Photo: christine frick with sonnengruss (Sun Salute 2011) (via Newthom)
Monday Morning Wake-Up Call
July 2, 2018 by 16 Comments
I have packed my bags, I am out of here. Gone.
September 9, 2016 by 30 Comments
I have had it with perfection.
I have packed my bags,
I am out of here.
Gone.
As certain as rain
will make you wet,
perfection will do you
in.
It droppeth not as dew
upon the summer grass
to give liberty and green
joy.
Perfection straineth out
the quality of mercy,
withers rapture at its
birth.
Before the battle is half begun,
cold probity thinks
it can’t be won, concedes the
war.
I’ve handed in my notice,
given back my keys,
signed my severance check, I
quit.
Hints I could have taken:
Even the perfect chiseled form of
Michelangelo’s radiant David
squints,
the Venus de Milo
has no arms,
the Liberty Bell is
cracked.
~ Father Kilian McDonnell, “Perfection, Perfection” from Swift Lord, You Are Not
Notes: Photo by Ravshaniya (Uzbekistan) (via Mennyfox55 and Avax.news)
Saturday Morning
June 4, 2016 by 8 Comments
Inhalation.
Exhalation.
Each breath a “yes,”
and a letting go,
a journey,
and a coming home.
~ Danna Faulds, “Breath of Life” from Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga
Notes: Photo – Purvi Joshi with Tired Rapunzel
Yoga Girl and Goat
February 13, 2016 by 19 Comments
“Yoga sensation Rachel Brathen (aka Yoga Girl) has inspired others to grab a yoga mat and get going—including her baby goat Penny Lane! Last Christmas, Brathen received the adorable creature as a present from her husband. Together, they’re dedicated to running an animal rescue. “All she wants to do is sit on our laps and watch TV and climb things … and chill on the couch looking cool with her underbite,” writes Brathen, referring to Penny Lane.”
Don’t miss the full story and additional photographs here: My Modern Met
Lightly child, lightly
October 8, 2015 by 18 Comments
It is such a small thing on the face of it, and yet in this world of speed and distraction, choosing to be less busy feels almost countercultural; slowing down, eccentric. Perhaps it is, for there’s no denying the expansive, time-bending effects of awareness. Sometimes, I do call it meditation: I sit cross-legged on a cushion in my yoga room; I set a timer and focus on my breath, bringing my attention to bear on the elusive, invisible third eye in the center of my brow point. These sittings are humbling: My mind sneaks away, I chase it down, lead it back, tie it again and again to my breath. Eventually, if I’m not in a rush to get on to the next thing, a small, silent space clears. I savor the taste of quiet, roll it around on my tongue, feel the day’s contours softening and opening around me.
~ Katrina Kenison, Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment
Notes:
- Photography by paul drzal with Mantra
- Prior “Lightly child, lightly” Posts? Connect here.
- Related posts: Katrina Kenison
- Post Title & Inspiration: Aldous Huxley: “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.”
SMWI*: Hold it Girl. Hold it.
April 18, 2015 by 21 Comments
SMWI*: Urban Yoga
February 7, 2015 by 17 Comments
“Artist, architect, dancer and yoga teacher Anja Humljan created the Urban Yoga project, inviting people to join and surrender with their whole body to what they smell, touch, taste, see and hear in order to experience how does their city feel. Humljan went off the mat and into the city to change the way we feel, breath and move through urban environment. For her, our urban environment should not be regarded as something, which disturbs our harmony, but rather as a vital element that contributes to it.
SMWI*: Right.
November 29, 2014 by 21 Comments
Elbows hurt just looking…
Notes:
- SMWI*: Saturday Morning Work-Out Inspiration
- Source: Thank you Carol @ Radiating Blossom
SMWI*: No problem. Just need the tree.
May 3, 2014 by 29 Comments
Running. In Search of Inspiration.
April 19, 2014 by 35 Comments
Day 3. Contemplating a third consecutive day of running. The body was saying No. The Heart was saying No. The Head was saying take the day off.
No inspiration to run. No inspiration to write. (Yet, you seemingly have an abundance of inspiration to eat. Go figure. You think these things would balance themselves out. Laws of nature and all that. Wasn’t that Darwin?)
Who is she? The photograph up top. No idea. But there she was. Stretching. Graceful. Peaceful. And pointing the way to the front door. (Out Butthead. Out!)
On the continuum of awful to ethereal, the morning is rated as sublime. (I could never figure out how to use “sublime” in a sentence and here it is. Feels awkward, like an ill-fitting pair of shoes. Big word, so much bigger than you. Shameful how you jammed that in there. Has to be some form of writer / hacker malpractice.) [Read more…]
Thinking is my fighting.
March 13, 2014 by 13 Comments
- “Thinking is my fighting.” Virginia Woolf, in her essay “Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid,” dated 15 May 1940 via Call me Gabrielle.
- Image Credit: Yoginiology
Passages?
February 8, 2014 by 48 Comments
OK, I need help interpreting the illustration:
- She’s single and sleeping alone. Courting suitors?
- She’s married. Shares her bed.
- She’s married. Shares her bed with another. Their child.
- The family gets a dog. Dog sleeps in bed. Less room on bed. (This is all sounding close to home.)
- She’s pushed out of bed by husband, child and dog? Further separation?
- Empty Nesters pull together?
- She’s alone. (Husband deceased? Divorced?) Finds peace in meditation and being alone?
Source: “Passages” – NY Times Sunday Book Review
Pause and you get eaten. The sheer terror of sitting still.
June 19, 2013 by 21 Comments
The Sheer Terror of Sitting Still by Mark Morford @ SFGate, Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Pause and you get eaten…Ruthlessly forward is the only perspective, the only direction, the only proper attitude. Self reflection and mindful presence? Calm and OM and inner stillness? Sounds adorable, but holy hell have you seen the pace of the world today? Who has the time? Who has the energy? Who has the patience? And really, does meditation even work? All the hoopla, all the supposed health benefits, all the ancient Buddha wisdom, even modern science slowly coming around to the idea that clearing your mind and working the “attention muscle” is beneficial for reducing all sort of toxic things, like stress, anger, road rage…But come on. There’s so much to do! Money to make. Empires to build. Spines to slouch and hoodies to wear and souls to crush. This is America. Work is all there is. Well, work, and the Internet…Eat or get eaten, sucker…for most Americans, stillness is… how to put this honestly? Terrifying. Deep, even momentary quiet freaks people out. The hardest thing anyone can ever do in our culture is sit still for a moment. The demons! The memories! Voices! Kids! Video games! The guilt and the doubts and the FOMO, all hammering down on you like a cold rain made of fear and capitalism and shame. And it’s only been… 27 seconds. Meditation is hard. We are addicted! White noise and activity filler and lists. Do you know how many apps there are for making To-Do lists, setting alarms, organizing schedules, keeping track of appointments and tasks and urgent needs? I don’t know, either; I’m far too busy writing this column to count them all…
READ MORE including his conclusion. Worth your time. Excellent.
Image: Mark Morford Yoga. Article: SFGate – The Sheer Terror of Sitting Still. Mark Morford bio.
Saturday Morning Workout Inspiration: Virgin Islands
December 29, 2012 by 22 Comments
Now this has considerable appeal this morning as temperatures dip well below freezing. I’m inspired.
Action Sports St. John from Steve Simonsen on Vimeo.
Related Posts:
Synchronicity 2…
October 27, 2012 by 14 Comments
Sources: Polar Bears Rock & Suay Dreams
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- Synchroncity
- Saturday Morning Workout Inspiration (Spiderwoman)
- Saturday Morning Workout Inspiration (Headstand)
- Picture is worth…
Saturday Morning Workout Inspiration
October 13, 2012 by 22 Comments
Live & Learn 
