slow down
yoga
Slow down ~ Tune in ~ Take care
Yoga is a practice that brings together body, mind and spirit in one unified experience. A lot of good can come from that. This gentle practice is to slow yourself to the pace of your breath, cultivate presence and ease, strength and flexibility in body and mind, and interrupt the accumulations and consequences of stress in mind and body. This class is best suited for people with some yoga experience. Not expert or advanced but familiarity with the structure of a class.
Tuesdays at noon, Trinity Episcopal Church in the Chapel
Wear comfortable clothes, bring a mat if you have one but I will have some extra yoga mats for those who don’t.
Donation based
Through November, Monetary donations in any amount will be accepted but are not necessary to attend. If you’d prefer to bring in donations of new hats and mittens, I will donate the collected items at the start of December.
Let me tell you why I practice yoga… and why maybe you should, too.
slow down
Imagine slowing your mind to the pace of your breath. Slowing your moment down so you can catch up with yourself right here and right now. What would be here for you to notice? What would come into the space? A pleasant scent, light through a stained glass window, quiet?
A teacher once said to me, “Busy is when the mind is occupied thinking about what we are not doing.” Yoga is an opportunity to bring the mind into the body. This practice is meant to give you a full-sensory glimpse into presence. With practice, the glimpse becomes a gaze and a gaze becomes a focus. Your body knows that this moment is good enough; it is already full. Your body knows that you are OK. No need for the busy-ness, no need for distractions. It is full and good enough, just as it is. Ask your body.
tune in
In the practice of yoga, we can notice the state of our bodies, which often mirror the state of our minds. Learning to notice the patterns of holding ourselves, areas of stiffness and areas of natural flexibility can help us open up new space for deeper breaths, greater ease and all sorts of other possiblities.
This yoga practice aims to cultivate awareness of our bodies by paying gentle attention to the experience of each movement and each posture, finding what feels good and what feels necessary. The target areas are major joints like hips and shoulders, as well as the spine. Strength and flexibility are a magical pair.
Always go slow and take care, find alternatives when something doesn’t feel right. Feel free to ask.
take careare
Slowing down to this very moment, to the pace of your breath, noticing what is here in the inner and outer worlds, what will you do? How will you respond? If you notice a stiffness, a sadness, a resistance, how will you respond? The most reliable answer is to respond with care.
Yoga is a practice of caring for the self. Sometimes caring is a direct act, a posture held until the body makes more space. Sometimes it is little acts of cultivation. Paying attention to the soil of our being so what we love can grow. Seeing the patterns that cause us to contract and bringing gentleness to that contraction. It is all a process. Not an achievement, not a destination. Taking care is a process of returning over and over again to something attentive and caring. Sometimes, something gentle. Sometimes something fierce. Pay attention so care is responsive to the self in the moment, rather than … something else.