Dear friends,

The glory of summer is upon us with long days in the light, abundant growth from the earth, and the blazing sun in the sky. The fruits of the planted seeds are manifesting into the fruits and veggies we look forward to eating all year, and many of us shared at the yoga community potluck (yum). As always, we can use the metaphor of what we see in nature as a reflection of what is happening in the world of our selves. Let’s assume that we have the common goal of cultivating a garden of peace in our minds. We all have planted seeds (karma) in our mind gardens. Some of these seeds will produce actions and speech that are like weeds choking out the peace. A yoga practice that is like weed killer is tapas (translated from the Sanskrit as heat or divine fire), which seems like a good practice as we experience upper-90-degree temperatures.

This transformative fire is created when we restrain the urge (training the senses) to act or speak in harmful ways as weed seeds sprout. Inner dialogue and meditation are ways to be more aware of this process. To practice tapas is to practice accepting the discomfort that arises as the result of your choice to stop the seeds of negative karma from sprouting into harmful actions and speech. (It feels good to blame someone, eat the whole gallon of ice cream, be a grouch, etc.) Some seeds have undoubtedly sprouted and the tapas practice in this case is to accept whatever uncomfortable circumstances you may find yourself in as if you have chosen it.

And now join us for a month of practice! In July, we are continuing the June schedule, including the evening flow classes at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. We are also offering a 4th of July class and have scheduled two talk and meditation sessions for this month: on Friday, July 13, and on Friday, July 27.

Please be aware: our generous host, Kathy Wise-Leonard, is planning to have the interior of the studio painted near the end of the month. When we know the specific dates for that painting to take place, we will let everyone know which classes will need to be cancelled. In the meantime, see the list below for July highlights or either of the attached files or the website calendar (https://4yoga.me/calendar/) for a full schedule.

July guest teachers and special events:
Wednesday, 7/4: 9:00 a.m. special 4th of July flow class with Erica
Friday, 7/13: 6:45 p.m. yoga talk and meditation with Erica (everyone welcome, no charge)
Monday, 7/16: 5:30 p.m. flow class with Linda Hendrickson
Tuesday, 7/17: 9:30 a.m. gentle class with Susan Polk
Friday, 7/27: 6:45 p.m. yoga talk and meditation with Erica (everyone welcome, no charge)
Classes meet at Dance Images (1803 Creason Street, Bowling Green, KY), and the fee for each class is $5. If you have any questions or feedback for us, please send an email to this address or talk to one of us before or after class. We hope to see you in July!

Namaste,
4yoga