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Share Dialog
Dear friends,
Today I’m sharing a few things that are on my mind, from yoga as a long-term practice to reflections on power and agency. My annual recap and goals post will come later this month.
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I first got into yoga in the early 2000s, living in NYC after college. I took classes at New York Sports Club or New York Health & Racquet Club, often with my now husband. Invariably, after each class, we would evaluate it. What did you think? Did you like the teacher?
I could always find something to critique. It was too hot. The music was annoying. There was too much hamstring work. Or too much shoulder. It was boring. I didn’t get a good workout.
Matt had a saying back then that has stuck with me ever since. After I complained, he would say, “All yoga is good yoga”. What he meant was that the class didn’t have to be perfect. I didn’t need to find enlightenment in a single class. Taking an hour to move your body, breathe, and connect mind and body is never a bad use of time.
That mindset has helped me over the years. We should do things we know are good for us without expecting a payoff in the moment.
I’ve had an on-again, off-again yoga practice for 25 years, but the benefits have compounded. It’s probably the single most valuable practice of my adult life.
I was thinking about this old saying, “all yoga is good yoga”, recently and was wondering what other things could fill in for yoga.
All ___ is good ___.
What else applies? Time spent in nature? Time spent learning new skills? Quality time with loved ones?
Speaking of yoga, I wrote last time about the book Eastern Body, Western Mind and predicted it would be one of those books that changes me. I’m still less than halfway through and can’t recommend it enough.
I’ve finished the chapters on the first two chakras. The first chakra is about creating a solid foundation with grounding and making sure our physical needs and safety are taken care of. The second chakra is about pleasure and sexuality. And I’ve just started the chapter on the third chakra, located at the solar plexus, which all about power.
The author, Anodea Judith, says we are a culture obsessed with power. “One need only pick up the daily newspaper to see that we are a culture obsessed with power. Headlines of violence, warfare, victimization, and dominance reveal a world continually beset by conflict.” It’s interesting to note that this book was written 30 years ago, but I can imagine reading this line at any point in history, including today.
When we hear the word power, we often think of domination and control, in terms of power over someone or something. But just a few pages into this chapter, it’s very clear to me that power has much more to do with agency, rejecting victimhood and reclaiming power of self.
“It is not power we seek so much as the overcoming of victimization—the ability to determine our own lives. For what greater responsibility than to allow the divine within the freedom of its unique unfoldment? … To have true power emanating from within renews the joy of being alive.” - Anodea Judith
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Collection of things I’ve read or seen that I’ve enjoyed.
Artist BrettDrawsStuff wrote a short story about a guy who goes to urgent care for a sore throat. It’s a nice break from the doom and gloom which tends to permeate throughout the internet. A Frog in Your Throat.
Farcaster CTO Varun Srinivasan wrote about the problem with passkeys for securing crypto wallets that want a consumer grade UX.
“Your personality is where your premium is” - I liked this quote from current Cornerstone CEO about what matters in the workforce when anyone can use AI to write code.
Watched Pluribus, Death by Lightning, and Aziz’s new movie Good Fortune; finished reading 1929; started reading Chess for Dummies in an attempt to be more competitive when I play with my son.
Florida Gulf coast, the Everglades, Naples Botanical Garden and what my teenage daughter makes for dinner when she’s home alone - a kale salad with roasted chickpeas, sweet potatoes, avocado and lemon tahini dressing
Note: if you’re reading this newsletter on Paragraph or another RSS syndicate, you might only be seeing 1 image instead of a gallery of 6. Substack publication will have all the photos if you are interested in seeing them
I started this substack in December 2022 as an experiment to see if developing a writing habit would help clarify my thinking and/or provide other benefits. You can read about my original intentions in my first post or my more recent reflections after sticking with it for a year.
I write about twice a month and share musings, meditations, and links to things I’m finding interesting as I build out a farcaster-native media company, a modern technology consulting company, raise my kids, and have fun creating and learning in the worlds of crypto, tech, finance, science and wellness.
Thank you for supporting my writing and journey. If you’d like to get in touch you can reply to me here or find me on X and farcaster.
Until next time, keep putting good into the world. —adrienne🌏❤️
Share Dialog
Dear friends,
Today I’m sharing a few things that are on my mind, from yoga as a long-term practice to reflections on power and agency. My annual recap and goals post will come later this month.
Subscribe
I first got into yoga in the early 2000s, living in NYC after college. I took classes at New York Sports Club or New York Health & Racquet Club, often with my now husband. Invariably, after each class, we would evaluate it. What did you think? Did you like the teacher?
I could always find something to critique. It was too hot. The music was annoying. There was too much hamstring work. Or too much shoulder. It was boring. I didn’t get a good workout.
Matt had a saying back then that has stuck with me ever since. After I complained, he would say, “All yoga is good yoga”. What he meant was that the class didn’t have to be perfect. I didn’t need to find enlightenment in a single class. Taking an hour to move your body, breathe, and connect mind and body is never a bad use of time.
That mindset has helped me over the years. We should do things we know are good for us without expecting a payoff in the moment.
I’ve had an on-again, off-again yoga practice for 25 years, but the benefits have compounded. It’s probably the single most valuable practice of my adult life.
I was thinking about this old saying, “all yoga is good yoga”, recently and was wondering what other things could fill in for yoga.
All ___ is good ___.
What else applies? Time spent in nature? Time spent learning new skills? Quality time with loved ones?
Speaking of yoga, I wrote last time about the book Eastern Body, Western Mind and predicted it would be one of those books that changes me. I’m still less than halfway through and can’t recommend it enough.
I’ve finished the chapters on the first two chakras. The first chakra is about creating a solid foundation with grounding and making sure our physical needs and safety are taken care of. The second chakra is about pleasure and sexuality. And I’ve just started the chapter on the third chakra, located at the solar plexus, which all about power.
The author, Anodea Judith, says we are a culture obsessed with power. “One need only pick up the daily newspaper to see that we are a culture obsessed with power. Headlines of violence, warfare, victimization, and dominance reveal a world continually beset by conflict.” It’s interesting to note that this book was written 30 years ago, but I can imagine reading this line at any point in history, including today.
When we hear the word power, we often think of domination and control, in terms of power over someone or something. But just a few pages into this chapter, it’s very clear to me that power has much more to do with agency, rejecting victimhood and reclaiming power of self.
“It is not power we seek so much as the overcoming of victimization—the ability to determine our own lives. For what greater responsibility than to allow the divine within the freedom of its unique unfoldment? … To have true power emanating from within renews the joy of being alive.” - Anodea Judith
Subscribe
Collection of things I’ve read or seen that I’ve enjoyed.
Artist BrettDrawsStuff wrote a short story about a guy who goes to urgent care for a sore throat. It’s a nice break from the doom and gloom which tends to permeate throughout the internet. A Frog in Your Throat.
Farcaster CTO Varun Srinivasan wrote about the problem with passkeys for securing crypto wallets that want a consumer grade UX.
“Your personality is where your premium is” - I liked this quote from current Cornerstone CEO about what matters in the workforce when anyone can use AI to write code.
Watched Pluribus, Death by Lightning, and Aziz’s new movie Good Fortune; finished reading 1929; started reading Chess for Dummies in an attempt to be more competitive when I play with my son.
Florida Gulf coast, the Everglades, Naples Botanical Garden and what my teenage daughter makes for dinner when she’s home alone - a kale salad with roasted chickpeas, sweet potatoes, avocado and lemon tahini dressing
Note: if you’re reading this newsletter on Paragraph or another RSS syndicate, you might only be seeing 1 image instead of a gallery of 6. Substack publication will have all the photos if you are interested in seeing them
I started this substack in December 2022 as an experiment to see if developing a writing habit would help clarify my thinking and/or provide other benefits. You can read about my original intentions in my first post or my more recent reflections after sticking with it for a year.
I write about twice a month and share musings, meditations, and links to things I’m finding interesting as I build out a farcaster-native media company, a modern technology consulting company, raise my kids, and have fun creating and learning in the worlds of crypto, tech, finance, science and wellness.
Thank you for supporting my writing and journey. If you’d like to get in touch you can reply to me here or find me on X and farcaster.
Until next time, keep putting good into the world. —adrienne🌏❤️
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