Art and Yoga.com

September 3, 2006

Summer travel is over now and I'm grateful to return home to Kundalini Yoga Center and Gallery in Wilton, New Hampshire. When we opened in January there was a bare tree out the back window. Turns out it's a peach tree and it's loaded now with ripe peaches. Our Yoga community, also, is ripening. The steady daily practice leaves an invisible but easily sensed presence.

I spent the summer teaching yoga and art, as Tom lectured on the soul. He reminds me spirit needs soul to come into daily life with heart and imagination. Without soul, spiritual practice can become rigid, intolerant, and disconnected (who needs more of that!). This applies to both the practice of yoga and Art. Our understanding of yoga in the US grows with publications full of diagrams and scientific research confirming its benefits. We visual artists spend studio time reading and contemplating hefty philosophies. Our MFA programs encourage an intellectual base for our artistic explorations. All this feeds the spirit, which is great, but without soul—spirit can get crazy. The soul values paradox, mystery, and creativity—it is fed by community, family, and friendship. Often the complexity that's interfering with our "pure" pursuit of practice is what's offering us SOUL. It offers us the depth to root the expanse we long for.

January 23, 2006

This week Susan Brown and I opened a Yoga Studio & Art Gallery called Kundalini. The site is a lovely storefront on Main Street in Wilton, New Hampshire. It's right in the center town but has a peaceful view of the river out the back windows. We are joined teaching there by seven other Kundalini teachers (28KB .doc).

Gurucharan Singh will be teaching an evening workshop (12KB .pdf) on January 27th and we are looking forward to a visit from Hari Kaur in March.

Life is good. The new studio is off to a great start. Some classes are still small but new students arrive each day. It feels just right to be down town.

Yogis mix with folks going to the movies, the Melting Pot, or the Bakery—there is life in these sleepy streets. We are practicing Kundalini Yoga, Meditation, Chanting, making art and studying and discussing Patanjali's yoga sutras. There are classes (28KB .doc) for many ages and abilities and a very active teachers group studying together. Come join us for a class and check it out!

Please click to view Kundalini's full schedule (58KB .pdf).

October 23, 2005

Dear friends in yoga and art,

Yesterday Thomas and I spent an intense day at MIT with Helen Caldicott, Congressman Ed Markey, Roger Jay Lifton, Harvey Cox, and Jonathan Schell. Our goal was to try to imagine a way forward toward Nuclear disarmament. For me it was useful to have a day to be with the reality of our situation. To begin to realize the numbers: 30,000 Nuclear weapons in our world; 3,000 on hair trigger alert. I left humbled by the absurdity of our situation but more committed than ever to continue teaching and practicing yoga and art. Only by realizing our connectedness can we survive the challenges that face us. Only by living for each other can we live. This is the essence of Yoga.

This coming Sunday we will be celebrating my 50th birthday. Join us in the UU church for a special class at 4 to 6 pm on October 30th. I am grateful to practice in such a beautiful place—wood, stone and stained glass and with such beautiful yogis -beginner to advanced. The Sadhana Club has 100% attendance this session. It is hard to get up on these cold dark mornings—our secret: the bliss of practicing as the light enters the garden far outweighs the effort.

In the studio, bee's wax is bubbling. I'm studying the newspaper, anime, and metanoya (see the top image above and left).

Love to all.

August 22, 2005

Welcome to ArtandYoga.com.

I hope to hear from you whether you visit the site interested in Paintings, Public Art, Workshops or Yoga.

Here in New England, August is full of fleeting pleasures — like practicing yoga outside, eating wonderful food from the farm stands, and enjoying water warm enough to swim in. Still, the morning paper arrives with lots to be concerned about. Troubling signs in the political and social spheres point to deep problems in our civilization.

As an artist and a yogi, I am interested in what is real, where we are now. I also have hope for the future. Hope that culture can break down and transform structures that cause suffering. I take heart in the growing interest in yoga, meditation, and the Arts. In my own practice, I have seen many different kinds of people heal through involvement in the arts and yoga. I expect these practices hold many possibilities for us collectively as well.

Fall session yoga classes begin on September 11th and run through November 6th. Sadhana Club starts on September 18th and runs Tuesdays and Thursdays till October 28th. Plan now to join me just after the winter holidays for an Art and Yoga retreat at Kripalu with an optional juice fast for balance after those holiday indulgences.