Posts

Life in America: Three Weeks Post Hip Surgery

  “You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” —Marcus Aurelius I think this quote is true, but I think it does, potentially at least, diminish the importance of engaged work for change in the work. Aurelius, himself, was quite engaged with the world, being Emperor and all. Here's a nice supplement from the Gita.  “Perform your obligatory duty because action is indeed better than inaction.” Because of my current physical situation, I have not been able to perform the "obligatory" duty of protesting with others. But, it occurs to me that writing about being alive, if not an act of protest is, at least, an act of bearing witness.   I've been struggling a bit with the focus of the blog now that I don't write so much about life in Iyengarland, and realized that maybe just chronicling what it is like to be a thoughtful person living through these times is enough of an "may you live in interesting times" focus. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Week One Hip Report

Image
  . “If you're going through hell, keep going.” - Winston Churchill  Well,  one week after the first hip surgery, I rolled a little bit to one side, the side I could manage, and told Jeff, "If I had know how hard that was going to be, I'm not sure I would have done it."   This was after being in a lot of pain for several month, but still the ordeal of it was truly awful.   This time, one week out,  it is nowhere near as bad.  Comparing the two experiences has really been a meditation on     "heyam dukam anagatam." This time,  I got to have the surgery at the Surgery Center.  I was supposed to last time, but I think the Physician Assistant was sick and so things had to be rescheduled to Seton Main.   It was still supposed to be outpatient, but that didn't happened.  It feels very much like I feel through the cracks in the system last time and ended up in a giant hole of pain that, even leaving the pain a...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Passing of George and Other Giants

Image
Mary Scott  said,  "I'd love to read a blog about George if you have time."  Here you go, Mary.  Sorry about the weird font. This new blog  has some oddities I have not figured out.  √ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfdkTRUEm5U
1 comment
Read more

Toward Tittibasana and Seven Years with Dante

Image
  One of the nice things about being back in Pacific Time Zone is that Christina's Yoga Classes fit my schedule better. Today,  I went into her yoga lair just in time to hear that the class was working toward Tittibasana.   Now, it has been well over two years, maybe three, since I have even attempted anything in the ball park  and so my immediate thought was,  "Well, maybe I'll just leave the lair and go hang out with Jeff."   But, I thought Jeff was fishing and I  was there, so the next step is to stay, and I said,  "Well,  we will see what I can do."   I could do way, way more than I thought possible.  Some of the best malasana work in a very long time, even parsvakonasana felt better than it did the day before.  I even got into some approximation of the pose, by sitting on the backward bender, putting my feet up on tall blocks, and reaching my hands down the rungs of the backbender to the floor eventually....
Post a Comment
Read more

Prasarita Padottanasana, Porcelain Bells, and Pacifism

Image
  “We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.” ―  Dietrich Bonhoeffer,  Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community Jeff and I went to see Bonhoeffer yesterday afternoon.  We were so busy working on cleaning out the kitchen that we almost forgot to go.  Though I think the movie had some flaws, mostly stereotypical movie tropes, and a bit heavy-handed thematically at times,  I still thought it was very good and worth seeing. The historical parallels are obvious and timely, but even more  I was impressed by a popular movie that did convey the life and struggles of an intellectually-oriented person in "difficult" social political times.  I also was impressed with how it portrayed various modes of lives of faith and ways in which people did and did not hold fast to their principles.   Here's a thoughtful review of it  by Myles Werntz who took a grad cl...
Post a Comment
Read more
Image
 Well,  I've been going to bed at 9:30 and waking up at  3:30.  Often, I go back to sleep, but right now  it is not happening.  So  I thought I'd blog.   First,  for your visual pleasure: Some Scenes from Padden Lake.  Second, I present to you the sutras on  non-violence  (ahimsa).   And, third,   my  favorite  benediction.  "Go out into the world in peace. Have courage. Hold on to what is good. Return no one evil for evil. Strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, and help the suffering. Honor all people. Love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit." Christina and I were having an election "debrief the debacle" conversation and then we moved onto other topics like her writing group and I asked what she was working on. We then moved on to the topic of "writing prompts." I am of mixed feelings about writing prompts. From the teacher/student perspective: on th...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Blog is Back: A few reflections on driving across America

Image
Here are a few final images from our last week in Bellingham.  A walk around Lake Padden. Last Sunset from balcony and one of many scenes from the long drive home.  Apparently, we left just as the Fall rainy season started in earnest. So  good timing.  I've been meaning to start back with daily blogging for awhile now. Definitely feeling the pull, but have not recommitted.  I think when I enjoyed blogging the most was during the days of  going through the various levels of Iyengar Assessment and attending numerous workshops and writing about them and yoga philosophy more generally.  I am not so intensely into that aspect of Iyengarland these days, so I've been thinking about what I want to write about.   Well,  life being what it is, and political life being what it is, a new guiding thread has emerged. Surviving a new world order.  Its a difficult thing we are all going through together.  I have several posts forming in my min...
Post a Comment
Read more