Who’s to say what is the right and the wrong way to parent a child? We do what we think is best … until we discover something that may be better. Then we do better. After reading a fascinating article written by a school teacher introducing in increasingly prevalent style of parenting called “lawnmower parenting,” …
Strength and grace - words that describe Aṣṭāṅga (Ashtanga) Yoga. I smile as I write these words! I was a dedicated Ashtanga practitioner for many years and never felt stronger or more comfortable in my own body. Ashtanga asana moves your body towards flexibility, grace, and strength. We learn how to link the breath to movements …
Peter Gabriel's classic song Solsbury Hill is my recent obsession. I listen to it over and over. Love the words and lyrics. My entire life I cannot understand lyrics to songs. Ridiculous! But true. I know the Star Spangled Banner, Silent Night, and most of You are my Sunshine. (pause for a chuckle) Solsbury Hill …
In our most recent Tea with Community, our philosophical discussions digging deeper into topics of interest, we discussed Grace in Social Activism. How can we have productive discourse with those who may not share our world view? Does Yoga have any useful tools? (ummm, YES! Don’t worry if you missed it, we will circle back …
Shinrin-Yoku, “forest bathing” or “taking in the forest,” combines leisurely walks on gentle paths in the woods with guided activities to help open the senses, hone intuition, and experience the forest in a deeply restorative way. Mindfulness in action. We pause to share experiences and learn from each other. Intuitively we know spending time in …
Continue reading "Shinrin-Yoku: Meditative Guidance among the Trees"
Yoga texts teach us that a peaceful world begins with a peaceful Self. We MUST know ourselves, inside and out. What drives us? What do we value? How do we utilize our resources? What underlying beliefs influence our behavior? There are many ways to learn about ourselves, svadhyaya (self-study). We have different life experiences. We …
A few weeks ago, a snowstorm ravaged our area. It was around 10:00 on Thursday morning. I was at home with my two boys (aka "the curlies") for a snow day. One of their (straight haired 🙂 ) friends arrived to spend the snow day with us. As usual when the friend arrives, the three …
Santosha is Sanskrit for contentment. Yoga encourages us to embrace contentment. Contentment sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Peaceful. Calm. So just go do it! Be contented. Did it work? Nope. Why? Because contentment is not a well defined goal to accomplish. It’s not like “go bake cookies.” As Deborah Adele puts it, “Contentment can only be …
