Yenneagram

I eat fractals for breakfast!

Akshobhya is the blue Buddha.

I just discovered that the ears are the body part that is represented by the color blue. Appropriate that I was drawn to photograph it as my ear slowly heals.

It is believed, when meditating on the blue Buddha, anger can be transformed into wisdom. I would say the same is true when meditating on the fuzzy Luna.

LT yogis: my friend Christina H. is teaching a new Candlelight Flow Vinyasa class at Crosstown this Sunday (2/18) and weekly thereafter. Join her beautiful spirit to breathe, move, and burn away what no longer serves!

Fake winter half-heartedly makes an appearance and even then is beautiful.

Body*Heart*Mind

MSP folks--you won't want to miss this fabulous in-person event put on by the MN chapter of the International Enneagram Association: https://mn-iea.org/event-5348343 ---events

What a beautiful morning at Orchestra Hall: yoga led by Holly Slocum and music by violinist Te-Chiang (Bacco) Liu. Thanks for this ongoing program, Holly and !

My little bud didn’t mind me being sick for a full week. She excels at nesting all day every day. I plan to re-emerge from my cave tomorrrow, still partially broken and on the mend, but in no way contagious.

Tony is sanding edges. Luna is happy to read that small dogs with long snouts live long lives. Crosby rests in the sun.

I got a strep test: negative. The nurse said there’s just a lot of viruses going around and they are lasting longer. And this one, for me, has been quite painful and miserable. But it will pass. I’m grateful my body heals me every day, even when I’m feeling great and don’t notice.

I hope to be restored enough to teach Sunday. Again I say: please do not go to the gym if you feel sick. If you can’t tell when your body is sick, you’ve got some self-awareness work to do on the yoga mat. ❤️😷🧘🏻‍♀️

Unintentional work: When your spouse decides to sand and finish upstairs flooring, take every item you own and bring it down into the living room where it’s piled up on public display. Suddenly the drive to acquire is heavily muted as you realize how very much you already have. Perhaps this should be a regular practice.

Healing

Luna and I enjoyed our walk today, however, as you can tell from her face, it was also a somber affair.

It is January in Minnesota, and yet it is nothing like what January should be. Melting ice blocks sit on the edge of a thawing pond. We’ve barely gotten any snow, and all of it has melted. It got up to 48 degrees today, which is 25 degrees higher than the normal Jan average. It’s like this all week, in the midst of a festival where we celebrate snow, freezing temps, and the Bold North.

I found a tick on Luna’s face. That never happens in the dead of winter. We’ve lost a season this year. It’s sad.

And yet I’m also extremely happy and grateful to be alive, mobile, and loved. To have a little bud. To go on adventures. We hold multitudes.

I meditate daily and I strive to move my body daily, but I’ve never done yoga asana every day. 🫣

Sometimes I take a yoga class, other days I only do a dog walk. On Mondays I try to take Teri’s HIIT class. I love Paula’s and Chris’ barre classes. Variety of functional movement is so important as we age, as is strength-building.

I’m a 7. I will never only move in one way. But I can still benefit from discipline. That’s a constant work in progress.

As the wall at .life says: Love Your Life, friends. It’s a gift to be breathing and moving.

Luna prepares the room for Yenneagram yoga by prancing around and spreading positive vibes. Then, during our practice, she curls up and does her own dog nap version of yoga nidra. She’s a great partner. If you’d like to meet her, join me on a Tuesday at 5:30pm!

I love coming home to the energy of passion projects being created around the kitchen island.

Find the Light.
Be the Light.

Again I say: one of the greatest opportunities in a regular yoga practice is to regrow one’s attention span. We help our brains rewire when we practice focused attention.

It happens slowly, with repetition.

The time to curate moments of solitary focus is now. Not in the midst of crisis.

How can you help your future self in the choices you make today?

This card was written to Tony () by a young neighbor friend. I love how I am an afterthought to him. 🤣 But it’s true: Tony the 8 is the kindest neighbor around! ❤️

FREE Info Session about Yenneagram, an interesting combination of Yoga and Enneagram

Join Courtney Perry on Zoom for a brief introduction to how she combines working with the Enneagram and Yoga. The Enneagram is a modern self-awareness tool based on an ancient spiritual symbol. Both the Enneagram and yoga require us to burn away the ego and observe ourselves honestly, without judgment. Courtney is based in Minneapolis and is planning some in-person workshops in the DC area in 2024. We’d love to see if our community has an interest in bringing her to Willow Street Yoga Center for an in-studio Yenneagram event.

January 28

6 - 7 pm

online only

For more info, visit Yenneagram.com

Register today! There are a few spots left for my event at next week, Thursday Jan. 25th, 5:30-8pm.

These are a couple of the items you’ll get when you walk in the door: my favorite concise Enneagram book and a pocket notebook to jot down thoughts, ideas, and book recs during the evening.

Learn more and sign up at the following link (cut and paste into your browser):

https://www.yenneagram.com/events/p/new-year-same-you

Puppers, rainbows, good light in a home full of love—I have everything I need.

https://open.spotify.com/track/6vi3bUoyyrsBLVTh9QofxH?si=3K3wvFgmQTCEDHlCakd0hw

If you’d like to hear me chat with therapist and philosophy guru Quique Autrey about enneagram, yoga, cults, and how we think the world might end, check out this episode of his Psyche podcast!

My heart wants you to know that my belly feels some low-grade nervousness bubbling as I share this, and that’s because my mind has come up with things I should have said differently or not at all. But true self-acceptance is embracing the whole of who we are, and if I teach it, I must practice it! I love you, Courtney, rambling tangents, question deflections, and all.

I truly enjoyed this convo with a new friend. It was fun, and if you listen, I hope you enjoy it.

(If you love deep philosophy cuts, check out his other episodes with folks who use much bigger words!)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/61cX3DhNKmbYeXkb5EwjlW?si=TCvBjZSQT2ixa-qahoQNrQ

A kind soul who comes to yoga just returned from his homeland of India and brought me incense made from the flowers left at temples. The flowers have to be cleared away periodically, and the maker dries and compresses their remains into incense.

Consider how much intention plays a part in the sacredness of this smoke. So many hearts have poured their offerings and blessings into the sweet scent I now breathe in. I feel humbled, connected, and grateful.

I recently pulled out my old Prana mat because I’ve started slipping a bit on my Lulu mat. But I originally ditched the Prana because I had begun to slip on it!

People often ask me what mat they should purchase. The answer is simply: the one on which you don’t slip. Obviously you can’t know until you try one out, though.

If you’re part of a yoga community, ask your classmates if you can try a down dog on their mat. One of my students even let me use his new mat once so I could do a whole class as a test! Such a gift.

I can’t tell you how important it is to feel safe and secure on your mat. Feet firmly planted. It will transform your yoga practice.

Register today for a fun, social, educational, and inspirational Yenneagram event at Thursday Jan. 25th!

You’ll go home with at least one book in hand (my gift to you), a long list of recommended reading, and everything in the shop will be 10% off. Look at all of these fun non-book items!

Spots are limited. Cut and paste this link to learn more:

https://www.yenneagram.com/events/p/new-year-same-you

One of my favorite meals to start the day (at whatever time that happens) is this: tricolor quinoa (cooked in broth), avocado, red cabbage, and coconut aminos.

I know I’ve shared this in the past, but it’s just that good! I really don’t enjoy spending time cooking, so this is a quick amazing meal.

More and more today the hot topic is: food is medicine. I began to prioritize this last year when researching brain health.

The brain consumes about 20 percent of our energy daily. What are we feeding it?