Motivation has been a theme for me this fall — I find that’s true of a lot of people I work with. As the weather cools, most of us need […]
Body & Soul
Outermost ways for nurturing body, mind, and spirit.
Browse all Body & Soul stories below or dive into a topic:
SURFING
There’s Togetherness in Surfers’ Small Transgressions
On the practicality and satisfaction of peeing in the ocean
Surfers pee in their wetsuits. I’ve never met one who doesn’t. All those people you see out there in the ocean, looking calm and free? They are. They’re peeing. This […]
WONDER LAND
The Year of the Rat
Why do we assign such menacing imagery to this critter?
CAMBRIDGE — Two days ago, while I sat on my bed talking on the phone, a rat scrambled across my bedcovers and slipped down between the mattress and the wall. […]
BODY/MIND
Remixing the Basics
When the source of pain is hiding in old routines, it’s time to get out of the groove
After 15 years of both classical and new-age yoga training, I still find my home practice beginning the same way. Somewhere in the first five minutes: tabletop, on hands and […]
MOVEMENT
Why It Works to Work Out With a Friend
The buddy system builds in motivation, competition, and fun
It’s 5 p.m. on a Friday, and I’m exhausted after a long work week. I spend all day motivating other people to move, but right now I feel like lounging […]
WONDER LAND
The Swan
What does it mean to try to breathe inner peace into others?
I’d just left Chinatown after reclining in a chair for hours inside a state-of-the-art dental school. Each white cubicle featured an oversized nature photo, and all the while I’d been […]
SAVASANA
Wednesdays With Janis
Sometimes a student is the best teacher
It was in some ways not an unusual invitation, from one yoga teacher to another: “I have a really special client that I’d like you to meet,” my colleague wrote. […]
MOVEMENT
Finding Flow on a Paddleboard
The best exercise is the one that makes you happy
People always ask me, “What’s the best exercise?” That’s a tough one because “best” can mean many different things. Is it the one that burns the most calories? Works the […]
UP A CREEK
Occupy August
Troubleshooting the peak season, with guided meditations
August. The balmy bliss of sandy sheets. This month requires a certain je ne sais quoi when waiting to get a spot off Ocean View Drive with a pack of […]
MOVEMENT
Saying Yes to a ‘Thrilling Adventure’ on a Boogie Board
A birthday present inspires a lesson in movement that’s just for fun
I recently had a birthday. My son, Casey, wanted some ideas for a gift. And my practical suggestions, like oven mitts or kitchen knives, would not do. He insisted that […]
WRITERS
A Zen Priest Retreats to the Dunes
Percussionist Douglass Fugan Dineen’s residency combines musicology and spirituality
Douglass Dineen received a new name in 2004: Fugan. It’s his “dharma name,” given by a Buddhist teacher to a newly ordained priest. In Zen teaching, fugan means “universal vow,” […]
IMPROVISATION
Finding the Balance
To come to an agreement with death, I had to make a new agreement with life
One day in June, my wife and I left our cottage to walk straight out the mouth of the Herring River in Eastham. Low tide had exposed acres of sand […]
MOVEMENT
The Knee Bone’s Connected
Learn to treat your knees right
A lot of people complain about their knees. Some of the things that go wrong with this joint — the largest one in your body and one of the most […]
BODY/MIND
Are You ‘Life Hacking’ or Living?
How to keep the itch to be productive from co-opting your practice
With the move to remote work for so many, the already tenuous lines separating work and life have pretty well dissolved. One result is a thriving productivity industry. It seems […]
MOVEMENT
Running With Dogs
Dryland mushing along the Outer Cape’s trails
My friend Liberty Schilpp has progressed from taking short jogs to becoming a devoted runner. She started just last year, following a run/walk program I wrote about in these pages. […]
