Recipes From Potluck

Posted on June 28, 2012 by 4yoga

There were so many requests for the recipes from the potluck that I thought it might be a good idea to post yours here if you wish to do that in the comment section of this post.  -Erica

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Remove the static

Posted on June 25, 2012 by 4yoga

In contemplating this month’s focus of attachment, I came across some commentary in the Bhagavad Gita, a classic text in the yoga tradition. It basically said that attachment and desires are like static in the mind, blocking the clarity of the channel of intuition, the program we want to hear. This keeps the mind constantly restless. To have the stance that we take actions in the world as part of the flow of the source of creation(whatever name you have for this is ok) and not for our egos reduces this static. Nothing is mine, not even my body! My mind and body are vessels of action and expression in the play of divine creation. Here is a metaphor for the play. Just as the light coming through a projector passes through the film which creates the illusion of many objects onto the screen and creates the movie, at their essence all the objects are light. Enjoy the play of your life. (Brian is waiting for the musical 🙂 )   -Erica

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Summer Breeze

Posted on June 20, 2012 by 4yoga

Make Today Breeze…Not A Battle..
“Make today a breeze not a battle.Never fight. Nothing is worth fighting for. Wisdom never fights, it waits patiently, speaks positively, sees benefit in everything …knowing that all needs will be met at the right moment, in the right way.
If we think life is a struggle… we will always be struggling,
If we think life is a breeze, our attitudes and actions will convey lightness and easiness.
And that’s what attracts everything we need, and much more.
Let us make today a breeze not a battle.” Swami Rama

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June schedule and focus: vairagya (non-attachment)

Posted on May 29, 2012 by 4yoga

We will focus on the yoga practice of vairagya–or non-attachment–for the month of June.  This practice guides us to “be in the world, but not of it.”  In the cycle of seeking pleasure and avoiding discomfort through attachment (aversion is also attachment!) to people and objects, we continue to experience suffering.  

Many believe the meaning of non-attachment is indifference.  However, this is not so.  The meaning of non-attachment is love.  When we can perform the actions of our lives without being attached to the outcome, we are acting out of love, the essence of our true selves, by taking the ego out of the action.  According to yogic tradition, this is the highest goal.

Now, let’s not forget to have a little playful fun!  Yoga Sutras 2.33 and 2.34 state that cultivating opposites of our negative conditionings and habits brings positive fruits.  Angie has ordered some 4yoga magnets just in time for this month’s practice.  As you use your magnet to attach something to something else, you can remember the opposite:  non-attachment!  We encourage you to pick up your magnet at the first June class you attend–supplies are limited.

Join us for some practice and summertime fun:  we have added two new evening classes, and we are planning a potluck dinner.  As the attached copies of the schedule (one in a larger type) show, the two new classes will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays:  these flow classes are appropriate for students with experience in basics classes who would like a more challenging practice.  See the list below for schedule highlights or the calendar here on the site (https://4yoga.me/calendar/) for a full schedule.

June guest teachers and special events:

  • Tuesday, 6/5:  9:30 a.m. gentle class with Kathie Downs
  • Friday, 6/8:  5:30 p.m. class will be restorative with Lindsey Bale
  • Tuesday, 6/12:  9:30 a.m. gentle class with Linda Hendrickson
  • Saturday, 6/23:  5:00 p.m. potluck dinner (details to be announced later in June)
  • Friday, 6/29:  6:45 p.m. yoga talk and meditation with Erica (everyone welcome, no charge)

All 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 4yoga.me@gmail.com or talk to one of us before or after class.  We hope to see you in June!

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the practice of silence

Posted on May 20, 2012 by 4yoga
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May 2012 Newsletter

Posted on May 15, 2012 by 4yoga

As we continue to follow the upward movement of energy from the core roots and heart compassion, we come to the fifth chakra, vishuddha, in the throat. Here we express the truth of who we are in our voice. Willpower is a key issue of this chakra. As a practice off the mat, a suggestion is to see if you can only speak, shout out or sing what is true for you this month. Just bring awareness to your speech and notice how often you do or do not speak what is true for you! On the mat, some asanas that focus on vishuddha are fish, camel, shoulderstand and modifications. We look forward to another month of practice with you! Om….

In May, we are also excited to announce the launch of a new Sunday-morning class. Lindsey Bale will offer a 9 a.m. Sunday class we are calling “Sunergy” (Sunday + energy). Sunergy is an energetic practice incorporating classic poses designed to invigorate your Sunday morning. It is not any particular style of yoga, but a name we created to indicate that it is somewhere between flow and basics. The practice is suitable for students at all levels except complete beginners (we welcome beginners at any of our basics or gentle classes). Lindsey has been a part of the yoga community in Bowling Green and completed the teacher training with Angie and Kim in April 2011. She has recently returned from Africa for her work and is ready to join us with her enthusiastic approach to yoga.

In addition to adding the Sunday class at 9 a.m., we have moved Saturday basics class to 9 a.m. to make the weekend morning schedule consistent and easy to remember. Although we are discontinuing the 8 a.m. Saturday class, we hope to see those of you who attended that class at one of our other weekend offerings.

Here on the website, there are two ways to access the May schedule:  a PDF to provide an easily printable version and the online calendar.  Both are available at the Class Calendar tab above–or via this link: https://4yoga.me/calendar/ .  And hard copies are, of course, always available at class.  We also invite those of you on Facebook to “like” 4yoga there for regular brief updates throughout the month.

May guest teachers and special events:

  • Friday, 5/4: 6:45 p.m. yoga talk and meditation with Erica (no charge, everyone welcome)
  • Friday, 5/18: 5:30 p.m. class will be restorative with Lindsey Bale
  • Monday, 5/28 (Memorial Day): 9 a.m. mixed-level class with Lindsey Bale (all levels welcome)
  • Tuesday, 5/29: 9:30 a.m. gentle class with Kathie Downs

All classes meet at Dance Images, 1803 Creason Street, and the class fee is $5. If you have any questions or feedback for us, please ask one of us at class or send an email to this address: 4yoga@gmail.com

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Poem In Your Pocket Day: Billy Collins’ “Today”

Posted on April 26, 2012 by 4yoga

At the 9:30 class this morning, Angie shared this Billy Collins poem for Poem In Your Pocket Day.

Today

BY BILLY COLLINS

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze
that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house
and unlatch the door to the canary’s cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,
a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies
seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking
a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,
releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage
so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting
into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

Source: Poetry (April 2000).

To see the poem as it appeared in Poetry magazine, click here; for a more extended biography of Billy Collins, click here.

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Putting Meditation Back on the Mat

Posted on April 24, 2012 by 4yoga

Kim spotted this article in the Saturday, 4/21/12 New York Times.  Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/nyregion/in-new-york-meditation-makes-its-way-back-to-the-yoga-mat.html?_r=2&src=twrhp

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Study shows possible benefits of meditation to Alzheimer’s patients

Posted on April 7, 2012 by 4yoga

A student shared this article, recently published in the Bowling Green Daily News, with us at class.  Although we were unsuccessful finding the source online (so no link), we did scan it so we could upload the full piece here.

From the article:

For the study on meditation and Alzheimer’s, researchers enrolled 15 older adults with memory problems that ranged from mild age-associated memory impairment to mild impairment, on a Kirtan Kriya mantra-based meditation course.  Participants meditated 12 minutes per day for eight weeks.  The control group listened to classical music for the same amount of time over eight weeks.

Early findings showed a (surprising) substantial increase in cerebral blood flow in the patients’ prefrontal, superior frontal, and superior parietal cortices, and also better cognitive function in the group that performed regular meditation.

Studies show meditation, aromatherapy may help fight against Alzheimer's

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Announcing April focus and schedule

Posted on March 31, 2012 by 4yoga

Greetings!

Even the sound of the word April is like a song.  By this time in the year, the upward and outward flowing energies of the earth are in full expression with the song of new life.  In ourselves, the upward flow of energy moving from the solid base of the core foundation can be expressed in the heart center, or the anahata chakra (translated as the unstruck sound).  Some issues associated with the anahata chakra are love, compassion, devotion, balance, and selfless service.

Our focus this month will support the balancing of energies in the heart center with back-bending poses while continuing to strengthen and ground through the core and legs. (We don’t want to fly away!)

Join us for a heart-balancing month of practice:  see the attached PDF (below) for an easily printable calendar of 4yoga’s April schedule.  We will have hard copies of the file available for pick-up at classes, and the schedule is always available through the calendar section of our website (www.4yoga.me/calendar)

April guest teachers and special events:

  • Tuesday, 4/10:  9:30 a.m. gentle class with Debbie Marquette
  • Saturday, 4/14:  8:00 a.m. flow class with Susan Tutino
  • Friday, 4/20:  6:45 p.m. yoga talk and meditation with Erica (no charge, everyone welcome)
  • Sunday, 4/22:  4:30 p.m. basics class with Susan Polk

We will continue our existing class days and times into April because this schedule seems to be working well for members of our yoga community.  All classes meet at Dance Images, 1803 Creason Street, Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the fee for each class is $5.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please ask one of us at class or send an email to this address.  We check this account daily and will reply as quickly as we can.

We are grateful for all of you who have been a part of the first six months of 4yoga’s existence and look forward to practicing with you next month.  Of course, we always welcome new students and are happy to arrange for a potential student to observe a class before deciding if a yoga practice is right for him or her.  If you or someone you know is interested in observing an April class, please send an email to 4yoga.me@gmail.com so that we can let the teacher know to expect a guest.

Namaste,
4yoga

2012-04_4yoga_schedule

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