May 2017 focus and class schedule

Yoga is a journey of creating harmony in one’s life and letting go of the blocks that keep us from this harmony. In the process, we discover a deeper reality of being, a place of contentment, wisdom and joy.                                                                   —Deborah Adele

Non-attachment is one of the essential, if not the most important, practices to Self-realization, the ultimate goal of yoga. The Self is the core aspect of you that is your true self. When you are identifying with the Self, you feel open, accepting, calm, compassionate, and trusting. The Self operates from divine intuition, whereas the (small-s) self is the ego that believes it is the doer of thought and action and is attached to the outcomes of its actions.

Fear is the only barrier to non-attachment, to letting go of desires that we think will make us happy and avoiding what we think will make us unhappy. There is a well-known practice to experience non-attachment, the Neti-Neti Meditation. Neti is Sanskrit for “not this.”  An online search will locate several guided options if you would like to practice at home.

Awareness and intention are the first steps to non-attachment:  notice your thoughts, desires, and aversions. They are usually connected to memory, to the past.  From practicing “present moment awareness” by focusing your attention on the sensations in the body and breath, you will learn to hear the voice of intuition.  You are fully equipped just as you are!  Just start practicing and join us in one of the many opportunities at 4yoga to realize your Self.
 
New teacher and class, existing class level adjustment:  
  • Welcome Beshka Moore and her Monday-morning Basics class.  We are thrilled that Beshka Moore is bringing her extensive yoga training and substantial teaching experience to 4yoga beginning in May!  Beshka will offer a weekly Basics class at 9:30 a.m. on Mondays, and she looks forward to seeing both new and ongoing students.  Learn more about Beshka in the introductory post on our website.
  • Wednesday-morning class becomes Basics level.  Beginning in May, Leslie’s class that meets on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. will shift its level from Gentle to Basics, allowing students who would like a morning Basics practice to enjoy three classes a week:  Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m.  Students who prefer their Basics practice in the afternoon have three options, as well:  Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 4 p.m.
Special classes: 
  • Two monthly classes at The Downing Museum.  In May we continue at The Downing Museum for our second-Saturday yoga class and fourth-Saturday meditation class.  The class fee remains the same as at the studio, $5. We are grateful for the demand for these classes and for the opportunity to practice in such a beautiful space twice each month.  See our website for links to the online registration forms—which will be disabled when the classes are full—and instructions about how to be added to the wait list.
  • Restorative class on Sun., May 21, at 5:45 p.m.  For a special opportunity to relax deeply, join Angie for the monthly Sunday-night Restorative class.  Create your own mini-retreat by taking Nicole’s 4 p.m. Basics class that afternoon and then staying for Restorative.
  • Aparigraha focus for Living Our Yoga.  This month’s Living Our Yoga class, on Fri., May 26, focuses on the fifth yama, aparigraha. In this class, Alice and Angie combine the traditional yin asanas with thematic readings and teachings to enhance students’ experience and to create conditions that may take them deeper into the mind, body, and spirit aspects of their practice.
  • Memorial Day class with Chie.  On Memorial Day (Mon. May 29), Chie will offer our traditional holiday class, a mixed-level one:  join her at 9 a.m.

For a full list of May classes, please see the calendar page or pick up a hard copy at the studio.  We also post updates each morning on our Facebook page, along with content from our blog, should you find it convenient to keep up with us there.

Accessing studio after class has begun:  Remember that even if the front door is locked when you arrive, you can still join us for class. Just come to the back door of The Pots Place (look for the blue building) and ring the buzzer.  The teacher will then unlock the door remotely for you to enter through the pottery studio.

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