Category: Yoga

Wobblyogi Wednesday – Book Club Notes 2

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Hello, fellow yogis engaged in self-study!

This week my notes are about the first 4 chapters of Living Your Yoga by Judith Lasater.

Spiritual Seeking

Whether we seek something called spirituality, holiness, or enlightenment, the route to it is through our humanness, complete with our strengths and our weaknesses, our successes and our failures….

To practice yoga in the deepest sense is to commit to developing awareness by observing our lives: our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

In order to cultivate spirituality Lasater suggests the strategy of adopting an “abiding practice” in which we combine a pose (an action) with a mantra (a deliberate thought). For example, combine tadasana (mountain pose) and the mantra, “I commit to living my life fully at this moment.” If you have a particular spiritual direction, you can combine an action or asana with a short prayer. This way we bring in mindfulness to our actions. We abide and stay with the act instead of rushing to completion. I am particularly guilty of rushing through tasks I don’t enjoy like washing the dishes or folding laundry. Next time I’ll try to add a mantra and see if that helps me stay in the moment, maybe even appreciate the moment.

Discipline

Do what you can do fully.

Patanjali describes this as abhayasa, which comes from the Sanskrit roots of abhi and as, and means literally “to apply oneself.” From this viewpoint, all of life is practice. Practice is not about what you get, it is about what you give. Whether you are driven or resistant, the medicine is the same: do what is truly possible with unwavering commitment to giving your self to the moment. Without this intention, practice becomes another task to be completed and it loses its ability to transform. And transformation, or freedom, is the reason for all discipline.

Lasater’s strategy to cultivate discipline involves making a list of things you want to do, choosing one and devoting 15 minutes, every day to that task, whether it is writing a book, meditating, blogging, playing an instrument or sewing. Honor your choice. After you have done this for a month, review yourself. How are you doing? How do you feel?

I unknowingly followed this technique when I started blogging. Small consistent steps. It became a habit, like my childhood journaling. And has led me to be more comfortable with my voice. I also tell myself “I have all the time to do what I want.” This reassurance helps me feel less rushed and behind. Discipline is certainly an area I continue to work through. I find I can focus on one intention at a time. For now, for me, it is writing every day. I would like to add meditation and yoga every day. I save that struggle in discipline for another time, soon.

Letting Go

Letting go involves cultivating perspective, a release of control and expectations.

Patanjali’s “detachment” beckons you to cultivate the willingness to surrender as you go along, right here and now, but not because you despair or are uninterested. On the contrary, detachment requires total engagement. When you allow yourself to see things as they really are, then– and only then– can you love yourself and others without hidden expectations. Detachment is the greatest act of love.

This is a familiar concept in many religions that require a submission to the divine, the relinquishing of the perception of control. When you find yourself struggling, Lasater’s advice for letting go is to shine a spotlight of awareness on the attachment, instead of trying to detach. This attention allows us to loosen our grip and weaken its power over us. Staying in the moment, without control and expectation, is a difficult task. Often when in a group, I will deliberately relinquish control of the situation, whether it be choosing the restaurant or a movie, for me prioritizing being together over asserting my want or authority helps. I try to notice when I want to interrupt a conversation or offer uninvited “help.” Especially as a mom, I find the balance between letting go and active direction difficult.

Self-Judgment

The grip of self-judgment can be suffocating. Yet, we are all guilty of it. I liked how Lasater explains the compulsion to self-judge as a form of egoism.

….there was no way that I could be harsh towards myself and, at the same time, be compassionate to others. I realized also that the process of silently putting myself down was actually a form of egoism.

If you expect more from yourself than from others, you are saying that you are better than others and , therefore, must perform at a superior level. I do not mean that you should not set goals for yourself. Rather, the quesiton is, how do you react if you cannot meet these goals?

Lasater suggests that as we engage in a difficult task, we tell ourselves “I am attempting something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying.” This way we release expectations and enjoy the process of learning or trying something new. She has other suggestions too, for example, taking a break from criticizing anyone, including ourselves for an hour a day.

During my day, I try to notice these topics and look for opportunities to use a few of these strategies. None of this is easy or automatic, I suppose that’s why yoga is a practice. A lot of practice.

How did you feel about the first four sections? What resonated with you? What practices do you find most difficult? Are there other strategies that work for you?

Excited to hear your thoughts,

the Wobblyogi

Wobblyogi Wednesday – Book Club Notes 1

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Welcome to the yoga bookclub hosted by Community Yoga in Indiana!

Living Your Yoga – Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life by Judith Lasater (Berkley, CA: Rodmell Press, 2000)

For more information on Judith Lasater herself and quick background, look up her website: http://www.judithhansonlasater.com/

[The notes relate to the first edition. I recently got the second edition and will note any significant changes. Her introduction to the second edition talks about the additions.]

If you have the book already in hand, let’s get started with the introduction where Lasater talks about how she came to yoga, how she understands yoga, how she “lives her yoga” and how she designed the book.

Here are a few passages and associated questions that resonated wih me and I can’t wait to hear which phrases, passages or ideas resonated with you.

Thought 1

Lasater talks about her experience in coping with childbirth, her background as a dancer and her “desire for a direct and personal relationship with divine,” as factors that led her to seek out and continue to practice yoga.

She writes, ” What I now know is that I had been seeking wholeness through integration of my body, my mind and my spirit.”

For us,we can ask,

What do I seek?

What brings me to yoga?

What makes me stay?

Thought 2

Laster’s yoga practice, she explains, responds to her search for wholeness.

…to practice is to pay attention to your whole life: your thoughts, your bodily sensations, and your speech and other actions. As you do, you will discover that nothing is separate from anything else. Thoughts are sensations of the mind just as sensations are the thoughts of the body. Each moment of your life is a moment of potential practice.

Practice, then, can be understood as a willingness to return to the reality of the very moment, that is, to observe with dispassion and clarity exactly what is — right now.

What is happening right NOW in my life? Why am I hosting a book club? Writing these words? What do I hope for my thoughts, feelings and sensations?

How do I connect to my own wholeness?

How do I connect to this very moment?

How do I connect with you my fellow readers?

Thought 3

After Lasater describes the structure of the book she concludes the introduction with a quote from Dag Hammarskjold, secretary general to the United Nations (1953-61):

In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.

She then asks us to “use this book in whatever ways best serve your needs. Living Your Yoga is my gift to you.”

What might be my road, my world of action?

How might I best use Lasater’s gift of  Living Your Yoga?

Here are my quick thoughts. What are yours? How might we bring these thoughts to our practice?

Let’s talk!

Let the book club begin!!

Anyone reading can join the conversation on this blog, just add your comments below. There is also a protected discussion platform. For a password and more information about the bookclub and April 1st workshop, go to:  https://communityyogalafayette.com/book-club/

Much love,

The Wobblyogi

My plan for offering notes to help us stay with the book is as follows:

January 13: Chapters 1-4
February 1: Chapters 5-7  (and additional chapter on relaxation)
February 15: Chapters 8-11
March 1: Chapters 12-14
March 15: Chapters 15-18 (and additional second edition chapter on empathy)
March 29: Chapters 19-21 (and additional second edition chapter on worship)
April 1: Book Club Workshop

 

Wobblyogi Wednesday – Burnt Cookies and a Joyful mind

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If you feel burdened by the expectation to have a Happy Holiday or a Merry Christmas   Here is a story about keeping a joyful mind from Pema Chodron that might help (and it involves food).

Once a cook at Gampo camp was feeling very unhappy. Like most of us, she kept finding gloom with her actions and her thoughts; hour by hour her mood was getting darker. She decided to try to ventilate her escalating emotions by baking chocolate chip cookies. Her plan backfired, however — she burned them all to a crisp. At that point, rather than dump the burned cookies in the garbage, she stuffed them into her pockets and backpack and went out for a walk. She trudged along the dirt road, her head hanging down and her mind burning with resentment. She was saying to herself, “So where’s all the beauty and magic I keep hearing about?”

At that moment she looked up. There walking toward her was a little fox. Her mind stopped and she held her breath and watched. The fox sat down right in front of her, gazing up expectantly. She reached into her pockets and pulled out some cookies. The fox ate them and slowly trotted away. She told this story to all of us at the abbey, saying: “I learned today that life is very precious. Even when we’re determined to block the magic, it will get through and wake us up. That little fox taught me that no matter how shut down we get, we can always look outside our cocoon and connect with joy.”

When in doubt go for a walk………….

A quick reminder to join the Community Yoga Book Club! We’ll start reading “Living Your Yoga” by Judith Lasater on January 4th. Order your copy today. I found an inexpensive used version on Amazon.

Please join me for morning vinyasa on Wednesdays at 6 am and afternoon vinyasa at 12:15 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting January 5th.

Also, find me at two workshops in spring,  March 25th (Spring Workshop) and April 1st (Book Club Workshop). More details to come.

If you are new to yoga and in the area: Community Yoga is offering $54 unlimited yoga for your first month [a $99 value]. Please take advantage of the deal and try out all our classes and meet our wonderful yoga instructors.

Come to our donation classes on Sundays and give what you can. We are trying our best to make yoga accessible to everyone!

Wishing you joyful connections,

wobblyogi

Wobblyogi Wednesday – Patanjali 101, Week 3 Notes – Death

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My favorite moment this week involved, Judith Lasater’s discussion of corpse pose, Savasana. Death. “By admitting death, Savasana teaches us how to live,” paraphrasing Lasater. She spoke about fully investing in our breath, intentions and movement as we practice asana so that we can let go during Savasana without restlessness.  Most poignantly for me, she connected the experience of corpse pose with our last moments. Will I have invested and lived fully enough to be at ease as I die? Will I be able to let go of my life without regret when the time comes?

The discussion reminded me of raising my girls. I had the privilege of being a full-time mom, even if distracted,  during their formative years. I find myself able to let go because I am comfortable with all the time we spent together as intentful and loving. I trust in our relationship. Maybe the practice of yoga is like nurturing and mothering my life , to build trust and to able to let go with ease when the time comes. Mortality becomes a reminder to live fully. Savasana becomes a reminder to move intently.

The second moment I enjoyed this week involved, Lizzie’s (and her mom’s) comparison between philosophers and yogis. “A philosopher watches the ocean, a yogi jumps into it.” Yoga demands engagement with life, at least in Hatha yoga. As a philosopher, I really like this comparison. I imagine, after watching for years, I got tired and found yoga to be my path towards wisdom beyond knowledge.

The third moment I want to mention is the discussion about whether “witness consciousness” makes us numb and indifferent. Lasater answered with a Kantian aesthetic condition of “disinterested interest” or in her words, “disinterested and fascinated.” For Kant, one can only judge beauty if it there is no ‘self’ interest in the judgment. Maybe,  yogic witness consciousness allows us to be aware without being subject to the intensity of emotional and physical strain.  It permits us to drop ‘self’ or ego-centric interest. Things are not happening TO me. They are just happening. Witness consciousness us to stay in the tension without trying to escape or wallow. Sometimes I call this my anthropologist research mode.

There are so many moments this week that made me think and wonder. Even the idea that vinyasa involves noticing the moments of linking, transition and change as accepting that life is ever-changing. This morning as I was teaching, I almost forgot a part of a sequence on the second side that involved moving from a high lunge, twisted high lunge, back to high lunge then stepping into a pyramid. As I started and noticed my oversight, I laughed and took a step back to recover. The 2 seconds and one step to recover my place seemed like a huge gap, a break in the flow. Despite my initial self-judgement and backward step, staying with the rhymic flow gave me an unanticipated ease the rest of the practice. As long as I keep moving forward (sometimes back) all is well.

May we all keep moving with ease (until it is time for the ultimate savasana).

Thank you, my fellow Patanjali readers.

Wobblyogi

Wobblyogi Wednesday – Self-Study (svadhyaya)

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The kriya yoga component of svadhayaya or self-study naturally resonates with the philosophical imperative to pursue an examined life. In the triad of tapas-svadhaya–isvarapranidhana-kriya-yoga (Pada 2, 1st sutra), self-study connects, the seemingly opposing directions of actively approaching the difficult and again actively surrendering. Self-reflection, in the yogic context,  is the necessary intermediate key between engagement and repose, desire and release, friction and ease, heat and light, existential conflict and transcendental subsumption. Self-study, reflection, examination, all actions and events that return us to ourselves are moments when we decide to accept or endure.

In the Patanjali 101 course, Judith Lasater spoke of doing one thing a day that is difficult for us as an exercise of tapas or self-castigation, self-discipline, burning-desire (a jumping off the cliff moment). She also wisely warns that not everything difficult is helpful. The value of tapas “roughness” she explains is that it invites awareness (like an aching tooth and an inquisitive tongue). We decide to make our response to an experience helpful or hurtful. I like to think that awareness leads us back to ourselves to notice and decide whether that experienced difficulty is a practice of self-discipline (tapas) or self-surrender (isvara pranidhana). We’ve all experienced these moments. Many of us appeal to faith and submit to divine will, having done everything we could. Many of us push forward as an exercise of self-discipline and perseverance. In any given situation when and how we decide the tone of our energy is uniquely our own, the balance of discipline and surrender is uniquely our own. Learning when to engage and when to let go, finding our personal edge is a constant inner-dialogue, on and off the mat….. and uniquely our own.

Judith Lasater asks us to consider each pose as a question to ourselves. How does it feel to be in a forward fold, can I release even further? Instead of telling my body where to go and what to do, can I ask my body and notice the response? Can I be disciplined enough to practice a pose difficult for me and surrender to the attempt?  How does the dance between self-discipline and self-surrender work for me?

An unexamined life may not be worth living, but yogic practice demands more…. the ability to let go.  So difficult.  Letting go requires discipline. Self-study holds us in that uncomfortable and unresolved human tension.

Wonderful second week of the course! Also very much enjoyed the conversation about cultivating contentment, another exercise of discipline (of not engaging in the negative) and surrender (letting go to what we cannot change).

I’m inspired by the importance of personal practice precisely to allow myself time and space for my own questions (poses) and aware responses. As Lizzie said, in order to find my “personalized dosage” of awareness, of svadyaya, self-study.

Honored to be “self-studying” with all of you,

the wobblyogi

 

 

Wobblyogi Wednesday – ‘Nirodhah’ Finding Resolution

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“In yoga, philosophy, and practice are married,” says, Judith Hanson Lasater in the first Q&A section of her (and her daughter’s) course, Patanjali 101.

Further on, she explains that to understand Patanjali intuitively we have to feel moments of self-doubt, to feel how our memory pulls us away from the mat, to feel how our to-do races us forward, to pause when we feel a pose, to let go when we have difficulty in a pose, it is not only doing the pose but also “thinking” the pose. How do I feel, respond, and think as I’m moving on the mat and then maybe begin to think about how we move in the world.

During my graduate studies in philosophy, I was never asked how I “feel” about a particular philosophy. The prejudice against feelings in philosophy stems from a fear that feelings  are subjective, volatile and obstructs clear, rational thinking and most importantly dialogue. We cannot connect and converse with others through emotions. To someone who says ” I just love Plato,” I cannot respond or negate her/his emotions. I can’t say, “No you don’t.” I can only respond and argue with reasons. The philosophical primacy centers on sustaining dialogue.

The nature of dialogue in yoga is different. Instead of philosophical intersubjective, the yogic dialogue  happens within the self as an appeal to the inner divine. What some yoga practitioners share are the Patanjali’s practices, most share the asanas. As a philosopher, yoga helps me feel what I understand of the world, but most importantly how I feel about my own responses. For me, the co-action of breath, movement and thought is what attracts me most to the material spirituality of yoga.

I look forward to learning more during the next 5 weeks.

The first week of the course centered on the first three sutras of the Patanjali and the mountain pose.

Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodhah.

In choosing a Patanjali translation, Ms. Lasater recommends noting the translation of the word, nirodahah. She likes the word “resolved”, and explains, “I no longer use my mind to get stirred up. I can stand back and feel resolved, feel free. From that space the freedom to choose my actions.”

Here are seven other translations of the sutra:

  1. Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of mind. – Edwin F. Bryant
  2. Yoga is the restraining of the mindstuff. – Swami Vivkeananda
  3. Yoga is experienced in that mind which has ceased it identify itself with its vacillating waves of perception. – Mukunda Stiles
  4. Yoga is to still the patterning of consciousness. – Chip Hartranft
  5. Yoga is the uniting of consciousness in the heart. – Nischala Joy Devi
  6. Union, spiritual consciousness, is gained through the control of the versatile psychic nature. – Kindle edition of Patanjali
  7. The restraint of the modifications of the mindstuff is Yoga- Sri Swami Satchidananda.

Here is a pdf that compares four translations of the sutras side by side in a chart for my fellow yoga-nerds.

May we all find our own translation through practice,

Wobblyogi

Wobblyogi Wednesday: Reading Autobiography of a Yogi

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Last week I watched the documentary and read, the Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa  Yoganada (1945). A book so life changing that it was handed out to each guest at Steve Jobs’ funeral. Widely read across the world and translated, it had a deep impact on Hollywood celebrities and everyday people alike. Among yoga reading lists, it tops the list.

This was the first yoga book I that disappointed me.

I wanted to like it. How often do we get a first person account of yoga mastery? The authenticity and sincerity of his voice are undeniable. And, yet, the too numerous to count accounts of yogis who can’t be photographed, who don’t sleep, who don’t eat, who have premonitions, who heal, who appear elsewhere, who can foretell the future, who tame lions and in general exhibit superhuman powers seem unhelpful to me, a suburban dance mom just trying to survive dinner and correct carpooling. I particularly disliked his use of yogic powers to help his sister gain weight so she might be attractive to her husband.

Maybe I don’t have the faith needed to believe in such extraordinary feats, maybe I just don’t see the value of these yogic powers for me and my family. Maybe I’m too much of an American yogi, corrupted by everyday banality, science, and technology. I just want to sit and breathe without feeling rushed or pulled apart. Perhaps, I aim too low.

I did enjoy learning about Yogananda’s struggles to establish his yoga centers, his travels and search to learn and share. I wish he wrote more about navigating his disappointments about schooling, organizational and management issues, money issues, travel constraints and living in America.

As you can imagine my favorite quote involves Yogananda describing the daily routine of his self-supporting guru, Sri Yukteswar,

Daily life at the ashram flowed smoothly, infrequently varied. My guru awoke before dawn. Lying down, or sometimes sitting on his bed, he entered a state of samadhi. It was simplicity itself to discover when Master had awakened: abrupt halt of stupendous snores. A sigh or two; perhaps a bodily movement. Then a soundless state of breathlessness: he was in deep yogic joy.

Breakfast did not follow; first came a long walk by the Ganges……..A bath, then the midday meal. Its preparation, according to Master’s daily directions, had been the careful task of young disciples. My guru was vegetarian. Before embracing monkhood, however, he had eaten eggs and fish. His advice to students was to follow any simple diet which proved suited to one’s constitution.

Master ate little; often rice, colored with turmeric or juice of beets or spinach and lightly sprinkled with buffalo ghee or melted butter. Another day he might have lentil-dal or channa curry with vegetables. For dessert, mangoes or oranges with rice pudding, or jackfruit juice.

Visitors appeared in the afternoon.

Even yogis with super powers had to eat (except for the lady yogi who went without eating).

Like yoga itself, we all have to find books that speak to us and resonate with our own experiences. I often find that I learn about myself from books I struggle with the most.  This was the case for Autobiography of a Yogi. Read it for yourself to decide if it works for you. There are no reviewed shortcuts to mindful awareness.

Wishing you happy reading,

The wobblyogi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food Poem – Ice Cream Stop by Shel Silverstein

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The circus train made an ice cream stop
At the fifty-two-flavor ice cream stand.
The animals all got off the train
And walked right up to the ice cream man.
“I’ll take Vanilla,” yelled the gorilla.
“I’ll take Chocolate,” shouted the ocelot.
“I’ll take the Strawberry,” chirped the canary.
“Rocky Road,” croaked the toad.
“Lemon and Lime,” growled the lion.
Said the ice cream man, “‘Til I see a dime.
You’ll get no ice cream of mine.”
Then the animals snarled and screeched and growled
And whinnied and whimpered and hooted and howled
And gobbled up the whole ice cream stand,
All fifty-two flavors
(Fifty-three with Ice Cream Man).

“Ice Cream Stop” by Shel Silverstein from Falling Up. © Harper Collins Publishers, 1996.

From the Writers Almanac:  http://writersalmanac.org/

Image from: http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/explore-the-delicious-history-of-ice-cream/

Wobblyogi Wednesday – No Front Door to Yoga

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This week I’ve been reading Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall.

It makes a very useful reference book because each chapter about a given condition, briefly explains the condition,  offers a particular yoga practitioner’s approach to the condition, scientific evidence, strategies that practitioner uses and finally other approaches.

For example, chapter 8 about anxiety and panic attacks talks about, Rolf Sovik’s ( a yogi with a doctorate in clinical psychology researching breathing and anxiety treatment) approach in treating a patient at the Himalayan institute whose panic attacks resembled a heart attack.

The chapter offers an overview and range of panic attacks and then shows how yoga fits in, first in general, followed by scientific evidence and cases, then in terms of 12 particular poses like meditation, sandbag breathing, crocodile breathing and tree pose. The chapter ends with bullet points about other holistic approaches to asthma and panic attacks like psychotherapy, increasing omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, using aromatherapy, like lavender and German chamomile, regular aerobic exercise etc.

The combination of big picture explanation, case studies of treatment, scientific studies and specific strategies makes the book worthwhile. In terms of anxiety treatment and maybe yoga in general, I found it interesting that everyone needs to find their own “door” into treatment, through the mind or body,

“It’s worth noting that another study by Jon Kabat-Zinn found that patients whose anxiety manifested mainly in mental symptoms like constant worrying tended to find hatha yoga preferable to mindfulness meditation, whereas those whose symptoms of anxiety tended to manifest mainly in the body preferred the less body-oriented meditation. As Jon says, “people need different doors to come into the room, so to speak, of self-awareness and self knowing. Some people just can’t go through the mind door. They get the body door instantly.”

There is no front door to yoga. We all have to find our own entry. The house of yoga is a like a semi-open structure with a wrap around veranda and french doors all around, layers of openings that work differently for every practice.

May we each find our door today.

Thanking you for reading this,

the wobblyogi

 

Wobblyogi Wednesday – Dueling Doshas

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According to Ayurvedic tradition there are three different constitutions: Vatta, Pitta, Kapha. Dietary and lifestyle prescriptions depend on each individual’s classification. For example the guidelines for a pitta constitution (according to the Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies) is as follows…. “Pitta individuals should avoid sour, salty, and pungent substances, which aggravate bodily fire. However, sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes are beneficial for pittas.”

There are several online quizzes that might help you find your dosha. Most of you reading this most likely know yours already. And, also as you experienced, following the guidelines for each dosha can be involved and daunting. Now, imagine the complexity of a dual constitution.

I am always suspicious of categories. We are all more messy. It is important to remember ayurveda and all of yoga involves guidelines not rules, suggestions not prescriptions. In the end the responsibility to listen to my body, is my own. Right? But, what if my body and mind and saying different things, have opposing needs? According to one quiz, my mind is vatta and body, pitta. So…I’m both anxious and “hangry.” To soothe my pitta, I’m supposed to eat less spice. That is not going to happen. I crave spice. On the other hand, maybe with this knowledge, I might be more amenable to sour, bitter and sweet tastes. I digress. There is a lesson to be learned from dueling doshas.  Context and seasons, play a large role in dual-dosha constitutions, and any constitution. Context, context, context.

“For individuals with a dual constitution (two doshas approximately equal), a little extra care is needed, but you can figure it out. For example, a vata-pitta individual needs to avoid vata-increasing foods in the fall and winter (but without increasing pitta too much) and minimize pitta provoking foods in the summer (but without aggravating vata). Stated in positive terms, favor vata-balancing foods in the fall, pitta-pacifying foods in the summer.”

We may at times suffer dual, conflicting needs, particularly, when we have immediate health or emotional concerns. Our mind may be anxious and in need of an active practice while our body may be fatigued and unable. Conversely, our body may feel active and energetic while our mind craves stillness.  In such cases, recognizing the split needs alone can be reassuring. Always balancing our needs.

In the end, that is what holistic wellness is about, balancing. Not sequential attention. Dueling-doshas show us that constitutionally we are balancing internally, as well as with external conditions, all the time.

Active words like practicing and balancing used in the context of yoga is not mere terminology but a commitment to mindful awareness regardless of assumptions of success.

Do we ever know if we are balanced? Does it matter?

May you stay in ease as fragmented, open, aware, dueling and split,

Wobblyogi