October 2017 focus (Ishvara Pranidhana) and class schedule

Posted on September 29, 2017 by 4yoga
As we notice the changing colors of plants and the softer, lower light of the sun in Autumn, we see there is beauty in letting go. Plants let go of active growth as they shut down the process of producing and drop their seeds into the earth where they will rest dormant through the winter darkness and gather resources to strive again for the light in the spring.

Honor your instincts to let go and slow down as you tune in to the natural world; surrender to the life force or ultimate reality that is the source of all life. The egoic nature of humans is to push against this source, to believe that we can dominate it. But we are humbled when we see the news of a hurricane, earthquake, or forest fire. The attitude of surrendering the fruits of your actions to this source of life is a practice called, in the yoga tradition, Ishvara Pranidhana.  In the Upanishads, Ishvara refers to a collective unconsciousness–a concept that on some level we are all one.

In your asana practice, notice when you push yourself to a vigorous flow when your body really needs a restorative class. In the daily actions of life, notice when your mind is not present, when it races ahead to judging the outcome of what you are doing; “Will I be judged as wrong? Will my boss not like me?”  Reel your mind in and complete your action with no attachment to the outcome.  This is the attitude of surrendering to the Ultimate Reality and acknowledging your life as connected to it.

October updates and special events: 
  • Next book club meeting. We will gather on Sun., Oct. 15, at 1:30 p.m. to continue discussing two reach books.  Join us to share your thoughts about Sally Kempton’s Awakening Shakti and/or Rolf Gates’ and Katrina Kenison’s Meditations from the Mat.  Meditations from the Mat is available as an audio book from the Warren County Public Library.  We welcome anyone with an interest in either book to join us; please bring a snack and ideas to share.
  • Classes at The Downing Museum. In October we return to 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), and we are grateful for the opportunity to continue to practice in such a beautiful space.  See our website for links to the online registration forms.
  • Sixth anniversary potluck. On Fri., Oct. 20, we will host a potluck evening at the studio to celebrate six years of practicing together as 4yoga.  Stop by 7-9 p.m., after the Living Our Yoga Yin class concludes.  Or join us for class and stay for the party!
  • Ishvara Pranidhana focus for Living Our Yoga. This month’s Living Our Yoga class, on Fri., Oct. 20, focuses on the fifth and final niyama, Ishvara Pranidhana.  Alice and Angie return to team-teaching this month in this class that combines 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. 
  • 10 a.m. start time for Basics class on Sat., Oct. 21.  On Sat., Oct. 21, several events will travel through or happen in downtown Bowling Green.  One of those is The Medical Center Health 10K Classic, and the race course includes Fountain Square.  Therefore, to give us extra time to reach the studio, we have moved the starting time of that Saturday’s Basics class to 10 a.m.
  • Wednesday 6 a.m. class on hiatus. In October, the 6 a.m. Flow class will go on hiatus; for a Wednesday practice, we invite you to join Leslie for the 9:30 a.m. Basics class or Frances for the 5:30 p.m. Flow class.

For a full list of October activities, please see our online calendar or pick up a hard copy at The Pots Place.  We also post updates each morning on our Facebook page, should you find it convenient to keep up with us there.

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October classes at The Downing Museum: registration open!

Posted on September 25, 2017 by 4yoga

In preparation for October, we have opened registration for the special classes at the spectacular Downing Museum.  Because space is limited, we require pre-registration to manage the class sizes and are, therefore, are unable to accommodate drop-in students.  To join us for one or both of these classes, offered at our usual class fee of $5, use the link(s) below to reserve your space.

If you click on the link and discover that the class is full, email Angie at yoga.me@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.  In your message, include your first and last names, your preferred email address, and whether you will bring your own mat.

If you register and later find that you are unable to attend, please email Angie immediately so that she can offer your place to someone from the wait list.

Remember that we offer the yoga class on the second Saturday and the meditation and movement class on the fourth Saturday of each month, so if you miss us in October, we hope to see you there in November.  And the folks at The Downing Museum welcome you to visit the museum and/or the arboretum any time they are open!

Sept. meditation in the A/V room

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Labor Day weekend schedule (2017)

Posted on August 31, 2017 by 4yoga

If your Labor Day weekend plans include being in Bowling Green and enjoying yoga, come join us downtown, overlooking the Fountain Square renovation project, for any or all of our 6 available 4yoga classes!

Friday, Sept. 1:

  • 9:30 a.m. Gentle with Nicole
  • 5:30 p.m. Yin with Chie

Saturday, Sept. 2:

  • 9 a.m. Basics with Shigeko

Sunday, Sept. 3:

  • 8:30 a.m. Spiritual Warrior with Cre
  • 4 p.m. Basics with Shigeko

Monday, Sept. 4 (Labor Day):

  • 9 a.m. Mixed level (all students welcome) with Cassandra.  Note:  this morning, mixed-level class, is our only class on Labor Day.  As is usual for our holiday schedule, it replaces the usual classes on this day.

In addition to our ongoing community members, we welcome guests who are visiting Bowling Green for the holiday weekend!  All of our classes are drop-in, and the class fee is $5, payable in cash or check.  We also have mats and many other props available at the studio for your use at no additional charge.

Free parking is available on the street or in the parking lot immediately behind The Pots Place (next to Steamer Seafood restaurant).  For more details about each type of class, please see our class descriptions page.

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September 2017 focus (swadhyaya) and class schedule

Posted on August 30, 2017 by 4yoga

We can begin to sense the obvious, yet subtle, changes in our environment indicating that fall is coming (again!). However, it’s not so easy to sense the subtle effects of change within us. Unless we become masters of self-reflection, often what we experience is a murky, vague feeling that we must adapt to the changing circumstances around us. Usually we “like” some changes and “don’t like” others.  This is not just with the seasons, but with all the vicissitudes of life.

How do you adapt to the changing circumstances of life that you cannot control? This month we use the practice of the fourth niyama, swadhyaya, self-study or self-reflection, to examine that question. We can use the changing circumstances of our lives as reference points to examine our values and look deeper into the core question: “Who am I?” Loss of a loved one, a job, a financial position, a relationship, or a function of your body with age or illness can all be catalysts for self-realization.  Using spiritual texts as guides for self-reflection, gathering in small groups for discussion, and meditating are all ways to practice swadhyaya. For another opportunity to look within, join us on the last Friday of the month for our Living Our Yoga yin class.

September updates and special events: 

  • Next book club meeting. We will meet on Sun., Sept. 10, at 1:30 p.m. to continue discussing two books from our June book club gathering.  The books are Sally Kempton’s Awakening Shakti and Rolf Gates’ and Katrina Kenison’s Meditations from the Mat, which is also available on audio book from the Warren County Public Library.  We welcome anyone with an interest in either book to join us:  bring a snack and stop by to discuss whatever sections you’ve read.
  • Classes at The Downing Museum. In September we return to 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), and we are grateful for the demand for these classes and for the opportunity to practice in such a beautiful space.  See this page for links to the online registration forms.
  • Sixth anniversary of 4yoga’s founding. On Wed., Sept. 27, we mark six years as a yoga studio!  We will celebrate more fully in October and appreciate your ongoing support for our community yoga classes.
  • Swadhyaya focus for Living Our Yoga. This month’s Living Our Yoga class, on Fri., Sept. 29, focuses on the fourth niyama, swadhyaya. This month, Alice will teach this special class solo.  Living Our Yoga combines 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.
  • Tuesday-afternoon class on hiatus. In September, the 4 p.m. Tuesday Basics class will go on hiatus.  If you would like a Tuesday afternoon or evening practice, please let us know what time and style you would prefer.  Note, however, that Balance Tai Chi meets at the studio at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; therefore, that time is unavailable for us to hold yoga classes.

For a full list of September activities, please see the calendar section of this site or pick up a hard copy at The Pots Place.  We also post updates each morning on our Facebook page, should you find it convenient to keep up with us there.

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September classes at The Downing Museum: registration open!

Posted on August 28, 2017 by 4yoga

As we prepare for September, we have opened registration for next month’s classes at the spectacular Downing Museum.  Because space in the gallery is limited, we require pre-registration to manage the class sizes and are, therefore, are unable to accommodate drop-in students.  To join us for one or both of these classes, offered at our usual class fee of $5, use the link(s) below to reserve your space.

If you click on the link and discover that the class is full, email Angie at yoga.me@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.  In your message, include your first and last names, your preferred email address, and whether you will bring your own mat.

If you register and later find that you are unable to attend, please email Angie immediately so that she can offer your place to someone from the wait list.

Remember that we offer the yoga class on the second Saturday and the meditation and movement class on the fourth Saturday of each month, so if you miss us in September, we hope to see you there in October.  And the folks at The Downing Museum welcome you to visit the museum and/or the arboretum any time they are open!

Print Mafia work in the AV room at The Downing Museum

 

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Work to begin on front of The Pots Place

Posted on August 21, 2017 by 4yoga

On Tues., Aug. 22, a crew will begin work to replace the awning and maintain the brickwork on the front of The Pots Place.  The project will take about two weeks and involve equipment and people in front of the building, including outside the studio window.  However, we will continue to use the front door for access during the upgrades.

We look forward to seeing the new awning installed and appreciating how it enhances the distinctive “face” of the building!

The Pots Place on June 19, 2017

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Free library: new contributions welcomed!

Posted on August 15, 2017 by 4yoga

Many of you have both contributed to and borrowed from the “free library” that we started at the studio in March 2016.  We have enjoyed talking about shared reading experiences and making recommendations for each other over the last 17 months.

A recent user was especially eager and borrowed all of the remaining books, causing the shelf only to have magazines remaining.  If you happen to be cleaning out your home book collection, then, and find any books that you would like to donate to the library, now would be an ideal time to share them with our community!

If you enjoy reading magazines, now is also a good time to check out some of the new contributions of those publications.  Remember that you may either borrow or keep (or even pass on to others) anything from this community resource!

2017-08_studio_bookcase_bare

The bookshelf looks forward to being restocked with books!

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Eclipse Viewing Party! RSVP to join us on Mon., 8/21

Posted on August 14, 2017 by 4yoga

If you are looking for a place to view totality, please join us on the deck off the lounge at The Pots Place on Mon., August 21!  Kathie is generously providing wine, cheese, and viewers; you are welcome to bring a dish or beverage to share or just to bring yourself.  We will begin gathering at noon, and totality will begin at 1:27:23.

To make sure we have enough supplies, please RSVP by completing this Google Form or sign up on the sheet at the studio.  We look forward to experiencing the eclipse with you!For more information about this eclipse and what to expect, see the Great American Eclipse site.

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August 2017 focus (tapas) and class schedule

Posted on August 1, 2017 by 4yoga

What better month than August to focus on the third niyama, tapas?  (After all, the root of this Sanskrit word is “heat”!)  When you feel the light of your divine nature, fueled by your indomitable will and motivated by your highest desire, you shine and radiate that light within you.  The light within me sees the light within you. Practices that give power to this light are tapas.

When we are driven primarily to satisfy the primitive urges of our animal nature—of needing food, sleep, sex, and self-preservation—we can become slothful and suffer from inertia. Yet, we need to satisfy those urges so that our bodies can be healthy vehicles for our spirits. To apply tapas to any practice is to sit with the discomfort of not giving into the demands of the senses.

For example, you feel hunger because you were rushing and skipped a meal.  Now you are in the grocery and smell cinnamon rolls being baked. You cave in and eat two cinnamon rolls to satisfy the hunger.  Applying tapas to the situation would have you ride out that immediate craving and, instead, use the fire of the discomfort to apply discipline and adjust your future schedule in order to provide time for nourishing meals and to keep your body healthy.

In a yoga class, you can apply tapas as you practice endurance while breathing through a plank pose with an intention to use that “fire” for transformation and not cave in to the desire to be comfortable. However, notice the difference in intention between “pushing” yourself in the service of the ego and enduring discomfort as purification and transformation of the lower nature to shine with divine light.  Namaste.

August updates and special events:

  • Supplies drive for BGWCHS.  To accompany our fundraising Kitten Yoga classes and to benefit the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society, we are hosting a supplies drive Aug. 1-5 at the studio.  Feel free to drop off any items from the shelter’s wish list either downstairs at The Pots Place or upstairs at the studio, and we will deliver them to the shelter on Aug. 5.  We have also posted a flyer listing the most needed supplies.
  • Workshop with Raquel Bueno.  On Sun., Aug. 20, we welcome Raquel Bueno, owner and founder of Liberation Yoga in Nashville, to 4yoga!  From 1-3 p.m., Raquel is offering a workshop appropriate for all levels of students.  Pre-register at the Liberation website to reserve your space!
  • Classes at The Downing Museum.  In August we continue visiting 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), and we are grateful for the demand for these classes and for the opportunity to practice in such a beautiful space twice each month.  See this post for links to the online registration forms.
  • Tapas focus for Living Our Yoga.  This month’s Living Our Yoga class, on Fri., Aug. 25, focuses on the third niyama, tapas. Team-taught by Alice and Angie, this class combines 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.
  • Sunday edition of Restorative class.  In addition to the ongoing weekly 7 p.m. Thursday Restorative classes, Angie will continue to offer a monthly Sunday-night Restorative class.  This month, it meets on Aug. 6 at 5:45 p.m.  Create your own mini-yoga-retreat by combining Nicole’s 4 p.m. Basics class with the Restorative class that follows.
  • Eclipse viewing party.  On Mon., Aug. 21, The Pots Place will host an eclipse viewing party in the lounge and on the deck!  Kathie will provide wine, cheese, and eclipse glasses.  We encourage you to bring a dish or beverage to share and to join us at noon for a downtown view of this historic event.  To help us prepare, please RSVP by completing this brief form.

For a full list of August activities, see the calendar page or pick up a hard copy at The Pots Place.  We also post updates each morning on our Facebook page, should you find it convenient to keep up with us there.

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Supplies drive to benefit the BGWCHS! (Aug. 1-5, 2017)

Posted on July 30, 2017 by 4yoga

Many of you have asked how you can demonstrate your support for the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society even if you are unable to participate in the upcoming Kitten Yoga benefit classes.  We are partnering with The Pots Place to host a supplies drive for the shelter!  The flyer below lists the supplies that the shelter needs most, but the folks there will be grateful for anything you provide (see the wish list section of the shelter’s website for a comprehensive list).

To donate bring your item(s) to The Pots Place anytime between August 1 and August 5 at 1 p.m.  We will place collection bins both downstairs and upstairs and will deliver the items to the shelter when we return the kittens and donate the class fees after the second yoga class!

 

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