Be Inspired...

Don't miss the new yoga calendar for 2013....   An inspiration for the new year.

A Big Thank You...

A big thank you to all of you who attended the Holiday De-stressor Classes.   It just shows us how important and effective yoga is at this time of year.   The theme helped us to realize and consider myths and outdated "rules" about "Christmas giving" and how we get stuck in  old mindsets.
Christmas and holiday time need to be refreshed and reconsidered each year as we grow wiser and are able to let go of whatever is no longer meaningful and  does not serve the purpose intended.
Change is good.  
The new year is ahead and we may all have changes that we want to integrate into our lives that
will make this coming year more rich and more deeply truthful to our values.
May your new year be a wondrous year full of light and new discoveries to you inner life and your outer life.  May you claim your resilience as you meet challenges along the way.

   Sending love to you all ,    Maureen

Yoga calendars are now available!!!

Calendars are hot off the press.   I will be bringing them to class for purchase.   $16. 
Lots of playful, inspiring images to take you through the year ahead.   Thanks again to my wonderful models, couldn't do it without you!!!!

21 Day Meditation Challenge

This resource was mentioned this week in class by one of my students.   She is doing this daily and gives it a big thumbs up!
It is Deepak Chopra's 21 Day Meditation Challenge.   If you are interested in having a daily "lead" 15 min meditation for 21 days, Google the above and get started.   It might be just the tonic to get you through the holidays and start you on a daily ritual.

Holiday De-stressor Class

The Holiday De-stressor class started this week...   So happy we are sharing yoga through these next few weeks.   It is a wonderful reminder to stay with what is meaningful during this season.  There are so many distractions and it is so easy to get side-tracked.   What is your MANTRA for the month of Decemeber?    Here is a simple one  "Breathe, Relax and Savor the Moment".  If you said that 3 times a day... it might  just be the needed antidote to holiday stress.
See you in class!!!

Restorative Yoga

This week we enjoyed 2 lovely, rejuvenating, restorative classes in an extremely cozy room!   We had more heat than we normally have in the ballroom thanks to space heaters and fireplace.   It was easy to melt into the poses without too many adjustments.
If you missed Restorative Yoga this time be sure to sign up for the winter session.
Looking forward to "Holiday De-stressor" classes coming up the week after Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Confronting Pain or Loss

June Singer, Jungian analyst and author tells us this having made the journey from suffering and pain to compassion and creativity:

"Whether it is physical, emotional, whatever kind of pain, don't storm against it.  Don't resist it with questions like, Why me?  Why this?  Instead say to yourself, This is what the situation is , This is where I am and this is what is happening right now, What can I make of this?  How can I deal with it?  How must I change?  How can I change the situation?  You really have to take it on without deluding yourself, without denying how hard it is, that's what I've learned about pain".

Resilience and Compassion

In the book, The Resilient Spirit, the author tells us that true compassion is a powerful antidote to our suffering and pain because it prevents us from feeling isolated and separate from others.  When our lives and understanding take on a bigger context, we don't feel so alone.   What we are going through begins to have meaning in the larger picture.  
The author says" sometimes, the direct experience of authentic pain can propel one completely beyond old neurotic habits,  as I've seen in a few people who have encountered serious illness, betrayal, or loss unexpectedly.  They were suddenly able to move beyond their neurotic quirks  to become compassionate."

The Story of the Emperor...

What does resilence have to do with being in the moment, and bringing all your care and attention to who you are with and what love and compassion require?
In the story about the emperor that we heard this past week, there were three questions: when is the most important time, who is the most important person and what is the most important thing to do?
The answers were:  the most important time is NOW, the most important person is the ONE YOU ARE WITH and the most important thing to do is TO CARE. 
Try living this for a day or half a day or a couple of hours.    See what changes occur.
If you are alone, then the most important person is you and the most important thing to do is to show compassion and kindness towards yourself.

The Resilient Spirit

This quarter I will be drawing some stories and wisdom from the book by Polly Young Eisendrath entitled, The Resilient Spirit.    I think most of us are attracted to that quality of resilience.   How do we cultivate that in ourselves when we are faced with the obstacles and challenges in our lives?
This author helps us discover that.

P.Y.Eisendrath, PhD., is a psychologist, Jungian psychoanalyst and Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Universtiy of Vermont College of Medecine.   She write and lectures widely about human development and does research on resilience.

Yoga Watercolor Calendar

As most of you know I do a yoga calendar every year.   Because of health issues, needless to say,  I am way behind on my paintings.   At some point I had decided just to forgo the calendar for this year.
However,  that decision didn't sit well with me as I began to feel better.  Since then,  I have decided to go ahead with the calendar and mix in some of my favorite (and your favorite) previous paintings to make the needed total of 13.   I am finding once again that when things shift and change, we can shift and change with them.     Yoga is and should be adaptive!!!   Life asks of us the same.    Of course, not doing the calendar this year and feeling okay about that would also be an adaption.   "We always have a choice".    My choice right now is making satisfiying decisions that don't come with too much stress and pressure.   We shall see how that unfolds.  :)

Fall Quarter Begins...

A beautiful sunny week welcomed us back to yoga classes, Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.   New faces and old faces showed up in both classes.
I am so happy to be back teaching again after a well needed break.    Thank you those of you who sent cards and emails wishing me healing and wellness.   I so appreciated them.  I am gaining some of the lost weight back slowly but surely and am being treated symptomatically for migraines and nausea. The meds have helped to diminish and control my symptoms somewhat but not alleviate them.  However I am able to function better these days and that is a blessing.
Yoga teaches us to be present, taking each moment as it comes.   Life is a gift with a great deal of mystery attached to it.   

A Sense of Wonder

Everything comes to those who do not crave for anything.  -Ravi Ravindra

Fall Quarter

These past few weeks with all the ups and downs of health issues I have had to struggle with the decision of teaching my three WCC classes.    There have been times I felt I was just not going to be able to commit to a schedule and feel reliable and other times I was sure I could.
Recently my symptoms have become more manageable.   It may be because of a new medicine I am taking or it may be something else.   However,  I believe that I can commit to doing two WCC classes per week and that is Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.   I have cancelled the Friday class for now.   I am hoping that some of the Friday people might be able to switch to Tuesday.
I am still doing privates, so if that suits anyone it may be another option.  I feel comfortable with keeping the privates as I can cancel and reschedule them if I need to.
As most all of you know, teaching yoga is what I love.     Having a yoga community to practice with, continuing to grow and learn, has become a way of life over the years.     All of you contribute to that.     I am so very grateful for that opportunity.   I will make every effort to maintain that for as long as I can.
Looking forward to seeing you very soon.

Friends and the kindness of others...

Challenging times are made so much more manageable by friends who help along the way.
The help I am talking about is not about "fixing"  it is more like "serving".    We serve each other in all kinds of ways in many varied circumstances.   Often we are not aware of the impact a small gesture of kindness makes.   "Service" is a form of support and caring.   It is a tonic when we feel alone or afraid.   It lifts us up and makes us stronger.   It makes the journey easier.
When we are experincing hard times we need to be open to the kindness of others, letting go of
whatever hold us back from accepting what is offered.
 When we allow others to help us , as my friend said, we are giving a gift to them, also.
 It is reciprocal.
 There is an old saying that I hold dear.  It goes something like this:   "At the deepest level, there is no giver, no gift, no receiver... only the universe rearranging itself"... author unknown.

Difficult Times

Illness has so much to teach us about life and about ourselves,  especially if it is a prolonged illness.
As  I go through dealing with symptoms from my health issues that are at times debilitating, it changes my perspective.   I want so much to cope well to the best of my ability using the tools that I have practiced over the years in better times.   Some days I have a positive outlook and can live well with what is happening.   Other days the circumstances of my life seem so  overwhelming I fear I am losing my ability to just hang in there.    In those times I can loose confidence in my ability to stay with what is...  
I am wondering if sometimes we expect too much of ourselves... We think if we have learned and have achieved a certain level of wisdom that we will be able to respond at a higher level in each moment.   I suspect that is not what being human is.   Being human is being able to experience all of it and humbly accept that we can only be where we are, walking the walk with the ups and downs and experiencing an array of emotions without trying to only accept the so called positive ones.   Learning to be patient with ourselves as we climb a "mountain", as we get discouraged at times, or afraid, is all part of the journey.   We don't get to leap over the emotions we don't like.   If we do we will probably  have to visit them later when they burst forward, unexpectedly.      I believe that is where I am doing some intensive learning now... being more comfortable and accepting the difficult emotions as they come and go.

Nature Heals

Because of current health issues I was not able to plant my outdoor pots as I usually do in late spring.
For weeks I kept looking out at the sad looking planters containing  a few perennials  that survived the winter but looking very negelected indeed.   Maybe they reflected myself and what was happening in my life.   I had simplifed my life and was not able to put energy into things that were not essential.   A friend had offered to do my pots for me, but that meant I had to go and pick out the plants I wanted  and I didn't even have the energy for that.   So my pots went uncared for .

This past weekend my energy and my wellness shifted and I was able to get to the Garden Spot to pick out flowers and plants.   Yesterday most got planted and now I look out at the happy planters and I feel a wave of happiness just to see the gift of nature.    I feel a surge of healing happening inside my heart... my body may be still trying to heal but my heart has taken a huge step forward.

Summer begins...

We have moved gently from spring into summer yoga and it feels quite perfect and so needed.   The days are long and temperatures are warming.
The  two readings  in our first two classes have come from a book entitled,   Being Generous.  The Art of Right Living.
The first week was a story about a woman who said she was sorry,  apologizing after carrying a burden of shame for many years.   The second was an act of pure kindness and compassion  from one stranger to another.
Both these stories are examples of the practice of generosity.   Generosity invites "a spark of hope by which people themselves are transformed, enabled and revivified."
How does generosity become not just "an exceptional attribute but more an ordinary, everyday constant?"
"Generosity is a creative act... an attitude and an ethos."

If we choose to we can practice the art of generosity in our daily lives by making it a priority to be generous in some way, large or small, everyday.   Overtime it becomes a part of who you are, for  "being generous... you become generous."

Sorry for very few posts lately...

Just to say I am sorry I have not posted much lately.   I have been dealing with a health issue that
has taken up a great deal of my energy.   Hopefully  I am moving towards wellness and
will be back to writing again soon.

"I thought it was just me..."

"I Thought It Was Just Me" is the title of another book that Brene Brown has written on shame and shame resilence.   The more I read Brene's work the more I see how insidious and prevalent this is in our society.  One very important way that we can become kind, compassionate and true to ourselves,  is by becoming "shame resilient".   The thing about shame is that everyone has it.   We cannot get rid of it but we can learn to identify it and move through it.  All of us want to be perceived in a certain way. We have an ideal of how we want to be seen.  We also have "unwanted identities" of how we don't want to be perceived.   Many of these unwanted identities come from our family of origin.   Of course, often society and culture contribute to these identities.
There are certain things that trigger our shame.   Brene calls them "shame triggers". 
However if we view vulnerability and shame as "weakness", we are less likely to investigate our own shame triggers.  Understanding our vulnerability and shame is a source of strength and this will lead us to finding the support we need to see the big picture (context) aswell as "normalizing" and "demystifying" it.

Vulnerability and Shame

This quarter our hot topic, our theme, is shame.   I know that sounds scary and frankly it is.
It is scary partly because we don't talk about it.    Shame often involves aspects of ourselves that we keep hidden.  We think if people knew "that" about us they would think less of us.  We would rather put up a good front and somehow fit in.  However, that kind of thinking takes its toll.   We live with constant fear, however deeply buried, that we will be found out.    Instead we keep dancing, as fast as we can.    Some of the things we keep hidden have to do with a huge range of issues: appearance and body image, family, relationships, parenting, money, work, health, addiction, sex, aging and religion to name a few of the main ones.  Yes, to feel shame is to be human.
What I hope we will all learn, as we wade through some of this, is to become more shame resilient.   In doing that we will relax into being more ourselves, more authentic, with a whole lot less fear and anxiety and ultimately more lovable and more real to each other.

The book I am using this quarter as a resource is Brene Brown's  The Gifts of Imperfection.  I would encourage you to get your own copy of this book and keep it close.   It is full of down to earth wisdom.

Spring classes begin next week...

Hello everyone.  Spring classes will begin soon.   Hope you are as ready as I am.    I do think 2 weeks off is good for all of us.   It gives me a well needed break and it gives you a chance to re-think what your yoga means to you and do some practice on your own, if you are not already.   Most of you know more than you think.   However when it comes to stepping onto your mat, alone, it can be scary!!! No one to tell you what to do!!!!    A teacher of mine once said, " let your inner guidance lead you", don't worry about right and wrong.  Just get into your body and explore shapes, sensation, breath.   When you find that child within it will be easier to let go of judgement and just play.
SEE YOU SOON.

SET THE COMPASS OF YOUR HEART

From our discussion last week, I shared this with you.

Jack Kornfield writes in his a brief article entitled, "Set the Compass of Your Heart",   "No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we can always set our compass to our highest intentions in the present moment."   If you have enough awareness, you take the pause and ask yourself, "what is my highest intention in this moment?"
Recently I had an opportunity to use this skillful action.   It made all the difference.   I was not tempted to go back into the past and feel the grievances from before.    I let them go and set my heart compass.
Everyday we can set our compass... but we will only do this if we take the time to press the "reset button". :)

Registration for Spring Quarter

Can you believe it, we are coming up to Spring Quarter...      SO, that means time to register for classes.
Don't wait...  classes fill up, especially the Wed morning class.

APARIGRAHA- Non-attachment, non-possessiveness.

When we discuss non-attachment it invites us to look at how we so often cling to wanting life to go the way we want.  However, we see that in fact we are never sure how things will unfold and turn out.
We also find that everything changes.
 If we identify too strongly with what we think, our understanding, our opinions, our likes and dislikes we may find our world becoming more and more narrow and we become more contracted.
The practice of letting go is built into our yoga practice.   Our last pose, Savasana, is the pose of surrender, the pose of deep rest and release.   When we practice Savasana, we embody this quality of yielding and accepting what is in the moment.  However, we do not have to be in the pose to practice this.  Everyday we have opportunites to let go of a thought, a negative feeling, a judgement, a disappointment,  and invite in something new... we become more spacious, more open to change.
We become more curious and more loving.

Brahmacharya- right use of energy, moderation, restraint.

This yama focuses on using energy wisely... physical energy, mental energy, emotional energy, sexual energy etc.
If we overindulge, we have little energy left for things that we value and are part of a healthy life.
One can overindulge in almost anything... including things we may think are essential or part of a wholesome life.     When we practice restraint, we are able to create balance and wholeness.

Some examples of things we might indulge in are: working, shopping, watching TV, sleeping, exercising, eating, using the computer, talking and answering cell phones and so on.  We can become addicted to almost anything...   It might be helpful to examine your routines and rituals to see if there is anything that deserves some restraint.

ASTEYA: Non-stealing, non-envy

If we say we do not steal physical things or property, we may steal other more subtle energies such as time.   How do we steal time?   We might unconsciously steal time from another by being chronically late or forgetful.   We might steal energy when we exhaust someone over and over by our needs.  Asteya means to not take something that is not freely given.   It can also refer to  refraining from wanting or craving something that you have not worked for or was not meant to be yours.   That can be a quality, a talent or an experience, aswell as an object.
   When we say off-handedly, "Oh I am so jealous!", we move away from the experience of just being happy for someone else's good fortune...also know as "sympathetic joy".
If we are controlling others we may be "stealing" their opportunity to live freely, to have their own experiences, to make their own decisions, to learn from their mistakes.
When we steal we come from a place of insufficiency, of lacking.   When we live from a place of abundance we feel grateful and content.

Satya- truthfulness

When we share something about another we always have the option of PAUSING and asking ourselves: Is it true?      Is it kind?    Is it necessary?     If is does not pass this test, then maybe it should not be spoken.   This comes from Islamic teachings and is called "the three gates".
I like this "filter".   Sometimes we might share something that cannot even pass through one of these gates...   
When we consider the act of telling the truth, this is a simple and helpful reminder.   Ahimsa and satya go hand in hand: non-harm and truthfulness.

It is also helpful to consider what is our intention behind what we share.   In order to do that we have to be completely truthful about what our purpose was.   We may be surprised to find out that it did not come from a caring place but more from and place of ego, or control.

Getting to know ourselves at a deeper level is not an easy journey, yet is is a deeply fulfilling one and can move us toward freedom of heart, mind and spirit.

Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Practicing the Yamas

We began classes this week by focusing on the five YAMAS.   The first Yama is AHIMSA:  non-harm, kindness and compassion.    The best way to learn the yamas is to practice them.   I have shared a few questions to invite the practice of ahimsa into your daily life.

1. Can I freely give a compliment, an affirmation a statement of appreciation or encouragement?

2. Can I go beyond what is expected of me? 

3. Can I treat others the way I like to be treated?

4. Can I pay it forward when something good comes my way?

5. Can I PAUSE and LISTEN and not fill up the space?

Can you pick just one of these and practice it for a day, a week, a month?  Then ask yourself what you have discovered about the practice of AHIMSA.

POSTURE

Food for thought...

The word for posture in French is "attitude".

Alignment and posture is not to be experienced only in a physical sense, it is also about aligning with a "higher energy or spirit".    Body posture may well be an important factor in a higher quality of attention and alertness.    

What are you aligning with in your life? 

Friday classes cancelled...

Although the college is open today, yoga is cancelled for tonight due to me still being sick with respiratory flu.   See you all next week.

Practicing yoga off the mat...Mindfulness and Refraining

As I looked forward to starting classes this week I was met with a nasty respiratory flu and a snowfall that canceled the first two classes ( Tue, Wed).   In some ways I was glad the classes were cancelled because of the weather as I had already reluctantly informed the college that I would be unable to teach. Truthfully, I was frustrated with myself for getting ill.   I know, that makes no sense and yet there it was.   Sometimes I lean so heavily into responsibility to my students it prevents me  from "trusting whatever happens".   I do believe that "everything happens for a reason"... so why torture myself? 
 Fortunately what I have noticed over the years is that I am less and less disturbed by events that
seem inconvenient or are not what I had hoped or planned for.   If I get "hooked" by a feeling of disappointment, I can shake it off pretty quickly. 
Pema Chodrun talks about mindfulness and "refraining".     In my case I soon found myself "refraining" from moving towards frustration.   Instead I discovered myself  shifting gears and and enjoying the benefits of a forced retreat and different way of living for a few days.
This way of responding to events is an example of "Ahimsa" or non-harm. Non-harm includes"seeing clearly with respect and compassion for what is".

This quarter we will be discussing more insights into the Yamas, Ahimsa being the first yama, part of the "tree of yoga".

Classes cancelled...

Well we didn't get started with classes this week as planned. :(
Snow storms got in the way and also I came down with a nasty respiratory virus.  
Friday class is  probably a go weather wise,
but I will see if I have recovered enough for teaching.
The WCC will be calling you, if you are a Friday student, to let you know if Friday class is cancelled.
Do not try to do a "make-up class" on Friday before first calling the WCC, or email or call me to see if the class is a go.
Hopefully see you next week.  :)

To be empty...

"To be empty, completely empty, is not a fearsome thing.   It is absolutely essential for the mind to be unoccupied, to be empty, unenforced, for only then can it move to unknown depths."                    - J. Krishnamurti

           

               

A NEW YEAR HAS BEGUN...

I am always inspired in January.   Once the holiday decor is put away I can feel new energy and the "possibilities" awaiting.   However  I can only receive new energy and fresh perceptions by making space.

In the physical realm, most of us are saving things we don't need to save.    We have too much "stuff".   Just go through your closet or cupboards or garage and you will see it.    

Sometimes these things represent memories...  we are holding the memory.   

Memories are great, we all need them, yet we don't necessarily need the physical representation of them.     Think of the release of these objects as a way of moving forward and opening to a new chapter in your life.   I went to Goodwill yesterday, with my donations.   If felt great.   I could  do this on a more regular basis or at least more often.   It is like taking 3 deep breaths, and savoring a new moment, feeling like a new, or renewed person.  Happy New Year.