4yoga

Dear Friends,

As we begin the month of November, we will focus on gratitude. November is the month of thanks-giving and to consciously keep this in focus can allow goodness to expand in your life. As a practice using awareness to foster gratitude, think of the last meal you had. As you imagine everything that was on your plate, think of all the human effort expended to bring this food, this source of energy, to you. Someone planted the seeds of the plants; tended to the animals; harvested, processed, packaged, and shipped every part of this meal for you. We can express gratitude to all of the individuals who participated in this process. And, as we perform actions in our lives, we can think of the people who will benefit from the fruits of our actions. Therefore, why not perform all actions as acts of service to another? Whether receiving the fruits of another’s efforts in gratitude or performing your actions with the attitude of service, we can realize that we are all participants in the web of sustaining our lives here on earth.

Please note that the 9:00 a.m. Sunday flow class will not be regularly scheduled. Instead, on various Sundays we will offer a “Spontaneous Sunday” class in that time slot. The class could be a flow and/or a clinic style practice for working on challenging poses. We would announce the class by email on either a Friday or Saturday before the class to those individuals who may have an interest in attending. Let us know if you wish to be on this email list by responding to this newsletter.
Also, the Beginner Series will continue on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. through November 20. We are open to continuing that class based on feedback from you. Please see the list below for November highlights and the full schedule in the attached file or on our website (https://4yoga.me/calendar).

November special events:
Friday, 11/16: 6:45 p.m. discussion and meditation following the 5:30 p.m. yin class (no charge, everyone welcome).
Thursday, 11/22 (Thanksgiving Day): 9:00 a.m. mixed level holiday class (all are welcome)

—
4yoga
Erica Jacknin, Kim Herald, & Angie Jones
4yoga.me

I often end a yoga class with the advice to have compassion for your self……something that my teacher has emphasized to me. I found this current article very interesting; it offers support for this concept from the mainstream culture.  ~Erica.

Check out this link to read the article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heidi-grant-halvorson-phd/self-compassion_b_1900989.html?view=screen

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.