga… for 7 days. And you can start today!!
The yogathon raises resources and awareness. So, my goal this year is to post some extended prāņāyāma practices and to raise $400 for Mind Body Solutions. You can do yoga starting today. You can share yoga be inviting a friend to one of my classes or by forwarding one of the blog posts. You can help others by donating or, if you are not able to donate, come to class Saturday – Wednesday (or request a class you can do on your own) and practice the story poses on Thursday and Friday so that I can make a donation on your behalf.
You can add 5 minutes of yoga (or meditation) to your day; you can learn something new about your practice; or even teach a pose to someone close to you – or even to one of your Master Teachers/Precious Jewels. If you want to combine this practice with your Kiss My Asana practice, ask someone to tell you their yoga story!!!
“You can never give up because quitting is not an option. No matter how dark it is or how weak you get, until you take that last breath, you must fight.”
– Wayman Tisdale, professional musician and basketball player
“Sad times, may follow your tracks Bad times, may bar you from Sak’s At times, when Satan in slacks Breaks down your self control
Maybe, as often it goes Your Abe-y, may tire of his rose So baby, this rule I propose Always have an ace in the hole.”
– from “Ace in the Hole” by Cole Porter
Here’s a question: Have you ever experienced trauma, loss, and disability? We all have, on some level, and we all will before we leave this earth.
So, here’s a better question: Have you ever experienced trauma, loss, and disability that changed the way you viewed yourself and the world? Many who would have answered “no” to that question a month or two ago (or even a year ago), might answer “yes” now.
I specifically mention two months ago, rather than two weeks ago, because two months ago I was participating in the seventh annual Kiss My Asana yogathon, which benefited Mind Body Solutions. Known for their adaptive yoga program, which includes teacher training, and training for care givers Mind Body Solutions “helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body.” Founding teacher Matthew Sanford is constantly reminding us that at some point we are all going to experience trauma, loss, and disability. Even if we do not become physically disabled, we can experience trauma and loss that disables us and makes it impossible to do things the way we did them before. The practice of yoga, especially as it is applied by the teachers at MBS, is both simple and complex – because the way we deal with trauma, loss, and disability is simultaneously simple and complex… because humans are both simple and complex. Ultimately, it’s not the if/when/how we experience the trauma, loss, and disability that’s important. Ultimately, what’s important is how we deal with it.
“I am only half a man now.”
– Cole Porter to his friends in 1958
“Cancer might’ve taken my leg, but it can’t take my smile.”
– Wayman Tisdale in an ESPN interview released in 2008, five months before he died (The reporter noted that he followed the words with “that famous, ear-splitting grin.”)
Depending on how you look at them, Cole Porter (who was born today in 1891, in Peru, Indiana) and Wayman Tisdale (who was born today in 1964, in Fort Worth, Texas) don’t have a lot in common. Except for the whole birthday thing… and the fact that they were both professional musicians whose parents started their musical training at early ages. (Porter’s mother started him on violin lessons at 6 and piano lessons at 8. Tisdale’s father bought him his first bass guitar at age 8.) Tisdale said music was his “first love” and, undoubtedly, Porter would have shared the sentiment. They both ended up being known for jazz – although slightly different kinds of jazz. Oh, then there is the fact that they both engaged in highly physical activities (outside of music); Porter as an equestrian, Tisdale as a professional basketball player who was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame (2009), the Oklahoma Hall of Fame (2009), and played in both the Olympics (1984) and Pan American (1983) Games. Both men were extremely well-liked and remarked upon because of their sunny dispositions.
Oh, and they were both (right leg) amputees.
Weird coincidence, huh? But, that’s not really the point today. The point today is how they dealt with their trauma, loss, and disability.
“The doctor had never given anyone chemo that was my size. They just calculated how much chemo to give me and said, ‘We hope it doesn’t mess up your kidneys. If it does, sorry.’”
– Wayman Tisdale in an ESPN interview released in 2008, five months before his death
In 1937, a horseback riding accident resulted in the horse crushing both of Cole Porter’s legs. In 2007, Wayman Tisdale fell down a flight of stairs and broke his leg – an accident that revealed he had osteosarcoma in his knee. Both men were bound and determined to live, despite their situations – which involved immense amounts of pain and uncertainty. By all accounts, including his own words, Wayman Tisdale accepted the amputation and focused on using the support around him to help him heal and move forward. He even appreciated the attitude of one of his master teachers/precious jewels, who he didn’t think wanted him to get better, stating in a 2008 ESPN interview, “At the time, I frowned on that. I look at it today that had I not persevered through a lot of the stuff [USA Team coach Bobby Knight] put me through, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I thank God for that dude because he pushed me.” Cole Porter, on the other hand, seems to have given up. He fought the amputation until he was given no other choice and, while he wrote an immense amount of music after the accident that ultimately cost him his leg, he wrote (so far as we know) not a lick after the amputation.
“The lines of ceaseless pain have been wiped from his face…I am convinced that his whole life will cheer up and that his work will profit accordingly.”
– Noel Coward writing in his diary about his friend Cole Porter, after Porter’s leg was amputated in 1958
“But when we first talked on the phone, he [Wayman] made me feel better. Ninety-five percent of us would’ve gone into a deep depression, but he didn’t.”
– Arthur Thompson, drummer and friend of Wayman Tisdale, in a 2008 ESPN interview, after Tisdale’s diagnosis and amputation
Please join metoday (Tuesday, June 9th) at 12 Noon or 7:15 PM for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom, where you can check in with your attitude. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. Give yourself extra time to log in if you have not upgraded to Zoom 5.0. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. (Links will be available on Zoom and I have updated this page, with links, shortly before the Noon class. NOTE: Spotify users may have 2 Eartha Kitt songs. Enjoy.)
“For a man who lives by schedules to not know the next day because of being so fatigued, that puts things in perspective.”
– Dolphin Davis, Sr., Wayman Tisdale’s friend and personal trainer
(“Ramadan Mubarak, Blessed Ramadan!” to anyone who is observing Ramadan. I typically talk about Ramadan at the end of the season, so keep your eyes open.)
NOTE: Yes, another surprise! This post from Kiss My Asana 2016 was never posted in real time. In other words, it’s a bonus!)
“And so you have found out that secret – one of the deep secrets of Life – that all, that is really worth the doing, is what we do for others? Even as the old adage tells us, ‘What I spent, that I lost; what I gave that I had.’ Casuits have tried to twist ‘doing good’ into another form of ‘doing evil,’ and have said ‘you get pleasure yourself by giving this pleasure to another: so it is merely a refined kind of selfishness, as your own pleasure is a motive for what you do.’ I say ‘it is not selfishness, that my own pleasure should be a motive so long as it is not the motive that would outweigh the other, if the two come into collision?’ The ‘selfish man’ is he who would still do the thing, even if it harmed others, so long as it gave him pleasure; the ‘unselfish man’ is he who would still do the thing, even if it gave him no pleasure, so long as it pleased others. But, when both motives pull together, the ‘unselfish man’ is still the unselfish man, even though his own pleasure is one of his motives! I am very sure that God takes real pleasure in seeing his children happy!”
– from letter Lewis Carroll (author of Alice in Wonderland) wrote to the actress Ellen Terry, dated November 13, 1890*
There’s a certain family, with siblings all around the world, who are, even as you read this, pointing out that Yogi #30 (Anthony) is not “Bonus.” And, I want to go on record as saying, “I know that, however…” He and Yogi #31 (Paula) are the bonus yogis for a Kiss My Asana yogathon offering that started four years ago (2016) when the yogathon was in February, during Leap Year, and I only needed 29 yogis. You can say I’m four years, 2 months, and 2 weeks late with this post (or maybe, just a week, or 2, late), but none of that changes the fact that these two yogis are two of the kindest people you’re ever going to meet.
First and foremost, let me point out that Anthony and Paula don’t really know me. They know of me. We’ve met once, and that was the one time they took a class from me. If memory serves, I’ve answered yoga questions for Anthony, over the telephone, a time or two. But, they live in another part of the country and they found out about the 2016 Kiss My Asana yogathon from a friend of mine. The friend told them that making these video would help a lot of people. So, simply out of the kindness of their hearts and without having a whole lot of knowledge about Mind Body Solutions or how making the video would help people do yoga, they answered my questions. And then, they waited to see what would happen.
And they waited…
And they waited…
And they waited…
(but only through 398 days of summer)
“I’ve got a man to stick it out And make a home from a rented house oh oh oh And we’ll collect the moments one by one I guess that’s how the future’s done oh oh oh
How many acres how much light Tucked in the woods and out of sight Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap On a little road barely on the map
Old dirt road (mushaboom, mushaboom) Knee deep snow (mushaboom, mushaboom)”
– from “Mushaboom” by Feist
And, while they were waiting, life changed. Anthony and Paula got married. Then, as they were still waiting, they had a baby. A very lucky baby who will spend her life surrounded by kindness and love, an appreciation for the great outdoors, and an appreciation for all that the world – and all the different cultures in the world – have to offer. (A baby who will be happy and cherished even when she starts saying the very word her papa tries not to say in yoga!)
All the while they waited they continued their adventures in the mountains, in the world, and in yoga. My guess is that they didn’t give these videos a second thought.
At first glance, Anthony isn’t the person you would automatically assume practices yoga. Yet, he’s the first to admit that he has received a lot of physical and mental benefit from his practice. He’s even encouraged others to practice. If you read the description in her video, you will see that I mention clapping for Paula. She is a nurse and, although I haven’t spoken to her recently, my guess is that even if she isn’t able to actively practice yoga right now, she is still benefiting from the practice.
I mentioned in the last 2016 Kiss My Asana post (two weeks ago) that there’s a method in the madness. But, I’m off schedule and, you might think that throws everything off. It does and it doesn’t, but (for those of you who are curious) here’s the bonus behind-the-scenes look at why I do what I do:
If I were teaching today, it would be a bonus day of teaching and I’d either carry forward the themes of love, kindness, and compassion from earlier this week – with a little (double bonus) focus on mastering the beautiful art of humility – or I would take a look at George Lucas’s view of the Hero’s Journey (as today is GL’s 76th birthday). Had I stayed on schedule, this year, I would have posted this on the birthday of the author Annie Dillard, who grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, or given myself a little grace and posted this during International Nurses Week, a fitting tribute to Yogi #31.
Back in 2016, had I stayed on schedule, Anthony and Paula’s videos would have been posted on March 1st, Saint David’s Day. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales, poets, and vegetarians. He is associated with dragons and doves and his miracles include healing the sick and (as I like to joke) creating mountains out of molehill. According to the legends, Saint David was giving a sermon to a large crowd, which was having a hard time hearing him, when a dove landed on his shoulder and then, suddenly, the ground beneath him rose and lifted him up above the crowd.
Mountains, doves, miraculous healings… – Can you see why I thought March 1st would be a good day for this pair? But, there are also dragons. So, on Saint David’s Day I usually quote Sarah Ban Breathnach (who wrote in Simple Abundance, “Always remember it’s simply not an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.”) and conclude with J. R. R. Tolkien (who wrote in The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near him.”). Today, however, we’ll wrap up with a quote inspired by Tolkien:
“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”
– from the movie version of The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, adapted by Peter Jackson
Mind Body Solutions, and the work they do to help those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body, thrives because of “small everyday deeds of ordinary folk…. Small acts of kindness and love.” That’s what gets a person with limited mobility to their yoga class; that’s what inspires a person using a BiPAP machine to keep practicing; that’s what gets the caregiver to get up every morning and take it day-by-day, moment-by-moment; that’s what gets a teacher in Rochester, New York or somewhere in England to study adaptive yoga in Minnesota; that’s what got Matthew Sanford to load up his lap with mats and roll into Courage Center for the first time; that’s what gets every single one of us coming back to the mat, knowing that a bad day off the mat can turn into a good day on the mat, because we will be surrounded by “ordinary folk” and “small acts of kindness and love.”
A Big Hallelujah Asana / Five-Pointed Smile goes to Anthony and Paula, as well as to Meghan and Kelsey (who were the ordinary folk in the background rocking their own small acts of kindness and love). Thank you, also, to everyone who did yoga, shared yoga, and helped others during this year’s yogathon (and the previous 6 yogathons). Friday is the last day to donate and I have one more Kiss My Asana post for y’all. Stay tuned!
*In 1998, November 13th became World Kindness Day (so far as I know, it’s just a happy coincidence that someone picked the date that coincided with Lewis Carroll’s letter on kindness…but I could be wrong about that.)
“’Speak to the entire community of Israel, saying, “On the tenth of this month, let each one take a lamb for each parental home, a lamb for each household. But if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor who is nearest to his house shall take [one] according to the number of people, each one according to one’s ability to eat, shall you be counted for the lamb.”’”
– Shemot / Exodus 12:3-4
“’And this is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord.’”
– Shemot / Exodus 12:11
Every year, as we approach the end of Passover, I think about the first Passover Seder. What would that have been like? How would have felt to celebrate freedom? How would it have felt to give thanks to G-d for that freedom? Charlie Harary points out that while it is natural to think the first Passover Seder occurred a year after exodus, it actually happened the night before exodus. That’s right: G-d commanded the Jewish people to celebrate their freedom and give thanks for being delivered out of Egypt before they were even free – even before they knew their freedom was guaranteed.
Can you imagine doing that? Can you imagine how it would feel? Can you imagine the faith it would take to sit in the middle of your suffering, in the middle of your family and friends as they suffer, and give thanks for what’s to come?
There is a history of this kind of observation in the Hebrew Bible. Remember, in Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus, the instructions for Sukkot are to celebrate what will be given – not what has been given. On a certain level, the High Holidays falls into this paradigm; as the 10 Days of Awe / 10 Days of Atonement are a period of reflection, but also a period of looking forward.
“If one thinks of onself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true, ‘Thinking makes it so.’”
– Ashtavakra Gita 1:11
It seems completely backwards to the modern mind. Today we think we need to Have something, in order to Do something, in order to Be what or who we want to be. However, Harary, as well as Neale Donald Walsh in Conversations with God, point out that the Old Testament formula – the formula for success in the time of Moses – was very different. Instead of Have + Do = Be, Harary and Walsh say that the formula was Be + Do = Have. So, if we want to have certain experiences, certain relationships, and certain things in our lives, we have to conduct ourselves as the person that has the experiences, relationships, and things we want in our lives.
“This formula is infallible. There is no wish that has been fulfilled, nor any wish that has been denied, that does not adhere to the principle of the Creation Equation. Every time that you got what you wanted, your desire for it plus the energy you invested in achieving it were greater than the forces that resisted you having it. Each time they weren’t greater, you didn’t get what you wanted.”
– Rod Styker in The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom
Think about it for a moment. One of the things with which people struggle at times is what to Do in a situation. Other times, we don’t struggle. We know exactly what to do and everything falls into place. Successfully achieving our goals still takes effort, it still takes work. But, sometimes, we know exactly what steps to take. How do we know? Because we’re in the mindset of the person who is going to do the work, we take that first step.
In The Four Desires, Rod Stryker codifies a similar formula for success, which he calls “The Creation Equation:” Is + Iv > Ik = P. Here, the intensity (or energy) of desire (Is) combined with the intensity (or energy) put into achieving the goal (Iv), must be greater than the resistance to achieving the goal (Ik), in order for the goal to be achieved (P). It’s easy, straightforward, and makes perfect sense. The problem is that we don’t always realize how much resistance we have to overcome – or that a large bulk of resistance comes from not believing in our ability to achieve success; and/or, in others not believing that we can achieve our success. When we spend a lot of time focused on what we don’t have, we don’t do. When we wake up each morning knowing who we are (BE); we get to work, (DO)ing what we need; so that at the end of the day we HAVE what we need and want.
But, going back to that first Passover Seder for a moment, consider that there is also a contemplative history of imagining one’s self in a certain situation and considering how we would feel or act in that situation. In the Roman Catholic tradition, contemplation is imagining one’s self in the situations of the Gospels. This type of contemplation, along with discernment (noticing the interior movements of the heart), is a big piece of Saint Ignatius of Loyala’s “Spiritual Exercises.” Another example of contemplation in the Christian tradition is moving through the Stations of the Cross. In the 8-limbed philosophy of yoga, one of the niyamas (“internal observations”) is svādyāya (“self study” or “self reflection”). Svādyāya includes noticing how we physically, mentally, and emotionally react or respond to sacred text, music, or situations.
“The study of scripture is another way of putting the principle of self-study into practice…. Elaborating on the concept of svādyāya, Vyasa emphasizes that only those texts that embody indisputable knowledge showing us the path to ultimate freedom are an essential component of self-study. In other words, svādyāya entails the study of spiritual texts that are authentic, contain experiential knowledge, and are infused with the energy to guide us on the path of inner freedom.”
– commentary on Yoga Sutra 2:1 in The Practice of the Yoga Sutra: Sadhana Pada by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
If you’re interested in practicing a little svādyāya, by “attending” the first Passover Seder, please join me for class today (Tuesday, April 14th) at 12 Noon or at 7:15 PM on Zoom. Some of the new Zoom security protocols are definitely kicking in; so, please use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems. Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
If you are following the Orthodox Christian calendar and would like a recording of last week’s classes, please comment or email me.
For more ways you can offer yourself “small gestures of care, affection and prayer,” please join me and a special guest for “Lung Health and How We Cope Right Now (viewing COVID-19 through Traditional Chinese Medicine and YIN Yoga),” a discussion on the importance of the lungs in our overall wellbeing as well as how to just friggin’ cope right now. The conversation will include a brief overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine and YIN Yoga, as well as a brief Q&A followed by a little YIN Yoga.
If you are struggling with your physical or mental health, if you’ve always been curious about “alternative” medicine, and/or if you are missing your yoga practice, this special one hour event is for you. Please join us on YouTube, Wednesday, April 15th, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM,
Also, mark your calendar for April 25th – the beginning of Kiss My Asana!
Speaking of Kiss My Asana…
Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. This year’s yogathon is only a week long. Seven days, at the end of the month, to do yoga, share yoga, and help others. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga… for 7 days.
Can you imagine Kissing My Asana?
You don’t need to wait until the end of the month, however, to consider how you might participate. Start thinking now about how you can add 5 minutes of yoga (or meditation) to your day, how you can learn something new about your practice, or even how you would teach a pose to someone close to you – or even to one of your Master Teachers/Precious Jewels.
To give you some ideas, consider that in past years my KMA offerings have included donation-based classes and (sometimes) daily postings. Check out one of my previous offerings dated April 14th (or thereabouts):
“Thank you, God, Look how misery has ended for us. The rain has fallen, The corn has grown, All the children that were hungry are going to eat. Let’s dance the Congo, Let’s dance the Petro, God said in Heaven That misery has ended for us.”
– “Merci Bon Dieu” by Frantz Casseus, sung by Harry Belafonte
– “[the part that is] free from sorrow and/or infused with inner light cultivates steadiness [of the mind]”
“One’s personal duty in life (one’s sva-dharma) should be viewed as one’s responsibility to his or her highest Self, the Atma. This ultrahigh level of duty carries with it the requirement that one never does anything that is contrary to this True Self Within. And even if you consider your sva-dharma more narrowly from the standpoint of being true to your profession, you should not hesitate to fight. For a warrior, war against evil, greed, cruelty, hate, and jealousy is the highest duty.”
– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.31) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
We all have gifts, talents. Doesn’t matter if you believe you’ve been given them or if you’ve cultivated them, you have them. So, the question becomes: what are you doing with those talents? Right here, right now, it may seem like there is nothing you can do. And yet, and yet, so many in the world are doing what they can do. Sometimes we see people’s efforts on display in a way that seems so bright it is nearly blinding. Other people’s light shines in a way that is more subtle. It’s not dimmer, mind you, it’s just not as obvious. Some people shine in the light.
It’s easy to discount those lights that intermingle, because we don’t always recognize how much dimmer, darker, life would be without them. One example of this is all the people doing their jobs right now, despite how often in the past we’ve taken them for granted. Another example is related to all the celebrities leading fundraising events, donating money, mobilizing resources, and just spending some time literally sharing their talents. While our perceptions of these two (2) groups may be (often is) different, what they are doing for us right now, is the same. They’re keeping their inner lights on and inspiring us to do the same.
Furthermore, watching different celebrities rise to the occasion during this pandemic makes me think of all the “regular people” who give celebrities their status, their fame, and their fortune. This is one of the times celebrities give back. They do not give back alone; however, because for every millions of dollars or hundreds of hours that someone famous gives there is someone we may not every hear about who is also giving.
And the impact is bigger, and the light is brighter.
Except, of course, when we don’t let our light shine. Except, of course, when we bury our talents.
“Not doing the right thing when it is required is worse than doing the wrong thing.”
– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.33) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
Every one of us has a reason why we don’t do something we could be doing right now. Yes, there are people not honoring “stay home” mandates, but that’s not the part I’m thinking about right now. Right now, I’m thinking about the people who have had dreams in their hearts and ideas in their heads, but no time to pursue those dreams or engage those ideas. Right here, right now, I’ve been thinking about all the “Master Classes,” all the books, all the podcasts, and all the research that can be done. Right now, I’m thinking about people who can’t do what they were doing (work-wise) right now, for a variety of reasons, and who may be feeling the weight of the darkness.
If you are feeling the weight of the darkness, now is the time to get up and get ready to shine. Now is the time, to put your lights on. Almost all of the reasons you had (for not doing what is in your heart and in your head) are actually null and void. Life is different now. There is no reason, however, to suffer in the darkness. Be the light.
Even if you’ve hit the wall, consider what you need to get over it (under, or around it). Because I guarantee you that someone you know needs you to shine, because they too have hit that wall (and they need a little light to get over it, under it, or around it).
You have time. You have resources. If you are reading this, or listening to this, or someone tells you about this, you have an engraved invitation to get started. That’s all you need to do right now: take that first step. (Or take that second step you’ve been putting off.)
Prepare yourself for the moments after this worldwide quarantine is done. Life will be different when this is behind us. We may not know for sure what our new normal will be, but we don’t have to passively receive it. We can actively engage our lives and how we want to live it… even in isolation, choose the light.
“For the person of steady mind, Arjuna, there is always just one decision, but for the quivering mind pulled in a thousand directions, the decisions that plague it are endless, and they exhaust one’s mental strength. People with an unsteady mind inevitably end up failing; those with an unwavering mind achieve great success.”
– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.41) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley
Today (Tuesday the 7th), is Passion Tuesday or Holy Tuesday in the (Western) Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. It is also the anniversary of the birth of the poet William Wordsworth. If you are interested in hearing a couple of parables and practicing some “happy warriors,” please join me for one of the Nokomis Yoga practices on Zoom, today (Tuesday, April 7th) at 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM or at 7:15 PM – 8:30 PM. The playlist for Tuesday is available on YouTube and Spotify.
As Zoom has changed some security protocols, please use the link (here) or on the “Class Schedules” calendar if you encounter any access problems. During this quarantine experience, you can make a donation through Common Ground Meditation Center, which operates on dana/generosity, or you can purchase a package on my Squarespace. Either option can be applied to any class. If you are worried about finances, do not add this to your worry list – I got you, just come to the virtual practice.
Speaking of our virtual practice, Kiss My Asana, the yogathon that benefits Mind Body Solutions and their adaptive yoga program is coming online at the end of this month. Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. This year’s yogathon is only a week long. Seven days, at the end of the month, to do yoga, share yoga, and help others. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga… for 7 days.
What can you do, share, give?
You don’t need to wait until the end of the month, however, to consider how you might participate. Start thinking now about how you can add 5 minutes of yoga (or meditation) to your day, how you can learn something new about your practice, or even how you would teach a pose to someone close to you – or even to one of your Master Teachers/Precious Jewels.
To give you some ideas, consider that in past years my KMA offerings have included donation-based classes and (sometimes) daily postings. Check out one of my previous offerings dated April 7th (or thereabouts):
“Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour;”
– from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales -“The General Prologue” (1387 – 1400)
“wéete April showers, Doo spring Maie flowers.”
– from Thomas Tusser’s Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (published in 1610, as an expansion of Tussler’s A Hundreth Points of Good Husbandrie , published 1557)
April doesn’t just bring showers (or, sometimes, snow in Minnesota – I see you Prince fans), it also brings poetry and an opportunity to Kiss My Asana. Since 1996, April has been National Poetry Month, an opportunity to read, write, and share poetry. I general observe the month by sharing at least one “April is Poetry Month” practice with each of my classes. One year, for Kiss My Asana, I also posted poetry-centered practices on this blog.
For most of the last decade, the Kiss My Asana yogathon was held in April. (One year, KMA occurred in February.) This is an annual yogathon which raises resources and awareness for Mind Body Solutions and their adaptive yoga program. Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as we say during Kiss My Asana, do yoga. share yoga. help others.
This year, Kiss My Asana is a little different – and not just because we are practicing social distancing. At some point last year, as Matthew Sanford and the other Mind Body Solutions teachers started organizing the 2020 yogathon, they decided to only ask people to commit to a week: 7 days of doing yoga, sharing yoga, and helping others.
We can do that, right?
The 2020 Kiss My Asana Yogathon begins with a virtual “all humanity” kick-off class on April 25th. The yogathon will run through May 2nd. Keep your eyes here to find out how to participate on my team and what special offerings are coming your way. In the meantime, you can click on the highlighted items listed above to explore my past offerings.
I’m offering two (2) classes on Wednesdays (listed below).You can access either of today’s practices live via the ZOOM app, your internet browser, or your telephone. (For additional details, check the “class schedule” tab.) The playlist is available on Spotify and YouTube.
The Nokomis class (@ 4:30 PM) is an open-level vinyasa practices using vinyasa karma, which means we will move with the breath and progress in intensity as we make our way to a final and/or peak pose. All are welcome!
The Meeting ID for Wednesdays at Nokomis, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM CST, is 549-044-593,https://zoom.us/j/549-044-593 ONE TAP: +13126266799,,549-044-593# US (Chicago).
The Flourish class (Wednesdays at 7:15 PM – 8:30 PM) is a “Slow Flow,” with the same elements found in the open-level vinyasa practice. This class requires registration, but all are welcome. (You only need to register once.)
The “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon AND (since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness) it is an invitation to join me for a donation-based class on May 4th.
Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….
do yoga. share yoga. help others.
***
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
– Yoda* in The Empire Strikes Back
“It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes…. Feel it….it’s always been there. It will guide you.”
– Maz Kanata* in The Force Awakens
“This level of energetic sensation is what guides my teaching of yoga all these years later. I can teach a walking person the subtleties of a standing pose, for example, because of my energetic experience. I can ‘feel’ the poses, feel how the physical instructions are intended to amplify, guide, and direct the flow of energy. When I teach, I give instructions and then observe not just whether the physical actions are occurring, but also whether the intended energetic release is happening through the student’s mind-body relationship. If the energy of the pose is not flowing correctly, I can often adjust the student and enhance his or her experience.”
– Matthew Sanford writing in Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence about teaching yoga (2006)
What struck me the first time I took a class with Matthew Sanford, and continues to strike me whenever I have the good fortune to take a class from him, is that he teaches from the inside-out – instead of from the outside-in. What I mean by that, is that while a good number of us get on our mats and focus on the outside in order to go inward, Matthew starts inside and works his way to the outside. He was not my first teacher to teach like that. When I started practicing yoga, I was fortunate enough to have a couple of teachers, including my first teacher (Robert Boustany) who taught in a similar fashion. But, when I first started practicing yoga, I didn’t know there were teachers who practiced and taught in a different way.
Also, let’s be honest, when I started practicing yoga, I didn’t really get what my teachers were doing or how they were doing it. I just assumed that if you practiced (the physical practice) eventually you would start to understand the energetic practice. Years later I would discover that that’s just not so: Some people can practice for decades and never realize what it is that’s actually happening inside themselves. And, perhaps, some people don’t believe or care.
“The act of living generates a force field, an energy. That energy surrounds us; when we die, that energy joins with all the other energy. There is a giant mass of energy in the universe that has a good side and a bad side. We are part of the Force because we generate the power that makes the Force live. When we die, we become part of that Force, so we never really die; we continue as part of the Force.”
– George Lucas explaining “The Force” in a production meeting for the Empire Strikes Back (quoted in Star Wars: The Anointed Screenplays by Laurent Bouzereau (1997)
“That I could feel such things so quickly – the loud rush produced by simply taking my legs wide, the upward energetic release produced when hands-in-prayer was done with yogic precision – meant that those phantom feelings had not left me. Instead, they had been waiting in silence, waiting for me to let them back into my conscious experience. Consciousness does not abandon us. It is only denied.”
– Matthew Sanford writing in Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence about his first yoga experience with Jo Z (2006)
When I first started practicing yoga, I was surrounded by professional dancers and musicians – people/athletes who used their bodies for work. I was the odd duck, not because I was the least flexible person in the room, but because I had the least body awareness. Part of what made those first practices so dynamic and compelling, was the focus on what we could do.
Think about that for a moment. For 60 – 75 minutes, everybody’s mind-body was focused on what each of us could do in that moment. Nothing else mattered. The practice was intentionally personal and accessible. It never occurred to me that yoga could be, or would be, anything else. However, after I went through my first yoga teacher training and started teaching, I realized something that astounded me and broke my heart: not everybody knew yoga could be accessible. Not everybody knew there were different ways of practicing. And, as a result, people would not practice (or would stop practicing) because of something they couldn’t do.
“Yes, everybody can do it…. It’s just the Jedi who take the time to do it…. Like yoga. If you want to take the time to do it, you can do it; but the ones that really want to do it are the ones who are into that kind of thing. Also like karate. Also another misconception is that Yoda teaches Jedi, but he is like a guru; he doesn’t go out and fight anybody…. Well, he is a teacher, not a real Jedi. Understand that?”
– George Lucas answering questions in a Return of the Jedi story conference, July 13 – 17, 1981 (quoted in The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by J. W. Rinzler (2013)
“Jo and I discovered that alignment and precision increase mind-body integration regardless of paralysis. The mind is not strictly confined to a neurophysiological connection with the body. If I listen inwardly to my whole experience (both my mind’s and my body’s), my mind can feel my legs.
This is one of those truths that is easy to pass by, like the existence of dinosaurs. But in fact, it should dumbfound us – that, on some level, something as simple as the more precise distribution of gravity can transcend the limits set by a dysfunctional spinal cord. When I move from a slumped position to a more aligned one, my mind becomes more present in my thighs and feet. This happens despite my paralysis. It is simply a matter of learning to listen to a different level of presence, to realizing that the silence within my paralysis is not loss. In fact, it is both awake and alive.”
– Matthew Sanford writing in Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence about his yoga practice (2006)
May the 4th is a special day for Star Wars fans and a day when I love to teach “Star Wars Yoga” inspired by Matthew Latkiewicz. When I realized one of the days I was considering teaching a Kiss My Asana donation-based class was May the 4th, I almost rescheduled. At first I thought, ‘How can I make the class fun, informative, and accessible?’ Then I thought, ‘How can I not?’
MAY THE FOURTH KISS MY ASANA
May final 2019 Kiss My Asana donation-based class will be Saturday, May 4th ((4:00 PM – 6:00 PM) at Flourish pilates+yoga+bodywork, 3347 42nd Ave S, Minneapolis) Please join me on this very special day when will explore the power of the Force that surrounds, penetrates, and binds everyone – regardless of size, shape or physical and mental abilities. This practice will include partner work and is open to all abilities. Space is limited.
NOTE: This space contains an accessible bathroom.
Please RSVP to myra(at)ajoyfulpractice(dot)com if you would like to join this practice.
(*NOTE: Ever notice how some of the most memorable “wise teachers” in Star Wars are short, funny looking and have enormous eyes (or glasses)? No? Okay. Maybe it’s just me.)
FEATURED POSE for May the 4th: Downward Facing Wookie
Downward Facing Wookie is a pose with several variations, many of which can be practiced without warming up. Most variations are also prenatal approved.
If you are coming into the classical version (what most people will think of as Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog), start in Table Top with hands and knees on the mat. Stack shoulders over elbows, elbows over wrists and hips over knees with the feet the same distance apart as the knees. Inhale and lengthen the spine, maybe even moving into Cow Pose (to exaggerate the spinal extension) and then exhale to use the arms and legs to push the hips up into the air. You want your body in the shape of an upside down “V” or a capital “A” without the bar across the center. Check to make sure fingers and toes are spread wide with the middle fingers pointed forward, most of the weight in the hands concentrated on the thumb and first fingers, and the big toes behind the thumbs or behind the middle fingers. To stretch out the spine, bend the knees slightly and find what feels like Cow Pose. (Don’t make it about looking up; make it about extending the spine.) Once the spine is long, ribs reaching away from the hips, see if you can straighten the legs. Even if the legs stay slightly bent, push the spine towards the things, the shoulders towards the hips, the hips towards the ceiling, the thighs towards the space behind you, and let the heels release towards the earth. Balance the effort between the arms and legs. This is a full body stretch. Gaze at your nose, your belly button, or the space between your toes – but make sure your neck is still long and ears are between the straight arms.
If you have wrist issues, you can use a wrist guard (which looks like the floorboard for a door) or a towel / blanket to lift the wrists up higher than the fingers. Another option for wrist and shoulder issues is to practice with the elbows and forearms on the ground, with elbows shoulder width apart. All other alignment is the same for this variation that is sometimes referred to as Dolphin Dog.
Downward Facing Wookie is a standing pose, an arm balance, a forward fold, a back bend, and an inversion. If you want to skip the inversion, one option is to stand arms length from a wall (with finger tips barely touching the wall) and then hinge from the hips until the palms are flat on the wall and the ears are between the arms. The same alignment principles apply as with the earlier variations; push through the heels of the hands and the heels of the feet to get the spine as long as possible. This variation can also be practiced with forearms on the wall.
Another option is to practice in a seated position. One seated variation, whether you are in a chair or in Staff Pose (Dandasana) is to stretch the arms over your head and then flex the wrists so that the palms are pushed up towards the ceiling (fingers will point behind you). In this variation, push through the heels, thighs, and hips in order to extend the spine and push the palms up. All the same alignment principles apply.
There is also a variation of Downward Facing Wookie that can be done with the feet on the wall, but that’s a variation will save for another time.
A Joyful Practice 