Lotus Sutra (A Poem)

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Lotus Sutra
There is the sound of this train
traveling by
my thigh burns
with the beauty of a new
tattoo -- he inked into me
a symbol - grace,
effortless grace,
this night echoes on. I feel
a stirring in the depths

 sitting there,
more like laying there - reiterating my life
to myself in numbers, waves,
heat pain in the most pure, simple form...
I felt as though we knew each other 
long before this night. Speaking while creating
art. The rhythm of it. The others,
unspoken truths, spoken 
laughter... sarcasm and cigarette smoke
hanging in the air like
a lotus petal
stuck on water.




Sometimes we have nowhere

else to go except
back to 
who we are to begin with.

 Begin again.

 Now.

 He speaks there, writing into me.

 Now is the right time.

 Where have I gone 
to deserve this?

 Going onward,
knowing pain,
growth.

 You touch me, 
knowing me,
won't you be
beginning again?

 Go on,
follow me.

Play

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Photos via Rummey Bears and Pinterest. 

After three years of solid yoga practice, I've come to realize a lot of my progress derives from a willingness to play on the mat.

The only way you'll get to a point where you're willing to risk falling on your face in front of a crowded studio... is when you let go of the fear of making a fool of yourself.

Try out the pose.

Experiment.

We're all just playing when we come to class.

When you fall, laugh. Learn how to fall safely so you don't get hurt.

But more importantly: be willing to fall. :)

Rock Solid

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Yoga requires focus.

Strength. Determination.

Not just the flexibility to put your foot behind your head.


I love the challenge of meditation. I'll get restless, twitchy, distracted. But in the perseverance, I learn. I begin to let go. 

In meditation, we train the brain to think differently.

Re-routing those neurons to fire in positive ways, rather than negative ones.

Are you missing your practice right now? You let it go and can't seem to get back to the mat?



Return. You deserve your practice. 

It's been waiting for you :)

Hugs: We Need 'Em

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Photo via Oh Darling Photo.

You feel a good hug with your heartbeat.

Full body, full squeeze. That deep, stomach-doing-flips feeling. :)

Photo via Rummey Bears.

A hug is such a simple, playful way to say you care. And that you don't want to let go any time soon.

Photo via Tyler Branch.

Or maybe you do -- because it's time -- and the moment has passed. But you know you'll be squeezing someone tight again soon. Or have someone holding you.

Even after you've walked away, the resonance of that touch stays.

Overcoming Obstacles

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Hey wonderful readers...I'm going through a hard time right now. For as much positive energy and pure light as I try to bring to this blog space at Alive in the Fire... sometimes, I am sad.

Angry.

Hurt. 

Confused.
Photo by Oh Darling Photo. 

We all go through crazy stuff in life, and we come out the other side stronger. But at the time, obstacles can feel overwhelming. Goals, unattainable.

 Stress & worry don't serve us, but we turn to them. (Perhaps at the time it's the only way we know how to cope.)

 I have had my share of anxiety and suffering, that's for sure. :)

Would you do me a favor?

Send some positive love & light my way in the next few weeks.

Better yet, go ahead and share it with your close friends, too. Give more hugs. Smile because you can, not because you have to.

If you've stuck around at Alive in the Fire, hopefully you've noticed that one of my goals here is to make the world a brighter place because we all go through challenges... and we need each other to survive those challenges.

Whether you're a yogi in Chicago or New York City, a dancer in Sacramento, a massage therapist working in Kansas, a friend of a friend from London or Paris or Saudi Arabia...an engineer in South America... a reiki practitioner, a young person, an old person...

I'm so grateful for all of you. :)

Photo via the ballerina project.


I love you all and I appreciate so much that you take time out of your day to read my ramblings and check out the photos.

If you guys could send me your light, I'll feel it. Energy resonates. And I could use some of your positive energy these days. :)

So thanks in advance, and keep changing the world for the better! You inspire me as much as I inspire you.

om namah shivaya
namaste!

Photo by Cara Brostrom.
PS if you're so inclined, you can always drop me a little digital hug via aliveinthefire at gmail dot com, too :) I adore hearing from you guys!

Hoop de Hoop (Practice Your Art!)

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Photos by me.

Happy Monday, yogis!

I hope you had a weekend filled with love, hope, and happy energy. I've been enjoying some relaxed time with my brother and his friend who are visiting from California.

There's nothing better than being a tourist in your own city. I'm relearning Chicago: hula hooping by Lake Michigan, experiencing my first baseball game (what up SOX?!), taking the El everywhere, Festa Italiana (Peroni, pizza, old guys singing like Frank Sinatra, and sunny walks all over the place), and dancing the night away at the Underground. 

And, of course, practicing some yoga and writing some poetry.




What art are you practicing these days?

Open Your Eyes

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Photo by Cara Brostrom.
Photo illustration via PrAna.

Your life is happening right now. You're in it. 

Often I hear people say things like: "I want to make time for more yoga" or "I'm not flexible enough to try yoga" or "Someday, I'll be stronger... once I do this, this, and this."

What if you began to manifest what you're hoping for in your life -- right now?

 Photos by me. 

You already are a yogi.

You already are flexible. And with practice, you will grow more flexible.

You are strong.

You're living your dreams right now -- go ahead and feel into that! :)

Photo by a friend . 

Instead of saying, "One day I'll teach yoga," I've begun to say, "I already teach yoga." And I do. 

I teach simple poses in the park. Or I smile at strangers on the train simply because I hope to bring them a moment of peace, of joy. I hula hoop and dance around and say hi to people. 

I love others even when I might not like some of the things they do.

I ask that light and love pour through me.

And I watch people around me pick up on that bright, bold energy... and it is beautiful :)

Go ahead and live today with your eyes open. You're already there!

namaste

Practice Together, Practice in Love

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Photos by my beautiful yogini friend Leah.

Practicing alone has its benefits... and solitude is worth something. Hearing your own calm breath out your mouth, no distractions...

Finding a sense of calm on the mat: sometimes this is challenging; sometimes this is the easiest part of the day. 

Quiet, mind, quiet. Be still.



Coming together with other yogis changes the process. It's comforting to know you're surrounded by a group of other humans -- all imperfect, all tired, all seeking -- and that you can be alone together, each of you on your mat.

Hands in prayer: solo. Some energy created.

Hands in prayer: a circle of yoginis by the lake... the energy multiplies.

The world hears the chant of om     om    om   when there are many voices to ring out.

More sound, more power, more love.


I am so grateful for you, yogis of the world. Thank you for coming together in peace to practice.

Together in love  ~~  namaste!

Let's Get Wild & Free

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Photo by Tom Libertiny. 

Sometimes the day hits like a drumbeat -- 

hard on the heart.

The feet hurt.

Body aches. Your brain tries to tell you      you're not OK...

Photos by me. 

How do I make it through?

Shake off the stress. Stretch out the tension. Let go!

I head outside and hoop for twenty minutes. Or chat with friends. Or laugh at nothing.


Photo by Cara Brostrom.

Slowly, slowly... returning to peace. Finding that center channel. Shushumna. The breath moves like a wave, keeping the mind from worry.

Breathe. Let go.

Move wildly in your day -- in your life -- you are free...as soon as you start thinking of yourself this way. 

:)

Meet Me in Montana! (You're Invited: Yogatography Retreat in October 2012)

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Celebrate your life!
Yogatography Retreat
hosted by Big Sky Yoga Retreats
Montana 2012
October 11-14

http://bigskyyogaretreats.com/yogaphotography.html


Come play:
yoga and photography
                                 relaxation and rejuvenation 
                                                        creativity and connection

beginners welcome!

photo by Cara Brostrom.

Special Offer: Sign up by Wed Aug 8!
You will receive (totally free and from the heart):

  • A big yogi hug upon arrival :)
  • A custom, handwritten poem (topic of your choice)
  • The chance to share your reflections on the blog
  • A free, custom yoga class via Skype, yoga book of your choice, or other resource to encourage your practice & your journey towards enlightenment. Photography-related items are possible too. Email me for details! (aliveinthefire at gmail dot com)

Happy Traveler

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Photos by my silly little phone.

This summer I am a happy traveler. Let me on that bike, train, plane... I'll go. :)



In the past few months, I've been lucky enough to see Boston, Sacramento, and Detroit... 

Happy memories, leaving little parts of my heart every place I go. Teaching. Learning. Being free.


Evanston

Student is teacher is student.

And it's been wonderful returning to Chicago every time. Chicago, Evanston, Chicago...


Chi

I love this place. I love the yogis here. I love the architecture, and that view of the lake where it feels like it's the end of the universe. I love the way the sky glows because of all those bright lights, that energy. I love, too, that I know where to find the mountains where the air is so clear the satellites are easy to see. No lights except the ones farthest away.




Detroit 

Knowing home. 

Coming back.

Knowing home is in the coming back.

Again and again, I love.


Chi 
Evanston

Happy summer, beautiful people. Thanks for reading. Namaste.

PS the poem form of this post goes a little something like this...


city of chicago
breaking my

heart chakra
open

green
wide

let's ride
farther and back

I am
(my own) home


Blogger Blogged About (Boston Yoga Photos!)

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Photos by the graceful and talented Cara Brostrom.

I'm honored to be featured on Cara's blog today.


My photo session in Boston with her was incredibly inspiring...I felt like a rock star running through my asana practice in public spaces around a new city. Meditating in alleyways. Watching tourists and focusing on my own breath.


Making them full breaths, feet to crown, lungs happy with early morning light and air.




I'm so grateful Cara gave me the chance to reflect on my practice, enjoy the moment, and learn the value of slowing down. Of holding the pose a little longer, even when I wasn't sure I could.


Breathe, she would say, the sound of the shutter capturing the moment. Catching it. Breathe. Stay there.




Breathe more, her small gentle voice, reminding me what I already know. Reminding me how it's not about the camera lens but the soft body. The inner softening.


The light coming through.

Get Some Hugs

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Photos via JRDN, Jonas Peterson, Anna Rummey, Out of Reception, and Ryan Marshall.


Hugs are for everyone. A squeeze after a sweaty dance.



A dance in the sun while someone looks on.


That not-caring-how-silly-I-look feeling swimming in your stomach.


Giving ourselves hugs is equally critical.


It's the love that keeps the sun shining.

Recent Adventures

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Photos by me.

Lately I have been wandering, dreaming, enjoying life.

Summer is a magical time of year... 


Great for eating outside, relaxing in the sun, yoga moves, dance moves, illumination.

Learning to love. Relearning what you thought you knew.

Forgetting what you think you know.



Meeting new people. 
Seeing family for the first time in a long time.
Being well. Being OK alone. Learning loneliness is no answer, but it happens.



Turning off the cell phone. Tuning in with the mind.
And more importantly, the body.

The soul.

Detaching.

Thank you, summer, 
thank you.

namaste

Peace

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Photos by Cara Brostrom, one of my favorite yoga photographers. We met up in Boston. Namaste!

In yoga, I have come to learn:


I am not perfect. I never was.


I don't have to convince myself that I am. Or should be.


I am enough.


So are you.




My hope is this... today, how ever you are denying yourself the freedom to simply be you... let that go.

Breathe fully.

Smile fully.

You're loved just the way you are. And you can let yourself love your Self that way too... :)

Practice and all is coming...

Namaste, beautiful one! 

xo