A LIMINAL SPACE

We are living in a world of rapid change and transition. One of the ways we can flow with this is to be as mindful and aware as possible: Staying in the present moment to the best of our ability, embracing our healthiest habits, accepting things as they are, fortifying our resilience.

The word ‘liminal’ means ‘threshold’. It signifies a space of transition, a kind of ‘crossing over’. In architecture, liminal spaces are defined as spaces between one destination and the next. Liminal spaces can be hallways, streets, and airports. We have all experienced this in one way or another. As the whole world feels to be in limbo, the one question is this. Can we remain resilient while the noise of the world gets louder?

I’m sitting at the airport without a ticket, and it feels pretty good.

The exciting thing is that while I cannot yet predict what is next, I can feel the anticipation of approaching change, knowing that the best I can do right now is to anchor myself in the present to allow whatever may arise.

Some things are certain, others more hazy, an image of the sun rising amidst the early morning fog on the river. So I look after my garden, explore new teachings, purge things no longer useful, work out a new relationship with technology, enjoy thoughtful conversations with friends, immerse myself in good reads, and most of all, practice even more non-doing. Patience. Yesterday morning I watched the sun creep towards a flower pot, and saw the single flower slowly unfold and open.

Change in this world is our only constant. So for the next few weeks I welcome the change of re-connecting with you.

To this end I offer up CHAIR AND QI for the next six weeks online with Zoom at 11 am on Wednesdays (to register and pay online go to www.dalepearsonyoga.com). Chair and Qi includes mindful movement and energy work that gives us a full body and mind experience.

TWO EVENINGS OF YOGA NIDRA on Tuesdays from 7:00 - 8:15 pm, which offer a deep profound experience of relaxation and embodiment.

For those who have been hoping for a YIN practice in person outdoors, I offer Thursday afternoons at 5 pm through Yoga in the Yard. This is a small group and open only to people who have practiced with me over recent years. There will be a limit of ten participants, and because it is not widely open (so not on my website), I ask you to contact me by email to confirm your name on the list (anndalepearson@icloud.com). Participation includes a touchless cash donation that you can leave in the bowl, or, if you choose, an e-transfer. Of course, sessions are subject to weather, so every Thursday I will email the group at 3 pm or sooner, if it’s very windy or wet, to cancel. Otherwise, most of the yard is shaded and I recommend an extra blanket to spread under your yoga mat, and blocks or a cushion to support you.

In a recent conversation with others we spoke about the potential trauma that comes with unfolding events in today’s world. Someone said, ‘trauma forces us to open a space to heal’. I don’t feel the word ‘force’ is appropriate. I think we need to allow ourselves to become more spacious, or as we may say in Buddhist terms, to become empty. It is in this emptiness, this liminality, that healing is found.

Chair and Qi, Yoga Nidra and Yin Yoga are all grounded in mindfulness. I hope you join me in cultivating a healing spaciousness for ourselves and for our community. Meanwhile, you may find some comfort in this poem "The Guest House" from Rumi, as he explores the indeterminate edges and transitional ambiance of the liminal space.

The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

— Jalaluddin Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks