Statuary Around Town (Takoma Park Style)

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Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

No Matter

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Whether it is cold or hot, cloudy or clear, and no matter how sad or sick or tired or busy I might be, the dance of light and shadow and pattern of the trees against the sky brings joy to my heart.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Another Way to Be Yellow

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Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

More Ways of Being Red

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Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Gingkos After the Storm

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Leaves windswept off trees–
A magic golden carpet,
Harbinger of snow.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Red

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Fall is a time of reds and oramges, reminding us of the need to go to ground, to root, to delve into the deepest, earthiest part of ourselves.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Fine Weather for Walking

Filed Under Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice, Community and Family, Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc), Gardening, Meditation, Photos | Leave a Comment

The past several days in DC have been perfect for walking.  The mornings, for me, require a winter coat and gloves and a hat or scarf.  At the warmest part of the day, the air is refreshingly cool, and I can shed some layers.  In spring and fall, there is little I want to do more than take long walks.  And so I take to the sidewalks even more than the usual walk to work, to the Farmers’ market, to the metro, to visit with friends, to teach, to go to the nursery or the grocery store, to go to the bank and post office, to go get a massage.  I make no effort to be efficient and consolidate errands; every errand is an excuse to take a walk.  I add a block or seven onto an errand walk.  I walk and think and then my attention is seized by the beauty of the color and the light.  I have to pause and drink it in.

Precious Are the Mornings

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Precious are the mornings when the light is soft
And the air is gentle–for those who consciously clothe themselves
With respect for the intermarriage between
Their body and the day–and when the play of shapes and colors
In the sky and upraised trees dances visions
Of the vast creativity of Being. No doubts arising
Until one reads the news and, once again,
Must reconcile in heart and mind what is there with
The teachings that all is one and full of joy.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Sculptures Around Town

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I love the tree sculptures by Roxy Paine. This one is in the Sculpture Garden on the National Mall. They are exquisitely beautiful and beautifully crafted. In addition to just appreciating their form, though, they make me think of the perils of society preferring the shiny, the seemingly permanent and indestructible, and the constructed over the breathing, shading, nourishing, life-sharing presence of real trees.

Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Web Version of Fall Newsletter (Free Yoga, Annual Thanksgiving Fundraiser for Oxfam, New Props at Wm Penn House)

Filed Under Art and Culture, Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice, Community and Family, Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc), Gardening, Meditation, Miscellaneous (blog matters, etc) | Leave a Comment

Dear Friends,

Happy Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween.  We are slipping into the time of year that is good for dreaming and introspection, while things get wild and windy outside.  I can always tell when it is drawing to the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Autumn Equinox because the Christmas cactuses (which always bloom at Thanksgiving) start to bud.  When I went to bring in the tropical plants because of the pre-Samhain winter storm, I saw that a few of the orchids were spiking.  It is almost as much fun to watch the buds emerging and growing and taking on color as it is to see the flowers, which only last so long before the flowers must die so that energy can go back into making the whole plant healthy and ready to flower again.  Inside and out, my garden invites me to a deeper appreciation of the dance of dissolution, creation, and maintenance.

It takes only modest intention, commitment, and nurture to have plants blooming through winter.  Just as we can cultivate gardens indoors in winter, yoga and meditation help us cultivate inner beauty so that we are at ease with our being regardless of what storms rage and how we are impacted in space and time and material body by the storms.  My solution:  practice of all kinds, and this November is going to be a wonderful month for yoga..

Just as maintaining a garden in winter calls for props–containers, heat, indoor water source, etc., cultivating the fullness in our bodies, particularly if we are working with a challenge of embodiement, can benefit from the assistance of various props.  I am pleased to announce that we now have lots of blocks and straps for everyone (and some tennis balls, though we could use a few more for when the class is big) at the Tuesday night all levels yoga class at William Penn House, making it an even more supportive environment for those new to yoga or with challenges of embodiment.  As always, a portion of the fee from every student supports the work of William Penn House.

I will be leading the Friday night free community yoga class at Willow Street Yoga’s Silver Spring studio, which I will be teaching this coming Friday, November 4th.  It is an all levels class that will include discussion of therapeutic applications of yoga alignment, and it’s a great way to bring a friend along with you to get introduced to yoga or to Willow Street.

If you are in town for Thanksgiving, please join me to support a great cause.  From 10:00am-11:30am, Thanksgiving morning, I will be leading my ninth annual fundraising class to benefit Oxfam at Willow Street Yoga’s Takoma Park studio. 100% of the profits go to Oxfam.  I look forward to seeing many of you, both those coming back and those joining us for the first time.  Friends and family welcome, including children 12 and over.

Veteran’s Day weekend brings Todd Norian to Willow Street Yoga.  On Sunday, November 13th, the focus of the workshop will be therapeutics.  Todd is an incredibly loving and knowledgeable teacher, and I am planning to be there to assist.  You can sign up on-line or in person at Willow Street.

I am looking forward to the weekend workshops with John Friend in College Park, MD on November 19 & 20.  Both Mixed Level and Intermediate/Advanced workshops are offered.  This is the first time John Friend has taught in the DC area since 2007. Apply today to join your fellow yogis.  There are several of us going from the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  Feel free to contact me if you are looking to carpool, and if you can either offer driving or are looking for a ride.

I always enjoy hearing from you by email or comments on the blog.  If you haven’t already, click here to be taken to the subscription page.  For short thoughts about yoga and meditation in your Facebook news, please “like” my public page for Rose Garden Yoga.

Looking forward to sharing more of the yoga with you.

Peace and light,

Elizabeth

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