YogaNow Email Newsletter, January 14, 2006

"Kindness is wisdom.
-Philip James Bailey

Class Changes

Ashtangis Take Note! Jon Berman will lead the second series at YogaNow Mountain Run Saturdays at 11 am beginning this week, 1/14.  Be there!

Christina is now teaching Tuesday 7pm Level I at YogaNow Gold. Christina has been teaching yoga at a local community center and taking the YogaNow Teacher Training Apprentice Program, so she’s our first apprentice to teach for YogaNow. Please join her for Level 1 on Tuesday evenings.

Gold studio schedule   |  Mountain Run studio schedule

Did You Know?

You can experience a Yoga Private with most teachers at YogaNow. This is a chance to work with your favorite teacher on developing a home practice tailored to you, focus on specific poses that call to you or find poses to work with areas of your body that request more attention. 

Privates cost about $50-$75, depending on your yoga teacher. You can call YogaNow, (505) 232-4717, to set up a private or talk with a teacher before or after class.

Start the year with more yoga, and yoga just for you!

Meta's Message

Greetings and Bright Sky Salutations!

The first class of the YogaNow Teacher Training Apprentice Program is about to complete and it has been a year of wonder for me as the teacher. 

One of the apprentices recently sent this to me and agreed to let me share it with you – so you can see it’s not just about teaching poses….

Yesterday, I was delivered a blow that in my "prior life" would have really thrown me for a loop. I used to react to things so quickly, automatically assuming the worst and allowing myself to get lost in my emotion. Even when I kept it all inside, my attitude would reflect my discontent, and I would be snappish and irritable to the people whom I love the most.
 
Instead, when I heard this news (and don't get me wrong, it was bad news. The kind of news that some people refer to as "life-altering" news.) I took a chance to breathe. I sat in silence. (Oh, that reminds me, I've finally found inner silence! Even if it's just for a minute or two, I can find that STILLNESS. I can quiet my mind!!) I took the opportunity to look at everything that I have: I have a loving fiancée, a home, a supportive family, a dog who serves as a constant source of amusement. I have a good job, I have friends, I have my yoga practice; all in all I have a blessed life. Beyond all that, I have the knowledge that I am of  value to myself! I realized that nothing about this news I received was going to change any of that, unless I let it.
 
I was able to make the conscious decision that I wasn't going to let this "get me down", I wasn't going to feel defeated, or let it change how I perceive my life, because there was no reason to. Life is about change, it's up and down, good and bad. More so, sometimes the things that seem so huge and "life-altering" are really quite insignificant in the grander scheme of things. They only affect us as much as we choose to allow them to.
 
I share this with you because if you just taught asana, if you just rushed us through the poses so that we could learn to teach, I wouldn't be at this place in my life where I realize that I'm in control of myself, I can choose my reactions to situations, or at the very least, I can recognize that I have a choice, shall I say. You take the time to teach us the heart of yoga, and to share the wisdom of so many sources so that we can take what we will from it. You tell us that "you offer it (this knowledge) to us, for us to try it on and see how it fits." And I have taken so much from your teaching, so I want to thank you for the greatest gift you could ever give, and the greatest gift I could ever receive. The gift of helping me to find myself and my own Samadhi in every moment, in every breath, in every choice. Thank you.

With much gratitude for growth for us all,
In peace,

Meta.

(Namaste in devanagari script-“I bow to you.”)

Meta.

Coming Events At Gold Studio

Recharge Your Practice
Welcome to 2006. Time to feel better, and look better. Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or new to yoga,join YogaNow instructor Keisha Wixom, on SATURDAY, JANUARY 28th

Coming up At Mountain Run Studio

Stoking The Inner Fire 

Weekend Workshop
With Betheyla and Chitra

Join us for a journey into the ancient practices of yoga and Ayurveda. This workshop focuses on Agni, the Inner Fire: the fire of digestion, the fire of perception and the subtle fire of transformation. In Ayurveda, this fire is responsible for the cellular alchemy of body, mind and spirit that sustains health and balance and births new and innovate ways of experiencing existence. Through movement, awareness, primordial sound and breath we will discover new ways to activate the fire within.