yoga practice - thursdays - beginning april 5

the unthinkable / is thinkable.
             ~ wislawa szymborska

dear yoginis and yogis..
it is four months soon
since the titanium infusion ..
astoundingly-some,
i am ready and willing to try
my hand and heart,
my feet and thighs,
bones, blood and breath
at sharing the practice of yoga..
yet again..

if you have the inclination and intention
to practice with a mended mendicant..
o ..
that would please me no end (in sight)

here are the particulars ~
beginning APRIL 5
THURSDAY MORNINGS
9 - 10:30 AM
CRESCENT MOON YOGA
LACONNER

THE CLASS IS NOT PRICED
THRU CRESCENT MOON ~
therefore ~
THE CLASS PRICE FOR DROP-IN
IS THE SAME AS BEFORE -
$18
THE SERIES PRICE IS
THE SAME AS BEFORE -
$108 FOR 7 CLASSES

if you have classes left over from
a series anytime in the past..
they are redeemable always..

please know deep in your beating hearts
that i am sincerely grateful
and much moved to reams of admiration
for all of you who have supported me
and kept me afloat these many months...
( how do i love thee? let me count the ways..)

i have tested my wings down here
in rainy california & i feel it's a go -
this fledgling is ready to fly..

please cheque the blog
for any news or lack thereof..
peaceishealthy.blogspot.com
text or call - for queries -
360 770 7891

aiming for an anacortes class
when
the perfect spot finds me..

as always, within my address book there
are holes and crevices and craters
and clothes dryer bermuda triangles ..
so please feel free to share this e-mail
with the great many..

every creature on earth has approximately
two billion heartbeats to spend in a lifetime.
you can spend them slowly, like a tortoise,
and live to be two hundred years old, or
you can spend them fast, like a hummingbird,
and live to be two years old.
                                 ~ brian doyle
                                 the wet engine

you will understand the wonder

i saw the first of the boughs
carried to the lacy limbed tree
and wondered if the branches would hold
a hearty nest of eagles..

days and days ..
boughs and branches
fashioned in a roost
of such robust stock and beauty..
i now have no doubt..

even still i see the aerie
being refined and refurbished
to hold the tenderly tucked in eggs ..
the pair of eagles sit out on their deck
holding vigil, keeping watch ..
on the lookout for robbers and rogues
who might go after the precious nestlings
snestled deep in the feathered weave of home..

there then -
in the deep of my own heartnest..
yours too?
such a softness..
sadness and joy.. coalesce ~
how does that happen?

the crafting of a nest..
the love play mid-air -
creation and wild wisdom ..
egg making.. my goodness!
the silhouettes of the great bodies,
eagle eye awareness and presence..
waiting.. waiting.. waiting..

a vast patience unknown to me -
care - far beyond my capacity..
tenacity.. tirelessness..
companionship to the nth
it breaks my heart in two..

and that.. 
that.. is the wonder..
the awe in awesome ~

stunned into heartache
broken open to the evanescent
witness to the fleeting
this ~
this is the wonder and the grace of all things..
our response to the all is the sense of wonder

no wonder the wise instruction
is to allways be kind..
to the eternal flight each of us make
into the next moment and the next..
until..
we turn sideways into light and disappear ~

tortoise moves - yoga class coming soon

MY HERO
just as the hare is zipping across the finish line,
the tortoise has stopped once again
by the road side,
this time to stick out his neck
and nibble a bit of sweet grass,
unlike the previous time
when he was distracted
by a bee humming in the heart of a wildflower.
                              ~ billy collins

it is 3 months now since i was sliced and slivered
to implant the porcelain  ball and titanium socket..for hip hooray!
to slip the slim lean metal into my own femur bone..
merging and melding and minding their business..
it is slow going..
bone receptive to the metallic element
in it's own time..
slow..
Ti is deemed a transition metal..
a common element in the earth's crust..
it is strong.. it is light..

the healing comes unhurried and is hard won..
the challenges of going slow ~

having been dubbed a hummingbird..
a whiz-bang fast whirl of a girl..
now..
i am slow..
a plodder..a plunker..pokey..
and yet..

what a gift to walk again..
in the woods, on the trails..
to practice the yoga moves
that have been in cells and marrow
from lifetimes of remembering..
soon i will be on my bike peddling the breeze
when the pavement dries
and the warm sun assures some safety ..
in balance
and uprightness..

and..
though it is a month or so away..
i will dare an atttempt to share
the practice of yoga..
as it arrives to me..
now in turtle time
with all who would like to join in..
starting slow with one class a week..
beginning april 5
thursday mornings
9 AM
@ crescent moon yoga in laconner
it is not part of the pay program of CMY 
so ~
the rates of class are the same..
$18 for a drop-in..
$108 for 7 classes..
if you have classes left on the books,
you know they are good as gold..

( kindly spread the word !)


the buddha has said it is more difficut
to obtain a human birth
than it would be for a blind tortoise
coming up from the depths of the ocean
only once every hundred years
to put its head by chance
thru the opening of a wooden yoke
tossed around by waves on the surface..

we have this precious human birth ~
with a propensity to practice
and study the dharma..
moving our bones and flesh..
the very elements of earth..
remembering air..breath..prana
the "holy" wind -
bringing us to the wellspring
of this precious present moment..
inseparable from our earthy, mulchy clay..
hard won and fleeting ..
let us practice!

statistically, the probability of any one of us 
being here is so small that you'd think
that the mere fact of existing would keep us all 
in a contented dazzlement of surprise.
                   - lewis thomas

heart of the matter -

whether you have loved a human being
or whether you have loved god,
if you have loved enough -
you will be brought in the end
to the deep presence 
of supreme love itself..
                    ~ rumi


the practice of waking up is cultivated/generated
by the tuning of the heart..as the sufis instruct us..
by diving thru the veneer of the heart..which is the mind ~
thru that deep discernment
to the heart of the matter ..the heart itself..
when we penetrate the surface of the mind ..
that which thinks..
to that which feels..the tender cave of the heart..
we have entered the culture of the heart ~

as we tune the heart..
change and re-arrange the vibrations of the heart...
uplifting them to a certain octave or pitch..
we find our true pulse - our natural radiance -
and feel the joyful resonance and ecstasy of life..
this allows us to give delight to others simply by our presence..
simply by being tuned..
wow!

when an instrument is tuned..
just plucking a string or playing a key,
a magnetic influence pings! us ~
even from one note of music!
if a well-tuned instrument
might have that enchantment,
how much greater might
the magnetism of a well-tuned heart?

we actually tune the heart by looking/listening
deep within..finding our note and perfecting it..
here we lose our self-importance
and gain a compassionate reciprocity
with all beings and things..
the yoga sutras of patanjali calls it:
right relationship ~
that relationship is love..
supreme love!

may our hearts be captivated by the season of love..
which never fades away..

i'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be
you're gonna give your love to me
i'm gonna love you night and day
well love is love and not fade away
well love is love and not fade away

my love bigger than a cadillac
i try to show it and you're drivin' me back
your love for me has got to be real
for you to know just how I feel
love is real and not fade away
well love is real and not fade away

i'm gonna tell you how it's gonna be
you're gonna give your love to me
love to last more than one day
well love is love and not fade away
well love is love and not fade away
well love is love and not fade away
love - love is love and not fade away
not fade away
not fade away
                    -the rolling stones

   HAPPY HEART'S DAY!

snippets of the divine

all things are full of goddesses and gods ~
                                     - thales


the discourse of birds...
i choose a single singer {hermit thrush}
upon which to focus my listening
and let myself be carried by the song....
.....and it's as though each phrase unlocks
a different vertebra along my spine,
spilling a ray of light into that node,
and then the next phrase unlocks another node -
until all my vertebra have become
transparent crystals trading gleams among themselves.
the song drops to a middle register, and then a higher vertebra,
and then a glimmering tone so high
it's almost beyond the reach of my hearing,
and as it spirals there i feel the top of my skull opening
as i seem to ascend, a single photon, into the sky.
                                 ~ david abram 
                                    becomimg animal


the practicing raja yoginis and yogis
tell us...
never can the forces of grace from the world
of the goddesses and gods come to us,
unless we have attracted them by our own efforts
and prepared ourselves to accept and receive them ...


every morning all over again
only the world guides me.
weather pushes, or when it entices
i follow.  some kind of magnetism
turns me when i am walking
in the woods with no intentions.

there are leadings without any
reason, but they attract;
if i find there is nothing to gain
from them, i still follow - their power
is the power of the surrounding world.

but things that promise, or those
that will serve my purpose - they
interfere with the pure wind
from nowhere that sustains a kite,
or a gull, or a free spirit.

so, afloat again every morning,
i find the current: all the best
rivers have secret channels that
you have to find by whispering
like this, and then hear them and follow.
               ~ william stafford


COMING SOON!
IMBOLC..
(halfway between winter solstice
and the spring equinox)
brigid's feast day
february 1
the goddess, brigid is
a peacemaker and protector..
she breathes new life into winter
heralding the glory of spring..

here's how to prepare..
to accept and receive her grace..
on the eve of brigid's feast day
~ january 31 ~
you might recreate brigid's mantle
by following the traditional celtic custom
of placing a cloth, a ribbon,  a scarf
outside your home on a bush or a tree -
when brigid comes by in the night,
she will bathe and bless it
with the healing properties needed
for you to use throughout the year..


dear gods and goddesses:
please hear my plea ~
please bring compassion
home to me ~

rescue

may all the obscurations be averted! CLAP!!
may they be no more!  CLAP!!
may they all be pacified!  CLAP!!

this is how we wrapped up
our new year's eve bell ceremony ~

obscurations are the dark coverings and conditions
of our very own mind that keep us from embodying
and shining the clear light of our true nature..

our very own mind fabricates (an F word!)
the barriers to a liberated and enlightened life..
our misunderstandings - misinterpretations
of reality itself  ~

obstructions are barriers that keep
any and everything from moving
in a harmonious, beneficial way..

the same only different..
we might think that obstructions
are outside the self..
outside the mind..
outside our bodies..
the world is obstructed by a landslide..
when actually the landslide is the reality
of exactly what is..
( my life is obstructed by a healing hip
which is taking entirely too long to recover!)
~ exactly what is ~

the obstruction..
like the obscuration
is actually within our own view of what is..
the emotional clinging response to what is..

imagine the rescue teams in montecito..
obstructed ..?
their entire work ... life force...what is..
may the force be with them!
is to remove the barriers..to uncover the dark layers..
the obstacles that keep them from rescuing the prize..
the prize of life..

may i take a moment here to praise highly
and mightily the tenacity of rescue teams..?
they are the true warriors of freedom..
tireless, brave, and compassionate..
they have to be, yes?

'tis the same with us..
we are always called to rescue reality..
remove the muddied veil
from our very life - the prize of life -
as it is..

we rescue ourselves from suffering
by a just this wisdom
which keeps us from wanting what is not!
a kind heart and a spacious mind..
liberated into the vast .. and fast..
expanse of what is..

we rescue others by rescuing ourselves..
and know in our deep true self
~ there is no separation ~

may all beings be found..
be safe..
be free..

the everyday practice.. the everyday rescue..
is simply to develop
complete acceptance and openness
to all situations and emotions,
and to all people,
experiencing totally 
without reservations and blockages,
so that one never withdraws 
nor centralizes 
into oneself.
                  ~ dilgo khyentse rinpoche

LIGHT THE CANDLES!
SAY THE PRAYERS!
HOLD THE GREAT MANY
IN THE BRILLIANCE OF LUMINOSITY..
THE CLEAR LIGHT OF LOVE AND COMPASSION ~

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

revelation !

 ~ the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans
of something relating to human existence or the world 

~ used to emphasize the surprising or remarkable quality 
of someone or something

december 31..bell ringing..

we gathered 36 plus 2 ..
with the intention of untethering 2017

to renew
to revitalize

bones, breath and bells
gathered
to reciprocate
to give back and forward
to each other
to the collective
to the community..

we collected $900
to gift the anacortes family center

we collected ourselves -
imbuing one another with the pranic winds
of sound, laughter and design ~

what a revelation..!
that we as a pool of love and breath
can make a difference in the moment
to one another..to each other..
being sovereign yet aligned
with the highest and best..

to meet one another face to face
heart to heart
exactly as we are
and create the new year ~
the new world together..
moment by moment
day by day..
year by year..
eternally..

reveling..  
celebrating..
savoring..
making merry...

the bells ~ still reverberating ~
with lovingkindness
and compassion..
with thankfulness..
for bringing the bells and whistles..
for clanging the grace bright and fiercely..
cuddling up close to ring in the new..
emptying pockets..
to burn up the olde
and find the moment in the moment
when we really truly absolutely wholeheartedly
are as one..
clear as a bell for the benefit of all..
all beings..

great thanks to annie for her donation
of crescent moon yoga ~
great thanks to the bells that still can ring!

the birds they sang 
at the break of day 
start again 
i heard  them say..
               ~ leonard cohen
                  anthem