The Teacher’s Journal

……you don’t get too “attached”.

I was perusing around wordpress today and decided to take a closer look at my stat’s.  Just for fun.

Since my posting is rather random & seemingly scattered, at best, it’s interesting to see just how people get here to this site and what they like to read.

Since beginning this online adventure in Feb07, I have created 157 posts in 29 different categories.

This post has received 3,060 views, way more than this post which comes in second with 990 views.

This post is next with 922 views.  #4 on the list is this one with 715, and #5 has had 687 views.

These numbers may not be enough to impress some of you, but I am blown away by the power & potential of this online medium.

Each of these 5 posts have hovered around the top-5 for a long time.  It certainly makes food for thought.

Have a nice day.

remember what Rumi wrote?  check out this older post in the archives …………..

We’ll be in The Big Apple on Friday, Full Moon in Capricorn.

It’s been a while since I posted here.  A long while.

As I’ve written in many different posts ( here, here & here) the balsamic phase of a cycle is a time when we turn away from worldly concerns ( 1st chakra ’stuff’) and redirect our energy inward ( or upward) towards the spiritual/cosmic/ethereal,  either voluntarily…….or not.

I have found that it’s best to just go with the flow of this time period rather than try to force anything .   Regardless of the local weather, you’re traveling thru some dense fog and smokey waters.  Meditation/Prayer is the best activity to engage in.  If you can find an ashram or retreat center near by, go.

I live at the sea.  It helps.

The Lunar Balsamic phase lasts 3.5 days.  That’s a pretty easy time frame to work with for pulling out of the rat race.  However, the days of the week may prevent some challenges if you’re on some one else’s schedule and not your own.

Every planet in the solar system goes through a balsamic phase at some point-in-time.  The solar balsamic phase occurs for the 6-week period every year before your birthday. ( The Solar Return occurs when the sun reaches the exact place it was in at the moment of your birth.

The Balsamic phase for Mars lasts approximately 16 weeks.  Jupiter’s balsamic phase lasts about 18 months and Saturn’s balsamic phase is approximately 3.5 years! Few of us live long enough to experience a balsamic phase for the outer planets…..except perhaps Uranus.

In addition, any planet transiting thru the 12th House would also initiate the same kind of energy as a balsamic phase.

All that said, I am currently experiencing a 12th house Sun transit, a balsamic Mars, Jupiter, AND Saturn………………all at the same time.  It’s a miracle I can function!  For those of you versed in Vedic Astrology I have  just completed the Sade Sati which is a 3 year period of Saturn aspecting the Moon, also similar to the balsamic phase.  Whew.  It’s exhausting for no apparent reason.   What keeps me positive is the absolute knowledge that when this period is over I will be poised for a creative cycle beyond that which I have experienced for quite some time.

Teaching yoga is a gift.  Spiritual practice and practices are highly recommended during balsamic periods.   Yoga helps to create a global awareness of body, mind, emotions, and spirit.  For me, yoga helps me to be in the world and in-spirit at the same time.

Today is a First Quarter Phase in my lunar cycle, a time for action, ergo this post.

For the past few months I have been busy working on a private blog which I hope to publish soon, perhaps as an E-Book.

The subject is Astrology for Yoga Teachers/Therapists. If you’re interested  in being contacted upon publication please send an email to: asanctuary@optonline.net.

Hmmmm. Not sure that title really works with this Plutonian Full Moon today. Anytime I see Pluto in a configuration it feels a little ominous.

Here’s the chart:

Of course, with Venus over there hanging out with the Sun it does soften things up a bit.

Like kittens do.

This little kitten *appeared in my yard* just about 14 months ago. She showed up at the same time as I was experiencing a sudden and devastating loss. To me, she was an ‘angel’ in disguise. I named her Shadow, because she hid in shadows all the time during our first months.

The other day (she comes around to feed occasionally), I noticed that she had lost a lot of weight? Then she moved aside and I saw, another kitten! Oh my.

Pluto…..transforms us and forces us to grow by reproducing. That’s the essence of why it rules things like AIDS, Cancer, Nuclear & Atomic fission. Nothing can destroy something so utterly and completely like Pluto. The Phoenix represents Pluto well in reminding us that something wonderful can rise up from the ashes of destruction. Pluto is a harbinger of birth, death, & rebirth.

Consider caterpillers. They become butterflies during Plutonion processes, trans - forming from one form of being to another. Pluto doesn’t mess around.

Although violence can be part of a transformation process, it’s not really necessary for ‘a transformation’ to succeed. Pluto happens.

Moving thru Plutonion times peacefully is well-worth the effort. I’ve got another harp gig tonite, which means that I’ll be spending the day feeling anxious & excited at the same time. Looking at today’s transits the moon will be coming into an exact opposition with Venus just as I’m supposed to play. Moon/Venus in Gemini/Sag………….what a great way to communicate……music!

Practice peace with this full moon.

The weather looks great where I am.

Om nimah shivaya.

It’s been nearly a week since I made my last post, and what a week it’s been!

Just as the moon slipped into the balsamic phase and Saturn made it’s station, my daughter gave birth to her daughter. I was so grateful to be a witness to this miracle of birth……what a moment. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

I’ve been facilitating pre-natal yoga for about 5 years, however this was my first opportunity to witness the techniques in action. Personally, I didn’t begin my yoga practice until after my children were born, so I don’t have any first-hand info to share. However, my daughter practiced yoga thruout her pregnancy and her experience of childbirth was 180 degrees different from my own. (No doubt modern-medicine had an impact as well as the presence of an enlightened doula/midwife)

Watching my daughter I was amazed at her composure & her acceptance during the powerful contractions of late labor. She appeared to be under control and quite present thruout those slow minutes of ‘discomfort’. I, however, found myself tense, tight, and frightened for her. Clearly, her long-standing yoga practice supported her, while my even longer yoga practice kinda went by the wayside during this highly emotional time!

Afterward, I spoke with her well experienced doula and asked her if she saw a difference between mothers who practiced yoga and those who don’t.
” Absolutely!!”, she replied. Their labors were shorter, the delivery’s were easier, and they were more composed. The doctor agreed.

I am thrilled to have been present for the miracle that is my 1st GrandDaughter. I am so proud of my daughter, that she could be so willing to trust the process and be present for this event. Yoga teaches us to be more present in our bodies and to be fully connected to the Now, regardless of what is happening. Suffering, negativity, and pain are all minimized when we can Be Here Now. At the miraculous moments of birth, the ‘now’ is the place to be.

Perhaps when I return home to my students I’ll initiate a workshop, Yoga for Grand Mothers!

Happy Mother’s Day.

Om shanti, shanti, shantihi.

It’s a Girl!

I’m supposed to be packing right now and instead I’ve gotten caught up in this website where you re-create yourself as a South Park character. The choices are many, the decisions confuse me! Anyway, this is what I’ve come up with and you can click on the picture to go there yourself. Have fun!

I need to get myself into ‘travel mode’ now. I’ll probably be offline for a few days until I settle in in sunny southern California.

May all beings live in peace.

Om

1. Never try something you haven’t practiced when in front of an audience.

We had our harp gig last night. Six of us (4 harps, 2 flutes) in a beautiful church by the sea. One of the other harpists suggested we cover the carpet with a white sheet that she brought. It will help us see the strings better. (Seeing your strings when playing the harp can be challenging depending on the floor. Patterned rugs (think: oriental) are the worst.) I really didn’t think it would help, I was comfortable with the blue carpet. However, I went along with the group……something that is quite customary for me.

I couldn’t see my strings! It was sheer luck if I got the right note! Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. All that practice………………….oh woe.

Most harpers (harpists…I still don’t know the difference) position their hands so that their fingers find the strings by feel. I can do that too. But not for the tunes we were playing last night. I was carrying the bass lines of the music which required left-hand arpeggio’s and my eyes! Oh well.

They say we learn best by our mistakes.

Once again, I’ve learned to say, “No, thanks”…….no white sheet for me.

And, it runs right thru Southern California on my astro-cartography map. AstroCartography is an astrological technique by which we re-draw the ‘map of the heavens’ and place it on Planet Earth. Mathematically, we are transforming time into space…..or rather, integrating them…..together.

I became fascinated by this technique from Jim Lewis way back in the ’80’s. I took a weekend workshop where Jim taught the attending astrologers how to work with his maps and It blew me away! I’ve been playing around with this technique ever since and I’ve come to respect it as much as the more traditional ways to use astrology. When combined with feng shui, astro-cartography becomes a powerful methodology for positive action. Go here to read my previous post on this.

I don’t have any major lines running thru my current hometown location. I have two paran lines that I cross over if I drive a couple hours south. Other than that, not much going on here for me in NJ.

However, as you can see by looking at this map the line representing Pluto goes right thru Long Beach, California where I am going to be spending a month, soon. Oh dear! For this Scorpio Sun, it’s a mixed blessing for sure. No doubt it’ll be a life-changing (transformational) trip.

The horizontal (paran) line that crosses it near Long Beach represents Mercury/Jupiter. Aaaaah. That feels better…..especially since I will be spending a good deal of time writing while I’m out there. For one who earns her living teaching, this location could be quite a ‘page-turner’!

Transiting Pluto is moving thru my 6th house these days and coming into orb of my Moon/Uranus opp. Venus aspect. It’s the tightest aspect in my chart and hasn’t had a major aspect from Pluto in a long time. Something is getting ready to happen for sure.

So, what to do?

Following my own advice the first thing is to notice….thoughts, feelings, attitudes, expectations, prejudices, all the ‘knee-jerk’, unconscious responses to this information. I confess to a little fear, but also anticipation and excitement too.

For now, I think the task is simply to get comfortable with not-knowing anything (for certain) and stay open to possibilities.

Hmmm. Sounds like a plan.

Om shanti, shanti, shantihi.