"Its been 15 months..."

"Its been 15 months since I practiced yoga."

"Its been 15 months since I went to a yoga studio." These two phrases are what I am hearing most often lately from people when they walk in the studio door. My response is a big smile and "welcome back!" I want you to know that you are welcome back, when you are ready, and you are not alone. Whether it is 15 months, 2 years, 10 years, or any amount of time, you always have a mat spot in my class. If you have questions about coming back to studios, please email me, I am always happy to listen and/or help. There are no silly questions, we are all navigating in new territory. If you are happy with the flexibility of home or virtual practice, then that is amazing too, and I am continuing to offer the videos and meditations to support all the wonderful ways to practice. Please also remember that yoga is more than the physical practice, the asanas, or poses. Chances are, you HAVE practiced in some way, shape, or form over this crazy past year. Whether it was taking a deep breath to center yourself (practicing pranayama), helping a neighbor practicing aparigraha), or expressing gratitude (practicing santosa), I know there are ways you are embodying yoga off the mat, and that is a sign of a mature and advanced practice.

Be kind to yourself.

#offthemat #welcomeback #grouphug #youaremissedevenifyoudontknowit #yourpracticematters #virtualyoga #meditations #ondemandyoga #pranayama #santosa #aparigraha #community

Cultivating Friendliness

Yoga Sutra 3.24: Inner Strength manifests from the cultivation of friendliness

This sutra is one that illuminates itself when I read it. Friendliness is typically thought of as a manner in which we interact and greet people, and this is a wonderful practice.

What about also cultivating friendliness towards ourselves, and concerted friendliness in our approach to daily tasks and even objects? How about friendliness towards our own thoughts and emotions?

Spend one minute and approach everything with friendliness, absent of judgement. Then try one hour and perhaps one whole day. Where could it lead?

Here is a meditation to help reflect on friendliness.

1. Find a comfortable position.

2. Take some deep breaths, allowing thoughts and emotions to be present, yet beginning to settle down with your awareness on breath.

3. Bring to mind the word "friendliness."

4. What images, memories, people or ideas come up along with the word? If friendliness had a physical shape, what would it look like, feel like, sound like, smell like? What is its energy? Observe.

5. Now breathe in the energy of friendliness, and let it embody you. Notice what you feel in your body, mind, spirit.

6. Spend as much time as you wish exploring the concept and your connection to friendliness. When you are ready to release your meditation, become aware of breath and body and gently move back into your day.

Cultivate friendliness through samyama (simultaneous concentration, meditation, and deep absorption on a subject).

#meditation #friendliness #yogasutras

You Have Prepared for This

This week has been a steady reminder of taking our yoga and meditation off our mats and into daily life. You are more prepared than you might believe.

One translation (SwamiJ) of Yoga Sutra 1.1 is:

Now, after having done prior preparations through life and other practices, the study of Yoga begins.

Your yoga begins in every moment. It begins when you remember to pause and take a deep breath to recenter. It begins when you catch your mind wandering into a story and make the choice to acknowledge and redirect. It begins when you hold all the good in your brain at the same time as the negative stuff, to see the big picture of a multitude of pieces at one time.

It begins when you remember to practice self-care and replenish yourself. Now is the time to continue or even increase your meditations and yoga to support yourself, your family, your community. I am working on online content and will keep you updated on how to access it.

Please, please, please also explore different ways to support your local yoga studios.

These past weeks in Massachusetts have been a challenge and a whirlwind of rapid shifts. But what I also see is a remarkable practice of the yamas (codes of self-regulation in how we interact with the world and other people, Yoga Sutra 2.30). Individuals, small businesses, corporations, and governments are choosing to put the community needs first in words and in action.

#yogasutras #youareprepared #alwaysbeprepared #onlineyoga #yamas