Welcome to November!  We are excited to share the pose of the month and class schedule, and this month’s pose will be easy for all classes to incorporate.  We are grateful to Debbie Berry for selecting the November pose and contributing the following information about it.

Pose of the Month

Savasana  (Corpse Pose)

Shah-vahs-anna

Sava = corpse + Asana = posture

As we approach Thanksgiving, I think of thankfulness and the fifth yama in yoga philosophy, aparigraha, non-greed. Ways we can practice aparigraha this month may include sharing our gifts of abundance with others, such as time, our kindness, our positive energy and support, or even our smiles. We may find that we receive more abundantly by these simple acts of sharing. It is my hope that as we share abundantly this month that we may see our own gratitude, grace, and happiness increasing as we appreciate all the blessings that life offers and give thanks for our yoga practice and our yoga community. Hoping our time together on our mats may be healing, restful, and a time to replenish our energy as we approach the holiday season.

The pose that comes to mind for me this month is Savasana, our “ahhhh” or resting pose—our time to just “be”—letting go of tightness, tension, stress, or worry. Our time to reflect and connect with our true selves and all other beings in a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving. Savasana allows our body to absorb the yoga practice that we just completed and provides time to rest and recharge, bringing more peace and calmness to our lives. In November, let us consider taking this time to meditate on what we are grateful for and how we can express our gratitude to those around us.

While Savasana may look easy, it is often considered the most difficult pose to master. We are called to a state of pure consciousness where we are aware but surrendering the weight of our bodies to the mat or earth. Our breath is natural as we maintain awareness without exertion while exploring our body and our mind. As we surrender control, we may experience our true nature and authentic selves and connect to our inner peace as we let go and just “be.” Savasana is best done at the end of our yoga practice.

—Debbie Berry

Updates and events: 

• Register now for Yoga@the Museum and Meditation@the Museum classes.  Want to join us for yoga or meditation at The Downing Museum in November?  Check out this post to learn more about both classes and their teachers—and for the links to the registration forms.
• Thanksgiving schedule. As is our custom, we will maintain our usual class schedule throughout Thanksgiving weekend with one exception: on Thanksgiving Day, we will hold a single, mixed-level holiday class taught by Chie and meeting at 9 a.m.
  

For a full list of November classes, please see the calendar page or pick up a hard copy at The Pots Place.  We also post an image version of the schedule each month and the day’s classes each morning on our Facebook page, should you find it convenient to keep up with us there.