Ajahn Chah

Another No Kings protest is coming, and people who practice yoga and meditation face a familiar question: what should we do? In yoga spaces, people often speak about “finding your dharma.” In meditation circles, the focus tends more toward training the mind, acting with care, and watching the results. My take? Practice first. Then choose your next step.

If we can't be happy now, then when? Waiting for life to calm down keeps us stuck. Peace grows from the inside when we stop waiting for life to behave the way we want it to. There are practical ways to protect your heart, work with attention, and let happiness grow right here, in the middle of the mess.

Amidst the chaos and challenges of the world, I've been striving to spread positivity and put my yoga into action. From rallying for the Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment to participating in the People's March and receiving the fantastic news of my oldest child's acceptance into a PhD program. These moments have been filled with hope and joy. But even in joyful times, fear still creeps in. In this blog post, I explore how yoga and meditation help me navigate fear and embrace love and compassion.

Yesterday, I spent much of the day working on a deck project in my backyard. Activities such as housework and home improvement projects offer good opportunities to watch the mind. On meditation retreats, these activities get labels such as "working meditation" or "yogi jobs." The common wisdom seems to hold that we should perform these activities in silence, paying full attention to the task at hand. Over the past few years, I have been investigating the validity of this claim.