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*Taken from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” by Sogyal Rinpoche

1

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost…I am hopeless
It isn’t my fault
It takes forever to find a way out

2

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I’m in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

3

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it there.
I still fall in… it’s a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately.

4

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

5

I walk down another street

Have you ever dreamed of exploring the culture and lifestyle of Yoga in the country of its origin?
India is a magical place that will ask you to redefine yourself and explore your spiritual side.

Dandapani has taken many travelers on an adventure of a lifetime, to explore the other side of the Earth.  In October he will be leading a trip to Northern India, a chance to experience the Celebration of Lights at the Golden Temple, what it feels like to ride a camel, and a chance to revel in the color and life that IS India.

Through daily lessons, Dandapani helps the travelers to reflect upon who they are, and how they can share in the divine nature that touches us all.

For more information about this journey of a lifetime, see website. Sign up through Yoga off Broadway and receive TWO MONTHS UNLIMITED YOGA.  Email Kelly for more details:  kelly@yogaoffbroadway.org

www.yogaoffbroadway.org

Welcome back KID YOGA CLASSES!
Starting again in September.

Classes will run Mondays (ages 4-6) and Wednesdays (ages 7-10) from 4-4:50pm
These classes are designed to be fun ways to learn how yoga can help keep bodies flexible, strong and balanced.  We practice individual yoga poses as well as play games designed around yoga.  The most important part of the class is to foster a love for oneself and respect for others as we talk about the principles of yoga.

Sign up for all 8 classes for $48 or drop in for $8 per class.  We will start taking sign ups for class in August.  Space is limited.  No refunds for kid yoga classes, but you can apply credit to future classes upon cancellation.
BE HAPPY * DO YOGA

If you haven’t ever tried yoga, one reason may be that simply the Word YOGA  brings with it an expectation of being flexible enough to wrap your body up into pretzel type poses made for lithe dancer type bodies.  OR you may have tried yoga class and been haunted with nightmares about your pitiful forward bend, your awkwardly tight hips and your ability to make the warrior one pose look more like you are surrendering rather than warrioring.

But I plead with you to take a deep breathe and let go all of these judgements and expectations.  When you finally get yourself to a yoga class, the last thing you should be concerned about is how your warrior one looks (by the way, this is one of the hardest poses to align your body in– in my personal opinion).

The first lesson of yoga is to let your EGO go.  That’s right, just let it walk right out of the front door of the yoga studio… it’s not needed anywhere near yoga and it certainly  won’t help your Warrior One.

As a yoga teacher I run into beginners all the time who ask me the same thing.  It goes something like this, “hi, ah, um, I’m new to yoga… and… well, I just want to let you know that I know I’m doing all of the poses wrong, and so if you see me doing something wrong, just let me know, I don’t mind if you point it out or correct me or anything…”. To this, I usually respond with a gentle smile and nod and say “ok, great”.  What I’d really like to say is this:

You ARE doing the yoga poses correctly, you are doing YOUR BODY’S VERSION of the pose (but no one ever believes this)

Many yoga poses like this one below, take many years of practice or simply a flexible and strong body:

While your body may not be ready for Scorpion Pose, you need to find the poses that your body IS ready for, and more important than just being “ready” for the pose… what poses are best for your body.  And in what capacity can you do the pose?

In Warrior One pose, we strive to get our hips to face the front of the mat, while fighting to keep the back edge of our back foot on the mat.  If you can’t get your hips square to the front, are you doing the pose incorrectly?  NO.  If you can’t get your arms to straighten out as you hold them over your head, are you doing the pose incorrectly?  NO.  You are doing your VERSION of the Warrior One pose.  The one that opens your body to your own limit. With time, with patience and with the breath your body will open up and you will create a new version of the Warrior One pose.  Again, this will require a serious talk with your EGO telling it that it is ok if you don’t look like the lady pictured below:

I know that in our competive culture we think that if we aren’t the best at something then we aren’t good enough.  BUT, you are being THE BEST yoga student when you learn to accept yourself for who you are (a divine spirit, a creation of nature, light and love).  This means letting go of judgements about yourself, letting go of EGO.  This lesson for me is always reinforced on my yoga mat.  And I hope that I can pass this lesson on to each of my students.  As long as you are keeping your body safe (aligning your joints correctly) and you aren’t pushing yourself past your limit (possibly just taking yourself to your edge) and you are only doing yoga for yoga sake (to connect with your body mind and spirit), honoring who you are today, you are a true YOGI and you are ROCKING the YOGA CLASS.

By the way, this also means that if you are ever in a yoga class and everyone around you is doing handstands or headstands or any other pose that doesn’t “work” for your body, please honor yourself and your limitations and feel good about taking a modification.  You don’t need to be anyone you aren’t– and that lesson you can take with you out the door, leaving your EGO behind as you do.

In reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, I came across a profound question that the book’s author, Sogyal Rinpoche, asks…

“…We tell ourselves we want to spend time on the important things of life, but there never is any time.  Even simply to get up in the morning, there is so much to do: open the window, make the bed, take a shower, brush your teeth, feed the dog or cat, do last night’s washing up, discover you are out of sugar or coffee, go and buy them, make breakfast–the list is endless.  And what about your hair, or your makeup? Helpless, we watch our days fill up with telephone calls and petty projects, with so many responsibilities–or shouldn’t we call them ‘irresponsibilities’?  Our lives seem to live us, to possess their own bizarre momentum, to carry us away; in the end we feel we have no choice or control over them.  Of course we feel bad about this somtimes, we have nightmares and wake up in a sweat, wondering: ‘what am I doing with my life?’ But our fears only last until breakfast time; out comes the briefcase, and back we go to where we started.”

The author goes on to say that if you spent 1/10th of the time that you spend making money, running errands, doing chores, on a spiritual practice, you would be enlightened in a few years.

What does enlightenment bring us?  The Buddhists say it brings peace from the endless cycle of pain and suffering from the desires of this life.  When we can truly let go of things and simply focus on loving life, caring for others and having compassion for all living beings, then isn’t that REALLY living life?

I recommend this book to everyone who wants to slow down and really start to live each day like it might be your last.  The book teaches you to live life without ignoring the fact that death is a reality for us all.  The second half of the book goes on to give practical advice for how to help those you love go through the stages of death. 

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

Mommies and their Babies doing Yoga

Come join our group of new Mommies (even if you are a second or third time Mommy!). 

We practice every THURSDAY from 10-10:50am
$8 Drop in

The class is VERY low key.  We warm the room and play soft, relaxing music.  The class begins with some yoga for BABY and then some yoga for Mommy.  Mommies are encouraged to interact with their babies during each yoga pose and we sometimes find that the yoga gets interrupted for a diaper change or a moment to rock and soothe the little one.  It is a wonderful time to get out of the house, meet other Mommies and move your body.

Come join us!

We kicked off a new class this month “Yoga for Stiff People”.  On the first Sunday there were 19 people who showed up for class!! Thank you and WELCOME to all of the newcomers!!

Yoga for Stiff People is a class that is designed to be slower paced– focusing on holding poses so that people can break through the chronic stiffness in their muscles.  We will focus on stiffness in shoulders, back, hamstrings and hips. 

In this class, students will also learn how to breathe in order to release stress from the mind as well as from the muscles.  It should be noted that one class per week will not change the daily patterns that you reinforce in your body which creates stiffness and chronic pain.  But we will encourage you to learn how to stretch and how to use yoga asanas (poses) as well as yoga breathing techniques to practice on a daily basis on your own or in any yoga class. 

All ages and abilities are welcome as long as you are inflexible!! 

Classes are on Sundays from 9-10am
See you there!!

Kid Yoga Class kicked off last week.  We have been having a FABULOUS time practicing our yoga poses, being silly and also learning how the breath can take us to a calm place. Your kid can drop in for a class through the end of April otherwise sign up for KID YOGA CAMP this summer.

Headstand practice

If your kid is interested in taking Kid Yoga, drop in for a class!  Ages 4-6 on Monday from 4-4:50pm and Ages 7-10 on Wednesdays from 4-4:50pm. $8/class

Boys love Kid Yoga Too!

Last night about 30 yoga students joined in to celebrate the opening of our new yoga studio.  We started the night off with three sun salutations in unison and then people broke off to follow their own personal practice.  Afterwards, we circled up and chanted a Ganesha Mantra 108 time and three Aums to begin our meditation.  Then finishing the dedication by writing a word or blessing or intention on a rock and placing it somewhere around the room  It was a beautiful ceremony and many special people were a part of it both physically and in spirit. Thank you everyone!!

In order to encourage a regular morning yoga practice, we are offering the 6AM classes at a discounted rate.

$15 for a week of yoga MWF 6am classes only
This is a trial for October, so come in soon!

If we get a good crew of people interested in this offer, we will extend it for as long as people are interested
6am Asana Practice is an hour long practice that is generally gentler than the regular “Hatha Flow” classes during the days and evenings.  All participants are encouraged to move at their own pace.  Of course we all find ourselves less flexible in the mornings, and so it is very important to start slow and warm up to open up your body.  You are always welcome to take deeper poses if you have a more advanced practice.

Come join our AM group and start your day off in a GREAT way!
Hope to see you soon
Namaste
Kelly