Thank you Dr. Rick Hanson for sharing this useful practice, sharing it with y’all here for practice and posterity: What do you need? The Practice: Grow a Key Inner Strength. Why? We all have issues – including demands upon us, stresses, illnesses, losses, vulnerabilities, and pain. (As Alan Watts put it: “Life is wiggly.”) Of course, many of our issues – in the broad sense … Continue reading HEAL: Growing a Key Inner Strength
October 2023 continues our exploration of the subtle body through somatic practices. Focusing on the U in GROUND, our work explores the experience of untangling as a way of accessing awakening and freedom. We will also work with fascial flossing to open up the physical body. As Olivia Newton John sang, “Let’s get animal.” Four Tuesday Evenings in October 6PM Pacific/8PM Central 75 minutes On … Continue reading untangle & fascial flossing
Many people speak generally about the subtle body, but what are they actually talking about when they say that phrase? The subtle body is present in all we do and are, yet we may not be conscious of its presence. In this Somatics Series with Justine Fanarof we will explore practices and teachings that take us deeper into our own embodied understanding of our subtle … Continue reading the subtle body
Sticky post
This summer we will move deeper into our ongoing study of somatic mindfulness with a seven part series using Lama Willa Baker’s beautiful book The Wakeful Body, Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom as our practice text. Look forward to a deepening somatic intelligence and learning practices that set and end your day with intention and awareness. Seven Tuesdays in June & July 2023 … Continue reading Summer I Practice Series: Somatic Mindfulness Somatic Intelligence
I am about to embark on an epic drive down the California coast from Berkeley to Ojai. Word on the street is there’s a wildflower super bloom and I’m here for it. In the spirit of travel, adventure, gratitude, and freedom I humbly offer an opportunity to join the sangha for Spring II Practice series, a yoga and meditation journey to cultivate balanced, grounded, loving … Continue reading Spring II Practice Series
This evening is Rosh Chodesh Nissan—the start of the Jewish lunar new year calendar cycle. Not to be confused with the other new years celebrated in Judaism (we have 4, including Rosh Hashanah). This Rosh Chodesh (lunar new month) aligns with the movement of the moon, an ancient astrological acknowledgement of the movement of Earth’s seasons. We follow the light of the spring equinox, a … Continue reading Rosh Chodesh Nissan—An Ancient Astrological Acknowledgement
A poem I wrote today to honor, celebrate & acknowledge women today and every day. Slay Sisters by Justine Fanarof Slay sistersSlayWith our wisdom, beauty, compassionAnd peaceSlay with our heartsSlay with our mindsSlay with our bodiesYes our bodies belong only to us! Slay to save the earthSlay to save ourselves Slay the forces of patriarchal misogyny that keep us collectively subjugatedSlay for our sisters whose … Continue reading International Women’s Day
Magical words from Pablo Neruda. I was first read this poem in my early ’20s while living in Costa Rica (circa 1998), gracias Bets. If you speak a little Spanish I suggest taking your time with it, reading it out loud in the stanzas and feeling the tone of the words. If you don’t speak much Spanish, it’s a really nice exercise for the brain … Continue reading Poema 14: Juegas todos los días con la luz del universo
Sticky post
How do we continue to BLOOM? Spring I Practice Series: BLOOM Spring I is a continuing exploration of the cultivation of connection, peace, and ease…I’m excited to ground and expand with y’all! Practice FocusDeepening our internal awareness/external presence practices with the soft foam roller, bolster, and core work to support a healthy spine, going inside for subtle practices in the pelvic floor and heartspace, and … Continue reading BLOOM: Spring I 2023 Practice Series
This past week I had the opportunity to hang out with Ndaba Mandela, my brother from another grandfather. Nelson Mandela and Gertrude Gelb, our grandparents, were African National Congress members and freedom fighters in South Africa. My family left South Africa in 1977, nine months after the Soweto uprisings. Born in Johannesburg not far from (and six years prior to) the Soweto of Ndaba’s birth, … Continue reading Freedom & Friendship
JUSTINE YOGA 