Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Read.Eat.Listen: Conditioning/deconditioning

Read: Tax form instructions. Ugh. Cure for that sort of study has been Michael Stone's "The Inner Tradition of Yoga: A Guide to Yoga Philosophy for the Contemporary Practitioner," Mary Beth's Lit on Yoga pick of the month. Stone's words will be welcome to anyone who has stumbled over connecting Patanjali's Yoga Sutra's to how yoga practice manifests in one's daily life. His clear-eyed prose makes the bases for the yoga tradition accessible and relevant. Embracing suffering? No problem:
"Our perception is clouded with preference. Once we can recognize what is happening in a moment of experience, we can accept it, allowing it to unfold without trying to get away from it. When we can accept something, we can investigate it in depth and release our instinctive movements toward identifying with the content of experience. Then pain is a pain, a feeling is a feeling—all aspects of nature, coming, transforming and passing on." —Michael Stone
Bonus: Ashtangis will appreciate the anecdotes about practicing with and listening to Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois.
Eat: According to Epicurious' groovy peak-season map, pretty much everything I love to eat — kale, avocado, chard, broccoli — is in season right now. I haven't branched too far afield from my green smoothies lately (kale, yes!) but this all-green 'Almost raw-vegan broccoli soup' via Cat's World Blog via Peggy Kostopoulos' cookbook looks right up my alley (as well as the season's).
Listen: Holly Williams. Yup another relative of Hank, this time his granddaughter, is sharing their chops. Holly's subjects are true to Williams form — drinking, driving, cheating — albeit with a refreshing feminine take.

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