Episode Three: Self Care

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Produced by: 
KBOO
Air date: 
Fri, 05/18/2018 - 7:00am to 8:00am

Most of us, whether in the yoga community or the activism community, have some sense that self-care is important in sustaining our commitments. In this episode, we dive in to how self-care connects us to each other and to our purposes, as well as what that can look or feel like, and why it can be so difficult to care for ourselves sometimes. 

 
In service of our mission of increasing compassion, Chris guides a Buddhist Metta meditation toward the end of the show. We both love having these words with us when we need them (just typing them here helped me out!):
 
Life and death are of supreme importance. 
Time passes quickly and opportunity is lost. 
Let us awaken
Awaken!
Do not squander your life. 
 
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I be safe
May I be free of my ancient and twisted patterns*
May I be free of all forms of suffering
 
May my loved one be happy
May my loved one be healthy
May my loved one be safe
May my loved one be free of their ancient and twisted patterns
May my loved one be free from all forms of suffering
 
May this neutral person be happy
May this neutral person be healthy
May this neutral person be safe
May this neutral person be free of their ancient and twisted patterns
May this neutral person be free from all forms of suffering
 
May this difficult person be happy
May this difficult person be healthy
May this difficult person be safe
May this difficult person be free from their ancient and twisted patterns
May this difficult person be free from all forms of suffering
 
May all beings be happy
May all beings be healthy
May all beings be safe
May all beings be free from their ancient and twisted patterns
May all beings be free from all forms of suffering
 
* Note from Devon: in the audio, Chris uses the term Karma. Here, I've replaced/translated this term. My teacher Michael Stone often used the word "patterns" in this meditation. This way, we don't have to get into the details of what karma is or isn't to feel how conditioning and constitution impact who we are and what we do.
 
We also want to include some links to resources we reference in this show:
 
Marion Rose has been a mothering mentor to me (Devon) for ten years. In this show I lean on her concept of Loving Limits again and again to describe what for me is an essential part of both self and other - care.
 
Tada Hozumi at selfishactivist.com is doing deep, radical, compassionate work around oppression and embodiment. It is his writing about the polyvagal theory of the nervous system that I reference and describe.
 
At one point Chris mentions a book she recently read and loved about relationship in the plant world: The Hidden Life of Trees.
 
While talking about the spectrum between connection and care-giving, Devon mentions two great podcasts: 
 
 
We bow to these teachers and colleagues and contribute to them. If you find their work meaningful, we hope you will do the same. 
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