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Note to self:

May we live like a lotus; at home in the muddy water.

– Zen wisdom, Judith’s signature quote…

Why so serious?  Smile – nothing is under control.

Blood Moon tomorrow, April 15th… This is SO amazing that it is going to be so visible from California.   And it is also amazing that at a bit past MIDNIGHT tonight, it’s going to be the brightest RED.   AND to make it even more exciting is that planet Mars is going to the closest to earth in over 6 years.

So you are going to see the Red Moon eclipse next to Orange Mars tonight …I cannot wait. This is SO exciting. I am actually so exhausted and super sleepy but I hope to stay up to see this rare natural phenomenon…

Had planned to sequence a (gentle/modified) lunar salutation Sunday class but didn’t for a reason.  Hope you will do your version of lunar salutation – I will show you next time – it’s a lovely evening tonight.

Comment the day-after:  a telescope would have been helpful:) BUT to observe the sky past midnight; to feel one with this universe was worth the sleep deprivation.. and April 15th is IRS day. Nothing like the secular matters to bring you back from the spiritual bliss:)

Hope the full moon, red solar eclipse and the Mars proximity makes this deadline, a closure you seek, to make way for a promising new season full of wonder and mirth. May all this energy that surrounds us in the natural world ignite you … (after restorative yoga nightcap & good night’s rest:)

Restorative Yoga… Anybody can do it and as the name suggests, a well designed sequence will get the tensions released, your energy level restored so that you can re-emerge as the radiant soul that you truly are.  You will be ready for your Vinyasa after a good night’s rest:)  Yin/Yang; Lunar/Solar; Moon/Sun; Shakti & Shivam; 陽&陰…One cannot exist without the other like the masculine and the feminine around and within us. We are balanced and whole.  One with the pulse of this universe.

(“who says I can’t chew on this?  I’m teething!” I let it go as he wags his tail…it’s okay…)

I know people who claim they cannot sit still; with sense of humor, suspect undiagnosed adult ADD or ADHD-ish tendencies… They know meditation is the key but revved up, they cannot sit long enough to wind down, let alone, for the brain waves to settle.  They worry Yin or Restorative yoga may be too boring as the thought of holding a pose; staying still seems so excruciating.  Their meditation requires guided visualization to give mind something to follow and think about or … otherwise their mind fills up “My Cup Runneth Over”, racing with one thought after another.

Physically, they have to be on the move or else… they get the blues or feel frustrated and their mind will … again drift off and wonder, cranking out one noise after another.  These people must work tirelessly and if they were to do any yoga(usually they don’t because they are in “tougher” fitness programs with incessant LOUD BEAT), they have to work hard at a sweaty hard class filled with challenging poses struggling to somehow strike that magazine cover pose as though in some contest for the most bendy prezel pose or the most amazing flight. Usually they are in pain but push themselves with great effort.  Believe it or not, I am actually describing a bit of myself; or former me.  I love “tough” “hard” “challenging” “sweaty” classes and used to scoff at anything using props thinking that use of props meant you are not “advance” but somehow either a “beginner” with all the help you can get or have some physical limitations requiring aides like a disabled person needing crutches or braces.(& isn’t that great?)  I also used to get “stressed” and “upset” if I could not do an advance pose … beating myself up for not being able to do this or that pose and going to one workshop after another to master “it”.

What changed for me?.

What changed me?  How did this change in mindset take place?

Mind tamed, I now see yoga more a method of all-encompassing self-care and also as … service.  All encompassing because it’s not just caring for the body but also the mind and spiritual well-being (praying alone does not help for many).  Now I see yoga props as supportive friends  – they allow the pose to blossom and open without the strain, allowing the wholesome balance to take place without any stress, while getting the same benefits without the muscular tension.  Your tendons and connective tissues, facia are all allowed to relax and thereby increase the range of motion.  All this, while your muscles are eased and flexed with tenderness. When people treat themselves with more kindness, self-love and compassion; they will treat others with more kindness and compassion.  That has a multiplier effect I think.  This world will become a better place to live for all of us and for our children and their children.  When you are relaxed and renewed with serene mind, your ego does not play part in shaping your thoughts in a manner that is hurtful.

Yesterday I was in a “tough” “hard” (but now “fun”) class and the instructor said “you cannot master yoga because it’s not a place you are striving to get to.”  Reminded Yoga is not something you master.  I am blessed with many amazing teachers – we learn a lot from each other.  Yoga is not a quest – there’s nowhere to reach.  It’s all within your grasp within us.