Meditation Archives | Page 2 of 2

Kali, Tearing Down Time

This is the pretty roof of the room I call home these days. On Sunday, said room began to smell a little mousey. I cleared out all my things, shook out and then refolded each item of clothing and each bag and suitcase, yet did not find a mouse. My friend correctly guessed that some small animal must have crawled between the tiles on the roof and the bamboo on the ceiling before Spirit left the body behind. Unfortunately, there was nobody who could tear the roof apart for a day and a half, so the smell permeated the space I sleep and practice.

I can’t help but bring Kali to mind. Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction and time whose devotees dance in graveyards and spread themselves with the ashes of funeral pyres. Continue reading “Kali, Tearing Down Time”

Sacred in the Mundane

–Counting–

Counting cordobas is a practice in staying present. A practice I sometimes find more difficult than my meditation practice some days. The thing about cordobas is they value 24 to the dollar, so you very quickly reach large amounts of money that you are regularly counting.

I can’t count quickly and accurately in Spanish, at least not up to high numbers. Perhaps someday. Let’s be real, I often don’t count quickly or accurately in English, either. I get distracted so easily during this task! Thoughts will intrude mid-count, or my ears will latch onto snatches of conversation occurring around me. Conversations in Spanish become harder to ignore the higher my comprehension level rises.

So I count and I practice. Each day at the start and end of my shift, I count and recount the cordobas. I train my mind to stay present on the number – in English, in Spanish, in the moment.

–Dog Walking— Continue reading “Sacred in the Mundane”

Folding In

Taoism states that we can only know a thing by knowing and understanding its opposite. For example, how can we know light if we’ve never been engulfed in darkness? How can we know happiness if we’ve never plumbed the depths of sadness? Each is just one side of a coin, with oneness being the reality and dualism the illusion.

Another way we can know a thing is by its absence. As Nataraja dances the world into existence, feet rise and fall, hips undulate, and we come in and out of being as we watch. Each time a toe rises, happiness is there or it isn’t. A hand waves down dancing to the universal rhythm, and a wish is granted.

Continue reading “Folding In”

Health and Wealth in the New Year

Feliz Ano Nuevo! The bombas exploded at midnight, lighting the night sky and filling the barrios with even more explosions than have been heard during the whole month of December. Nicaraguense set afire both fireworks that exploded individually and effigies of the old year — scarecrow men stuffed with firecrackers, newspapers, and messages of a happy new year. When the explosions quieted, the visiting began – house to house as neighbors visited neighbors and friends and families mingled. After 1 am, the crowds dispersed – either early to bed or out for late night fiestas celebrating until dawn broke the sky. Don’t ever let anyone tell you the Nicas don’t know how to party.

My 2013 in Nicaragua finds me working in a hotel mornings and teaching yoga afternoons and evenings. Continue reading “Health and Wealth in the New Year”

Finding the Thread of Yourself

It’s hard sticking to your spiritual and/or health routine during the holidays. Family comes to you or you travel to them. There are late night parties filled with tasty, tasty munchies and lots of opportunities to revel in wine-soaked smiles.

That’s all a good thing, and, I’d argue, just another dimension of your practice. Tantric philosophy says that each moment offers it’s own opportunity for waking up. Continue reading “Finding the Thread of Yourself”

What I did Today

A slice of life in Nicaragua.

I woke early to squeeze in a short hatha yoga practice and meditation before an early morning private class date over at Hotel Spa Granada, site of my favorite pool in the city! Walking there, I enjoyed the relative cool of the morning and the view of Volcan Mombacho shrouded in clouds. After a poolside yoga class followed by a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and yogurt, I headed over to Hotel Dario for some sweet coffee and a meeting with some local yoga teachers who are working to open up a boutique hotel and yoga studio here in Granada. I think we have some exciting retreat workshop collaborations in our future!!

Yoga chat is always fun, and we probably would have easily gotten lost in that conversation if it weren’t for the fun event we are planning. Continue reading “What I did Today”

At Home Yoga Retreat

Recently, I had an opportunity to attend a 10 day Vipassana retreat in Northern Nicaragua. For those unfamiliar with Vipassana, it is a form of silent meditation that is normally taught over a ten day silent retreat. The schedule for the days is long, with meditation beginning at 4:30 in the morning and lasting about 10 hours each day. Wow! On top of that, meals are sparse. As I’m still not feeling 100% myself, I opted to retreat at another time in the future when I am up to such a rigorous schedule.

However, I was inspired by the idea of a retreat, and opted instead to design and implement a yoga and meditation retreat right where I am. “Meet yourself where you are,” is one of the lessons that I continue to re-learn throughout my life. Continue reading “At Home Yoga Retreat”

Una Oportunidad para el Silencio

When we want to dive into a deeper, more meditative practice of yoga and listening to the mind, our modern lives require that we consciously create that space. That might mean creating an area for meditation in your home – a room or corner dedicated to deep thought or introspection. It might mean that you find a group of people meeting regularly at your local yoga studio, zen buddha center, or something similar, and show up for class. Or, it might mean that you take a length of time to retreat, to an organized event like a 10 Vipassana Meditation Center, or simply to the wilderness. In my life, I have always, always, always found a deep heart connection simply by surrounding myself with trees. I have sweet memories from my childhood when I would trek off to the small woods behind my elementary school and spend hours taking in the loamy scent of decaying leaves and swampy mud and stare up at the tree tops and the sky beyond, feeling connected to all those trees growing tall over my head with roots intertwining under the earth beneath me. One of my favorite hiding spots as a young girl was a tremendous pine tree with boughs that spread out wide but a quiet, clear space in the center. I would soften enter that tree and stay under it’s cool, green protection for hours, and would seek it out specifically when I was upset about something. I always found that quiet space with the scent of time cooling and calming. That said, I find myself ready now to move on from Granada and towards the wilderness. As I prepare to make this change, I”m also finding my practice move away from a strongly physical practice and more towards a yin yoga, Kundalini yoga, pranayama, and meditative practice.

Granada has been the perfect place to transition to life in Central America. Being the wealthiest city in Nicaragua, it offers many niceties to extranjeros such as opportunities for western food, a lively and active Calzada where the cerveza flows and the conversation raps all night, and opportunities to escape the oppressive heat in cool blue pools. Continue reading “Una Oportunidad para el Silencio”