Journal Entry: A Summer in NYC
Today is the final day of my month-long retreat in New York City. Another 30 hour Katonah training, countless classes, and plenty of insights. Today is also Kali Jayanti, Kali’s birthday. “Kali” comes from “Kāla” which means time. She is time itself, the most powerful force in the world.
This week I hit two months sober and I’m proud of that. I have gratitude for the herb but I’m my fullest self without it. when I want to smoke I probably just need a supported bridge and a forward fold 😂
It’s true that NYC chews you up & spits you out but there’s a reason people put up with the chaos & concrete. The city makes you feel like nothing which gives you the freedom to be anything.
People say New Yorkers are cold but I experience more friendliness up here than anywhere else. It’s celebrated to be different, which isn’t the case in most places, where it’s celebrated to conform to the homogeny of things.
Sometimes it feels like the only way to be a yoga teacher in 2025 is to say chaturanga, chaturanga, chaturanga, knee to nose, namaste. (I’m being cheeky).
Yoga is a process of unfurling our unconscious habits in the ways we move on our mats and through the world. The physical practice is a metaphor for life, so how we do one thing is how we do everything.
Put all the weight in your hands in your down dog and you’ll move through the world with capacity in your 2nd floor (your “doing”) and without capacity on your 1st floor (your “being”).
If you get upset at the discomfort of flipping your wrists in a table pose, you may also get upset at the discomfort of traffic on the freeway. Our neurology adapts to flipping the wrists until one day it feels like nothing.
Why get upset at traffic when it gives you time to listen to that song again? If you’ll be late, there’s nothing to be upset about other than your own management of time (Kāla). Our humble minds try to blame anything but themselves.
Life never gets easier. But we sharpen our tools and become more fluent in how & when to use them … which makes life easier.
So yeah, I don’t need the herb anymore. It’s a dull tool in a box with plenty of sharp blades.
Here’s to a beautiful month of ups & downs, see ya soon NYC.
