Who doesn't love a pair of flip flops?
Easy to kick on and off, right?
Maybe a little too easy....
With no strap for your heel,
your toes and the balls of your feet
have to tense up with each step
just to keep them on.
No worries for quick steps across
the street, but this could prove
problematic for a longer trek. Why?
Well, you have to land your heel
down and then roll through the outside
of your foot, ending with the big toe,
possibly straining the ligaments
on the outer edge of the foot and
making you more vulnerable to
a sprain. Ideally, we want to move
through our entire foot as evenly
as possible with each step.
As with all alignment, any funny
business down with the feet can
have consequences up the chain.
Bare feet or shoes with a comfy
wide toe box are the bestest!
Walk on, yogi.
Steady and supported.
We'll ground our feet
on the yoga mat this week.
It's warming up just now.
Phew!
There's a pranayama practice
that can cool you down
in just a few minutes.
Not only can it lower your body temperature,
it can bring down your emotional temp too.
Sitali pranayama has cooling properties.
Here's how you do it.
Slow inhales through a rolled tongue.
You're sipping in cooled air.
Savor the breath a moment.
Then allow warm breath to exit
through your nostrils with your
mouth remaining softly closed.
Keep it up 'til you're feeling
a bit more regulated.
People are continually surprised
how well this works.
Those ancient yogis knew some stuff.
They observed nature around them,
taking note of the curl of leaves,
the hiss of the cobra, and created
this breath practice to great effect.
Stay cool this week, yogi.
Hope to see you
on the yoga mat.
Oh, sunshine, how I love you.
There is more and more data
to show why our bodies crave sunlight.
Research shows more time in the sun
is associated with lower blood pressure.
Sunlight triggers serotonin in our brains,
boosting our mood.
Sunlight exposure also shows a decrease
in the development of heart failure.
Morning light helps set our circadian
rhythm for better and sounder sleep
Our bodies crave light.
Sure, in the middle of the day
sunscreen is a wise choice.
But in the early morning and
late afternoon, treat yourself
to a liberal dosing of sunshine.
It's good for you!
We'll salute the sun on the yoga mat this week.
I've worked in antiquarian bookstores
that look just like this, and frankly I was
as happy as a rabbit in a literary burrow.
Living in such clutter on a daily basis
is another matter entirely. Do you know
why this would/does make you crazy?
Evidently your brain is recording every
object around you, whether you realize
it or not, and in turn weighing down your
neurological capacity. Clutter signals
to your brain that there are undone
tasks at hand, ratcheting up cortisol,
creating low level anxiety, while actually
diminishing memory, decision-making,
and focus. Oh, dear.
Maybe this is one reason an open
clear floor with a sacred rectangle
upon which to practice yoga is so,
so very soothing to the mind.
Practice on yours with me
this week?
(after I go tidy my art studio. ahem.)
I can't tell you how many times
I'm out in the world and see
some poor sap with a defeated
slump. It's all I can do not to
press my hand to the center of
his chest and ask for a smile.
Or run a fingernail up his spine
so he'll straighten up.
My husband advises me otherwise.
Though he has wondered if I might
wear a t-shirt emblazoned with
FREE YOGA ADJUSTMENTS.
What I'll say to you is this:
Be attuned. Every time you pass
a slumpy-lumpy, let it be a
reminder for your own stance.
Feet grounded!
Tailbone heavy!
Heart open!
Neck elongated!
You'll feel better, more capable.
And who knows
whom you might inspire?
We'll grow tall on the yoga mat
together this week.
Scherzo di Follio (1861)
"Beauty matters. It is not just
a subjective thing but a
universal need of human beings.
If we ignore this need we find
ourselves in a spiritual desert."
-Sir Roger Scruton
I feel this truth in my body.
Arranging green snips from
the yard in a glass just so.
Plating my leftovers to look
a little fancy just for myself.
Watching tea leaves dance
down in my French press.
Noticing beauty in unexpected places.
Making beauty in unexpected places.
These are simple ways
to nurture your soul.
Look around your own house.
Sometimes just calmly ordering
what might be askew in a single
spot can bring a sense of calm.
Find some beauty this week.
It's also waiting for you
on your sacred yoga mat.
Mirror Dancer, Milton Avery
Our brains are deep into the business
of prediction, always looking for patterns.
When we see what we expect to see,
it feels like all is well in our world.
Calmed by met expectations, the
parasympathetic nervous system
comes into its own: supporting rest,
clear thinking, digestion, and recovery.
Unpredictability or chaos throws us
into high alert, and and we quickly
become frazzled, fearful, just worn out.
Especially when it keeps happening.
Anyone? America in 2026? Anyone?
Our sympathetic nervous system
holds us in a low grade vigilance when
uncertainty after uncertainty arises.
Yoga can be your antidote. Not because
it's relaxing or distracting from troubles.
It's an opportunity for cohesive coherence.
The breath rises and falls just as you
purposely move it. You hold a steady pose
as you knew you could. You flow through
a familiar series with ease. You anticipate,
move, and experience window after
window of successful prediction.
Tiny yeses everywhere.
Even if only for an hour.
Things actually shift on the inside.
Ah.... thank you.
Join me this week?
Anyone see p.3 in this Sunday's New York Times?
I had a kickin' bright yellow beanbag
in my bedroom as a teenager. I loved it.
I'm not so sure about that fitting into my
present vibe, but point taken.
Get down on the floor, or close to it,
as often as you can. And then,
of course, back up again. Repeat.
I do my happiest reading in a butterfly chair,
which provides an up & down challenge.
You could sit on the floor in front of
your sofa, letting the seat support
your back body while you learn to sit tall
on the ground or a folded blanket.
For some clients, I prescribe sitting tall
with back against the wall and legs
straight ahead. Hello, hamstrings.
Bright, open chest and back of the
head touching the wall so head is stacked.
Find your own way to the ground. Often.
It fosters playfulness!
And a supple, responsive body.
To the yoga mat!
I've returned from graduation weekend
watching my brilliant son receive his
Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy.
Sitting through ceremonies of both
conservatory graduate hooding and
university wide commencement
involved watching legions of strangers
moving across stages and best of all,
distinct pods of elated family & friends
absolutely vibrating with praise & pride.
Witnessing uncontained emotions
spilling left and right in celebration of
a single soul's progress is just the
most joyful thing I've known lately.
The singular look of pride in a loved
one's face is unmatchable. I couldn't
get enough, everywhere I looked.
My favorite moment? When I spied
my own boy processing in a cloud of
his cohort, I suddenly burst out of
my seat shooting my right hand high
with a cry of elation. Our eyes locked,
and he did the same.
There is absolutely n o t h i n g
to compare to that feeling of
being seen, loved, and celebrated.
We both felt it, hard and true.
I hope to try to find some shade
of this in the normal world.
Opportunities where I could share
a look, an action, an offering of
cohesion with another person.
Where we both might feel seen,
acknowledging our very existences
among the legions.
I hope this for you, too.
I hope to see you on a yoga mat this week!
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1906 woodcut)
Mystery is not much in favor these days.
The notion that there are limits to what
we can do, what we can know, limits to
our dominion, does not set well with
kings and queens of the hill. ...
Why tell stories about a power
we cannot photograph?
-Scott Russell Sanders
Our soft, fragile insides always seek
safety, knowing, assurance. Me too.
Especially in things I don't understand
or am frightened of. I look for data,
proof, someone in charge telling me
what will certainly happen or not happen.
This makes us especially vulnerable
to the promise of corralled information
holding all the answers on a screen.
Lately, I am drawn to stories about
powers one cannot photograph.
Myths and fables, fantastically stitched
with deeper truths to wonder at.
They help me believe there is much
we can never know for certain.
Look for answers in unexpected places.
Become comfortable with mystery.
Eschew certainty, if you can.
It opens up unforeseen possibility.
On the yoga mat too.