New Year 2021

 I wish you all peace, wellness and happiness.

If you are grieving, I wish you comfort.  A dear friend and my dear niece passed away during this 9 months. I am experiencing  grief.

 I don’t expect or want to rush the grief, to “move on”.  I am honoring it as a process.  The waves of sadness and tears are a way they live in my heart. The memories I cherish bring joy though often mixed with the tears.

I am grateful to have friends who I can cry with and who show me their tears. who listen and who share their grief, sadness, fears, worries and  laughter.

If you are grieving you might find great comfort in the quotes, talks and books I share in this blog Honoring our grief

Last March when everything shut down I never imagined, nine months later, we’d still be staying home, wearing masks going out only for essential errands.

It has been easy to feel alone during Covid restrictions. For me alone is a familiar state, from times when I was young. It has taken most of my life to accept help and support when times are hard.  I wouldn’t seek support because of that false belief that I’m alone, that I must do everything on my own, pull myself up by my own bootstraps. That is BS! That belief can lead to real isolation.

 As human beings we want connection and closeness, it is worth taking risks and putting ourselves out there  again and again. The reality is we have People. We interconnected. Keep nourishing friendships and making new friends.

  I have grown closer to some friends and family during this time, even across physical distance!

Covid time has been an introspective for me. I have been exploring the roots of  irrational beliefs that are rooted in my past hurts. Hurts that are rooted or amplified because of young people’s oppression, sexism, and classism. These oppressions as well as racism, and antisemitism are passed down through generations and are systemic in this USA culture and institutions. And these perpetuate isolation.

Yet I believe Humanity can do the inner and outer work to evolve toward a fair and just society for everyone. I am committed to this work, it is YOGA off the mat 

 Those of you who I’ve seen on Zoom and at physical distance for sharing yoga have been wonderful! If you haven’t come back in awhile You are welcome to join. The Zoom classes are small anywhere from 1-6 people. They are still donation based.

 I’m here and happy to meet you, from the comfort of our own homes for now.

Peace, Christina

Class schedule can be found at https://happymountainyoga.com/

Honoring our Grief

 Dear Yoga Friends,

As the year 2020 comes to an end we may be thinking of loved ones lost this year or years ago.

I recently, again  listened to these talks, Grief and Praise by a South American Shaman, Martin Prechtel.  His way of speaking is humble and funny. His book, The Smell of Rain on Dust, is an exquisite, and comforting read about life and grief. 

 I hope some of you listen and savor this as much as I do, read his book or at least read  notes here.  He reminded me of the medicine of tears (and laughter). I am paraphrasing some of his talk here…

“The ability to weep is a gift. Laughter and weeping are relatives.   Praise and grief live in the same house, sleep in the same bed. Weeping is not depression, not sadness… it is lack of grieving. Tears loosen  medicine… This is why we feel so alive when grief is done… done properly…there is not a right way, but…  you look a mess when you’re done and feel so alive!  Grief brings you back to life. Grief is a form of praise of life, the gift of being alive.”

He talked about how important it is to praise young people, all their ideas,” praise them well, all the time, listen to them and teach them how to grieve properly.  Let then see you grieve so they will know how…  The ”tough” youth play out our illness, for us to see- they act flat- like they feel nothing… flat.” (he tells a sweet, funny story in the talk)

 When something dies it is important to grieve, or it is as if it was never alive. You can’t deal with it yourself; it takes a community… To grieve properly takes a lot of people, hundreds of people…  Praise is better that way too.

“When the tears roll you have to listen to the person. Nothing to solve… they are in that place, listen to them, let it rock.. Same with happiness… let it roll… Grief makes people care for each other…We love expression in the village, the people watch out for you. People praise and grieve in such a way that the village holds them up while they do it”.  

Here is a prayer he spoke in native language, then in English, then explained it’s meaning Long Line, Honey in the Heart,

tears of Gods, white roads,

paved with the eyebrows of the moon, which is sea foam                            

all color roads, which are paved with abundance

from the tail of the morning star,  

 which is the deer.    No evils, thirteen thank-you(s).

Listen to the three gracious talks at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6h3JNOCTYc

Namaste,   Christina