Humans All the Way Down
by Tracey Rich
I love this expression. It inspires and reinforces the fact that we are all, only human. What a wonderful, vulnerable, potent, and hopeful condition. We have the power of hope and imagination. We have the sometimes scary, vulnerable possibilities of being touched and moved deeply. We have the ability to be hurt and to hurt others. We have both courage and fear. We can dream. And, we can get things done.
I heard Chris Hayes use an expression the other night; "people all the way down". It struck a chord in my heart as both true and precious. Humans all the way down is what it said to me. I am aware that there is a book with a similar title, Turtles All the Way Down, but I was sure that Chris made this little thought form up right on the spot.
I had a friend recently become fascinated with another news story that involved...
A Poem From Our Beloved Gigi
This Is Just To Say
This is just to say
I've just lost a friend
Another is ill
And one moved away
This is just to say
Old age really stinks
Our friends seem to shrink
We look to the young
This is just to say
Health rates top prize
We seem to be wise
Finding joy every day
This is just to say
Some things really rate
Sunshine, flowers, our mate
Give us joy every day
Gloria Major-Brown
2010
Both Sides Now
Intuitive Flow
with Tracey
Our bodies instinctively move towards balance. In yoga practice, the focus overall is to move everything towards balance. We learn in our very first session to do one side of a pose and then the other. We also learn to balance our less dominant side, sometimes the weaker or less coordinated side, and focus on the subtleties required to strengthen that side. Guidance sometimes is given to practice longer or with additional repetitions on the side that requires more support. These are all efforts to bring the skeletal-muscular systems into alignment, thus balancing our bodies. But in an intuitive flow practice balance occurs in interesting and beautiful arrangements. There is so much to be discovered as this moving meditation and dance unfolds.
Be curious in your intuitive flow. The idea rests in...
From the White Lotus Kitchen
Polenta Cornbread
Fall is right around the corner, so we can start thinking about making hearty soups, eating savory vegetables, using warm, sweet spices, and baking pumpkin pies. We know you will love this recipe for polenta cornbread.
We actually don't wait just for fall. We make this cornbread all year long--it's such a favorite around here. It's moist with just a hint of sweetness. And polenta cornbread has lots of delicious corn flavor and texture. We like to eat it warm with honey butter. You could make a spicy, jalapeño honey butter to serve on top if you're feeling adventurous. This cornbread also holds up perfectly in the bottom of a bowl with black bean soup ladled on top.
We happened upon this keeper of a recipe at the beginning of the pandemic on a site called Shutterbean. Although most of our recipes are created here in the White Lotus Kitchen, we love to give credit when credit is due. We wouldn't change a grain of this recipe. Well, we might actually use a bit less sugar, use vegan butter, and sometimes make our buttermilk out of oat milk, and suggest organic ingredients. Still, you are in for such a treat no matter how you make it!
Finally, we give you, Polenta Cornbread. Could have sworn we shared it a thousand times before.
Killing Time
Asanas and Other Things
Where do you go when you hang around in your asanas? Are you killing time in your poses with your mind jumping about? Perhaps your mind is ticking off the seconds, hoping the tune will change any minute, and yet another asana will treat you to a dopamine-rush buffet satisfying a need for constant options. Can you remain firmly planted in your body and connected to your breath, feeling the challenge of gravity and the waves of inhalation and exhalation helping you discern the nuances of your body speaking?
When you hold a pose for any duration...
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