Read in class recently...I love his work so much...enjoy!

“You have traveled too fast over false ground; 
Now your soul has come to take you back. 

Take refuge in your senses, open up 
To all the small miracles you rushed through. 

Become inclined to watch the way of rain 
When it falls slow and free. 

Imitate the habit of twilight, 
Taking time to open the well of color 
That fostered the brightness of day. 

Draw alongside the silence of stone 
Until its calmness can claim you.” 
― John O'Donohue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXy__kBVq1M
This is a link to the TEDx talk by Shawn Achor I've been mentioning in class.  Enjoy!

For those of you who have heard the 5 minute meditation on the bell sound we've been playing with in class...my friend and excellent meditation teacher has taken the play deeper with this expansion on the practice.  Please enjoy!
http://attentional-fitness.squarespace.com/strategies/soothed-by-the-bell.html

Your body
is a holy book,
a scripture~

the pages
of your flesh
are marked
in exquisite detail
with the finest hand,

inscribed by spirit
with the poetry
of love,
lessons of mercy,
miracles,
angelic hosts,

and the story 
of your life
perfectly told,

an illuminated manuscript 
of a sacred writing 
epic in scope,
majesty
and grace.

Every hair
on your head
and line on your face,
every rushing tide
of wind and wave
moving you 
from within
this living testament
bear witness
to the truth
layered
within you~

Study this text
with conviction then,
reflect with care
upon its meaning,
and enjoy
the divine
inspiration.

—Gil Hedley, Beyond the Leaving

This is the piece I read at Village Yoga on Thanksgiving morning...


May the touch of your skin 
Register the beauty
Of the otherness
That surrounds you.

May your listening be attuned
To the deeper silence
Where sound is honed
To bring distance home.

May the fragrance
Of a breathing meadow
Refresh your heart
And remind you you are
A child of the earth.

And when you partake
Of food and drink,
May your taste quicken 
To the gift and sweetness
That flows from the earth.

May your inner eye
See through the surfaces
And glean the real presence
Of everything that meets you.

May your soul beautify
The desire of your eyes 
That you might glimpse
The infinity that hides
In the simple sights 
That seem worn
To your usual eyes.

~ John O'Donohue

from To Bless the Space Between Us

"We should not force ourselves to change by hammering our lives into any predetermined shape. We do not need to operate according to the idea of a predetermined program or plan for our lives. Rather, we need to practice a new art of attention to our inner rhythm of our days and lives. This attention brings a new awareness of our own human and divine presence. A dramatic example of this kind of transfiguration is the one all parents know. You watch your children carefully, but one day they surprise you; you still recognize them, but your knowledge of them is insufficient. You have to start listening to them all over again.

It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness rather than with the idea of will. Too often people try to change their lives by using the will as a kind of hammer to beat their life into proper shape. The intellect identifies the goal of the program, and the will accordingly forces the life into that shape. This way of approaching the sacredness of one’s own presence is externalistic and violent. It brings you falsely outside your own self and you can spend years lost in the wilderness of your own mechanical, spiritual programs. You can perish in a famine of your own making.

If you work with a different rhythm, you will come easily and naturally home to your self. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has a map of your future, therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of your self. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more importantly it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey. There are no general principles for this art of being. Yet the signature of this unique journey is inscribed deeply in each soul. If you attend to your self and seek to come into your own presence, you will find exactly the right rhythm for your life. The senses are generous pathways which can bring you home."

-- John O'Donahue "Anam Cara"

Check out this link to a short video on some foam roller moves for making your hips, knees, and feet happy.


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 This link is for the bio motion lab.  Slide the bars back and forth to see how gender, weight, EMOTIONS change our walking gait patterns.  Totally fun!  Well I think so anyway.