Part five. Slowing down enough to truly see. The nurses at the radiation department said cheerfully, “Congratulations, your last treatment is done.” Then they added, almost casually, “Just be aware that the tiredness may come now. Headaches too. And other side...
Part four. Not doing it on my own anymore. In the midst of everything I am going through, I find myself returning to my past, to how I have lived my life. I have done things on my own.I have met hardship on my own. I have gone through it on my own. It was never really...
Yoga is out of fashion and that’s a good thing. I recently heard that yoga is out of fashion. Apparently Pilates is having a moment. A few years ago it was breathwork. Next year, something else. And I thought: Yes. Good. Yoga should be out of fashion....
We are all, in one way or another, looking for joy. So why can it sometimes feel so hard to find? In the Yoga Sutras, Patañjali describes samtosha, contentment, as something powerful. In sutra 2:42 he writes: “Through samtosha, supreme joy is gained.” Supreme...
Part three. Receiving results after a bone marrow biopsy. I felt it in my body a couple of days before. Something swirling. As we got closer to the hospital, the volume turned up a hundred times. My heartbeat boom, boom, boom, hard and fast. I heard it in my ears,...
Part two. Living with uncertainty while waiting for test results The bone marrow biopsy did hurt. Badly. Not the everyday kind of hurt, but the kind where the body screams, “You are taking a piece of me, and for that I will vomit on you, now.” For a moment I...
Part one. Receiving a marginal zone lymphoma diagnosis and feeling alive in the midst of uncertainty. Something didn’t feel right in me. As if my body resisted when I tried to slow down, to settle into a softer holiday rhythm. I had a headache. My body felt itchy. And...
Most of us talk to ourselves all day long. But very few of us ever notice how we do it. How do you talk to yourself? I don’t mean the everyday thoughts like, “I forgot to buy milk,” or “Where are my glasses?” I mean your inner dialogue, the way you actually speak to...
When you look at nature, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, winter can look harsh. Snow and ice. Dark, almost black, trees against a pale sky. Nature can look dead. A little frightening. Or very beautiful, when you remember it is resting. Beneath the surface it is...
Taking time to pause and reflect on the past, asking yourself questions like what happened, why did it happen, what did I do well, and what do I want to let go of, can be deeply supportive. Reflection creates space for awareness, and awareness opens the...
Ni har säkert hört historien. Det finns många varianter, ibland med en nunna, ibland med en munk, ibland kristen, ibland buddhistisk, men essensen är densamma, och den är värd att påminna sig om då och då. En ung munk hade rest långt för att få träffa en berömd...
Att öva och släppa taget – när yogan blir livet Yogasutrorna 1:12–1:15 Yoga handlar inte om perfektion, även om man kan tro det när man ser alla bilder på perfekta människor i perfekta positioner. Yoga handlar inte om dessa positioner, utan snarare en mjuk,...