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Just Breathe
Centering During Unsteadiness + Learn About š + Take Action
Ali Hickerson
November 14, 2024 ā¢ Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Of course, you never need another email ā but I promise youāll get something out of this. If youāre getting this newsletter youāre one of my fave clients, friends or acquaintances that I think about often and wanted to reach out to more.
Every few weeks, youāll learn some things about health and projects that are making a difference in the world via one of my recent bylines. Plus youāll get some yoga* teachings. (PS did you know Iām an accredited teacher now?? Time fliesā¦)
Drawing by me from the book, Dharma Talks
*Since yoga is about way more than movement ā itās also about alleviating suffering and moving towards freedom for all. So with each edition, Iāll include a quick social-justice-y action you can take to feel better about our current reality.
We canāt individually change the world, but we can change how we allow the world to shape us, which canāt be underestimated right now. So, before we get into it, close your eyes, take three slow breaths, and set an intention for the next few weeks.
[pause]
Thanks for staying connected with me, here and IRL,
Ali Hickerson
Email me | Writing: Work with me & Connect | Flow with me
~ ~ ~ practice ~ ~ ~
This week, the Ashtanga yoga community lost an important teacher with the sudden passing of Sharath Jois. He passed down the lineage to many of my teachers that introduced me to this form of yoga. While he was absurdly flexible, that wasnāt the point.
Yoga is a practice that stills the mindās fluctuations.
Donāt. We. Need. That. Right. Now.
Last weekā¦even this entire year has regularly felt unsteady and uncertain for me. You feel me? Aside from major political upheaval, the current job market has not been kind to writers and lots of other professions that AI threatens. But most importantly, I was riding the waves of emotions as my dad got a very scary diagnosis. (Heās doing well now, more on that later.)
Not knowing when I would feel OK, or others would be OK was utterly overwhelming. Still, I was often told, āYou seem pretty good, considering!ā and I was. I found my way back to some level of homeostasis using the framework of yoga.
Ashtanga means āeight limbs of yoga," a framework to live an ethical life and be steady in your body and mind. The physical postures we know to be yoga are called āasanasā and are practiced to prepare the body to find a more comfortable seat in meditation.
*
During this unsteady time, I have been reading a lot about ambiguity and once again found solace in the work by the beloved Pema Chodron, specifically in Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change, she argues that we must learn to ārelax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation.'ā
She suggests when we feel ourselves start to close down when weāre irritated, impatient, or disappointed we can avoid withdrawing by this practice:
āFirst, come into the present. Flash on whatās happening with you right now. Be fully aware of your body, itās energetic quality. Be aware of your thoughts and emotions.
Next, feel your heart, literally placing your hand on your chest if you find that helpful. This is a way of accepting yourself just as you are in that moment, a way of saying, āThis is my experience right now, and itās okay.ā
Then go into the next moment without any agenda.ā
ā” It seems too simple to be profound, but intentionally taking stock of what thoughts and feelings are fluctuating through you and acknowledging that despite them, you must continue on with an open heart can be transformative. ā”
Try it out & reply to tell me how it went.
/ / / air it out \ \ \
I certainly sighed a breath of relief while reporting recently for Moms Clean Air Force. Iām profiling school districts around the country that are making the switch from diesel school buses to electric, thanks to $5B in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. I honestly hadnāt thought about how the safety of our air can contribute to asthma in kids.
Covering the rural school district of Pellston in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan really got me thinking about the various levers we have to pull to change minds around climate change. The surrounding area of Pellston is conservative. Electric vehicles ā let alone buses ā are rare for various reasons. Initially, the lure of federal funding motivated the school to apply for the electric school bus grants.
They were awarded the buses. Soon, there was no more dirty air for the kids or drivers to breathe in on their daily rides to school or when the bus was idling. The buses provided an almost ominous level of quietness compared to diesel; there was a noticeable difference in how the kids arrived at their homes and at school feeling calmer. So much so, the school was nominated for an unprecedented national academic achievement award.
Suffice it to say, in a time when the use of EVs feels like taking a political stance, leading with the unexpected ways the climate-friendly buses are affecting children is sure to make headway towards changing some minds.
Read all about it (and maybe share to let your local district know thereās still $$ up for grabs??).
+++ action +++
430. Thatās how many times the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-profit, non-partisan organization took legal action against Trumpās administration during his first term. Consider learning more about their work, making your voice heard on an issue that matters to you, or donating to their efforts.
