corpse pose
We found this photograph in my husband’s grandma’s things when we went home for her memorial in September. I don’t know who these people are but I love this photo so much because we rarely see mothers with their babies from this era in a moment of joy or levity, old pictures are normally so solemn and formal. I just love her face here.
There are no older people practicing in my yoga class anymore. I don’t know if it’s because they have to be more cautious about their activities due to covid, or because they’ve moved away or they have chosen a different form of exercise over the past two years- or given up exercise altogether. All of a sudden everyone looks like a WeHo influencer in their matching sports bra & leggings in muted earth tones. I miss seeing all the different shapes and sizes and ages practicing together. There are also no more adjustments by the teachers, but I don’t miss this. There used to be an announcement at the start of class. They’d purposely ask us to start in child’s pose and then ask us to raise our hands if we didn’t want to be adjusted. Also the dirty blocks. Why did I never notice how disgusting these are? I practice hot yoga so people sweat all over them, give them a quick wipe and then I’m invited to “rest my head on” them? Pass.
I was reading an old profile of John Galliano and it said he was ‘born on Gibraltar’. So, you are born on an island and in a city. But Gibraltar is not an island so why is he born on it, and not in it?
Matilda Goad’s series ‘Evolution of a Home’ was very calming and charming and I watched each episode multiple times then ordered some red picture frames for my kitchen.
Met someone at a party that designs scents for spaces like flagship stores and brand showrooms. What a job!
I went for a massage and the masseuse asked if she could do a reading. Obviously I said yes because I’m not a psycho. “I see an older version of you, she looks very tired”. I was wearing a black n95 mask for the massage and I wondered if the older version of me that she saw was also masked.
Wellness brands like goop and Moon Juice are all pivoting to ‘pleasure’- have you noticed? I find myself caring less and less about that particular brand of ‘wellness’ lately. But recently I met an Ayurvedic practitioner who has been a big influence on my mental and physical choices (this sounds a little anti-vaxx but NO not that brand of wellness, like I said) - she’s an 83-year-old Indian woman who lives in New York. As with all things Ayurveda, our sessions are almost a doctor meets therapist approach since so much of Ayurveda is about the mind-body connection. Something interesting she shared with me is that congestion in the body is associated with holding on to feelings. So if I’m dealing with congestion issues- she will prescribe Ayurvedic herbs, recommend diet changes but also encourage me to forgive and let go. I find it totally revolutionary and the way that I feel a doctor’s check-up should go- combining medicine, diet and mental changes.
There’s a Classic Hits radio station in Australia whose tagline is (was?) “good times, great classic hits” (imagine this being said in a very thick, Australian male accent). I silently say it to myself all the time.
When you’re a writer, a part of you is always working
Thinking of the girl at my daughter’s preschool who told her to stop saying “as well”. She told another girl to stop saying “actually”.
In the part of India that my family is from, married women celebrate a day called Karva Chauth. They fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. Literally starving themselves for their husbands. Metaphor alert!
Visited many doggy daycares this month to find somewhere that feels like a good fit for the puppy. We saw one that offers dog’s massage therapy, reiki and sound baths and intuitive healing therapy. But what is that? you ask.
LA is a parody of itself.
The richest girls in the world that are between 16 & 20 years old have Rachel Sennott hair.
Encanto was soooo good. We have been listening to the soundtrack non-stop. Stephanie Beatriz, we must stan!
Is there a better legacy to leave behind than this 👇 RIP bell hooks.
I’m reading ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ by Jon Krakauer which is riveting but disturbing and the other night I ended up going on a Google Maps tour of Colorado City where most of the Fundamentalist Mormons live. I used Google Maps to ‘walk down’ a few streets, checked out their local park, some bed & breakfasts. Then I clicked on all the businesses- the restaurants and local doctor and liquor store (which?)- and read all the reviews, browsed the photographs. I found this photo someone took from the local thrift shop with a sign that said ‘Family Celebrations’ and I was thinking of all the birthdays and anniversaries and ‘family celebrations’ that you’d have in a family with forty children.
Speaking of cults and cataloguing weird shit, S02E02 of ‘How to with John Wilson’ "How To Appreciate Wine" is incredible.
In a recent Esther Perel episode she mentioned that under the patriarchy, men can either feel powerful or connected.
A game my daughter asks us to play sometimes- “Pretend I’m embarrassed cus I don’t know you”. How it goes is we say hello! to her and she acts embarrassed (cus she doesn’t know us).
Have you read Hilton Als’ perfect profile of Andre Leon Talley from 1994 called ‘The Only One’? It’s a must.
Happy holidays! Speaking of ‘The Only One’, I will be thinking of all the women of color visiting their white partner's families in Iowa and Indiana and Arizona and Florida and Tennessee and Minnesota and Pennsylvania.*
*I don’t know, I started drafting this a few days ago and now holidays and holiday travel are feeling precarious and anxiety is rising hourly, so I just need to send this right now or never 😬