Thoughts From Annie

Thoughts from Annie Clearing the Weeds of Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Ableism, and Economic Injustice Dear Friends, If you follow my writing, you may have noticed that I haven’t been blogging as much lately. I’ve invited guest bloggers, pulled from my archives, and written lighter pieces, like the one about the yoga studio’s 15-year anniversary.…

Thoughts from Annie This month, Annie has invited guest blogger Michelle Johnson-Weider to share her thoughts. Michelle first took refuge in the Tibetan Buddhist Karma Kagyu tradition in 1996, and in January 2013, received the Five Mindfulness Trainings with the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center in the Vietnamese Zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. She…

Thoughts from Annie Celebrating 15 Years! Dear Friends, This week we are very happy to be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Circle Yoga Cooperative (CYC). The very first day of teaching in the current building was March 17, 2003. Of course, it wasn’t yet the studio we all know and love. That day, I offered…

Thoughts from Annie This month, Annie has invited guest blogger Kaira Jewel Lingo to share her thoughts. Kaira Jewel teaches Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and compassion, with a focus on activists, people of color, artists, educators, families, and youth. She was an ordained nun of 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, and is…

Thoughts from Annie Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Thoughts on Skillful Means So, if you’re seeking to develop a just society, they say, the important thing is to get there, and the means are really unimportant; any means will do so long as they get you there? they may be violent,…

Thoughts from Annie This month, Annie has invited guest blogger Sara Mahon to share her thoughts. Sara is Annie’s daughter and just started an Interdisciplinary Studies graduate degree program. She has been writing more personal narratives in her courses, and wanted to share some insights into her own experiences she had over the past couple…

What To Do If Someone Is Severing Your Limbs with a Two-Handed Saw Dear Friends, I have acted out of anger many times in my life. I’m embarrassed to admit that as a young girl, anger caused me to spray cleaning fluid at my sister, and as a young mother anger had me throwing an…

Thoughts from Annie This month, Annie has invited guest blogger Linda Loranger to share her thoughts. Linda is a long-time Circle Yoga student, a Year of Mindfulness graduate, and a regular participant in the Wednesday 6:30am sangha at the studio. Annie will return next month. The Beauty of Impermanence by Linda Loranger Nature’s first green…

I Am Not a Cow (Or How to Stop Chewing Your Cud!) Dear Friends, One of my most embarrassing childhood moments happened during my first year in middle school. I was called out for chewing gum in class, and, after spitting out my wad, made to read a poem in front of my first period…

Instructions for Paddleboard Yoga and Standing Up to Injustice The Hard Questions How should I be contributing to the world? I ask myself this question on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. Am I doing the right things? Am I doing enough? As the world seems to be getting more divisive and scary, I consider these…