Starting Spring Fresh Playlist

With my spring has sprung attitude, I give you a new mix as we plunge into April.  GDEB is from San Diego and is great electro/ambient/yoga-inspiring vibes.  Theresa Andersson is a New Orleans artist by way of Scandinavia and she's totally eclectic and up my ally (thanks Inez for the reminder to check her out).  And Ms. Nina Fuller is one of my loveliest friends.  Look for her to play around town soon...

1. Goddamn Electric Bill:  March at Dawn 

2. GDEB ("): Before

3. Theresa Andersson: Hi-Low

4. GDEB: Lost in the Zoo

5. Theresa Andersson:  Birds Fly Away

6. Nina Fuller: Never Doubt

7. Theresa A:  The Waltz

8. Nina Fuller:  Grammy's Song

9. GDEB: Looking Up at Down

10. Nina Fuller:  Veiled Future

11. Gavin DeGraw:  Mountains to Move

12. Theresa A: Locusts are Gossiping

13. GDEB:  Witching Hour

14. Theresa A:  Innan Du Gar

15. Theresa A:  God's Highway

16. GDEB:  Opa

17. GDEB:  The Nuclear Family

End to March...

There is a crescent moon in Gemini today, as we are now heading clearly into spring.  The new moon in Aries at the end of last week allowed us to reflect on happiness.  Finding it within ourselves no matter what situation we're in at this very moment in our lives.  I'm finding inspiration all around us.  Hope you all are, too.  

Go check out a museum, pick up a new book, find a new song to memorize, and take a new step outside to smell the fresh rain and flowers settling in.  

All of this will inspire you to take better care of your bodies as well.  Dig deeper in your practice.  And be joyful!  April awaits us with new light and energy.  

Om Mani Padme Hum

Upcoming Events

Spring is finally starting to settle in Boston...

Friday, March 20th:  My restorative vinyasa class at Shobu Aikido will be at 5:00pm so that we can all have time to make it to the Krishna Das concert at Harvard.  

Krishna Das is one of the most well-known kirtan singers/chanters in the world.  His peacefulness and spirit lights up the room when he sings.  I will be there!  Concert begins at 8:00pm in Memorial Hall's Sanders' Theatre just outside of Harvard Yard.  

Sunday, March 22nd:  My Spring Awakening Workshop at Shobu Aikido

Where: 34 Allen St. (in the dojo, restored warehouse), Union Sq. Somerville

Time:  2-4:30pm

What to bring:  mat, journal, water, layers to keep cozy

*We'll warm-up, break down heart-opening/backbending poses, then work them into an uplifting sequence, and wind-down with some journaling and meditation.  

Cost:  $40  (either pay at the door, or sign up online at www.shobu.org)

Tuesday, March 31st:  My vinyasa flow class at Karma Yoga Studio will be donation-based, with all proceeds going to Karma's cat rescue shelter.  So, if you come to my class that night (7:30-8:45pm), your payment will go to the kitties.  :)  

--Hope everyone is enjoying this St. Patty's Day and looking up for Spring.  More moon updates, music, and April events' news to come!  

"One whose mind is stilled by the practice of  yoga sees the self through the pure mind & rejoices in the self."  --Gita

March Moon Playlist

1. Morcheeba:  The Sea

2. India.Arie:  River Rise

3. Jehro:  I Want Love

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs:  Hysteric

5.    "        "        "      :  Skeletons

6. Bat for Lashes:  Daniel

7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs:  Heads Will Roll

8.    "       "         "     :  Soft Shock (acoustic)

9.    "       "         "     :  Skeletons (acoustic)

10.  "       "         "     :  Little Shadow (acoustic)

11.  "       "          "     :  Hysteric (acoustic)

12.Jehro:  Everything

13. Fionn Reagan:  Snowy Atlas Mountains

14.  Massive Attack:  Protection

15. Sufjan Stephens:  Out of Egypt, into the great laugh of mankind...

16. Mum:  Sunday Night Just Keeps on Rolling

Thanks to Maribeth for some of these tunes...fun, inspiring stuff.  

Daughter of the March Full Moon

Another moon cycle has come and gone.  We're back to another full moon.  Last one of the winter.  Tonight it's in Virgo, affecting digestion (your intestines and pancreas) and it's a great time for finding solutions when concerned about questions or problems.  But when the moon is full in Virgo and in the sign of Pisces, then it gives us the gift of vision.  Knowing that we can build a strong foundation for the future, it reminds us to take life one step at a time and see the wisdom in the current moment.  It reminds us to serve ourselves in order to serve others, and to listen to the voice within.  

The days are longer now and the magic of spring is in the air.  Everyone talks about the sunshine and how happy we are when the days are long and sunny.  But, don't forget the moonshine.  Take in its glow and know that there is hope coming forth from it.  To rebuild our natural world both inside and out.  Maybe right now that means your physical body.  Maybe it's your spiritual self.  Or on a larger scale, it's our society...it's our world.  We can continue to create our own realities by simply aspiring to be true to ourselves.  So, keep relaxing and meditating on what you see for yourself.  What seeds you want to plant with the spring.  And then watch them grow!

Time for some moon salutations and truth in asana...see you on the mat.

"As long as you're breathing, you have more than you know..."  

Time & Space Playlist

Playlist of the week:

Compiled mostly of and inspired by M. Ward's newest album, "Hold Time."  And also by this week of feeling an interconnectedness to the earth, other people, and just being happy in this time and space.  

1. Explosions in the Sky:  So Long, Lonesome

2. India.Arie:  A Beautiful Day

3. M. Ward:  For Beginners

4. M. Ward:  One Hundred Million Years

5. M. Ward:  Never Had Nobody Like You

6. Calexico:  Bisbee Blue

7. M. Ward:  Jailbird

8. M. Ward:  Stars of Leo

9. Zap Mama:  Cache-Cache

10. M. Ward:  Rave On

11. M. Ward:  Epistemology

12. M. Ward:  Fisher of Men

13. M. Ward:  To Save Me

14. Zap Mama:  Miss Q'in

15. M. Ward:  Hold Time

16. India. Arie:  Pearls

17. Zap Mama:  Vivre

18. M. Ward:  Outro (I'm a Fool to Want You)

19. Under Byen

20. Under Byen  

21. Sigur Ros:  Med Blonasir

22. Sigur Ros:  Se Lest

Mardi Gras New Moon

So today marks the new moon in Pisces, falling on the evening of Mardi Gras and Carnival all around the world.  Even if you're not celebrating in the spirited streets of Dominica, Venice, New Orleans, or Rio...we can all embrace the soft energy of this moon to embrace our even flow of feelings and sense of well-being.  When the moon is new in pisces it connects us to our most important personal foundations in our life.  It engages us and allows us to questions what we are manifesting for ourselves.  So this cycle in Pisces, we can cleanse, let go, and remember the connection we have to our source and our soul.  It's about being open to surrender, trusting our feelings, and letting them flow.  As water signs like myself already know...feelings are a source of creative life.  They are what allow us to discover hidden talents, ideas, and desires to experience life in full.  

Maybe you're having a hard time figuring out what you feel?  There will always be cycles that we go through as human beings where we'll be confused, in a period of change, and even afraid to confront our own feelings and emotions.  The more we keep pushing them aside or burying them deep, the more we will continue to get stuck in our own mental confusion.  You know what I'm talking about.  We all experience it at one time or another.  

And with that, the dreams and talents you possess so abundantly will continue to be buried unless we fearlessly unwrap them again.  Simone Butler suggests that we take time to ease into a relaxed state (can you say "savasana"? ) and ask your parallel self for the next step toward creating happiness, wealth, or love in your life.  And to continue doing so over the next month of Pisces.  

Still bouncing off carnival energy from Dominica, I feel full of life!  Compassion and love, ahimsa (non-violence), strength, awakening...the list goes on to the endless possibilities we can all discover during this cycle.  Even in the midst of change.  Simply being present in the moment of change in our lives is the first step.  I hope to keep bringing that energy of embracing your own inner changes into our yoga practices this coming month.  Let's not be afraid to find it, together.  

Now I will invoke some Quan Yin goddess energy, find my feet, and let the joy from the earth spring up into me so that when spring does arrive, I will be ready.  

Song of my moment: "A Beautiful Day" by India.Arie