The Big Yes.. Again~ Day #1            

Susan Reynolds • April 7, 2020

April 6


Greetings to all the On the Mat Yogis from afar at my parents’ home in Piedmont, California. But this is not as afar as 2016 when I last blogged for OTM while I taught yoga to young nuns in a monastery in Burma. My first blog entry then was called, “The Big Yes” where I wrote,

“Yoga teaches us to connect to our bodies, to the sensations we feel, to the intricacies of breath and movement. When we really connect on a daily basis, we begin to train ourselves to hear the answer from that deep intuitive place that wants you to live your life filled with more opportunities to say, “Yes!”

This past week, in the midst of sheltering in place in CA, with the heaviness of the news, I heard that deep intuitive voice and said yes again. This time it was to adopting Sasha, an 11 lb. chihuahua/beagle (or cheagle) rescue dog. Only a week in, but I wonder why I’ve waited so long for a dog.

What I’ve learned in this very short time with her is like yoga, pets bring us into the present moment. Throughout this week, after practicing with many of you, its important for me to continue to find mindful ways to take frequent breaks from technology, news, and worry. Sasha has empowered and reminded me that sometimes we need a little help calming the nervous system to come into the present moment when we’re not actually practicing yoga on the mat.



On The Mat Yoga Blog

Heart~ Day #7 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 3, 2020
“There is a light in the core of our being that calls us home—one that can only be seen with closed eyes; We can feel it as a radiance in the center of our chest. This light of loving awareness is always here, regardless of our conditioning. It does not matter how many dark paths we have traveled or how many wounds we have inflicted or sustained as we have unknowingly stumbled toward this inner radiance. It does not matter how long we have sleepwalked, seduced by our desires and fears. This call persists until it is answered, until we surrender to who we really are. When we do, we feel ourselves at home wherever we are. A hidden beauty reveals itself in our ordinary life. As the true nature of our Deep Hear is unveiled, we feel increasingly grateful for no reason—grateful to simply be.” —John J. Prendergast, PHD, The Deep Heart

SUN!~ Day #6 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 2, 2020
Seems like it’s been rainy, windy, dreary for eons. Which may have helped us shelter inside a bit more. I remember reading years and years ago in a Seth book that weather can be influenced, and even created by mass human emotion. Why not? We are far more powerful than we currently acknowledge, and science is beginning to validate many phenomena that had seemed inconceivable before. Those seemingly endless days of “bad” weather seemed congruent with the emotional tone of covid her in New England. And now SUN! Glorious, warming, invigorating, hope-filled Sun! Today I will be outside basking and gardening and thanking. And I’m sure the whole neighborhood, and most of New England will go outside, stand with our faces to the sun and breathe a huge healing breath of joy. And maybe the collective energy of that will resonate out across the word as a promise of brighter days to come.
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