I found my book!

Oh yes!

I have been intellectually hungry for a book or teacher that could address my physical yoga practice while also acknowledging my spiritual lineage and academic passion. The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar rocked my world today. So rewarding to read the work of a man who devoted his life to intellectual study and physical practice, and acknowledges that these things can be used as a tool to bring our lives closer to God every day.

Not only that, but coming from a background in Literature, I crave gracefully written words as the medium for the information that is coming across. This book lovingly and thoughtfully explains a personal path and body of knowledge, transmitting it smoothly through well-written prose. I am smitten, and inspired, and thirsty for more.

Thank you T.K.V. Desikachar!

Shortest line to a farmer

In my family we have scholars and writers, pastors, entrepreneurs. These are the people who often get remembered in history: they write their own name and mark their own lives, they make a memory or a legacy that can be written and passed down.

What of the farmers? Every family must have farmed at one point. Must have turned to the earth for sustenance for themselves, and likely for others, where the earth of one was better suited to grow one thing that was then traded for another.

How far back will I have to go? I can feel my ancestral heritage coming alive as I watch the fine cornsilk poke its head out to be fertilized, eat greens and munch tomatoes grown under my very eyes.

We will have to do some family storytelling to find out.

How far is it for you?

Solstice!

The longest day of the year and I am loving it!

Woke early, watered the plants deeply so they can soak up all the rays without passing out.

... and what better way to celebrate the sun than to hang all my clean laundry out to dry? Everything was almost dry before noon.

Showed lots of skin to let my body make all the D it needs.

Now an afternoon of providing bodywork and practicing yoga.

Thank you, sun, for shining today.

coming back to natural

For about eight years I used to pluck my eyebrows veryvery thin, creating an arch that always said, "oh yeah?"

Now I only shape them the tiniest bit, allowing my face to express itself in a fuller and more natural form.

The funny thing is that they don't grow back all the way. I can still see the sassy teenager and early twentysomething saying, "I can create myself into whatever I want!"

That is part of me too, part of my natural history, visible in layers.

Coming back to our true selves can take a long time, and it bring scars and changes that we integrate in to the new normal.

Can living our dream be good for our health?

On first glance the answer is yes, it must be.

Right? If I am in the sweet spot of doing what I love and making a living doing it, I would imagine that my anxiety and worry would decrease, my skin and hair would glow, and my relationships would improve in direct response to the calm feeling of contentment I would have from making a positive difference in my community while putting my skills to use.

So why does it sound so stressful? I listened to a conversation of three journalists today who are each doing exactly the work they were cut out to do. They talked about the junk food they eat while rushing to finish a story, or the fact that they drop whatever they are doing to cover an important story, and how they are often rushing from place to place. It sounded horrible, and exactly like the kind of thing that would destroy a person’s day-to-day health, lower their quality of life, and shorten the length of it to boot.

The thing is, these people are glowing. I’m sure they could all integrate healthier practices into their lives, just like we all could, but I’m not sure they would be healthier with a more predictable schedule. We were each made to thrive in a specific milieu, and it’s up to us to find it.

…and then be as vibrant as we can be.