AUGUST 2024 WINGS OF MINDFULNESS: A DAY OF INSIGHT AND COMPASSION Next Sunday, August 11st with Erin Joosse with live...
So…full disclosure – I got an email from Source Yoga the other day saying, “we haven’t seen you for a...
Only a week later, my inner yoga teacher shows up again; she too, has gone on retreat. She reminds me of the definition of the word mindful, as used by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the originator of MBSR in the West. Mindfulness is about paying attention in a non-judgmental way. I can pay attention mindfully, I like to think. I have a much harder time paying attention without judgment. So my inner yoga teacher says: What if your discomfort isn’t something for you to analyze away? What if you don’t need to do anything about your discomfort? What if you just noticed it?
When we first begin to meditate, we might notice that there is very little space inside our minds. It might...
I stood at the front of the room, my breath a bit shallow, a little nervous to look at the...
LAST CALL FOR LATE WINTER/EARLY SPRING RETREAT WITH ERIN JOOSSE February 29th-March 3rd, Harmony Hill Retreat Center Kalyāṇa-mitta is a Pali term and Buddhist concept of which means spiritual friendship, or admirable friendship. Within the Pali Canon (the first recorded teachings of the Buddha), one of the followers/disciples of the...
Photo courtesy of Liz Gill “When times are uncertain, difficult, fearful, full of change, they become the perfect place...
November 2023 When big things happen both in our life and in the world around us, we might struggle to...
“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing could feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.” – Pico Ayer, The Art of Stillness,...
Normally, I’d be all about the homework. I am one of those people who’s ridiculously happy to be a lifelong student. I have 2 grad school degrees, for goodness’ sake. I miss taking classes besides yoga. But I have to admit that the MBSR homework is a struggle.
“Mindfulness, cultivated even for a few minutes, draws the heart toward itself. It invites the intimacy we yearn for and...
I’ve meditated at the pool with my kids, believe it or not. (Don’t worry—they are old enough to swim on their own, around lifeguards.) Several times this summer, I was at the wading pool and sat quietly in the water. Closing my eyes, listening to the water falling around me, the sounds of the water splashing, feeling the sunlight warm on my eyelids. Swaying gently when other kids are running in the water around me. I’ve meditated at the wave pool, and it’s a beautiful image now, the ruffled waves coming into and crashing, the pull of the water as it receded. I’ve even taken time to meditate on the ferry. Those seconds stretch into minutes, the minutes into time without measure.
