You Are Viewing Personal

Ganesh, Remover of Obstacles, on the grounds of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health

I’m off to Kripalu this week for Restorative Yoga Therapeutic Teacher Training (description here, if you’re curious) with Jillian Pransky.

In 1999 Pransky left her job as a marketing director at a publishing house to teach yoga full-time. The first time she quit, it caused her so much anxiety that she went back a few days later – and then left a year later, for good. In an article on the Kripalu website, Pransky shares that part of what motivated her to make this life change was seeing her 34-year-old sister in law die of breast cancer:

“..in her passing there came that immediate question, Am I spending every minute in a way that completely allows me to engage life as fully as possible?”

Her story really resonates with me. First of all, I too once tried to quit a job and then decided to stay after all… and then quit a year or so later. Even when we know it’s time to leave something – the leaving can be hard, especially when our identity is so tied up in that which we’re leaving behind.

Also, I’m at a crossroads in my life now where even though I have a good job – a job I often enjoy (as Pransky enjoyed hers) – I can’t shake the feeling that it’s just not what I was put on this earth to do. I think of it like: Picasso might have been a great bartender, but what if he’d poured cocktails instead of painting Guernica?

The analogy is no coincidence – not because I want to paint, but because I’m an artist (improviser, performer, writer), and lately, my artist identity has been gasping for air. I know I need to be doing more art. I don’t know the rest – what that means for my life, my income. I just know that I am supposed to make a change, and I know it in every fiber of my body.

In the meantime, my aunt, who I love very dearly, is fighting cancer, and I feel called to this yoga training. I have always responded very strongly to restorative yoga, and it’s brought me great peace at times when nothing else could. I want to give that gift to others – to people with cancer, to the people who love them, and to others who are struggling. I believe I have a gift for relaxing people. It’s interesting, the juxtaposition between my interest in comedy and my interest in healing…

I’m going in with an open mind, ready to learn. I’m not Hindu, but I like the symbolism of Lord Ganesh as a remover of obstacles (hence the photo above, which was taken by Flickr user Heather Katsoulis). I want this training to help me see the obstacles in my path to becoming who I’m supposed to be. That said, I’ve learned that yoga journeys do not always turn out the way we expect, or even the way we hope, so I’m open to whatever this journey may be.

Namaste.

At this point it’s a bit late to post “3 Ways to Relax in NYC This Week” (apologies – I’ve been catching up on email and such after a week away), so I’ll boil it down to this: ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL WEATHER.

1. Enjoy this beautiful weather.

2. Enjoy this beautiful weather.

3. Enjoy this beautiful weather.

Enjoy, too, this song by the Avett Brothers. It isn’t new, but it’s taken on new meaning for me in recent months. “Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in,” they croon; “Are you aware the shape I’m in?” For the past month or so, these words have been my anthem; now I hear them and a smile springs to my face, as I sit in my Brooklyn apartment, gazing at a bright blue sky.

Thanks to Jordan for introducing me to this song (and so many others…) Check out his playlist featuring this track.

Sometimes on days like today it’s hard to know what to do. We wake up, we realize the date on the calendar, and a feeling stirs deep inside us – a memory of where we were that day, maybe, or a vague sense of the day’s importance, but where do we go from there? How do we meaningfully commemorate this day that, for so many of us, shattered our sense of safety and our view of the world, and our country, all at once?

The Twin Towers

There are a host of candlelight vigils city-wide — a way to mark the day with other New Yorkers. My friend Christa attended one last night, and writes about it on her blog. Tonight the New York Buddhist Church holds its ninth annual floating lanterns ceremony in remembrance of those who lost their lives. All across Twitter, people are sharing memories of where they were when the planes hit – a virtual vigil, of sorts.

And of course, many are using today to promote religious tolerance – or, sadly, to exhibit their intolerance.  One of the greatest tragedies of 9/11 is the acts of hatred against innocent Muslims and brown-skinned people that it inspired around the world. While Florida Pastor Terry Jones called off the Koran burning he had scheduled for today, the hate and fear he and his supporters have expressed can’t be put back in a bottle.

It’s hard to process our personal feelings from that day without veering into politics, but I think we need a way to remember the pain and loss of 9/11, and honor the day’s heroes, without focusing all of our attention on the global political implications of that day and its aftershocks. Maybe that’s naive – but we are not simply political animals. We are human beings with hearts and spirits that suffered a tremendous tragedy.

How do you process your memories of 9/11?

Image above by Mark H. Anbinder on Flickr