Happy New Year my lovely yogis (and my I'm-still-thinkin'-about-it-but-gonna-try-it-soon-yogis)! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is keeping warm amidst all of the snow and ice!
And even with all the snow, there have been so many good days. How lucky we are to have driveways to shovel and homes and yards to play in! How wonderful it is to have cars and jobs--even when we have to drive extra slow or fall behind on work due to closings. Don't forget to make these days count. Look around and find some gratitude, even when it's hardest to do so. Dinner dates get cancelled--but we have friends and loved ones. Travel plans rearranged--but we have love in our hearts and so much to see! It snows, we shovel, it snows more, and we shovel more--but we have safe homes to run inside, warm beds to cozy up in, and full bellies. How we do anything is how we doeverything--so don't forget to take these days, even when they're difficult, to notice how truly blessed we are. What really matters in this life is how we react to what comes, what choices we make, and how we handle the disruptions, surprises and broken plans. React with patience. Choose with joy. Respond with love and gratitude. Relish in joy and sorrow, so that you remember how good it feels to truly be alive.
My yoga schedule is filled this winter--and I'm already starting to plan for spring! Assuming the weather cooperates, we have lots of chances to meet on the mat this season. Classes and workshops are listed below, and much of it has already begun! I'm running a Mon night Ashtanga 5wk series at Samadhi that began at the beginning of Jan, but if you're curious about it, you can still pro-rate/walk-in once or for the rest of the dates. Also, you must come check out the new West Hartford Yoga studio, now located at 23 Brook Street--I'm now there two classes per week. Descriptions of classes/workshops/events are below, and if you need more info (directions, prices, etc.), please visit: www.samadhiyogastudio.com or www.westhartfordyoga.com for details.
As always, I hope to see you soon...In gratitude, love, and peace,
Rebecca:)
Ongoing, weekly scheduled classes:
Mon, 930-1045am, All Levels Yoga--Samadhi Yoga Studio
Tue & Thur, 6:00-7:15am, Ashtanga--Samadhi Yoga Studio
Wed, 4:30-5:45pm, All Levels--Samadhi Yoga Studio
Thur, 915-1030am, Gentle Yoga--West Hartford Yoga
*NEW!!* Thur, 12:15-1:15pm, Gentle Yoga--West Hartford Yoga (only $5 every week!!!)
Upcoming additional classes:
**FREE** West Hartford Yoga's Open Studio Event, Sat Jan 29 12:00-6:00pm!
Restorative Yoga 2:30-3:30pm, led by myself and Corrina
Workshops/Special Series/Events:
Ashtanga, Full Primary Series (2hrs), led once per month:
Sun Jan 23, 10:30am-12:30pm, Samadhi Yoga Studio
Sun, Feb 20, 10:30am-12:30pm, Samadhi Yoga Studio
Sun, Mar 6, 10:30-12:30pm, Samadhi Yoga Studio
Offered once-per-month: practice the full Primary Series of Ashtanga.
(In my Tue/Thur am classes, we practice only part of the series due to time limitations). See description below or on website for details on Ashtanga.
* * * *
“Time to Learn, Ashtanga Primary Series” 5-week series, Jan 10 - Feb 7, 2011
Walk-ins still welcome, or pro-rate the rest of the series!
Mon, 7:30-8:45pm – Samadhi Yoga Studio
This five-week series explores the Ashtanga Primary series, as originated in Mysore, India. Students build mental and physical strength through a series of challenging postures separated by vinyasas. This class helps students gain greater awarenesses of their mental, emotional, and physical strengths and weaknesses. In turn, students move deeper into their own yoga practices. While building physical flexibility and strength in the legs, core, back, and arms, we will expand our mind-body connection through challenging our willpower, attention, and mental focus. Be prepared to sweat!
Body-Peace Flow, A special event yoga practice
Sun, Mar 27, 10:30am-12:30pm, Samadhi Yoga Studio
Many of us harbor personal histories with body image issues: eating disorders, body dysmorphia, obsessive dieting, and/or other struggles with self esteem. In this two hour all-levels yoga flow, students will be encouraged to acknowledge and release what often hinders us the most: self-disappointment, self-loathing, fear, and shame. Through pranayama (breath), asana (movement), and meditation, we will cultivate an awareness of body/mind/spirit in a compassionate and healing way. Through yoga, we invite self-acceptance even to our most vulnerable spaces; in doing so, we transform our bodies and minds into vehicles that offer support, nurturance, and a greater sense of love and inner peace.
Class descriptions:
Gentle Yoga: All levels of fitness and flexibility are welcome; gentle yoga offers students ways to explore postures safely, peacefully, and with ease. Gentle yoga offers students a chance to confront depth and intensity of movement through patience and softness. Using the breath to initiate movement, we each find our own experience of asanas (postures) through our own level of flexibility and strength. Gentle classes move at a relaxing pace to encourage peaceful movement and meditations; such practices are helpful for stress relief, soothing aching muscles and injuries, and offer a sense of peace and calm to all students. Gentle yoga is wonderful for newer and more advanced students; no experience necessary.
All Levels Yoga: Encouraged to go at your own pace, you will be offered modifications to intensify or soften your yoga practice based on your level of energy, experience, and need on any given day. All Levels yoga offers students a chance to connect with breath, movement, and meditation in order to build strength and flexibility in body and mind. Connecting our asanas (postures) to pranayama (breath) allows us to understand and explore our bodies peacefully and mindfully. Learn to listen to the intuition of your body and quiet the mind, while building strength and flexibility in the core, legs, back, arms, and so forth. Leave feeling at once refreshed, relaxed, and invigorated. No experience necessary.
Ashtanga: This rigorous class builds mental and physical strength and flexibility through a challenging series of postures separated by vinyasa sequences. Ashtanga harmonizes the breath with a set series of poses to produce an intense internal heat and purifying sweat to detoxify the body In this class, we will build physical flexibility and strength in the legs, core, back, and arms, while expanding our mind-body connection through challenging our willpower, attention, and mental focus. This class is open to all levels of practitioners, but prepare yourself for a challenging class! No experience necessary.
Power Yoga: In power classes, we cultivate heat in the body, while diving into a deepened, more intense strength building practice. In this safe space, students gain a greater ability to witness and accept their strengths and weaknesses through basic and advanced postures that challenge stamina, endurance, and personal will. In power classes, explore, endure, build patience and strength, increase confidence, all while utilizing the breath to maintain inner calm and equanimity. Such practices introduce new ways to make room for patience and compassion, ultimately leading us to feel rejuvenated in body, mind and spirit. This class is often heated, so be prepared to sweat as we build core strength, upper and lower body strength; we may explore inversions and/or arm balances. While this is open to all levels, newer students should be prepared to go at their own pace.
