Month: October 2020

Snow Season Begins

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first snow of the season

Unbelievable. The day before Halloween and we’ve already had a real snowfall. More than three inches in the Boston area! There are still colorful leaves on the trees! I’m not a fan of winter or snow. But there’s no fighting Mother Nature, so all we can do is settle in and accept the change in season.

Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow and we turn the clocks back. Now it will be dark at 5pm. These colder months are the season for turning inward and reflecting, while we stay indoors more as well.

For me, appreciating the change in season is a deliberate practice that I’ve cultivated over the past couple of years. Over a year, I noted what was special about each month. Because each month has its merits. Without winter, we can’t get to spring and summer. Below is part of what I wrote about October.

A cup of hot tea.

Looking out a window at the sky.

The sparks and crackle of an outdoor fire

that warms your hands

and smoke that smells like memories.

Free Yoga Boston (October 2020 ā€“ May 2021)

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home yoga practice

For now, virtual classes are still the norm, so it’s still a good time to continue working on a home yoga practice and include meditation.

So let’s light some candles and roll out our mats. Classes listed are free or donation based. Please donate if you can! Also, since people can take online classes from anywhere, the times listed here are Eastern Time.

Make sure to check the Free Yoga Boston Facebook Group in addition to the Free Yoga Boston Facebook page. The group is private, but you can request to join. Members share information and there are additional classes and events listed.

Some classes here are found on Eventbrite and Meetup, so you can look for classes there as well. As always, this list is a work in progress and will be updated. From what I can tell, the classes listed below are ongoing for the time being.

Classes for Boston Community Yoga (BCY) are included and may vary somewhat week to week. DM them on Instagram to sign up and look at their weekly schedule.

If you know of other classes that are missing or have corrections, let me know!

::Ā  ::Ā  ::

MONDAY

BCY – Monday Motivational Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
5:30pm – 6:30pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

Dan Rodman Meditation and Spirituality (Ongoing) Virtual
6:30pm – 7:30pm

Online Zoom Yoga (Ongoing) Virtual
8pm – 9:15pm

Meditation Group (Ongoing) Virtual
9pm – 9:30pm

TUESDAY

BCY – All Levels Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
6pm – 7pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

BCY – Beginner Vinyasa Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
7pm – 8pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

 

WEDNESDAY

BCY – Morning Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
7am – 8am (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

Yoga for Busy Legal Professionals (Ongoing) Virtual
2pm – 2:20pm

BCY – Vinyasa Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
6pm – 7pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

Laughter Yoga on Zoom (Ongoing) Virtual
7:30pm – 8:10pm

Zoom Yoga, Wednesday Release! (Ongoing) Virtual
8pm – 9:15pm

THURSDAY

Chair Yoga with Ivor (Weekly through 4/29/21) Virtual
11am – 12pm

Older Adults’ Chair Yoga (4/22/21, 6/24/21) Virtual
2pm – 3pm

BCY – Vinyasa Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
5:30pm – 6:30pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

FRIDAY

Yogi Dimps Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
12pm – 12:30pm (DM for IG Live classes)

BCY – Friday Morning Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
6:30am – 7:30am (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

Friday Unwind: Gentle Yoga (Ongoing) Virtual
4pm – 5pm

SATURDAY

BCY – Power Vinyasa (Ongoing) Virtual
8am – 9am (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

Self Care Saturday All Levels Yoga (Ongoing) Virtual
9am – 10am

Online Guided Meditation (Ongoing) Virtual
9:45pm – 11pm

BCY – Weekend Warrior Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
11am – 12pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

SUNDAY

Online Guided Meditation (Ongoing) Virtual
9:45am – 11am

Afro Flow Yoga (Ongoing) Virtual
1:30pm – 2:30pm

Yoga and Mindfulness (Ongoing) Virtual
2pm – 3pm

BCY – Yoga for the Sunday Scaries (Ongoing) Virtual
6:30pm – 7:30pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

BCY – Restorative Flow (Ongoing) Virtual
7:30pm – 8:30pm (Time may vary. Check weekly schedule and DM to sign up.)

::Ā  ::Ā  ::

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An Apple Found Poem

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apples inspired a found poem

Last weekend, some friends and I went for a walk around Franklin Park. This park is Boston’s largest open space and the crown jewel of Frederick Law Olmsted‘s Emerald Necklace.

It was a beautiful day and October’s colors were in full effect. One of my friend’s co-workers recently bought a home and was surprised to find that she has an apple orchard. Can you imagine? A surprise apple orchard!

Because now she has too many apples, she’s giving them away to everyone she knows. My friend took some and I was lucky enough to leave our walk with dozens of apples. I stewed some with ground cinnamon, ginger and a touch of honey. I still have about a dozen left and not yet sure what I’ll do with them. Maybe make another Dutch baby? An apple crisp?

In any event, these gorgeous beauties inspired me to write a found poem. Back in 2010, on the first iteration of this blog, I discovered found poetry. I’m forever hooked! I love poetry and writing found poetry is easier than starting from scratch. It’s fun too. Like a word game!

To write a found poem, find some text – a book, magazine article, blog post, etc. As you read it, pull out words to create your poem. Ta da! You wrote a poem.

Below is the found poem I wrote using the article 5 Health Benefits of an Apple from EatingWell.

An Apple Found Poem

Doctor away!

Truth.

Apple-licious ways.

Flesh and skin.

Cooked and baked.

Fresh.

2 apples.

8 weeks.

You benefit.

Reduced risk.

Thanks.

You guessed it – apples.

Slices satisfied people.

Applesauce, apple juice.

Granny Smith, McIntosh, Golden Delicious.

Tops among fruits.

Don’t toss the peel.

Found.

Time Travel With Merriam-Webster

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If there’s one genre that gets me every single time, it’s time travel. I absolutely cannot resist the concept.

So I was thrilled to recently read that a physicist came up with calculations that eliminate the paradox problem. You know the issue when someone goes back in time and has to worry about changing something and destroying the present? Apparently things would all work themselves out somehow. Yay?!?!

Not only is the time travel genre fun, but it’s a great way to learn some history. I find myself wondering if certain parts of the story lines are true, so with some quick research, I’m able to find out.

Recently I enjoyed a couple of time travel series on Netflix. Since I also love foreign films, the variety of time travel shows available exponentially increases with more languages included. Back to 1989 is in Mandarin and placed in Taiwan. Live Up to Your Name is in Korean and takes place in present day South Korea and goes all the way back to the Joseon Dynasty.

So why am I bringing up time travel today? Because Merriam-Webster is playing along with the idea. They have a link you can go to and travel back. Pick the year you were born or any other year. You’ll find out when certain words were first used in print. The earliest year you can go back to is 1500, then by century and generally before the 12th century.

I went back to 1964 and it surprised me to find some of these words used so early. They seem more modern! Others are interesting in that the terms have changed and are used differently. It also makes me think about how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Below are a few.

AAA, black hole, carryout, colorism, condo, drink-driving, endangered, fentanyl, garage sale, gender identity, gigahertz, grandparenting, graphic novel, gun control, homophobia, hydrocodone, mack daddy, minicam, miracle fruit, mitochondrial DNA, naloxone, pants suit and pantsuit, point-and-shoot, precalculus, precooked, quinceaƱera, rat fink, red bush tea, retribalization, reverse discrimination, skinny-dip, slow-wave sleep, street hockey, table sugar, tostone, triple jump, xanthan gum, zip-code

If you have a few minutes, take a trip back and let me know what you think!

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Screenshot Image: Merriam-Webster