Dreams of Summer....

Despite the cool, rainy weather, spring and summer will be here soon! Since May is just around the corner, that means that I need to start planning for summer yoga sessions. I will check on space needs first, but I also need student input from you. Often the summer means travel and a busy schedule of family visits, graduations, and outdoor fun. Please let me know if you plan to take yoga classes this summer. Also let me know if you have some dates that you'd like me to avoid.

Obviously I cannot work around everyone's schedule, but if many of you have conflicts during the same time, then I will certainly take that into account as I schedule yoga classes. One example....I often do not schedule any yoga classes during the week of the 4th of July. This year, the 4th is on a Friday....so perhaps it makes more sense for the Monday class to skip July 7 rather than canceling class on Monday June 30.

Please feel free to email me, or just tell me before or after class if you're planning to attend summer yoga, and let me know if you have any troublesome dates as well.

Thanks so much. It really helps to get feedback so that I can arrange to do what works best for most!

Need a private session?

Did you know that I am available to meet on a 1:1 basis and help you with your yoga practice??

Whether you have an old nagging injury that needs some attention, or an issue with depression or anxiety, I can be of assistance. It is always wonderful to practice yoga in a group or class setting and benefit from shared energy and intention....but sometimes we need to practice in a way that suits our unique needs and issues at the moment. If you feel that you are having trouble starting a yoga practice due to some physical or emotional issues, please contact me. I am a licensed mental health professional and a yoga instructor. Let me help you identify what it is that might be weighing you down or holding you back physically or emotionally.

Make a commitment to be your best self NOW. It will be a gift you give to yourself....and it will be a gift that you give to those around you as you discover small ways to be at your best each day. Self care is not selfish....it is the first step to being fully present and available to truly care for others.

Yoga is a powerful practice not just for flexibility and strength for the physical body, it is a practice that can move us past old emotional traumas, hurts, and self doubt. Call or email me if you'd like more information about a private yoga session.

Take very, very, good care! Peace!

Time for Self Care

What is it that makes it so hard to take good care of ourselves? Why do we push so hard and rest so little? I suspect that if you are like me, that this comes from a small voice within that is convinced that there is not enough time. Even when there is plenty of time, we get impatient and want things to move quickly. We make decisions to work more and sleep less...we respond to the needs of others and put our own needs at the bottom of our priority list.
Make a commitment to slow down a bit. You may just find that with a slower, more thoughtful pace, you actually get more done! Take good care of yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Get good rest. Eat well. Move and breathe and approach each day as the gift that it is. If that is hard to do....try some yoga! Yoga will put you in touch with what your body needs. Yoga practice will help you feel more aware of your emotions and thinking. Yoga will bring you focus and clarity, connecting you with the beauty and divine that is at your center. Surely we all have some time for that!

New Yoga Class sessions begin next week!

Please read through the list of yoga classes I am currently offering...hopefully one of them will work with your schedule! The next set of yoga classes will begin next week and it is not too late to join the fun. Contact me if you have questions or concerns, or just be there for the first day of the session.

As a reminder, if you'd like to bring a friend or neighbor to try out the class, they can attend for a $10 drop in fee.

Have a nice Easter weekend.....peace, beauty and love to you all.

Rumi Quote

I shared this Rumi quote a few weeks ago in some of my yoga classes...here it is again:

Raise your words, not your voice.
It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.

More about inner beauty!

Did you see the news coverage last week about Dove's "study" on beauty? They gave women patches to wear on their skin and explained that they contained ingredients that would promote beauty and help them feel more beautiful. In a true example of the placebo effect or a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' all the women reported feeling more beautiful while wearing the patch. The participants cited examples where others were suddenly complimenting them. They reported personally feeling more energetic and relaxed. After finding out that there was nothing in the patch, the realization set in for the women that each of us create our own beauty based on our thinking and perceptions.

Our culture has some pretty deliberate ways of going about getting us to feel inadequate (mostly so that we will then buy a product that will restore us somehow). This is especially true for women, but men are experiencing a pressure to look a certain way as well. We have become obsessed with what is wrong with our looks and our physicality, instead of honoring our bodies and treating them with respect and care.

Instead of spending energy this week on berating yourself or being self-critical, be deliberate about being the very best YOU that you can be. Yoga teaches us that each moment and each breath is a new start....so use your time well. Whatever is true, whatever is lovely, whatever is worthy of praise....think on these things!

You just never know.....

First of all, I am writing this after my Thursday evening class and it is windy and snowing out.  I am so proud of all you "fierce yogis!!" I mean fierce not in terms of anger or aggression, but fierce as in determined, dedicated and consistent! I am so lucky to be your teacher. In all of my classes during this seemingly endless and brutal winter (even early April is feeling pretty wintery!) I have been so impressed by the dedication and commitment that you all have when it comes to showing up for your yoga practice.

So, in honor of all of my students...I will be doing a little promo....that only those of you who check in with my blog will be able to participate in....leave a comment or some sign that you have been reading...and you just never know...you may be the lucky one to receive a discounted session, a yoga prop, or maybe a bit of chocolate. Small tokens of my love and gratitude for all of you!

Spring will be here soon....in the meantime, enjoy the beauty of YOU and look for beauty all around you!

New Habit....day 8!

I wrote last week that I was going to try to re-establish a new meditation practice. I have successfully "sat" on my meditation cushion for the last 8 days! I have tried to make this as easy and accessible as possible: by setting out my meditation cushion and timer and telling myself that the only requirement is to sit quietly and breathe for a minimum of 2 minutes! Not a long time, and it sounds easy, but I am hoping to first build the habit of meditating each day, and then as I get comfortable, adding time to each "sit."
So, that's my progress so far. I hope that by sharing my efforts that I will inspire all of you to try one new healthy habit this spring. Breathe deep....take a moment to see the beauty in today.
Peace,