Author: Peter Fall Ranger

Spiritual Mentor

Happy Birthday Dharma Mittra!


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Dharma Mittra, legendary yoga teacher and the creator of the master Yoga Chart of 908 asanas, celebrates his seventy-seventh (!) birthday on Saturday.

A living legend, Dharma Mittra has dedicated his life to yoga and been influential on my own practice ever since our first meeting five years ago. I still recall our first class when he breezed in, barefoot, dressed simply in yoga clothes, meticulously groomed as he casually moved to the stage. (more…)

Rituals

Recovering Nomad – The Role of Routine


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Anchored again to one location, Chelsea for now, I am starting to settle into the community and with it, develop a switch in mindset.

Top of mind while traveling might have been scrambling to find a place to bunk down for the night, hunting down a restaurant that didn’t serve up a side dish of salmonella, or deciphering the local language in an effort to navigate from A to B. (more…)

Love and Community

Recovering Nomad – The Importance of Community


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After years of being a spiritual nomad and deciding to settle in New York, I am enjoying getting to know my new neighborhood. From the last blog post, readers might be aware that I am flirting with the different hoods in NYC, and currently enjoying getting to know Chelsea.

A strong sense of lasting community is something I missed on the road. I was part of powerful groups along the way: With other pilgrims on the camino to Santiago in Spain, in a group of international volunteers at the clinic in Ladakh, among the yogis in the rainforest of Trindade, with the Rainbow Family in Israel’s Negev desert. (more…)

Holy Space

Recovering Nomad – The Art of Cleanliness


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After so much time traveling, I was ready for a home, and for a variety of reasons, New York called my name. I have many good and not as good friends here, and for the first time in forever I feel at home.

I knew New York from visits over the years, but wanted to see nuances of the different neighborhoods before settling in for the duration. I read an article in the New York Times which chronicled the idea of temporary stints in neighborhoods. This fit with my mindset, so I began to “date” a few neighborhoods to see if we were compatible. I first landed in the East Village, which while diverse, made me feel really old among the college kids. My sublease ended and after a brief trip to Arizona, I found a place in Chelsea, at least until the end of May. (more…)