Illustration by Randy Fielding, using DALL-E While I was thinking about what I wanted to say at my dad's recent memorial service, my hands spontaneously formed the Lotus Mudra, a heart-opening hand gesture in yoga. To move into this mudra, the palms of my hands came together in a prayerful posture and then, while my thumbs and pinkies stayed together, my other fingers flowered open like the petals of a lotus.
Thank you for sharing this piece. Such a beautiful articulation of this newfound/evolving relationship with your hands and how they communicate. I love that you found such deep symbolism, beauty and connection within this challenging life event. You truly live your yoga, and I am always struck by how seamlessly you weave together the themes of yoga and life in your writing. Congratulations on your Substack debut!
Glen, I'm so happy to see your work on Substack and what a great start with such a beautiful piece that flows so readily from your heart, just like your hearts message to your hands. Thank you for sharing. <3
Jon, Thank you for reading and offering such a full and fascinating comment. I hadn't thought about the link to American sign language and "signalers." And your description of your music sessions speaks to and illustrates the theme beautifully.
Thank you Glen for taking the time to write about this!. It raises awareness in me that I want to pay more attention to what my hands are doing as a possible signal from my body as to what it "thinks" about any situation. I've always admired "speakers" of American Sign Language, ( I guess more appropriately they could be called signalers) for their ability to say so much without words, including emotions. It also calls to mind a traditional music session, where one of us begins a new tune and the others listen a bit and then join in. There is almost never the need to name the tune nor even announce that one intends to begin one. It's all done through the actions of the fingers on the instruments. Without the words, the music takes us to refreshing, healing spaces that I don't think would be available if words were involved.
Ray, you are the first to leave a comment, and I so appreciate it! Also, I really like how you featured in your comment two qualities that are so fundamental in yoga and life, "awareness" and "attention." And your concise phrase about "wisdom outside your mind" is such a nice distillation of the theme of Annie Paul's book about the power not only of brain-bound thinking but of thinking with our bodies, surroundings, and relationships.
Thank you for sharing this piece. Such a beautiful articulation of this newfound/evolving relationship with your hands and how they communicate. I love that you found such deep symbolism, beauty and connection within this challenging life event. You truly live your yoga, and I am always struck by how seamlessly you weave together the themes of yoga and life in your writing. Congratulations on your Substack debut!
Glen, I'm so happy to see your work on Substack and what a great start with such a beautiful piece that flows so readily from your heart, just like your hearts message to your hands. Thank you for sharing. <3
Jon, Thank you for reading and offering such a full and fascinating comment. I hadn't thought about the link to American sign language and "signalers." And your description of your music sessions speaks to and illustrates the theme beautifully.
Thank you Glen for taking the time to write about this!. It raises awareness in me that I want to pay more attention to what my hands are doing as a possible signal from my body as to what it "thinks" about any situation. I've always admired "speakers" of American Sign Language, ( I guess more appropriately they could be called signalers) for their ability to say so much without words, including emotions. It also calls to mind a traditional music session, where one of us begins a new tune and the others listen a bit and then join in. There is almost never the need to name the tune nor even announce that one intends to begin one. It's all done through the actions of the fingers on the instruments. Without the words, the music takes us to refreshing, healing spaces that I don't think would be available if words were involved.
Ray, you are the first to leave a comment, and I so appreciate it! Also, I really like how you featured in your comment two qualities that are so fundamental in yoga and life, "awareness" and "attention." And your concise phrase about "wisdom outside your mind" is such a nice distillation of the theme of Annie Paul's book about the power not only of brain-bound thinking but of thinking with our bodies, surroundings, and relationships.
Clear and powerful, Glen.
Great awareness to bring attention to wisdom outside your mind.
Congratulations!