A Decade of Practice - End of 2019 Newsletter
This is Just Another Moment, Just Another Now - A Practice
As many are preparing to ring out the old, ring in the new, our practice reminds us that this, too, is just another moment in a string of nows that make up a life. No need to change anything, no need to resolve to be different, no need to add on to our natural tendency to regret, replay, relive the past or to worry about, fret over what might be ahead. Ultimately, they are all just moments; as Ram Dass said, "If you live fully in the present, [even] death is just another moment."
And yet, as we turn the virtual page on our virtual calendars, we have this natural tendency to reflect and plan. We recently have begun using sankalpa (heartfelt intentions) in the public classes that I have been leading. I think that these speak nicely to this tendency that crops up this time of year - to resolve to be better. Sankalpa differ from new year's resolutions in two important ways. New year's resolutions often are stated as something that you want to change about how you are right now, and these usually come in a negative statement, for example: "I don't want to be on social media as much in 2020." Or, even if you try to state that in the positive, it would translate to "I will be on social media less in 2020." With a sankalpa, it is always stated in the positive, and it is always stated as if it already were manifesting. Sankalpa are usually about the body, the mind, or the spirit. Some examples: "I am at peace." "All of the cells in my body are healthy and in balance." "I am healthy and strong."
If you are more of the journaling type, you might enjoy this exercise, taken from Daisy U. at nosidebar.com. They suggest spending some time intentionally answering the following questions as we pass from one year to the next: "What made this year unforgettable? What did you enjoy doing this year? What/who is the one thing/person you're most grateful for? What was your biggest win this year? What did you read/watch/listen to that made the most impact this year? What did you worry about the most and how did it turn out? What was your biggest regret and why? What's one thing that changed about yourself? What surprised you the most this year? If you could go back to last January 1, what suggestions would you give your past self?"
My favorite reflection and planning practice, though, is one that I've been using for the past few years. I started in the months following my cancer diagnosis as a way to make sure that I was truly living intentionally for whatever amount of time I had left. I wrote down the ten things that were most important to me, including people, places, activities, etc. And then I made sure that I spent more time with those people or doing those things each day. These ten things have evolved interestingly over the past four years, but I definitely can see a through line. What are your values? How can you make sure that they are the things you are living fully? I don't do this just at the new year. it's a great practice for anytime you feel like you need a reboot.
Upcoming Workshop
I completed a teacher training in pranayama last year, and I am excited to offer my first pranayama workshop in January! This is one of the primary techniques that I have been using to help ease the fatigue I have been experiencing due to ongoing health issues. One of the things I love about pranayama is that there are types of practices that increase your energy, types that decrease your energy, and types that balance your energy. I can use pranayama as needed, a few minutes at a time, to help to regulate my system no matter what it needs, and I can help you learn how to do this, too! While the days are technically getting longer at this point, post-solstice, we are heading into what is the harder part of winter for many of us, making this a great time to do some work balancing our energies.
Here's the workshop description and link to the registration form: "Practice breathing techniques that have been used for ages to warm the body and build the life force that helps weather the darker days of winter. Come explore a variety of traditional breathing practices to help build energy and balance the nervous system. In this workshop, we will do some posture practice to bring greater ease to the physical body first, then we will use pranayama techniques to play and explore in the energy body, ending with guided meditation and rest. Suited for all ability levels. Sunday, January 12, 3:00-4:30 pm, $35, Simply Yoga, Belmont." If the studio is new to you, know that it is right on an easy bus-line from Harvard, and there is ample parking on the side streets if you cannot find street parking out front. You can reserve your spot here: http://www.simplyyogama.com/workshops-1
31 Day Challenge
I am taking part in the 31 day yoga challenge that Steph is offering at Simply Yoga in January. I know, I know. I just spent an entire newsletter poo-pooing new year's resolutions, and yet ...
Another way that I can help to regulate my energy levels in the harder part of winter is making sure that I move my body at least a little bit every day, and, to be honest, sometimes that is difficult to do. The will to leave the house in whatever the weather no matter how I've slept or how I'm feeling? I don't always have it. And when I do my practice at home during these months? I sometimes end up calling laying on the floor for thirty minutes my practice. It's a lovely practice, sure, but it doesn't help me move my body. So I'm going to try for the prize this January. My natural competitiveness will help, and the community-building we will be doing at the studio will help to motivate me to keep going. If, like me, you can't make it to the studio every day, we are counting multiple classes in a day. I cannot take class on Thursday, but I can take two on Friday, for instance. The prize for the winner? ONE YEAR OF UNLIMITED YOGA! It's a fantastic deal, and would be great, especially for any of you who are looking to switch studios following Bow Street's closing. I know that Belmont seems a million miles away from Somerville, but it's actually only four (depending upon where you are in Somerville) and makes a beautiful bike ride, walk (for you serious walkers), or bus ride/drive. It's not that far.
A Recipe - Old Florida Key Lime Pie
My favorite form of self-care, despite my being a yoga teacher, is food. I endeavor to share a recipe with you each month, as many of my favorite newsletter-authors do. This year for new years, my eldest picked the dessert, and they chose their favorite - our family's "secret" key lime pie recipe. This one is just like the one my grandmother used to make, and it is the easiest pie that I know how to make. You will wow your friends and families with this one, and each bite will make it feel like you are on some warm beach, basking in the sun. I promise.
You'll save effort if you buy a pre-made graham cracker crust, but you also could make one. They are easily done, and whacking up a bunch of graham crackers is a very pleasing sensory experience for folks of all ages. Worth a google if you've never made one before. But for this recipe, let's assume you've got your graham cracker crust already prepared.
Whisk together four egg yolks, 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk, and 2/3 cup of key lime juice (they sell this in the drink mixers section of the grocery store, but you also can sometimes find key limes in the produce section). Pour off into the graham-cracker crust. Bake for ten minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Let cool. If you like (my children definitely DO NOT LIKE), grate lime zest over top, and serve with whipped cream. Start to finish, this pie takes thirty minutes to make plus some time to cool and set.
I will be making one of these to auction off at the upcoming auction at First Church in Belmont. So, if you don't feel like making one, you can bid on mine. That's coming up on February 8, and you can read all about it here: http://uubelmont.org/tvland/
Teaching Schedule
Nowadays, I only teach at Simply Yoga in Belmont. I offer regular classes there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:15am-10:30 (Slow Flow) and Fridays 9:30-10:45 (Gentle Yoga). I also will be in rotation with the other teachers on Friday nights, teaching roughly every six to eight weeks, from 6pm-7:15. These Friday night classes are an opportunity for each teacher to offer whatever they are feeling most excited about, for instance "Full Moon Flow", "Slow Flow and Restore", "Ground and Float", and my first class, offered on January 31, will be restorative with a guided yoga nidra.
In closing ...
Thank you for spending some time with me. Thank you for practicing and for taking those practices with you out into the world. Together, we make a difference and help tip the balance toward light and peace and compassion.
Please let me know if there's a topic you would like me to cover and also if you want to unsubscribe at any time.
And yet, as we turn the virtual page on our virtual calendars, we have this natural tendency to reflect and plan. We recently have begun using sankalpa (heartfelt intentions) in the public classes that I have been leading. I think that these speak nicely to this tendency that crops up this time of year - to resolve to be better. Sankalpa differ from new year's resolutions in two important ways. New year's resolutions often are stated as something that you want to change about how you are right now, and these usually come in a negative statement, for example: "I don't want to be on social media as much in 2020." Or, even if you try to state that in the positive, it would translate to "I will be on social media less in 2020." With a sankalpa, it is always stated in the positive, and it is always stated as if it already were manifesting. Sankalpa are usually about the body, the mind, or the spirit. Some examples: "I am at peace." "All of the cells in my body are healthy and in balance." "I am healthy and strong."
If you are more of the journaling type, you might enjoy this exercise, taken from Daisy U. at nosidebar.com. They suggest spending some time intentionally answering the following questions as we pass from one year to the next: "What made this year unforgettable? What did you enjoy doing this year? What/who is the one thing/person you're most grateful for? What was your biggest win this year? What did you read/watch/listen to that made the most impact this year? What did you worry about the most and how did it turn out? What was your biggest regret and why? What's one thing that changed about yourself? What surprised you the most this year? If you could go back to last January 1, what suggestions would you give your past self?"
My favorite reflection and planning practice, though, is one that I've been using for the past few years. I started in the months following my cancer diagnosis as a way to make sure that I was truly living intentionally for whatever amount of time I had left. I wrote down the ten things that were most important to me, including people, places, activities, etc. And then I made sure that I spent more time with those people or doing those things each day. These ten things have evolved interestingly over the past four years, but I definitely can see a through line. What are your values? How can you make sure that they are the things you are living fully? I don't do this just at the new year. it's a great practice for anytime you feel like you need a reboot.
Upcoming Workshop
I completed a teacher training in pranayama last year, and I am excited to offer my first pranayama workshop in January! This is one of the primary techniques that I have been using to help ease the fatigue I have been experiencing due to ongoing health issues. One of the things I love about pranayama is that there are types of practices that increase your energy, types that decrease your energy, and types that balance your energy. I can use pranayama as needed, a few minutes at a time, to help to regulate my system no matter what it needs, and I can help you learn how to do this, too! While the days are technically getting longer at this point, post-solstice, we are heading into what is the harder part of winter for many of us, making this a great time to do some work balancing our energies.
Here's the workshop description and link to the registration form: "Practice breathing techniques that have been used for ages to warm the body and build the life force that helps weather the darker days of winter. Come explore a variety of traditional breathing practices to help build energy and balance the nervous system. In this workshop, we will do some posture practice to bring greater ease to the physical body first, then we will use pranayama techniques to play and explore in the energy body, ending with guided meditation and rest. Suited for all ability levels. Sunday, January 12, 3:00-4:30 pm, $35, Simply Yoga, Belmont." If the studio is new to you, know that it is right on an easy bus-line from Harvard, and there is ample parking on the side streets if you cannot find street parking out front. You can reserve your spot here: http://www.simplyyogama.com/workshops-1
31 Day Challenge
I am taking part in the 31 day yoga challenge that Steph is offering at Simply Yoga in January. I know, I know. I just spent an entire newsletter poo-pooing new year's resolutions, and yet ...
Another way that I can help to regulate my energy levels in the harder part of winter is making sure that I move my body at least a little bit every day, and, to be honest, sometimes that is difficult to do. The will to leave the house in whatever the weather no matter how I've slept or how I'm feeling? I don't always have it. And when I do my practice at home during these months? I sometimes end up calling laying on the floor for thirty minutes my practice. It's a lovely practice, sure, but it doesn't help me move my body. So I'm going to try for the prize this January. My natural competitiveness will help, and the community-building we will be doing at the studio will help to motivate me to keep going. If, like me, you can't make it to the studio every day, we are counting multiple classes in a day. I cannot take class on Thursday, but I can take two on Friday, for instance. The prize for the winner? ONE YEAR OF UNLIMITED YOGA! It's a fantastic deal, and would be great, especially for any of you who are looking to switch studios following Bow Street's closing. I know that Belmont seems a million miles away from Somerville, but it's actually only four (depending upon where you are in Somerville) and makes a beautiful bike ride, walk (for you serious walkers), or bus ride/drive. It's not that far.
A Recipe - Old Florida Key Lime Pie
My favorite form of self-care, despite my being a yoga teacher, is food. I endeavor to share a recipe with you each month, as many of my favorite newsletter-authors do. This year for new years, my eldest picked the dessert, and they chose their favorite - our family's "secret" key lime pie recipe. This one is just like the one my grandmother used to make, and it is the easiest pie that I know how to make. You will wow your friends and families with this one, and each bite will make it feel like you are on some warm beach, basking in the sun. I promise.
You'll save effort if you buy a pre-made graham cracker crust, but you also could make one. They are easily done, and whacking up a bunch of graham crackers is a very pleasing sensory experience for folks of all ages. Worth a google if you've never made one before. But for this recipe, let's assume you've got your graham cracker crust already prepared.
Whisk together four egg yolks, 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk, and 2/3 cup of key lime juice (they sell this in the drink mixers section of the grocery store, but you also can sometimes find key limes in the produce section). Pour off into the graham-cracker crust. Bake for ten minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Let cool. If you like (my children definitely DO NOT LIKE), grate lime zest over top, and serve with whipped cream. Start to finish, this pie takes thirty minutes to make plus some time to cool and set.
I will be making one of these to auction off at the upcoming auction at First Church in Belmont. So, if you don't feel like making one, you can bid on mine. That's coming up on February 8, and you can read all about it here: http://uubelmont.org/tvland/
Teaching Schedule
Nowadays, I only teach at Simply Yoga in Belmont. I offer regular classes there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:15am-10:30 (Slow Flow) and Fridays 9:30-10:45 (Gentle Yoga). I also will be in rotation with the other teachers on Friday nights, teaching roughly every six to eight weeks, from 6pm-7:15. These Friday night classes are an opportunity for each teacher to offer whatever they are feeling most excited about, for instance "Full Moon Flow", "Slow Flow and Restore", "Ground and Float", and my first class, offered on January 31, will be restorative with a guided yoga nidra.
Thank you for spending some time with me. Thank you for practicing and for taking those practices with you out into the world. Together, we make a difference and help tip the balance toward light and peace and compassion.
Please let me know if there's a topic you would like me to cover and also if you want to unsubscribe at any time.
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