Memory

/
Photo above via Lilie Zen Coach. Photos below via Carl Zoch Photography.

The mind shifts. Memory, loss, integration.


Rumbling over low hills, kicking up dust. Sadness and loneliness, together. What do you remember about that summer?




Common images, simple moments, goodness, emptiness. A  guitar slung over the back. A shoe left in the dirt.


The two of us sitting near a riverbank. My eyes closed, the sun overhead. You'll have to hold what's yours in your mind.

Cooler Temperatures

/
Photos via Carl Zoch Photography.
I am so ready already for fall. I keep walking down the stairs in the heat saying, "If only it were 60 degrees right now!"

The other day, I even wished for snow. Snow?!

"That's a big step for you," my friend told me. "Since you're a California girl and all."

I smiled. It's so true! I've come a long way. :)



Yoga for Healthy Knees

/
 
Above photo via Liztan on Flickr. Below photo via I_Need_Coffee on Flickr.

Do you have tight knees?


Have you suffered from prior injuries playing sports or running? 


Yoga can help. It's important to remember to go slow and be patient. You must give your body time to heal.


Listen to your body as you enter a posture. If you feel sharp pain, back off. A little discomfort is OK, but you don't want to go past your edge to sharp or excruciating pain.


Ideally, you want to practice at a studio under the guidance of an experienced teacher. If you can't make it to a studio, you can practice at home. All you need is a little floor space, some patience, and permission to give yourself time to slow down and release tension.


Try these poses to start.
Wind removing pose
 Photos via Bikram Yoga Bethesda.

Standing separate leg forward fold

 Photo via B_Keith88 on Flickr.

Triangle 
(remember to engage the quadriceps!)

 Photo via Dietnesstea on Flickr.
 Photo via Yo-Fi on Flickr.
 Photo via B_Keith88 on Flickr.

Cobra

 Photo via Lila_Yoga on Flickr.

Locust

 Photo via OldMoonYoga on Flickr.


Warrior I & II
(be sure the knee is lined up directly over the ankle!)
 Photo via iyogalife.
 Photo via Yoga Dudes on Tumblr.

Be especially careful when doing reclining hero pose, cow face pose, and lotus pose. You may want to skip these for a while, until you gain more flexibility in your knees.

  
 Photos via Yoga One on One PM on Flickr, Yoga by Melissa, and Ulrika Laan.


I also highly recommend epsom salt baths to ease tension. Supplementing for your joints, with vitamin D and maybe even glucosamine, is a great way to improve your bone and joint health from the inside out, too. YogaEarth is another great superfood supplement for overall health. Just mix it with juice or water for on-the-go nutrition.


Namaste.

How Should We Live? Insights from Colin Beavan

/
Photo via Yes Magazine.

A while back I went to the Chicago Green Festival and heard from inspiring speaker Colin Beavan, who starred in the documentary No Impact Man and who now runs No Impact Project. He gave a fascinating speech on the way we can live consciously, in a way that benefits us and the planet. Here are a few excerpts from his speech (long overdue!).

How should we live? What's our relationship to the world the way it is? And what do we do about it? How can we go about changing it?


It is possible to care about people and polar bears.


If we can't support polar bears, how long will it be before we can't support us?


Photo via FYeahYoga.

If we could say, "We wrecked the place, but damn we had a good life," that would be one thing. But what's happening is we're wasting resources and they're not even making us happy.


Good news: what's wrecking the planet and what's making us unhappy are connected.


We have a tremendous opportunity to do something that fixes both. We can adopt a way of life that does both.



Photo via FYeahYoga.

When we hear someone say, "I want a happier world," often our instant reaction is to argue about how to achieve that. We divide ourselves politically. What should be a conversation becomes boring, useless, only bickering.


We have tendencies to make matter worse once we engage in the argument.


When asking yourself the question "How shall we live?" we should step out of the argument.


I got the idea for No Impact when I came home from work to a cold apartment on a hot August afternoon. Cold air came blasting through the doors and I realized I couldn't even wait 20  min for the room to cool down. 


Everyone said, "Not one person can make a difference." 


What about save yourself to save the world? 


If all you can change is 2%, that's the only part you can fix. If all of us figured out our 2%, and all of us changed it, the problem would be gone.


So many multi-sourced problems that it requires thousands of solutions. Networked solutions.


Give the gifts you have. Return to that part of yourself.


Photo via FYeahYoga.

A hero is somebody willing to leave the familiar, to find a new path, to share it with others. A hero is dissatisfied, and has the courage to try something different.


What green things can you do that are not depriving, and not against your nature?


When you simultaneously see a need in the world and see how your behavior can meet that need, you inspire a particular way of helping.

A Review of Onzie Yoga Gear by Rich

/
Photos via Dudes Doing Yoga on Tumblr. 


Here is a review of Onzie yoga gear by Rich, one of Alive in the Fire's sponsored yogis.

I finally remembered to grab my Onzie shorts for yoga this morning.


I have to admit that when I first saw them, I was worried that they would be a touch short. The possibility of falling out of them seemed very real to me so I wore some supportive underpants. In retrospect, I think that may have been a mistake on my part because there is a fitted strap inside the leg sleeves of the pants that would have done the job well. I feel like the extra layer was superfluous.


Photo via Onzie.

I ordered size medium/large and they fit my 36 inch waist perfectly. These shorts certainly show off your body well! They are so easy to move in, too. They are super light. If I hadn't put on my underthings, I feel like I would have felt like I was wearing nothing at all (for those who don't know me, that is a huge bonus).


In conclusion, these shorts look great, feel great, and are super easy to move in. Get a pair and enjoy them!


Namaste,
Rich


Check out Rich's sweet new tattoo! Photo courtesy of Rich.

Young and Alive

/
First two photos by Jaquilyn Shumate Photography.

Pastoral

I copy out mountains, rivers, clouds.
I take my pen from my pocket. I note down
a bird in its rising
or a spider in its little silkworks.
Nothing else crosses my mind. I am air,
clear air, where the wheat is waving,
where a bird's flight moves me, the uncertain
fall of a leaf, the globular
eye of a fish unmoving in the lake,
the statues sailing in the clouds,
the intricate variations of the rain.


Nothing else crosses my mind except
the transparency of summer. I sing only of the wind,
and history passes in its carriage,
collecting its shrouds and medals,
and passes, and all I feel is rivers.
I stay alone with the spring.

 Last two photos via Momfilter.

Shepherd, shepherd, don't you know
they are all waiting for you?


I know, I know, but here beside the water
while the locusts chitter and sparkle,
although they are waiting, I want to wait for myself.
I too want to watch myself.
I want to discover at last my own feelings. 
And when I reach the place where I am waiting, 
I expect to fall asleep, dying of laughter.
-Pablo Neruda

Beautiful Foods

/

Here are a couple beautiful little videos about the art of food. I love them! Such gorgeous colors, graceful movements, and whimsical text.


See the above for something sweet, and below if you're in a more savory mood.


And if you haven't checked it out yet, Kinfolk is all the rage in the blogosphere right now. A magazine and artist collective dedicated to small gatherings. I love that they recognize the wonder of sharing a table with friends.


Compassion

/
Photo via Lululemon.
Pigeon pose is a great posture for practicing active compassion. As sensation fills up the hip joint, turn your thoughts to those who suffer from chronic pain. Allow yourself to love others and yourself, despite any momentary discomfort.

Learn to apply this off the mat, and you begin to change the world around you.

A practice that can lay the groundwork for drawing wisdom from our own sufferings is to be present to other people’s suffering. To witness. To see how many are the ways people dealing with suffering. To learn how suffering can elicit creativity or deepen hope or resilience or understanding. 


Some people recoil from others’ suffering—don’t like to visit hospitals, don’t know what to say, wish they were somewhere else, or could just send flowers. 


But a willingness to show up, even in our uncertainty about how to behave, may not only be a gift, it may help us learn to enter the places of darkness with confidence and trust, not needing to know how, or to predict outcomes, but to be fully present to whatever the moment calls for.
-Marilyn Chandler McEnryre

Sight

/

I got glasses!

It's interesting how things are a little different from behind my frames. I love that they bring clarity, they honor my inner bookworm, and they provide me the chance to freshen up my look. 

Reminds me of a quote I read over at Julia Lee Yoga a few days ago:

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.
-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross


Where the Heart Beats Hardest

/

Here's a video to get you thinking about your art, your purpose.

My favorite lines:

"It's a simple act that keeps my grinnin'."

"This is where the heart beats hardest."

What a beautiful short!

Solitude & Summer Thunder

/

Summer is a great time for knowing your own strength.

Last night, I experienced the sound of a thunderstorm rolling in and passing through. The deep bellows reminded me of the greatness of the earth. The way things can be wide, expansive, open in the summer. 

The way things change. They heat up, hover. Carry on. There is new movement, new air, new circulation. 


Summer is a time when we can experience the peace of solitude.

Being alone -- it's so often thought of as a burden or a weakness. My challenge to you is to linger in your time alone -- let it be light, effortless. Let it be purposeful.

Give yourself time to be with yourself -- here, in the moment.

You may find you hear your body speaking to you, asking for rest or silence. It is worthwhile to listen.

Enjoy the feeling of being strong, alone. Not isolated, but whole.


I spent today enjoying a relaxed balance of solitude and togetherness. Being surrounded by people and friends at the Evanston farmer's market gave me energy and reminded me of the wholeness in food that comes from real people. It was a beautiful start to the day.

I shared yoga class with three other yogis. I enjoyed the silence of the room as we transitioned between postures, the sounds of people walking by on the street outside, the quiet of my mind in meditation.




The stillness opened up new possibilities for writing. New thoughts. New stories.

And one majorly awesome outline on my living room floor :)


Alone time can be lonely, but it is also useful. Out of solitude and summer thunder come peace.

Namaste.

Summer in Full Swing

/
Photos from Nevada, taken by yours truly.
Hey there, yogis!

Happy summer!


I'm a little behind on the blogging front, but I believe when the sun is out, it's best to get outside and escape the screen for a bit :)

What have y'all been up to? Any fun 4th of July plans in the works?


Here are some other summery adventures I'm looking forward to: 
  • Doing yoga in Chicago's beautiful Grant Park with friends from work as part of Wanderlust's traveling yoga fest
  • Helping out on the set of an independent feature film (you should all check it out and support the film -- it's hilarious!)
  • Visiting with my mom while she's in town in August (pedicures, anyone?)
  • Cooking new summery recipes, making fruit smoothies, and dipping my toes in the fountains around Evanston
  • New bike rides, new tan lines

    • Listening to thunderstorms
    • Continuing to write like crazy for the book project
    • Attending weekly classes at Grateful Yoga in Evanston as part of their summer intensive (the relaxing and restorative poses have been helping so much!)
    Happy summer, all! I hope you are well.


    Congrats to all the 2011 NU Graduates!

    /
     Photos via the Northwestern broadcast of today's graduation. Check it out: Stephen Colbert!

    Northwestern's class of 2011 is graduating today! A big hug goes out to all you hardworking grads who are now free to live, work, and play in the world. Get out there -- enjoy it!

    I can't believe it's been a year since I walked the stage. Feels like forever ago :) It's fun to remember back to that day and to celebrate again with everyone who's earned their degree this year.

    A heartfelt namaste to you all!

    The podium.
    Go grads!
    NU President Morty Schapiro.