illumine Summer 2017

SUMMER SUMMER 2017 2017

VOL. VOL. 4 4 NO. NO. 22

ELEVATING ELEVATING COMMUNITY COMMUNITY

Nourish

Teacher Feature:

Patricia Moreno

Yoga Therapy Summit Breakfast of Champions

Contents 16

Sanskrit

Features Teacher Feature: Patricia Moreno

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My Summer Break at 48

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Sanskrit: Posana

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Community Artist Profile

28 Flavor

18

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Sutra in the City

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Musings from the Mat

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Escapes Seventeen

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Breakfast of Champions

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Excerpt: Grace without God

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Light in the Darkness

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Teacher Feature

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Cover: Green juice recipe by Mary Carol Fitzgerald.

See page 30.

Photo by Mary Carol Fitzgerald MaryCarolFitzgerald.com 4

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SUMMER 2017

With love This issue has been cooking for a long time. The theme is NOURISH and we hope it you find it good food for the soul.

The theme brought up a lot of ideas on what truly is nourishing, and it was not all about food. Our writers went straight for the soul.

One thing that nourishes my soul is learning. Whether it’s through Audible (currently my most used form of consumption), conferences/workshops/ classes (which are my favorite), reading, conversation or jumping into something new by getting my hands dirty, I love learning!

Over the years I’ve met with nutritionists, health coaches, ayurvedic consultants and more because I’m pretty curious about improving my health.

Almost everyone mentions digestion. One of them may have even asked for “proof” of digestion in an effort to tell if my digestive system was working properly. (Hint: it was not appropriate dinner conversation!)

No matter how wholesome, organic and good-for-you the food we consume is, it is the digesting that really matters. On a physical level, this might not be a savory (excuse the pun!) thing to consider. But truly, food is only nourishing if your body can break it down and absorb it.

I am working on building in the time and discipline to integrate and more deeply absorb into my life the information and knowledge I am voraciously consuming. Being nourished by what I enjoy consuming is an art and skill.

One of the most life changing experiences of 2017 so far was attending the Archangel Academy, founded by Giovanni Marsico. The next event is the Archangel Summit in Toronto on September 9. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially mission driven, big vision and learning loving people.

I hope you find something juicy in this issue to consume that is nourishing and inspiring.

POKÉ OUR WAY. POKÉ YOUR WAY. NO DAIRY. NO GLUTEN. NO NUTS. NO ARTIFICIAL ANYTHING. NO PROBLEM. POKÉ BOWLS AND WRAPS. JUICE AND SMOOTHIE BAR. KONA COLD BREW. HOUSE MADE SWEETS.

Lourdes Paredes, Founder / Publisher / Producer

SUMMER 2017

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Contributors Volume 4, Issue 2 Summer 2017

What do you love about summer?

I love the opportunities to spend extra quality time with my son at the botanical gardens near our home.

-Michael Johnson, ERYT-500 is a lead instructor in the Asheville Yoga Center.

Founder and Publisher Lourdes Paredes Editorial Consultants Abby Hart Katie O’Shaughnessy Kelsey Podgorski Editorial Board Abby Hart Jim Kulackoski Katie O’Shaughnessy Lourdes Paredes Heidi Schlumpf Siddhartha Shah Print Design Jason Campbell

I love the less structured nature of summertime and that feeling of expansiveness that comes with longer days and better weather.

Every year, my family and I travel to Northern California, and we take to the healthy, outdoorsy culture. I try to hold onto that feeling all year.

-Katherine Ozment is the author of Grace Without God.

I love going to Chicago’s community art shows and events.

-Debby Spitzer is an educational consultant at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She has worked on various literacy and assessment programs.

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Web Design Laura Fairman Artwork Jillian Schiavi Ideation Nina Foley Writers/Contributors Maggie Bieritz Tracy Bleier Debi Buzil Dana Michelle Cook Mary Carol Fitzgerald Elena Flores Rector Michael Johnson Meera Sanghani Jorgensen Areta Kohout Avanti Kumar Singh Claire Mark Vanessa McClure Patricia Moreno Katherine Ozment Shruthi Reddy Debby Spitzer Pam Udell Katie Wilkes Distribution Jim Kulackoski (Milwaukee) Callie Munson Meggie Smith

SUMMER 2017

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Community

SUTRA IN THE CITY

A Calm Indifference

An exercise in non-judgment and compassion

by Debi Buzil

H

oly Cow...It’s Holy Cubs Madness!

I have third row seats behind the dugout to watch the Chicago Cubs play the St. Louis Cardinals. I bid in a live auction at my kids’ school benefit, and I won!

I’ve never won an auction before, and boy, was it a thrill. But as I woke the next morning, reality seeped in.

Here’s how it went down: The auctioneer started hawking Cubs tickets, creating a buzz of excitement for these incredibly expensive seats. I felt my dear father’s spirit descending into my body, from my head down to my toes.

I had a feeling of certainty in my actions as I raised my paddle, but I was outbid.

Then a second pair of tickets came up, and if I raised my paddle again, the tickets would be mine! And so it was!

Illustration by Graham Ebetsch

I felt shame for the way I acted, bouncing around the party like a crazy Cubs fan with her hair on fire. I couldn’t sleep because this issue stayed at the forefront of my mind. I thought, “Yoga toolbox, help me out! What am I to do?”

Guilt opposes spiritual growth. That’s for certain. The Yoga Sutras promote seeking a “calm indifference” toward ordinary highs and lows.

That’s right, getting caught neither in the rushes of the highs nor the bottomless pits of the lows. The back-and-forth play of pleasure and pain, desire and aversion, is addressed through practice. How do I calm the mind?

Oh yes, I realized, I can control the fluctuations of my mind through the cultivation of meditation practice.

Y

When the party ended, buyer’s remorse set in. What was I thinking? The bidding was so pleasurable, but the high was not sustainable.

The face value of the tickets was enough for three airline tickets to California!

oga Sutra 1:2, Yogas chitta vritti nirodha, tells us, “Yoga exists when we begin to still the mind.” The practice of yoga is a full-spectrum practice encompassing our relationship to our thought patterns, our body awareness and breath regulation and control. Yoga doesn’t tell us not to feel. We are to feel everything, the full spectrum of our lives. Then we learn to let these feelings and thoughts drift away through the asana and meditation practices. Life remains constant with its ups and downs, but through these practices—showing up on the mat or the meditation cushion—we become stronger.

I felt guilt about confusing the memory of my father—whom I miss so much—with a Cubs game. I felt guilt about the money and for having to choose a child to go to the game.

Why not take each incident in our life and use it for growth? This unrest with the Cubs tickets didn’t feel good to me. I had to shake myself up and comprehend the situation,

My hair, which I so carefully styled for this event, stood on end for the rest of the evening.

I had a buzz that made me feel alive and vital.

That is, until I realized I have a family of four and only two tickets. And that the ticket price for more tickets was way out of my ballgame.

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however uncomfortable, and then settle into the “what is.”

Pema Chodron talks about self-compassion and loving-kindness. I separated myself from the feelings of guilt and shame, and slowly began to understand where they came from.

It made me want to hug myself, make a clear decision and be done with it. Through this process, I decided to sell these killer tickets, cover my costs and move on.

Remember the happiness so many of us felt winning the World Series last fall? My childhood Cubs were of the 70’s-style, Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santos, Randy Huntley variety.

Every kid like me knew their names.

I went to the games with my dad. He had his favorite seats way up high near third base. He was the guy that bought a program, pulled out his pencil and put on his headset tuned to AM radio to hear the counts. Loving thoughts of my Dad, and his influence in my life played over in my head as I jumped up and down and raised the paddle. Of course it would be great to attend this game, but you know what? I can get some inexpensive tickets where my Dad used to sit, and bring the family.

I can add this experience to the list of small things that will make me stronger when the big things in life strike. The peace of mind I’ve attained through right action wins!

Debi Buzil is the leader of Chicago-based Kirtan group Devi 2000. She is a longtime teacher and student, and a mother of two.

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M U S I N G S F R O M T H E M AT Community

Eat Your Words

by Tracy Bleier

“Teach the children. We don’t matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin flowers. And the frisky ones—inkberry, lamb’s-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones—rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms.”

-Mary Oliver

Photo by Chris Bartlett

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Great words have always had a way of making me perk up, think differently, or stop me in my tracks. Beautiful language can be like food—the right words heard at the right time can be a type of nourishment. I have always loved the fact that the word Bhakti in yoga has, at its root, the word “buj,” which means to feed or to nourish—so fitting for a practice that is solely devoted to chanting the many names of the Divine. Buddha himself reserved a whole tenet of his path to liberation for speech. He called it “wise speech,” and its practice depends upon a vigilant awareness of not only what we say but how we say things.

It also requires awareness of what we choose not to say.

Several months ago for my husband’s birthday, I gave him the gift of a media-free month.

I vowed to stay away from social media for four weeks, a habit that was becoming chronic and insidious. I replaced screen time with

reading time. Phone checking for Monopoly. I had conversations that involved spoken sentences and hand gestures and pauses and silence. Real expression, not emojis.

It took maybe two days to realize fasting from my news feed was in many ways more of a gift for me. When I went back on social media, I did so sparingly, and I became more of a passerby and not a resident.

What replaced all that screen time was, well, time. Now, I am reading Mary Oliver’s collection of essays entitled “Upstream.” Even if you’ve never walked the beaches of Provincetown, or wandered through the woods as a child, or spent enough time outside to name each patch of grass or species of tree or insect or bird or reptile or fish, after reading just one page, you will certainly wish you had.

Those moments when I feel that nagging pull to grab my phone or get on with the business of my day, I stop and read, and I feel as if I have just increased my chance of seeing more beauty in the world—and maybe even an opportunity to see more of the world, period.

Tracy Bleier has been a successful studio owner and masterful teacher for two decades and is working on completing her first memoir.

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Community

ARTIST PROFILE

Dana Michelle Cook and Katie Wilkes Founders of Freeheart Creative

L

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ooking at our social media newsfeeds, mobile CNN alerts and TV screens, it’s hard to ignore. That sinking feeling of darkness living in so many corners of the world. That more harm is being done than good these days. That we, as women, seem to still be chasing the desire to just be seen and heard amidst it all.

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But we’ve seen the other side first-hand. Katie Wilkes, a humanitarian and media specialist, has stood with disaster survivors and seen the strength that carries them through the darkest of times. Dana Michelle Cook, a documentary filmmaker and television producer, has witnessed young girls discovering the power of their voice through her previous film “The Empowerment Project.”

As creators ourselves, it’s our duty and calling to bring the stories of hope and progress to life. Just last year, we decided to sync our joint love of storytelling and start Freeheart Creative.

Because we know there will never be a shortage of amazing women doing great work to make the world a better place, we’re creating a digital documentary series featuring those brave souls. We’ve traveled from Chicago to Kenya to Rwanda, and wherever we are, we see beauty born from pain and hardship before our own eyes.

A new documentary series about

brave women Watch the trailer at freeheartcreative.com

These stories of women making change? They’re right there under our noses. They just need to be illuminated. Perhaps you’re already a person who shines a light on them!

And the real beauty? We can keep sharing these stories for a long time to inspire women and teach them that yes, we can all do our part to make a difference.

For both of us, this is our dreams coming to life, and our free hearts are anxious to free other hearts however we can.

Katie Wilkes and Dana Michelle Cook are the founders of Freeheart Creative. They both call Chicago home in between their frequent travels. Find out more about the documentary series at freeheartcreative.com.

Photo by Cory Dewald/Freeheart Creative Photo by Travis Schoening

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Community

T E A C H E R F E AT U R E

Patricia Moreno

intenSati: Fitness for mind and body

by Vanessa McClure

P

atricia Moreno is a teacher who truly embodies transformation. She remembers a desire to change starting from a young age.

“I found exercise and started to really get active, and I felt great. I was strong, and I got popular, and my classes were packed,” she says about teaching group fitness, a path she began as a high schooler.

Reflecting back on her first several years of teaching, Moreno has had a very successful career.

She even had her “made it big” moment when she landed a daytime television show.

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The physical stamina it took to exercise wasn’t the challenge for her, she says, but the results were inconsistent, frustrating and confusing.

She recalls constantly “white knuckling” her way back to her goal weight, convinced that inside her was an overweight little girl, overrun with anxiety about what her viewers would think about her if she gained weight.

When it all started to feel like a losing fight, Moreno realized that her students and millions of people trying to lose weight across the country had to feel the same way.

“If I’m a professional and getting basically paid for this and I can’t win, there’s something here that, as an industry, we’re not talking about,” says Moreno.

So she gave herself a mission: Transform the way and the “why” behind working out.

She wondered, “How do we create lasting, sustainable, positive change in our lives on purpose—not just this constant struggle of forcing ourselves to diet and forcing ourselves to do these things to kind of fix from the outside?”

Moreno found a way to transform her fitness practice by putting her workout where her mouth is. She took a cue from one of the most prominent teachers of our time.

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“Deepak Chopra was talking about the words you say after the words ‘I am.’ Whatever you say after the words ‘I am’ becomes your selfconcept, your identity,” says Moreno.

“To not have the little voice in the back of my head that’s like, ‘You’re not good enough. You can’t do it—to have an hour without that was priceless,” says Fox.

She describes her lightbulb moment, a decision to create a practice where people can change their self-concept.

“You’re really breaking down not just the barriers of what your body is physically able to do, because talking and moving is a very challenging thing, but you’re breaking down the barriers in your mind,” she says.

Moreno believes long-lasting physical, mental and spiritual change is a combination of walking the walk and talking the talk. That’s the key to her intenSati method. intenSati is a fitness format that goes beyond movement by combining movement with language. She replaced the mental script she had spent years reciting to herself about how she was somehow meant to be an overweight person, with an empowering incantation said aloud and set to music and movement.

F

or example, students strike a pose with their arms extended high in the air while at the same time saying, “I am enough. I have enough,” to generate empowerment and activate gratitude.

Moreno says the combination of speech and movement brings people into a fully conscious state, leaving no room for the negative internal script to break through.

Student and intenSati teacher Amy Fox said taking the class began to free her from the exhausting, nearly constant cycle of self-doubt.

Moreno has seen intenSati grow across the country and the globe. She now has about 1,000 trained teachers like Fox spreading the method to students in their communities.

“Even to say that it’s been life changing is an understatement. The greatest thing that she’s done as both a mentor and a teacher is to live this practice,” Fox says.

Moreno keeps adapting her vision to meet the needs of people seeking long-lasting change.

Her current project is The Practice

by Patricia Moreno, a guided online program combined with in-person events and group classes. Students who enroll receive short, daily messages from Moreno. She says it helps activate the state of mind needed for gratitude, love and success. Taking an intenSati class activates those states of mind through movement and incantations.

“We’re really talking about the power of priming, and priming yourself to bring your best self each day versus just this long-term, out-there, results-oriented living,” she says.

She says approaching change from an attitude of self-love, self-worth and gratitude is what truly transforms people’s minds, spirits and bodies. “To practice deliberate effort, conscious effort, we can really develop ourselves into being really who we want to be.

And it’s such a privilege as a human being to be able to make those decisions,” says Moreno.

Photos courtesy of Patricia Moreno

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My Summer Break, at 48 How an unexpected opportunity led me to strength and growth

by Debby Spitzer

M didn’t help.

ay 2015 was a low point in my life. I had quit my job to move to Texas where my husband had accepted a job, and then he lost it. Our marriage was not on the strongest footing, and when he lost his job, it certainly

I had also recently become an empty nester, so I felt I had just lost the most important job of my entire life: taking care of my children.

My husband traveled a lot, so I was the one who handled all the kids’ day-to-day activities as well as the small emergencies, such as the trips to school to bring a spare set of glasses or forgotten homework. My children were the center of my life, and now it felt like they didn’t need me anymore. I was adrift, and to make matters worse, I questioned if my husband needed me and how much I really needed him.

My sister Pam happened to mention one day that her friend Julie, who lived in Santa Monica, CA, was looking for a roommate. I loved Santa Monica. As a joke I said, “I’ll be Julie’s roommate for a month.” Pam replied, “You could ask her. She would probably love it.” I was about to laugh and say I was kidding when I stopped to think about it. It was the first time in 24 years that I wasn’t working at least part-time. My two kids were both in college, so I had very few daily responsibilities. I wondered if I could actually take the leap and live in California.

I told him I had the opportunity to go to Santa Monica, and he actually took it better than I thought. He wasn’t happy but understood why I wanted to go and that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So I packed my bags and boarded the plane to Santa Monica. As we took off, I thought, “I can’t believe I actually did it.” I was ecstatic.

Then as reality crept in, I was suddenly nervous and uncertain at the thought of a month in Santa Monica alone (aside from Julie) with no job and no friends. I had no definite plans—what was I going to do with my time? The flight was smooth, but my thoughts pinged back and forth in my head like a roller coaster.

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n Santa Monica, Julie was waiting for me with a big smile and a hug. Her apartment was in a great location, walking distance of downtown, the beach and the Third Street Promenade. Julie told me about ClassPass. It allowed me to take classes at any ClassPass studio, and so I decided to try it all. I took beach yoga, spinning, barre classes and even a cross training class designed by Navy SEALs. I did so with varying degrees of success, but it didn’t matter—I could say I tried it.

I also didn’t know a soul in Santa Monica with the exception of Julie, so I attended the classes with complete anonymity. I can’t even explain how freeing that was. For the first time in my life, I had no one to please but myself.

We all need to have the courage to embrace change

I’ve always thought of myself as an upbeat, generally happy person; however, not only was I not happy, I realized that I was miserable. Maybe I could turn this around in Santa Monica. I spoke to Julie, who said she’d love renting to me for a month. The wheels were in motion, and my heart started racing with excitement. But that excitement gave way to nervousness when I realized the next step was to talk to my husband about this temporary move.

I hate conflict. I am the consummate “good girl.” In my marriage, I often told myself that I should pick my battles or that I would get what I wanted later. I built up a lot of resentment and anger because of this, and though my husband and I were working on our relationship, we still had a long way to go. I had no idea how he would react to being apart for an extended period of time.

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I was also working on a book, so I would explore different places to write.

I wrote in a journal and completed exercises from a book called Goddesses Never Age by Christine Northrup. I loved going to the farmers’ markets and walking down to the Third Street Promenade to shop and people watch. I even went to a few movies alone. Again, knowing that I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew made this easy to do. I really wasn’t lonely. I woke up every morning thinking, “What do I want to do today?” It was fabulous.

One night, I was walking to the Third Street Promenade at dusk, and a woman came out of a hotel and started walking in front of me. After a few minutes I realized she was walking alone, too. I debated if I should speed up and ask her if she wanted to walk with me. I thought, “Why not?” The worst thing that could happen was that she would think I was a crazy person and say no and run. I sped up, tapped her on the

SUMMER 2017

Healing Samurai LLC Presents shoulder and said, “It looks like we are both walking alone; do you want to walk together?” She replied, “Sure.”

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We started walking and she told me she lived in Italy and was in Santa Monica on business. It turned out we had a lot in common. We both loved travel and books. We opted to browse a nearby Barnes and Noble, and we shared the titles of our favorite books with each other as we strolled the aisles. We walked around a few other shops and decided to go for a drink.

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It was like we had been friends for years. After a few hours, we were both tired and sorry the night was ending. She was in Santa Monica for two more days, so we made plans to meet for dinner the following night. We picked up the conversation right where we left off, and I knew I had made a friend.

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We were both thinking about the next chapter in our lives. Our children were older, and while we worried about whether they would find jobs after granduating college, we didn’t have the daily worries and responsibilities we used to. We talked about how we had our lives planned out when we were younger but how “life happened,” and things didn’t turn out the way we thought. Some good, some bad, but overall, we both felt pretty lucky.

We exchanged emails and kept in touch. We even went out for dinner a few months ago when she came to Chicago on business. I gained a friend all because I took the risk of asking a stranger to walk with me.

I was lucky to have the opportunity to go on this journey. I can’t say I am glad that I went through a difficult period, but I never would have had the courage to spend a month in Santa Monica alone if I hadn’t.

Now when I want to relax, I think about my trip. When I have to do something new and I’m afraid I won’t be very good at it, I think, “It won’t be as bad as taking that Navy SEALs exercise class with a bunch of 20-year-olds. I survived that, right?” More importantly, I now look forward to new experiences.

Trying something new forces us to grow. There is a Tibetan saying that adversity can lead to opportunity. My trip to Santa Monica was a great opportunity. I renewed my body and spirit. I returned home with a sense of personal strength looking forward to new possibilities. I was thankful that my two babies had grown into confident young men. I like to think I had something to do with that.

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I was able to reconnect with my husband with an open mind and open heart. I also now know that I am a fun person to be with, which was a huge realization for me. We all need to have the courage to embrace change—you never know what you might learn about yourself and what you’re capable of.

Debby Spitzer is an educational consultant for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She loves being part of the yoga community and sharing stories that help others.

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773.895.4415 688 N. Milwaukee Ave Unit 201, illuminechicago.com Chicago, IL 6064215

Poṣaṇa

Nourishment

by Michael Johnson

T

his year, I was able to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mother and father over a nourishing breakfast (poṣaṇa bhṛti) at a nice restaurant overlooking the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. Although Mother’s Day might not be enjoyable for some, I find it to be an excellent opportunity to reflect and appreciate our mothers. Without their nourishment, we could neither thrive nor exist.

In order to feel deep gratitude for someone, I have found it quite helpful to contemplate their absence first. Had my mother not been able to nourish me with her kindness, compassion, perseverance and patience for all of these years, I would either not be here or else I’d be much worse off. I am inconceivably blessed to

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have been well nourished (puṣṭi) by my mother on many levels. Furthermore, I am extraordinarily lucky to have a chance to thank her for this in print. Thank you, Mom! Unfortunately, my family and I feel the absence of my wife’s mother Sue quite profoundly. She was given a grim diagnosis of stage four cancer, but was able to persevere for nearly five years after her diagnosis.

I watched Sue exhale her last breath as her daughter held her hand. In a way, we both felt relieved that her suffering came to an end.

Sue passed away about a month before our son Matthew was born. She never got a chance to hold him in her arms and bestow the immea-

surable love she wanted to offer him. Though my wife has sustained one of the deepest wounds that I can imagine, she ceaselessly nourishes Matthew with an extraordinary amount of love at all times. In a way, Sue’s light and love continue to shine through my wife, despite the sadness she feels in her mother’s absence.

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hough we might imagine that people somehow continue on to unknown realms or other dimensions of existence after death, I find the evidence that people depend on a functioning brain and nervous system for life rather compelling. Our death could possibly be the very liberation (mokṣa) from ceaseless suffering (saṃsāra) that the yogis of ancient India strived for (śramana).

Although I cannot know for sure know how long we have left or what happens after death, I do know that our time here is precious.

Each moment is an opportunity to appreciate that we have nourishment (poṣaṇa), and by doing so, we can further nourish ourselves and the ones we love with our gratitude (kṛtajñā).

In honor of all our mothers, here is the Great Liberation Mantra from the Ṛig Veda:

oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣhṭi vardhanam urvā rukamiva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣhīya mā’mṛtāt

om worshipping the three worlds sweet smelling and well nourished like a cucumber that falls from the vine such death is the greatest liberation from death I first learned this mantra from Śrī Swāmi Saccidāanada in 2001. We sang it 108 times on the full moon, before making a meal, when celebrating birthdays and when he passed away the following year in 2002. I find that it liberates from the fear of death, the kind of fear that keeps us from living fully.

May we all be liberated from suffering and appreciate the extraordinary gift of life while it is here.

Michael Johnson ERYT-500 is a lead instructor in the Asheville Yoga Center’s 200 and 300 hour programs. He is a father, husband, artist, student and co-founder of the musical project Ösel. Learn more about Michael’s work at clearlightyoga.com, oselmusic.com and youryoga.com.

For more resources from Michael Johnson, please visit illumineMagazine.net.

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Artwork and photo by Jillian Schiavi

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Light in the darkness

By Katie Wilkes

How to see brightness among the world’s shadows

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he June 21st summer solstice officially kicked off the season so many of us crave for months—hot sunshine, cool breezes and a reminder that winter actually doesn’t last all 12 months in Chicago.

But for some, summer isn’t always so bright.

Studies show that one in 10 people suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in summer months, even though the condition is most often associated with the winter months. For others, summer can be a reminder of a tough life milestone. Some may suddenly feel dismal after checking Facebook’s newsfeed or reading the latest breaking headlines.

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Photograph by Ben White

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It’s becoming clear lately: there’s a lot of heaviness in the world. It’s in- “Katie, you can’t skip from page 20 to 70 in a book, right?” my business credibly easy to spiral into all the things going wrong—that something partner Dana told me. has failed, is not enough, is broken, impossible.

“No, of course not.” I said. “Why?” According to CNBC, the online therapy institution Talkspace reported a “seven-fold spike in traffic after election night” this past “You have to go through the motions first—the literal emotions. Feel it, November. Several of the organization’s therapists reported incoming honor it and then you’ll eventually be ready to tackle the to-do’s.” concerns such as people feeling hopeless about the future, scared for their families and profoundly sad about the results as early as 7:00 p.m. Those common self-help adages I mentioned at the beginning of this that evening. article? They all speak to taking action. But that can be hard to do when you don’t have the drive to see the possibility and beauty that No wonder we are all feeling the gravity of our surroundings. It might can lie ahead. seem like this heaviness will last forever, but no feeling ever does.

It’s action, we all say, when we have a deep yearning to make change.

You’ve heard it before. “Find the silver lining!” “Don’t stop believing!”

When we feel the burning words, “I need to do something about this!”

“Look on the bright side!” But be honest, how many times have you repeat inside our heads. rolled your eyes or wrinkled your nose in response?

There is no shortage of action needed. But the truth is, you cannot It can get downright annoying if you just aren’t feeling it. “But how create action without having hope for something to get better in the do I even start to feel better?” the mind wants to know. And at the first place. In that order. rate we consume outside information, it seems we now need an hourly reminder of hope.

Action without hope can feel inauthentic. When you truly believe in the potential of something—your work, your ideas, your country— A few months ago, I returned from a place where it seems the weather your action will come from a true place. Your drive will be inherent. mimics summertime the whole year: East Africa. It’s where bright, beautiful occurrences are often overshadowed with misconceptions of That’s the exact inner drive we need to keep going when we face the poverty, philanthropy and assumptions from the outside world. grey days, too.

My business partner and I were on a mission to capture the exact stories of hope and possibility we know are in every corner of this planet but that are often overshadowed by the negative. As part of our new documentary series, we want to give the world the reminder it needs— that yes, we can be a solution to problems around the world if we have faith in change in the first place.

Commit to an open mind and open heart.

I needed that same hope a year ago when I stopped playing dreamer and started taking bold action. I cut the safety net of my nine-to-five job and climbed through the hole of uncertainty into the role of co-founder of Freeheart Creative. And I took a massive leap of faith I could only feel inside.

We are in a fascinating time right now where voices are speaking up louder and clearer more than ever. We are not merely witnessing change, we are in the thick of creating it.

But having optimism wasn’t a given. It was intentional. I knew I had to be open and willing to see the possibility of this new endeavor, or it would never work. Telling myself, “No way, no how,” was an automatic ticket to ensuring what I really wanted to happen wouldn’t happen.

Look at the people standing up for their beliefs to participate in marches taking place across the world. Count the number of people getting involved in climate change and human rights activism. Look at the social media campaigns being created to amplify voices of refugees.

This sort of energy in motion doesn’t just magically appear on its own.

It requires action to effect the change we so desperately want. But the thing is, we can only act from a genuine place if we take the first step: finding hope within ourselves.

H

ere are a few tips from my recent travels that might help you discover those silver linings:

Don’t skip the pages.

Creators and change makers face a lot of uncertainty. As an entrepreneur, I come face-to-face with anxiety often. One day, I was feeling particularly overwhelmed, behind in my work and just down. My mind wanted to skip ahead and work, work, work, but the rest of me wasn’t having it.

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It was when I decided to start looking for hope that I found it.

I’ve had some practice with this, having been deployed to national disaster sites as a humanitarian worker. The moments that kept me going were the ones I saw in the thick of hardship and crisis. Communities would rise stronger, neighbors took care of each other. The grim backdrop of tragedy is necessary to see the contrast of that golden inspiration. We only know light because there is darkness.

Once you get into that practice of finding hope with an open mind and heart, it becomes easier.

This is an ongoing leap of faith as our team continues to build our business endeavor. I have to keep finding hope when motivation gets bogged down and the air becomes thick.

But I keep choosing to see it. I found hope when I met my business partner and “soul sister” through mutual friends. I found it when a former colleague offered to become our first angel donor without us illuminechicago.com

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asking. I found it when our first story subject allowed our crew to capture her story alongside her in Kenya. I could do this. We could do this. Staying open, we can continue doing this, too.

Our team has seen hope in the eyes of college students, disaster survivors, pioneering women. In our upcoming documentary episodes, we feature women who have called on their open hearts to create epic action in their corners of the world.

In each of their stories, we’ve witnessed a common denominator: their bravery in continuing to believe things can and will get better when it can feel wrenching to do so.

Start with the outside first, then work your way in.

Sometimes it’s easy to see hope in other people before you can see it in yourself.

In East Africa, we didn’t always look like the local people. But on the inside, we found deeper similarities than we thought possible. We all want to be seen as valuable. We all want to share our experiences. We all want the best for our families.

Looking into the eyes of the people we met, it was hard not to feel hopeful. When you’re able to recognize a part of yourself in someone else, it can be the reminder you need that we are all capable of feeling hope, too.

Hope showed up when we met dozens of young girls who shared one bedroom in an orphanage, oftentimes sleeping two to a bed. But because they had a single light bulb, they could study for school even after the sun set.

Hope showed up during a 16-year-old’s 10-mile trek to school through dangerous sugarcane fields, susceptible to wildlife and human predators. Because she had received a bicycle, she could now ride faster and safer, saving time and traveling with less fear.

Hope showed up when a toddler’s fate changed from “malnourished and in critical care” to “healthy and thriving” because his mother had learned how to garden to feed her children at a local rural training.

We are not the exception to good things happening to us. At the end of every day, you can always find five good things. Remind yourself that this is part of the journey.

Sometimes it feels like the hardest work of all is to believe in possibility. It takes a massive mind shift—a change and choice—that only you can make. How will you choose to help shed light?

Katie Wilkes is the co-founder of Freeheart Creative, dedicated to sharing brave stories of female trailblazers to inspire the next generation of leaders to change the world. She lives in Chicago’s West Loop. Follow FreeheartCreative on social media at @freeheartcreative

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Reflect on the inner space and regain balance.

Affiliates in Counseling

Psychotherapy Children, Adults and Couples and

Psychoanalysis

Gavin Mullen, Psy.D. Chet Mirman, Ph.D. John Gobby, Psy.D. Jason Price, LFMC

910 Skokie Blvd. Northbrook

847.480.0300

SUMMER 2017

Book Review

by Maggie Bieritz

You Don’t Need Permission

I

f you’ve been waiting for someone to tell you it’s okay to abandon your relentless pursuit of perfection, the wait is over. But much like Dorothy finding her way out of Oz, you don’t need special shoes or approval. You can do it any time you want.

the most to us close, letting them know us as we truly are.

That’s what you’ll learn reading “Present Over Perfect,” the latest book by best-selling author Shauna Niequist.

All of which has me wondering what would happen if I hosted a dinner party and didn’t dust before my guests arrive. Because here’s the thing: I don’t dust.

The author invites us into the mayhem and mess of authentic life, reminding us that for most people, having it all is a façade. Your house can be spotless, your kids can be wellbehaved, your yard can be landscaped and your parties can be worthy of A-list celebrities.

But if it’s all about the hustle with little left over for connection, is it worth it?

Through a series of essays, we learn that Niequist knows a little something about hustle. Writing about the power of the word “no,” she tells us of a time when she said “yes” over and over, leaving her feeling busy and exhausted. I don’t know a single person who is a stranger to that feeling.

So why do it—why not accept that being present and experiencing the joy of each moment is so much greater than trying to be perfect? When we peek behind the curtain of perfection, we often find the burned-out shell of a human. So maybe now is the time to take another road.

Writing in a way that makes her feel at once an expert and a trusted friend, Niequist encourages us all to stop trying to be so productive and instead draw those who matter SUMMER 2017

“Love,” she writes, “doesn’t allow hiding. Love invites whole selves and whole stories out into the light. Friendship sees into us, into our secrets, into our elaborate games and excuses.”

Niequist says that’s okay because what’s important isn’t how tidy my home is. It’s the connections we make across the table. No one will remember the cobwebs in the corner, but they’ll remember the laughter. They’ll remember the stories. They might remember that I burned the rolls, but they’ll also remember that we scraped off a bit of the char and they tasted just fine.

“Present Over Perfect” is your invitation to burn the rolls and have a great dinner anyway.

Maybe it’s time for us all to live in a way that’s marked by grace, love, rest and play.

“Present Over Perfect” by Shauna Niequist.

240 pages. Zondervan. 2016. $22.99

Love invites whole selves and whole stories out into the light. illuminechicago.com

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A DV ERTI S ER PRO FI LE

Heal T hyself (and others)

By Avanti Kumar-Singh, MD

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SUMMER 2017

Yoga Therapy Summit illuminates and elevates the growing field of yoga therapy s more and more people search for healing systems to integrate with modern medicine, the popularity of yoga continues to grow exponentially. Yoga therapy expands the reach of yoga beyond the studio as a holistic approach to wellness that promotes the health and healing of the body, mind and spirit. In yoga therapy, the appropriate application of various tools in a therapeutic context create profound shifts that allow the mind to quiet, the emotions to balance and the body to activate its own self-healing.

Yoga therapy is part of a living tradition which continues to evolve and adapt to the cultures in which it is practiced.

A growing body of scientific evidence supports the efficacy of yoga, which helps solidify its acceptance as a valuable therapeutic and healing system.

As yoga therapy becomes more popular, the need for welltrained and qualified practitioners increases. The Yoga Therapy Summit provides an opportunity for yoga students, yoga teachers and yoga therapists to expand their knowledge, exchange ideas and create community in the emerging field of yoga therapy.

Slated for Chicago September 29 through October 1, 2017, the Yoga Therapy Summit brings together a group of highly qualified teachers who have studied in the Krishnamacharya/ TKV Desikachar lineage. You will learn and experience the tools of yoga therapy through lectures and practices led by experienced teachers who have been inspired by this lineage, including Clare Collins, J.J. Gormley, Kate Holcombe, Leslie Kaminoff, Gary Kraftsow, Richard Miller, Laura Jane Murphy, Sonia Nelson, Larry Payne and Amy Wheeler.

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Photo by Hans Vivek

Expand your limits, deepen your understanding and knowledge of yoga therapy, and move closer to your personal and professional peak through yoga therapy. Visit yogatherapysummit.com to learn more.

illuminechicago.com 23

Slow Down, Rest, Be Still, Find Peace…

By Areta Kohout

W

hen I was growing up in Chicago, my parents gave us kids the gift of spending our summers on a farm in Wisconsin with my mother’s parents. My grandparents were immigrants from Ukraine who lived a simple life, but they made each day seem magical as they worked around their 10-acre farmette.

Animals were tended to, gardens cultivated, bees kept, meals created, laundry hand-washed and hung to dry, jams and pickles canned, barns fixed, and the aroma of baked breads lured you out of bed in the mornings.

Though they worked hard, they also made time for rest. I still remember my grandfather coming in every afternoon from his farming or carpentry work or beekeeping to eat a lunch made by my grandmother from produce straight out of the garden. After lunch, he would take his daily rest. We would be sent outside to play so that my grandfather could have his quiet time.

He lived to 92, largely because he was in tune with the rhythm of his body. He was physically busy and spent most of his time in nature, and he allowed himself the time he needed to rejuvenate daily. He instinctively knew that lying down for 20-30 minutes would nourish his body and mind, giving him the biochemical kick he needed to get through the rest of his day. For him, rest was about self-nourishment.

Renowned yoga teacher Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T., offers an explanation of this tendency in her online course “Deep Rest - A 21 Day Challenge.” She states, “Our western way of thought is that we have trained our minds that success is doing. We have devalued sleep/rest and think we can just push through—that our day has more meaning if we stay busy.”

We underestimate fatigue, which often presents itself as emotional stress. Yet we are continually pushing through the day with work demands, family issues, friends, social media, deadlines and constant messaging. When do we shut down? How can we find the time to reboot ourselves when we are not even willing to shut down our smart phones?

The good news is that 20 minutes of daily rest might be the key to rejuvenating your body and mind, and it may profoundly improve your lifestyle.

I asked Lizzie Lasater, M.Arch.RYT, and daughter of yoga teacher Judith Hanson Lasater, about the 20-minute time period. Recently, mother and daughter have teamed up to offer online training for teachers and students. She explains:

“For the average person, it takes the body 15 minutes to relax or to reach the state of Pratayahara. The next stage, Asunia, is when we move into our body clock—our body time—allowing for reThe practice of Ayurveda explains that our bodies have a 24-hour programming of our parasympathetic nervous system. This shift into biological rhythm, and that it knows when it needs rest. Rather than the parasympathetic system is important because it helps stabilize taking the rest we need, often the middle of the day finds people and improve our long-term functions, such as our immune system, reaching for a coffee because their bodies are telling them that they our circulatory system, our digestive system and our hormones, are tired. including fertility,” says Lasater. “After 20 minutes of rest, your 24 illuminechicago.com

SUMMER 2017

mind goes into an empty state, similar to wiping a chalkboard clean, giving you the ability to think more clearly and reframe our focus.”

The old world tradition of an afternoon siesta dates back thousands of years for Spain, Italy, much of Europe and most of Latin America—and is still alive today. The term “siesta” comes from “hora sexton,” which means the “sixth hour.”

This tradition was once thought to be a physical necessity to restore our depleted energy levels.

In the U.S. resting is not as valued in our cultural tradition—at least not yet. But we’re gradually moving closer to this lifestyle as our demands are now 24/7. Some companies, such as Google, are embracing a nap-friendly schedule because they believe that it directly increases productivity. In fact, back in 1992, a detailed NASA study found that a 26-minute nap improved performance 34 percent and alertness 54 percent.

L

auren Goggins, founder and owner of Bottom Line Yoga (BLY) caters to corporate clients in Chicago’s Loop. With two yoga studio locations (Chicago Board of Trade and the Lyric Opera House), the appeal is as diverse as her clients. Goggins has taken her traditional yoga studio and expanded it to include a napping/ meditation lounge during the midday hours.

Ian Eccleston, a regular at BLY, says, “I often found that I was groggy in the afternoon. By taking a 15-20 minute nap/meditation session, I found that I was more alert and productive for the rest of my day—and happier to boot. I make sure I work the rest time into my schedule.”

Some professionals hold memberships to BLY studio just for the nap space, so that they can rest in the afternoons. BLY provides the space equipped with Japanese style blankets, bolsters, eye pillows and access to guided meditation apps, if interested.

Goggins herself is a fan of daily rest time. “My body’s natural cycle is to want something between 1 and 4 p.m. Some people reach for a coffee, some work out, others push through, but I go and lie down in our nap space,” she says.

The Lasaters launched their newest online course, “Deep Rest - A 21-day Challenge” in January 2017. Lizzie Lasater confirmed the benefits of rest as we spoke about my months-long struggle for sleep.

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I began the online courses offered by the Lasaters, and in the depths of my stress, the section based on Judith Lasater’s book “Living Your Yoga,” relaxation found me. It prompted me to start a daily rest/ savasana practice for 20 minutes. I found that I desperately needed this rest time. It was like plugging into an outlet to restore and recharge my over-stimulated body and mind.

“As a society, too many of us carry around and store untreated loss, anxiety and stress. A deep, daily rest is a form of meditation,” says Lizzie Lasater. “The resting pose allows us to experience how much we hold in. The silence allows us to reframe our focus and retrain pathways into the brain to form a relationship with rest and with our bodies.”

Practice Suggestions •

In the morning, schedule a time during the day when you can rest for twenty minutes.

•

If traveling, close your eyes as soon as you board the plane until it levels off after take off or for the twentyminute descent.

•

Make yourself a priority. When you get home, tell the family you need twenty minutes alone, then go and practice before you start dinner, mail, chores and tending to the family’s needs.

•

Turn off your cell phone. That text or call can wait a few minutes.

• •

Recite mantras for daily living, rest and relaxation.

Mantras for daily living, rest and relaxation from “Living Your Yoga” by Judith Hanson Lasater •

I will nourish myself by making time for a 20-minute relaxation everyday.

•

Never pass up a chance to do nothing.

•

When I think I don’t have time today for a 20-minute relaxation, that is a sure sign I really need it.

•

Rest is different from sleep, and I need both every day.

•

Lying in Relaxation Pose is an act of love and courage.

For more meditaion resources, please visit illumineMagazine.net.

illuminechicago.com 25

Seventeen.

By Meera Sanghani Jorgensen

I

wasn’t 17 yet, but somehow I’d gotten my hands on a copy of the magazine for teens with back-to-school makeup, hair, fashion and dating advice. My Indian immigrant parents would never have bought it for me. If it wasn’t related to my education, I could expect that I would be denied the money to buy it. But, here I was with a glossy magazine with pictures of beautiful and happy girls.

And if I just did things right, I, too, could be beautiful and happy. It was that simple in my young mind.

The moment of reckoning inevitably happened when I looked in the mirror. What I saw was frizzy curly hair, thick bushy eyebrows, skinny arms, small breasts, wide hips, a soft belly and thick thighs. How was I going to be one of them?

It wasn’t going to be easy, but I wanted to make it happen.

This was my first experience in denying my body as it was and aborting the truly fulfilling process of self-discovery at a stage in life when appearances seem to define us. After that moment, however, it got easier for me to abandon myself, and the means by which I planned on achieving my ideal external self got more brutal.

By age 16, I was anorexic and bulimic. I would occasionally go for days without eating, depriving myself of the energy and nutrition that food brings us. Eating disorders are a deeply complex phenomenon that lay at the intersection of body image issues, feelings of loss of control and a sense of unworthiness. Those were all thrown into the cauldron of my teenaged mind, longing for happiness, acceptance from my peers, and erroneously thinking that these were contingent on my appearance.

By the time I entered college, I had collapsed twice because of not eating. The second time, I was hospitalized. I slowly destroyed my inner self to project an image of a happy, desirable and attractive outer self. But I was a shell. I continued down this path—though it took on different forms—until I reached my mid-twenties.

By 24, my path of self-destruction was running out of momentum.

Perhaps the pivotal moment was a post-college graduation trip that I took to India. I was surrounded by many women who looked like me. The images of women I saw in commercials and movies had curvy, fleshy bodies, with a variety of shapes. I was able to look a little more clearly at myself from a different point of view.

26 illuminechicago.com

I finally got the chance to be around other women in my extended family—they too had my shape, my areas of thickness and thinness.

Though we were starkly different in how we viewed our roles as women, we had much in common physically. Yet I had spent years striving, forcing myself to be what was idealized in my living, breathing surrogate American culture.

Upon my return from India, I slowly started developing my homegrown yoga practice. It was based on a book that my grandfather gave me and on a couple of instructional manuals from the Himalayan Institute. I didn’t know whether or not I was being true to the practice, but I can say that after years of damaging my body and interfering with developing my sense of self, I actually started feeling good.

My reference point transformed from the external to the internal through practice. And while my body was moving, balancing and changing its form, I began tapping into a self-acceptance that was new to me.

Yoga is not a panacea, but its most precious teaching is that the divine principle (purusha) permeates throughout our physical bodies (originating from prakriti). Coupled with the principle of non-violence (ahimsa), which implicitly indicates no harm towards one’s own self, yoga—as a practice and philosophy—is rooted in self-respect and selflove.

Once I allowed these deeper teachings to settle into my day-to-day life, I began to apply them towards reversing the thought processes that kept me from being happy and healthy.

Knowing that I cannot go back in time and undo some of the damage done, I am still presented with an optimistic recourse: sharing what yoga has done for me in grappling with my body image.

As a yoga teacher and as a parent, personal lessons learned always serve in ameliorating another person’s potential pain or suffering. The healing I’ve undergone as a yoga practitioner is proof that the practice and its underlying wisdom work.

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Escapes

F L AV O R

Breakfast of Champions

O

ur mamas told us breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whether you agree or not, your first meal, no matter what time you consume it, can set the tone for the rest of the day. We asked some of our champions to share their favorite and most nourishing recipes for breakfast.

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Baked Vegetable Pakoras 15 min prep; 30 min baking time Name: Shruthi Reddy Day job: Founder of Reddy Set Yoga! wellness programs Side hustle: Pro-bono lawyer empowering women and girls Nickname: Buji (“cute little one”), a sweet Telugu (my mother tongue) pet name that my family used to call me when I was a child.

Favorite breakfast recipe: Baked Vegetable Pakoras - My mother and I took the traditional Indian recipe, modified the batter a little and baked instead of deep frying them. Voila! A delicious grab-and-go meal or snack for any time of day. You can use any vegetable you like.

How long does it take to make/prepare?

Fifteen minutes preparation time and 30 minutes baking time. They could be prepared the night before and stored in the fridge for the week to be warmed in the oven and enjoyed anytime, including breakfast.

How does it make you feel?

Fueled, clear-headed and ready to go. They also make me feel happy and nostalgic as the flavors remind me of my Mom’s homemade Indian food.

Name: Patricia Moreno Day job: Fitness and mindset trainer Nickname: PMO Favorite breakfast recipe: Two eggs scrambled with leftover veggies, hot sauce and avocado over a bed of greens How long does it take to make?

Five minutes How does it make you feel?

Satisfied and accomplished

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Ingredients: 2 cups chopped vegetables 1 cup chickpea flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp coriander 1/8 tsp or pinch garlic powder 1/8 tsp or pinch ginger powder 1/8 tsp or pinch of turmeric 1 to 2 tsp sesame seeds 1 to 2 tsp ghee baking sheet wax paper Chop all vegetables into small cubes, and combine remaining ingredients into a batter. Mix in vegetables and pour into a 1-2 inch deep baking dish. bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, cool and cut into squares or bars.

Wash and dry vegetables. Chop into thin, long fingers till you have 2 cups.

Hard vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes must be pre-baked to soften (bake 15 minutes at 300 degrees).

Mix chickpea flour with salt, pepper, spices and ghee to make a thick mixture or batter. If the mixture is too dry, then sprinkle a little water to make a thick batter. Do not add too much water or the batter will be too thin.

Place wax paper on baking sheet and spray with coconut oil. Dip vegetables in batter and lay on baking sheet.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn pakoras over after 15 minutes to ensure both sides are evenly browned.

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Escapes

F L AV O R

Name: Mary Carol Fitzgerald Day job: Photographer Nickname: MC Favorite breakfast recipe: My green smoothie drink! It varies depending on what I have in the refrigerator or freezer.

I like throwing it all in, but I mix it up day-to-day. The key ingredients are: • The green: parsley, cilantro, spinach, kale, avocado • The flavor: banana, almond butter, chia seeds, maca powder, flax meal, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, dates, extra fruit such as apples, mango, blueberries, strawberries • Filtered water—or, to make more of a milky base, use half water and half almond milk. For more of a fruity base, use half water and half orange juice.

How long does it take to make?

6½ minutes (including clean up!)

How does it make you feel?

Healthy, energized, satisfied and ready to take on the day.

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Name: Elena Flores Rector Day job: Lead Flybarre Instructor at Flywheel Old Town, Chicago Side hustle: Actor Favorite breakfast recipe: It’s not even a recipe! It’s an easy mix of the things you have in your pantry/fridge!

Greek yogurt, topped with ground flaxseed, nuts, fruit with a tiny drizzle of agave.

How long does it take to prepare?

Under three minutes—handy for those 6 a.m. classes!

How does it make you feel?

Energized and ready for a great workout!

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Name: Claire Mark Day job: Yoga and meditation teacher, life coach and cookbook author Side hustle/nickname: Mommy Favorite breakfast recipe: Two poached eggs with half an avocado diced and a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of hot sauce on top.

How long does it take to make?

Ten minutes.

How does it make you feel?

Happy!

Name: Pam Udell Day job: Yoga instructor Favorite breakfast recipe: Steel cut oats with cinnamon, strawberries, walnuts and a sprinkle of dark chocolate (use chocolate chips or breakup a bar as shown).

How long does it take?

It takes 20 minutes to let oats cook.

And how does it make you feel?

Comfy and satisfied and content.

SUMMER 2017

illuminechicago.com

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Escapes

PERSPECTIVES

Create your own space Excerpt from “Grace Without God: The Search for Purpose, Meaning, and Belonging in a Secular Age.”

by Katherine Ozment

S

everal years ago, my son asked me what religion we were and I blurted out, “We’re nothing.”

I’d long ago left the Christianity I grew up in and my husband had left his Jewish faith. We weren’t religious anymore, but what were we?

I knew instantly that I needed a better answer for my son, my family and myself.

I began to explore how we could create a sense of meaning and belonging outside the traditional framework of organized religion, an exploration that resulted in my first book, “Grace without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age.” The epilogue of the book serves as a letter to my children:

5. Mark time with ritual. Celebrate it all.

Create new holidays. These rituals help us feel connected through time to those who’ve come before us and those who will come after.

7. Never stop seeking more knowledge.

Learning is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Challenge yourself to think about issues from all angles.

6. Open yourself to awe and wonder. Visit art museums, walk through nature, read great poetry. Pay attention to the mundane: Notice the cracks in the sidewalk, the green of the leaves. Don’t get so busy that you forget we are all living in a mystery.

8. Connect to a larger purpose through work that is bigger than you. Pursue not just what you love and are good at but also something that has a bigger message, that matters to the wider world.

9. Contemplate death. Don’t be afraid of death. Instead, realize that it gives life urgency and makes each moment matter more.

10. Create your own grace. Grace comes from knowing that to be alive and conscious in this world is a rare gift.

1. Your life is a privilege. Live it well and seek to help others live well, too.

“Grace without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age”

by Katherine Ozment. 320 pages. Harper Perennial. 2017. $15.99

2. Find your people. Find friends who share your values, though not necessarily your beliefs. Welcome people of all faiths and no faith at all into your life.

Learn more about Katherine Ozment on Facebook, and at katherineozment.com, or follow her on Twitter: @KatherineOzment.

3. Learn the religious stories. You don’t have to believe them, but they are a part of your heritage and history, whether you embrace religion or not.

4. Study the rich history of non-belief. Learn about the doubters and atheists and secular humanists who have likewise shaped our world, often at their peril.

Book cover courtesy of Katherine Ozment

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Escapes

# shinesobright She smiles so bright: With a little lip gloss, she’s good to go! She carries all hues, kinds and flavors.

Words of wisdom at her fingertips: She carries Wisdom Cards with her in case she needs some good tried-and-true inspiration.

Even her feet shine so bright: Her favorite shoes are shiny gold sneakers.

She takes it one day at a time: While special events get scheduled in advance, for the most part, Katy stays open to however the day unfolds. She likes to plan, but not too much and goes “wherever the wind takes me.”

It’s wine or coffee: When making a date with friends, she’s up for either.

Love is where her loved ones are: Her favorite vacation spot is “anywhere with people I love!”

Just breathe: Katy’s 60-second reset is to stop, pause and breathe.

Katy Hanlon is a Chicago-based yoga instructor. Follow her on Instagram @Sprinklecheer @SprinklesofKaty. or learn more about her work at Sprinklecheer.com.

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@illumineMagazine LOCATION: Bangtel Humboldt Park MODEL IN FORWARD FOLD: Nina Yau PHOTO: Aleks Eva MAKEUP: Kasha Rodig STYLIST: Annie Bangs PRODUCER: Liz Klafeta and Chris Tuttle

“Keep walking, though there’s no place to get to.

Don’t try to see through the distances.

That’s not for human beings. Move within, But don’t move the way fear makes you move.

If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?

Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah…it makes absolutely no difference what people think of you.”

—Rumi

Photo by Andrew Coelho on Unsplash

2017

teache r s in spired by

Krishnamacharya TKV Desikachar

Yoga Therapy

Clare Collins

Yoga Clarity

Kate Holcombe

Healing Yoga Foundation

Leslie Kaminoff

The Breathing Project

Gary Kraftsow

American Viniyoga Institute

Richard Miller

Integrative Restoration Institute

Sonia Nelson

Antaranga Yoga Vedic Chant Center

Larry Payne

Samata International and Prime of Life Yoga

Amy Wheeler

The Healing Yoga Institute

summit

Sep. 29 - Oct.1 Chicago registration opens May 1 early bird registration ends June 30.

Including Presentations by IAYT Board Members John Kepner and Dilip Sakar

Yoga Therapy

www.yogatherapysummit.com

Photography: John Gratz