blog / podcast
I've decided to continue offering Mindful Yoga with Steven into the foreseeable future. As you may know, I've been teaching Mindful Yoga with Steven
through #IAmOswegoFit for the last two years. I am committed to offering this class for as long as it is needed.
As this semester comes to a close, and we find ourselves still in the grasp of this pandemic. Through the tragedy and fear, we're faced with some new opportunities.
Teaching virtually, while never the same as in-person and face-to-face, expands our ability to practice together virtually, anytime, anywhere. So this is a great opportunity for us to examine how many classes are offered and when .
Many of you know me for my Mindfulness classes, but what you may not know is before I ever formulated Mindful Yoga with Steven, I taught Vinyasa Flow , and I am quite fond of a high energy strength and balance building Yang Practice , also prior to the pandemic, I traveled regularly to teach Workshops and Master Classes on Mindfulness, Mindful Creativity & Performance (ActingMindful.ly) and Breath-work , I had even planned to co-host my first retreat in Bali later this year, a project that will have to wait for another season.
Faced with these new challenged I've be forced to adapt to online classes and for those of you that have been joining use each Friday... it's gone pretty well! I feel it's really important to hold live classes rather than prerecorded content (even if the product is a little less polished) to allow time and space for us to practice together, and for me to offer suggestions and answer questions while we build a community and socialize together . I plan to continue using Zoom (new link to come) and dig a little deeper into cleaner multi-camera switching so you can see more when you need a little more guidance, and I plan on mixing it up with the music tracks to provide a little more variety in that ambient sound for those of you that enjoy it. If there's an interest, I may even develop some binaural tracks and other therapeutic soundscapes for us to experiment with.
On a final note (and this is VERY important)
I've decided to offer all of these classes on a modified Pay-What-You-Can or Pay-it-Forward model .
Starting this week I'll be posting the new yoga class schedule on my website where you can sign up to attend classes and, if you're able, make a financial gift. The financial gift you make to me, is entirely up to you even if it's $1 or nothing at all . I know what these classes are worth, I'm totally comfortable charging $10-15 a class, I know other instructors offer subscriptions and pre-purchased "class packs" for their businesses and I routinely charge $125+ / person for my workshops and master classes, but I want to do something different .
Even before the pandemic I was conceptualizing something more aligned with my values. A structure that encourages a Gift Culture rather than Transactional Capitalist Commodification. Now that the pandemic hit, I think it's even more important. So I'm putting my faith in you and the community we're building. I hope you'll go on this journey with me. The revenue from classes and workshops make up a substantial part of my livelihood, but I want you to have the experience of my classes, as my gift to you , no mater what you can afford to pay, and if you're able, I would be honored to receive a gift from you in any amount you can make.
Teaching virtually, while never the same as in-person and face-to-face, expands our ability to practice together virtually, anytime, anywhere. So this is a great opportunity for us to examine how many classes are offered and when .
Many of you know me for my Mindfulness classes, but what you may not know is before I ever formulated Mindful Yoga with Steven, I taught Vinyasa Flow , and I am quite fond of a high energy strength and balance building Yang Practice , also prior to the pandemic, I traveled regularly to teach Workshops and Master Classes on Mindfulness, Mindful Creativity & Performance (ActingMindful.ly) and Breath-work , I had even planned to co-host my first retreat in Bali later this year, a project that will have to wait for another season.
Faced with these new challenged I've be forced to adapt to online classes and for those of you that have been joining use each Friday... it's gone pretty well! I feel it's really important to hold live classes rather than prerecorded content (even if the product is a little less polished) to allow time and space for us to practice together, and for me to offer suggestions and answer questions while we build a community and socialize together . I plan to continue using Zoom (new link to come) and dig a little deeper into cleaner multi-camera switching so you can see more when you need a little more guidance, and I plan on mixing it up with the music tracks to provide a little more variety in that ambient sound for those of you that enjoy it. If there's an interest, I may even develop some binaural tracks and other therapeutic soundscapes for us to experiment with.
On a final note (and this is VERY important)
I've decided to offer all of these classes on a modified Pay-What-You-Can or Pay-it-Forward model .
Starting this week I'll be posting the new yoga class schedule on my website where you can sign up to attend classes and, if you're able, make a financial gift. The financial gift you make to me, is entirely up to you even if it's $1 or nothing at all . I know what these classes are worth, I'm totally comfortable charging $10-15 a class, I know other instructors offer subscriptions and pre-purchased "class packs" for their businesses and I routinely charge $125+ / person for my workshops and master classes, but I want to do something different .
Even before the pandemic I was conceptualizing something more aligned with my values. A structure that encourages a Gift Culture rather than Transactional Capitalist Commodification. Now that the pandemic hit, I think it's even more important. So I'm putting my faith in you and the community we're building. I hope you'll go on this journey with me. The revenue from classes and workshops make up a substantial part of my livelihood, but I want you to have the experience of my classes, as my gift to you , no mater what you can afford to pay, and if you're able, I would be honored to receive a gift from you in any amount you can make.
Last month I was teaching a Mindfulness for the Actor workshop in Brooklyn and had a little free time, so I jumped on the train to Manhattan and took a drop-in class at Lucid Body House on Lexington Ave.
...Ummm...WOW!
While there I got the rare treat of meeting founder of the method herself Fay Simpson! After the class I sat down with her her and discussed her unique Chakra based acting method, and its parallels with ActingMindful.ly
Completely genuinely, if I lived in the city I might abandon ActingMindful.ly to pursue teaching Lucid Body with Fay. It really is THAT GOOD. Honestly, I would LIVE at Lucid Body House if they let me... I don't need much, just give me a spot by the yoga mats to curl up each night. 😉
Enjoy!
Stream or download below.
Run-time: 26 mins 17 secs
...Ummm...WOW!
While there I got the rare treat of meeting founder of the method herself Fay Simpson! After the class I sat down with her her and discussed her unique Chakra based acting method, and its parallels with ActingMindful.ly
Completely genuinely, if I lived in the city I might abandon ActingMindful.ly to pursue teaching Lucid Body with Fay. It really is THAT GOOD. Honestly, I would LIVE at Lucid Body House if they let me... I don't need much, just give me a spot by the yoga mats to curl up each night. 😉
Enjoy!
Stream or download below.
Run-time: 26 mins 17 secs
After the Chinese Communist takeover of Tibet in 1959, all but a dozen of Tibet's 6,500 monasteries, were destroyed or closed, with most of the monks being either killed or imprisoned. Approximately 250 of theDrepung Loselingmonks managed to escape. They were accepted as refugees in India, where eventually they built a replica "Drepung Loseling in Exile" monastery in Karnataka State, southeast of Bombay. Today it is home to more than 3,000 monks.
Here they work to preserve their ancient traditions. One way they do so is through The Mystical Arts of Tibet touring show which features mystic music, dance or, in our case, visual art through the creation of sand mandalas or sand paintings. Taking five days to complete, the elaborate mandala is "painted" by laying down millions of grains of sand to create the traditional design.
While the monks were in residence the Venerable Gonsa Rinpoche and monk Beri Palden facilitated workshops and dialogues and even honored a Mindfulness for the Actor instructor with a private interview. In this podcast we talk about, art, emotion, relationships, performance, fame, mindfulness and so much more!
Stream or download below.
Run-time 1 hr 6 mins 52 secs
Here they work to preserve their ancient traditions. One way they do so is through The Mystical Arts of Tibet touring show which features mystic music, dance or, in our case, visual art through the creation of sand mandalas or sand paintings. Taking five days to complete, the elaborate mandala is "painted" by laying down millions of grains of sand to create the traditional design.
While the monks were in residence the Venerable Gonsa Rinpoche and monk Beri Palden facilitated workshops and dialogues and even honored a Mindfulness for the Actor instructor with a private interview. In this podcast we talk about, art, emotion, relationships, performance, fame, mindfulness and so much more!
Stream or download below.
Run-time 1 hr 6 mins 52 secs
I've just returned from Louisville and I realized I forgot to mention how the Default Mode Network (DMN) can be a POSITIVE tool for planning, and self critique, not just a pathway to depression, negativity and anxiety.
Stream or download below.
Run-time 21 min 39 secs.
Stream or download below.
Run-time 21 min 39 secs.
Giving up social media, deleting your facebook account, facebook leaks, cutting the cord and why.
Courage is not comfortable. It is innately tied to our feeling fear, and most often implies future pain. To be courageous is not to be unaffected by fear, but rather, courage is the acceptance of pain in the face of fear, in order to overcome the trial ahead. To be comfortable is to deny the trial, attempting to evade the pain and, thereby, refuse growth or healing. By contrast, to be courageous is to temporarily give up comfort, in order to accept pain, process that pain and, ultimately, transform. As the ancient stoics would say: "Impedimentum facit viam", or "the obstacle is the way". To refuse a necessary trial out of fear of pain or discomfort is liken to the ancient epic heros of old denying their quest. It may be safe for now, but it ensures stagnancy, decay, numbness, and defeat. Courage, while not comfortable in the moment, facilitates our deepest awakening, growth, transformation and healing.Recognize your fear. Sit with it, as Thich Nhat Hanh would say: bring it up into the living room. Know that it is normal to be afraid and that what comes ahead will be difficult, maybe even painful. Look your fear in the eyes...and then choose courage anyway. Choose pain. Knowing that difficulty and discomfort will not last and what is waiting on the other side of discomfort and pain, may very well be, everything you've ever wanted. Choose the hero's quest, and become a hero.
But remember, before a hero can be called one, they must must battle a monster, their demon if you will.
"What if I should discover that the poorest of the beggars and the most impudent of offenders are all within me; and that I stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I, myself, am the enemy who must be loved -- what then?” ― Carl Gustav Jung"
Silencing the negative voices that invent stories against us, is a massive challenge for all of us. In attempting to silence these voices we must be careful though. We can't dismiss all of the voices inside us because one of them is our intuition, the most valuable teacher we have but we can always recognize it because it speaks from love. The fear speaking within us is what I refer to as the demons inside us.
Battling demons takes an epic amount of energy, which is why I'm starting to believe the way to best handle them is not to take them head-on, not to go at them swinging, but to acknowledge them, with compassion and pity and say "I see you, I hear you, but I am no longer going to feed you. You do not serve me. So I will not give you any more of my energy by fighting against you. Like a mighty stream, I will let this flow around me and through this method, I will survive cleansed of my troubles rather than perish within them. In this way, the demons inside us become merely ghosts, still there, always a part of us, but a part of our past, transparent and weak, without form or a real capacity to harm us, easily scared away by the light.
Shine your light, starve your demons, pity your ghosts and transcend to something greater then an epic hero: the true you.
Alan Watts, my favorite philosopher, talks about the big bang.
He says if we accept that the universe started with a big bang, and we imagine it looked something like throwing a bottle of ink against a white wall, at the center is a great dense section, but as you move toward the edges the patterns get finer and finer with more and more individual shapes and curly q.
The biggest mistake mankind has ever made is believing that because he is a particularly intricate and unique looking curly q, that that means he's not ink.
As if to say the wave is not part of the ocean. We may be complicated and unique but we're still that big bang, it wasn't an event that happened long ago, it was a process that continues today and the continuation of that process made all of this and us. We aren't separate from it WE ARE IT.
The other day I was in yoga, and the person beside me had a clear bottle of water by their mat in which most of the water was drunk. At one point in the practice we were in a twist with our faces close to the ground, and beyond the bottle are these great large windows with a green courtyard outside. As I looked at the bottle I noticed it wasn't empty, not completely at least, there were loads of tiny little droplets clinging to the sides of the bottle. Each droplet different, uniquely shaped and sized. Occasionally two or more droplets would be pulled together by gravity to form one larger drop. Sometimes a larger drop would break apart into two or more new droplets, different from the droplets they were before. Whatever their shape or size, each droplet acted like a magnifying lens for the scene out the window beyond, like a thousand tiny magnifying glasses repeating the same scene out the window over and over, and because I could see through the bottle, I noticed the curve of the bottle too had its own image of the window panes and the scene beyond.
Suddenly I knew in an instant that we were all like those droplets: each unique, focused on our separateness, some large, some small but all reflecting the same thing. But because of our perspective or physical circumstances we're unable to see our true nature, beauty of our oneness with others, the striking features of the large window beyond the bottle let alone the majesty of the lush greenery outside. But it's there inside of us all, it's just hard to see. It's such a small part of the reflection. The windows, the very boundary to the outside, took up the majority of the frame. If we just had the ability to look closer within as well as zoom out we'd see the scene in its entirely. If we could we might feel drastically different about our meaning, purpose and existence in this life and in this universe.
That philosophy of oneness has a lot to do with my beliefs about love, and my personal relationship philosophy. I don't think any of us are really separate and while there may be much more beyond this physical plane, we can also experience a great eminence and majesty in coming together, in physically and emotionally experiencing the fundamental truth and beauty of our actual oneness.
I might even go so far as to say: I believe each of us is a god, the only kind of creator we're ever likely to come in contact with, in this plane at least, and when we feel "something else" we're actually just experiencing ourselves, we're feeling our oneness.
As gods we have a choice to be benevolent and beautifully giving gods of love and light, abundance, life and unity OR
we can be selfish, spiteful, jealous gods of scarcity, fear and death. I choose to worship and honor the creation and life inside myself and the unity I have with other gods rather than fear and death, that's the kind of god I want to be.
What kind of god do you want to be?