4yoga

Dear Friends,

Where is your attention? “The mind is capable of having two states based on two distinct tendencies. These are distraction and attention. At any one moment, however, only one state prevails, and this state influences the individual’s behavior, attitudes, and expressions.” So states T.K.V. Desikachar in his commentary of Yoga Sutra 3.9, in The Heart of Yoga.

The Sanskrit word drishti means “to gaze.” Gazing with the eyes narrows the field of view and trains our minds to concentrate, which can be thought of as voluntary attentiveness. When the physical eyes are gazing (or closed) then the “mind’s eye” or inner eye can turn its attention inward to focus on the breath, the energy/body in a particular asana, or on the object of meditation or contemplation. When the mind is focused and attentive, our energy is less dissipated and we feel a sense of accomplishment.

September is a month of transition as we move from summer to fall. Transitions can feel unsettling as we embrace change (or resist if you prefer ☺). However, the practice of focusing your attention on your chosen goal at the beginning of each day will help you to feel centered and grounded. Ready, Aim, Practice!

Please note that we have added a new Friday, 9:30 a.m. gentle class with Angie: this class will meet in the other studio space at Dance Images while Kathy Wise-Leonard teaches an adult ballet class in her space. See the list below for September highlights and the calendar (https://4yoga.me/calendar/) for a full schedule.

September guest teachers and special events:

• Monday, 9/3 (Labor Day): 9:00 a.m. mixed level class with Kim (everyone welcome)
• Thursday, 9/6: 9:30 a.m. gentle class with Kathie Downs
• Friday, 9/14: 6:45 p.m. yoga talk and meditation following yin class 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 us an email at 4yoga.me@gmail.com or talk to one of us before or after class. We hope to see you in September!

Namaste,
4yoga

In this Aug. 2 episode of the NPR show Talk of the Nation, Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer discusses her 30 years of studying mindfulness and the beneficial effects of practicing it.  Neal Conan, the show’s host, gives one example of how re-framing events in participants’ minds led to health benefits in their bodies:

Langer worked with a group of hotel maids. Just by doing their jobs, each got more than the recommended amount of daily exercise, she told them, but they didn’t think of it as exercise. Once Langer told them that it was, yes, what you’re doing is comparable to working out, they lost weight and reduced both body mass index and blood pressure without changes in their diet or their practices.

Dear Friends,

The focus for the month of August in our Hatha Yoga practice will be balance. When our lives are in balance, we feel centered, grounded, and steady.

The word “Hatha” in Hatha Yoga can be understood as the balancing or centering of the two energy flows on either side of the body. “Ha” means “sun” and “tha” means “moon.” Hatha deals primarily with bringing the subtle energies of the physical body and the breath into balance. When that balance has been attained, the body becomes relaxed, the breath is smooth and steady, and the mind is calm. From this state of balance or equanimity, one can move on to the subtler goals of yoga through contemplation and mediation.

The pranayama (regulating the breath) for balancing the energies is Nadi Shodhana or alternate nostril breath. When both the right (“ha”) and left (“tha”) are in balance, the sushumna (central) energy channel is open and the mind becomes calm and joyous. Now that sounds good!

Please note that the last day of Monday/Wednesday evening classes will be August 8. See the list below for August highlights or either the attached file or the website calendar (https://4yoga.me/calendar/) for a full schedule. We have also added class descriptions to the website; if you are curious about the focus or level of any of our classes, please see https://4yoga.me/class-descriptions-2/ , and feel free to share feedback with us about this new section of the site.

August guest teachers and special events:
Tuesday, 8/7: 9:30 a.m. gentle class with Kathie Downs
Friday, 8/17: 6:45 p.m. yoga talk and meditation following yin class 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 August!

Namaste,
4yoga

As per request from the “yin yoga on the farm” class on Friday night, I am posting this favorite translation of yoga sutra 1.2: Yoga is the cessation of the wave making action of the energy field we call mind.
Feel free to post and keep the interesting discussion spawned by this sentence going.

Thanks to Dot Brown who tipped us off to the article in Oprah magazine about the benefits of yin yoga. And just think; we offer it right here in our own little town of Bowling Green! Check it out; here in this link and with a direct experience in one of our classes!
http://www.oprah.com/health/Yin-Yoga-Good-for-Joints-Slower-Yoga

“What is wrong with it’s (the mind) seeking the pleasant and shirking the unpleasant? Between the banks of pain and pleasure the river of life flows. It is only when the mind refuses to flow with life, and gets stuck at the banks, that it becomes a problem. By flowing with life I mean acceptance- letting come what comes and letting go what goes. Desire not, fear not, observe the actual, as and when it happens, for you are not what happens, you are to whom it happens. Ultimately even the observer you are not. You are the ultimate potentiality of which the all-embracing consciousness is the manifestation and expression.” -Nisargadatta Maharaj

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

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

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