photograph "Autumn Rainbow" © J. Merideth 2010
The Falcon hears the falconer
From the continued meltdown of the financial sector to the trillions spent on bailouts and stimulus packages, foreclosures, Ponzi schemes, death panels, incessant talk of healthcare reform, homegrown terrorists, H1N1 hype and the death of Michael Jackson, 2009 has felt like a very long meandering drive down a poorly maintained, winding mountain road in the dark. One word stands out in my mind...calamity. For a time it seemed that calamity indeed loomed around the next corner and as a culture we were holding our collective breath. I know millions of Americans faced real calamity in the loss of job and home, mounting bills, and limited options. This has been a tough year on many fronts. I don’t think this truth would be denied by many.
As the end of this interesting year draws to a close, the mantra, I’m still here, has been bubbling to the surface. This seems particularly important to me lately because I know that during particularly high periods of emotional stress or when faced with anxiety-provoking realities, it is all too easy to dissociate from the space of inner peace and fortitude. It is even harder to hold onto a sense of calm deliberation when we have a personal history of drama and being reactive. Personally, I think we have been slogging our way through a fairly intense chapter of collective angst that no amount of “positive thinking” could ameliorate. There has been unprecedented change in a very short stretch of time and for many of us the resultant landscape has changed substantially.
Whether you believe that the change we have experienced over the last 12 months (and more) is going to make us stronger or that it’s a sign of a slow but inevitable decline, is irrelevant to me because today, this very moment, in every breath, I’m still here. This may sound simple but the essential quality that I know and embrace as seminally John, hasn’t changed as a result of all the external turmoil. I think we often forget this simple truth. As a result, we begin to feel lost or adrift in the turmoil. In repeating this mantra, I’m still here, to myself over the last weeks and months, I have found space to exhale and relax into the potential of what lies ahead. The alternative is to lose oneself in the drama, curling back into a place of greater fear and anxiety. I think the benefit of staying present during such difficult times is somewhat obvious. On one hand, we can better marshal the energy necessary to address obstacles and challenges. Perhaps more importantly, we increase the likelihood that we will stay present through the gorgeous sunsets spent with a partner, laughter of a child or aimless play of a beloved pet.
Yoga taught me the mantra, I’m still here. To stand on my hands, meditate for hours, balance on one foot, flow continuously for an hour or stay in a headstand for 5 minutes required that I believe in myself and tap into that bottomless well of inner calm and integrity. Despite what at times, seems like struggle or turmoil, I’m still here in each breath and every moment. Noting that the external may have shifted, while reconnecting with that timeless, limitless, spaceless quality of consciousness is why we are here. Yoga reminds me that even amongst the stressful periods, there is always the potential for creative play.
Go in peace.
Namaste,
John Merideth
for more articles read john's blog
As the end of this interesting year draws to a close, the mantra, I’m still here, has been bubbling to the surface. This seems particularly important to me lately because I know that during particularly high periods of emotional stress or when faced with anxiety-provoking realities, it is all too easy to dissociate from the space of inner peace and fortitude. It is even harder to hold onto a sense of calm deliberation when we have a personal history of drama and being reactive. Personally, I think we have been slogging our way through a fairly intense chapter of collective angst that no amount of “positive thinking” could ameliorate. There has been unprecedented change in a very short stretch of time and for many of us the resultant landscape has changed substantially.
Whether you believe that the change we have experienced over the last 12 months (and more) is going to make us stronger or that it’s a sign of a slow but inevitable decline, is irrelevant to me because today, this very moment, in every breath, I’m still here. This may sound simple but the essential quality that I know and embrace as seminally John, hasn’t changed as a result of all the external turmoil. I think we often forget this simple truth. As a result, we begin to feel lost or adrift in the turmoil. In repeating this mantra, I’m still here, to myself over the last weeks and months, I have found space to exhale and relax into the potential of what lies ahead. The alternative is to lose oneself in the drama, curling back into a place of greater fear and anxiety. I think the benefit of staying present during such difficult times is somewhat obvious. On one hand, we can better marshal the energy necessary to address obstacles and challenges. Perhaps more importantly, we increase the likelihood that we will stay present through the gorgeous sunsets spent with a partner, laughter of a child or aimless play of a beloved pet.
Yoga taught me the mantra, I’m still here. To stand on my hands, meditate for hours, balance on one foot, flow continuously for an hour or stay in a headstand for 5 minutes required that I believe in myself and tap into that bottomless well of inner calm and integrity. Despite what at times, seems like struggle or turmoil, I’m still here in each breath and every moment. Noting that the external may have shifted, while reconnecting with that timeless, limitless, spaceless quality of consciousness is why we are here. Yoga reminds me that even amongst the stressful periods, there is always the potential for creative play.
Go in peace.
Namaste,
John Merideth
for more articles read john's blog
Winter Schedule • January 1 - March 31
Monday
5pm - Open Studio - John
6pm - Ashtanga Blend - John
7:30pm - Beginners Basics Hip Opening - Rexx
Tuesday
5pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
6pm - Ashtanga Express John
7:30pm - Ashtanga Basics - Robynne
Wednesday
6pm - Hip Opening- Anika
Thursday
5pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
6pm - Primary Series Level 2 - John
7:30pm - Yoga Basics- Robynne
Friday
9:30am - Ashtanga Blend - John
Saturday
9am - 1st/2nd Series Level 3 - John
11am - Yoga Basics and Practice Fundamentals - John
12:45pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
Sunday
10am - OY Hip Opening - John
12:30 - Community Flow - Anika
4:30pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
5pm - Open Studio - John
6pm - Ashtanga Blend - John
7:30pm - Beginners Basics Hip Opening - Rexx
Tuesday
5pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
6pm - Ashtanga Express John
7:30pm - Ashtanga Basics - Robynne
Wednesday
6pm - Hip Opening- Anika
Thursday
5pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
6pm - Primary Series Level 2 - John
7:30pm - Yoga Basics- Robynne
Friday
9:30am - Ashtanga Blend - John
Saturday
9am - 1st/2nd Series Level 3 - John
11am - Yoga Basics and Practice Fundamentals - John
12:45pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
Sunday
10am - OY Hip Opening - John
12:30 - Community Flow - Anika
4:30pm - Aerial Yoga - John register
The Winter Schedule goes into effect Saturday January 2nd, 2010.
Evening classes begin at 5, 6 & 7:30pm.
For the most up to date class and eVent information, visit the schedule page.
Evening classes begin at 5, 6 & 7:30pm.
For the most up to date class and eVent information, visit the schedule page.
A good mix of yoga classes is an effective antidote for the Winter doldrums!
Winter events and activities
onlYoga Book Discussion - The Evolution Of God - January 10th 12:30 - 2pm - At The Bakeshop register now
Quarterly Specials
16 Classes $168 - Regularly $198 - Save $30
New Years resolution Specials
-20% Off ALL Class Packages For New Students
- $5 OFF Your Next Class when you introduce a new student to onlYoga
Spend $300 or more on a regularly priced class package and receive a FREE onlYoga Bamboo T
easy cioppino (seafood stew)
- ingredients
- 1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- minimum of 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in juice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup full-bodied red wine such as Zinfandel or Syrah
- 1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
- 1 pound skinless fillets of thick white-fleshed fish such as halibut, hake, or pollack, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 pound cultivated mussels
preparation
Pulse fennel, onion, and garlic in a food processor or chop coarsely.
Heat oil in a large 5 or 6 quart heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then stir in chopped vegetables, bay leaves, thyme, red-pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.
Add tomatoes with their juice, water, wine, and clam juice and boil, covered, 20 minutes. Stir in seafood and cook, uncovered, until fish is just cooked through and mussels open wide, 4 to 6 minutes (discard any that remain unopened after 6 minutes). Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve immediately with a crusty Italian bread.
Total time to serving is approximately 50 min. Yields 4 hearty servings.
Pulse fennel, onion, and garlic in a food processor or chop coarsely.
Heat oil in a large 5 or 6 quart heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then stir in chopped vegetables, bay leaves, thyme, red-pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.
Add tomatoes with their juice, water, wine, and clam juice and boil, covered, 20 minutes. Stir in seafood and cook, uncovered, until fish is just cooked through and mussels open wide, 4 to 6 minutes (discard any that remain unopened after 6 minutes). Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve immediately with a crusty Italian bread.
Total time to serving is approximately 50 min. Yields 4 hearty servings.
a winter mix 2010
A selection of songs from one of dj johnny's winter 2010 class mixes...
poem
From The Second Coming
-W. B. Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity...
-W. B. Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity...
