true meaning of yoga

A note

It’s hard to know what balance to strike on social media these days. Sometimes all I want is a break from the news, and other times I rail at emails touting sales of sparkling sweaters and must-have heels. Screw that.

Like everyone else, I’ve been looking for ways to help.

Here are some I’ve found:

AmeriCares is providing medicine and other supplies to people affected by Hurricane Sandy. To donate, visit www.americares.org.

Some folks have set up registries on Amazon so “gifts” can be sent straight to the areas in need. One here and here. There’s a movement out asking Amazon to waive shipping costs. I’ll update that here if I hear anything.

And of course Red Cross at www.redcross.org or text the word “Redcross” to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

This & That: Sandy

If you are feeling stressed and isolated, try something outside of your home practice. Go to a local yoga class. Even if you don’t talk to anyone, it might feel good to be with people. A community of support doesn’t have to mean best friends. Sometimes it can just mean humanity.


As things begin to return to normal for most of us after the hurricane, I’m still very much aware of those who were not so lucky. The whole event has taken its toll on me though, in terms of stress and emotions. It’s hard to admit, because I know so many people had it much worse, but I can just feel all the tension in the air. And it’s rough.

While my home practice is always a salve, I feel like being out amongst the people for a community yoga class is just what I need.

The first image is my own and the second comes from the Kripalu blog, Thrive.

Not Skipping to The End

Remember the wedding scene in Princess Bride? There’s a commotion outside, and it’s clear things are not going as planned. Knowing this, Humperdink shouts at the priest, “Skip to the end!”

Well, when things aren’t going my way, I have a tendency to want to “skip to the end” too. Like a little kid with my hands over my eyes, I want to ignore the scary part and have someone tell me when it’s safe to come out again.

I noticed this the other day when I was telling someone a story and she stopped me and said, “Wait. What happened in the middle there?” I skipped over the part of the story that upset me without even realizing it. That’s how much I didn’t want to deal with it!

Ugh. So I have no idea, to be honest, how to change this. Except to practice not doing it. To stop and notice when I’m skipping over the hard part, and breathe. And just notice it. That’s it. Notice it. And you know what? It’s hard. At least it is for me. Sometimes after the deep breath and the noticing, I get choked up. There’s something else underneath. And other times, nothing. The whatever it is, is deeper, and I can’t always find it. But I’m looking. The goal is not skipping to the end.