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I want to drop some knowledge
on the movements of the pelvis.
We all tend to tilt in one direction
or the other. See above.

We work with both these tilts
in yoga. Doing so helps us to
find neutral - the place where
muscular and skeletal systems
are more likely to enjoy happy
longevity, without pain or problems.

Tight hamstrings may pull a pelvis
towards the posterior tilt
Tight hip flexors, a weak core
(or high heels!) can tilt the pelvis
in a more anterior position.
Honestly, excessive sitting, muscle
imbalances, and sheer anatomical
reality affect both pelvic tilt tendencies.

Knowing your tendency can
inform how best to support
yourself in a yoga practice.
Posterior tilt?
Sit up high on blankets so at least
you're giving yourself a level
playing field when it comes to
forward folding. Seriously!
Anterior tilt?
Wake up your core! Remembering
to lift up the low belly in standing
postures will help you align and
feel more able and strong.
Because you really will be!

We'll learn how to figure out
what our pelvises are up to
on the yoga mat this week.

The Book of Light - Odilon Redon 1893

Everything dances with its
own negation, and I have
no choice but to like that?
Balance. Equilibrium.
Grace to circumstances
that do not stay.

This, for me, is a way to
understand and meet life.
We can hone this approach
on our yoga mats.

Somehow,
I can manifest hard truths
in my body even when
my mind refuses.

Let's try together.

"If we cannot calmly hold
a certain degree of anxiety,
we will always look for
somewhere to expel it.
Expelling what we can’t embrace
gives us an identity,
but it’s a negative identity.
It’s not life energy,
it’s death energy.
Formulating what we are against
gives us a very quick and clear
sense of ourselves.
Thus, most people fall for it.
People more easily
define themselves
by what they are against,
by whom they hate,
by who else is wrong,
instead of by what
they believe in
and whom they love."
-Richard Rohr

I find it easy to get swept up
in the passion of what I'm against.
Oh, gosh, there's an energetic list.
But sometimes this energy can
become dark; it can feel
overwhelming.
Knowing what I'm for is powerful.
And just now it's worth reminding
myself that what I'm for is more
than one candidate
or one political party.
No matter what happens
around me, I can and will be
a force of change in the direction
I want to move towards,
personally and collectively.
I have agency and responsibility,
both. This cannot be taken from me.

The same goes for you, yogi.
You are a vital light in this world
that will not be diminished.
whatever way the winds blow.

Move with intention on the
yoga mat and out
in the world this week.
Infusing your body
with what you choose
and rooting into steadiness.

I've had oh, so many political conversations
of late. People are freaked out.
Some are absolutely addicted
to news coverage, hoping information
will give them some feeling of control.
Some trying to bury their heads in the
ground, so they might cease spinning
anxieties. Some feeling hopeless to
elicit change where they live, stuck in a
state not of their political persuasion.

I empathize with them all. My son wonders
why I'm not standing on street corners
as I did his whole childhood waving
signs and chanting. Well, at this point,
I feel the the most effective thing I can do is:

1- vote (done!)
2- go inside and generate
as much grounded steadiness as I can
to calm not only my own nervous
system but the systems of those I come
in contact with, which radiates further still.

We will all survive this,
no matter how long it takes.

Be a steady anchor.
For yourself and those you love.

Staying true to your
yoga practice helps.
I promise.

Nashville yogis, you have until
October 31st to vote early!

Did you know we're not trying
to reach any endpoint in
our yoga postures?
Yes, there are shapes we're forming.
And there are layers upon layers of
benefits and consequences, true.
But in the end,
the only place to go is inside.

Asana is merely the vehicle to
take you towards internal awareness.
We want to get inside of the experience.
How does it make you feel?
How do you handle resistance?
Do you always recoil from discomfort?
Do you press hard until you hit a wall?
Do you know how to intuit effort
in order to gently widen your
window of tolerance to your
day by day situation?

Nothing magical happens the day
you finally, if ever, reach your toes.
But in the devotion to doing
you've learned how to practice
something difficult with focus.
How to set a goal, take a step by step
approach towards it, know when to rest,
know when to advance, hear what
your body reveals to be your endpoint.
Fostering such discipline?
These, my friends, are skills
that are directly transferable to life.

Yoga helps us understand ourselves better.
And how to get where we want to be
with awareness and wisdom.

Brave a challenging posture.
Hold on to it. Get steady.
Find our breath.
Give our full effort to find
the balance inside.
That's what we'll do this week.

I'm not sure why this poem
touched me so. Maybe it's
remembering how important
touch and recognition can be.
There have been times in my life
when I've been so starved for touch
that a kind press to my shoulder
by a helpful stranger or a hug from
a friend meant more than they
could possibly have guessed.

In our lingering environment of
respecting social boundaries and
avoiding contagion, we all might
be a little touch deprived.

Don't forget self love!
The practice of abhyanga, self
massage with warm oil, can be
especially sweet. Receiving your
own loving touch while stimulating
circulation of blood and lymph,
and soothing tense muscles can
be gratifying inside and out.
This practice is always an
Ayurvedic prescription for fall.
I couldn't live without it.

Give yourself some love
on the yoga mat this week.

My son is in graduate school
studying vocal pedagogy.

His perfectionist tendencies
(oy, the things we unwittingly
pass on to our children)
are surely satisfied by acing
his first vocal anatomy exam.
Most of it was Greek to me,
but this? Yogi catnip!

As you read his explanation,
take an inhale & exhale.
Somatic education in action.
Thanks, kid!

We'll keep this in mind
in pranayama practices
this week on the yoga mat.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1880-1938

Lately, I've found myself questioning.
Looking at my own weaknesses,
my preferences, what I push away
(and when brave enough,
looking deeper as to why.)
And then, the universe gives
me access to a talk
by poet David Whyte
and he tells me:

"Every human being has their own
beautiful form of reluctance.
And understanding what that is
and what form it takes is
a big part of self knowledge.
None of us are made perfectly;
we are perfectly made
in our imperfections.
And if we were made perfectly
we would have no access
of vulnerability along which
to invite other people into our lives.
So my own reluctance is also
the place where I can invite
other people's enthusiasms
into my existence."

I still have pondering to do,
but gosh, this feels like
someone cracked open a door
spilling a little light upon me..
Whispering to me to open up
rather than close down.

My yoga mat is a safe
place to practice this.
Maybe for you too....

We're just passing through
the autumn equinox
- that moment in time
when light and darkness are
most equally distributed
all over the earth.

There's something magical
about shifts in seasons.
There's something powerful about
the possibility of starting anew.

This equinox could serve
as a portal of recalibration
for your own way of being.

Remember transformation requires
both light and darkness.
It is in darkness we can find
the solace of silent nurturing,
and the slow gestation
that births something new.
I know many a yogi who is
stumbling through some yet to be
understood transformation.

Be steadfast
and curious
and grateful
for the winds of change,
whether they be gentle
or a little unnerving.
And know you are supported.
By your community,
the people who love you,
your yoga practice,
the universe.

Come to practice steadfastness
on the yoga mat this week.

Femme au tub (1891) Henri deToulouse-Lautrec

I was shopping for shoes and
listened to two older women:
"Those are cute, but I just love
my step-ins! I mean, now I just
don't want to wear anything else."
I refrained from offering my thoughts.
"Girl, bending over to reach your feet
is NOT a skill you want to lose.
Think twice. "

This is actually a current marketing
strategy for selling shoes. Hands free.
Never touch your feet again!
Pay attention to that last sentence.

Now, I do have clients and family
who for medical reasons
find such shoes a lifesaver.
They cannot safely drop their
head below their heart.
But the rest of us?

Longevity is the name of the game.
We want to be able to perform
necessary tasks on our own for
as long as we can.
Knowing smart ways to move
- like bent knees and
engaged glutes when picking
up a heavy load- will keep
us safe, mobile, and strong.

I consider wresting my 13 lb.
Creuset from the morass of
my pantry almost every day
a good practice. Be mindful
of all the tricky, vexing tasks
you do safely every day
and know you are staying
ebullient and capable!

Not to mention
knocking out
awesome asana
on your yoga mat
this week!