Grief
7 entries in 2024 · oldest first
pandemic. Many of us never dropped our shoulders
after that. Some of us literally can't breathe the same.
COVID was not the great equalizer we naively hoped,
but it was an event of mass clarity. Changed how we
saw people and government. There are friends and
family I still don't talk to, not after I witnessed risks
and privileges so different from mine. Did I overreact?
The official death toll is 7 million, but related deaths
are immeasurably higher. Is 4 years enough to mourn?
When will I get over streaming my grandmother's
funeral on a shitty signal on Facebook Live?
COVID fractured our version of reality. How could
some of us believe in a disease and others not? See
masks and vaccinations so differently? And how do
we consider millions dead and disabled but
also...good things? How many origin stories start with
"during the pandemic, I..started my business, learned
to (blank), got pregnant, got this dog, fell in love."
COVID changed our center of gravity by 6 feet, forced
us to cross the Rubicon. What parts of us stayed in
that lockdown, and what parts were set free?
Leo Herrera
@herreraimages
This is from Mexico in 2019, before my world imploded. Before my parents moved to this very neighborhood in the jungle. Before my brother and sister in law died in that jungle, killed neither by the jungle nor COVID. It’s hard to imagine a time when my trip to Mexico’s biggest stressor was dodging that very same brothers phone call. If you had asked, I would have told you that I had nothing more to say to him until he apologized. That was very not true. I keep thinking I know what it means to have had a human experience, and then my mind gets blown by natural wonder and the human experience. Yes, even the depths of tragedy can inspire awe.
At my weakest, I would sing:
I will push myself up through the dirt,
And shake my petals free,
I’m resolved to being born again,
And so resigned to bravery.
To explore how yoga can help with grief, visit Ashtanga Tech. You’ll gain a foundational understanding of the qualities of grief and ways in which yoga may support someone who is grieving.
https://ashtanga.tech/study-guide/adaptation/mental-health/grief-yoga-1-0/
Self Practice and Grief
When I got to Goa, I felt anonymous again. In Mysore, I felt like everyone had heard. I was the ashtangi who got hate crime'd in the face after his house burned down. I wanted to be the tall pretty one. Or the smart one.…
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cumulative strength: how a casual approach to chanting helped me appreciate my practice more
When my brother passed, I felt blindsided. It hadn't occurred to me that such a thing would happen, even though looking back I can see that with that kind of drinking, it was inevitably going to happen. You can't drink like that and not die…
Read the essay →Cumulative strength
UM AND IT ALSO MENTIONS
Cumulative strength
Sometimes the Support is the Success
I got to watch a long-time practitioner nail her first straight-leg jump-through this week. Liz has been practicing for years with my dear friend and colleague Jen Rene before joining me shortly after the pandemic. She's a gem. Right after hearing the tell tale 'swiff'…
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In Memory of Paramaguru Sharath Jois
It is with great sadness that I share the news of Sharath Jois’s passing. At 53, Sharath's passing is quite sudden. He is considered by many to be responsible for upholding the Mysore style of ashtanga yoga's lineage. As such, for many in the Ashtanga community, Sharath’s teachings and presence became central to their (our) practice, and his loss will be deeply felt
Read the essay →Get MichaelFilter
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