Inspiration

What inspires you?

Currently I am inspired and moved by my new favorite author, the wondrous Erin Morgenstern.   First, let me tell you that I haven't been this enthralled by a book in a very long time...

Erin's new book, The Night Circus, just came out and I downloaded it on a whim from audible because I was lamenting the start of school and the return to my crazy commuting days.  Once I started, I couldn't stop listening.  I thoroughly enjoyed every word from cover to cover (well not really since I listened to it but you get the idea!)  Erin writes with such richness. When read by Jim Dale (as the audiobook is) her words go down like a square of the best Belgian dark chocolate taken with a generous goblet of zinfandel or any other fabulously yummy and full-bodied red.  Not to mention that the story is utterly captivating if you have any imagination at all and I am now completely obsessed with anything and everything related to The Night Circus!  It is truly a beautiful book that might just gift you with a new perspective on the world around you.  It did for me and I will be grateful to Erin for writing it for a very long time. GO READ IT! 

XOXO

P.S. If that isn't enough, I was fortunate enough to meet Erin the other night and she is both fabulous and down to Earth (and loves cats, chocolate, and red wine...do i have to keep going?)  It's so rare and thus extra special to get to meet people who inspire my imagination in this way.  I feel so lucky that I got to meet the actual person behind the words.  Totally cool!

Yoga || Heart (Universe)

One of the things I've been struggling with lately is the very nature of my yoga practice.  How can it be that a mere few weeks ago yoga was better than therapy (or Belgian chocolate); I was ecstatic to begin my journey as a yoga teacher; and I was feeling super motivated to share everything from Acro to Zen with anyone who would listen.  However, now IF I practice it's with dread and trepidation and I don't even own a yoga mat anymore.  [Don't worry, I'm sure someone in the Phoenix airport is finding his or her moment of bliss on my cherry red Jade mat.]

While pondering this state of things today, I asked myself what is it that I am hoping to get (and now missing) from my yoga practice.  As it turns out, there is an entire of universe of answers out there.  For you physicists out there on a quantum kick with me:  it's like there's a probability distribution of reasons to practice yoga.  EVERYTHING is possible and the exact reason CHANGES from moment to moment. 

For example, right now I desperately want to feel grounded, both physically and mentally.  But four years ago all I wanted from yoga was to pop my sacrum in a spinal twist.   In the beginning I came to yoga to be stretchier in ways that ballet couldn't accommodate (try putting a ballet dancer in half moon pose during his/her first yoga class!) Back then I wanted to be able to stand on my head - now I just want to be able to stand on my feet.   Some days I used my mat to block out the rest of the world but other days my mat was the only source of connection I had.  Now my mat is gone and it is up to me to choose where to go next.   Like the mysteries of the heart, the possibilities are endless if you are open to them.

Where does your yoga take you??

Mediation on Space and Quantum Physics

So this week I've embarked on a short teacher training module with Shiva Rea (awesomely fabulous yoga teacher) and one of the topics today was Space.  Yoga teachers are always telling their students to "make space" and one of my friends and fellow trainees asked the question

How do you create space when there is none? 
(for example, crowded yoga studio, busy train/metro, etc.)


I'm thinking it's already there....

Why do I think this?  Let me tell you!!

A rough (but decent estimate for our purposes) estimate of the size of an entire atom is about 0.00000000001 (10^{-11})  meters.  That's 1/100,000,000 (one hundred millionTH) of a millimeter!  In other words, divide a millimeter in to 100 million pieces...
WHOA BABY that's tiny!!!

BUT, guess what?  The size of a proton is even smaller!

(Protons and neutrons make up the nuclei of atoms; electrons whiz around on the outside.   BUT electrons are even smaller than protons and neutrons.  So when we talk about atomic sizes we think of where the electrons "orbit" but when we talk about the actual amount of space the matter inside an atom takes up, the electrons are so small that they don't really count.)

How small is a proton you ask?  (I'll tell you this too!)
Ok Ready?
A proton is 0.000000000000001 (10^{-15})  meters  which is (GET THIS) one TRILLIONTH of a millimeter! You can't even see that in the best microscopes that are out there right now!

So, here's the kicker:   If you put those numbers together, recognizing that the space inside atoms that isn't occupied by protons or neutrons is pretty much empty, you figure out that ATOMS ARE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 99.9% AND 99.99% EMPTY SPACE!!!!! 

Since we are made of atoms we must also be mostly empty space!

So, when your yoga teacher tells you to "create space," don't worry because it's already there.  All you have to do is tap into it.

Meditate on that and see what happens!

Rugs

Have you ever noticed that when exploring matters of the heart, there are a lot of metaphors involving rugs??  For example, when you have something you are not in the mood to discuss or want to hide, you sweep it under the rug.  Another example: when you think you've got something in the bag and WHOOPS, suddenly someone pulls the rug out from under you.What happens then?  Usually you fall down...and it hurts.  Ouch.

RUGS
Sky above, earth below and a rug under your feet...
YANK!
THUD!
(ouch)
(tears fall)
(heart broken)
The real question is:
where can we find a new rug?
Do they sell heart rugs at TJMaxx?

The Irony of Guardrails

Ok, so i was driving home this evening, sitting in my (way too low gas mileage) Nissan Juke and found myself pondering the guardrails and concrete medians that border either side of the Mass Pike. These are objects that are meant to keep you safe, preventing you from barreling headlong into oncoming traffic or running off of the road straight into a ditch.   According to Wikipedia:

Guard rail or guardrail, sometimes referred to as guide rail or railing, is a system designed to keep people or vehicles from (in most cases unintentionally) straying into dangerous or off-limits areas.

Fine, guard rails are protecting me from danger...great!   However, what happens when for some mysterious reason, your car decides it wants to make friends with the guardrail?  At this point, the guardrail goes from something that wants to keep you safe to something that will total your car.  Further, if you smash into it fast enough you might end up totalling yourself too.  Not the best plan.  Suddenly this construct that was put into place to keep us safe is actually causing pain.

(Do you smell the metaphor yet?)

Ok, ok,  forget about the death and destruction part; what if you simply want to get across and see what's on the other side of the road? (HEY, it could be a chicken!)  If you are on a small country lane, no problem...3 point turn (thank you driver's ed) and BAM, you're there.  If on the other hand you are on a divided highway with guardrails, forget about it.    The guardrails tell you "wait, this is off-limits" and prevent you from moving forwards.

SO, here's the real question:  How do you get around the guardrails??  Forget the guardrails on the Pike; what about the guardrails around your heart?  I know I have some.   In fact, lately they've are becoming a real pain in the you-know-what.  I often wonder how they got there and what I can do to break them down and see what's on the other side.  I have a funny feeling that there really is an entire universe in there and I'm SO curious to learn about it.


Break down your guardrails and you might discover your own heartuniverse...

The Power of Love (and Poetry)

Ok, so in case you haven't noticed, there might be a small backlog of poetry being spewed out here.  It's not that i think i am a fabulous poet or anything but I find that it's useful to take the thoughts that are busy making a racket inside of my head and put them down on paper.  Ok wait, I guess there's no paper involved here.  Damn.  :)

So, here's poem #3 and the last one for today.  It helped me to write it so maybe it will help you to read it.  If not, go here instead...always worth a laugh!

An ocean of tears...
where do they come from?
where do they go?
Imagine if we could set sail on this ocean and travel to a faraway place where suffering has no meaning.
Imagine if we could follow the wind and discover a place of peace for all,
where tears are sweet and hearts are open.
It all begins with a single drop:
spilled with love,
or because of it.

The No Good, Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day

curled up in a ball
so tight
no where else to go
but inward.

(ever feel like this?)
(title inspired by Judith Viorst)