If you’ve ever taken a dance, exercise or yoga class, you know what is meant by the core. Or perhaps you just think you do.
Since the start of 2020 I’ve been taking twice weekly private yoga instruction. 10 sessions in, and I can already see the difference.
And it’s not just the yoga. My wellness intention encompasses many other elements – meditation, journaling, massage, acupuncture, eliminating sugar and white flour, taking supplements, and drinking more water on a regular basis.
It also includes making time for the people in my life who are important to me. So when I looked at the calendar of Abraham-Hicks lectures and found one in San Rafael, CA, it was the perfect opportunity to combine it with a visit to the home of my oldest and dearest friend Gail.
Gail and her husband Ken put me up in the lovely little cottage which they themselves converted from their garage. It sits right next to the flower, fruit tree, herb and vegetable garden Gail carved out of the wildness of the back yard. It was private, comfortable, cozy and restful – just what I needed.
Gail and I front-loaded our schedule with all of the things we have loved doing together since we were teenagers. Besides the Abraham lecture, we visited two museum exhibits (Soul of a Nation on the art of the Black Power movement, and Black is Beautiful, the photography of Kwame Brathwaite), went to one indie movie (Fantastic Fungi, an illuminating film on the life-giving pervasiveness of mushrooms) and streamed another (the Chef’s Table episode on Korean Buddhist nun and chef Jeong Kwan), had an acupuncture session at a tranquil community clinic, indulged in some delicious food and libation (you may now count me among the ardent fans of the delectable liqueur Drambuie), spent a morning walking amidst the redwoods of Muir Woods, and a sunny afternoon at Muir beach.
It was in Muir Woods that I encountered my core. We alternated between walking and stopping in the silence to meditate and listen deeply to the sounds of the forest. At one point I stood before a small copse of redwoods, marveling at their longevity and the towering sturdiness, even though their root systems are shallower than one would imagine given their height.
As I was standing I could hear my yoga teacher’s voice, “Lift your arches, plant your heels and toes, pull in your stomach, tighten the gluts, drop your shoulders and roll them back, lift your chin, turn your palms out.” And in that moment I felt the true strength of my entire core. Beyond the stomach, I felt rooted and strong from thighs to navel. All of those adjustments lightened the load on my knees, and solidified my body – unmovable at its center, yet pliant and light, embedded in the earth while lightly resting on its surface.
Then the entire weekend took on a new resonance. From the body mind spirit work, the cultural images, the lecture, the natural elements of food and drink, earth, sky, sun and sea…everything we were doing was part of the core of being.
In the Chef’s Table episode, Jeong Kwan makes a dish of Kimchi, pickled cabbage. The cabbage has been stored in natural brine, encased in the ground inside an earthenware jar. The fermentation process transforms the cabbage. She has taken water, salt, and time to create a dish from the ages.
My long weekend with my friend who has been my sister from time immemorial has helped guide me to my core in so many ways. We have taken the elements, our love for each other and time to continue transforming our friendship from the inside out. It is from this expanded sense of center that I continue on my life path renewed.
