No discipline, no foresight, no concept of chain of consequences, no capacity to plan, no settled idea of desired end state, just endless rolling crises precipitated by the centre. That’s all the analysis I have for this moment in history.
(they want another 9/11)
control feels safe. control makes clear boundaries between “good and evil” people. control takes away friction and doubt by telling you what to do and and how to think. and yet, control will not protect you. let go.
most of us grew up influenced by some form of fundamentalism, and we have changed the goals but not how we achieve them. I like to ask myself “if I changed the subject but kept the form, would it sound like a lecture from an evangelical youth pastor?” am I trying to control?
we are at a potent time where we can start THINKING different than fundamentalists. no ideology is immune. my world opened up when I realized I didn’t have to perform the “most good” purity metrics of fundamentalism anymore. your decisions can be informed by security instead of scarcity.
in ABWY workshops we talk about the spectrum of discomfort when in community - is their meaning or motive unclear? is it different than how I would do it? is it annoying? is it activating my worries or wounds? can I ignore and move on safely? is it harming me - intentionally? not intentionally?
an air fryer minute is 2.75x a regular minute.
you can do your thing. they can do their thing. what matters is everyone is doing something. release the hierarchy, unlock the gate, step away. embrace yes and. reject perfectionism. condemn the fundamentalist in your head before anyone else.
if someone is joining the strike, or sharing ways to support ppl impacted by ICE, or uplifting emerging needs / but not in the same way you are participating, or using the words you would use, or not in the *most good* way possible / and you feel the urge to criticize, dissect. slow down.
If you are a person who works in social media, and your job requires you to manage an account on Twitter/X, please ask your boss, in writing, to verify that you are required as a responsibility of your position to be on a platform that knowingly creates and monetizes child sexual abuse material …
the guy who recorded fetterman's voicemail greeting lets out a big, spiritually exhausted sigh when he says "if you'd like to make a comment on legislation please press one." brother, your job is killing you!!!! quit!!!!
mainstream yoga studios are spiritually cooked.
I saw a post on yoga teacher reddit about acknowledging the ICE crisis in classes. the most popular consensus was "don't upset your students" by talking about stressful situations. bro, excuse me? my participants are ALREADY upset!!!
yoga's power is not in the opportunity to escape the world, but to be present in the world. it feels good to practice yoga because your nervous system regulates and feels safe. take yoga with you, out of the studio and into the world.
Carolina is the GOAT, love her cookbook
i try to be real with my words - they were so funny. i loved getting to know them. it feels very sad / scary / weird right now. or "i'd like to help (insert specific way)" if i'm able.
in my time as a hospice companion, i really have come to dislike "i'm sorry" when expressing condolences! it doesn't really do grief any justice. language-ly and culturally, i don't think we know how to give acknowledgement and empathy without an exchange.
it's so strange that we use "i'm sorry" for both condolences and apologies. surely by now we should have a more nuanced breadth of language? so curious how other languages express condolences vs apologies.
yoga is not for "protecting your peace," withdrawing into an isolated bubble of neutrality. yoga is for generating peace and liberation, inwardly / communally / globally for all beings. i'm present even in despair. i love you.
the stronger i get via weightlifting, the weaker i become when it's time to carry the laundry up from the garage.
new year new burning the diet industry to the ground and dancing upon its ashes <3
trying to move more this year? you don’t need a boot camp, a new workout video every day, or mental toughness. you need to slow down enough to notice the patterns of your subconscious choices, and self compassion to contemplate the “why” behind those decisions, without judgement.
my chronically ill clients are so hard on themselves & their flares. I hear self blame & how they’re bad compared to able bodied ppl. the reality is many able bodied folks are one crisis away from debilitating burnout. we all need to slow down, practice energy stewardship, and moderate commitments.
most of the time when I'm offering accessible variations, I'm not talking to the person with the least experience or mobility. I'm talking to the person who has spent their whole life straining, forcing, and conforming. non-hierarchal cuing is an off ramp from ego and attachment.
overachievers who self-validate by being the "best" (at the expense of their cortisol levels) need to learn to slow down and experience the discomfort of presence instead of rushing through every pose as fiery and fast as possible.
people pleasers who've been praised for following directions so well need to develop a strong sense of what feels good, stable, and safe to them, and not what's being asked or modeled.
hypermobile people who've been praised in every yoga class for how "deep" their stretches look need to learn interoception and discern the difference between stretching the muscle belly and overextending a joint.
accessible, non-hierarchal cuing in yoga is often treated as training wheels, or a way to include the people who "can't do" a particular pose. but it's equally essential for the people who want to overdue every pose, stretch, transition; the people who struggle with moderation and discernment.
last week a retired corporate VP asked me "but where do you go when you have questions" after I told her I don't use chatgpt. it was like she forgot she had lived through seven decades of literally everything and anyone else.
the work of yoga is not to create a new me, it’s to find the true me.
