Dear Friends,
This weekend as I crisscrossed Central Park, the first snowdrops delighted my eyes. There they were, pushing aside the nurturing soil that covered them in the darkest days and popping up. neck first, snowy blossoms facing the earth.
The days are getting longer and so are mine! The healing rest after surgery has allowed me to pop up too. My lifelong friend, Elizabeth, was with me for this past long weekend and we were indeed out and about. We walked Fifth and Madison Avenues on the grey day and went to the Met for the African exhibit and the Jewish Museum for the William Steig exhibition. We pondered Pinter’s The Homecoming and Beckett’s Happy Days as part of our literary heritage. We sang lots and lots of old favorites at a sing-a-long at the JCC.
If all of this sounds like a lot, I nap in the afternoon and am being nourished by wonderful meals delivered with love by devoted friends.
And of course the news of the optimal outcome from the surgery is adding to the bounce of my step.
I am often asked if I am practicing. Of course I am and I use the lessons of yoga every hour, starting from when I opened my eyes and embraced the world in the first conscious breath after “being under.” I credit yoga with my experience of being able to ease pain and have a positive attitude pervade all my sheaths.
My daughters and their families have been wonderful as have been so many devoted friends who are communicating with me above and below the radar. I am the grateful beneficiary of your prayers, meditations and thoughts.
I have been to the Institute and will go more regularly next week to gradually resume my life there and my teaching. This week I will also start a 2-month regimen of chemotherapy. I have clearance to go on my annual trip to Isla Mujeres with Dean Learner for my beloved Feathered Pipe the first week of March so life is indeed going on positively for me.
All the Best to all of you. I know it is a cliché, but don’t forget to smell the flowers… or at least smile them…
With appreciation and love,
Mary
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Dear friends,
I am into my second day post surgery.
The operation went really well. The surgeon reported that it was an optimal result! So I am very pleased as you can imagine.
The first few days are a little tough, but I am making progress on all fronts.
Thank you for all your prayers, meditations and good thoughts.
More later.
With love,
Mary
I am into my second day post surgery.
The operation went really well. The surgeon reported that it was an optimal result! So I am very pleased as you can imagine.
The first few days are a little tough, but I am making progress on all fronts.
Thank you for all your prayers, meditations and good thoughts.
More later.
With love,
Mary
Friday, December 28, 2007
Dec 28, 2007
It is time of the year to be grateful and forward looking. I am both--in full measure.
The tests following my first course of treatment show steady, good progress. My doctors and I have decided that the next step will be another surgery which will happen on January 4th. I look forward to a recovery made easier because I feel strong and healthy and have good systems in place for that time.
Elizabeth Whalley has been here with me for Christmas, something she has been doing since my daughter, Louise, was two. We celebrated with both of my daughters and their families. Friends, two wonderful families with four grandchildren make for the best presence.
No snow here, but lots of holiday flurries. I had a special day with Bryan, Louise and Scot’s son aged 13, at Cirque du Soleil, followed by lunch at Michael Jordan's, embellished by the music and light show at Grand Central. Christmas eve we had a great feast and lots of fun, and then presents and glee for all, especially Matthew aged three, on Christmas morn.
Elizabeth and I got in Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline and The Bucket List too. We did the Met and the Whitney in one day and the next The New Contemporary Museum sandwiched between my two classes. Wow!
We reflect on the year at this time, and it has been a big one, with both big challenges and great joy. There was a celebration at the Institute of the Iyengar Yoga Association of New York’s coming of age. As part of the festivities, I was honored to learn that, among other things, I was “the champion of stiff people.” In the spirit of the year’s end, I want to enlarge my championing-- and will work on that in the coming year.
So many gifts from you are in my heart, so many of you have wished me well and prayed and meditated for me. So many of you have written or called and given me such smiles. The richness of this year is one of friendships and learning and connecting. I have music to listen to, poetry to read, and the warmth of your hugs and words and well wishes to take forward.
Wishing you your dreams!
Mary
It is time of the year to be grateful and forward looking. I am both--in full measure.
The tests following my first course of treatment show steady, good progress. My doctors and I have decided that the next step will be another surgery which will happen on January 4th. I look forward to a recovery made easier because I feel strong and healthy and have good systems in place for that time.
Elizabeth Whalley has been here with me for Christmas, something she has been doing since my daughter, Louise, was two. We celebrated with both of my daughters and their families. Friends, two wonderful families with four grandchildren make for the best presence.
No snow here, but lots of holiday flurries. I had a special day with Bryan, Louise and Scot’s son aged 13, at Cirque du Soleil, followed by lunch at Michael Jordan's, embellished by the music and light show at Grand Central. Christmas eve we had a great feast and lots of fun, and then presents and glee for all, especially Matthew aged three, on Christmas morn.
Elizabeth and I got in Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline and The Bucket List too. We did the Met and the Whitney in one day and the next The New Contemporary Museum sandwiched between my two classes. Wow!
We reflect on the year at this time, and it has been a big one, with both big challenges and great joy. There was a celebration at the Institute of the Iyengar Yoga Association of New York’s coming of age. As part of the festivities, I was honored to learn that, among other things, I was “the champion of stiff people.” In the spirit of the year’s end, I want to enlarge my championing-- and will work on that in the coming year.
So many gifts from you are in my heart, so many of you have wished me well and prayed and meditated for me. So many of you have written or called and given me such smiles. The richness of this year is one of friendships and learning and connecting. I have music to listen to, poetry to read, and the warmth of your hugs and words and well wishes to take forward.
Wishing you your dreams!
Mary
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
November 20, 2007
Thanksgiving stops us to appreciate our bounty, to lovingly prepare and sit together, to celebrate tradition and to innovate. Mine will be spent with my family and two of my four grandchildren. I look forward to making the cranberries, pies (apple with a hint of cardamom and pumpkin, traditional) and vegetables. I look forward to playing long games of train with Matthew, just turned three, holding and rocking Rebecca, six weeks, and free-wheeling conversation with all the adults around the table.
Over the past month I have continued to have a wonderful flow of friends from near and far to fill my weekends. My weeks are taken with teaching and taking care of myself. I have also gone to Ann Arbor to see my mother, brother and sister-in-law. While in Ann Arbor I saw a thrilling University of Michigan performance of La Boheme conducted by Martin Katz, a cherished family friend. Music takes us to places we cannot otherwise go.
My first phase of treatment is due to end around the beginning of the new year. The second phase as currently planned will be more widely spaced and less harsh. My hair is already sprouting in anticipation… The rhythms of my life are more normal. I am looking forward to holidays, continuing my teaching in New York, my annual Feathered Pipe week with Dean Lerner in Isla Mujeres and the promise of old and new friends, sun and sea.
I am appreciating all the generosity that has come to me, reading books you have inspired, and holding dear in my head and heart all your kind thoughts, spoken and unspoken, written and unwritten.
Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!
Mary
Thanksgiving stops us to appreciate our bounty, to lovingly prepare and sit together, to celebrate tradition and to innovate. Mine will be spent with my family and two of my four grandchildren. I look forward to making the cranberries, pies (apple with a hint of cardamom and pumpkin, traditional) and vegetables. I look forward to playing long games of train with Matthew, just turned three, holding and rocking Rebecca, six weeks, and free-wheeling conversation with all the adults around the table.
Over the past month I have continued to have a wonderful flow of friends from near and far to fill my weekends. My weeks are taken with teaching and taking care of myself. I have also gone to Ann Arbor to see my mother, brother and sister-in-law. While in Ann Arbor I saw a thrilling University of Michigan performance of La Boheme conducted by Martin Katz, a cherished family friend. Music takes us to places we cannot otherwise go.
My first phase of treatment is due to end around the beginning of the new year. The second phase as currently planned will be more widely spaced and less harsh. My hair is already sprouting in anticipation… The rhythms of my life are more normal. I am looking forward to holidays, continuing my teaching in New York, my annual Feathered Pipe week with Dean Lerner in Isla Mujeres and the promise of old and new friends, sun and sea.
I am appreciating all the generosity that has come to me, reading books you have inspired, and holding dear in my head and heart all your kind thoughts, spoken and unspoken, written and unwritten.
Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!
Mary
Monday, October 8, 2007
October 8 2007
Dear Friends,
Last Wednesday, the 3rd October, our family welcomed Rebecca Katherine to the world! She joins Bryan, Sammi, and Matthew as part of a new generation. Rebecca is sleeping and eating well and using soul-filled eyes to check out all who hold her. She came in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces, 29 ½ inches, and lots of hair! Mother, father, big brother, relatives and friends are all celebrating the homecoming!
A part of the preciousness of new life is that it continues the threads that go back to the very beginnings of all of life- a time hard to conceptualize. The innocence of a new life brings us face to face with why we cultivate profound respect for all living beings as they have come to cover the earth and the very earth which nourishes us.
Each walk I take, practice I have, and class I teach makes it evident to me that I need to keep learning and why it is a gift to have this time in which to learn. What is under the surface comes to a reality I can see it more clearly. Being able to put it into words helps me know it better. Meditating on what I am learning helps me integrate the knowledge and accept the truths within which we all live.
The Fall for Dance festival, the summery October days, and the dance of life are all reasons to know and celebrate life’s moments.
Love and lightness to all of you,
Mary
Last Wednesday, the 3rd October, our family welcomed Rebecca Katherine to the world! She joins Bryan, Sammi, and Matthew as part of a new generation. Rebecca is sleeping and eating well and using soul-filled eyes to check out all who hold her. She came in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces, 29 ½ inches, and lots of hair! Mother, father, big brother, relatives and friends are all celebrating the homecoming!
A part of the preciousness of new life is that it continues the threads that go back to the very beginnings of all of life- a time hard to conceptualize. The innocence of a new life brings us face to face with why we cultivate profound respect for all living beings as they have come to cover the earth and the very earth which nourishes us.
Each walk I take, practice I have, and class I teach makes it evident to me that I need to keep learning and why it is a gift to have this time in which to learn. What is under the surface comes to a reality I can see it more clearly. Being able to put it into words helps me know it better. Meditating on what I am learning helps me integrate the knowledge and accept the truths within which we all live.
The Fall for Dance festival, the summery October days, and the dance of life are all reasons to know and celebrate life’s moments.
Love and lightness to all of you,
Mary
Monday, September 24, 2007
September 24, 2007
Dear Friends,
I am writing to catch you up with good news! I am feeling well and recent tests have shown numbers and results all going in the right direction!
My chemo schedule will go through the end of October when we will again evaluate treatment. Currently, I am learning more about nutrition and its many ways of supporting my fight. I continue to take courage and support from all aspects of my yoga practice. On principle and in fact I am practicing not rushing or taking on too much and making time for fun. (It can be a big help to state goals to others.)
My daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband are having their second child next week! Being part of this wonderful event and new life is at the top of my priorities.
Sweet temperatures are reminding me of summer, but fall is turning up at the tips of the leaves.
You are in my thoughts and meditation as I am so grateful to be in yours.
Mary
I am writing to catch you up with good news! I am feeling well and recent tests have shown numbers and results all going in the right direction!
My chemo schedule will go through the end of October when we will again evaluate treatment. Currently, I am learning more about nutrition and its many ways of supporting my fight. I continue to take courage and support from all aspects of my yoga practice. On principle and in fact I am practicing not rushing or taking on too much and making time for fun. (It can be a big help to state goals to others.)
My daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband are having their second child next week! Being part of this wonderful event and new life is at the top of my priorities.
Sweet temperatures are reminding me of summer, but fall is turning up at the tips of the leaves.
You are in my thoughts and meditation as I am so grateful to be in yours.
Mary
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
September 18, 2007
Life has been a whirlwind. I have been to Hawley, Pennsylvania for a retreat and to enjoy the Ritz Theater, the visionary community theater started by James Murphy’s family over 30 years ago. Then I went to Philadelphia for the rich family experience of the Bar Mitzvah of my daughter and her husband’s son. AndI I just returned from a trip to North Carolina at a beautiful family wedding and afterwards went to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, where I spent time at my grandparents’ home every summer growing up. Between these trips, I had wonderful visits with friends and family from Scottsdale and Berkeley. This week my cup is full with more friends, this time from Sausalito, West Virginia, San Francisco and Boca Raton.
I am feeling well and tolerating the chemo. I am practicing yoga, walking and napping. I have gone back to teaching a few classes and teaching this wonderful subject nourishes me. I am grateful to be back in touch with this rewarding part of my life.
Your prayers are with me.
With love to all of you,
Mary
I am feeling well and tolerating the chemo. I am practicing yoga, walking and napping. I have gone back to teaching a few classes and teaching this wonderful subject nourishes me. I am grateful to be back in touch with this rewarding part of my life.
Your prayers are with me.
With love to all of you,
Mary
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
