Blog

Biking Meditation

Bike leaning against a bench in a park

I'm not sure what to call it. Biking meditation. Bike yoga. Meditation in motion. Meditative biking. Maybe just mindfulness meditation while biking.

But I know something happens on my bike. Riding by myself, unplugged, no earbuds, outside in nature feels good. It relaxes me. It helps me let go of concerns about the future or past. If I have a problem I've been trying to solve, I often arrive home from a ride with a solution. Especially if I was not trying to solve the problem.

New Classes at Williston

Blue M with the words City of Minnetonka
This week I start teaching at the Williston Fitness Center, which is owned and operated by the City of Minnetonka. That makes me a City of Minnetonka employee. I'm adding two new yoga classes to my weekly schedule, both at Williston: Hatha Yoga on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm and Vinyasa Flow on Sundays at 9:00 am. If you are part of SilverSneakers you can take my classes for free.

Letting Go of Performance and Learning to Observe

Matthew meditating on a rock near a river

Last weekend I attended a 4-day retreat put on by a nonprofit organization called onelove.yoga. The title of the retreat was: "Moments of Silence Yoga and Meditation Retreat to Grand Marais." As is often the case for me with meditation retreats, I left feeling nourished. Even better, I had a breakthrough. I realized why this weekend led to feelings of relaxation, renewal, and joy.

3 Takeways from My Plastic Free July

Circle containing the worlds plasticfreejuly.org choose to refuse single-use plastic
I've arrived at the end of Plastic Free July. It was a month that affected my life in meaningful ways. I've made it the whole month using very little plastic and I feel like I see the world differently. Recently, Ajahn Jayasaro used a metaphor that resonated with me: if you've lived in a dirty room your whole life, it's hard to forget a clean room if you see one. Seeing the abundance of plastic in the world has made the world feel a little bit like a dirty room and it has felt good to clean up the spaces I inhabit.

More Compassion Everywhere

Gray concrete bench with the word compassion on the side
Photo by Dave Lowe

I woke up this morning and I saw something that annoyed me. I noticed almost immediately how unhelpful it was for me to be annoyed, which gave me a temporary sense of satisfaction. But I still went down the rabbit hole. The details are unimportant because I am sure all of us could easily relate: "How could that person possibly have made that choice? Don't they know how inconvenient their choice will be for me? Don't they know what I want?" I could just sense the anger bubbling over and I felt almost helpless.

It's Time for a Plastic Free July

A badge with the words plasticefreejuly.org 2022 join the challenge
We do lots of earth-friendly practices in our house, but in the past 24 hours or so, I have realized that I would like to be more mindful about my plastic use. I feel like I've gotten a little bit lazy. But it turns out July is the perfect month to start re-incorporating some of the practices that I used to do and reduce the amount of waste that I produce. There is a thing called Plastic Free July, and if my participation does even a little bit that leads to cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities then that feels it it would benefit my well-being as well as the well-being of the planet and other people.

Cultivating a Healthy Mind at Work

Hacking Culture logo plus the words Stephanie Wagner on Cultivating Healthy Minds at Work
In a recent episode on Hacking Culture I interviewed Stephanie Wagner from Healthy Minds Innovations about their Health Minds @Work program, "hacking the mind," and tools that cultivate and measure well-being. We discussed various critiques of workplace wellness programs and how Healthy Minds might be able to support your company or organization. This article explores a few of the topics we discussed.

It's Time to Celebrate the International Day of Yoga

Blue Roll-Up Yoga Mat on a White Background, for fitness and meditation, with the title "international day of yoga"
Photo by Marco Verch (CC BY 2.0)

In 2014 the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21 the "International Day of Yoga" and it has been celebrated annually on June 21 ever since. Because so many people around the world embraced yoga to stay healthy and fight social isolation during the pandemic, the theme for 2022 is "yoga for humanity." How can you not like a day that is literally for humanity (the most abundant and widespread species of primate on the planet)?