off the mat

for the past week i've been waiting for the magic pocket of time to post this flier and write a bit about the yoga benefit i'm leading tomorrow, december 15th to bring attention to saving historic mcmillan park.  as always, the pocket of time has not come because life can often get in the way of good intentions.  or rather, i find that life causes me to simplify again and again again and i find that lists can really help that process. so here goes:

1.  i'm holding this benefit because i would enjoy life more if there were a large, non-fenced-in green space around my house.  also, i don't enjoy traffic and the proposed development plans would bring A LOT extra into my world. in addition, i think the open green space would make everyone happier and more relaxed and promote a better life for families around me and help DC grow in ways that are aligned with my values.

2.  a group of my friends have been working tirelessly for years to bring attention to this and i only recently started listening.  once i did, i wanted more people to listen and talk to each other about it.  i think the best way to help a situation is to practice what you are already good at.  i teach yoga for a living and i thought yoga might be a good way to get more people educated and interested.  if more people get interested, then maybe dc would have to listen to other proposals that would be kinder to our community.

3.  to me, it feels really good exercise leadership. as i heal and heal and heal through theses amazing yogic practices that i've been lucky enough to find in my life, i feel a certain responsibility to translate that out into action in our world, especially when it's action that feels aligned with what feels important to me (beautiful spaces, healthy lifestyle, community building).

i'll be talking about these ideas of conscious activism in the community in class tomorrow and we'll have a couple of great speakers and time for Q&A.  it's also my birthday and i can't think of a better way to celebrate...