As the icicle thaws~
… the world runs round…
I don’t know about y’all but over here, life has delivered some real humdingers of some weeks. As mutating pathogens sweep across the globe and the predictable political polarizations and perversities play themselves out on the grand stage of life, the microcosm in this little life has not been that different. And all is as it should be… as the planet turns.
These weeks, I was reminded of my (not so) guilty pleasure and quasi obsession, verging on addiction to ‘Jane the Virgin’ (what’s not to love- a show that has !4! heroines and values of family, honesty, and growth at its center), but dang, if life doesn’t feel like a telenovela sometimes - a melodramatic outpouring that has to increase its shock value in order to keep us on our toes.
Conversely, and thank the goodness, there are those moments when it all fades away.
Not stops, but just fades into the background as the presence of the peace becomes more prominent- not unlike the presence of cool air meeting body in the morning has a way of doing.
In the wake of what gets stirred up by lifes’ little (often outrageous) wrinkles, i have taken to adding a little wanderung to my morning routine so as to discharge some of the excess energy. It has been invaluable. When my mind is giddyupin’ with no end in sight, and there’s no hope of finding peace in restful moments, the country road calls.
Sunrise morning air.. she’s a show stopper like no other.
As many of y’all have heard in class this week, i’ve also taken solace in some of Kahil Gibran’s words on love and how it can pummel you in order to “know the secrets of your own heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart”.
We care so much because we love so much. What a wild roaring thing this energy of the heart. The love of the life. The eternal dosey doe of heartbreak and peace.
I’ve also been enjoying Antonio Machado’s gentle invitation- that made its way through my eyeballs and into my heart once again this week… he’s helping me allow the “secret aqueduct” to flow with the “water of a new life that I have never drunk”, and to feel the golden bees make “sweet honey out of my failures”...
ah the alchemical psychic transmutation that comes in a way that only poems can deliver…
(see full text below).
For these moments of peace and wisdom amidst the fury and the flurry, I am grateful.
I hope you are all finding some way to drop into what is still and peaceful and full of heart in whatever way that takes its formless shape for you.
In and amongst it all…….
We are tempting the tides of fate (if ever there were such a thing) and I am VERY exited to announce that the icicles in Eldo are thawing! We are throwing open the doors once again for our yoga and mindfulness program beginning middle of this month on the ides of March..
Mark your calendars and save the dates~
Hamstring Clinic with Ari Halbert - March 15, 2-4pm
An all-levels workshop that will build lower-body strength and flexibility. Click here for more info and to register.
Michelle Sanders will be the guest teacher for our Revolving Mondays class at 6pm- 1st class March 16th- sharing in the therapeutic practice of Kaiut.
Artful Yoga will continue with Julia Horn- Wednesday nights @ 6pm- Restoration Station (ongoing), and Thursday morning @ 9.30am- Creative Vinyasa Flow (1st class March 19).
The center will open again for silent morning practice and creating together during Community Mornings - Tues and Thurs from 7-9am restarting April 2.
And most excitedly, it is already time for our seasonal staycation retreat… Prevernal Presence hosted by Julia Horn, will be held the weekend of March 27-29- 3 days of deepening into practice and community in the flavor of SPRING :). See here to register.
And other budding opportunities of import….
UNEARTHING the BEAUTIFUL - 5 Sundays from 1-3pm, starting April 5th and running through May 3rd.
This series is a chance to pause, reflect, unpack, and unfold various aspects of our practice so that we can return to the mat in the context of a class with a little more depth and dimension. We will come to each of the topics from an angle of tradition, science, anatomy, architecture, literature and the ever widening circle of what it is to dance in the presence of awareness.
See here for details of what is covered in each class.
You may attend as many or as few of these as you like.
And May 14-17- YOGA, ART, and CULTURE in San Miguel de Allende.
We’ll be doing another little jaunt into the lands of Mexico, to one of my favorite places on earth. immerse yourself in yoga, culture, and the art of a.land quite magical in most every way. Simply put, SMA is a treat of a retreat.
Click here to reserve your spot.
Most everything has been updated on the website calendar to view descrips, bios, payment options, but do check back for more and to confirm for any changes — after all, it’s still March and we don’t know what weather is gathering from above.
Plus, there will also be a bonus writing project added to the media page in the next few weeks :)
Instagram is a good way to get some updates and reminders as well. You can find me here (@_juliahorn).
A few of of y’all without social media asked me to share the recent post about my dad.. you can see that here.
Also someone found and reminded me of some old school dancin ditties I did once upon a time in India. I uploaded them to my media page - see here if you’d like to see what we dusted off from the archives.
Sending a warm hug,
Julia
LAST NIGHT AS I WAS SLEEPING by Antonio Machado~
Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—blessed illusion!—
that a spring was breaking
out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk?
Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—blessed illusion!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.
Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—blessed illusion!—
that a fiery sun was giving
light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light
and brought tears to my eyes.
Last night as I slept,
I dreamt—blessed illusion!—
that it was God I had
here inside my heart.
Excerpt from THE PROPHET by Khalil Gibran~
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.
