The Yogini Cafe is a salon of ancient asanas (positions), encouraging pranayama (breathwork), and remembering contemplation (stillness).
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Warrior I
Jeffry's missal today included a scripture I have read many times but jumped out in boldface type to lasso my attention just this morning:
Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. - 1 Peter 3:14 4:19 [ESV]
Is it maturity that has caused me to see this for the first time? Did I turn a corner while walking without realizing it?
I remember reading it before thinking, avoiding thinking, "I do not like this! I do NOT want to suffer. Certainly, I do NOT want to suffer any more than I already HAVE! What kind of a God wills that I suffer?" But I put that question out of my mind. Today both the question and the answer return: (www.blueletterbible.com NLT )
Coming from a wild self-preservation, terrified, running and running for my life from those who would try to harm me. When I looked back, suddenly I couldn't see them anymore. I must have turned a corner! No one was there anymore; I lost their tail!
So, looking forward to where I was heading, far down the road, peering into the valley along the seashore, beyond the meadows...I could see it was very different. Warmer. Softer, water-soaked air. Yes, it was hazy, but safe.
When did I get this desire to serve others through healing? At which point did I start to care? Was it when my own pain started to subside? When did that happen?
Ah, I remember. It was when I realized I was going to survive; that I had been preserved. I was preserved for some reason and all that I had to do was walk carefully. Steadily with eyes wide open, heart wide open. Fearless.
Then they all started coming. The others who had survived, who were fearless, looking for survivors themselves ~ with the purpose to extract the ones crying, wounded from the wreckage, the underbelly and the living death.
We are here! We are here! So, we begin our work.
As in Warrior 1 ~ the first of the yoga stances honoring the soldier, Dina stands, the warrior against the death who is also known as the destroyer. Affirm the survivor! See the victorious one! The thankful one! The one who took on the fight and vanquished the enemy with the Spirit of Life Abundant.
Warrior 1 ~ all open to the heavens, fearless and pledging service to The Heavenly One, in honor and trust of the Jehovah Nissi, God is our Banner, our Standard Bearer. Ancient from everlasting, current as in the NOW and the fullness of the Godhead thereof, and forever, the Eternal One, synonymous with Absolute Goodness.
Stay tuned for the new chapter...the saving, the reaching out, the reports of healing and restoration. It is beginning, the time is now!
Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. - 1 Peter 3:14 4:19 [ESV]
Is it maturity that has caused me to see this for the first time? Did I turn a corner while walking without realizing it?
I remember reading it before thinking, avoiding thinking, "I do not like this! I do NOT want to suffer. Certainly, I do NOT want to suffer any more than I already HAVE! What kind of a God wills that I suffer?" But I put that question out of my mind. Today both the question and the answer return: (www.blueletterbible.com NLT )
1PETER 3:14-22
Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats.
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
So he went and preached to the spirits in prison—those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.
So, looking forward to where I was heading, far down the road, peering into the valley along the seashore, beyond the meadows...I could see it was very different. Warmer. Softer, water-soaked air. Yes, it was hazy, but safe.
When did I get this desire to serve others through healing? At which point did I start to care? Was it when my own pain started to subside? When did that happen?
Ah, I remember. It was when I realized I was going to survive; that I had been preserved. I was preserved for some reason and all that I had to do was walk carefully. Steadily with eyes wide open, heart wide open. Fearless.
Then they all started coming. The others who had survived, who were fearless, looking for survivors themselves ~ with the purpose to extract the ones crying, wounded from the wreckage, the underbelly and the living death.
Dina in Warrior 1
We are here! We are here! So, we begin our work.
As in Warrior 1 ~ the first of the yoga stances honoring the soldier, Dina stands, the warrior against the death who is also known as the destroyer. Affirm the survivor! See the victorious one! The thankful one! The one who took on the fight and vanquished the enemy with the Spirit of Life Abundant.
- Feet grounded in a wide stride, toes spread like roots deep into the Earth for retrieving life-giving water and nourishment. Toes spread for steadfast balance, faithfulness.
- Legs tensed strong for support and mindful awareness that the root, sacrum and solar plexus affirm all life, our life together and the warrior's life.
- The heart wide open, arms stretching to the heavens,
- Hands reaching to touch beyond the sky, past the stars, through the atmosphere, above consciousness, further than the galaxies into the Throne, pledging open service.
- Head thrown back bearing all the throat chahkra ~ the voice, the chi of healing and education, the purpose of outreach.
- The third eye out to the world of our earth and its creatures, its waters and foliage, its soil, our fellows, our mothers, our kin, our species, all species, all life on Earth in promise to take up the cause of its preservation in dignity.
- The crown chahkra directed back and down again, having been filled to overfilling and appreciating the connection, the bond between Creator and created one. One cell created in the direct likeness of the Sovereign One, El Elyon, Elohim.
Warrior 1 ~ all open to the heavens, fearless and pledging service to The Heavenly One, in honor and trust of the Jehovah Nissi, God is our Banner, our Standard Bearer. Ancient from everlasting, current as in the NOW and the fullness of the Godhead thereof, and forever, the Eternal One, synonymous with Absolute Goodness.
Stay tuned for the new chapter...the saving, the reaching out, the reports of healing and restoration. It is beginning, the time is now!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Throwing Pots
Mid morning Saturday, December 15th I stopped into Southwest Detroit's ceramic artist and potter's co-op, Ladybug Studios. It's my reward after a very long search for a local, relaxed, equipped art studio that would let me get my hands back into clay.
Close to ten years since I last threw a pot! I didn't know if for the lymphedema my left arm could sustain the pressure required to center clay on a wheel. But it was the day of their monthly drop-in class ~ 10AM to 1PM kids of all ages and all abilities try their hand at pottery or hand-building.
Ladybug's raison d'être is to make available to the greater Detroit community those resources and access to the art and creation of it. Public school budget cuts have brought results impacting this generation. Some have never seen clay, let alone made anything in it.
My jacket was off, apron on and co-op president Byram Nemela suggested I start right away. So I sat down at the corner wheel, the one next to the two large bowls stacked with pre-wedged, carefully prepped balls of white clay. The medium set out like a bakers' dozen of small grapefruits in shadow waiting to be hand-peeled and eaten, looked almost like a prop set for a food photo shoot.
So I promptly picked one and set it next to the pail of water, the slip-soaked sponge and a small wooden tool laying on the front ledge of the wheel. I looked on the side of the low tech machine and turned the power switch to FWD. I threw the small clay grapefruit hard onto the center of the bat and began sprinkling water to begin the process of centering.
Centering. This is what I come for. It takes everything I got to center a piece of clay on that bat. I can't worry about something and center. I can't chat and be social when I'm centering. All I can do is clear my mind and focus on my posture. Are my knees tight on the tub of the machine like riding an English saddle? Are my forearms braced on my thighs? Is my one hand steadying on the other? And so on.
Right-handeds set the power switch on FWD, spinning the wheel counter-clockwise. But my fingers gauged the lump! What DID I do before? Years ago an art instructor suggested in the work of throwing pots, I may be left-handed. Intuitive, emotional, patient. It is my "yoga off the mat" ~ This is time I spend in my right-brain. When all else in life is demanding, urgent, not adding up as my left-brain thinks it aught, it's time to get away, to get back in my right mind. It's time to throw some pots - vases and bowls.
Close to ten years since I last threw a pot! I didn't know if for the lymphedema my left arm could sustain the pressure required to center clay on a wheel. But it was the day of their monthly drop-in class ~ 10AM to 1PM kids of all ages and all abilities try their hand at pottery or hand-building.
Ladybug's raison d'être is to make available to the greater Detroit community those resources and access to the art and creation of it. Public school budget cuts have brought results impacting this generation. Some have never seen clay, let alone made anything in it.
My jacket was off, apron on and co-op president Byram Nemela suggested I start right away. So I sat down at the corner wheel, the one next to the two large bowls stacked with pre-wedged, carefully prepped balls of white clay. The medium set out like a bakers' dozen of small grapefruits in shadow waiting to be hand-peeled and eaten, looked almost like a prop set for a food photo shoot.
So I promptly picked one and set it next to the pail of water, the slip-soaked sponge and a small wooden tool laying on the front ledge of the wheel. I looked on the side of the low tech machine and turned the power switch to FWD. I threw the small clay grapefruit hard onto the center of the bat and began sprinkling water to begin the process of centering.
Centering. This is what I come for. It takes everything I got to center a piece of clay on that bat. I can't worry about something and center. I can't chat and be social when I'm centering. All I can do is clear my mind and focus on my posture. Are my knees tight on the tub of the machine like riding an English saddle? Are my forearms braced on my thighs? Is my one hand steadying on the other? And so on.
Right-handeds set the power switch on FWD, spinning the wheel counter-clockwise. But my fingers gauged the lump! What DID I do before? Years ago an art instructor suggested in the work of throwing pots, I may be left-handed. Intuitive, emotional, patient. It is my "yoga off the mat" ~ This is time I spend in my right-brain. When all else in life is demanding, urgent, not adding up as my left-brain thinks it aught, it's time to get away, to get back in my right mind. It's time to throw some pots - vases and bowls.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Yoga Off the Mat
When was the last time you were able to stand true,
open in genuine care & joy,
& authenticly connect
with 101+ people from a past
spanning 40-odd years...all in one evening?
It was 'never' for me until the launch of my 40th high school class reunion last night. Flew in from Detroit to LaGuardia for a dual purpose visit forty minutes north of Manhattan.
Our celebrations have only just begun and innumerable lotus flowers of opportunity to heal and rejoice have blossomed at our feet.
Looking forward to what is next while savoring what is now.
Namaste,
El
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Life is Good, mostly. That is, life is as good as I set out my mind to perceive it to be. Early October is beautiful in Michigan. The autumn schedule is hurried and still new, but by this time there is a feint pattern emerging. Open ended hopefulness is kinder than a hard march to the demanding calendar of November. I can still steal a moment of reading on the front porch with a breeze.
Monday, September 17, 2012
I love TRT ,The Radiance Technique
We Are Timeless Promo:
from Portal Wisdom on Vimeo.Listen to this simple video introducing The Radiance Technique (TM) through Christine Maria Gross' new publication on the ancient practice. Entitled, We Are Timeless Christine and protégés Melanie Johnson, Pat Bachard, Linda Gareh-Applegate and others express in words that which I believe can only be known through personal experience.
What they try to describe is the beautiful, serene, gentle comfort of a Radiance session. The benefit of such a time investment touches both the recipient AND the practitioner and is capable to produce life~changing shifts in the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and interpersonal of each participant.
My instructors, Melanie and Pat have dedicated their lives to bringing the scientific yet mysterious goodness of transcendental, universal energy. This power to adjust and attune energy from the core outward is directed to hospice patients, individuals with a life-threatening illness, anyone going through a crisis. The changes are profound; the may take days or weeks to manifest in a recognizable way.
Each experience is different, and every person 'feels better' differently - however it translates to meet the needs, Radiance sessions are sure regardless of circumstance or state of being.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Return to Wellness is a Slow & Winding Road
Life just keeps on 'ife-ing'.
While still enjoying a glow of accomplishment and the tranquil satisfaction of having settled a significant and lingering advocacy issue, a few new in-your-face challenges pop up like a whack-a-mole arcade game!
Logging three years now since the 'news', 2 surreal biopsies, 2 surgeries, 27 weekly chemo infusions followed by 6 weeks of daily radiation therapy and subsequent lymphedema complications, it can be said that this BCx survivor is doing pretty well today.
For a stretch of time, though, I had to keep letting key folks know that there are still serious needs. Admittedly these needs were not easy to see from the outside but none the less were debilitating and demanding on the inside, and that they HAVE to be met. What was more annoying? These needs kept changing. From day to day, month to month, season to season post-chemo recovery is like a moving target. Hard to identify, challenging to describe, and a b*tch to contain.
During the 3-out-of-5 year treatment plan of aromatase inhibitors, I thought I would have felt more zippy, effective, with it. Should be full of energy now with a new lease on life, gettin' back my mojo. Dang, I'm still alive; surely I should be more happy*hoppy, gittin' stuff done. Right?
Truth is I feel mostly better with a few notable changes. Changes that sneak up on a person.
Creaky, fatigued, insomniac, edgy, bloat-y, another size up, light-headed, distracted, weepy. Dry mouth. Did I say edgy? Skin issues? Its gradual. Like a frog sitting in a slowly heating pot of water. Basically OK and certainly better than getting chemo. Can't really tell anything is wrong. Not until the water hit boiling! Just ask my husband, my kid and my boss.
Stress sits on the chest like a gravid gorilla. Nausea and dizziness, a few falls. Then the dawn rises, alarms start ringing. This calls for updated medical attention.
Come to find out that the creeping elevation in blood pressure, debilitating bone and joint pain, drop in focus and stamina, craving for carbohydrates, fluctuations in mood can all effect a girl's quality of life.
Blood tests prohibited a change in the key medications for about 18 months. I'm neither here nor there and must wait to be safe and sure. Circumstances kept getting worse, and even more stressful.
Adjustments that could be made helped but even those were hit or miss for awhile. Eventually, the right combinations slipped into place. Finally, I am validated, thus vindicated. Like coming to, I begin to recognize where I AM.
It was time to establish new boundaries, but more importantly to accept the new limitations. Researching resources for a lifestyle modification, one question lead to another. The doctor called the shot and ultimately friends, family and colleagues collaborated to help me comply. Gradually, it seemed possible to get things on track.
So, what else is helping? Antioxidant fruit 'n' veggie juices. A motivational seminar with a couple of great girlfriends. Air in the bicycle tires. Seated and supine hip openers, cat-n-dog stretches, spinal twists, rag doll and some other inversions. Huggin' Honey. Setting a few new goals. Dusting off one old but particularly valuable goal. A new mouse and ergonomic keyboard. A few oujai breaths. Lots and lots and lots of prayers. A new hairstyle. Finally having SOME hair. TRT(R) Radiance attunement and practice. A walk around the neighborhood with the kid. Cutting myself and others some slack. Reading tons of great books. The movies. Writing a poem. Getting a new normal. Getting a life.
I was reminded recently of an old favorite quote ~ a thing worth doing is worth doing badly until we can do it well...
What's most difficult? Being patient with myself and everyone else. And procrastinating less. What's most rewarding? Being patient with myself and everyone else. Getting started. Persevering. Mustering up courage to look outside the box and ask for what is needed. Doing that until the needs are met.
So then, there IS truly no time like the present.
How are you returning to wellness in your life? Come and post an update on what's new with you. Until next time...
Blessings ~ enjoy the glorious summer days
Namaste.
While still enjoying a glow of accomplishment and the tranquil satisfaction of having settled a significant and lingering advocacy issue, a few new in-your-face challenges pop up like a whack-a-mole arcade game!
Logging three years now since the 'news', 2 surreal biopsies, 2 surgeries, 27 weekly chemo infusions followed by 6 weeks of daily radiation therapy and subsequent lymphedema complications, it can be said that this BCx survivor is doing pretty well today.
For a stretch of time, though, I had to keep letting key folks know that there are still serious needs. Admittedly these needs were not easy to see from the outside but none the less were debilitating and demanding on the inside, and that they HAVE to be met. What was more annoying? These needs kept changing. From day to day, month to month, season to season post-chemo recovery is like a moving target. Hard to identify, challenging to describe, and a b*tch to contain.
During the 3-out-of-5 year treatment plan of aromatase inhibitors, I thought I would have felt more zippy, effective, with it. Should be full of energy now with a new lease on life, gettin' back my mojo. Dang, I'm still alive; surely I should be more happy*hoppy, gittin' stuff done. Right?
Truth is I feel mostly better with a few notable changes. Changes that sneak up on a person.
Creaky, fatigued, insomniac, edgy, bloat-y, another size up, light-headed, distracted, weepy. Dry mouth. Did I say edgy? Skin issues? Its gradual. Like a frog sitting in a slowly heating pot of water. Basically OK and certainly better than getting chemo. Can't really tell anything is wrong. Not until the water hit boiling! Just ask my husband, my kid and my boss.
Stress sits on the chest like a gravid gorilla. Nausea and dizziness, a few falls. Then the dawn rises, alarms start ringing. This calls for updated medical attention.
Come to find out that the creeping elevation in blood pressure, debilitating bone and joint pain, drop in focus and stamina, craving for carbohydrates, fluctuations in mood can all effect a girl's quality of life.
Blood tests prohibited a change in the key medications for about 18 months. I'm neither here nor there and must wait to be safe and sure. Circumstances kept getting worse, and even more stressful.
Adjustments that could be made helped but even those were hit or miss for awhile. Eventually, the right combinations slipped into place. Finally, I am validated, thus vindicated. Like coming to, I begin to recognize where I AM.
It was time to establish new boundaries, but more importantly to accept the new limitations. Researching resources for a lifestyle modification, one question lead to another. The doctor called the shot and ultimately friends, family and colleagues collaborated to help me comply. Gradually, it seemed possible to get things on track.
So, what else is helping? Antioxidant fruit 'n' veggie juices. A motivational seminar with a couple of great girlfriends. Air in the bicycle tires. Seated and supine hip openers, cat-n-dog stretches, spinal twists, rag doll and some other inversions. Huggin' Honey. Setting a few new goals. Dusting off one old but particularly valuable goal. A new mouse and ergonomic keyboard. A few oujai breaths. Lots and lots and lots of prayers. A new hairstyle. Finally having SOME hair. TRT(R) Radiance attunement and practice. A walk around the neighborhood with the kid. Cutting myself and others some slack. Reading tons of great books. The movies. Writing a poem. Getting a new normal. Getting a life.
I was reminded recently of an old favorite quote ~ a thing worth doing is worth doing badly until we can do it well...
What's most difficult? Being patient with myself and everyone else. And procrastinating less. What's most rewarding? Being patient with myself and everyone else. Getting started. Persevering. Mustering up courage to look outside the box and ask for what is needed. Doing that until the needs are met.
So then, there IS truly no time like the present.
How are you returning to wellness in your life? Come and post an update on what's new with you. Until next time...
Blessings ~ enjoy the glorious summer days
Namaste.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
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