#contemplative-practice — Public Fediverse posts

We've been taught that stillness means not moving.

But the Buddha walked for forty-nine days after his awakening. Maybe wisdom needs legs.

How does your body find its own way to stillness?

Read the full story

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-toward-stillness-315ccaf8e421

#meditationpractice #embodiedwisdom #movementmeditation
#buddhism #contemplativepractice #spiritualjourney
#mindfulness #runningmeditation #walkingmeditation

We've been taught that stillness means not moving.

But the Buddha walked for forty-nine days after his awakening. Maybe wisdom needs legs.

How does your body find its own way to stillness?

Read the full story

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-toward-stillness-315ccaf8e421

#meditationpractice #embodiedwisdom #movementmeditation
#buddhism #contemplativepractice #spiritualjourney
#mindfulness #runningmeditation #walkingmeditation

Prana isn't breath. I thought it was for years. So did every studio I practiced in.

Ananya said: 'Prana is not something you breathe in. It is something you are made of.'

What changed once you knew the philosophy beneath?

#prana #pranayama #yogaphilosophy
#yogawisdom #breathwork #contemplativepractice
#sanskritwords #yogadepth #yogalearning

Day five in Ubud, I realized I'd been treating meditation like a problem to solve.

My teacher said 'sit with the question, don't chase the answer.' I felt resistance rise.

What questions are you sitting with right now?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-practice-of-not-knowing-7a04cc3267c3

#meditation #spirituality #uncertainty
#contemplativepractice #mindfulness #questions
#yogaphilosophy #spiritualgrowth #beginner'smind

Day five in Ubud, I realized I'd been treating meditation like a problem to solve.

My teacher said 'sit with the question, don't chase the answer.' I felt resistance rise.

What questions are you sitting with right now?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-practice-of-not-knowing-7a04cc3267c3

#meditation #spirituality #uncertainty
#contemplativepractice #mindfulness #questions
#yogaphilosophy #spiritualgrowth #beginner'smind

I didn't know how to truly rest until I ran twenty-one kilometers.

My body always had something to protect. The race was the first time it didn't.

Has effort ever opened something that rest alone couldn't reach?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-a-half-marathon-changed-my-savasana-f8286317d16c

#savasana #runningandyoga #halfmarathon
#embodiedpractice #effortandease #yogalife
#contemplativepractice #runningmeditation #yogaphilosophy

One entry I wrote as a failure turned out to be the most important sentence in the notebook.

It said: practiced for twenty minutes. Nothing happened. But I stayed.

When did showing up without results teach you something?

#yogapractice #discipline #showingup
#contemplativepractice #dailypractice #meditationpractice
#yogajournal #practicejournal #mindfulness

One entry I wrote as a failure turned out to be the most important sentence in the notebook.

It said: practiced for twenty minutes. Nothing happened. But I stayed.

When did showing up without results teach you something?

#yogapractice #discipline #showingup
#contemplativepractice #dailypractice #meditationpractice
#yogajournal #practicejournal #mindfulness

There was a bleached tree beneath the Himalayas, stripped by wind, still standing.

Looking at it, I understood, impermanence isn't sad, it's beautiful.

What in nature has taught you something words couldn't explain?

#impermanence #nature #buddhism
#mountains #meditation #himalayas
#contemplativepractice #mindfulness #spiritualjourney

There was a bleached tree beneath the Himalayas, stripped by wind, still standing.

Looking at it, I understood, impermanence isn't sad, it's beautiful.

What in nature has taught you something words couldn't explain?

#impermanence #nature #buddhism
#mountains #meditation #himalayas
#contemplativepractice #mindfulness #spiritualjourney

My grandmother practiced yoga for fifty years. She called it sitting down.

Asana means seat. Not pose. She had it right all along, the vocabulary just hadn't caught up.

What does your practice look like without the words?

#yoga #asana #ancestralwisdom
#yogaphilosophy #presencepractice #familywisdom
#embodiedwisdom #contemplativepractice #culturalheritage

My grandmother practiced yoga for fifty years. She called it sitting down.

Asana means seat. Not pose. She had it right all along, the vocabulary just hadn't caught up.

What does your practice look like without the words?

#yoga #asana #ancestralwisdom
#yogaphilosophy #presencepractice #familywisdom
#embodiedwisdom #contemplativepractice #culturalheritage

We've been taught that stillness means not moving.

But the Buddha walked for forty-nine days after his awakening. Maybe wisdom needs legs.

How does your body find its own way to stillness?

Read the full story

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-toward-stillness-315ccaf8e421

#meditationpractice #embodiedwisdom #movementmeditation
#buddhism #contemplativepractice #spiritualjourney
#mindfulness #runningmeditation #walkingmeditation

We've been taught that stillness means not moving.

But the Buddha walked for forty-nine days after his awakening. Maybe wisdom needs legs.

How does your body find its own way to stillness?

Read the full story

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-toward-stillness-315ccaf8e421

#meditationpractice #embodiedwisdom #movementmeditation
#buddhism #contemplativepractice #spiritualjourney
#mindfulness #runningmeditation #walkingmeditation

Confession: the most spiritual thing I do most days is wake up before I want to and put on my running shoes.

No cosmic moments, just cold air and one foot in front of the other.

What does your practice look like from the outside?

#sadhana #yoga #morningroutine
#morningrun #spiritualpractice #dailypractice
#yogalife #mindfulmovement #contemplativepractice

Confession: the most spiritual thing I do most days is wake up before I want to and put on my running shoes.

No cosmic moments, just cold air and one foot in front of the other.

What does your practice look like from the outside?

#sadhana #yoga #morningroutine
#morningrun #spiritualpractice #dailypractice
#yogalife #mindfulmovement #contemplativepractice

Have you ever carried a teacher's words for years and felt them land only mid-run?

A quote from Rishikesh, years in my journal. Kilometer fourteen made it real.

Have you ever understood a teaching only by living it?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-a-half-marathon-changed-my-savasana-f8286317d16c

#halfmarathon #effortandease #yoga
#runningandyoga #yogawisdom #embodiedpractice
#contemplativepractice #runningmeditation #savasana

Have you ever carried a teacher's words for years and felt them land only mid-run?

A quote from Rishikesh, years in my journal. Kilometer fourteen made it real.

Have you ever understood a teaching only by living it?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-a-half-marathon-changed-my-savasana-f8286317d16c

#halfmarathon #effortandease #yoga
#runningandyoga #yogawisdom #embodiedpractice
#contemplativepractice #runningmeditation #savasana

I wrote 'steadiness and ease' in my journal in Rishikesh. Running showed me I'd misunderstood the order.

Ease comes after steadiness, not alongside it. The race showed me.

What has living taught you that studying couldn't?

#sthirasukha #yogaphilosophy #yoga
#halfmarathon #runningandyoga #embodiedpractice
#savasana #effortandease #contemplativepractice

I wrote 'steadiness and ease' in my journal in Rishikesh. Running showed me I'd misunderstood the order.

Ease comes after steadiness, not alongside it. The race showed me.

What has living taught you that studying couldn't?

#sthirasukha #yogaphilosophy #yoga
#halfmarathon #runningandyoga #embodiedpractice
#savasana #effortandease #contemplativepractice

The first silence I experienced wasn't quiet.

When I stopped speaking, what rose up was everything I'd been drowning out.

Have you ever sat with real silence, not just quiet but the kind that reveals what you've been avoiding?

Read more

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-the-himalayas-whispered-4e0b51998b2c

#silenceretreat #meditation #himalayas
#mindfulness #contemplativepractice #innerwork
#spiritualpractice #yogaphilosophy #solitude

The first silence I experienced wasn't quiet.

When I stopped speaking, what rose up was everything I'd been drowning out.

Have you ever sat with real silence, not just quiet but the kind that reveals what you've been avoiding?

Read more

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-the-himalayas-whispered-4e0b51998b2c

#silenceretreat #meditation #himalayas
#mindfulness #contemplativepractice #innerwork
#spiritualpractice #yogaphilosophy #solitude

Prana isn't breath. I thought it was for years. So did every studio I practiced in.

Ananya said: 'Prana is not something you breathe in. It is something you are made of.'

What changed once you knew the philosophy beneath?

#prana #pranayama #yogaphilosophy
#yogawisdom #breathwork #contemplativepractice
#sanskritwords #yogadepth #yogalearning

I practiced yoga for five years before I learned what yoga actually was.

The first sutra changed everything: yoga is stilling the mind, not mastering poses.

What surprised you most when you first encountered yoga philosophy?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/books-that-challenged-my-yoga-practice-77c4aeddf69a

#yogaphilosophy #yogasutras #yogapractice
#mindfulness #meditation #contemplativepractice
#yogabooks #spiritualreading #embodiedwisdom

I practiced yoga for five years before I learned what yoga actually was.

The first sutra changed everything: yoga is stilling the mind, not mastering poses.

What surprised you most when you first encountered yoga philosophy?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/books-that-challenged-my-yoga-practice-77c4aeddf69a

#yogaphilosophy #yogasutras #yogapractice
#mindfulness #meditation #contemplativepractice
#yogabooks #spiritualreading #embodiedwisdom

My grandmother practiced yoga for fifty years. She called it sitting down.

Asana means seat. Not pose. She had it right all along, the vocabulary just hadn't caught up.

What does your practice look like without the words?

#yoga #asana #ancestralwisdom
#yogaphilosophy #presencepractice #familywisdom
#embodiedwisdom #contemplativepractice #culturalheritage

My grandmother practiced yoga for fifty years. She called it sitting down.

Asana means seat. Not pose. She had it right all along, the vocabulary just hadn't caught up.

What does your practice look like without the words?

#yoga #asana #ancestralwisdom
#yogaphilosophy #presencepractice #familywisdom
#embodiedwisdom #contemplativepractice #culturalheritage

My teacher smiled when I said namaste in Rishikesh. Not the smile of a thing going well.

He waited. Then asked: 'Do you know what you just offered me?' I didn't.

What word do you say without knowing?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-sanskrit-words-we-misuse-c06ca9e8b162

#namaste #yogaphilosophy #sanskrit
#rishikesh #yogaculture #authenticyoga
#yogawisdom #eastmeetswest #contemplativepractice

Prana isn't breath. I thought it was for years. So did every studio I practiced in.

Ananya said: 'Prana is not something you breathe in. It is something you are made of.'

What changed once you knew the philosophy beneath?

#prana #pranayama #yogaphilosophy
#yogawisdom #breathwork #contemplativepractice
#sanskritwords #yogadepth #yogalearning

Strolling through the sculpture garden https://www.allforgardening.com/1700804/strolling-through-the-sculpture-garden/ #biking #CactusGarden #ContemplativePractice #garden #GreenLibrary #HustleCulture #LomitaDrive #PapuaNewGuinea #PapuaNewGuineaSculptureGarden #quiet #roble #RodinSculptureGarden #SantaTeresaStreet #SpringQuarter #Stanford #StatueGarden #stillness #walking #WestLag

Strolling through the sculpture garden https://www.allforgardening.com/1700804/strolling-through-the-sculpture-garden/ #biking #CactusGarden #ContemplativePractice #garden #GreenLibrary #HustleCulture #LomitaDrive #PapuaNewGuinea #PapuaNewGuineaSculptureGarden #quiet #roble #RodinSculptureGarden #SantaTeresaStreet #SpringQuarter #Stanford #StatueGarden #stillness #walking #WestLag

Who taught u how to be still before you knew what meditation was? Before studios, before apps, before the word 'mindfulness'?

My grandmother taught me to breathe 'the way mountains breathe' when I was 10

Who was your first teacher?

Read the full reflection

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-my-grandmother-taught-me-about-stillness-bbc2dff19f7b

#meditation
#grandmotherwisdom #contemplativepractice
#mindfulness #presencepractice #stillness #familywisdom

Who taught u how to be still before you knew what meditation was? Before studios, before apps, before the word 'mindfulness'?

My grandmother taught me to breathe 'the way mountains breathe' when I was 10

Who was your first teacher?

Read the full reflection

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-my-grandmother-taught-me-about-stillness-bbc2dff19f7b

#meditation
#grandmotherwisdom #contemplativepractice
#mindfulness #presencepractice #stillness #familywisdom

I practiced yoga for five years before I learned what yoga actually was.

The first sutra changed everything: yoga is stilling the mind, not mastering poses.

What surprised you most when you first encountered yoga philosophy?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/books-that-challenged-my-yoga-practice-77c4aeddf69a

#yogaphilosophy #yogasutras #yogapractice
#mindfulness #meditation #contemplativepractice
#yogabooks #spiritualreading #embodiedwisdom

I practiced yoga for five years before I learned what yoga actually was.

The first sutra changed everything: yoga is stilling the mind, not mastering poses.

What surprised you most when you first encountered yoga philosophy?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/books-that-challenged-my-yoga-practice-77c4aeddf69a

#yogaphilosophy #yogasutras #yogapractice
#mindfulness #meditation #contemplativepractice
#yogabooks #spiritualreading #embodiedwisdom

I didn't know how to truly rest until I ran twenty-one kilometers.

My body always had something to protect. The race was the first time it didn't.

Has effort ever opened something that rest alone couldn't reach?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-a-half-marathon-changed-my-savasana-f8286317d16c

#savasana #runningandyoga #halfmarathon
#embodiedpractice #effortandease #yogalife
#contemplativepractice #runningmeditation #yogaphilosophy

The hard kilometers make savasana real. And savasana makes the hard kilometers worth it.

Effort and ease aren't opposites, they're partners in a long and patient conversation.

When has effort made space for deeper rest?

#effortandease #yoga #runningandyoga
#contemplativepractice #embodiedpractice #yogalife
#savasana #halfmarathon #mindfulrunning

The hard kilometers make savasana real. And savasana makes the hard kilometers worth it.

Effort and ease aren't opposites, they're partners in a long and patient conversation.

When has effort made space for deeper rest?

#effortandease #yoga #runningandyoga
#contemplativepractice #embodiedpractice #yogalife
#savasana #halfmarathon #mindfulrunning

10 years old, barefoot on cool tiles, watching my grandmother water jasmine. She never called it meditation, she showed me how mountains breathe

Years later in yoga class: 'find your breath.' I already knew. Abuela taught me

Who taught u stillness first?

Read more

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-my-grandmother-taught-me-about-stillness-bbc2dff19f7b

#meditation
#contemplativepractice #stillness
#mindfulness #presencepractice #familywisdom #breathwork

10 years old, barefoot on cool tiles, watching my grandmother water jasmine. She never called it meditation, she showed me how mountains breathe

Years later in yoga class: 'find your breath.' I already knew. Abuela taught me

Who taught u stillness first?

Read more

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-my-grandmother-taught-me-about-stillness-bbc2dff19f7b

#meditation
#contemplativepractice #stillness
#mindfulness #presencepractice #familywisdom #breathwork

I wrote 'steadiness and ease' in my journal in Rishikesh. Running showed me I'd misunderstood the order.

Ease comes after steadiness, not alongside it. The race showed me.

What has living taught you that studying couldn't?

#sthirasukha #yogaphilosophy #yoga
#halfmarathon #runningandyoga #embodiedpractice
#savasana #effortandease #contemplativepractice

I wrote 'steadiness and ease' in my journal in Rishikesh. Running showed me I'd misunderstood the order.

Ease comes after steadiness, not alongside it. The race showed me.

What has living taught you that studying couldn't?

#sthirasukha #yogaphilosophy #yoga
#halfmarathon #runningandyoga #embodiedpractice
#savasana #effortandease #contemplativepractice

Have you ever re-read a book years later and wondered who underlined all those passages?

Some of those passages feel essential now, I skipped them as boring at twenty-three.

What book surprised you most on a second read?

#yoga #reading #spirituality
#yogasutras #contemplativepractice #spiritualbooks
#secondreading #booklovers #wisdomthroughtime

Have you ever re-read a book years later and wondered who underlined all those passages?

Some of those passages feel essential now, I skipped them as boring at twenty-three.

What book surprised you most on a second read?

#yoga #reading #spirituality
#yogasutras #contemplativepractice #spiritualbooks
#secondreading #booklovers #wisdomthroughtime

One entry I wrote as a failure turned out to be the most important sentence in the notebook.

It said: practiced for twenty minutes. Nothing happened. But I stayed.

When did showing up without results teach you something?

#yogapractice #discipline #showingup
#contemplativepractice #dailypractice #meditationpractice
#yogajournal #practicejournal #mindfulness

One entry I wrote as a failure turned out to be the most important sentence in the notebook.

It said: practiced for twenty minutes. Nothing happened. But I stayed.

When did showing up without results teach you something?

#yogapractice #discipline #showingup
#contemplativepractice #dailypractice #meditationpractice
#yogajournal #practicejournal #mindfulness

Have you ever carried a teacher's words for years and felt them land only mid-run?

A quote from Rishikesh, years in my journal. Kilometer fourteen made it real.

Have you ever understood a teaching only by living it?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-a-half-marathon-changed-my-savasana-f8286317d16c

#halfmarathon #effortandease #yoga
#runningandyoga #yogawisdom #embodiedpractice
#contemplativepractice #runningmeditation #savasana

Have you ever carried a teacher's words for years and felt them land only mid-run?

A quote from Rishikesh, years in my journal. Kilometer fourteen made it real.

Have you ever understood a teaching only by living it?

Read the full essay

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-a-half-marathon-changed-my-savasana-f8286317d16c

#halfmarathon #effortandease #yoga
#runningandyoga #yogawisdom #embodiedpractice
#contemplativepractice #runningmeditation #savasana

The hard kilometers make savasana real. And savasana makes the hard kilometers worth it.

Effort and ease aren't opposites, they're partners in a long and patient conversation.

When has effort made space for deeper rest?

#effortandease #yoga #runningandyoga
#contemplativepractice #embodiedpractice #yogalife
#savasana #halfmarathon #mindfulrunning

The hard kilometers make savasana real. And savasana makes the hard kilometers worth it.

Effort and ease aren't opposites, they're partners in a long and patient conversation.

When has effort made space for deeper rest?

#effortandease #yoga #runningandyoga
#contemplativepractice #embodiedpractice #yogalife
#savasana #halfmarathon #mindfulrunning

I wrote 'steadiness and ease' in my journal in Rishikesh. Running showed me I'd misunderstood the order.

Ease comes after steadiness, not alongside it. The race showed me.

What has living taught you that studying couldn't?

#sthirasukha #yogaphilosophy #yoga
#halfmarathon #runningandyoga #embodiedpractice
#savasana #effortandease #contemplativepractice

I wrote 'steadiness and ease' in my journal in Rishikesh. Running showed me I'd misunderstood the order.

Ease comes after steadiness, not alongside it. The race showed me.

What has living taught you that studying couldn't?

#sthirasukha #yogaphilosophy #yoga
#halfmarathon #runningandyoga #embodiedpractice
#savasana #effortandease #contemplativepractice

One entry I wrote as a failure turned out to be the most important sentence in the notebook.

It said: practiced for twenty minutes. Nothing happened. But I stayed.

When did showing up without results teach you something?

#yogapractice #discipline #showingup
#contemplativepractice #dailypractice #meditationpractice
#yogajournal #practicejournal #mindfulness

One entry I wrote as a failure turned out to be the most important sentence in the notebook.

It said: practiced for twenty minutes. Nothing happened. But I stayed.

When did showing up without results teach you something?

#yogapractice #discipline #showingup
#contemplativepractice #dailypractice #meditationpractice
#yogajournal #practicejournal #mindfulness

We've been taught that stillness means not moving.

But the Buddha walked for forty-nine days after his awakening. Maybe wisdom needs legs.

How does your body find its own way to stillness?

Read the full story

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/running-toward-stillness-315ccaf8e421

#meditationpractice #embodiedwisdom #movementmeditation
#buddhism #contemplativepractice #spiritualjourney
#mindfulness #runningmeditation #walkingmeditation

I learned ahimsa in Rishikesh, non-harming. But never connected it to my own body.

I did not eat meat, tried to be kind. But pushing through was harm.

Where in your life might you be practicing harm while calling it discipline?

#ahimsa #yogaphilosophy #nonharming
#yogawisdom #embodiedpractice #selfcare
#yogateachings #contemplativepractice #mindfulness

I asked my teacher 'How long until I understand?' He laughed, genuinely amused.

'The question is the practice.' I wanted guidance, not riddles.

What shifted for you when you stopped seeking answers in your practice?

Read more

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-practice-of-not-knowing-7a04cc3267c3

#yogateacher #spiritualteaching #rishikesh
#yogaphilosophy #meditation #presence
#spiritualjourney #contemplativepractice #mindfulness

I learned ahimsa in Rishikesh, non-harming. But never connected it to my own body.

I did not eat meat, tried to be kind. But pushing through was harm.

Where in your life might you be practicing harm while calling it discipline?

#ahimsa #yogaphilosophy #nonharming
#yogawisdom #embodiedpractice #selfcare
#yogateachings #contemplativepractice #mindfulness

I asked my teacher 'How long until I understand?' He laughed, genuinely amused.

'The question is the practice.' I wanted guidance, not riddles.

What shifted for you when you stopped seeking answers in your practice?

Read more

https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-practice-of-not-knowing-7a04cc3267c3

#yogateacher #spiritualteaching #rishikesh
#yogaphilosophy #meditation #presence
#spiritualjourney #contemplativepractice #mindfulness

There was a bleached tree beneath the Himalayas, stripped by wind, still standing.

Looking at it, I understood, impermanence isn't sad, it's beautiful.

What in nature has taught you something words couldn't explain?

#impermanence #nature #buddhism
#mountains #meditation #himalayas
#contemplativepractice #mindfulness #spiritualjourney