https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1 daily 0.75 2026-03-07 https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/march-2026-in-the-galaxy monthly 0.5 2026-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/dc85331a-a296-44e0-8cef-8f1fa82c3a81/This+month%2C+we%E2%80%99re+going+to+get+very+quiet%2C+notice+the+subtle+things%2C+and+trust+what+we+feel.+I+like+that+mantra+for+us+this+month+I+trust+what+I+feel..png The Galaxy Dispatch - The Subtle Body: Nuance Combats Fake News, and I Feel You - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/e2d6491d-a64f-4034-aff8-4862fd12de15/960px-Crown_Brow_Throat_Chakras%2C_Rajasthan_18th_Century.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - The Subtle Body: Nuance Combats Fake News, and I Feel You The phrase “subtle body” is a favorite of mine. The definition of subtle is something that is so delicate, or so specific, or so je ne sais quois, that you simply cannot analyze it. The idea that there are things that might be felt, might be real, but cannot be analyzed is something that I love to contemplate, both for the challenge it gives my analytical mind, and the spaciousness it gives my creative mind. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/e7046d72-3a8f-434a-8e31-d296ff0a54d8/nadis.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - The Subtle Body: Nuance Combats Fake News, and I Feel You I guess back in the day, very real scientific concepts like atoms, microscopic organisms, invisible waves of energy, things living on the bottom of the ocean floor, stars being born light years upon light years away… these were all things that we couldn’t see, hear, touch, or verify, but were 100% real. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/7be5be12-fd08-4745-9da9-8686e538653f/5-Koshas.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - The Subtle Body: Nuance Combats Fake News, and I Feel You So even though I can’t locate a spinning red vortex at the base of my spine, and I can’t segment out my being into the various sheaths of the koshas (food body, breath body, mind body, wisdom body, bliss body), , and I can’t see the 72,000 pranic pathways that make up the nadis, when I hear them explained, there is something that resonates and tells me that there is something real there. And then when I get really focused and observant, really grounded, when I let the chatter and anxiety of my thoughts subside even a little, I can sense what’s skirting the surface of my awareness and get just a little contact with it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/9258da3c-87eb-4f09-bd34-64dcb4f7f207/maxresdefault.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - The Subtle Body: Nuance Combats Fake News, and I Feel You There are some very funny Instagram reels that riff on the basic idea of empaths being less empathic than they think, and just very tuned into their own anxiety. Part of why I think they’re funny is because they’re true, and they’re sometimes very much me. I am most definitely subject to the whims of my anxiety and all the false messaging it gives me. I also have had many experiences that weren’t borne of an anxious mental state that very clearly showed me connections, energy, and subtle awareness that I know was real, but couldn’t be seen, or talked about, or quantified. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/february-in-the-galaxy-brecht-singing-in-the-dark-times-and-nada-yoga monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b29c181d-6cf5-4e52-8c9a-17b21b6313c1/TH_Alienation-Effect_Brecht-glasses-300x259.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February in the Galaxy: Brecht, Singing in the Dark Times, and Nada Yoga I explained this a little on the studio’s Instagram, but this was written by Brecht when he was living in exile from the Nazi regime in Svenborg, Denmark. Brecht’s plays and writing in Weimar Germany were closely intertwined with the Communist party, and its work to resist the Nazi regime. Brecht believed wholeheartedly in art’s power to spur change. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/e442b34c-5bee-4067-961e-7318f4743de3/Dreigroschenoper.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February in the Galaxy: Brecht, Singing in the Dark Times, and Nada Yoga I think that’s why a work like “Die Dreigroschenoper” aka “The Threepenny Opera” is still so arresting and riveting today, and was outright banned by the Nazi Regime as “degenerate art.” Brecht and his collaborators (Elizabeth Hauptmann’s original adaptation and of course, Kurt Weill’s stunning music) were wrestling with how those who are given little in life might resort to terrible means in order to keep living, while those who hoard resources, money, and power will eventually experience a reckoning of revolution. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/i-need-help-props-to-props-and-imperfection monthly 0.5 2026-01-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1767223811878-MODE51BHQF68MIR7MNVJ/Shutta_20200328_111746.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1767223818881-GBZ7YYH3N0V7TL3FTTWW/PXL_20231105_173245393.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1767223811175-UO5H7T1B9R26GW6YRXBQ/Shutta_20190318_111402.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1767224252263-6W7XQIYQXR2MQHIBRIIA/PXL_20250201_164617615_exported_30551+%281%29.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1767224252865-WHKMRD6THD06BAIEZA7N/PXL_20250206_163844225_exported_32301.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1767224253499-8CE0T3PNZNQZ1I30AP1F/PXL_20250211_192231234_exported_116721.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1767224351988-V0IGDX2KEYSSKEGWOS9P/Shakti_Shack_300YTT-ROOTS-19.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. And then I come back to think about props as more of a metaphor. Although there is more to them than support, sometimes props are there simply because you couldn’t do the pose otherwise. In a small way, we have to declare that we need help, because we’re not perfect, and allow props to give us a dose of reality. They keep us grounded and humble. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/90527899-c225-4279-b12d-577b1d7cb535/coyote.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - I need help: props to props and imperfection. Santa Claus in the form of my husband, Mike, brought me this delightful little book by venerable food writer Betty Fussell: How to Cook A Coyote: The Joy of Old Age. Part memoir, part meditation on aging, and part instruction manual on how to cook a coyote (really, but not really…) Maybe we can read it together for January, because I haven’t finished it yet! And speaking of coyotes, if you’re interested, I’ll tell you about my spiritual coyote meetups next time I see you at the studio. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/a-magical-container-for-our-body-prayers monthly 0.5 2025-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1765336744000-7TD92S6Q36PJ8F9I5HBI/DSCF1273.JPG The Galaxy Dispatch - A Magical Container for Our Body Prayers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1765336744425-ZBTVPIFMO40P25ESWFBP/DSCF1274+%281%29.JPG The Galaxy Dispatch - A Magical Container for Our Body Prayers https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/more-than-just-a-body-practice-the-radical-multi-dimensional-experience-of-yoga monthly 0.5 2025-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/772f932d-f95c-4936-b45b-670a91fa6a43/PXL_20221025_201432822_exported_17360%7E2.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - More than just a body practice: The Radical, Multi-Dimensional experience of yoga If you didn’t already know, November is the birthday month of the studio (as well as my birthday month! Please consider this an invite to dance and celebrate with me at the studio on Friday 11/28 after my 5:45 pm class). I actually intended to choose Gratitude and Prayer as the theme for this month for the studio, but then got it mixed up with the December monthly theme, which is a pretty accurate indicator of my brain state these days - so we’re going with Mudra, Mantra and Meditation for our theme this month. Enjoy a pic of me just days before I actually opened the studio and discovered exactly what I had signed myself up for! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1762622638390-IE3NUSV396DENVQ4FSH2/movinggalaxymarch2024-134.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - More than just a body practice: The Radical, Multi-Dimensional experience of yoga https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1762622639951-UEB65U98QONEX28U2ALJ/abhaya+mudra.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - More than just a body practice: The Radical, Multi-Dimensional experience of yoga https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1762622639478-S09IFBNIEPLV3SOKKRLK/movinggalaxymarch2024-124.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - More than just a body practice: The Radical, Multi-Dimensional experience of yoga https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/all-is-good-everything-is-beautiful-and-its-a-great-day-to-die monthly 0.5 2025-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/28bf514d-0d8b-4683-844f-af48a5903415/PXL_20250914_161445979.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - All is good, everything is beautiful, and it's a great day to die. Hey Galaxy, not to sound like a broken record, but I was on a long bike ride a couple weeks ago, riding back from LaCrosse over three days with my bike crew (I’m in a bike gang now, we’re getting tattoos and everything), and my friend said, at the beginning of the second day, that his grandpa used to say “It’s a great day to die.” And I felt like that was a pretty good phrase to craft the October Dispatch around. So here we are. Yet another reason why bike rides are the best thing ever - they give me the inspiration for these monthly musings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/cef12e50-9495-4482-ae04-b72916fbe03f/consciousness.webp The Galaxy Dispatch - All is good, everything is beautiful, and it's a great day to die. As in every October at the studio, we honor the shadow-self: the parts of us, or of life, where we may experience shame, fear, or aversion when we bring them to the forefront of our attention. This concept was popularized by Jung, and the idea is that the more we can integrate these shadow-places, the more contentment we may experience, setting the conditions for us to appreciate and truly embrace things as they are, in the now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c7367c97-0bcb-409c-afe3-a0e478e5fe5c/some+things+are+scary.webp The Galaxy Dispatch - All is good, everything is beautiful, and it's a great day to die. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/ac5269f9-10fe-4ea9-91b4-86ee58c9430c/ur-fascism.webp The Galaxy Dispatch - All is good, everything is beautiful, and it's a great day to die. Let’s just continue with the theme of “this Dispatch has no chill,” and allow me to recommend Umberto Eco’s 1995 essay “Ur-Fascism,” on what the fundamental characteristics and traits of fascism are. The essay draws on Eco’s personal experiences growing up in Mussolini‘s Italy and his extensive research on fascist movements, and the essay offers his insights into the nature of fascism and its manifestations, including the most well-known part of his essay: The 14 Features of Ur-Fascism. Read the whole article here. If you google it, you’ll find the list of 14 features of Ur-Fascism very easily. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/september-2025-the-yoga-sutras-of-patanjali-and-the-golden-thread-of-lineage monthly 0.5 2025-09-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1757039481866-J0QUPD390D6JVJI32BPM/vivekananda.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - September 2025: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Golden Thread of Lineage - Swami Vivekananda https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1757039460731-WDHYCNRDT5Q82Q6922FX/krishnamacharya.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - September 2025: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Golden Thread of Lineage Krishnamacharya https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1e27bbd5-5194-49bf-9b14-b2e43385da27/patanjali.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - September 2025: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Golden Thread of Lineage In iconography, Patanjali is really bad-ass: he’s depicted having a hood of cobras over his head, which suggests the awareness of Samadhi, or pointed concentration. His lower half is a coiled serpent body, representing the union of consciousness and divine energy. He typically holds in his hand a conch shell (representing divine sound), a wheel (representing infinite time), and a sword (representing discrimination, or cutting through illusion).. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f1b3faf3-10af-4cb1-b8f9-3635ee6a4e37/collapse.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - September 2025: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Golden Thread of Lineage On that note, and in a non-fiction vein, I’m cracking open “Collapse,” by Jared Diamond. Diamond studies failed civilizations and societies, and probes what caused their collapse - in his words, it’s a look into how societies choose to fail or succeed, and that feels kind of like exactly what I want to understand right now. I was drawn to it when it was mentioned in an article that noted that one failed civilization kept doing the wrong thing for 400 years before it collapsed, which is a sober realignment of what “a long time is.” https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/august-2025-stories-of-the-asanas monthly 0.5 2025-08-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8d0c96b9-22eb-435a-9bad-afa578176fb6/PXL_20250805_010530433.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August 2025: Stories of the Asanas, Bike Rides, and Deep Listening - This was us last night, sunset swimming at Doctor’s Park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/ad3b2fa8-ade8-4079-8183-3adba08bc15c/Anna+and+bike.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August 2025: Stories of the Asanas, Bike Rides, and Deep Listening And if someone asks me the question: “do you want to go on a bike ride?” The answer will almost always be an enthusiastic YES. A big part of it is that I love moving through the world and exploring on my bike. But another component of it is that being on my bike reminds me of being a kid, and the easy comradery that happens when you’re a kid with other kids on bike rides. (Yes, that is 5-year-old me on the day I learned to ride a two-wheeler) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a22d6fbf-b61e-488b-92b8-50eb793f19ae/Saptarishi._The_Seven_Sages.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August 2025: Stories of the Asanas, Bike Rides, and Deep Listening I can’t say that I love practicing the sage poses - they’re hard as fuck! - but I love hearing the stories about the magical, mythical Saptarishis, who are said to have brought us the practice of yoga, channeled and disseminated the knowledge of the philosophical texts, and set the standard for devotion and studentship. Practicing the poses named for them, with their stories in my heart and mind allows me to experience a deeper immersion and greater appreciation for poses that don’t come easily to me. (spoiler alert: if you want to do a whole bunch of the Sage poses and learn their stories… come to the Maha Practice this month!) https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/lvar7nqb5iuxdbei8igqsmdimbie3n monthly 0.5 2025-07-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8b9654a0-f979-4a2f-ab91-18fe6877f239/Your+paragraph+text+%285%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - July 2025: Moksha: Get Free or Get Liberated? - Or this quote from Albert Camus: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/97ca0043-9221-4d69-9fc7-2a884bf6f9b3/Your+paragraph+text+%284%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - July 2025: Moksha: Get Free or Get Liberated? I put St. Francis in here, because I think he was a Bodhisattva, and he’s my favorite saint. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/577da1da-b00f-4411-a655-abeba8a2ddc9/Your+paragraph+text+%282%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - July 2025: Moksha: Get Free or Get Liberated? Speaking of “Coffin for Head of State” that I was listening to when I saw my skateboarding friend, here’s a great YouTube video that places the lyrics in some context. If you want to understand what it’s like to suffer, struggle, and experience the pure joy of life-changing music all in one container, spend the next 22 minutes with this song: https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/u3hoxqd96y8t5s3wpjwzv962ur74tj monthly 0.5 2025-06-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/2b7db242-fff6-462f-9b3b-3143c413ede4/PXL_20250602_224212118.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2025: The Natural World, Seasons, and True Natures Sometimes spring feels like a teenage boy who just doused himself in Axe body spray: fragrant, and not necessarily in a subtle way. Blooms absolutely everywhere. Baby bunnies eating up all of our early garden plants. Birds nesting and incubating eggs. This tree, which I drive by most days, was absolutely covered in blooms in a way that just seemed to say “I have no chill” and it actually made me giggle when I drove past it. It’s still a little silly looking, but the leaves lend it a bit more gravitas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1a6269cf-fdcf-4f86-b370-5aaed3c70c15/20130828_085706.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2025: The Natural World, Seasons, and True Natures The seeds that I used to start with my 4-year-old son, indoors on our windowsill in our little old lady Chicago 3-flat, sometimes grew into sunflowers that reached beyond the roof of our garage. And my 4-year-old son is now my almost 17-year-old son, who similarly towers over me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1748999691536-036ZFYOSNM23JNA7Z076/buscemi.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2025: The Natural World, Seasons, and True Natures And maybe part of what feels so hard is that so much of our modern life, our lives on social platforms, is about denying that we age. So much around us is telling us not to let go. We hang on to the things that we’ll never be able to keep grasping, and we lose the thread of who we really are. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/4739d73e-4b5b-4e09-abd8-e1d1b096c626/emerson.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2025: The Natural World, Seasons, and True Natures My friends Kelly and Marc wrote a song called “Eduardo,” and one of my favorite lines from it is: “We’d walk around the woods and get all transcendental,” and maybe we should all try for that this month! If you’re intrigued, start with reading “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It’s a basic outlay of Transcendental philosophy, which suggests that the divine suffuses nature, that we can understand the nature of reality by being in and studying nature, and that we should strive to live in harmony with nature, rather than domesticate it. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/may-2025-chakras-and-nyasa-and-intentional-placement-say-yes monthly 0.5 2025-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f12ca384-3731-40fb-8fa8-9bc5a5fb712e/May+Dispatch+Nyasa++Intentional+Placement+%283%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - May 2025: Chakras and Nyasa and Intentional Placement. Say Yes! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/3f4c4bac-2217-4830-aba1-b156d8129d20/May+Dispatch+Nyasa++Intentional+Placement+%282%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - May 2025: Chakras and Nyasa and Intentional Placement. Say Yes! Happy May, Galaxy! It’s May 6th already (sorry, not sorry for the lateness…it’s busy over here at the studio). Right now, two cranes are trying to extract Deep Thought (the boat) from its resting spot on the shores of Lake Michigan. I feel like there’s some symbolism there: Deep Thought has placed itself in the earthly confines of water, rocks, sand and has aligned with the ephemeral nature of being of the physical realm. Maybe it feels like it still has things to learn here on earth, and isn’t quite ready to ascend to the space of Big Mind, as Erich Schiffman calls it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/30adc323-a2c8-4298-a7ef-4e1c3cc07bc2/May+Dispatch+Nyasa++Intentional+Placement+%284%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - May 2025: Chakras and Nyasa and Intentional Placement. Say Yes! Which, when we’re talking about these spiritual energetic centers of the chakras, means that we’re accepting that we’re not just a body rolling around on the floor all pretzel-y when we do yoga. We’re in a divine dance where we invite God (or whatever you want to call it) into our physical selves and notice what we become when those two things yoke to each other. That’s literally what yoga means! To yoke! https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/april-2025-poetry-and-the-wisdom-behind-the-words monthly 0.5 2025-04-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1744078234457-1A80RS8LC1OKC5PJSJ6J/PXL_20250321_132510024.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2025: Poetry and the wisdom behind the words. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1744078282334-9C7FYO2HHPC58IXXA574/PXL_20250321_122358660.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2025: Poetry and the wisdom behind the words. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1744078541539-QS3X95HLESAEG5NKQOEB/PXL_20250324_142709940.LS_exported_11878.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2025: Poetry and the wisdom behind the words. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/87ae6291-d432-4e68-9fc5-1f99863bb277/PXL_20250324_145832557.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2025: Poetry and the wisdom behind the words. In that small town of Kyparissi, I sat on the pier and looked at the Myrtoan waters, so deep blue; a different deep blue from the water of my beloved Superior. I quietly watched, and thought about Homer’s words for these waters: οἶνοψ πόντος, oinops pontos. Sometimes that phrase is translated as “wine dark,” but its literal translation is “wine-faced.” Maybe Homer meant that it was dark. Or maybe he meant that it was wild, like someone who had drank too much wine. I can’t know exactly what Homer meant, but I do know that, after a little spent watching the water, and letting those words roll through my head slowly I thought: I can see it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/12a3a619-2874-443f-a78c-295157ebffdc/614OlXwtdXL._AC_UF1000%2C1000_QL80_.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2025: Poetry and the wisdom behind the words. About a month ago, likely on a Wednesday night, I was driving to the studio, and I happened to catch Padraig O’Tuama being interviewed on All Things Considered. I love O Tuama’s podcast, “Poetry Unbound,” and I already have one anthology of poems that he collected into a volume, with an intro and following essay attached to each poem he selected. That book is called “Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World” and I highly recommend it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/66fb70fc-5add-4f24-9d87-6f9990e8f7f9/91CrQgCft0L._AC_UF1000%2C1000_QL80_.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2025: Poetry and the wisdom behind the words. O Tuama read a poem by Jim Moore, called “Fear and Love,” which is included in his new collection of poems, entitled “44 Poems on Being with each other,” and I was so moved by it, I had to stop the car, pull over, and write a note to myself to find that poem and read it later. So I’ll attach it here as a last little bonus offering for the month. But let me also heartily recommend both of O Tuama’s poetry collections. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/march-2025-prana-and-the-waters-of-march monthly 0.5 2025-03-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/e37ce627-3133-4aa1-837f-3d32c58184a3/sensitive+plant.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2025: Prana and The Waters of March Happy March, Galaxy friends. You know those plants that curl up when you touch them? That’s me in winter. I go to bed a little earlier, I keep my social calendar a little more spare, I’m a little slower on the email responses and text replies. Also, I basically live in my bathtub. Are you picturing the vibe? Also, do you want to start a band called “Sensitive Plant?” When I was doing an image search, this graphic came up and I felt the caption was appropriate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/cc75252b-0b04-4d96-8d8b-53b0657eda14/nadis.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2025: Prana and The Waters of March We’ve focused in on prana before at the studio, but if you need a refresher: prana is our life force, the vital energy that defines us as beings, rather than just bodies. It’s synonymous with the concept of breath, which is a trend we see in many languages (like anima in Latin is both breath and spirit). Prana can further be divided into what are called the Vayus, or winds - different ways that our vital energies move, and the different parts of the bodies that it inhabits and governs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1adceec5-4d19-457d-945a-1be7e0a92792/be+here+now.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2025: Prana and The Waters of March Speaking of letting things flow and going on wild journeys, when was the last time you read “Be Here Now,” by Ram Dass? For me, it was yesterday, sitting at my favorite new Harambee coffee spot, Kuumba Juice and Coffee, on Keefe and Richards (get the African Peanut stew when you go there, and if you haven’t gone there yet… go there). https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/february-2025-dispatch-two-blocks-and-my-undying-love-for-you monthly 0.5 2025-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/5dd65342-8ba0-4f92-8e9c-b12a40787e74/bks.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2025 Dispatch: Two Blocks and my undying love for you So first: a little context around yoga props. I’m sure we’ve all heard at this point that props aren’t just for beginners, but let me get that out of the way by providing a little history. We owe our yoga props to one amazing yoga teacher and practitioner: BKS Iyengar. Iyengar’s legacy is a complicated one; he was famously mercurial, most definitely had a temper, and his practice style is perhaps best known for being very focused on exterior form, “perfect” alignment, and prioritizing a teacher’s perspective to guide a student’s experience, rather than prioritizing a student’s felt experience in a pose. I think it’s always a good thing to know your history and roots, and to also never be afraid to re-examine old beliefs and practices, innovate, and keep creating, so I can’t say that I’m on board with many aspects of the Iyengar legacy and teaching style. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/7eafe36f-ea47-4b53-827d-643b8ade422a/BKS+props.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2025 Dispatch: Two Blocks and my undying love for you He used objects that he saw in his world. He took bricks from a brick yard that was nearby, and those became yoga blocks (still often called bricks in Iyengar studio spaces). He noticed that stylish French people in the airport were tying their luggage with canvas belts, and those became our yoga straps. A bench that was present in the photo studio used to take the pictures for Light on Yoga became a prop for Halasana, and later further evolved into the backless yoga chair (one of my favorite props). He created the Iyengar rope wall by noticing a wooden log protruding from the ceiling of his practice space, and hanging a rope from there to assist in going upside down with less pressure and tension. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/0d4cd0e8-4242-4525-bdf4-5dcd4efe0418/SS_COMMUNITY-80.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2025 Dispatch: Two Blocks and my undying love for you But those two blocks that I essentially make you take in every class I teach? They have become these little rectangular expressions of my love and support for you and your practice. They’re a way to let you know that you belong here, that I see you, and that, no matter the practice, we can figure out a way for the practice to meet you where you are. Props are my way of saying: we need to support each other, we need to share our resources, we need to provide extra support to people who need it, and receiving support isn’t weakness; it’s the ultimate “advanced” practice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c4486de8-70e6-4a8f-b324-99947fc4a329/clise+yoga+props.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2025 Dispatch: Two Blocks and my undying love for you You might think this is more of a book geared toward yoga teachers, but I think everyone can benefit from exploring this reference, and it’s one of my favorites for exploring how to use props in a yoga practice: The Complete Guide to Yoga Props by Jenny Clise. One of my favorite things to do is to get out all of my props, roll out my mat, and simply play and experiment - I call it going into the lab. This book has been a helpful guide during my explorations, and I think it’s nice to remember that it isn’t necessary for a teacher to teach us how to use a prop - we can explore and find innovative ways to use props all on our own (and I think Iyengar would approve). If you dig this kind of prop usage in yoga, be sure to check out Eyal Shifroni’s books, too - I have four of them, and reference them often. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/january-2025-dispatch-meditation-and-the-full-catastrophe monthly 0.5 2025-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f107cf6a-aa98-48e9-bd34-1dfd3bf24851/PXL_20250101_060008940.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2025 Dispatch: Meditation and “The Full Catastrophe” Happy New Year, Galaxy! I spent my New Year’s Eve hosting a Dungeons and Dragons party for my high schooler and his super cool, super nerdy (in the best way) friends, while my little goth 11-year-old and I watched psychological thriller/evil coven horror film Hereditary upstairs with my husband. It seemed pretty appropriate, not at all glamorous, and deeply real. Kind of perfect. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f3aaada5-6b6f-40e7-b3c3-f2f82fb24fd2/PXL_20241228_172454359.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2025 Dispatch: Meditation and “The Full Catastrophe” A few days before the New Year, I was due for a short recovery run (I’m low-key training for a half marathon, with no specific event I’ve signed up for yet). I was up in the Keweenaw, and the weather was gross - rainy enough to turn the snow on the ground to ice. I knew I needed to get this run done, so I struck out, trusting in the notion that there is no bad weather, just bad clothing, and layered up appropriately. Readers, it was icy. There wasn’t a single step I took in that 2 ½ mile run that I didn’t have to place intentionally, so that I wouldn’t bite the dust. With the freezing rain and the treacherous conditions, I wouldn’t say that it was a pleasant run. But the feeling of focus I had was astounding. It turned into a high-stakes walking meditation, where each placement of my foot was the only thing I could keep in my mind, and I had an amazing experience of emptiness, aka Shunyata, that I’ve never really had before, whether running or meditating. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/d24abb44-f82f-43f4-b460-be89906f81a9/path+with+heart.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2025 Dispatch: Meditation and “The Full Catastrophe” In celebration of our month of meditation, I have two of my favorite books on mindfulness and meditation to share - both of which are or will be soon for sale at the studio. First up is “A Path With Heart” by my favorite teacher and writer about meditation, Jack Kornfield. This book is a practical but deeply inspiring and poetic journey through establishing a seated meditation practice, with different chapters devoted to the things that arise when we learn to sit and meditate. Kornfield shares personal experiences, quotes, poems, and many chapters end with specific meditation “exercises” that make the sometimes daunting process of “taking the one seat” feel a little more manageable. My copy is disintegrating, I’ve read it and shared it so many times. There are copies of this book for sale in the studio, now and forever, because I love it so much! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/3445134f-4ebe-4306-b3b4-cb13aa366952/kabat+zinn+1.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2025 Dispatch: Meditation and “The Full Catastrophe” My second pick is another old favorite: “Wherever You Go, There You Are,” by Jon Kabat-Zinn. This book moves beyond a more formalized seated meditation practice (although that is a part of what he covers), and explores how paying attention and mindfulness can be a part of nearly any and every part of our days. This was a particular favorite during the deep days of the pandemic, and for some reason, my corporate clients always seemed to love readings from this book - maybe because of the deep groundedness and practicality of Kabat-Zinn’s writing. I’ll have copies of this book for sale in the studio shortly. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/december-2024-dispatch-jyoti-the-light-within monthly 0.5 2024-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b08a1649-3c5d-48d9-8069-32f1af3acd64/diwali+lamp.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - December 2024 Dispatch: Jyoti, the light within. I think about how the Hindu, Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist traditions of Diwali celebrate the triumph of good over evil, and light oil lamps in their homes, worship spaces, and workplaces. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b79829aa-a564-4d60-aaa1-1e6b47f3408c/Day_and_Night_%28Belobog_and_Chernobog%29_--_Maxim_Sukharev.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December 2024 Dispatch: Jyoti, the light within. I think about the pagan traditions of Yule and Korochun, where the dark Gods give over their power to the Gods of light, and bonfires are lit to ensure warmth to loved ones, and safe passage between the worlds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/d98da07b-1c8d-46ad-aa6f-b5e328b53c93/adoration+of+the+child.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December 2024 Dispatch: Jyoti, the light within. I think about the Christian story of the Nativity, where the birth of Jesus took place in a dimly-lit stable, a defiant celebration of hope in the lowest of circumstances, in contrast to the looming violence of King Herod’s slaughter of the innocents. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/16ed405c-c1a4-4fc4-a118-3f086f953429/the+story+of+hanukkah+ori+sherman.png The Galaxy Dispatch - December 2024 Dispatch: Jyoti, the light within. I think about the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, when the Temple of Jerusalem was recovered and rededicated during the revolt of the Maccabees, and only one day’s worth of ritual oil remained. It kept the menorah lit for eight days, and in some traditions, the ceremonial light of the menorah is to be displayed outside, as a public display and reminder of the miracle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f9abc08d-31d8-4840-8542-ad5932bb9109/Irish-Christmas-Candle-at-Christmas.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December 2024 Dispatch: Jyoti, the light within. And I think of the power of one small, warm light. Candles placed in the windows in Ireland sent the message that all were welcome if safe harbor was needed, and in times that Catholicism was repressed, that it was safe for a wandering priest to recite Mass there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/567b7232-b05d-4ec9-895c-9c3db42c8e42/DSCF1272+%281%29.JPG The Galaxy Dispatch - December 2024 Dispatch: Jyoti, the light within. So, back to The Wednesday After, in early November. I woke up, not sure of anything except that I wanted our studio space was going to be a candle in the window, so to speak. I posted a picture of one of our sweet star lights, promised to keep speaking up and speaking out about injustice, and said that I hoped our studio could provide safe harbor for people to gather in community, on that day, and as far into the future as I could possibly imagine. And while I do think that our studio symbolizes the fire that we all gather toward - the warmth and light that helps re-animate us and lights our way in dark times - I also think that each of us, as we come together, gets a chance to re-kindle our divine inner light. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/7fb659c9-a5ec-4d37-9677-8ef3b4fbf79d/empusium.png The Galaxy Dispatch - December 2024 Dispatch: Jyoti, the light within. Imagine my excitement when I saw that Tokarczuk’s latest novel, The Empusium, is a work in counterpoint to Mann’s The Magic Mountain, with a hefty dose of horror/mystery. Then imagine my excitement when I received it as a birthday present just a few days ago. I’m already diving in and enjoying it, as I do all of her novels. If you have an opinion about Thomas Mann or Olga Tokarczuk, or are reading any fantastic books, drop me a line and tell me about it. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/november-2024-dispatch-there-is-a-teacher-nearby-and-a-teacher-beyond-the-beyond monthly 0.5 2024-11-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/2ddc04e3-ba9d-4687-998f-41fb56dcbf11/seven+start+mantis+kung+fu.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - November 2024 Dispatch: “There is a teacher nearby, and a teacher beyond the beyond.” A long time ago, I studied Kung Fu for what ended up being a too-short stint. I went in thinking I was going to learn Tai Chi, and was told that I had way too much yang energy, and that I would like Kung Fu better (it was true). I would have kept learning Seven Star Mantis Kung Fu forever, but my schedule as a teacher never meshed well with the times that classes were offered, and then I moved away from Chicago, and I never found another teacher I liked as much as I liked my Sifu, Yamel Torres. I learned two very important things from him: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/7289ee2a-e983-4ca1-a36b-4e172ee68cdc/MGsept2024-23.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - November 2024 Dispatch: “There is a teacher nearby, and a teacher beyond the beyond.” But as I was thinking about the teachers who make up our teaching staff, one thing jumped out at me: the yoga teachers at the Galaxy are all dedicated students. They take each other's classes. They have favorite teachers whose classes they go to on the regular. They ask their fellow teachers for feedback. Many of them are in our current cohort of the 300-hour advanced program. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a40268bd-8b9f-46a9-a875-40818b6cba3e/nonsense.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - November 2024 Dispatch: “There is a teacher nearby, and a teacher beyond the beyond.” I’m chuckling at the cleverness of the contrast of my book reco to our studio theme this month. I read an excellent op-ed in the New York times recently that extolled the virtue of ignorance, or better described: the ability to not-know. The idea behind cultivating and attitude of not-knowing is that it can keep our innate curiosity alive, is a better facilitator of new learning discoveries and an effective way to fight the stagnation of certitude. The op-ed’s author, Jamie Holmes, has recently published a book about it, called Nonsense: The Power of Not-Knowing. I’ll be jumping into that as soon as I finish the history of brain surgery book that I recommended recently! (I loved learning about brains, btw.) Reading something spectacular and want me to know about it? Tried one of my book recommendations? Have a teacher that you want to tell me about? Please email me and let me know. I love hearing what you have to say about these blog poses. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/october-2024-dispatch-digging-in-the-dirt-the-fire-of-life-and-worm-food monthly 0.5 2024-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/81fb6cb1-07c5-471e-a2a4-b01b8b4be93e/StoogesFunHouse.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - October 2024 Dispatch: Digging in the Dirt, The Fire of Life, and Worm Food The other morning, I was taking a walk and had Iggy and the Stooges on as my morning soundtrack, like any good Detroit gal would. “Dirt” is one of my favorite Stooges songs: it’s incredibly sensual, with Iggy reveling in his sexuality, demanding of his partner that they feel the desire and fire that he feels inside. It’s palpable. If I were asked to answer James Newell Osterberg, Jr.’s question, “Do ya feel it when ya touch me?” I feel certain I would answer YES. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/790354a7-86dd-4563-94d8-21b8bec1af6e/IggyPopLustForLife.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - October 2024 Dispatch: Digging in the Dirt, The Fire of Life, and Worm Food But also, he keeps saying the phrase “I’m Dirt.” As I was walking, I kept thinking that phrase reminded me less of sex, and more of the inevitability of death, as in: I’m going back to this dirt someday. But I couldn’t deny how often the two intertwine. It seems like we uncover more of a lust for life (see what I did there) when we dig into the mud and acknowledge that we reside there a lot of the time. PS, this album cover is so weird and makes me giggle every time I get it out to listen to it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/6da9e042-5c6b-43cd-99e3-1efe6dbba230/blake_pml62441_fol2r_0.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - October 2024 Dispatch: Digging in the Dirt, The Fire of Life, and Worm Food “I’m dirt” led me on to contemplating William Blake as I kept walking. I do all my best thinking on walks and bike rides. One of my favorite, weird, trippy William Blake poems is “The Book of Thel,” which sets up the realms of Innocence and Experience that he would flesh out more fully in later works. And if you haven’t taken in William Blake’s poetry with his original etching artwork, you’re missing out. He always meant for his poems to be accompanied by his artwork, to fully flesh out the understanding of them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/d0c82e3e-7626-404c-b6d6-25f78f4db845/wantgilliananderson.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - October 2024 Dispatch: Digging in the Dirt, The Fire of Life, and Worm Food I Stan all things Gillian Anderson, so I’m going to dive into Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anoymous, collected by Anderson. I love the idea behind this: prioritizing and elevating the voice of women and providing a space for them to be heard, normalized, de-stigmatized, and de-shamed! One of the entries in the book is by Anderson herself (of course, we don’t know which). If you pick this up and read it, don’t be afraid to tell me what you think of it! We’re digging in the (good and sexy) dirt together this month. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/september-dispatch-purusa-prakriti-and-anna-on-the-beach monthly 0.5 2024-09-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/bd2f7762-cfe7-4c53-b186-5211f3b4945a/PXL_20240828_003128855.NIGHT.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - September Dispatch: “Thus the Seer abides in its own true nature.” (or, the usefulness of dualism and Anna on the beach.) I know that sounds gross, but I’ve been in and out of my sauna trying out new Finnish sauna “recipes” like a birch leaf shampoo and a coffee grounds scrub, and then I get to jump in the enormous, beautiful, refreshing, and not-even-that-cold Lake Superior. So I feel like I’m still staying pretty clean and my family says I still smell okay. But what’s great is they have to love me even if I don’t smell okay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c1598e5e-faa9-45a7-a90c-45fb65d38eb2/Pata%C3%B1jali11.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - September Dispatch: “Thus the Seer abides in its own true nature.” (or, the usefulness of dualism and Anna on the beach.) Which, in moments like this on this beach, I do not vibe with. Sorry, Patanjali. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/62cdcc05-ab23-4e32-9b8a-583bfd35aa57/PXL_20240829_003821565.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - September Dispatch: “Thus the Seer abides in its own true nature.” (or, the usefulness of dualism and Anna on the beach.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b8d99443-2f05-4c72-943d-c9126f8ef4aa/Grey+Matters.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - September Dispatch: “Thus the Seer abides in its own true nature.” (or, the usefulness of dualism and Anna on the beach.) I had the immense pleasure of finishing three books during my week of vacation in the UP! And now I’m starting in on this book: Grey Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery. I got the basic idea for this blog about Purusha and Prakriti when I listened to an interview with this book’s author, Theodore H. Schwartz on Fresh Air. Schwartz says that everything we are as human beings is in our brain - he doesn’t weigh in on dualism, but based on how he describes the millions of lighting-quick processes that occur in our brains, I would guess he comes down firmly on the side of non-dualism. He says that he doesn’t believe in the concept of a mind, separate from our brains, which is doubly fascinating, because his father, who ended up passing away after a stroke and severe brain damage, was a Freudian analyst. I’m really enjoying learning about the history of brain surgery, paired with Schwartz’s own journey as a surgeon. If you read it, or have an opinion on whether there’s a separation between body and mind, or body and spirit, of course, I want to know about it! Email me! https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/august-dispatch-im-telling-you-stories-trust-me monthly 0.5 2024-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/64ee43a1-68a5-4e22-bbd2-844d8276b7a6/joan+didion.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August Dispatch: “I’m telling you stories. Trust me.” - “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/7095b7a0-9dc9-4ac1-b35f-817ef37bfb86/odysseus.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August Dispatch: “I’m telling you stories. Trust me.” Epithet, translated from Greek, simply means “to put on” or “to add.” It’s a descriptive phrase that is tacked onto a person’s name, or even simply to a word, that when linked together, creates a fixed association. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, we hear phrases like “black-bellied ships” or “wine-dark sea” over and over again, and these associative phrases start to almost create a rhythm and ritual to the words as they tell the story. The characters in the book also receive epithets, like “bright-helmeted Hector” or “swift-footed Achilles.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/2f05c276-ffff-44b2-b2e1-4a6ae109d467/PXL_20230412_224547949.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August Dispatch: “I’m telling you stories. Trust me.” I am the person who is trying to get my cats to use their Litter Robot, so I can spend a little less time scooping litter, and I am the person who combs out my cats fur mats and clips my cats nails, and I’m wondering why I always fall into the caregiver role, and who would take it on if I didn’t. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/64baa21b-4e4d-4d38-9a74-61d14874aea4/the+passion.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August Dispatch: “I’m telling you stories. Trust me.” I think I’ve read it roughly 20 times, and I just finished it again today. I highly recommend the book I mentioned above: The Passion by Jeanette Winterson. It’s a story about love, passion, Napoleon Bonaparte, Venice, gambling, webbed feet, literal stolen hearts, Irish priests with one telescopic eye, murder, and more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/0f9ae244-a23c-436f-a21b-4df824523a75/orlando.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August Dispatch: “I’m telling you stories. Trust me.” This book and Orlando, by Virginia Woolf - which is a gender-bending, time bending love letter from Woolf to Vita Sackville-West, are two books that I fell in love with in the summer of 2000. Both were assigned to me as a part of an Essay Writing class that I took because I had to in order to get my English degree - and wasn’t looking forward to - but I ended up absolutely loving (and consequently wrote some of the most interesting personal narratives I’ve ever written, if I do say so myself). Both of these books are about the art of storytelling and biography, and how it defines our experiences. Both also feature a hefty dose of magical realism, and both play with concepts of gender and love, from a queer viewpoint. If you read them and you love them as much as I do, please take a second to drop me an email and share a favorite passage. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/july-dispatch-it-is-in-the-unexpected-place-that-you-will-find-the-lobster monthly 0.5 2024-07-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/454fe546-4014-4c37-9ca0-4e6f17877879/IMG_1369.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - July Dispatch: “It is in the unexpected place that you will find The Lobster.” I was asked many times over the weekend if I had visited the ranch before booking the retreat, or if I knew Annie (the proprietress) or Dani (the wildly talented chef) before booking. The answer, surprisingly, was no - I went off of the recommendation of Galaxy studio friend, Alexandria, and the vibes I got from one zoom meeting with Annie. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/dd0849e4-306d-4639-9029-29290e3b013e/HYP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - July Dispatch: “It is in the unexpected place that you will find The Lobster.” There are a ton of really interesting yogic texts to dive into, starting with the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Gheranda Samhita, and the Shiva Samhita, which are considered by many yogic scholars to be the three most “classic” or foundational texts to hatha yoga, and hardly ever read or discussed in yoga in the West. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/4605c44a-24a0-47a5-97a2-1e20235920d5/filterworld.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - July Dispatch: “It is in the unexpected place that you will find The Lobster.” We’ll be reading this together, since I haven’t quite started this book yet - Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, by Kyle Chayka. I heard Chayka interviewed about this book a few months ago, and felt like he was verbalizing many things I struggle to come to terms with as a business owner who has to partially rely on Instagram for her marketing reach - and frequently gets little to no engagement on the posts that I like the best (my aesthetic is not IG’s aesthetic, I’m learning…). Is personal taste and personal freedom on the Internet an illusion? This book dives into how our digital footprint, likes, dislikes and culture consumption are mined for money, and slowly manipulated, resulting in a flattening of culture that I obviously have lots of feelings about (if you read through all the words above this, you’ll know…). Chayka’s stance is that we have the ability to fight back against culture flattening - but I’ll report back more once I’ve read it. You know how to contact me if you have thoughts on this book, or have already read it. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/june-dispatch-the-elements-the-field-and-the-knower-of-the-field monthly 0.5 2024-06-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/febd07bc-4a71-4d4c-b7f5-3a7c564064a2/gita+7.4.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June Dispatch: The Elements, The Field, and the Knower of the Field bhūmir-āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva cha ahankāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛitir aṣhṭadhā Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and i-sense are the eight-fold parts of my material energies (Prakriti). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/ab24ac98-898a-4989-a9e6-f83c7099f4ad/sagan.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June Dispatch: The Elements, The Field, and the Knower of the Field So when yoga says things like each of the elements is represented by a finger on your hands - I think it’s symbolic, but I think it’s also reality. And when Carl Sagan says that we are all literally made up of stars, I know it’s symbolic, but it’s also reality. And although I love to celebrate that there’s just one Anna who has ever existed on earth, I can also celebrate that what I think of as the person Anna is also an organism that is inextricable from the earth, water, fire, air and ether, mind, intellect and i-sense that exists as a part of “the field.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a3408424-adc3-4353-916c-ac8f6afed6a3/super+infinite.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June Dispatch: The Elements, The Field, and the Knower of the Field If you’ve never dug into the poetry, meditations, and sermons of John Donne, and I’m assuming that’s a fair number of you, I’d like to take this opportunity to recommend him. A contemporary of Shakespeare, Donne was alive at a time where the written English word was experiencing an absolute exponential creative explosion, no exaggeration. People were writing the most creative works in the late Elizabethan/early Jacobean era, and a lot of it is really fun, and still incredibly vital. What I love about Donne is that he reinvents and reimagines himself several times throughout the course of his life in a way that I find inspiring. What I also love about Donne is that he can write a dirty, dirty love poem. The book Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell is an investigation of Donne via the body of his writing - much of which had to be hunted down and re-assembled, because he was not widely published in his lifetime. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/087c5f3d-2a4e-479c-a571-a24a0fc50a3e/donne.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - June Dispatch: The Elements, The Field, and the Knower of the Field Donne’s life was one of struggle, love, sex, God, death and using his powerful connection to the English language, and particularly poetry, to understand the world around him, and the turbulent waves of his life experiences. Katherine Rundell makes Donne so real, I think I developed a sort of rock star crush on this poetry-writing hunk. I mean, look at him! Total Babe. Highly recommend this book, and if you’re a Donne poetry fiend like I am, lmk your favorite John Donne poem. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/may-galaxy-dispatch-energetic-roadmaps-for-self-verification monthly 0.5 2024-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/695bf711-f041-4407-90d0-1a7c3a257165/star+order+meme.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - May Galaxy Dispatch: Energetic Roadmaps for Self-Verification I’m thinking about that little meme that circulated around social media that showed that different people have different ways of connecting the five points that make up a five-pointed star (I’m a 4-1-3-5-2-4 person, myself). I don’t know if the different order, beginning points, directions, and ending points reveal deep secrets about our identities, but I do know that, regardless of the path, we all end up creating the same star. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1713812942612-E5IRSHQ7WCP9QIEF56OL/thai+sen+lines.png The Galaxy Dispatch - May Galaxy Dispatch: Energetic Roadmaps for Self-Verification https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1713812942650-MH76LENC2E9770SGKZ1G/marma.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - May Galaxy Dispatch: Energetic Roadmaps for Self-Verification https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1713812943312-3LUK8VIS2B5S0JEL1P3N/koshas.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - May Galaxy Dispatch: Energetic Roadmaps for Self-Verification https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1713812943407-IBN1VPMTZSSZJ51C3UED/vayus.gif The Galaxy Dispatch - May Galaxy Dispatch: Energetic Roadmaps for Self-Verification https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/643641c4-8634-42b7-a5e9-871cee5d5bd1/iyengar.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - May Galaxy Dispatch: Energetic Roadmaps for Self-Verification But to be really fair to that training program, one of my teachers also said something that I still share with my students today: if you did an entire class where you paid no attention to alignment, but just stayed focused on connecting to the breath, and letting the energy of the breath move through those poses, you’d probably do those poses absolutely perfectly. I don’t think that “perfectly” means that Iyengar would be smiling down on you from the clouds (see pic on left to understand what I’m picturing when I’m picturing Iyengar smiling down from the clouds). I think it means you would be connected and engaged with your body in a way that focusing in and paying gentle attention via mindful breathing engenders. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a2a8eff4-5e2e-4ef1-b769-dd058d806a9c/the+iliad.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - May Galaxy Dispatch: Energetic Roadmaps for Self-Verification I bought myself the Emily Wilson translation of the Iliad for Christmas last year, and I finally have the chance to dive into it. I’m enjoying it because I love the Iliad, and have loved it since I read it with Richard Cameron in my Freshman Honors Great books class at the University of Michigan. But I love this new translation for its vitality, freshness, rawness, and absolutely fantastic pacing. Wilson talks about attempting to translate and keep the meter that most Greek poems are written in - dactylic hexameter. Dactylic hexameter, to me, sounds like horse hooves galloping (dum-da-da, dum-da-da, dum-da-da, dum-da-da, dum-da-da, dum dum, to be exact). https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/april-galaxy-dispatch-the-soma-of-poetry monthly 0.5 2024-04-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/af5d59b2-3286-4666-9b66-986fbafcb3ab/movinggalaxymarch2024-114.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April Galaxy Dispatch: The Soma of Poetry “Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” -Rita Dove https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/eab27290-6f1a-4df5-9262-7919489fc43e/PXL_20240326_105727611.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April Galaxy Dispatch: The Soma of Poetry Last week, I was wandering Pittsburgh’s hills With my family. I woke up in the dark morning with the birds, and walked down the huge hill my neighborhood was perched upon, to an unknown yoga class with an unknown teacher. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/2c2205a0-1760-4847-a5d3-d5d3d0db50f6/Soma+Ras.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - April Galaxy Dispatch: The Soma of Poetry - Soma The nectar of life, in many eastern traditions, sometimes it’s translated as “Distilled” and that practice had Soma: Potent Undiluted Powerful. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b1d7bf35-504b-4b55-bcec-c49df98b1c02/luminous+things.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - April Galaxy Dispatch: The Soma of Poetry I’ve got a re-recommendation from last year, and a new one that I’ll be reading for the first time, along with you! Last year, I recommended “A Book of Luminous Things,” a poetry anthology edited by Czeslaw Milos and arranged by subject matter that is a personal favorite (I gave it as a birthday gift to our resident real-life studio fairy and fellow poetry-lover, Rose this year). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/58adcacc-a257-4b40-9241-be9058bb7ed3/how+to+love+the+world.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April Galaxy Dispatch: The Soma of Poetry In that same vein, I’m diving into this anthology called “Poems of Gratitude and Hope,” edited by James Crews. And it’s got a forward by Ross Gay, which really sealed the deal for me! I’ll be reading and sharing from this book throughout the month, I’m guessing. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/march-galaxy-dispatch-shakti-get-up-get-out-and-live monthly 0.5 2024-03-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/e168dc4e-f3e7-4ff8-b24e-1f32ff14fc95/movinggalaxybykja-118.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March Galaxy Dispatch: Shakti (Get up, Get Out and Live!) Why are there so many stars and souls With no end in sight For them Because nothing can interrupt God When he is having fun Creating! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/92e58628-6c2e-4ee2-844a-224c6639a068/gingernfred.gif The Galaxy Dispatch - March Galaxy Dispatch: Shakti (Get up, Get Out and Live!) I can remember begging my mom to let me take dance lessons as a child (we didn’t have the money to spend on them), dressing up in dresses that twirled really beautifully and making up dances to music on my record player as a tiny little 3-year-old, staying home as a high schooler on a Friday night to watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers glide across my TV screen, and feeling the full-body tug of wanting to move when a song came on that I loved (I still feel that way). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/35666cb2-c5ca-407f-8d1c-2303028e51ae/Martha-Graham-Letter-to-the-World-1940.png The Galaxy Dispatch - March Galaxy Dispatch: Shakti (Get up, Get Out and Live!) And what Shakti teaches us is that it’s our responsibility to allow that to exist in the world. Martha Graham says “Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.” If we can’t allow ourselves the grace and the confidence to share a creative enthusiasm with the world - be it dance, song, a unique perspective, or anything about us that makes us uniquely us - the world is missing it. The world deserves your creativity, what makes you, YOU. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f429b07f-a1c1-4ed0-b3d0-215adc641f31/Shiva_as_the_Lord_of_Dance_LACMA_edit.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March Galaxy Dispatch: Shakti (Get up, Get Out and Live!) Strangely enough, the holiday of Shivaratri is approaching, so we’re currently moving into a celebration of the divine masculine, and contemplation, meditation, and introspection are all a part of the observances. So I’m a little out of cosmic timing with my celebration of Shakti this month. But let it be said that Shiva also presides over the dance of the creation and the destruction of the world: a literal dance called the Tandava. So just as within us, we embody aspects of both feminine Shakti and masculine Shiva, there is a creative force of dance associated with the contemplative energies that Shiva embodies. You can’t really separate the two so easily. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/9de0f61d-68a0-45b3-8759-c4a99cfe57e9/becker.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March Galaxy Dispatch: Shakti (Get up, Get Out and Live!) Inspired by this New York times article, which revisits and praises this book 50 years after its publication, I’m reading The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. Becker talks about what the Buddhists have known for years - the source of humankind’s suffering often comes from our refusal to reckon with our own mortality. The article called it “suprisingly upbeat,” and so far, I have to agree. I’m also really enjoying Becker’s criticism of our urge to seek and elevate heroism - I’ve been re-evaluating my take on Joseph Campbell quite a bit this year (I like him less and less these days), and Becker is actually helping me to understand why the hero myth might exist, and why it may not be a helpful framing of the human experience. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/february-galaxy-dispatch-kama-and-desire-lines monthly 0.5 2024-02-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a7e3aa62-eb23-4d51-a7ce-0cedfbbd4a00/movinggalaxybykja-168.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February Galaxy Dispatch: Kama and Desire Lines “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!” -Jack Kerouac https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c39c50a7-d1bd-41f4-89ef-fa2c768440a5/PXL_20220201_230257284.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February Galaxy Dispatch: Kama and Desire Lines Two years ago at this time, I posted this picture of the river beneath the Locust Street bridge, after a run. I’ve taken a big break from running this past year, mostly due to time demands from the studio, and although I’ll always be a walker, and walking is a part of my meditation practice, running is a really important, later-life discovery that, similar to a long walk, provides spiritual nourishment, as well as physical nourishment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8f75d946-bfae-4617-898c-bc20971e3c8d/Kamadeva.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February Galaxy Dispatch: Kama and Desire Lines Kama is also the Hindu god of passion, and like Eros, he has a bow and arrow. The desire that Kama represents can extend to the arts, nature, aesthetic pleasures, and really any sort of sensual enjoyment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/9a81de8d-5b28-410b-a7cb-701405642e6c/path+with+heart.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - February Galaxy Dispatch: Kama and Desire Lines Galaxy peeps, I’m actually SHOOK that I haven’t put this up on the reading recommendations yet. But it fits in really perfectly with the theme of this blog, because it’s “A Path With Heart” by Jack Kornfield, who I refer to just as Jack, because I feel like I know him, I’ve read this book so many times (nb: I do not know Jack. I wish I did.) https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/january-dispatch-tejas-come-closer-to-the-fire monthly 0.5 2024-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/df3c3632-a632-42f3-ba94-1c15d1536461/the+lokas.png The Galaxy Dispatch - January Dispatch: Tejas; Come Closer to the Fire This past week at our incredible Solstice Dark Wave class, we chanted the long form of the Gayatri Mantra, which includes a call out to each of the six realms. The fifth of the sixth realms is the Tapo Loka, which is said to be filled with Tejas, and is felt by us as the illumination of Shakti, or our divine feminine, generative, dynamic and creative energies.. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8293fea1-858b-4b13-a8a2-66802e1f94b5/PXL_20240103_031039892.MP.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January Dispatch: Tejas; Come Closer to the Fire I like Tejas as a January theme, because I very much dislike our current cultural obsession with New Year’s Resolutions, starting fitness regimes, focusing on what we want to change about ourselves, particularly our bodies, in a way that is rarely sustainable, and just feels like a bummer most of the time. This time of year is good a time for us to slow down, seek connections, get cozy, and nurture ourselves. We’re like little seeds in the earth, getting all the nourishment we need so that we can flower when spring arrives! (I screenshotted this pic from this week’s New Yorker, because it was perfect.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f059b3d5-22d1-4d56-8347-828ecd08f0f2/Brooks.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January Dispatch: Tejas; Come Closer to the Fire If you follow me on Instagram, you know I like to screenshot snippets of books I’m reading or poems I’m jazzed about, and post them on my stories. A few weeks ago, I was snipping and posting quite a bit from this book by David Brooks, “How To Know a Person,” and judging from the amount of responses I got to the snippets, I think many of you will really like this book. Which was a tiny bit of a suprise to me, becuase Brooks, as an opinion writer for the New York Times, wasn’t a favorite of mine. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/december-is-bhakti-month-sing-out-louise monthly 0.5 2023-11-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8b71b46e-4825-45ce-9137-47d9755769b4/bhakti.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December is Bhakti Month: Sing Out, Louise! This month, we’re diving into the theme of Bhakti, which can be broadly described as the practice of a personal devotion to a deity. In the tradition of Yoga and Hinduism, it’s most often associated with worship of Shiva or Vishnu. If you’ve ever seen Hare Krishna devotees dancing through the streets and chanting, that’s a manifestation of the Bhakti practice (Krishna is an avatar, or incarnation, of Vishnu). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/94248271-3957-4cb4-b00c-869bfc255396/Buddy_christ.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December is Bhakti Month: Sing Out, Louise! I was disappointed at the time, and yes, there was more than a little hope that during that first communion, the heavens would open, and I’d catch a glimpse of an angel choir, or Buddy Jesus would peek out from behind a cloud and wink. So I was kind of bummed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/840e73d0-cd0d-4abf-b4c3-a6cc6c96aa6f/messages_0%2B%252814%2529.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December is Bhakti Month: Sing Out, Louise! If you’re hanging out in class with me this month, you can expect to spend a little time listening to and perhaps participating in chants. I always translate and context them to the best of my ability, and like all things we practice in the Galaxy, participation is voluntary. I also have to say that I’m proud that our 200-Hour Practice Immersion and Teacher Training goes heavy on the chanting! It’s important! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a850d139-109b-420f-9c60-ed638a82d8dc/gypsy-singout.gif The Galaxy Dispatch - December is Bhakti Month: Sing Out, Louise! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/6b8eebe1-7944-4e31-b8eb-1ab94a80668c/musicophilia.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December is Bhakti Month: Sing Out, Louise! I’ve long been a die-hard Oliver Sacks fan, and although it’s hard to pick a favorite, his book “Musicophilia” might be my favorite among his works. It’s a fascinating exploration on the way music affects the mind, the memory, and what that means for us as meaning-making humans. The final chapter, about music and dementia, and the man who can still sing in perfect harmony with his barbershop a cappella group might be my favorite. But the whole book is pretty special. If you read it, let me know what your favorite part was. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/thank-you-thats-all-i-have-to-say-but-its-a-lot-of-them monthly 0.5 2023-11-03 https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/embracing-the-shadow monthly 0.5 2023-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/91df6e70-5534-4317-bb86-06d4cba60394/6329_03_5af9a604-06ed-4a82-9d04-d7ab64d55f53_1050x740.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - October: Embracing the Shadow - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b5c3d7fc-1a8e-4514-8dbf-8b420308354e/PXL_20230611_023529009+%281%29.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - October: Embracing the Shadow - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/the-work-of-the-yoga-sutras-a-dirgha-kala-a-long-time monthly 0.5 2023-09-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a2423b9c-b173-4002-aaa3-7d2a25e6659b/patanjali.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - The Work of the Yoga Sutras: A Dirgha Kala (a long time) September and its back to school vibe always strike me as a good time to dig into one of yoga’s foundational texts - the Yoga Sutras. The Sutras are short, sharp little wisdom nuggets, meant to be chanted (and maybe even memorized!), and then unpacked through philosophical discourse. They’re written by Patanajali, who may or may not have existed, and are always accompanied by exposition - the first exposition being one by Vyasa, who may be the actual author Sutras, as well.. The Sutras were a bit of an obscure text until they were introduced to the West by Vivekananda at the Parliament of World Religions that happened in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The Sutras are an earlier text in the yogic tradition, and assemble bits and pieces of several different branches of Indian thought and religion - there are aspects of Buddhism, Samkhya, and early yogic philosophy in there, in a way that sometimes seems a little hard to parse out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/5f75da27-f86a-4d00-96c3-c64cd8700103/Swami_Vivekananda_1893_Scanned_Image.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - The Work of the Yoga Sutras: A Dirgha Kala (a long time) While there are probably more relevant or noteworthy yogic texts, and the heightened importance and focus on the Yoga Sutras amongst Western practitioners is a little bit of an oddball choice that basically can be credited to one Hindu monk’s preference, I still continue to highlight them and focus on them, particularly in my Yoga Teacher Training programs. Why? First of all, because they give a systematic explanation of the eight limbs of yoga that I feel is a necessary companion to the physical practice of yoga asanas. And also? Because it’s important to me that my studio is not only a space of physical practice, but a space of learning about yoga in as full a way as I can possibly transmit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b71847cd-1bf9-447c-b61a-cc05b5237429/yoga+sutras.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - The Work of the Yoga Sutras: A Dirgha Kala (a long time) It’s predictable, but still worthwhile: here’s my go-to translation of the Yoga Sutras. It’s not the most scholarly of translations, but this commentary on the Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda is taken from his informal dharma talks at the Satchidananda Yogaville Ashram in Virginia. It’s an accessible and modern take on the sutras that is a great starting point - for a first dip into this philosophical text, or a jumping off point for a discussion with some of your yoga buddies (we call them Sutra Chats in our 200 and 300-hour Teacher Trainings here at the Galaxy). From here, there are lots of other translations to dive into, and my second favorite translation is a deep cut by Bouanchoud, which seems to be out of print (but I might loan it to you if you’re interested. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/august-the-power-of-myth monthly 0.5 2023-08-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/64e49f1c-fd6d-47ac-8a59-c67b5ac3d12e/krishna.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - August: The Power Of Myth His charioteer turns out to be Lord Krishna, who then discourses with Arjuna on the nature of the universe, the nature of God, our duties and devotions during our time on earth, the various types of yoga, dharma, karma and more. As Krishna and Arjuna dialogue on the battlefield, time seems to stop. Krishna reveals himself in his universal form, called Vishavarupa, where he embodies the entire universe, and he says, in some translations of the Gita “I am Time, the destroyer of worlds,” which might sound a bit familiar to you if you’re tuned into one of our current cinematic zeitgeists: Oppenheimer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/5c624038-6e87-4652-a14e-776d04bd21f9/oppenheimer.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August: The Power Of Myth If you’re living under a rock and not aware of who Robert Oppenheimer is, he was the father of the atomic bomb who was a fervent scholar of the Gita, and had a penchant for mysticism. It’s not known if he actually uttered the phrase “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” as he witnessed the destructive power of his creation, but it’s become wrapped up in his legacy as a brilliant mind that created a horrendous weapon and struggled to grapple with that legacy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a92a391f-9842-4d38-a381-092502472e64/darmok.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - August: The Power Of Myth One of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes is called Darmok, and it’s about an alien race called the Tamarians, whose entire language is not translatable via the universal translators. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/a36ddbe6-273c-4919-8348-b65bb6bd66e0/barbie.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August: The Power Of Myth - I just have to go here… …the Barbie movie and the legacy of Barbie is just another way that many of us literally acted out our stories as youngsters, which brings me to one of my favorite stories about my childhood, as told by my Dad: THE LAST TIME ANNA PLAYED WITH BARBIES. And trust that there were several Weird Barbies like Kate McKinnon present during this little personal mythological momen https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/13110b76-5ff4-4a49-aaa7-d4f0635a37d3/gawain.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August: The Power Of Myth - Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, trans. Simon Armitage This is my top pick for the month - this Armitage translation is poppin, and I haven’t watched the 2021 movie, yet, so I’ll probably do a nice pairing of the two. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c2bbd552-604e-4f95-9e16-fac28a796d9c/cslewis.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August: The Power Of Myth - Tilll We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis This is a C.S. Lewis retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which he badly wanted to retell to account for the somewhat illogical actions of Psyche’s sisters. I enjoy this retelling, even though I have feelings about C.S. Lewis’s obsession with physical beauty and the “dangers” of it. Let’s talk about it, if you do, too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/4e607356-47c2-460c-b4fe-55ae65eb04bb/jung.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - August: The Power Of Myth - Shadow and Evil In Fairy Tales, Marie-Louie von Franz This book is a scholarly and psychological exploration of the symbolism of fairy tales, and what it can reveal about our own selves, particularly our shadow selves. I’m a fanatic for anything Jungian (just wait until we devote the entire month of October to embracing the shadow), and have a deep, ancestral-feeling connection to the stories of the Grimm brothers, so this is always a favorite to read and re-read, for inspiration and introspection. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/july-rest-and-resistance monthly 0.5 2023-07-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/14afbbaf-954c-41b6-8d11-3377d97c913d/PXL_20230530_235719670+%281%29.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - July: Rest and Resistance Happy July, Galaxy Friends! I hope the summer has gotten off to a good start for you. The smoke has finally cleared from the skies of Milwaukee, Humboldt is almost up and running again, and I’ve been able to ride my bike quite a bit. Not too shabby. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/e05954b8-1c73-4ad3-b19f-209d6746c1b6/PXL_20230701_134333865.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - July: Rest and Resistance When I thought about the July theme, I had to struggle with my “it’s complicated” feelings about celebrating our nation. There are breathtakingly beautiful things about the United States. And there are breathtakingly heartbreaking things that are wrapped up in our history, and continue to this day. I tend to be a person that would rather dig in and closely examine, rather than smooth over and blithely celebrate, so I chose Rest and Resistance as the theme of this month. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/65a1b4ce-fb8d-45c6-8e9e-f79c02f92d32/progressive+dystopia.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - July: Rest and Resistance - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/june-2023-the-natural-world monthly 0.5 2023-06-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c35c42cc-d85a-4976-95a0-2e543568a3b4/PXL_20230530_235719670.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2023: The Natural World When I’m not at the studio, you’ll probably catch me riding my bike somewhere - bike adventures are my favorite thing about warm weather times. These early days of summer seem like the extra good moments to be outside and immerse in the natural world, because the bugs haven’t gotten bad yet, and it’s still fairly temperate - which is one reason why I chose the theme of the natural world for June. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/ca1156c6-0684-46bb-b5a0-3d7197c0a674/PXL_20230604_191308121.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2023: The Natural World When I talk about the natural world, I mostly mean plants and animals that you’ll encounter when you take yourself outside. And you don’t even have to be in the remote wilderness to experience it. As you already know, I love a good long neighborhood walk, and when I can convince my daughter to come along, we have a lot of fun foraging and identifying flora that we encounter. Did you know day lilies are edible, and taste a little like peas? But regular lilies are NOT edible, just so ya know. This is actually a picture of poppies, my favorite. I think the buds look like little Audrey Two’s, getting ready to say “Feed me.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/3b2b85ff-ed26-489f-9cb7-4c72e2a92cb0/PXL_20230513_221929103.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2023: The Natural World But one of the most special experiences for me was walking the trails, holding my daughter’s hand. She just turned ten, and I know that pre-teen and teen years are going to shift some things about our relationship; change or die, as they say. I loved that, as we connected our feet to the ground and delighted over the new-to-our-eyes sights of cacti and lizards, and looked out over the incredibly quirky hoodoos of Bryce, her inclination was to offer up this gesture of connection. It was as if she was silently asking me to experience it all *with* her - the good old Rilke idea of “you come, too.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/ac5c1c64-942d-4fae-bda4-d18b6184eb5e/yogi+on+tiger.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2023: The Natural World And that idea just kept sitting with me as I mulled over ideas for the June studio theme. I’ve often marveled at just how many asanas in yoga are pulled from plants and animals. The Tantric age of yoga, to me, was an era of experimentation, where yogis tried to see how their bodies could be a conduit of liberation, connection, and one-ness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/84cbd378-43f8-455d-8cfc-e0028c4e2d7d/awe.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - June 2023: The Natural World - What I’m Reading I found out that I’m already taking what are referred to as “Awe Walks,” in this book by Dacher Keltner. Awe Walks are outdoor perambulations where we focus on really taking in the sights, sounds, and other sensory cues that exist around us, in more of a ritualistic fashion. Especially in the summer time, this is one of my favorite things to do - there is so much to delight the senses as I walk through the streets and take in city nature. What’s super cool is that research shows that cultivating a sense of Awe has tangible health benefits - I was so inspired by a mention of this book in a New York Times newsletter, I ordered it and am diving in now! Maybe you, too? https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/may-2023-dispatch-the-chakras-or-god-be-in-my-eyes monthly 0.5 2023-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8db77d6a-c76b-4505-be0d-278e04804462/sarum.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - May 2023 Dispatch: The Chakras, or “God be in my eyes…” God be in my head, and in my understanding; God be in my eyes, and in my looking; God be in my mouth, and in my speaking; God be in my heart, and in my thinking; God be at my end, and at my departing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/adb9f832-08c7-4c38-8a70-57dc1053da4a/hrit+and+manas.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - May 2023 Dispatch: The Chakras, or “God be in my eyes…” The concept of the chakras - these energetic vortices that lie along our spinal column, roughly correlated with nerve ganglia - are one of the most co-opted and misunderstood aspects of our modern Westernized yoga practice. There is a lot that we attribute to the concepts of the chakras that really comes to us from New Age philosophy, and isn’t found in traditional yogic texts. There are different systems of chakras - some have fewer than 7, some more than 7 - here’s a picture that shows two “extra” chakras, Hrit and Manas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c045379c-1c6b-429f-889a-56d344b70186/Sapta_Chakra%2C_1899_%28cropped%29.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - May 2023 Dispatch: The Chakras, or “God be in my eyes…” But one indisputably yogic “fact” about chakras is that they are firmly in the Tantric tradition of yoga philosophy. What this means is that the Tantric yogis, in an effort to experience divinity as human, undertook almost-scientific experiments to see how they could invite the divine to play within their bodies. This is where a concept like Kundalini energy - the coiled energetic snake that lies at the base of the spine, ready to ascend and pierce each chakra - comes from. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/4ad6a864-6846-473d-9310-2a39a1fd5d2d/watership+down.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - May 2023 Dispatch: The Chakras, or “God be in my eyes…” You may already know this, because I talk about it incessantly, but I’m a huge fan of the book Watership Down - which is a sort of fantasy novel about rabbits. Rabbits on an epic journey. Hear me out, if you’re feeling skeptical. Richard Adams wrote this book from of stories that he would tell his kids at bedtime, and it’s so incredibly immersive, emotional, funny, rich - the rabbits have a language and amazing stories and mythology - and each rabbit has a personality that makes you feel like you really know them (my favorite rabbit is Blackberry - the clever one). https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/there-is-no-house-like-the-house-of-belonging monthly 0.5 2023-03-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/30e39066-f4bf-4917-9bea-5bf0aab322ac/prince.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2023 Dispatch: “There is no house like the house of belonging” - Hey Galaxy buddies, it’s April in the midwest! That means that we might be starting to feel ready to emerge from our hibernation, but the elements might be reminding us that Sometimes It Snows In April (had to get a Prince reference somewhere in this dispatch). I’m here to encourage you to reach out, reconnect, and if you want to get out of the house, but it’s still too cold outside… well, it’s still really cozy and warm in the studio. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8b7060d5-573c-4316-9673-879529ae7583/PXL_20230306_011338647.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2023 Dispatch: “There is no house like the house of belonging” - The first item was a solo weekend trip to San Francisco. My trip was mainly to do a weekend immersion in Animal Flow, which is a movement modality that I’m currently in love with. But it also was an opportunity to connect with one of my teachers from New York, who now has a yoga studio in the Mission neighborhood: Lotusland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/9ba73882-baac-4c84-8da1-28680c2dd087/PXL_20230306_211519569.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2023 Dispatch: “There is no house like the house of belonging” - This is me with the teacher who taught me to be a teacher: Jasmine Tarkeshi! Something really special happened each time I went to a yoga class at Lotusland. At the beginning of class, the teacher invited everyone to say hello to someone they didn’t know before class started. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b1d7bf35-504b-4b55-bcec-c49df98b1c02/luminous+things.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - April 2023 Dispatch: “There is no house like the house of belonging” It was a bit of a tough call, choosing the theme of the month, because April is national poetry month, and if you’ve been around me for more than a second, you know how much I love a good poem. Rest assured, I’ll be sharing lots of poems in class, this month and every month, but I wanted to suggest an eclectic poetry anthology if you’re wanting more poetry in your life, but don’t know where to start. Check out A Book Of Luminous Things, edited and introduced by Czeslaw Milosz, a formidable poet himself. The poems are organized along subject matter, but span a huge variety of times, places, styles and authors. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/march-2023-dispatch-prana-and-moving-the-energy monthly 0.5 2023-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/ecde12f8-81e8-440c-84eb-c2468e243909/Vayu_Deva.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2023 Dispatch: Prana and Moving the Energy And that’s what we’re calling in for our March theme - moving the energy, harnessing our vital life principle, aka prana, and honoring the five Vayus, or winds, of traditional yogic teachings. This picture is of the Hindu deity Vayu, who presided over the winds and was a messenger to the gods. He’s often called the life breath of the world; waking up the earth and all living things with the winds of March. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f970907e-8ae6-447c-b324-d040d95e80e5/maurice+sendak.png The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2023 Dispatch: Prana and Moving the Energy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/345d3609-c08e-464b-a8bf-7cc9a7ef4a1c/rilke.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2023 Dispatch: Prana and Moving the Energy “Silent friend of many distances Feel how your breath enlarges all of space” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/86e6cfae-e668-4ba7-a796-0101afbbcfe3/rilke+mitchell.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2023 Dispatch: Prana and Moving the Energy If you haven’t read Rilke yet, and my mention of him intrigued you, I’ll have a few copies of “The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke,” tranaslated by Stephen Mitchell, at the studio. This is a bilingual version, so the original German included, if you’re a German lanuage lover like I am. But there is lots to explore, as far as Rilke is concerned - both prose and poetry, so I’ll encourage you to explore and read all the Rilke you can get your hands on! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8a9aa861-7d6e-4427-89a8-11f75e748b5b/41WWM06gUhL._SX398_BO1%2C204%2C203%2C200_.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - March 2023 Dispatch: Prana and Moving the Energy I’m also truly psyched to check out this new book from one of my favorite movement teachers, Jill Miller - it’s called Body By Breath - The Science and Practice of Physical and Emotional Resilience. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/february-2023-dispatch-devotion-and-the-love-dogs monthly 0.5 2023-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b3273365-6aee-484e-9c8d-9893942aeeb1/rumi.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2023 Dispatch: Devotion - I want to start with one of my favorite Rumi poems: Love Dogs This version is translated by Coleman Barks, and it perfectly describes our theme this month: Devotion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/e9137801-5428-4852-8d33-95d08cd3ed83/Prince_Lovesexy_c.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2023 Dispatch: Devotion - But maybe you’re into Prince? Because I am. And Prince, I like to call a modern day Rumi. He’s not shy about dialogues with the divine, but he also intertwines his art with the very earthly pleasures of romance and intimacy in a way that’s pretty much unmatched by any other modern day artist. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c688a9e2-a726-436c-b530-6c159df79e7b/tantra.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2023 Dispatch: Devotion That intertwining of earthly pleasure and the divine is directly in line with the yogic philosophy of Tantra, which roughly translates as “woven together,” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/62dafdf7-3f54-46a7-97e4-21b76cb13593/PXL_20221115_162156689_exported_78502.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - February 2023 Dispatch: Devotion - And… have you ever had that feeling in a yoga class? I’m talking about the feeling that comes over you when the class flows, and the teacher is in the zone, the music (or the silence) is perfect, the atmosphere is there, and you’re working hard, but not too hard, and everything, or mostly everything, feels really good? A friend of mine calls those moments body prayers. I feel that - it’s a spiritual experience, and well outside of the quotidian rhythms of my middle-aged mom lyfe. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/january-2023-dispatch-a-new-year-of-sankalpah-and-sadhana monthly 0.5 2022-12-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/37274193-bfae-496c-86f2-21e92ac088c7/calvin-hobbes-new-years-resolutions.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2023 Dispatch: A New Year of Sankalpah and Sadhana - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/3cdc3cda-be0f-4739-b9ec-1b7dceb27298/Galaxy+Bingo+%282%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2023 Dispatch: A New Year of Sankalpah and Sadhana - We’re playing Bingo this month at the studio, and here’s how it’s gonna go: Fill in a row of five, and you get a free MG hat Fill in five rows of five, and you get a free yellow star MG t-shirt Fill in the entire grid and you’re entered into a randomized drawing to win either a free month of yoga, or $200 off of registration for our November 2023 Lake Atitlan Guatemala retreat!! Pick up a Bingo sheet at the studio, and we’ll get it rolling on January 1st. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/8e1ebb81-69c2-47ce-9adb-e47d3583f658/Meditations+from+the+Mat.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2023 Dispatch: A New Year of Sankalpah and Sadhana - I’m going back to an old favorite that has the potential to be a daily companion: Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates. I adore Rolf Gates’s way of breaking down the components of the spiritual and philosophical practice of yoga, and the fact that it’s a daily companion with the potential to take you through an entire year seems like the right way to kick things off. I’m planning to have copies for sale in the studio, but it’s a bit of a deep cut, so it’s on order, and hopefully arriving soon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/b7da279c-16c3-4362-9751-fa2a50303b13/PXL_20220101_035627355.NIGHT.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - January 2023 Dispatch: A New Year of Sankalpah and Sadhana - Before I fire up my sauna and sweat my way into the New Year, I’ll sign off with a Ram Dass quote… And before I share that, I’ll preface with another favorite, slightly saucy quote that I have also heard attributed to Ram Dass, but can’t find documented anywhere.. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/december-dispatch-radical-joy monthly 0.5 2022-12-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/7aaad4d8-1e1a-4642-8a08-1b8f11a66aab/SS_CREATIVITY-23.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - Poet Ross Gay on Joy: “My hunch is that joy is an ember for or precursor to wild and unpredictable and transgressive and unboundaried solidarity…My hunch is that joy, emerging from our common sorrow…might depolarize us and de-atomize us enough that we can consider what, in common, we love.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/67f699ab-2de9-402c-bbf4-f56f856f842f/292441562_10166504352870461_7823007458496479056_n.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - This summer, I was able to be with my father as he entered into hospice care for metastatic colon cancer, and was with him, in the exact hospital where I was born 43 years earlier, as he prepared to transition out of the earthly world. (Get a load of baby Anna and my Dad’s amazing mustache.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/25625790-bfea-459a-9427-b0564e3958cf/joyologist.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - My sincere wish for you in these last days of the year is that you’ll embrace this time of darkness and introspection to find some deep joy. The holidays can absolutely be a catalyst for that… but I hope you’ll dig a little deeper and connect a little more substantially than what the world sometimes deems appropriate, safe, or acceptable. I’m picturing us doing our best impression of Molly Shannon playing Helen Madden, Licensed Joyologist, and saying “I LOVE IT!” (Go watch this, if you haven’t lately) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/d2050ff4-74f4-4b18-a787-58ffe260e1c3/Screenshot_20221201_070617.png The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - What I’m Reading It’s no secret that my recommendation is going to be a Ross Gay book or two! We’ve got The Book of Delights, Catalog Of Unabashed Gratitude, and his newest book, a collection of essays titled Inciting Joy for sale at the studio, if you’re curious what joy and delight looks like through Ross Gay’s eyes. I also highly recommend this Zadie Smith essay on joy - it goes to some unexpected places, and is a favorite read of mine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1669944721353-1KYK5LSK6N2A405RLT1O/messages_0+%287%29.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - Handstands with Eileen Handstand Workshop with Eileen on 12/3 at The Moving Galaxy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1669944727437-ZPCYD94EGFM4TX6BFUOS/Image+%283%29.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - Sound Healing and Meditation with Parisa Sound bath, meditation, and chanting with Parisa at The Moving Galaxy on 12/10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1669944725630-0A1LB7KTZJVMXKKQ8EM2/IMG_2453+%281%29.jpeg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - 12 Days of Christmas with Taylor 12 Days of Christmas-themed Vinyasa class with Taylor on 12/17, followed by shopping and tarot in the lounge! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1669944729714-OV2789YZV72VMYT4T9HG/PXL_20221119_184126537+%282%29.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - Slow Flow and Yoga Nidra with Mica Join Mica for intentional rest as she leads you through a 90-minute Slow Flow and Yoga Nidra session on 12/17 at The Moving Galaxy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1669944727779-8QGNYK8B4H5VXXRLDGBX/SS_CREATIVITY-15+%281%29.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - Basics and Slow Flow with Anna Basics and Slow Flow 75-minute Practice with Anna on 12/18 at The Moving Galaxy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1669944730350-76S6NZ899AW7C5LMGP25/Kelsey+NYE+108_+%282%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - Galaxy 108 with Kelsey Join Kelsey on New Year’s Eve for The Moving Galaxy’s first 108! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1669944864343-F8XQMDBLANSDRKW0UXN9/IMG_0337+%281%29.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - December Dispatch: Radical Joy - New Year's Day Intention Setting Join Sherie at The Moving Galaxy on January 1st for an intention-setting class that will include asana, journaling, meditation and reflection time. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/november-theme-prayer monthly 0.5 2022-11-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/d38430f9-4027-4f43-b38d-b9d17108f7a0/anna-30.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - November Theme: Prayer - Happy November! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/1ca25330-73b1-4deb-9275-ae40deb32e21/SS_CREATIVITY-22.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - November Theme: Prayer - And that’s why gratitude is NOT this month’s theme at The Moving Galaxy - it’s Prayer. Because prayer, at its core, is the ability perhaps to express gratitude, but more simply, it’s choosing to speak out loud, sing out loud, or intend silently what is in our hearts, to be in conversation with spirit, perhaps with what we envision as capital-G-God (or however we conceive of that notion). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/836e18be-a21d-492b-8d7f-7f107f8fbe6f/bless.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - November Theme: Prayer - What I’m Reading this November Who am I kidding? I read this book (and read it to all of you in class) constantly. It’s one of my favorite books of all time - I never knew I needed a blessing for Light, for Water, at the End of the Day, and more… but I’m so glad John O’Donohue wrote them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/4659e1a1-ab7c-4023-87c0-92031465bd5b/SS_CREATIVITY-15.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - November Theme: Prayer - Slow Flow and Basics with Anna Sun 11/20 | 4 pm | sliding scale $10-$30 Enjoy a 75-Minute practice with Anna where there will be time to break down the poses, and the pacing will be a little slower. Expect to use all the props! This class is appropriate and geared toward beginners, but practitioners of any level are welcome and will enjoy it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/3c41361c-de4b-4103-9a1f-722401b8b8fb/SS_CREATIVITY-9.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - November Theme: Prayer - Teacher’s Practice Sun 11/19 | 11 am | $15 We’re also planning a practice for teachers every month - yoga teachers from anywhere. If you’re curious, and want to know if this is the right class for you, email anna@movinggalaxy.com. Think of it as an industry gathering, part class, part meetup, lots that we’ll figure out once we get it going. https://www.themovinggalaxy.com/blog-1/welcome-to-the-galaxy monthly 0.5 2022-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/70d145e2-1a4c-4b41-92e0-d0fb425d0936/Welcome+%281%29.png The Galaxy Dispatch - Welcome to the Galaxy! - I’ve been waiting almost a year for the opportunity to say this catchy little phrase! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/c56be10a-0558-496f-b9b0-4481f9bc451d/PXL_20221003_191111794.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - Welcome to the Galaxy! - For my monthly book recommendation, I’m going into the dark woods to suggest a re-visit, or first time visit, to the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm, Wilhelm and Jacob. This is partially inspired by these amazing paper cuttings that I scored on eBay last month (I’ll probably need to start a separate blog about my vintage finds at some point…) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6338463c31f7e759ae59349c/f7cdb8b6-6b83-4e39-a6e6-6be299fd24a9/large_9780691173221.jpg The Galaxy Dispatch - Welcome to the Galaxy! - The Grimm brothers said of their work, “Wherever the tales still exist, they continue to live in such a way that nobody ponders whether they are good or bad, poetic or crude. People know them and love them because they have simply absorbed them in a habitual way. And they take pleasure in them without having any reason. This is exactly why the custom of storytelling is so marvelous.” I hope you enjoy a few of these classic fairy tales from the Black Forest, and embrace a little of your dark side. 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