Giving & Receiving

Hello my friends,

I visited the Morton Arboretum again this past weekend and finally saw all of the pieces of the new exhibit Human+Nature by Daniel Popper. The sculpture below was my absolute favorite. Just those two hands reaching forward...ready to help, ready to receive, ready to offer support. I love those hands.

In my work this week I've been reviewing lots of the training materials that I have from the past 18 months. I came across the following notation:

There are so many blessings all around us - we put up umbrellas of distraction, of busy-ness, of ego. We need to fold away the umbrella and revel in the blessings. - Kristine Weber

Yep, I need to fold up my umbrella. Lose the busy-ness, lose the distraction, and notice the grace around me. I need to be open to those blessings of wisdom, awe, knowledge, and insight. I will open my hands to be ready to receive them. I want to share those same gifts with everyone I know. My hands are reaching forward to share with you.

We often use that mudra (symbol with our hands) of open hands in our practice. That sense of both giving and receiving is important in what we do. Doing something for you makes me feel good, but until I can receive and allow you that same good feeling, it's not balanced. The umbrella is still open.

We'll use this imagery in our practice this week. Receiving these gifts and sharing them as well. We fold up the umbrella and let the gifts rain down!

Please join me.

Monday, July 19 - 8:15 am - Slow Flow with Nina G (The link will be out soon!)

Wednesday, July 21 - 7:30 pm - Movement and Stillness

Chair Yoga - Forward

Love,

Nina G

Forward

I spent Friday night and all day Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin, visiting my daughter and her fiance. It was a beautiful 26 hours and it was great to take a road trip again. I hadn't been in a hotel in 18 months, so it was interesting to return to some previous patterns. There was eating, drinking, shopping, talking, and walking. It was a fun and holy weekend.

Wisconsin on top of the Wisconsin state building. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

The state motto of Wisconsin is FORWARD. When we visit Madison, we stay and play in and around the capitol building, always under the watchful eyes of Wisconsin. She is the statue who stands on the capitol dome. Her right arm reaches out, symbolizing forward. Every time I visit Madison, I like to shout FORWARD as we move between activities. Time to go to the Farmers' Market? FORWARD! Time to get in the car and drive to a restaurant? FORWARD! You can only imagine how much everyone enjoys that...

The down time of the past 15 months has given me time to reflect. I realize that forward is exactly what I've been craving. I've heard lot of talk about returning to 'normal' post-pandemic. I don't want to return to normal. Normal wasn't necessarily all that great. To me, normal is going backwards. I want to unstick from the past way of doing things. I want to lose those pre-conceived notions of how things ought to be and make them better. I want to proceed forward using what lessons I've learned.

I don't want normal, I want better.

What does better mean? I think it will be different for me than for you, and that's okay. You define how you want to make the world better and I'll do my thing and maybe, together, we can all create better. Each one of us can make our own little ripple out there in the big pond. Together we can effect big change. There's lots of work ahead of us. It's time to begin.

In other news, I'm working to expand the reach of my yoga teaching practice. I'm working on new projects and taking more training (always learning!) to improve my offerings. All of this is to better serve you, my wonderful students. If you know of anyone else that might be interested in the slow, mindful yoga that I teach, please invite them to join us. I'm happy to reach out and welcome them to our group. Hit reply and let me know. Stay tuned to this newsletter for more info.

Wisconsin on top of the dome has it right - let's move forward.

Monday, July 12 - 8:15 am - Slow Flow with Nina G (The link will be out soon!)

Wednesday, July 14 - 7:30 pm - Movement and Stillness

Chair Yoga - Focus & Attention

Forward with love,

Nina G