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It's been 50 years since Earth Day's inception. Yep, in 1970 environmental activists wanted cleaner air and water which resulted in the creation of both the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency. As someone recently shared a photo of 1970's New York City, these steps have greatly improved air quality as NYC had previously been shrouded in a polluted haze. We know that the state of California has the highest emission standards in the country because people want to breathe clean air rather than damage their respiratory system with a polluted environment. Yet, we know it's not enough. We can do better and instead of celebrating Earth Day, it's time we truly fight for it.
This week's theme wasn't solely inspired by Earth Day, but by two separate interviews linking the environment to the current Covid-19 pandemic. One was by Tim Ferriss with Dr. Jane Goodall, (podcast link is here) and the other was an interview on The New Yorker Radio hour with Bill McKibben and Elizabeth Kolbert. What these two interviews had in common was the idea that if the planet is sick, so too will be the beings who inhabit it. If we wish to have healthy lives, it's imperative that the planet is healthy. One of the challenges has been human beings encroaching on the habitats of entire ecosystems, not only disrupting them but placing us at risk for sharing diseases. As humans pursue more land, oil, and resources we are bumping up against and destroying habitat.
One of the most inspirational messages that Jane Goodall shares are that each individual matters. How we act individually doesn't tip the scales in any significant way, yet how we collectively act does. So the choices I'm making on a daily basis combined with the choices other individuals are making creates a synergistic power which is one of significance. This idea ties into last week's theme of Indra's Net (click here if you missed it), that all beings are linked together through an energetic web and what happens with a single point in the web affects all other points.
It seems trite to say that these are challenging times and I can't help but experience a sense of sadness and inertia regarding all of it. I notice that as human beings have withdrawn into their "cages and caves", Mother Earth seems to be enjoying the respite. Skies are clear, waterways seem cleaner and even the local suburban wildlife seems to be out frolicking. As Evo Morales said, "What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans." I think to myself, why can't it always be like this? What will happen when we are freed from our self-captivity? Will we simply emerge and go back to doing the same things as before or is this a time of awakening?
Perhaps one lesson we're learning is that if our basic needs are being met, we really don't need much else. Our society encourages us to acquire more and more and we are an indebted society. What we really need is less and less. All of this has an immediate impact on the health of not only our planet but our psyche. All of this consumption leads to a sicker planet and if we circle back to the initial thought, it will lead to sicker humans living on the planet.
During this time when Mother Earth is getting a much needed planetary rest, we can also give ourselves permission to do the same. Can we simply be? Can we more deeply experience a pause in what we have always known to be true (life pre-COVID) and entertain the idea of putting our bare feet on the earth and giving back to her?
What are you doing to say thank you to Mother Earth? How are you keeping yourself grounded during this time? And when we're finally released back "out there", what will you have learned and do differently?
I'm curious as to what comes to mind in reading this. Please feel free to share. You can email me here.
Until then, let the energy of the Mother of all mothers seep more deeply into your bones. Moon and stargaze. Walk barefoot on the earth. Dig your hands into the soil. Let the wind touch your exposed skin. Smell spring in the air. Feel the sun warming your back. Look to open and moving bodies of water. It's time to get grounded and get grateful.
Thank you, Mother Earth.
As I sit writing this week's blog, I am alone in my yoga studio. Just me, a lot of space and a bunch of props hanging out. I'm here in order to broadcast live online classes and I'm grateful that it's been going really well. I am doing what millions of others are doing throughout the world...distancing myself from others in order to decrease the spread of COVID-19. I leave my house in the morning, drive alone to the studio, open the door, then turn around and lock the door and spend my days working in an odd space of solitude...yet not really. Every time I launch a Zoom meeting, I am once again connecting to everyone else on the call. And I can feel the connection.
In this era of physical distancing, many people might be feeling quite alone and isolated. Perhaps the only physical connection is with whom you're living with and those brief encounters when we venture out to get food, medication, or other essentials, and in those situations, we're keeping away from one another. One thing that is definitely amiss is physical touch...no hugging, patting each other on the back, or offering a compassionate pat on the shoulder. It's easy to understand how people can feel disconnected.
This week's theme is to remind ourselves that physical connection is important and needed, yet it is not the only way we link ourselves to others. Being yoga practitioners we know that we are more than a physical body and possess layers and different expressions of who we are. The idea of interdependence began back in 557-640 B.C.E. with a concept called Indra's Net put forth by a Buddhist monk named Tu Shun. The idea is that we are all connected through a metaphysical energetic grid and at each junction within this web, lays a jewel that reflects the light and energy of any of the other jewels within the web. Every jewel represents an individual life form, atom, cell, or unit of consciousness and, in turn, is intrinsically and intimately connected to all the others. Hence, a change in one gem is reflected in all others. Or as Leonardo da Vinci said, "Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else."
Over the past week, I have noticed an emerging conversation about polarities during this time. On one side of the COVID-continuum are those who are deciding when to binge-watch their favorite series on Netflix and on the other side are those wondering how they'll pay their bills or get enough to eat. At the time of this writing, approximately 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits translating into a massive shift of people who might be suffering due to uncertainty, loss of income, a lack of purpose, and grief. And according to Indra's Net, we are connected to their suffering and they are connected to our good fortune. We are not isolated in this matter, perhaps physically but not otherwise. This is a time for deepening empathy and compassion, where our actions can greatly support or detract from the entire energetic network.
My thought of the week is to think about the experiences of other people and, if possible, begin manifesting support for them, particularly if we are finding ourselves in a fortunate position. One way to do this, as I have often said, is to begin within. When we connect into what it is that we need, into finding self-love and compassion, we fill up a well that begins to overflow to others. The collective consciousness is a powerful resource for sending "good vibes" to those who are sitting in places of darkness and sorrow. By switching on our own light and intentionally offering this to others, we prime Indra's web of connectivity by raising not only our own vibration, but that of all beings everywhere.
May the merits of my practice not only benefit myself, but all beings everywhere is a layer I've been adding into our group practices. By opening this channel in the realm of social distancing, perhaps we uncover other ways to help our human family. Once our own basic needs have been met, we are then in a stronger position to support the needs of others.
May the light of my own heart, ignite the light within yours.
These times are tough...on so many levels. We have just completed our first month in social distancing due to Covid-19 and looking ahead is a difficult place to imagine. Who knows when this will end and when it does, what will life look like?
As we ride the waves of uncertainty, one thing that is happening is inspiration and creativity sparking in all kinds of ways. The theme this week was found as I was surfing Facebook and saw a friend's poem that she had written in May 2018. As I read it, I was blown away by how relevant her words sounded for our current self-isolating, lack-of-control situation. It seems as though many wise words, some written ages ago, are holding a powerful truth for the current moment. The writer of the poem, Noelle Rollins, wrote it on the final day of a pilgrimage she did in Ireland and can be found here.
It got me thinking about exploring our individual path, the wayfarer's journey through our lives and how, in a sense, the yoga path is a type of pilgrimage. Currently, we are metaphorically traveling to unknown and foreign territory...that of social distancing on a global scale. And the sacredness of our personal yoga practice is not dissimilar to traveling to a shrine or holy place as a devotee. We may stumble but are drawn forward to remember an inner sanctuary, a place of deep peace and profound connection. We come to the mat either because we have done it before with past experience setting a foundation of familiarity--one of comfort and ease, or because we are seeking to establish this as a way of coping better in times of high stress.
And at times, particularly at this time, it can seem dark and ominous. So our theme this week is to bring our attention to what we are learning during this time and to look for the silver linings, those stories that will stick with us in future tellings of this chapter of our journey. We inherently know that opposites exist simultaneously: masculine/feminine, sun/moon, Shiva/Shakti, Yin/Yang, darkness and light. At the moment, it's imperative that we look for the light of our current experience.
Have you ever had an unexpected experience that on the outside looked bad or dangerous? And during that experience what actually happened produced fond memories or thoughts of joy?
One such experience for me was during a 6-month hitchhiking trip through Africa. I was with my boyfriend at the time and we had just made it across the Western Kalahari Desert, traveling from Botswana to Namibia. We were camping at the back of a hotel, in the small town of Gobabis, Namibia, when I became violently ill. I spent a sleepless night close to a bathroom, shaking, with chills/fever and intense body pain. Our traveler's medical book indicated that I needed to "seek medical attention". Having made it through the night, we found a local, South African trained doctor the next day, who treated me and admitted me to the local hospital. The hospital was reluctant to admit me as only one bed was available and I was to be sharing with a young woman from the Bushman tribe. For whatever reason, women of two different races was of concern to them...and thankfully, they let it slide and I spent three days re-hydrating on an IV drip.
My roommate was a young woman who looked so terribly sad. No one came to visit her and we didn't speak the same language. Yet, after a day or so, I went over to her bed and showed her a small flipbook that when you flicked the pages, a cartoon of Mickey Mouse doing a magic trip appeared. When I shared this with her, her eyes just about flew out of her head. It was complete astonishment at such a thing as I'm sure she'd never seen anything like it. I gave her the book and she spent the entire day, flipping the pages and being entertained by Mickey. It seemed to be the one spark of joy that was ignited in her day. And, in those dark and painful hospital days, it brought an indelible light to my own heart.
I hope you are finding the joyfully unexpected moments in your life during this self-isolating time. I hope they are sparking memories that will reflect not only the struggle but the beauty that often seems hidden at such times.
Have you ever been on an airplane and are on your descent to your destination when the plane, instead of continuing on its path to land, begins to ascend instead? I really dislike that feeling. For however long the flight, when I'm close to getting to the destination it says on my ticket and I can see it out of my window, I'm truly ready to land. But no...instead the pilot comes over the speaker and says they're not ready to land and we'll be in a holding pattern until given permission to do so.
It feels like that's what this social distancing quarantine scenario we are experiencing is like at the moment...we're in a holding pattern and nobody knows when it will be safe to land back in our "regular" daily life. We have a new normal and for so many of us, it's really uncomfortable.
This past week in classes we've been practicing "holding a pose" and noticing our reaction. Some yoga practices encourage you to endure a pose even when your muscles are quivering or a pose that you don't really enjoy and you're ready to exit and move on. We are instructed to practice coming back to the present moment by focusing on our breath and staying put. It's encouraging us to focus and cultivate patience as we transcend the uncomfortable physical experience of the present moment. It's trying to find ease with whatever we're experiencing. And it's challenging! So often we want to quickly remove ourselves from things we don't really like and both our yoga practice and home quarantine are inviting us to find equanimity with discomfort and monotony.
Beyond the physical aspect of holding a pose or staying in place, is the more esoteric invitation to stay inwardly focused and not be drawn outward. Distraction shows itself through avoidance, procrastination and self-medicating (shopping, drugs, alcohol, Netflix, social and news media). Many of us don't have the same deadlines as we have had and are maybe floating through our days without structure or purpose.
Now is a great opportunity to get curious, create ritual, dive more deeply into something you have been wanting to pursue but haven't been able to perhaps we've been overly committed to work or study. During this holding pattern, bringing structure and purpose to our day will support us in navigating it more smoothly. If we allow time for turning inward to nourish, weed, and feed our inner garden, this could be a time for enormous creativity, insight, and awakening. So often, we are on the treadmill of life and giving ourselves this sort of time seems elusive and only done on vacation.
So here we are...for an unknown while longer. The normalcy of our lives is shifting and we may emerge on the other side of this with things never being quite the same. Can you allow an inner voice to be heard during this time so that your exit strategy is one that offers a smooth landing?
Throughout the week, I've been reminding students to use the tools we've been talking about over the past few weeks. One breath at a time. Come to the present moment. Make self-care part of your day by asking what it is you need to do today to nourish yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. What are you grateful for? What joy or inspiration have you found today?
We're in this together and are finding new ways to support the collective well-being of our earth family. In the meantime, as we hold the pose...find your breath and send love bombs to those you know who could really use a dose.
Overwhelmed. Anxious. Freaked Out. Scared. Desperate.
Those are the words that opened last week's blog and guess what? With the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly altering how we live on a daily basis, these same words are still appropriate. The external stressors haven't disappeared, if anything, particularly here in the USA, they've ramped up. With orders to stay home, businesses closing, people getting laid off, and uncertainty still abounding, it's not too surprising that people's levels of stress are high.
This week in our online classes, we've been exploring the idea of what it means to look after ourselves, not only physically, but in all aspects of who we are. It's common knowledge that in order to age well, we need to do such things as having good nutrition, moving our body on a regular basis, avoiding being sedentary, creating strong social bonds, and getting a good and consistent amount of sleep. These are related to bio-markers of good overall health. So, of course, during times of higher stress, these are still important and, perhaps, even more so.
From my perspective, looking after ourselves isn't only a physical pursuit but an all-encompassing one. Our yoga practice supports us in checking in with how we're doing and awakening us to areas of our life that may need more emphasis. And it's a daily inquiry. How we feel today may be quite different from how we felt just two days ago, so checking in on a regular basis assists us in finding equilibrium.
Imagine a body of water with a surface that is wavy with whitecaps. Now picture yourself as a scuba diver, dropping below the agitated surface into deeper, calm waters. As you descend, stillness increases and you can only hear the sound of your breathing through your regulator. This image is a metaphor for our current situation. If we stay at the surface, we notice high levels of anxiety and agitation, particularly if we have a steady diet of social media and news watching. Our practice becomes the refuge in which we release the external agitation and dive deeply into what's beneath the surface. By entering a still and quiet environment, we see more clearly what's pulling us away from inner peace, up to the surface and have an opportunity to address it.
I remember a time when I was cranky and abrupt. I wasn't being as kind to myself and others as I would like to be but couldn't figure out why I was in such a mood. So as I sat in meditation, I allowed myself to "get underneath" the crankiness. What I discovered was that I was deeply sad. It was during a time when there was yet another mass shooting and some other sad event happening in the world which I found deeply upsetting and feeling completely powerless to change the situations. Sadness was the underlying cause of the crankiness and the moment I unearthed it, I offered myself compassion and the mood shifted.
During this time, we ask ourselves what it is that we need...today. Find yourself in a quiet and relaxed position and check-in. Scan your physical body for any places that are holding tension or feel dull. What is this teaching you? Notice what emotions have been present...grief, joy, sadness, love? Are they passing through you like a flowing river or are they getting caught in an eddy? How are you managing your anxiety and stress? Are you connecting to practices and people that support you and lift you up? What are you grateful for? How are you connecting to purpose and the bigger picture of life?
By asking these questions, what we need to care for ourselves floats to the surface and when we know what it is, we can take action. Self-care is an act of loving-kindness...for yourself and for others. May you take this time to look after what you need, on all levels of who you are.
Overwhelmed. Anxious. Freaked Out. Scared. Desperate.
These are some of the words that seem to be describing our current global mood. Places are shutting down everywhere, people are being told not to travel, to stay at home, to head back to their home countries, to work from home, to stay six feet away from each other, to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds, and for goodness sake-sneeze into your elbow! The world and all its economies are coming to a life-altering, screeching halt. And it's no wonder that the above words are all so appropriate.
Last weekend I decided to close the physical space of my yoga studio. Many of our yoga students are 65 years or older and sitting in a more precarious risk bracket than others. It was weighing on me as to what I needed to do and the stress was beginning to show up in my own life. I knew that if I were being impacted in this way, my answer would be to take caution and lessen the chance of exposure by closing my physical space. It tore at me as so many had been expressing how supportive their yoga practice had been for them and coming into community was an integral part of maintaining vitality. If I closed the doors...then what? So opening a virtual yoga studio seemed like the best option and in under 48 hours, I moved my entire business online.
As I was puzzling out how to make the switch from in-person to online, I found my mind tick, tick, ticking along. And when I noticed it began to impact my ability to fall asleep, I turned to something I knew would support me...my practice.
One of the strongest reasons we come to the mat on a regular basis is to build resiliency for when life throws us the unexpected. Having a yoga practice allows us to build a foundation of finding our breath, our center, to calm us and to notice our physical and emotional experience, and awaken our consciousness to what serves us in that particular moment.
Yes...the learning curve has been steep but it's worked and I'm now connecting to more people around the country (and world!) than I had previously. People are beyond grateful for the opportunity to say "G'day" to each other at the beginning of practice and to see familiar faces online in a most unfamiliar way.
A practice we've been undertaking this week is to focus on one breath at a time. In a state of not-knowing, conflict or confusion, we tend to spiral upward into a state of greater anxiety. Coming back to the simplicity of one breath at a time can de-escalate the spiral.
Try this out- Sit or lay down in a comfortable position. As you begin to follow your breath, notice what thought is present at the top of the inhale, when your lungs are full. On the exhale breath, visualize pushing that thought along, as though it's on a conveyor belt and you're choosing not to pick it up. Repeat. You may notice that each inhale has a different thought. Push whatever thought it may be, desirable or undesirable, along with the exhale breath.
My thought of the week is when you notice being overwhelmed, anxious, freaked out, scared or desperate...come back to this breath. One breath at a time.
If you make a connection between the title of this week's thought and what's been happening in our global awareness surrounding the Covid-19 virus, you might be thinking..."Really? Now's the time to blossom?" Yes, I get the irony. With an enormous level of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty circulating around the world, news that seems to change every couple of hours, and a heightened state of unknowing, it hardly seems like now is the right time to be radiant. Our instincts are to either isolate and withdraw or to minimize what's happening and carry on as normal.
So from a yogic perspective...what do we do?
The inspiration for this week's thought began during Module Nine of the Yoga Teacher Training. The trainees have been at it for about six months now and are one module away from graduating. One of the students was commenting on how challenging and stressful it has been this past couple of months as their workload has increased and making time for YTT study has been difficult. The group showed tremendous empathy and support for the student and I asked them, "What would have been the perfect time for undertaking this?" to which they replied, "Five years from now, never...I don't know." It's precisely the point. There is no perfect time for so many things that happen in our lives. If we waited until that perfect time, we may never step up to the edge and make a commitment, but procrastinate indefinitely.
At the beginning of the year, I began a year-long mentorship program and it definitely was not the perfect time with the business heading into peak season. However, it has been something that I've been wanting to do for quite some time and cut myself some slack in not having to be "the perfect student" but to commit to what I'm able to and realize I don't have to learn everything all at once. This wiggle room is definitely not my normal M.O. I want to be "the good student" and stand out...it's been quietly sitting in my bones since I can remember. But the drive to undertake something versus keeping it on a wish list eventually tipped into the "go ahead...take a shot...it doesn't have to be perfect category" and off I went.
I've been sharing the story of the lotus throughout the week. The lotus, as a seed, embeds itself in the murky and muddy waters of a pond or waterway. When it gestates, it drops roots into the mud and begins to find its way toward the surface of the water. Some inherent calling pulls it towards the light, toward the surface even though it can't "see" where it's headed. When it gets to the surface, it blossoms into its full radiance. As Thich Nhat Hahn says, "No mud...no lotus".
And this is us at the moment. We lack clarity as to where the global pandemic of the Covid-19 virus will take us. It's as though we're being dragged through the murky waters of life, trying to find answers. Many of us are looking to outside sources for those answers but our practice reminds us that the truest answers are lying within us.
Not having clarity, feeling fearful and anxious, we know we have the ability to look after ourselves through what our practices have taught us. Now, more than ever, is where we draw upon the skills we've been working on: finding a slow exhale, connecting into our inner experience, slowing down to make conscious choices, moving our body in a compassionate and kind manner, finding stillness, and connecting to community. Now is the time to be on your mat or meditation cushion. We practice during the calm so that when stormy weather arrives, we aren't caught off-guard. Stressful times reflect how important a regular practice is. It's an act of self-love every time you choose to practice.
We need each other now...even if not directly face-to-face. Turn into your own heart so that it may support those who need it during this time. Deep breath and many more.
