As many of you know, I went back to school earlier this year. It has been quite an adjustment to step into that kind of environment again. One of the first things that I noticed is that there is a very academic way in which language is used. It is like a subgroup within a language. As I interacted with it, I started to get the hang of it. Even though it is still a work in progress, I am learning to express myself in that way in that environment.

A while ago, I learned about the importance of keeping my study area in order and clutter-free. As a student, I was told how having a messy desk, for instance, would make it harder for me to concentrate, since my attention would be drawn to all of the things scattered around my desk at one point or another. In fact, I did a little experiment and studied while sitting at a messy desk and on an orderly one. I do not know if it was the Virgo in me, but I was able to focus better when things were in order. 

Last week we started exploring the first of the nested layers of Self: Vastu. We defined this Sanskrit word as anything that is outside of ourselves, whether near or far. Part of the “stuff” around us is food, and Vastu as food has a great influence on us.

A few years ago I decided to face and digest a personality trait that I had avoided for decades. It was uncomfortable and scary to say the least, but I went ahead and did it. Over time I realized this issue had so many layers, which helped me understand why I had been avoiding it. It can be overwhelming and daunting to face things like this, but I had to start somewhere. So I took a first step, then another, and another. I am still walking. I do feel a deeper sense of accomplishment and self-awareness, even though the work continues.

I hope your summer is going well. I certainly have been enjoying it. My sister and I toured Brooklyn over the weekend. We started in downtown Williamsburg then we walked through Prospect Park and finally we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a wonderful day. I have been to all this places before but walking through all these places with my sister created a new experience of them all.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer season. I have been walking the streets of New York City which is one my favorite things to do. I love this because it gives me an opportunity to enjoy and admire the city but also it gives me time to reflect and contemplate about myself and life. To know oneself is the highest goal one can have for a yoga practice. This is one of the things that drew me to start to practice yoga. I remember being in my early twenties and realized how little I knew about myself. Not only that but I did not know how to go about such an endeavor.