Can you believe I'm still on the road? Happily landed now at Lake Okoboji, Iowa. And I'm excited to be back on the mat and in blogland. I taught two Zoom classes from here, which was a fun change of scenery. The fog this morning lent itself to some beautiful imagery--more on that another time. 

Yesterday I had a beautiful kayak ride through the quiet canal near our house. Do you know the sound geese make when they're slurping up water and weeds? I didn't either. The best I can describe it is like lots of bubbles quietly popping. I just loved it! And they didn't seem to mind me staring at them from my kayak. I can imagine their geese minds thinking, "What's with this lady? We're trying to eat here!" But they at least didn't let on to their discomfort. They just kept on being geese.

Is that what it's like to live without ego? You just notice things, wonder, and then keep going? Do you think they got into the comparison game of who floats better, kayaks or...

I’m a bit hyper as I write this, because I am so excited to share two things: One is my recent interview with Amanda Green about object meditation and chakra six, and the other is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine adventure, yoga, and both the spirit and reality of evolution. 

First, on episode 19 of Jess on the Mountain, I talk to a woman I have known for many years, and have been a big fan of for just as many.  She is the real deal when it comes to understanding the sutras, meditation, and transformation. I was encouraged to reach out to Amanda several years ago when I was studying with Chase Bossart during my Yoga Therapy training at Yoga Yoga. He saw a couple of kindred spirits, encouraged us to get together, and he was right.  She’s one of those people with whom you get together and go deep and go fast. So I was thrilled when I invited her on the podcast and she was all in.  There are many takeaways from this rich conversation...

“Where your attention goes, so goes your prana.” 

This is a line of wisdom from my teacher Chase Bossart that I think of almost daily, and it’s meaning continues to have greater depth and influence in my thinking.  Did you realize you can affect your whole life by being purposeful about where or on what you are placing your attention? Today I’m talking about a third type of meditation: object meditation.

This is the practice I'm most familiar and comfortable with, and it's the kind I use in Yoga Therapy.

Meditating on an object comes from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, an ancient text on the theory and practice of yoga. Patanjali lists many things on which to concentrate that will have different results.  In Sutra 1.39 he even says you can meditate on anything that is elevating to you.  In my practices with my teachers and the practices that I offer to my students, we use different objects to move us towards an...