A distinguishing feature of Freedom Yoga that takes getting used to is the notion of the 'conscious pause.' It interrupts the inertia that keeps us doing what we're doing out of habit. Instead of doing it from a place of internal discernment. Much of the time, we keep on doing stuff because we've always done it before.
The hallmark of a healthy practice may be our willingness to stop moving so much for a spell. Inserting a conscious pause. Long enough to finish 'buffering' while waiting, with patience, for the still-processing and madly spinning wheel to stop. And if it doesn't stop, considering a system reboot.
Whether we're following our old script or leaning on someone else's, is there some value in pausing to sense whether it's still appropriate and intelligent?
Dutifully mimicking someone else's script works well enough for awhile if you have confidence that the scriptwriter has your best interests at heart. But even the most skilled outside choreographer of your yoga is at an inalterable and profound disadvantage: they lack unfiltered access to your sensations.
Only you can take an impartial inventory of what's working in your practice and what isn't. And if the mat is a laboratory for experimentation with other parts of life? I don't need to tell you the punchline.
These past few months for me have been roughly equal parts exasperating and quasi-inspiring on that front. What is it that's worth sustaining, pursuing, and devoting time to and what's not? How do we reconcile the profound resistance to giving up what we are attached to—like being in the physical presence of others or just getting a dang haircut—with all that stuff we know about the futility of resistance to what is?
What's been your experience on these fronts? I'd love to know. Seriously, tell me. We all need one another's ideas and help in these times. How are you figuring all this out?
Revisiting Walden Pond
Unearthing books and essays that I read decades ago has been part of my effort to figure it out. It's a tactic for self-engineering my nervous system reset on the exasperating days. (That and laboring to learn the banjo low break for Foggy Mountain Breakdown, but that's for another time.)
In a chapter about solitude in his 1854 creative nonfiction classic Walden, Henry David Thoreau asks what we most "want to dwell near."
"Not to many . . . the depot, the post-office, the bar-room, the meeting-house, the school-house, the grocery, Beacon Hill, or the Five Points . . . but to the perennial source of our life, whence in all our experience we have found that to issue, as the willow stands near the water and sends out its roots in that direction. This will vary with different natures, but this is the place where a wise man will dig his cellar."
For years, I was under the misimpression that this literary gem and other philosophical treasures were possible for Thoreau only because he lived like a hermit for an extended time deep in the wilderness. With no distractions and in uninterrupted solitude. What chance could the rest of us mere mortals have of downloading these brilliant nuggets when it takes what feels like almost inhuman discipline to manage the practical demands of daily life?
But Thoreau wasn't a hermit. It turns out that while he was writing Walden, he was only half a mile from the railroad and the main road into Concord. He regularly visited his family, hung out at his pals' houses for dinner, and threw regular watermelon harvest parties.
What do you want to dwell near? If Thoreau could download shrewd wisdom for himself about dwelling near the perennial source of life and still throw cultivated fruit parties? Maybe the rest of us have half a chance at catching some worthy, guiding insights if we take even brief, conscious pauses.
Summer Shares
This year, most of us are faced with an unplanned pause. It's up to us to work out if we're willing to make it a conscious one. To assess what's working in our lives on and off the mat—and get real about and hip to what isn't.
Will you permit me three beats on what's coming up that you might find worthy to spend some of the sacred currency of your attention on this summer?
Feathered Pipe's Anniversary Celebration Online Workshop Fundraiser
It starts on Monday, 6 July, and runs for six days. The entire summer 2020 season at the Feathered Pipe Ranch has been canceled (ouch!) but the long-awaited plans to celebrate 45 years hosting some of the finest programs in the galaxy and incubating vital service projects aren't (wahoo!). The celebration has been moved online, and next week showcases an eclectic and sublime lineup of 22 yoga classes, interviews with remarkable wisdom tradition carriers, and even hand drumming lessons with my favorite Drum Brothers rhythm teachers, Matthew Marsolek and Tracy Topp. Howard Levin telling the story about the crazy early days at the Ranch. A recorded interview with Erich Schiffmann. And so much more. Do yourself a favor and check out the lineup of donation-based offerings.
Feathered Pipe relies almost exclusively on revenues from summer programs. With those canceled for this year (ouch!), next week's fundraiser is A Big Deal. The potent alchemy of the Feathered Pipe experience springs from how people emerge from their time there and go out into their communities and do so much good. I invite you to consider lending your support to the hub of one very worthy wheel in this world that cultivates so much meaningful compassion in action. If you can't make any of these classes and are inspired to be part of helping ensure Feathered Pipe's future, kindly consider a donation.
Weekly Online Summer Sunday Morning Yoga
My Sunday morning all-levels Hatha Yoga share as part of Sun & Moon Yoga Studio's Summer on Zoom continues. Class happens from 9-10:15am ET and it feels like we're all getting the hang of sharing time together online. I'd love if you joined the Sunday morning scene along with the other fine souls who show up to practice together. Details and registration link are here.
Small Private, In-Person, Sliding Scale Yoga Classes Starting Late July
If you're interested in small, semi-private, physically distanced, sliding scale yoga classes in Arlington, Virginia? Thanks to the generous donation of space and logistical support by Sun & Moon Yoga Studio, I'm happy to offer four of these (with a maximum of three attendees at each class) at Sun & Moon's Arlington location beginning in late July. These classes are are intended for those under financial, mental, or emotional strain due to the coronavirus pandemic or social justice activism. Pay what you want or what you can, starting from $0. Please tell your DC area pals about this offering. You can find details and dates here.
One more beat?
Finally, although this summer's Mindful Unplug at the Feathered Pipe Ranch had to fall by the wayside (ouch!) along with all the other Ranch programs, our retreat dates for 2021 are set and registration is open. Quite a few folks who had hoped or planned to come unplug and reboot under Montana's big sky this summer are already signed up for the 24-31 July 2021 Mindful Unplug retreat. If you're willing to plan ahead and are eager to get the lodging choice of your dreams? Maybe take a peek and consider reserving your spot here?
Feathered Pipe Ranch, Montana (Zane Williams Photography)
