Hardest day of the year at this kind of job, but the sort of hard day one is loathe to complain about. Last teaching day before christmas in a jail full of children who won't be getting any presents but more significantly, who won't be getting a hug or a a kiss or even words of affection from those they love the most. So hard to leave. So hard to say goodbye. So hard to know what to say when they say "Have a good holiday, miss." Or what to say to a 17 yr old young man you knew 3 years ago who says he just got off Rikers. "It's good to see you?" "I'm glad you're alive?" So hard to walk away, toward the subway, and know that they are just sitting in their, watching tv, getting into fights, feeling lonely, reading, crying, locked in a little dirty room with a thin mattress. What could be "happy" about a "holiday" when all of these children are locked in a jail?

Big news today: The Lineage project does still exist and they are having a volunteer training soon. Yay! No more fretting about what will I do & wondering about what I need to do to make this happen. :) It's happening.

The Omega Yoga conference was a wonderful volunteer experience. I highly recommend it to anyone who is curious to meet omega folks, yoga folks, or learn from some of the celebrity teachers who offer workshops. I sat in on classes from Mark Whitwell, Shiva Rea, Cindy Lee, etc. all for free & got to meet interesting & kind people & got to help out in a fun way. Why do I like giving directions? I don't know. I guess it's just and easy nice way to help people. The best thing I learned was from 10 minutes of Shiva Rea talking about the heart and its amazing electromagnetic field. How cool is it that our heart cells entrain? I want to know more. I want to tell the kids I work with. I get drumming, now. I get melting hugs. I get "vibes." Speaking of work, the stars are aligned. I know it won't last, but it's a beautiful moment. Two students came through my classroom today who I haven't seen since they were 12/13 and they are now 16/17 and reading on a ready-for-college level. They are beautiful children and I hate seeing them in jumpers but I love knowing they are alive and bearing witness to their growth. And I got to work with a (13yr old) non-reader today and convince him that he can and will learn to read. I don't think it gets any more gratifying than this. And I get to be learning this non-reader work from an amazing teacher. Thank you, universe.

Yesterday I went to a yoga class straight from work. First time ever. Greatest thing I could have done for myself after reconnecting with the kids. Yes, it was all inversions for me. The teacher held me in a headstand and it was just what I needed. I felt so much . . . better afterwards. Ongoing lotioning. This time, the teacher went to far as to lift my tank top off, up, above my waist for extra thorough lotion coverage. I guess I'm getting used to it. The massage helped me relax and connect with my body. I get very disembodied at work. I felt great afterward, and all night until my father called to tell me my piano teacher had passed away. She was a good one.

I ate a chocolate created with orchid oil. It tasted like a Ladies' Powder Room at at Bat Mitzvah in Long Beach.

Today was my first day back. I am exhausted. I don't know if it was work (I don't think so) or the commute home, which took two hours. I made friends on the train with a man who inspired me with stories about his life and the obstacles he overcame and continued to struggle with. I was sitting with my Gandhi book out, trying to read, and he was being kindhearted. I was tired of talking but it was nice to connect with someone in person on a NYC subway. I love to meet new people and it doesn't usually happen in that context, even though I ride the subway with tons of strangers everyday. Those of you who live in NYC (or have) know what I mean. How often do you make friends with a random stranger? Those of you who don't know, I don't know how to explain the phenomenon of millions of people determinedly not speaking to each other every day in very close quarters. It can be peaceful but also sometimes it makes me feel a bit strange about humans and the claim people often make about us being social beings.

Today I went to the UN with a special purpose: to mail letters the 11-13 year old students I worked with had written to the heads of state in Pakistan. Their letters expressed their feelings about child slavery as it continues in Pakistan and around the world. They asked the Prime Minister and President to do more to stop it. Each of the letters was hand written and had been through several drafts. None of the students, when they gave me the letters, really believed that their paper could make it all the way to Pakistan. It is a rather amazing thought. I had never mailed int'l mail through the UN before. It was an interesting experience. The stamps cost 85cents each. The clerk told me they would reach their destination in about a week. I felt very gratified, in a way that the teaching year had not been, to mail these letters today. I felt glad the UN exists, and really proud of the students who wrote the letters. They worked really hard on them! I had been feeling terrible about the fact that I hadn't mailed them sooner, but I am working on accepting that I did just accomplish my objective and to let go of regret. There is a powerful photo exhibit I saw called "Tales from a Globalizing World." It will be there through August 30. Some of the images were heartbreaking, so it was good to go sit outside and meditate by the river. Then, stopping to smell the roses and drink in their scent.. ahhh. I want to teach yoga at the UN someday.

This September 15th-17th the Omega Institute is holding their annual yoga conference in NYC. I didn't make it last year, but this year I've got a volunteer spot hooked up. I've never attended before, nor do I know anyone who has, but looking at who will be there, it's got to be interesting. If anyone is going, or has been in the past, I would love to hear from you! If you want to check it out, here is the link: http://www.eomega.org/omega/conferences/d96503b2fa89280a27cffca2795224b5/ConferenceSite/ The Path of Yoga Faculty List Baron Baptiste Neal Barnard Beryl Bender Birch Kofi Busia Seane Corn Mary Dunn Paisley Fenyes Lilias Folan John Friend Sharon Gannon Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa Gary Kraftsow Cyndi Lee David Life Tias Little Miten Sri Dharma Mittra Ingrid Newkirk Aadil Palkhivala Sarah Powers Deva Premal Shiva Rea Natasha Rizopoulos Sankara Saranam Cameron Shayne Rod Stryker David Swenson Amy Weintraub Mark Whitwell Rodney Yee

What are the best tools for developing a masterful knowledge of human anatomy and physiology as a yoga teacher?

No time for a review, but I highly recommend this performance if you are a New York City teacher, know some one who is, care about kids, care about the racial and class divides in the U.S., enjoy brilliant one-woman shows a la Sarah Jones. Post a comment if you've seen this, I'd love to hear what y'all think.