Yoga Blog

My favorite number since, well, since I can remember having a favorite number, is three. Considering this journey I’m traveling on the eight-fold path of yoga, my head says the new favorite number should be eight. My heart, however, says, No. There is magic in three. When I was in fourth grade, my Uncle Don – also known as My Uncle the Priest – learned of my favorite number. I still remember his big grin. I think he figured I’d been paying attention in religion class to all the aspects of the Church that revolved around the mystical triad, trinity, three. The truth was, most of my attention had been spent on horses. For me, they defined power, focus, fluidity, gentleness. Especially Secretariat. He won the three legs of the Triple Crown, each one with ease. He was the image of strength and beauty and, oh, how I adored that […]

In the Introduction to Waking, Matthew Sanford writes, “There is a difference between seeking and looking for answers. I am not looking for answers. Rather, I seek to appreciate and believe in my experience.” (p. xi) My New Year’s resolution is to remember to take my calcium supplements. A bit lame, I realize. Perhaps I’ll add to it: Ward off osteoporosis and, instead of looking for answers, seek to embrace my experience.For more on Matthew Sanford’s inspirational story, go to http://www.matthewsanford.com/book.html .

After the Parkinson’s diagnosis, I often lay in bed watching the clock tick past 2:00 am, 3:00 am, 4:00 am, contemplating the cruelty of my life sentence. The disease was targeting my right side, which I’d depended on for years to compensate for the stroke that had weakened the left. I was running out of sides. One morning, I called my friend, Cathy, who was battling her second round of cancer treatments. I asked her how she did it, got through the nights. She said that though there were times that flossing before turning in seemed an exercise in optimism, she did do one thing before she fell asleep.