Happy New Year Friends,
The darkest days upon us and the cold insights an impulse to shiver. Breathe deep, make movements intentional - instead of panicked responses to the sudden shock. Daylight is returning, but it will be a while before the warmth of the sun can touch us, we must not waste the body’s stored energy. Reemergence will take time but there is literal light at the end of this tunnel of winter; and on the other side… Life awaits. The vibrant colors of spring, the vast flourishing of summer; and eventually too the falling away of autumn and the depths of winter. In winter, the landscape appears barren, but seeds are waiting. Trees present as wooden skeletons, their roots dormant only until moments arise to burrow deeper into the richness below. I have developed a tradition, now in its third year, of spending an extended time in the metaphorical cold and dark, burrowing into the depths of self. Deprived of nourishment and external stimulus for several days . Sustained by what’s left when all the color and warmth of life is stripped to its barest essentials. I don’t find this time pretty or enjoyable, though it is beautiful in its sparseness; I’ve come to rely on spending time in the winter of my soul to find where the seeds of spring would best be planted.
The seasons, like the moon and ocean tides provide reminders of the reality of cycles. Though the ground beneath our feet seems still and sure, the passage of a day might remind us the high velocity of our organic spaceship as it spins around a ball of fire, hurtling through space-time. Our lives feel stable until an event shakes us from ignorance to the reality of ever present change. Some cycles may be more esoteric, a “true” measure somewhat elusive. Meaning seems a hard thing to package into a neat system with a formula to follow and easily reproducible results - even the determinists amongst us may recognize the existence of an existential quality beyond survival and reproduction. Though the marking of a “New Year” is a somewhat arbitrary designation of time - with heavy overtones of Christian mythology - the death and rebirth of a solar entity (so it seems from our earthly perspective) works as the blueprint. Our current Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582, taking over 3 centuries in some countries to replace the use of Julian calendar suggests numbers such as 2022 & 2023 as extremely subjective designations of time. It is worth noting year numbering seems to be a relatively recent development; prior to explicit numbering - any numerical designation between years was used to define the length of time between specific events such as a change in leadership. Presently, many of us use 2020 to designate a transition - though for the imaginative mind it would be equally possible to designate another year as the birth of a cycle, using 2020 as a climactic midpoint.
In symphonic music we might begin with an exposition announcing the start of a journey which settles into developments on the original theme. A departure may take place in following sections, pastoral scenes that allow us to forget the original insight to action. Eventually the piece reaches a climax, recapitulating some of the information introduced at the beginning - resolving at a higher level. Musicians will frame a timeline of these events using various measurements, the number of beats in a measure, the number of measures in a phrase, etc. It is possible for two musicians to listen to a piece of music and notate different time signatures; one may hear the quarter note (crotchet) as the dominant driving force holding time - another observes the eighth (quaver) providing an undeniable pulse. Though their written notation may differ, assuming relative accuracy among other notes - these two contrasting musicians will end up with music that sounds similar when read by a performer. This aside is to remind the reader that no map, no matter its accuracy, is the territory it represents. The calendar is not the year. A decade is as arbitrary a demarcation of time as any other, though we mostly agree to qualities that define the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, etc… The current iteration of the 20’s is only a third complete, though we might observe qualities that will one day define this decade. We might consider the recent decade that has passed, 2012 - 2022, whose beginning was surrounded by knowledge of ancient calendars and modern “prophecies” foretelling a world at its end. The reality of changes that have taken place through the internet, politics and culture often feel like a different world. On long and wearisome days, I like to imagine the most outlandish fantasies were not as far from the mark as most assume. We do all seem to be living in different realities, with different access to “truth.”
Like the decade, and no less arbitrary, I enjoy playing with cycle’s of 9’s - a number symbolic of cycles of time. 9 is a number attributable to Saturn and the ancient God of time Kronos. “10” being reducible to “1” when added together 10 = 1+0; all years can be played with in this manner. 2020 (2+0+2+0 = 4), a year symbolic of vision - reduced to “4” provides a frame, and few will argue that the events of our present are still largely framed by events of 2020. 2022 (2+0+2+2=6), a contra-lateral polarity when considered on a grid, representing stepping into shared reality (6) carrying the perception of our potential (4) envisioned in 2020. 2023 (2+0+2+3=7) will involve action to shape this world. The “7” introduces a chaotic element, the least orderly of the sequence (“7) is the number we use to define a week (from the Gothic wiko: “sequence to which we come”). With “7” comes the personal, distinguishing it from the universal elements which preceded. In the words of William Shakespeare:
“All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”
Personally, I’ve struggled to enter/reenter the world. I found ways in 2022, less than I might have preferred but not insignificant. I made phone calls and wrote emails, several of which I had been scared to do in years past, but delayed others. I found communities to teach in, but often stepped into the waters with extreme caution - afraid of what may lie beneath the surface. With one foot in the world and the other standing on an eroding shore I’ve felt confusion of who the “player” will be that presently avoids the spotlight on our collective stage. So at the onset of 2023, this year of the personal, I’m moving into my tradition of meditative hibernation. Depriving myself of nourishment, no food for the body or the personality for several days. I’ve been asked why by students, family and friends. The first year of this tradition, it was to prove I could do it. The second year it was to exceed the challenges of the first year. This third year of retreat I’ve had no satisfactory answer. As I consider most “3’s” in a cycle, it is a year of felt sensibility. I know this time to be important, perhaps essential, though words do it little service. I hope to be reminded of what is left when wants are stripped away. Winter can be desolate but, unlike a summer desert, the possibility of life emerging is a product of patience and conservation. I look forward to seeing you on the other side of tomorrow.
👁❤️🙏
Noah
-
PS: If you are interested in practicing Yoga & Movement with me:
I will be returning to Evolve Yoga in Paoli, PA on December 3rd 2:30-4:30pm for a “Great Seasonal Practice”
Inspired by Dharma Mittra’s model of the Maha Sadhana, this practice will feature material from many of my teachers from years past including Nevine Michaan, Abbie Galvin, Joan White and Simon Park.
-
This “Great Seasonal Practice” will include sections focusing on breathing, meditation, posture and movement, informed by the energy of the season and bridged together to facilitate an experience of “Union.”
Visit Evolve's website to reserve your space
-
I’m adding to my schedule of small group classes (limited to 4 participants) at my partner Kaeti Frady’s massage and bodywork studio in Germantown, Philadelphia Root and Branch Bodywork.
Sunday 8:20am/11:40am are currently available for interested parties; please respond to this email if you are interested in joining our small, rapidly growing community.
I request $20 for a drop in, $170 for a 10 class commitment. Financial accommodations can be made by request, include this information in your email if this applies to you.
-
Kaeti is offering her own small group classes with 2 different offerings each week — her Align class will be offered on Thursday evenings at 6:00pm, and her Flex class will be offered on Saturdays at 10:30am. Class descriptions are available on the links above, and scheduling is live on the scheduling page. Class sizes will be limited to 4 students.
-
I continue to enjoy offering private lessons (in person and online) on breathing, movement, meditation and also music/violin and am happy to schedule via email.
Kaeti Frady is available to book for massage and therapeutic bodywork via the Root and Branch website
Image: Joe Longo