I just got back from a weekend at Dollywood with the family. The rollercoasters were a blast and the cinnamon bread smelled amazing, but I also noticed something quieter... 

Southern diversity. Young couples, small families, big extended families spanning three generations, retired couples holding hands on benches, bachelorette groups in matching shirts, people of every color and background, from every corner of the country... all sharing the same lines, the same rides, the same shade under the same trees.

Nobody has to pretend or put on a facade to belong there. Dolly says it clear... "I try to love everybody."
It got me thinking about why I fell in love with yoga studios...

a space for all of us

One of my goals is for our yoga studio to be the same kind of place. A place where people with completely different pasts, viewpoints, spiritual beliefs, etc, can roll out a mat next to each other and just breathe together.

We don't have to agree on everything to belong in the same room. We just have to remember that we're all breathing the same air, all working through our own shit, and all just trying to let something go. It takes a bit of unlearning... the idea that our differences make us separate. Different color, different beliefs, different past... none of it was ever the thing standing between us.

"We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness." Thich Nhat Hanh

Healthy Habit
loving kindness meditation
just 5 or 10 quiet minutes

Find a comfortable seat, close your eyes, and take three slow breaths, in and out of the nose, letting your chest and heart space brighten with each inhale and your shoulders soften with each exhale.

Bring your attention to your heart center. Silently offer yourself this wish, "may I be happy, may I be healthy, may I be safe, may I live with ease."

Now picture someone you love. Hold them gently in your mind, and offer them the same wish, "may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease."

Next, bring to mind someone you don't know well, maybe a familiar face from the studio, or a stranger you passed at the grocery store. Offer them that same wish.

Then, bring to mind someone you find difficult. This one takes practice, so be patient with yourself. Offer the wish anyway, "may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease."

Finally, widen your circle to hold everyone, everywhere, every color, every belief, every background. "May all beings be happy, may all beings be healthy, may all beings be safe, may all beings live with ease."

Take one more slow breath, and when you're ready, gently open your eyes.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu: 
"may all beings everywhere be happy and free"

This is a beautiful mantra that you can listen to in meditation to guide you into the feeling of Loving Kindness. I even enjoy listening to it when I'm doing the dishes or driving my car. 
There's a lot of great versions... find one that you like! 
Some of my favorites: 
• Krishna Das
• Marti Nikko & DJ Drez
• Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band
• or "Diamonds in the Sun" by Girish