Category Quotes
No, you privileged Americans, it’s not 1938
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Source: No, you privileged Americans, it’s not 1938 In 2005 I visited the Wießensee cemetery in Berlin and the Neue Synagogue located on Oranienburger street. Constructed in the 1860s the building was grand, with Moorish style dooms and faux-minarets. Despite the Holocaust this building and the extensive, lush cemetery that is […]
“If You Wanna Pay Me and Be Lazy, You’re a Crazy Person”: Old-School Teaching Needs to Make a Comeback
A woman in our African dance class last week stopped dancing for 10 minutes at a clip to standby and watch. Finally I said to her, “If you can’t do the step, just walk to the beat. That way you can practice hearing the different drums and following the rhythm.” The live drums were loud […]
She Asked the Guru, “Can Atheists Do Yoga?”
Recently a student asked our Ashtanga yoga teacher, “Can people do yoga if they don’t believe in god?” I stopped what I was doing to listen to his answer. See, the thing is, I’m not a Believer. I’m a New Yorker who learned that gurus/pastors/rabbis were just guys with enough charisma to charm their way into […]
IS YOUR ASHTANGA TEACHER A CONTROL FREAK?
I am reblogging Rosa’s post about our Second Series Ashtanga teacher training with Tim Miller. Tim spent a good deal of time addressing the unnecessary “strictness” of Ashtanga. To add a few quotes to Rosa’s: Tim believes in freedom to explore poses and room for personal style. For Parivritta Parsvakonasana he said, “People have a […]
Thich Nhat Hanh Wheedles His Way Into my Marriage
There are two times I thought we were finished: at our friends’ wedding when he wouldn’t dance with me, not even to a slow song where he would only have to stand there and sway, and the night he went to the Motel 6 because I brought a shedding dog into our house for the […]
When Do you Feel Free? (An Incomplete List From My Friends and Neighbors)
When do you feel free? My friends in New York and California weighed in and many had overlapping ideas. (My friends tend to be middle-class, leftist, non-religious and educated, so this is a highly slanted and incomplete list. Everyone’s interpretation of freedom depends on how they identify and in which country/community they live.) When we have the house to ourselves. As in, […]
Wannabes and Posers: A Path of Self Improvement?
Remember the words “wannabe” and “poser” from Junior High? Defined as, “a person who tries to be like someone else or to fit in with a particular group of people,” these are derogatory words that imply dissatisfaction with self and weakness of character. But what if “wannabes” are just inspired? They see something worth replicating and they […]
Showing Up: Pattabhi Jois and Woody Allen Agree
In Ashtanga yoga, we practice 6 days a week. Sri K Pattabhi Jois, who brought this yoga method to the West, said, “Yoga is 99% practice and 1% knowledge.” In order to practice, we have to to clear our schedules (including when our college friends are visiting or when we regrettably binged on pizza the night before) and show […]
“Before This and After This”… When Life Changes in a Moment
The events that changed my life are often not events at all, but rather a few months of “something” that nudged me and led to certain decisions. This would put me in the camp of, “CHANGE IS A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT.” But I quite like the quote in the photo and gave it some […]
Inaction and My Menial Existence
I’m having a pre-midlife crisis. On my yoga mat, I can strike the balance between action and inaction, effort and surrender. (Sometimes I’m tired and the most “action” I can eek out is getting to the class. Yogis, you know.) But off the mat, it’s hard to find time for appropriate action (for how long […]
People We Know 