May You Be Well - Community
Honoring community
And resting in connection
Dear Rest Friends,
What a week! It started with a great Wild Women Workshop on Saturday and was soon followed by a wild ride through California’s changing climate. Record heat waves, rain, thunder and lightning show, and a fierce start to our fire season.
Additional inflammation to our already frayed nerves. For many, a deep battle fatigue is settling in. It’s been a long six months…my body and mood are feeling it.
So, I've decided to slow it down even more. Rest is my medicine. It is calming to the nervous system, helps build immunity, and balances hormones and moods. It is restorative and regenerative and highly misunderstood and underrated.
My teacher says we must dare to rest—this is especially true now. Rest is a radical act of claiming your right to be at ease: to rest and be well. Rest is a portal to a deep inner landscape and a way of connecting to the wisdom within.
The joy and the love are bigger.
The love is bigger.
The joy is bigger.
I’ve suspended all non-essential activities and added extra rest and nightly bedtime yoga nidra meditations. Once the bad air cancelled my Australian Coast Walk, I added more yoga asanas to my early morning. Just a few minutes has made a big difference. My body really needs movement—when my kids were little they would “encourage” me to work out. I get a little edgy without it and movement improves my mood.
I also know that when times get rough we rely more and more on community. After being in isolation for months most of us realize how important our communities are to our wellbeing. Connection is a balm that soothes our soul and our inner jitters.
The honeybees in the backyard are teachers and inspiration—they are masters of community. Our little pack—one cat and three dogs—is quite the crew, too. They love to stay close to their people and remind us how nice it feels to be near those we love.
Even though we’re doing some of it via FaceTime, Phone and Zoom, and we have to give air hugs and speak through masks at a distance, it’s so good to connect with loved-ones.
We will get through this, together.
This week I am enclosing a bit of a rest. A rest-pause in the form of a recording of a 61 Point Body Rotation and a beautiful poem called Honoring Community by Pixi Lighthorse.
My wish is that you have an opportunity to take multiple breaks and more time for rest this week.
That you reach out to your communities.
And feel the support.
And give the support.
That’s what we're all needing right about now. Rest ( a lot ) and be well.
Love,
Marcela
Listening/Reading/Learning/Supporting
NYT Interactive Art Exhibit Japanese Artist Hokusai
I love this interactive art exhibit! Click here to check out A Picture of Change for a World in Constant Motion.
Wisdom 2.0: The Global Mindfulness Summit
This is going on now and it’s wonderful. The name says it all—Jon Kabat-Zinn, Dr. Hyman, Sharon Salzberg, Spring Washam, Young Pueblo—quality speakers, different topics, interviews, meditation sessions, you pick and choose, no charge. Click here to check it out.
Honeybee Democracy
This is a fascinating book written by a world-renowned animal behaviorist. These incredible insects make life and death decisions together collectively using a democratic process that includes “collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building.” We have much to learn from the marvelous honeybee—we need their wisdom and they desperately need ours! You can learn more about the book by clicking here.
