Category: <span>Yoga</span>

…moving on
Published March 9, 2025 by

…moving on

Namaste, Followers

Thank you for following  my blog, The Teacher’s Journal, for so many years.  There are other follower’s at yogini.wordpress which was where I began blogging.

Much has changed.  For me, rearranging my writing life, whether for work or pleasure, is a priority these days.

So, after research, time & procrastination I’ve set up a Substack publication which I hope to grow whichever way the wind blows.  Meanwhile, it’ll re-inspire me to write to you more.  It feels like a platform that supports writers and connects us…safely.  And, I need more connection.

So,  if you’ve enjoyed my posts and want to read more find me now on Substack

I’ve titled my publication The World is My Ashram.  It feels like a fitting title for nearly all my interests that have a spiritual component.  Please subscribe.  It’s free.  You’ll get an email when I post.  And,  I’m allowing comments.  If you are a bot…you will be blocked.

Over time I’ll be cherry-picking various posts from The Teacher’s Journal and exporting them over to Substack.

That’s the pLaN 🙂

namaste.

 

 

 

Ancient Wisdom AstroCartography Astrology Feng Shui Geometric Art Holistic Health Meditation Time Management Yoga Yoga Therapy

Sandy Hook – 11 Years Ago
Published December 14, 2023 by

Sandy Hook – 11 Years Ago

Towards the end of my first 200 hr of IYT at Kripalu Center, 2000)  we were asked to choose a topic that we wanted to study using the techniques and practices we were learning.   I struggled to find a topic. Specialization was contrary to my personal philosophy of Yoga.  I  wanted to be skilled in ways to help everyone.  But choose I did and I narrowed it down to stress management & women’s health, looking for the lowest common denominator that would cover most people.  As a divorced, 50year old, real estate broker, (20+ years )  I understood stress.  As a mother of a tween & a teen, I was already suffering from the flashes that reminded me menopause was on it’s way.  I wasn’t getting younger.  I continued to study stress and was fascinated by where it led and what I learned.    My early classes were mostly women experiencing mental/emotional and hormonal balance/imbalance.   Integrative Yoga Therapy covers all of it.

Psychology was my first major course of study in college (1967)  After watching the professionals deal with mental/emotional difficulties for decades, I am convinced that the holistic nature of yoga provides better healing for what ails us.  Whether that be: abuse, trauma, addiction, estrangement, or just plain ole daily living.

Years and years of assisting the senior faculty at Kripalu Center honed my skills and satisfied my heart,  I learned about healing from: abuse, trauma, disappointment, and basic life stressors.  The issues are in the tissues, so says Swami Kripalu.  For 20+ years  I was part of the Inner Quest Intensive Facilitation Team, an experience of divine intervention in my life.

On December 14, 2012, the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT occured.  I was in my car on the way to the grocery store when the news came thru on WNYC radio.  I immediately slowed down as I took in the news.  My first born grandson was 6 at the time so I felt an immediate connection to the story and stayed riveted for weeks to come.

Early in 2013 I was contacted by another of the facilitators from Kripalu.  She was a gifted psychotherapist from CT. working with Sandy Hook Promise, the non-profit organization formed to help the community, the survivors, and anyone else affected by the tragedy.  She was currently treating about 6-7 people directly connected to the event and thought an IQI-type retreat/intensive might be really helpful.  Would I help her? After much discussion in Sept. 2013 we rented a vacation home in the Catskills for 4 days and brought in a group  from Newtown, CT to participate in a  healing retreat.  I will tell a more complete story later, but the point now is how that experience changed me. From that moment forward I got to see how the work I was doing privately in my studio at home and at Kripalu could impact the world.

Sadly, events like this have only multiplied and escalated over the years.  Treating trauma has mostly been one to one., if at all.  But today, due to the state of the world and some earth-shaking astrology, we need more of this.   We are all wounded healers of sorts.

Meanwhile,  aside from gun massacres, wars, pandemics and climate events, abuse, addiction, psychological/emotional/mental afflictions and other dis-eases continue,  all rampant in our society. Everywhere across all lines,

Yoga, however you choose to practice is necessary in today’s world.  It’s not exercise.  It’s not woo-woo.  It’s not religious, or political, or anything that would encourage people to be anything less than peaceful towards themselves and each other.  If everyone practiced, alone and together, we would have a better world and calmer communities.

Blogging Holistic Health Kripalu My photos Uncategorized Yoga Yoga Therapy

community healing trauma

Published May 12, 2023 by

Under Construction

UNDER CONSTRUCTION…..

Ever since the birth of this URL, I have tended to the tedious work it takes to manage this site.   Calling it a hobby allows me to experiment and explore all the possibilities of having an online presence.

I’ve learned alot doing all this website production…  I’ve learned about my self in the process too.   And, I hope  that I have been helpful in some way to you.

The world is changing, and I’m still here for the ride.  Stay tuned for a new look, new offerings, and new ways to stay in touch.

Love & Light,

Ida

Yoga

War?
Published October 16, 2022 by

War?

I found this passage recently…  it’s part of the conversation between Krishna & Arjuna.  Gazillions of words have been spoken and written and debated and turned into graphic novels to re-tell the story of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Matsya Vedh  (Piercing-Eye) competition is one of a few different archery competitions that Arjuna had engaged in to achieve his dharma.   Shooting at an eagle eye was another.

Hindu mythology has lots of stories that reference water/flooding and the value of the fish.  Both the seated spinal twist (matsyandrasana) and the ‘fish’ pose (matsyasana) ask us to be mindful of the water element in our bodies.

Other blog posts from Bhagavad Gita are here:

Purpose
Dharma
Worn-Out Garments
AUM

A night before the day of Matsya Vedh (Piercing fish eye) competition, Krishna & Arjuna are conversing……..

Krishna says, “Arjuna, take care,

put your step forward

and concentrate on the eye of the fish”

Arjuna says, ” If I have to do everything, then what will you do?”

Krishna whispers softly, “What you can’t do, I will do”.

Arjuna asks, “And what is it that I can’t do?”

Krishna replies,

“I will keep the water steady…..”

Yoga

Published August 6, 2022 by

Ta Da! Done!

Another Sri Yantra.  I always have to say to myself, “4 up and 5 down” because it’s so easy to line up the nine triangles in the wrong direction.

I’ve written about this ancient image before.  Check out these posts. 

Geometry & Art – the beginning

 

Sri Yantra

Yoga

Published June 27, 2022 by

Yipes! Eris & Mars & Chiron

You might want to read this first.….?

A week ago the moon passed thru the Aries portion of the zodiac where she tackled the complications that arise from Jupiter, Chiron, Mars, and Eris in Aries as well.    She’s calmer now in Taurus.

But!  Mars is pretty fiery & hot and so close now to Eris that I fear we’re about to see a lot of firewords until July 6 when Mars, having exhausted himself, as is his nature, rests for a bit in Taurus.  Mars customarily spends about 6 weeks in a zodiac sign.  That’s the normal rhythm of the universe for him.  However, because of retrograde motion Mars will be in Gemini for  (August 21, 2022 – March 26, 2023)  SEVEN MONTHS!  OMG!    FYI   (This is important for those of us who will participate in Beyond Words

For now, remember to take note of what’s happening  in your life around August 21, when Mars crawls from Taurus into Gemini.   Mars will return nearly to this point in time  during his backward motion of this seven-month (yipes!!) retrograde journey.   Mars rules Scorpio as well as Aries, so both those sun sign will feel the slow down motion most, perhaps?    The retrograde period begins late October and lasts until Jan, 2023.  That’s 2 solid months of backward motion in Gemini.  It isn’t until Spring, 2023 before he reaches the 26th degree from where the Rx began.

Eris & Mars form a conjunction on June 27 at 24 degrees of Aries.  The God of War meets The Goddess of War in Aries.  Volumes will be written of the events that will continue until at least 2025.

more later……………   much to discuss, ponder, and contemplate..

stay safe………..

Om Nimah Shivaya…..shanti, shanti, shantihi

Eris Yoga

communication inquire within transformation

Published October 22, 2021 by

Kripalu Love…it’s a thing.

I have a long, long history with all things “Kripalu”.   A search using the name will return a majority of posts that were the result of my activities in that weird pink brick building on the most beautiful piece of land I could get to, easily.  The blissful 3 hour drive on the NY Thruway was and still is a welcome diversion from the hustle/bustle jersey shore environment dominated by water., …everywhere. I live in a town called Interlaken named such because it’s and surrounded by lakes.  When I turn onto the street that leads directly to Kripalu Center I am on Interlaken Ave, in Massachusetts.   You can’t ignore or not see these markers when they show up.  What do they mean?   That’s a different conversation.  Needless to say, it’s been a special place for me for a long time.

One of the (many) reasons I fell in love with Kripalu is that I got to experience myself differently. (nature vs nurture) (fate vs free will)  When I first walked thru the doors I was a stressed out, spiritually starved single mom selling real estate to get my two kids thru college.  My mother had died, there was no other family nearby, and I just charged on.  What else was there to do?  My local yoga teacher urged me to visit Kripalu.

At the desk I remember them asking me to fill out some simple paperwork.  One of the questions concerned employment.  I stumbled on that one, which as I write this was a sticky question from the earliest days of my childhood….but that’s another story.  Although the world saw me mostly as a real estate professional, I had also started a side gig as a time and space consultant which primarily involved astrology, feng shui, and yoga.  Standing at the desk at Kripalu for the first time, I wrote in Astrologer as my occupation.  It really hadn’t thought it out and in the years to come it was fascinating to see the differences between my NJ-self and my newly born Kripalu-self.   There’s a couple bf memoirs in those experiences and maybe I’ll even write them?

So, taking on the persona of astrologer rather than realtor I experienced what a spiritual community looked like.  How they interacted with people like me.  How they interacted with those who they knew.  By the end of that 2 night stay I was hooked.  I needed Kripalu and began to reorganize my life to allow for frequent trips up the thruway into the Berkshires.

As a volunteer, one of my most favorite assignments was to work with the audio/visual team which was headed by a guy named Bob.  He was kind and very patient in teaching me about the all the technical aspects of Kripalu programming.  These were the days of analog, digital anything was far off.  The AV team was always around the musicians and that’s where my heart really wanted to be, with the musicians.  The music that I experienced live at Kripalu moved me in a way the Rolling Stones never did and they moved me too, truth be told.  Being an ‘assistant’ at most of the musical venues at Kripalu was heaven on earth for me.

Here’s a story I wrote about one of those times. 

Kripalu has re-opened and another incarnation of this community is about to be birthed.  So many changes.  Everywhere.

I’m curious to see what’s next.

 

 

Yoga

Published September 5, 2021 by

When Things Fall Apart

The book fell off the shelf and opened to this page when I picked it up.   When Things Fall Apart, Heart Advice for Difficult Times  by Pema Chodron   page 91

 

Spiritual awakening is frequently described as a journey to the top of a mountain.  We leave our attachments and our worldliness behind and slowly make our way to the top.  At the peak we have transcended all pain.  the only problem with this metaphor is that we leave all the others behind-our drunken brother, our schizophrenic sister, our tormented animals and friends.  Their suffering continues, unrelieved by our personal escape.

In the process of discovering bodhichitta, the journey goes down, not up.  It’s as if the mountain pointed toward the center of the earth instead of reaching into the sky.  Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward th turbulence and doubt.  We jump into it.  We slide into it.  We tiptoe into it.  We move toward it however we can.  We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away.  If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it i9s.  At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down.  with us move millions of others, our companions in awakening from fear.  At the bottom we discover water, the healing water of bodhichitta.  Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die.

That’s what we do in yoga therapy,  we dive down.   It’s an exhilarating journey, if you are on a path of spiritual awakening.  It doesn’t matter what shape you’re in, there’s a lot to learn and discover inside your self.

Join us this Fall for Yoga Therapy for Grandma, An Introductory Course   On Zoom.  Are you on the mailing list?

 

Ancient Wisdom Buddhism Yoga Yoga Therapy

bodhichitta buddhism Pema Chodron

….and a good time was had by all
Published July 2, 2021 by

….and a good time was had by all

Our one-day retreat during the Summer Solstice at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ was a wonderful way to be together with my sangha after such a long, stressful separation.

We found a wonderful nearly-private space under a grove of Apple Trees and reconnected to nature, to those we know and love, and to strangers passing by.   We sat on the ground, picked at the grass, rolled around and rested in corpse pose. We practiced our co-listening skills by breaking into small groups and answering some thought provoking questions.   We sat in one big circle for breathing practices and meditation.   And then, we broke up for awhile and explored the grounds in what ever way we felt inspired to do so.  Some took pictures, drew sketchs, wrote in a journal.  Others used their time diffently.  All was perfect.

By the end of the day it was hard to say goodbye.  The connections we make with our spiritual tribes are deep, comforting, and nurturing to the human body/mind/spirit.  It’s just the way it is.

I’m looking forward to facilitating more events that help us move thru these unprecedented times.

We are in a process.  That process continues.  Breathe.

Remember the practices for the Brahma Vihari’s    “…the only emotions worth having”.

Om shanti.

 

REBIRTH
What brought you here? Rebirth: Kang Muxiang

 

As I was putting our curriculum together I was eager to find this sculpture.  Over the course of the day  as I wandered around I looked for it, with no success.   However, after we completed our final OM and said our goodbyes, and I dizzily headed towards my car  I saw it….re birth….and the others by the same artist….all in group, yet alone, too.    It was a perfect day.

 

 

Blogging Yoga Yoga Therapy

creativity Meditation nature retreat

Published March 29, 2021 by

I Got Tired and Bored Looking At That Ox

Drawing lines is (sometimes) easier than writing words. So I’m posting these pictures to show you what I’ve been doing  This video tells the whole story in 30 seconds.

The artist is Richard Henry and I’ve been taking courses at his school since the pandemic locked me down.  There’s something very soothing and fulfilling to drawing lines, straight & curvy.  Using a straight edge and striving for perfection can be easily witnessed.  And, letting go brings joy.   The whole of the process can be, and frequently is a meditation.

This particular geometric pattern falls into the category of 8-fold.   It’s a common pattern seen  and pictured here in an archway at .Humayan’s Tomb,  Delhi, India .

Often, it is used as a pattern for a jaali screen.  Here we use shades/blinds/curtains to adjust the amount of sunlight that enters a space.  In other places……jaali screens.    

This is as far as I’ve gotten.  Soon, it’ll be transfered to watercolor paper and then the fun really starts!

It’s a full moon…….  See the Light.

ps.  see that shaded out shape.  It’s called a tabla.             

Om shanti,

 

Geometric Art Watercolors Yoga

8-fold jaali