The experience of art

-The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
Albert Einstein

Art is full of mystery. It goes beyond the surface of the actual work itself. Viewing art awakens our imagination and takes us on an inward journey. We may remember something from our past, question something we think we know, or see possibilities we did not know existed.

Although it is difficult to agree on a single definition of art, everyone would agree that a world without art would feel incomplete. Paintings, sculpture, dance. music and even athletic performances can all be works of art. They all have the power to inspire us to go beyond our everyday thoughts.

Creating art is a means of discovery that unfolds with the exploration of an idea, emotion or fantasy. Art requires physical skill but it is powered by the imagination. What appears effortless is the result of dedication, time and effort. Art has a dynamic quality; it pulses with life.

Each yoga practitioner can be an artist. Just as art that does not go beyond the piece itself is really a craft, yoga that is done just for exercise is really just stretching. It has value but not the same quality as a true work of art.

When there is a balance of muscular and organic energy, when their is sensitivity to the alignment and when their is an inner joy that is expressed through the pose, yoga becomes art. It invites us to explore our bodies, our breath and our hearts in a way that is uplifting. The details are as important as the overall picture. Yoga involves using the breath to pulse between the details and the whole pose.

Rather than dispute what is art and what is not art, allow yourself to be open to the possibility that art exists all around us. It inspires us to feel more deeply and to see more clearly. Looking at art or practicing yoga we can reconnect with our inner spirit, we can experience the mysterious as it unfolds slowly layer by layer allowing us to feel deeply and discover more about ourselves and the world around us.

Is it Luck or something else?

Popular belief says that luck is good fortune that is bestowed upon us by chance. Some people are considered to be born lucky because they are successful and happy. We wish people "good luck" before a competition or an important event as if asking some mysterious outside force to help them win or have a desired outcome.

Why do some people seem to be so lucky and others so unlucky? Is it something beyond our control or is it the way some people think and behave? Certainly there is an element of chance in our lives that is part of our good fortune. But luck is more the result of a positive attitude, discipline, setting intentions and taking action.

Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympics. Was this good luck? Maybe there was an element of luck, but it was more his 12 years of dedicated training everyday, including holidays. It was his ability to focus in a meditative way that he developed even after having taken Ritalin for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a child. He did not give up when he was behind during the 100-meter butterfly and ended up touching the wall 1/100 second ahead of his competitor in a moment that made history. He was prepared for luck!

There has been serious research that shows that people who are identified as lucky smile more often. They have more positive beliefs than negative beliefs. They ask for things and look for opportunity even in difficult situations. Lucky people align themselves for good fortune.

Yoga can help you become more lucky. When you practice yoga be open to being connected with something bigger, some higher power that is supporting you. Be sensitive to the alignment of your body and to the power of your breath. Explore your limits from the strength of your core. If a pose is difficult for you, let that be your teacher. Learn something new. Remember that every pose is alive and moving.

Luck may appear in many guises. What may at first appear to be misfortune could be the lesson that helps you see other creative options. Thank your lucky stars but more importantly remember that an open heart and open mind pave the golden road of opportunity.

Order in Diversity

Within the vast diversity of nature there is a divine order. This order can be represented mathematically even though all of nature is living and breathing and changing. The Fibonacci numbers, and the Golden Ratio that is related to them, are part of this divine order.

Fibonacci numbers are 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 etc. Each number is the sum of the previous two numbers. These numbers are found abundantly in nature. Seashells, sunflowers, branches of trees, human and animal body proportions, galaxies, DNA, the solar system all have an order containing these numbers.

When you divide each fibonacci number by the preceding number, the ratio approaches the "Golden Ratio" also known as phi. This number is an irrational number that is never actually reached but is approximated by 1.618. The ratio is obtained by dividing consecutively larger fibonacci numbers, and it alternates being slightly above or slightly below phi. For example 3/2=1.5 (below phi) and 5/3=1.666 (above phi). So there is a pulsation above and below the mean. The decimals go on forever without repeating.

People, animals, plants, art and architecture that we perceive as beautiful all contain the proportions of phi or 1 to 1.618. Dolphins, tigers, patterns on moths and butterflies, penguins and the human body have proportions with the Golden Ratio. Your total height is 1.618 times the height of your belly button. The human body is built according to the Golden Ratio. Phi proportions are found in many works of art such as the Mona Lisa, the Parthenon, the pyramids of Egypt, and Michaelangelo's David.

Phi cannot be written as a ratio because the decimals are infinite. The exact value of phi can never be reached but the journey towards it reveals much of the beauty of nature. In yoga the perfect pose is elusive. Each pose is slightly different for everyone because we are all unique. The journey towards perfecting our yoga poses will teach us many things about our body and how to pulse with the breath. Just as the values of phi obtained from increasing fibonacci numbers alternate above and below the Golden Ratio, in yoga we alternate between drawing into our center and expanding out toward our edges.

There is order in nature and there is order in yoga. The diversity in nature can make it difficult to see the order, and the diversity of yoga poses can make it difficult to see the order that is the same in all the poses. The order is expressed in the actions. Every pose requires stabilizing the foundation with muscular energy, aligning our bodies and moving from the core.

Seeing how the same patterns are repeated in so many diverse life forms and how every yoga pose works with the same principles, suggests that there is something bigger to our world than can be seen or explained by the rational mind. But to open up and be receptive to this energy or power or spirit can help us to feel supported, connected and empowered on our journey.

Lessons from Merlin

Cats know exactly who they are and they know exactly what they want. Merlin, my feline companion, has a regal air as he trots around with his luxuriant tail held high. He moves with grace and ease. When he snuggles with me and I feel the vibration of his purring, a sense of peacefulness fills me.

Merlin has taught me many lessons over the years:

• Purr softly and relax with the sound of your breath.


• Be patient; wait for the right moment to spring into action.


• Make your desires known.


• Take good care of yourself.


• Set your sights high. You never know how high you can leap.


• Step softly. You don’t need to be aggressive to get attention.


• Have fun with even the simplest of toys.


• Explore new territory. There are an infinite number of places you can use for a cozy nap.


• Move with grace, dignity and ease.


• Keep your senses alert. Life is more exciting this way.


• Stretch deeply. Savor your long flexible spine.


• Fully delight in the small things in life.


• Be curious. There is always something new waiting to be discovered.


• Enjoy the company of friends and snuggle quietly together.


• If you fall, be quick to land on your feet and bounce right back.


• Believe in yourself. You are beautiful!

Let the energy of the cat inspire your yoga practice. Be curious about how to make subtle changes in alignment and how your mind and body feel with those changes. Delight in the small details of the pose and move with grace and awareness as you transition from pose to pose. Honor your body - do not push yourself beyond your limits. Know that pain is an indication to stop and not a challenge to keep going in the same direction.

Be patient. Changing habits and attitudes takes time. Let the energy of the cat inspire you to walk softly with power, be curious even about the things you see everyday and spring into action when the right moment arrives.

The Practice of Resilience

Resilience is necessary for survival. It helps us adapt to change. Life is not always easy. We are going to fall. We are going to fail. We do not know what will happen as the future becomes our present. But if we can pick ourselves up, if we can weather the storm, if we can come back from adversity, that is the practice of resilience.

Turtles have been around for 215 million years. They are a symbol of resilience. There has been a lot of change on this earth over their existence but they have been able to survive. Turtles adapt their internal temperature to the external conditions. On land they move slowly, but they are willing to stick their neck out to get where they want to go.

When life is difficult, or when things change in unexpected ways, what do you do? Do you retreat into your shell? Or do you stick your neck out and look around and then slowly begin to move in some direction. Going into your shell metaphorically is OK. The shell is there for protection, relief and recovery. But eventually we need to embrace or at least accept changes and move forward with our lives despite the setbacks and hardships.

Yoga helps us to be resilient. Part of being resilient is being flexible. Part of being resilient is being strong. And part of being resilient is being sensitive to our internal and external conditions.

Many yoga poses are difficult. They put our bodies in positions we are not used to. But this helps us to become more flexible. We need to engage our muscles to move safely into these new positions. This helps us to build strength. As we go deeply into a pose we will reach an edge. This is a place we need to respect or we can injure ourselves. So we need to be sensitive to where we are physically and mentally each time we practice a pose.

Cultivate your ability to adapt to change. Take time to breathe and notice how you are feeling inside and what is going on around you. Be willing to move slowly at times. Challenging times are inevitable, but if you are flexible enough to bounce back these challenges become opportunities.

Reaching for the Roots

Reaching for the roots allows you to reach for the sky. First you need a solid foundation, then you can soar! Sometimes you need to look where you do not expect of find what you seek.

Roots support all plant life. Although they are typically hidden underground, roots always send shoots above the ground. It is the roots that bring nourishment and support to the biggest of trees. A tree cannot live without its roots.

Roots are mysterious because we cannot see them. They live in the darkness. The seed first grows roots before it can send energy above ground.

Humans do not have physical roots. But we do have spiritual roots. They are the hidden parts of us that nourish and support us. It is easy to be distracted by the physical world around us. Going inward requires slowing down which is difficult in our hectic modern world.

In yoga we need to establish a strong foundation as the basis for any pose. So we send rooting energy downward to allow us to lengthen upward. Prana is the vital life force we have within us and that which breathes through us. There are different Prana vayus or functions. Two of the Prana vayus are apana vayu and prana vayu. The apana vayu is the root energy that moves downward from the pelvis. It is associated with the exhalation. The prana vayu moves upward from the heart. It governs the inhalation. Together they lengthen our spine and create a feeling of expansion. Together they give us life.

Examining our roots can mean looking into our past but it also means going deep inside. When we can feel our roots, we have strength and power. Places that may seem mysterious and not fully understood are where we find the answers that have the most meaning for each individual. Just as the roots of tree need the dormancy of the leaves to begin growing again, we need to slow down our busy lives to allow our spiritual growth to deepen. Enjoy this stillness as a time of expansion and awakening.

Being yourself

Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde

Who are you? A dancer, a teacher, a carpenter, a banker? Or is who you are something deeper, something harder to define, something that is unique to each individual?

Being yourself sounds easy, but try it! It is easy to wish you were someone else, someone who has more talent, more intelligence, more money, more wit or more beauty. We are programmed by our society to be competitive, to judge others and to define ourselves by what we do. Are you a human-being or a human-doing?

There is pressure in our society to conform and to be something we are expected to be by others. But trying to be someone we are not will feel like something is missing in our lives. For example, if you have strong creative talents and you try to be a banker, you would feel frustrated because your creativity would be held back. And if you loved numbers and working within a tight structure and tried to be an artist, you would feel lost.

We all need to eat, drink, play, sleep and but how we do each of these things is different for each of us. Just as every flower, every snowflake, every bird in nature is different, each of us is unique. That is the marvel of creation.

Being with your breath in yoga brings you to the stillness where you can feel the pose. Thinking is necessary to get us into the pose initially, but ultimately we can lose the thought and find the pose. The pose becomes a reflection of who you are.

Being yourself requires loving and accepting yourself. Let go of the notion of being defined by what you do. You are the perfection you seek. When your heart feels open, when your life feels in balance, then you have found the freedom of being yourself.