A Downward Look

Seen from above, the sky
Is deep. Clouds float down there,

Foam on a long luxurious bath.
Their shadows over limbs submerged in “air”,

Over protuberances, faults,
A delta thicket, glide. On high, the love

That drew the bath and scattered it with salts

Still radiates new projects old as day,
And hardly registers the tug

When, far beneath, a wrinkled, baby hand
Happens upon the plug.

– James Merrill

CultFit Mind Body Soul


Alive, I

In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves-

How different would everyday life become, if we embraced silence?

Over the course of writing this blog-o-thing I have adapted a leisurely pace in life Attending more yoga classes, spending more time unconnected from the web and partaking in long, flowing bike rides without a care in the world.

As Festivus and winter set in, the bikes resting at ease in the front bedroom. I turned my attention homeward, focusing more on the events of my daily life. It truly is possible to attend a silent retreat, where my only interactions with my surroundings are with a smile and an attentive ear. I stopped listening to the radio while driving, the TV stays off when I get home from work and magically  My son and I are reading more in front of the fireplace.

It is such a relief to be free of “noise The stillness in my heart is based solely on silence rather than a frantic beat or change in tempo.

I have begun to notice in this “silence,” the crunch of salt on the walkways leading into work, the rustle of a few stubborn leaves in the breeze, a red tail hawk gliding past

Silence has kindly given me clarity and inspiration.

Daily Meditation:

Be kind your body and heart today

CultFit Silence1


Aburrimiento

Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves-

With our attention spans dwindling every second this Holiday season, our impatience increases twofold.

Feeling stuck in the moment  Painfully listening to a co-worker’s weekend escapades in Templeton, Iowa, waiting in line for a cold latte that arrives ten minutes too late  The more agitated we feel and the more agitated we become. Stuck with no cell access in a morning meeting, no Twitter on our gadgets, our anxiety increases with the slow passage of time. What can we do during these painful moments?

My cure for “boredom” is to make life interesting, stimulating and fun. Maintaining an emotional balance also requires finding the time for “boring” meditation practice, resting my mind and body

Daily Meditation:

Recognize your boredom this morning. This is all I ask of you before the Holidays set in, settling in to agitate and overwhelm us. When we start practicing now, before we sense ennui enveloping our bodies and spirit? Awareness is a beautiful antidote to boredom.

*It’s also a great method to not getting injured during the winter months*

CultFit Bored


Armonía

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory-

What does our inner self sound like when it gently whispers to the world? My inner self, sounds like peace – and swearing, swearing then peace – something to that extent

It’s interesting to witness someone in the throes of exploring the sound of their authentic self during yoga class, even while changing a newborns diaper (anything). Very often we will ask the instructor, a dear friend or our mother in law, what they think is going on:  “Hey – Do you think I’m…?”  they, too frequently responding with, “Yeah, you’re probably right …”  Or, if we don’t ask, we just make assumptions based on what’s happening within our mind(s), based on the worst case scenario(s):  “I guess I just suck at yoga … Damn dirty diapers!

This deflating inner dialog leads us away from our true authentic self.

Peace, is calling us home through these trying moments in our lives. We can say “Fu*k it” and choose to ignore peace, continuing on the same path that created the resentment, the bitterness. We can choose to partially ignore it, and partially listen to it (men have perfected this tactic), leaving ourselves sitting perpetually on the fence, giving ourselves halfheartedly to the world 

Daily Meditation:

Or, we can choose to listen to ourselves, honor our deepest truth(s) and begin to do “things” – Differently.

Be well this weekend and please take care!

CultFit Self


Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcott

CultFit Light