During the summer we practice yoga with Rebecca who was originally trained at Kripalu in Western Massachusetts. Twenty years into her practice, she is particularly informed by incorporation of the discipline of non-violent communication which teaches intentional listening and responding., she invites us to listen to and share the specific needs of our physical bodies body-mind-spirit delight. Her classes meet in a 15′ x 20′, freestanding studio with windows flanking three sides, on a hill above Casco Bay on the Portland facing side of the island. Even on hot, hot days a breeze of some sort finds its way into the space. My husband and I leave our home with some ambivalence–do we really want to do this?– and arrive already “in our bodies,” having ridden our bikes a mile along the Back Shore. the ocean side of the island, and then up a steep hill.

Rebecca asks about our “individual beings” at this moment. Our answers can become expansive when there are only the two of us, an opportunity to not only listen to each other but also to listen to our personal mind-body-spirit condition and needs. Although Rebecca often begins with a reading, quiet meditation concludes the session. In her own calming way, she weaves her wisdom and a story here and there throughout the lesson, gradually taking us into the interior of our beings as she attunes herself to our rhythm until her compassion, her helping us care more fully for ourselves, becomes a healing presence.

Another kind of listening, centering us to do the work we have been given to do in the world with more intention, attention and compassion.