Abdominal crunches will work on your core. Yoga can work on that core – but it also works on your other core. That core is your inner self, the source of your “prana,” yourself without all the baggage you’ve taken out. It’s also your lobster, as I’ve mentioned, that part that wriggles out of one…
Practice a cat’s poise in Cat Pose
Cats are uniquely intriguing creatures. Dignified yet unabashedly comfortable, curious but tentative. Their delightful poise seems almost alien in its appeal, which is perhaps why there are some truly fabulous cats in fandom. In Cat pose, we can embody those traits. Arch your back way up and look down to the ground, a lovely flat…
Taking a Transgression Vacation
Breaking the rules is fun. It always has been. From the moment you realize your parents don’t want you to do <blank>, and you actually in fact CAN do <blank>, you know the tingling rush of doing it anyway. You anticipate it. And even if you see great value in rules, the feeling of rebellion,…
Your Aperture into the Abyss (A Finite’s Guide to the Infinite, Part 3)
Horses have blinders; I have wine. The basic principle is the same, in any case. With eyes on the sides of their head like any prey, horses can so easily get distracted by the big, shiny, scary world around them. If you want them to focus on, say, running a race, you need to shut…
Best Frogs of Fandom (and You)
Frogs. There is just something about their pop-eyed expression, their vibrant color, their skin that is sleek shiny smooth – or bumpy. Their adorably compact body that splays out into floppy legs. The implication of whimsy and humor mixed with vulnerability and the alien. They’ve been my favorite animal for a long time for those…
Don’t Make a Bucket List without a Balloon List
What’s on YOUR bucket list? Really, all that? Awesome! Now forget it. Well, don’t forget it. Just momentarily press pause on it. But, you say, we have limited years on this planet! We must make the most of them! True. A bucket list isn’t a bad thing. But it seems to me that we spend so…
Discovering truth through art (or finding the Elephant in the Room on an Fandom Safari)
“The object of art is to give life a shape,” Jean-Anouilh, “The Rehearsal.” “The object of fandoms is to give our elephants a shape,” – Me. Why might elephants be the secret to truth? Real elephants are lovely, of course, which is reason enough. But I also love thinking about our metaphorical elephants – particularly…
Exorcising Your Modern-day Demons
What demons are haunting YOU? You certainly have some. They may not look like the red devil below, but then again, the red devil below wasn’t actually a devil, it was Captain Picard messing with holographic projectors to prove an important legal point, as you do: A demon, broadly interpreted, can be any force in…
You, twisted: Getting to Know your Nemesis
Who’s your perfect nemesis? Or conversely, whose perfect nemesis are you? It’s a question we might do well to ponder on both personal and an artistic levels – to understand ourselves as well as to understand what makes for great, relatable narrative. Our perfect nemeses aren’t necessarily the Big Bads in our lives – the…
8 Quotes That Show Rent is Yoga’s Favorite Musical
8. “To Yoga, To Yogurt!” I mean, obviously. Ah, to be in a time when yoga was considered counter-culture! Also yogurt and huevos rancheros?? If those are bad I never need to be good. 7. “My body’s talking to me. It says, ‘Time for danger.’” Anyone who has tried Wheel Pose or Crow Pose waaaaaay…