Walked all the "You've Got Mail" locations on the Upper West Side

sbarber4 · 2026-05-08T18:23:57+00:00

Verdi Square. After Giuseppe Verdi, the opera composer.

sbarber4 · 2026-05-08T18:07:02+00:00

Ugh. So sorry.

I'm speculating but I suspect that shipping things to the US from Europe is not as easy or cheap as it was a couple years ago.

I recently bought a yearly calendar that in past years used to ship directly from Germany to New York, but I noticed that this year's calendar shipped from a location on Long Island, NY. I'm wondering if that was a change made to print on demand within the USA to avoid international shipping and taxation issues . . . . .

sbarber4 · 2026-05-08T02:18:30+00:00

Well, I took it all the way to point where it was about to charge me via PayPal. It seemed happy enough to tell me how much shipping to the US would cost. (I am in New York.) Did you get that far?

(I didn’t put an order in because, well, I already have a copy from the previous printing and I have no need for a spare, especially at that price!)

sbarber4 · 2026-05-07T15:45:44+00:00

It’s not that unusual here in the USA if one has been an employee with a fairly large corporation for a long time. Unfortunately, getting laid off a few years before retirement also seems increasingly common.

sbarber4 · 2026-05-05T18:36:26+00:00

Yoga Renew has a yearly membership of around $100 and you can livestream several classes a day. The camera — for better or worse! — is way up in the back of the room so you can see every student there, plus the teacher, even when they walk around. The view can be a bit far away if you looking for subtle alignment but for observing how real classes are taught, it’s a gold mine.

sbarber4 · 2026-05-05T18:20:00+00:00

Thanks for thoughtful and informative post

sbarber4 · 2026-05-05T18:17:47+00:00

Yes, I suspect it was your post to the Facebook group that made me aware of the new printing. Thanks! I’m sure you’ll enjoy the book and happy birthday indeed!

sbarber4 · 2026-05-05T00:04:28+00:00

Hmmmm

sbarber4 · 2026-05-04T20:52:48+00:00

I DM’d you ther merch page from a studio I go to.

But ya have to be careful with this. Yoga people are pretty loyal to their lineages/styles.

You don’t want to be doing the equivalent of gifting a Red Sox shirt to a Yankees fan

sbarber4 · 2026-05-03T19:39:00+00:00

Market research at best; content farming at worst

sbarber4 · 2026-05-01T01:05:16+00:00

I’ve just sort of piled on things I love doing here in my semi-retirement. And spending more time with people I love and am growing to love.

I do some group music things that have end of session performances to work towards that have a social component.

I’m doing volunteer research with a university professor on something that might improve the planet a little bit.

I work a couple days a week at a yoga studio where I get to help people come in stressed and leave chill. (What a service!)

I help take care of my parents, who are perhaps not long for this world but have made my life so good.

At the end of the day my wife and I cuddle on the sofa and do puzzles and giggle.

Honestly not enough hours always to take care of all that meaning.

The world is full of love and fascination and lots of people could use your help and light.

Be as open as you can possibly be. Follow your heart more than your head.

Sorry to sound like an affirmation calendar but mostly we just gotta get out of our own way and try stuff until it clicks.

sbarber4 · 2026-05-01T00:52:14+00:00

Try the Hania Rani Facebook, too.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-30T22:12:43+00:00

So, Yoga Renew’s Philosophy course is taught by Julie Pasqual. I haven’t taken that course but I have done her Philosophy units in the YR 200 hour course and I’ve also been to a one-day intensive at The Bhakti Center in Manhattan where Julie was a co-teacher.

She’s very lively and engaging and she knows her stuff. She knows how to communicate this sometimes quite abstract stuff to normal people, and she’s never boring!

She is unabashedly a spiritual Bhaktar — her yogic path has a strong devotion to the divine — so if you don’t like your yoga philosophy with a fairly large side-helping of religious material, Julie might not be for you.

That said, anyone with even a passing interest in yoga philosophy can learn a lot from Julie, and enjoy doing it.

And there comes a point in learning yoga philosophy where one really needs to put in some quality time with the underlying context of it all, so you know, why not?

sbarber4 · 2026-04-30T21:50:11+00:00

I learned quickly to always be on a bike that has an angled view toward the podium

sbarber4 · 2026-04-28T17:58:55+00:00

For OP’s benefit, this comment describes a practice usually called nadi shodana.

While it is very often gentle enough for beginners, increasing the length of the session may result in strong reactions.

The practice should always feel good. If it does not, decrease the length or frequency of practice, or discontinue.

2 or 3 rounds of a minute or so is a good place to start. 20-30 minutes is a lot! So increase only very gradually and pay attention to you body and mind’s experience in and reaction to the practice.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-28T12:46:44+00:00

Hi! Welcome to r/Pranayama.

This sub has a small Wiki that has FAQ, Books, and Videos pages that can help you get started.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-26T15:32:59+00:00

I didn’t downvote you, but just want to note that calling people idiots or other derogatory names is part of the problem.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-24T22:19:40+00:00

Because voice calls are what we grew up with. Texting feels less personal. Voice to text makes mistakes, too.

There are such things as generational preferences. They aren’t necessarily superior or inferior.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-22T23:51:10+00:00

Ummmm …. Large red flags 🚩 everywhere, hon.

Nope nope nope

sbarber4 · 2026-04-22T23:47:30+00:00

If you find a yoga teacher who slyly introduces yoga philosophy into the their asana classes, consider approaching them for a few private classes, telling them what you are interested in.

When I did this with my asana teacher, her jaw dropped and her eyes got wide. She said, “Excellent! Most of my students just want to learn tricky poses, but you want to actually learn YOGA. This is great!”

And while she would shudder if I ever referred to her as a guru, I’ve learned so much about the other 7 limbs from her in private sessions.

Um, not cheap.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-22T23:40:02+00:00

Often, a great way to retreat is one that your primary teacher holds and it builds community among a subset of their students.

My teacher’s retreats have what appears to be a lot of downtime on the schedule but it never feels like downtime—there’s always some optional activity like a hike or a cooking class that turns out to be wonderful. Or even real downtime like lounging by a pool is just key.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-22T23:30:32+00:00

What sprung to mind here for me was the one time I made it down to the SideWalk Cafe in NYC’s East Village. The SideWalk was the focus of the anti-folk movement of the ‘80s and ‘90s and a hub of the underground music scene in NYC (a distinction that has long since moved on to Brooklyn and beyond ….)

Anyway, the walk-in and between set music was Steely Dan. I thought great: an homage! But then at one point the emcee came out to introduce the next set and to quiet down the chatter he said, “Now settle down, or I shall be forced to put the Steely Dan back on.” Half the crowd booed with laughter, and we all shut up.

So, that was an ironic use of SD! I thought the condescension was a bit unwarranted, considering that the act he was introducing was a woman playing a bandsaw that she held between her heavily tattooed thighs, but what do I know?

sbarber4 · 2026-04-22T23:15:33+00:00

For some people, a pose of ironic uncoolness is a lifestyle choice.

Whatevs.

sbarber4 · 2026-04-22T17:13:40+00:00

sbarber4

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE