Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving....I hope that all of you will have a moment to consider your blessings and feel grateful this week. I want to let you know that I am SO VERY thankful for each of you! I have said it before, but it bears repeating, it is such a gift and delight to be with you in yoga practice each week. Life is a journey for each of us as we explore how to live one moment and breath at a time. The journey is made easier and sweeter with the company of open hearted people like you! Happy Thanksgiving!

A yoga survey!

If you are a current or former participant in my yoga classes, I invite you to take part in a short 10 question survey. To complete the survey go to survey monkey: Click here to take survey

Accepting what is

I have been reading a book titled "Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change" by Pema Chodron. She writes about the notion of suffering, and in particular, about the fact that the way we choose to think about things impacts how we feel and how we behave. An example of this concept played out for me just yesterday. As I was driving along through town, I was pulled over by the local police for speeding (unintentionally this time, really!!) As I was pulling over, I made a deliberate decision that I was not going to get mad about this event, but rather, I would simply resign myself to the fact that I had been distracted, I had indeed been going too fast, and now I was due for my very first speeding ticket! In the past,an event like this would have really made my blood boil. I would have been irritated and would have spent considerable time thinking that I was having a terrible day and that nothing was going to go right, etc. I like to think that my yoga practice (and Pema Chodron's book) helped me and enabled me to step back from "awfulizing" the situation, by simply accepting the event just as it was. Maybe my calm demeanor is the reason why (or maybe the officer was just feeling generous)I drove away with a warning and no ticket. Who knows! I do know that my day went smoothly and my mood was calmer and more relaxed as a result of simply accepting things as they were as opposed to wishing for circumstances to be different.

Blessed are the flexible

I love this quote: "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape." Michael McGriffy MD Many of us consider our yoga practice as a way to maintain good health and flexibility. We sometimes need to be reminded that as we practice, we are working on mental and emotional flexibility as well. Each time we are on the mat, we have an opportunity to release rigid and judgmental thinking so that we can become more responsive and open as each day unfolds.

a quote for fall

"Autumn is a second spring, where every leaf is a flower" Albert Camus

A commercial

Maybe you've seen it....the commercial for Burlington Coat Factory where different folks walk into a room or situation and verbalize what they hope their clothes are saying about them ("Yup...I'm an artist"..."I am classically handsome" etc!). This always gets me thinking and giggling to myself about how much time we spend wondering about what others think of us! Despite worrying and wondering about what other people are thinking, I am also struck by the idea that I often am so preoccupied and distracted, that I honestly have no awareness about how I may be presenting myself to others. I hope that others see me as a caring and open person, but I am guessing that when I am not "present" that I probably appear as exactly the opposite. I hope that my yoga practice can help me really be focused on the tasks and people right in front of me. Rather than considering how I appear to others in order to feel better myself, I hope that I can work on being 'there' so that others feel recognized and valued.

New Yoga Class offering in Burnsville!

A new yoga class will be starting in Burnsville on Monday October 14th at Dynamic Journey Massage and Wellness (just off 35W and Burnsville Parkway). The class meets from 12-1pm on Monday's and the cost is $55 for 6 weeks of class. If you are interested, don't hesitate...as the class size will be limited to 6 participants!! Email for more information or to get a registration form: karenyogam@gmail.com