Do Less

I felt I needed to keep it simple this week. Many of us are in the middle of celebrating the various holidays that happen between November and the beginning of January and the last thing we need is something more to think about...or do.

So for this week here's my advice...keep it simple.


Do less. Take some time to sip a warm beverage. Snuggle into bed 15 minutes earlier than usual. Drive more slowly. Soak in the tub. Rather than putting something ON the "to-do" list, erase something instead. Take a leisurely walk after a meal. Spend less time checking your technology devices. Dig deeper into a conversation with someone you care about. Take an extra deep breath. Go to a Restorative or Gentle yoga class rather than your typical Power class.

Someone once asked me what would it be like for me to go at 70%. I said, "I have no idea as I never do...". Since then I have given myself the 70% experience and although it's not my default speed, I was actually OK with it. And don't tell anybody, I actually really enjoyed slowing down!

Can you be OK at 70%?

Try it out and let me know.

Darkness To Light

Here in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting short and the nights long. The natural environment seems to be drawing into itself and shedding excess leaves and growth until a more opportune time to grow and bloom. We are approaching the Winter Solstice.



I love the idea of the Winter Solstice as it relates to light. The actual day in 2011 is Thursday December 22 representing the shortest day of the year as it relates to the number of daylight hours that we see. From December 23 the daylight hours begin to lengthen.

We step from darkness into light.

Isn't that what our own personal growth is about? Gaining clarity about our own life path and purpose? Moving from ignorance towards greater wisdom? Turning inward to see our own inner light's radiance?



One of the fundamental teachings in yoga is that we are all born divine. This divinity possesses a radiance that is often referred to as residing in the heart center. Just look at a healthy newborn and you can't help but see that they are divinely perfect beings. And the thing is, that never changes...it never leaves us. What happens is that we simply forget. We travel through our lives and begin to disconnect from this notion of being whole and beautifully complete.



What our yoga practice does, is help us to remember. It helps us to still the distracting chatter of our mind and to celebrate the magnificence of our physical body so that we can connect once again to the light that lives within.

Let's take a moment on December 22 and connect to our inner radiance and all the potential that is sitting within.



The word Namaste' describes this precisely.



"The light in me, sees and honors the light in you. When we are both in this place, we are one."





Peaceful Solstice.

Into The Future

I've been living in the future...lately, that is. I keep thinking about things that are off in the distance-planning, planning, planning. I recently heard Bhagavan Das say, "we are so busy planning that the only time we stop planning is when we die...". Wow...that really struck me.



I've been thinking about things that haven't yet happened and in the midst of it all I've come to notice one thing. That I'm missing what's happening in the present moment. I've been so busy thinking about the next workshop, our upcoming tennis tournament, retreats in April and August, and in a more sobering tone, about death.



There...I said it. The big "D" word. Death is not a topic that people in our culture care to talk about. It's a subject that makes most of us uncomfortable. We hear about it on a daily basis, but it seems as though we're able to keep it at a comfortable distance away from ourselves, with a perspective that it's something happening outside of our own lives, until we are confronted directly by it.



Our eldest dog, Yindi, is almost 14 1/2 years old and if you know anything about golden retrievers, she's an old dog. Of late, she's been struggling with having an appetite, her energy is low and at times she's seemed indifferent to things that normally set her off, like a doorbell or phone ringing. My husband and I have been sitting on the precipice of "what's next" for our beloved girl. "Is it her time?". It's a difficult place to be when you see your pet at the precipice of transitioning.



Thankfully, we had someone who deals with animals in transition give us a huge reminder...she's still here. She's still present. Focus on her life and all the joy you've received rather than on an impending death.



It's inevitable...death (and taxes), right? We know it's going to happen to all of us at some point along our journey. And when we wear the mantle of always looking to the future, of planning ad nauseum, we can often forget the beauty of what is present. Take this moment to experience exactly where you are, fully present in this time of your life.



In this moment.



In this breath.



In this moment, Yindi is sleeping comfortably at my feet. She has inspired me ever since she was an 8-week old adorable puppy and continues to do so, including today as I sit down to write. She's here and so am I. I will stop planning just for a few seconds and I will breathe (and reach down to pat her head) in this moment.

One Good Story

Not long ago, Ed and I were driving someplace at the end of a long day and we began to catch up with each other as to what had been happening in our separate worlds.



It seemed as though Ed's day was one that had "tough/bad news" strung throughout it...he met a guy that held fear around recovering from heart surgery, so and so was found to be acting inappropriately with student athletes, his nephew was about to undergo knee surgery, the stock market was down, he didn't hear back from an important client....It was as though the road he traveled that day was strewn with things that were really hard and challenging.



As I had come to the end of my own day that had a similar set of stories, I simple turned to Ed and said, "Please tell me a good story...".



What is it about drama in life that keeps us interested?



All you need to do is watch the news for a nano-second and you'll know exactly what I mean. Or switch on a "reality" TV program, or talk radio and you'll hear the tragic back stories of all the people involved. For some reason, it keeps us dialed into that channel..."What happens next? That happened to someone I know! I'm so thankful that's not MY situation. Wow...that person is really messed up..." and on goes our internal dialogue, our reaction that ties us to it all.



I once heard of a news station that tried to offer only "good" stories and it failed miserably. Do we need to hear the bad to realize how lucky we are? Wow...I hope not. Is it meant to spring us into action, to propel us into a different social consciousness? Two reactions to seeing or hearing about human suffering are:



1. Turn away and pretend it doesn't involve you; OR

2. Do something about it



I am witness to #2 often within the yoga community. Yogis gather together when they see or hear about a person, place or group that is suffering and will often use a collective energy to help elevate the situation or people into a better place.



I often hear people talk about how much something disturbs them, maybe it's homelessness, and then they move onto the next subject. How about changing the story? What would it be like when you have the awareness of something that bothers you, that really lights your fire and inner drive and do something about it? What can you as an individual or in a collective group do to affect or change it?



When confronted with a "bad story", what do you do with it?



Are you able to rewrite a "bad story" into a good one. Please...share with me your "good story"!