Friday, November 28, 2008
Grace
"Grace was in all her steps, Heav'n in her Eye, in every gesture dignity and love..." –John Milton
I stumble over myself, a lot; my thoughts, my words and my feet. I stumble. I sweat a lot when I get really nervous. I walk so fast and furious at times that I trip over my own feet, bump into the person walking next to me and bang into walls; clipped a shoulder here, knocked a hip there and stubbed many, many toes. Sometimes I feel like the Tasmanian devil! I’ve always thought of grace or the quality of being graceful as a skinny beautiful ballerina with a long venous neck who smokes lots of cigarettes, eats iceberg lettuce and practices with determination, discipline and desire until her toes bleed in order to achieve such polish, precision, poise and sophistication in each movement as she glides across the stage. Grace can be defined as elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action. I’ve never been particularly graceful.
In his book Anusara Yoga, John Friend describes grace as “saying yes to the whole magical spectrum of life. It is a willingness to be aware of all parts of ourselves – the light and the dark…to look at whatever arises with freshness and freedom…without clinging or pushing.” Sharon Gannon and David Life explain grace as pushti marga or simply effort and surrender. Practice and trust. Knowing that despite what is swirling around in life, everything is exactly as it should be. This is the path of grace.
Particularly around the holidays, it’s easy to melt down and give in to the distractions that make us clumsy. Easier to question or second-guess our path and our purpose. I’m not sure what happens at the holidays but we can often get thrown off course and bump into walls, stub our toes and trip over our own feet when your grandmother asks if you’ve gained weight, or your aunt asks if you are dating anyone or your mother asks when you are going to settle down and buy a house. But truly knowing grace means that you surrender fully to all of the peaks and valleys of life and you answer their questions but know deep in your heart that you have the only real answer you need. I never understood grace until I felt it. I’ll probably keep tripping up here and there but with effort and a whole lot of trust, I feel graceful. And like a ballerina, I’ll continue to glide through life.
Enjoy the process, soften into the path and stay authentic this Saturday with a graceful practice.
I stumble over myself, a lot; my thoughts, my words and my feet. I stumble. I sweat a lot when I get really nervous. I walk so fast and furious at times that I trip over my own feet, bump into the person walking next to me and bang into walls; clipped a shoulder here, knocked a hip there and stubbed many, many toes. Sometimes I feel like the Tasmanian devil! I’ve always thought of grace or the quality of being graceful as a skinny beautiful ballerina with a long venous neck who smokes lots of cigarettes, eats iceberg lettuce and practices with determination, discipline and desire until her toes bleed in order to achieve such polish, precision, poise and sophistication in each movement as she glides across the stage. Grace can be defined as elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action. I’ve never been particularly graceful.
In his book Anusara Yoga, John Friend describes grace as “saying yes to the whole magical spectrum of life. It is a willingness to be aware of all parts of ourselves – the light and the dark…to look at whatever arises with freshness and freedom…without clinging or pushing.” Sharon Gannon and David Life explain grace as pushti marga or simply effort and surrender. Practice and trust. Knowing that despite what is swirling around in life, everything is exactly as it should be. This is the path of grace.
Particularly around the holidays, it’s easy to melt down and give in to the distractions that make us clumsy. Easier to question or second-guess our path and our purpose. I’m not sure what happens at the holidays but we can often get thrown off course and bump into walls, stub our toes and trip over our own feet when your grandmother asks if you’ve gained weight, or your aunt asks if you are dating anyone or your mother asks when you are going to settle down and buy a house. But truly knowing grace means that you surrender fully to all of the peaks and valleys of life and you answer their questions but know deep in your heart that you have the only real answer you need. I never understood grace until I felt it. I’ll probably keep tripping up here and there but with effort and a whole lot of trust, I feel graceful. And like a ballerina, I’ll continue to glide through life.
Enjoy the process, soften into the path and stay authentic this Saturday with a graceful practice.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Soup's On!
“When we were growing up, we were so poor that our heritage was the only thing we had. Mama would say, “Kids, pour more water in the soup. Better days are coming.”
-Ashley Judd, American actress
Whenever I am unable to practice yoga and I am feeling unsettled, I default to making soup. Last week, I made three pots! Making a pot of soup grounds me. There is something so magical about a steaming pot of soup with all of its individual ingredients blending together yet allowing each herb, vegetable or spice to stand out. Soup crosses all borders, all ethnicities, all religions and always returns back home to our hearts. Soup is universal and soup is unique to each culture. Soup is a beautiful thing.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the first sutra should be enough to ground us: “Yogas Citta Vritti Nirodhah”. It means the restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff: the chatter, the voices that say you should or you shouldn’t or you should have. This is Yoga. All of the yogic practices are based on this one sutra. If you can control the ebb and the flow, the frantic and the calm, and the rise and the fall of the mind, you will experience Yoga. Well…some days are better than others!
There are oftentimes in life when the world seems to be spinning so quickly; especially now. People are worried about their jobs, their children, their finances and the future. Uncertainty breeds discontent and it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the chatter or the citta. It is in times of uncertainty when we need to practice yoga the most, but sometimes that too becomes a challenge.
So what grounds you? When you can’t get to yoga or the yoga just doesn’t seem to work that day, what is it that reminds you that everything is okay our world? Maybe you make cake or cookies or maybe you balance your checkbook or review your accounts; maybe you clean out a closet or cuddle with your sweetie or your kids; or maybe you cuddle up with Ben & Jerry (I’ll admit it…I’ve done it). Maybe you go for a run or get on your bike, or maybe you write a letter to a friend, or call your mom or dad. Me…I make soup and I am reminded that all is right in the world. Soup is a sure thing.
The Kindest Course
“Soup is cuisine’s kindest course. It breaths reassurance; it steams consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability…there is nothing like a bowl of hot soup, its wisp of aromatic steam making the nostrils quiver with anticipation.”
-Chef Louis P. DeGouy from The Soup Book, 1949
Reminder: Class will be cancelled this Saturday due to the Dean Learner workshop at the Yoga Room. Check out www.greentarayoga.com for more information.
-Ashley Judd, American actress
Whenever I am unable to practice yoga and I am feeling unsettled, I default to making soup. Last week, I made three pots! Making a pot of soup grounds me. There is something so magical about a steaming pot of soup with all of its individual ingredients blending together yet allowing each herb, vegetable or spice to stand out. Soup crosses all borders, all ethnicities, all religions and always returns back home to our hearts. Soup is universal and soup is unique to each culture. Soup is a beautiful thing.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the first sutra should be enough to ground us: “Yogas Citta Vritti Nirodhah”. It means the restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff: the chatter, the voices that say you should or you shouldn’t or you should have. This is Yoga. All of the yogic practices are based on this one sutra. If you can control the ebb and the flow, the frantic and the calm, and the rise and the fall of the mind, you will experience Yoga. Well…some days are better than others!
There are oftentimes in life when the world seems to be spinning so quickly; especially now. People are worried about their jobs, their children, their finances and the future. Uncertainty breeds discontent and it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the chatter or the citta. It is in times of uncertainty when we need to practice yoga the most, but sometimes that too becomes a challenge.
So what grounds you? When you can’t get to yoga or the yoga just doesn’t seem to work that day, what is it that reminds you that everything is okay our world? Maybe you make cake or cookies or maybe you balance your checkbook or review your accounts; maybe you clean out a closet or cuddle with your sweetie or your kids; or maybe you cuddle up with Ben & Jerry (I’ll admit it…I’ve done it). Maybe you go for a run or get on your bike, or maybe you write a letter to a friend, or call your mom or dad. Me…I make soup and I am reminded that all is right in the world. Soup is a sure thing.
The Kindest Course
“Soup is cuisine’s kindest course. It breaths reassurance; it steams consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability…there is nothing like a bowl of hot soup, its wisp of aromatic steam making the nostrils quiver with anticipation.”
-Chef Louis P. DeGouy from The Soup Book, 1949
Reminder: Class will be cancelled this Saturday due to the Dean Learner workshop at the Yoga Room. Check out www.greentarayoga.com for more information.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Carving Pumpkins
“The Great Pumpkin always picks the most sincere pumpkin patch to rise out of. He's just gotta pick this pumpkin patch. He's just gotta! Look around. You can see that there's not a sign of hypocrisy anywhere. Nothing but sincerity reaching out as far as the eye can see.” –Linus from It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
After spending Saturday afternoon with my mom, she suggested that I take home one of the 12 pumpkins that she and her husband had displayed in honor of Halloween. My mom and her husband are those people in the neighborhood; the ones that decorate for every holiday. The trick or treaters love it, and my mom loves the kids…so it all works out. But when she suggested that I take a pumpkin home, I said: “What am I going to do with a pumpkin?” Responding quickly and nonchalantly, she said: “Carve it. Peel it. Roast the seeds and the pumpkin.” “Okay,” I said. So, the pumpkin and I headed back to the city.
Carving a pumpkin is tough. After slicing the pumpkin in half, I scooped out the insides including the seeds which you have to separate from the stringy guts of the pumpkin…now I know why pumpkin seeds are so expensive. After cleaning the seeds, I sectioned the pumpkin into manageable parts in order to peel its skin. It was at this point that I began sweating, swiftly cut my finger and found myself and my kitchen covered in pumpkin skin…but I refused to give up despite the injury. Finally, I was able to cut the pumpkin into bite-size cubes in order to roast. I was exhausted!
I don’t remember carving pumpkins being so dangerous, so that leads me to believe that I never actually carved a pumpkin as a child. My family carved pumpkins every year, but after carving this pumpkin, I am confident that any adult in their right mind would never, ever let a child carve a pumpkin! So it was my parents or my older brother who bravely risked their fingers or hands every year carving pumpkins so that I could enjoy the full Halloween experience.
In the end, the roasted pumpkin was delicious. Even more, were the scrumptious memories of Halloweens past and the sweet realization that there are special people in our worlds who do things large and small to make our lives wonderful… memorable… easier.
Who has made your life a little easier or sweeter this week, this month, this year or in this lifetime? Thank them today. Thank you, Mom, Dad and Johnny for risking your fingers to make every Halloween enchanting for me.
This Saturday, devote your yoga practice those people or that one person that you want to thank!
Roasted Pumpkin Recipe…if you dare! (servings depends on the size of the pumpkin)
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees
-See paragraph 2 to begin and proceed with caution
-Toss pumpkin cubes in the best olive oil you can afford, 100% pure maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, sea or kosher salt and fresh pepper
-Spread pumpkin cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast in oven for approximately 45 minutes or until tender; toss midway
-Serve as a side dish, with plain Greek-style yogurt or with Ben & Jerry’s vanilla bean!
After spending Saturday afternoon with my mom, she suggested that I take home one of the 12 pumpkins that she and her husband had displayed in honor of Halloween. My mom and her husband are those people in the neighborhood; the ones that decorate for every holiday. The trick or treaters love it, and my mom loves the kids…so it all works out. But when she suggested that I take a pumpkin home, I said: “What am I going to do with a pumpkin?” Responding quickly and nonchalantly, she said: “Carve it. Peel it. Roast the seeds and the pumpkin.” “Okay,” I said. So, the pumpkin and I headed back to the city.
Carving a pumpkin is tough. After slicing the pumpkin in half, I scooped out the insides including the seeds which you have to separate from the stringy guts of the pumpkin…now I know why pumpkin seeds are so expensive. After cleaning the seeds, I sectioned the pumpkin into manageable parts in order to peel its skin. It was at this point that I began sweating, swiftly cut my finger and found myself and my kitchen covered in pumpkin skin…but I refused to give up despite the injury. Finally, I was able to cut the pumpkin into bite-size cubes in order to roast. I was exhausted!
I don’t remember carving pumpkins being so dangerous, so that leads me to believe that I never actually carved a pumpkin as a child. My family carved pumpkins every year, but after carving this pumpkin, I am confident that any adult in their right mind would never, ever let a child carve a pumpkin! So it was my parents or my older brother who bravely risked their fingers or hands every year carving pumpkins so that I could enjoy the full Halloween experience.
In the end, the roasted pumpkin was delicious. Even more, were the scrumptious memories of Halloweens past and the sweet realization that there are special people in our worlds who do things large and small to make our lives wonderful… memorable… easier.
Who has made your life a little easier or sweeter this week, this month, this year or in this lifetime? Thank them today. Thank you, Mom, Dad and Johnny for risking your fingers to make every Halloween enchanting for me.
This Saturday, devote your yoga practice those people or that one person that you want to thank!
Roasted Pumpkin Recipe…if you dare! (servings depends on the size of the pumpkin)
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees
-See paragraph 2 to begin and proceed with caution
-Toss pumpkin cubes in the best olive oil you can afford, 100% pure maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, sea or kosher salt and fresh pepper
-Spread pumpkin cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast in oven for approximately 45 minutes or until tender; toss midway
-Serve as a side dish, with plain Greek-style yogurt or with Ben & Jerry’s vanilla bean!
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