Hello Fellow Body-Mind-Hearts –

Blessings to you. Really, I send you blessings and think of you often. I wonder how you are faring as we traverse these challenging times? Most times have a challenge or edge to them, do they not? Are you able to taste moments of sweetness when they show up? ‘Cause they are there if we are willing to open to them.

What beauty can you discover daily? What are you doing that nourishes and sustains you? Who are you connecting with to remember your place in the infinite web of life? How are you moving and stilling your body, your mind and your heart in order to honor the deeper rhythms of life?

That’s a lot of questions, I know. But I am curious and wanting to learn from you about the many ways we can be human and present and compassionate. And to be honest, I am a little maxed (how’s that for an oxymoron?) and not feeling very creative in my endeavor to communicate all that is running through my tired body, depleted brain and wild heart. But these things I know…I need my connection with you, I simultaneously miss being in your presence and am nourished by the tapestry we weave through the Zoom Temple. I need to acknowledge and savor the moments, the glimmers, of beauty, kindness, simpleness and love that keep popping up in order to be able to navigate the hurt, frustration and overwhelm. I need to read fantasy fiction and poetry, eat chocolate and snuggle with my kitties. I need to honor the rhythm of the season and bask in the darkness since I live in the northern hemisphere. I need to dance, often. I need to engage in deep and difficult conversations with openness and kindness. I need to sit with the pain of our/my history and our/my prayer for the future.

Today, I simply want you to know that I think of you… my friends, students, clients, teachers, colleagues and that you dance in my heart daily with memories and yearnings and the gift of knowing you are there. Thank you and blessings.

You are invited to join me online, Saturday, January 1, 10am – 12pm PT, for a movement and meditation practice to honor the transition into a new yearly cycle. Register HERE. Not only am I making an offering that day, but you have the opportunity to practice with Ellie Rose from 1:30-3:30pm PT and with Nicole and Claudette from 4:30-6pm PT…make it a day retreat of connecting and honoring. 

May we seek and savor the glimmers of beauty and sweetness that are ever present

May we honor the aches and pains with compassion and love

May we offer our blessings to those who keep us anchored in the web of  aliveness

May we be compassionate and kind with ourselves and others during these trying times

Practice Prompts:

• Take some time, moving and stilling, in order to uncover and discover the wisdom of your body and what you need in order to find a sense of (w)holiness. Perhaps make a list and refer to it when you are tired and can’t remember what it is you need for nourishment.
• Ask a few folks who you respect what they do to tend their humanity and navigate the bumps? Make a list and try some of them out especially if they offer you a fresh perspective on how you can be with yourself.
• Make it a practice to look for glimmers of beauty, joy and ease every day. When you notice one, pause and savor it for 10-120 seconds, and then move on. Let these be morsels of goodness and love that allow you to meet the bumps with more capacity to stay present and whole.
• Schedule a free 20 minute Exploratory Session to learn more about what I offer in my private sessions and how I might be able to guide and support you in cultivating resilience.

Upcoming Live Streaming Practice Opportunities:

• Slow Flow Yoga, Mondays, 10-11:30am PT  live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts
• All Levels Yoga, Sunday, December 12, 10-11:30am PT, live stream through Two Dog Yoga
• Yoga Nidra Practice, Sunday, December 12, 5:30-7pm PT, live stream through Two Dog Yoga
• Continuum Inquiry Playshop, Monday, December 13, 5:30-7:30pm PT live stream through Body of Insight
• New Years Day Practice, Saturday, January 1, 10-12pm PT  live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts
• On Demand Yoga Practices…All Levels… through Seattle Yoga Arts (practice with me anytime, anywhere!)

Inspirational Wisdom:

Self- Compassion 

My friend and I snickered the first time
we heard the meditation teacher, a grown man,
call himself honey, with a hand placed
over his heart to illustrate how we too 
might become more gentle with ourselves
and our runaway minds. It’s been years
since we sat with legs twisted on cushions,
holding back our laughter, but today
I found myself crouched on the floor again,
not meditating exactly, just agreeing
to be still, saying honey to myself each time
I thought about my husband splayed
on the couch with aching joints and fever
from a tick bite—what if he never gets better?—
or considered the threat of more wildfires,
the possible collapse of the Gulf Stream,
then remembered that in a few more minutes, 
I’d have to climb down to the cellar and empty
the bucket I placed beneath a leaky pipe
that can’t be fixed until next week. How long
do any of us really have before the body
begins to break down and empty its mysteries
into the air? Oh honey, I said—for once
without a trace of irony or blush of shame—
the touch of my own hand on my chest
like that of a stranger, oddly comforting
in spite of the facts.

~ James Crews