New Years is almost here...

"New Years" is right around the corner... this may be a perfect opportunity to set intention for the year ahead.
You can start by setting intention for the month of January.
So many possibilites.     What old habit do you want to let go of or diminish?   What skill do you want to refine or polish?  What attitude do you want more or less of?   What energy do you want to support? Can you address that every day for 31 days?
I have some great ideas for myself.     I think I might even start today.
You may want to find a way to be accountable.     I like to keep a journal, however you can also just mark it on a calendar.  This helps you to follow your progress and keeps your intention alive.
Happy New Year.

Setting Intention

We have been "setting intention" these past few weeks together.   I am always surprised at how effective it can be to connect with an intention.  It is like putting on a different pair of glasses.  Suddenly your perspective shifts and you get a new shape to your day, activity or practice.   Of course this takes practice and the more you do it the more it becomes like a natural response.
What I find often is that setting intention bumps up against old habits, old ways of seeing and reacting.
One of my sisters used to say..."just give your head a shake".  Setting intention helps to shake things up and lead us to more purposeful thoughts and actions.
GIVE IT A TRY.

Holiday De-stressor Classes

Our 3 week session of yoga for the holidays has begun.   We are focusing on" how to set intention".
Setting intention is a skill that can keep us centered, focused and create meaning in our everyday
activities and interactions...  It can keep unwanted thoughts and reactions at bay and make our days  more purposeful.
You can set intention for the day or even just for the moment.   You can set intention as you write cards,  hostess a party, buy gifts, grocery shop etc.   It is a practice of awareness.
Each week we are setting intention as we begin our yoga practice together.   Everyone sets their own intention.... a little gift to yourself.

Teaching Children Mindfulness and Meditation

The past 2 weeks I was reading from an article that described teaching breath meditation to children in school.  The author spoke of his experience at one particular elementary school in New York.  I was touched by how he described the response of these children.   Many of them developed skills that helped them when tense or anxious moments arose in their day.   They would basically anchor their awareness in the breath, even for only a few moments.    They learned that they could find a safe place inside themselves and they could go there whenever they felt the need of it, just by focusing on their breath.   This is a life skill that they will take with them for many years to come.    Maybe one day this will be taught in many schools and children will learn to access their own inner happiness and peace.

"31 Flavors of Craving"

Phillip Moffet wrote an article about craving...   explaining the 3 catagories of desire.
He identified 3 distinct kinds of craving.   The first type is the craving for the 6 kinds of sense desires, the second is the desire  for becoming what you are not and the third kind is feeling so overwhelmed or disillusioned that you want life to cease.
The first type is what we are most familiar with... and there are so many sense desires we can experience in any given moment.
Craving in these instances is a distraction from the present moment, with what is.  Craving creates a sense of insufficiency and moves us away from contentment and gratitude.
Notice each day if you have a moment of craving.   Notice how it feels.   Notice how this leads towards some degree of suffering and away from happiness.  Notice how it feels when you releases it.

ART WALK

Just a reminder... the ART WALK for November is happening downtown tonight.

I will be at 3 OMS Yoga Studio (across from the Blue Horse Gallery on Bay St.) where my art is hanging-  the new yoga calendar paintings.

If you are available please come and see me there...   from 7:30- 9:30pm.   I would love to see some of my wonderful students there.

Blessings and thank you for your inspiration.

The Namaste Blessing

"I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells.

I honor the place in you which is of love, of light, of peace and of truth.

When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me,

We are one."

Namaste

CALENDARS ARE READY

My 2012 calendars are hot off the press and looking fabulous.
If you have signed up for a calendar or are interested in getting one either contact me or bring your cash (or check) to class.   Again they are $15. - special pricing for my students.
This may be my last yoga calendar for awhile.    I am not sure what my next project will be.
But who knows.  

Equanimity

The article in Tricycle Magazine by Shaila Catherine highlights the qualities of equanimity.   Some of you have asked me for a reference to this article.   Google: "Equanimity In Every Bite- Shaila Catherine"  and you should be able to find it.
Also Google: Equanimity: Our Greatest Friend- Shaila Catherine, if you want to read more.
Equanimity is a state of mental or emotional stability or composure arising from a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment. 

Mosquito Meditation

Could you sit with a mosquito bite for 60 minutes and not scratch?   Could you just sit with the sensation of itch and notice it... really observe the sensation?   If you took a vow not to move or scratch for 60 minutes could you observe the thoughts going through your mind?   Would the mosquito bite then become a bigger and bigger drama than you could have ever imagined?
Larry Rosenberg did just that... and wrote about it.
   Each day we have the opportunity to experience a difficulty or inconvenience in our lives, to see the reality of it and then what our mind does with it.

Yoga Calendars for 2012

If you would like one of my yoga watercolor calendars for 2012, please let me know.   I have a list of students that want one or more and don't want to leave anyone out.   I am placing the order with the printers this week.   Can't wait to see the final product!!!

Blueberry Meditation

This week  in class we did an experiential exercise with a dried blueberry.   A classic exploration in mindfulness, we each fully explored a dried blueberry with all of our senses and became completely engaged in the experience of slowly eating one blueberry.  All of us discovered how much we normally do not really notice.   By slowing everything down and really paying attention to all there was to the experience in consuming one little dried berry, we became much more observant and curious.
Paying attention and being in the moment is what we are exploring here... We are creating a foundation for being awake and aware.   We may also begin to notice our likes and dislikes popping up and how often we make judgements about what is good or bad, what is right or wrong.   We are observing all of this.   We are becoming more and more MINDFUL.

Showing up

We are now into classes for fall quarter and the classes are bubbling with energy and enthusiasm, which I love.     It is great to see so many returning students as well as some new faces.
When coming to yoga for the first time or starting a class with a new teacher it is always a little daunting for most of us.     However I am reminded how important that step is...the actual signing up and getting to that first class.  "Showing up".   When you show up for anything in your life you are making possibility available.   When you show up consistently then change begins to happen.   That change might just be waking up in some way to who you are and what is important and what you are going to do with this  "precious life", as Mary Oliver calls it.

This second week we are discussing "meditation" and how the mind is like a puppy in training. 
We all know if you don't train a puppy then you end up with a very distracted, disobedient dog.  The mind is like that if you don't train it.    We train the mind through meditation and mindfulness.  Both these practices are part of our yoga journey.  Both require consistent attention and intention.    The breath and the postures are our focus as we learn how to concentrate more deeply and for longer periods.     It is this part of yoga that I love the most as it is what allows me to live more authentically in my daily life.

Classes are starting today!!!!

Tonight is our first class of fall quarter...  I am excited to be back in the groove again.
This quarter we will focus on learning sequences and refining transitions... that place where we are linking one pose to another. 
Transitions in yoga as in life can be bumpy, as you know.  Making smooth transitions requires slowing down and being in the moment rather then just focusing on the destination.
If you are in a hurry to get somewhere you will miss what happens in between. 
You may have found that change and transitions in life are hard and yet in some sense you are always in transition.   There is always movement, there is always some level of change and the unexpected in our lives.  That is what makes life interesting and that is what makes yoga interesting.
In every practice and every pose you can find something new, even if you have done that pose hundreds of times.  Being in the moment, paying attention allows you to find that newness and to meet the transitions with awareness and curiosity.

Sign Up for Fall Classes

Registration for fall classes begins this Monday, August 22nd.
Sign up early so as not to be disappointed.
Classes begin Friday, September 16th. and then the following Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hope you are enjoying summer. I certainly am!!

Private classes? Freeform classes?

If you are interested in a private class or a freeform class, just give me a call or send me an email.
August is a good time for either or both of these as I have more time to devote to both.
The freeform classes are free, no charge.
Freeform is a class where everyone practices on their own. There is no instruction and no interaction. We each follow our own inner teacher. It is an intuitive practice, no set plan, just whatever comes up. The only structure is when we begin and when we end.... 1 hour.
Private classes are a wonderful way to focus on your own particular issues and needs and to build a stronger more intelligent practice.

Time Off

This is the first week of my break from the Simply Yoga classes.
It is giving me some needed space for rest, creativity and renewed energy.
I read yesterday 'the world is YOUR YOGA MAT. What a concept! Wherever I am I can be in my practice and be the observer of what is, responding with the same focus and consciousness as I do when I am on the mat.
So even if you don't get to your yoga mat often in the next few weeks, although I hope you do, you can still practice. How you do that is up to you. :)

Appreciating the downturns...accelerating forgiveness.

Gratefulness is easy when we have something really wonderful to be thankful for. How about the difficulties? Patrick Miller ask us to consider "accelerating forgiveness" through gratefulness and not just the so called "good" things. He suggests that, as we change our perceptions, our misfortunes seem to add to our strength, resilience, response-ability and alertness.
He says," Lately it seems that" bad things" are merely those which I'm not yet prepared to handle effectively- and it also seems that they present themselves in order to help me increase my competence."
I think this statement is quite enlightening and I suspect it is not only our competence that is enhanced, but also our empathy, compassion, insight, resilience and tolerance to name just a few.

A Personal Note...

Linda Maxwell made a request in Wednesday class this morning...
Her email is: lmpmaxwell@gmail.com

Why do we roll to the right?

Some of you have asked that I locate this post for you.
Check this in the archives : Sunday, May 2nd, 2010.

Remembering...

Last week I read a poem* in class that pertained to questions that came up around forgiveness.
A few people asked about the idea of "forgive and forget". My response to that was that it was important to know that forgiveness is not about forgetting. Remembering what happened is often what makes us wiser. Forgiving is letting go of anger and resentment so we don't continue to carry toxic energy. Remembering what happened helps us to not fall down the same "hole again" and wonder why we are here once again. Portia Nelson says it so well in her poem, "Autobiography in Five Short Chapters".*
"Remembering" at its best invites us to realize that we all share "the wound of humanity" and that our wounds are not more special than those of others. "Our particular wounds have much to do with who we are as individuals and that history is important to understand." -Patrick Miller
However whenever you begin to reinforce an old grievance ask yourself ... "Do I want to go here again... will it make me feel better?" As P. Miller says, "What has fear and hurt done for me lately?"

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a huge topic.... a little daunting to be fitting this into our 6 week summer session.
However we will look at aspects of forgiveness that might dislodge some of our old perceptions and give us a clearer view of what it means.
Regarding self forgiveness Patrick Miller in THE WAY OF FORGIVENESS says," Forgiving your flaws and failures does not mean looking away from them or lying about them. Look at them as a string of pitiful or menacing hitchhikers whom you can't afford not to pick up on your journey to a changed life. Each of them has a piece of the map you need hidden in its shabby clothing. You must listen attentively to all their stories and win the friendship of each one to put your map together."
For me the idea of "listening to their stories" makes all the difference. What lies beneath our inability to forgive ourselves? We can begin to let go of and remove the armor that protects and keeps hidden our shame and guilt. We can bring it into the light and acknowledge it. We can learn the truth that surrounds it.
In yoga practice, we often feel that we have peeled away some of the protective layers of tension that we habitually store and hold in our bodies. That is one of the reasons we feel so good after practice. There is a freedom that is felt in the body... a new way of moving and breathing.
What if through a regular practice of forgiveness we felt that same lightness and freedom.
Similar to yoga, our first attempts may feel clumsy and awkward. However with practice it becomes easier more fluid and we begin to claim it as how we live. We catch ourselves holding a grievance and begin to wash it away little by little. We boldly stay present with our state of mind and how we are responding or reacting.
Forgiveness is a yoga... a practice of knowing ourselves and responding from a deep well of wisdom within.

Friday Class- cancelled

Sorry to say... we did not get enough sign ups for Friday this summer. Understandable, as often people want to go off for the weekend.
For those of you registered in Tuesday and Wednesday classes that means NO MAKE-UPS on Fridays!!!! Sorry about that. I know some of you made full use of that option!!!
Ah well, Friday evening classes will be back in the Fall. :)

The Way of Forgiveness

Have you ever thought of forgiveness as a "provocative discipline"? Patrick Miller in his book The Way of Forgiveness describes it this way. I look forward to exploring this topic in our 6 week summer session beginning tonight. Attachment, refusal, ego and fear all participate in our inability to forgive. We may be stuck in our ability to forgive others but also very resistant to forgiving ourselves.
We will also of course be diving into some interesting postures and techniques and revisiting and refining some old favorites. Yoga is vast. There are so many ways we can learn about ourselves and continue to grow and become more of who we are.
See you soon...

Summer Classes

Next week we begin our 6 week summer session...
Wednesday seems to be full at this point, but do get on the waiting list just in case someone has a change of plans. Otherwise Tuesday and Friday evening still have spaces.
I loved my two weeks off. It allowed for some refreshment and some down time from planning and teaching. However I am so ready to get back into the "simply yoga" rhythmn once again.
See you soon.

Hip Openers

This week we delve into a variety of different ways to care for our hips and low back.
The class and the handout should give you lots of ways to work with your hips that will free you from stiffness, chronic tension and imbalance.
Then 2 weeks off and we start up our 6 week summer session. Starts the week of June 20th.
SEE YOU THEN!!!

8 Limbs of Yoga

This past session we covered 6 of the 8 limbs of yoga. Clearly I got behind in posting a little of our discussion regarding Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara and Dharana. I guess I will just say you had to be in class to pick up those gems.... There is just a little too much to say to include all of that in a few posts. I think the discussion was of great value for all of us and underscored how much yoga offers us in terms of learning, self study and practice. It is vast and has layers upon layers. That is what keeps us coming back to class, and back to the practice over and over again.

3rd and 4th Niyama

The third niyama is TAPAS. Tapas means fire or heat referring to the energy we invest in what we are committed to. Tapas is self-discipline especially in the areas that require consistency and dedication. That heat burns through our resistance, burns off negative emotions and distorted thinking. Tapas helps us to take action when it is required and to show up for what is required.
Your sticky mat is also referred to as a Tapas Mat. Your mat is where you do your practice. It takes tapas to show up and do your practice on a regular basis.

The fourth niyama is SVADHAYA which means self- study or self -inquiry. Knowing oneself is a continual journey. Learning about ourselves: our gifts, our weaknesses, our tendencies as well as our aspirations and our dreams. As we do this it is important that we come to accept ourselves as we are, to befriend all of it and be truthful. We then can offer ourselves compassion, understanding and listening in the same way that we would with a very close friend.

The First Two Niyamas

This week we began our discussion of the first 2 niyamas or personal observances. The first niyama is Saucha which means purity. This includes both outer and inner purity or cleanliness. I think of it as a sort of washing clean, externally and internally. We are all aware of good hygiene and how the postures and the breathing practices purify and cleanse our internal organs and systems of the body. However, the more subtle aspects of Saucha are the internal cleansing of negative emotions. It is important to cultivate skills to release or diminish negativity but only after we have acknowledged it, feel it and identify it. It is easier, then, to begin to cultivate the opposite emotion. Examples would be anger and forgiveness, envy and abundance etc. It is important to recognize these negative emotions as part of being human and then develop skills to move toward a more positive state of mind. Another aspect of Saucha is keeping our living spaces clean and clear of too much clutter. We all know how much better we feel when we are not immersed in chaos.

The second niyama Santosa means contentment. In my view contentment is intentional not just something we sink into. How does one cultivate contentment? Maybe when we are able to get a clearer and more accurate perception of our lives in any moment. But of course that takes practice. Some days it may seem that nothing is going well. Yet by taking a higher vantage point we may see that we are dwelling on one or two events and stuck in an attitude of despair. Yet, if we instead choose to view our life as a tapestry of light and dark and a myriad of colors and textures, we may get a clearer picture and feel more at peace.
We can also choose to be fully involved in our lives, engaging fully in whatever we are doing. In his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mikail Csikszentmihalyi outlines his theory that people are the most happy when they are in a "state of flow " -a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity or situation at hand.
This theory has stayed with me since reading his book many years ago. I know that when I am fully engaged with what I am doing, in any moment, I am much more content, peaceful and ultimately happy.

Summer classes!!

Just found out... summer registration begins May 2nd.
This is particularly important for Wednesday morning students
as this class fills up very quickly.
I will also, of course, be teaching Tuesday and Friday evenings.

The Yamas

The 5 yamas are: 1) ahimsa/ non- harm, compassion and kindness.
2) satya/truthfulness.
3) asteya/ non-stealing, non-envy.
4) brahmacharya/ right use of energy, non-indulgence.
5) aparigraha/ non-attachment, non-possessiveness.

In our discussion of these moral codes of behavior it is important that we continue to look deeply into our own thoughts and behaviors, not with judgement but with an open and curious mind.
If I am conscious I become aware for instance how I use my energy from day to day and where I am placing my values. I can ask myself, did I make really thoughtful choices today or did I react from my conditioning and old habits?

The Eight Limbs or Yoga Tree

This quarter we are revisiting the classical teachings of yoga.
The eight limbs are the whole of a yoga practice. When we see yoga as a tree with parts we cease to think of yoga as just poses with breathing techniques. We see it more as a practice that engages the body, mind and spirit at a deeper level which then makes us accountable for how we live.
This is how I like to teach and share my experience of yoga. We all come from different backgrounds, yet we are all familiar with ethical codes of behavior that we hold up as right and good. In yoga we are privileged to make time to reconnect with our thoughts, our actions, our feelings, our faith, our belief systems and the burdens that wear us down. The teachings remind us that we can reconnect with what is pure and whole within. The light in me, the light in you.
We also give names to aspect of our nature and can then make conscious choices. In other words we wake up.
Yoga is an opportunity to wake up to our life, to being alive , to living well.

Monday Night Yoga

Monday night is yoga at my home yoga studio with 4 intermediate yoginis.
We do mostly flow yoga with philosophy, pranayama and meditation at the beginning.
A wonderful group to say the least.

Guilty Pleasures

At the first class of the each 8 week session, I typically do an introduction and have a "go around" so everyone gets to say a little something about who they are and why they are here.
This week I tweaked that and asked everyone to share their name and then one "guilty pleasure"! That was quite a step away from our usual beginning. However it brought forth not only lots of laughter but our unique humanness and imperfections.
Yoga is not about trying to be perfect or aggressively stomp on our tendencies. It is more about self awareness and conscious choices.
When we do that our guilty pleasure becomes more "just a choice" and something we can look at more deeply and honestly. Maybe we will cease then to feel guilty about it and just thoroughly enjoy it.

Missing You...

Can't wait to start up Simply Yoga classes next week. But have so enjoyed my two weeks off.
It is a tonic for me ... like a "restorative class"... to have a little time off.
See you all soon.

Freeform Yoga Practice

Freeform is a way of practicing that I have enjoyed for a number of years. I am now sharing this experience with a few of my intermediate students who come on Monday nights. One Thursday a month these yoginis join me for an hour of practice. This methodless method of home practice has apparently been around for eons, but I first learned about it from a master of yoga, Erich Schiffmann. There is no "external teaching" involved. Everyone does their own practice.
Freeform allows us to practice from our own inner teacher... Choosing poses that we are drawn to in the present moment. This involves listening to the body and the breath and seeing where it takes us. It is learning to trust our own wisdom and daring to veer in and out of any prescribed ways of sequencing or aligning in the pose. It is going beyond what we have learned into an exploratory experience. "What happens when I do this? How does it feel? Where do I feel spaciousness... where do I feel compression? Can I breathe more into this place? Can I just pause and linger here? Yes."
It is hard to describe this experience.... At first it may be daunting or scary to have this much freedom when you are used to a teacher telling you what to do next. However, it won't be long before you find joy in knowing that you really can practice like this and you have owned your practice in a whole new way.
Let me know if you are interested in joining us one of these Thursdays.

Restorative Yoga and Spring Quarter

Restorative yoga is coming up March 15th, 16th, 18th.
One morning class, two evening classes.
Sign up ASAP.
Registration: 383-3200
This will be the last restorative class I will be teaching for awhile.
During Spring Quarter I will do a Hip Opener class in place of the Restoratives.

Spring quarter registration is now open!

Open to All Possibilities

Surrender includes being open to whatever is happening... being open to the "now event".
This is easier sometimes than other times. That was brought home to me quite clearly last weekend when plans shifted because of bad weather and I ended up with two commitments for the same day. If I choose one I would be missing a 'celebration of life' for a dear friend. If I choose the other I would hurt someone dear to me by not following through on a plan made many months ago.
For some this might be hardly a dilemma at all. Yet for me it was very difficult. I knew what I had to do but was mentally and emotionally in resistance. When we resist, as I well know, it creates suffering. Over the next few days, as I studied my mental process, I learned a lot about resistance. As I moved more and more into my "wisdom mind" I began to see what was real instead of what my old perception was viewing.
As I look back, I recognize it was okay to be disappointed that I would not be able to attend the celebration of life, to feel those feelings. However when I failed to move on I got stuck in old thinking patterns that were not spacious and not full of possibilities, they were rigid and focused on "doing the right thing".
Sometimes "the right thing" is not what we think it is at all.
Maybe sometimes we need to let go of our perception of right and wrong and listen to a Bigger Voice.

Humility

Humility is a dimension of surrender, as Deepak Chopra reminds us.
I have been thinking about humility and managed to locate my little book entitled WABI SABI ( a pair of Japanese words).
I was gifted this book by a friend, who seemed to know how much I would appreciate it.
Wabi has been defined in English as austere elegance, irregular beauty, unpolished. Sabi is interpreted as the beauty that treasures the passage of time and the sense of impermanence it evokes... also the patina that age bestows.
There are many moments when I am drawn to something old that has withstood years of use or worn from exposure to the elements. I consider this a moment to pause and take in that kind of beauty.
It might be interesting to identfy the moments we are humbled and consider why we are touched in that way. At the very most it pulls away "self importance" and creates a bigger perspective for us to view what life is about and how we might live with greater awareness.

Reference: Wabi Sabi. The Art of Everyday Life by Diane Durston

Abundance and Surrender

Last week we looked at the experience of abundance and how being attentive to everyday "grace moments" allows us to feel the richness of life. Seeing those grace moments requires "showing up" for them. Showing up for me means being present or surrendering to them.
We live in a world where distractions are the norm. Being present is almost counter culture.
There is a surrender involved in the experience of abundance and "beginner's mind".
Deepak Chopra gives us steps to practice to hone our ability to surrender in any moment:
Full attention
Appreciation of life's richness
Opening yourself to what is in front of you
Non-judgement
Absence of ego
Humility
Being receptive to all possibilities
Allowing Love

SEEING

When we work with "beginner's mind" and "awesome, wow moments," we are teaching ourselves how to see, really see!
Annie Dillard describes it beautifully in the first few paragraphs of her chapter SEEING, in her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She says it succinctly when she writes, "what you see is what you get".

There are so many opportunities for seeing from a place of wonder and amazement. Nature of course is probably the richest place to find these. Yet they are also sprinkled throughout our day. Often we miss them because we are distracted with our own agendas. However as we learn to look for these moments they come into view more and more often.
I found a beautiful moment recently as I watched a "checker in training" at the grocery store communicate so beautifully with a woman who was developmentally delayed and also physically handicapped. She helped her so compassionately it touched my heart as I watched. What was interesting too, was many shoppers were avoiding that particular line when they saw the "checker in training" sign. Ironically, that line, though slightly slower, was the richest of all. I felt nourished in the deepest sense to have chosen that line.

Healing Thoughts and Prayers

This week one of our Wednesday morning yoga students, Vicki Smith, was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. Many of you expressed wishes to send her your caring thoughts via a card.
If you wish to do that, here is the info.
Vicki Smith, 3550 Sunset Lane, Bellingham Wa, 98229.

Thanks so much.

The Car Wash

In class this week, a student recalled an experience she had with her 4 year old grandson. They made a date to go to the car wash and of course be inside the car as it went through the ritual of soap, water and much scrubbing and blowing. The child was enchanted. My student said she engaged her "inner -4 year old" and the experience became something magical once again.

A simple moment transformed into something wondrous and delightful! How full of grace that moment was for both. It just may be our "solemn duty" to reach for the awesome every day.

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice." - R. D. Lang

Simple Pleasures to Savor

The idea of finding and identifying simple, yet awesome moments is really just the practice of contentment. It is also the practice of taking on a new perspective, a fresh look.
Santosha, which means contentment, is the 2nd Niyama. Niyama is the 2nd of the 8 fold steps of classical yoga.
The Niyamas are practices that guide us.
Contentment is a practice. When we notice and feel discontent in our lives we have moved away from contentment. There is an old aphorism that says: "Enjoy everything. Need nothing". Santosha is intentional, it is more an action than a feeling.
What simple yet precious moments did you savor today? Begin with just one a day.
Record them if this keeps you connected to the practice. Share it with a loved one and let them know what this practice is about. Maybe they will join you.
What makes this practice particularly fun is to find something simple that you normally take for granted and let it become a "grace moment" in your day.
Example: Not knowing what I was going to have for lunch and finding some awesome leftovers that I had forgotten about in the fridge. SWEET, as they say.
It is as simple as that.

Yes! Classes back in full swing.

Ah, so glad to see all of you back to do yoga with me. Yoga community is what makes it fun.

This quarter our theme is "beginners mind". We will engage that "child- mind" ... find new things to awaken to, refining our sensitivity and awareness.
As I sit at my computer, the sun is shining through the trees and into my window and there is a glow on the lake. A moment just to say "WOW". Finding those simple and spectacular "wow moments" in every day creates more happiness and peace of mind.
This is a perfect practice for the season of winter. Winter is a slow, earthy time that asks for contentment.

January Classes

If you have not signed up yet for Winter Quarter you still have time. We start classes next week and I am very excited to see you all and some new faces.
We are having snow and ice this week which may keep people home and not heading out to "classes".
Hopefully by next week the weather may be a little more user friendly. However enjoy the beauty of the snow and clear skies, so pristine and magical.
See you soon