8/29/2023
Hello Friends,
I hope summer has allowed your fruits to ripen and that you are basking in the light that remains. Now and again, I catch myself wishing the remainder of summer away. Swatting gnats and smacking mosquitos while sweating through my second pair of underwear has certainly grown tiresome; It always does around this time of year. I also bit into one of many juicy peaches last week. Now we live in a world where biting into a peach may seem unremarkable, you can get a “peach” any time of year in many parts of a wealthy country such as the US. Of course my peach wasn’t a fruit forced to grow in artificial conditions; my peach wanted to burst forth from a tree that grows in my mom and step-dad’s yard. This peach and most others had several spots that ripened faster than others; insects fought for what was left and I left with a fraction of edible fruit but immeasurable nourishment, far beyond mere sustenance. This real fruit matured in as natural an environment as can be found in an American city today; juicier and messier than any conventional produce.
I visited a state park in Virginia while traveling several years ago. A periodic practice of mine. The welcome center contained a mile, well manicured path to walk. Though woods surrounded - I could hardly call it a hike. Cement showed the way to direct walking traffic with nature presented to behold behind ankle high fence; life, curated for your pleasure. In death, chaos was absent. An anomaly of a dead leaf may have been “out of place,” but if a tree was down it almost appeared to have been felled with intention to an artists vision. Summer is abundant and it is often messy. Summer is life at its apex, beautiful, oppressive, uncomfortable and delicious. Our true development will not be a uniform perfection, devoid of flavor with a colorful veneer; Our ripening will produce the seeds for next year’s harvest. May we enjoy the juice while it’s here, accepting the mess.
My ripening this year has been quite a mixture of finding the juice and producing rot. Resistance has continued to visit my soul, but I’ve been fortunate to find the muses through daily sacrifice and patient practice. I sacrifice time, attention and energy to some personally imagined ideal. My teacher of Katonah Yoga Nevine Michaan reminds, “How you spend your time is personal religion.” Yoga, understood as Union involves a holistic approach to development. Taoism reminds: the whole is ever changing, as one part is acted upon systemic effects will be inevitable; inaction can be as powerful as action. In my movement practice I’m finding recovery to currently be more valuable than training time, and with that (in)action, recognizing less calories need to be consumed. Even practices that began with great intention can become habitual, for better or worse - change requires effort. Practices that have become habits enter a state of no-mind, where all habitual acts live; evolving requires mindfulness. No-mind is often a stated goal of spiritual practice, Nirvāna and Samādhi are both states of no-mind with Pratyahara and Dhrānā as stages of concentration/mindfulness leading toward liberation of mind. Upon leaving an existence in no-mind, a child’s cry of “Why?” may need to be confronted. “Why?” is the world the way it is? … For an adult confronting an inner child coming into a new awareness: Why were we living the way we were? What was our personal religion? Was it a false idol? What might be our beloved ideal moving forward? Where might we produce fruit?
For some a unifying force will be a deity. For other individuals a partner or children will bring us toward a sense of totality. Our reason for being may be wedded to a career, a philosophy, or an impassioned study - not worthy of the title hobby. I seek some unity through practices that cultivate four facets of personality: I Spirit, II Emotional, III Intellectual and IV Physical. In the spiritual category my daily practice of being in nature finds moments of resonance with the path of devotion taught by Bhakti Yogis. Today intermittent rain, coupled with humidity and mosquitoes at a zenith I am spending time repotting plants, when the nature of reality sets an obstacle, sometimes we are called to move through and at others a retreat may be warranted. Reevaluation takes place as the no-mind is forced to think about interrupting an instinctive action. The cycle of mindfulness emergent, action can be intentional and we we break a cycle or chose to begin it anew. In the emotional category, I continue to reserve time to connect with my partner, family and friends. In the intellectually category, reading has long been an exercise of the Jnana Yoga flavor (The Yoga of Knowledge). My ripening here has been a several year study of various political philosophies (democracy, libertarianism, communism, anarchism, monarchism and a few of their descendants), finding rot has been equally prolific as any fruit; I struggle to understand how to use this knowledge to help improve societies fracturing… Generally I use my spiritual practice to pull out of a nihilistic death spiral, or my partner and Erisian Zen Master: Kaeti Frady of Root and Branch Bodywork will slap me over the head with her favorite kōan: “Is the world better yet?”
Movement and Music constitute my most public practices on the physical plane of existence. Movement has ripened most notably in my running practice, where this - my third year running - I ran my first 5k! I continue to work on improving my handstand push-ups: up to 2 repetitions in a row and working on improved depth. The One-arm chin-up continues to be my, now decade long, meta-movement goal (all other movement goals are structured around it, so as not to inhibit its progress); this summer proved to be less fruitful than I hoped, but I’ve made adjustments and still have 40ish days to pursue the one-arm chin directly until more drastic adjustments are needed. Music has ripened through a third year in a row as a prominent practice. This second life with the violin is less passionate and more methodical, sometimes disorienting and at others a touchstone from a parallel life. There is some dissonance with my identity as a “practitioner” - practice and performance are disparate territory and I’ve found I prefer the former but living in this world and the nature of sacrifice requires the later.
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In 2020 the first piece I picked up when I reacquainted with the violin was the Bach Violin Partita #2 in d minor. It has long been in the #1 ranking of my favorite pieces for the violin. Following the recital with my sister Brittney Marquand Sedgwick in August of 2022, I decided to commit a year of serious study with the Bach. This is my third time studying the Bach’s Partita #2 and the first time I have commited the music to memory. Musical memorization was historically a roadblock for me when pursuing a performance career 2 decades ago. Twenty-five years after first being moved to tears by the last movement of Bach’s Partita #2 I’m delighted to presenting the piece in its entirety this fall. I am in the process of securing a venue to offer a free performance at (TBD: likely in Germantown, Philadelphia) October 14th at 7pm. I hope you will mark your calendars and plan to join me. I am accepting online donations (venmo: @noahmoves) toward my continued time and effort practicing toward future concerts such as this. Big thank you to the online patrons who have supported my writing and practice in past years and thanks in advance to those kind souls who will in the future.
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Teaching has ripened as new friends, neighbors, members of the Schuykill Environmental Center, members of Aquatic and Fitness Center and the amazing community at Root and Branch Bodywork have joined our perennially burgeoning Yoga and movement community. I’m incredibly grateful to do the work I do and am delighted so many of you have found benefit in my offerings. I continue to offer private lessons on violin, Yoga and movement out of my home studio and Root and Branch Bodywork, where I also teach small group movement classes. Moving forward drop in cost will be priced at $25. 10class cards can now be purchased directly at or via my scheduling link for $200, a 20% discount off the drop in rate. Financial Assistance is available upon request.
Below you will find my current class schedule, Root and Branch classes are limited to 4 persons and fill up fast, so it’s best to reserve your space early. Participants are welcome to book a month in advance if they plan to attend.
Root and Branch and Schuykill classes can be reserved via my link only - not their personal website (which I encourage you to visit and support)
Monday:
10:45am Aquatic and Fitness Center (members of AFC only)
7:00-8:15pm Root and Branch Bodywork - New Class! - Starts September 11th book now
Wednesday:
6-7:15pm Root and Branch Bodywork (often 1 space available) book now
7:30-8:45pm Root and Branch Bodywork - New Class! Starts September 6th - book now
Saturday:
10-11am Schuykill Environmental Center (last class of the year is this Saturday September 2nd) - book now
Sunday:
8:30am Root and Branch Bodywork (fills fast) book now - book now
10am Root and Branch Bodywork (often 1-2 spaces available) - book now