Photo by Cait Loper.

This weekend was wild!

Dancing... hanging out with friends... hula hooping... staying up super late and talking... sitting by the fire... checking out a new bar... dancing to the DJ's beats... meeting new friends... hanging out in Oakland for ecstatic dance, brunch, and a walk by the lake...

All the while, I felt very active and alive and connected.

I gave myself the freedom to move, to express, to seek my highest joy.

I gave myself permission to change my plans at the last minute, and to listen to my body.

And I must say, I danced more than I have in years and it felt so good!

After such an active couple of days, I'm feeling very satisfied, grateful, and ready for some rest and relaxation.

It is beautiful to transition into solitude and quiet after being active and social. Tonight I took a bath, ate meditatively, wrote in my journal, reflected on the upcoming yoga class I'll be teaching, and allowed myself to be instead of do.

According to Ram Dass, “[The] distortion comes from defining ourselves in terms of doing instead of being. But behind all the doings, all the roles, you just are – pure awareness, pure consciousness, pure energy. When you reside fully in the present moment, you are outside of time and space.”

Trungpa Rinpoche notes, “Our lives awaken through ordinary magic.” It’s in everyday things that the miraculous happens. If we practice being here now, we develop the sensitivity to perceive and appreciate the daily miracles of our lives."

My invitation to you tonight is to slip effortlessly into just being. Turn off your phone for a few minutes. Light a candle. Let the attachments and stories and fears recede into the background of your awareness.

If you feel like dancing, dance.

And if you dance for hours, rest.

And in all you are doing or not doing, simply allow yourself to be.