I am a yogi

 My community is always with me

My mornings begin with a predictable routine -- coffee, smartphone scrolling, and yoga. I pour my second cup of coffee at home but my second shot of yoga is typically at Yen Yoga, which has been a virtual community for the past 2+ years.

Yen again becomes a physical location on Monday, June 20 when it moves into its beautiful new studio on the Bay, but this week there's a lull. Since I can't go to class, I've decided to post pictures of me practicing yoga on a recent road trip to the southwest. 

This post is dedicated to my teachers at Yen who have made yoga an integral part of my life. 
 
Saluting the sun on the Mighty Mississippi River


I carry my mat wherever I go, so I've done yoga at campsites, riversides, abandoned mission churches, and city parks.  Sometimes I have to block out urban noises, but sometimes I get lucky and the wind in the trees or the soothing sound of a rushing river become my soundtrack.



The historic St. Francis de Sales Mission near Hatch, New Mexico, is now an Air B&B, but the church is open for guest use and its cool dark interior creates a serene space for meditation.



Morning stretch on the banks of the Rio Grande in Del Norte, Colorado




Down dog in the Texas badlands outside Big Bend National Park.




Warrior III on the Kansas plains




Reverse triangle at Mounds State Park in Mounds, Ohio




Yoga makes me feel like I can reach the stars.


My balance is sometimes wonky and when I look at these photos, I see that my form feels better than it looks, but this discipline has centered my focus and calmed my mind. I can't wait to join my community of yogis in the studio again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
On our way to the southwest. We are trading Michigan's cold and snowy spring weather for the warmth of New Orleans and then on to the southwest desert. Along the way I'll visit my childhood homes in Arkansas and Louisiana. Please join us for our travels.  Our last Michigan hike to the Elberta dunes before heading south.
Read more

How to become a sculptor - in 50 short years

Image
My sister the potter sculptor  Everyone in the Vozar family knows that in the early 1970s, my mother spent a year in Italy on a teaching Fulbright scholarship with my two sisters and younger brother. But not everyone realizes the impact of that transformative year. Bobby played soccer, Mary studied pattern making, and Linda learned pottery.  Fifty years later, clay still holds magic for Linda's imagination. But don't call her a potter. Decades of throwing plates, cups, platters, and bowls left her bored with repetitious utilitarian forms. She is a sculptor now. Here are some snaps of Linda in her element - the Jemez Springs studio adjacent to her home. Linda in her bright new studio (built by Roger and Adam) with one of her goddess sculptures My sister began her transition from potter to sculptor about 10 years ago. Her studio inventory is slowing transitioning to reflect that change. Most of the family owns Linda's dark blue Italian style pottery, but to keep things inter
Read more

Crossett, Arkansas (my hometown from 1958 - 1963)

Image
"I was raised in a small town..."  I was born in Chicago and I've lived in Michigan for over 50 years, so I am a bona fide midwesterner.  But when I was a little girl between the ages of 4 and 13, I l ived in Louisiana and Arkansas.    I considered myself a Southerner and  I never wanted to leave.  The Crossett years We moved from my birthplace to Crossett when I was just 4 years old.   Nicknamed the "forestry capital of the south with two pine trees in the logo of its name to prove it,  Crossett is a company town. It  is home to a paper mill and lumber industry that supports a town of 5,500 people. More accurately, it used to support that population. When Koch Industries bought out Georgia Pacific, they cut the workforce by half.   About 10 years ago, the plywood factory burned down. The Koch brothers, The ruined plywood factory David and Charles, decided not to rebuild. This leaves Crossett residents facing the same grim economic circumstances that face hundreds of
Read more