Announcements – Page 19 – Generous Wisdom

A Perspective on Break Week

Hey Yogis,

Martin Luther King, Jr. day marks the beginning of our week away from studio classes (at least my studio classes!). I’ll be spending some time reconnecting with my closest people, the little ones, the medium one, and the big one. And hopefully trying something new to broaden my perspective. My invitation to you is to do the same: connect with your people & explore: Keep trying different yoga styles online and in person. Keep trying different teachers within the same tradition or style. Or dip your toe into a new movement practice like Qigong, Tai Chi, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing, or join your people in some of their favorite activities.

Speaking of perspective, when I find interesting quotes or pictures, I print them out and hang them on my walls, so I’m reminded to look beyond my present thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Currently, I’ve got a lot up there in the kitchen, as well as some random ones in the hallways.

One day I noticed markings on my signs, went up close to take a look, found that someone had been doing some underlining. A few days later I noticed the little one flitting around the house with her pencil, popping up to my “sacred signage,” and making marks!! I noticed that this caused me anxiety, as well as surprisingly strong feelings of attachment to these insignificant pieces of paper. After reminding myself that the pieces of paper are, indeed, insignificant (compared to my love for this little graffiti artist), I smiled, exclaimed my surprise at this turn of events, and kindly asked her to stop. At which point she sheepishly began erasing the underlines.

Two things happened: first, my ego-self immediately felt the sacred signage would be even more damaged by the erasures, and second, my true-self realized that I had been too attached and too harsh. So I told my little one not to worry about the marks but to refrain from making any new ones.

She told me she was sorry and explained that she’d only been underlining the most important words. I walked over to see which words she had chosen and found these: Pause, Courage, Mystery, Love, Admiration.

Wow! I thought, this was profound. “Emma,” I said, “You can underline the words on my signs any time!”

“Well,” she replied, “I really just wanted to try out my new mini pencil.”

There are so many different ways of seeing.

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My prayer for all of us is this:

May we practice awareness,
look closely,
pay attention,
and suspend judgement.

May we pause,
take courage,
embrace the mystery,
and love one another
as though our lives depend on it,
as though we are extensions of the same Ground of Being.

May we take time
to look for the jewels
in our own lives and the lives of others,
even when the jewels are hidden in the dirt
and buried beneath the snow:

Pause
Courage
Mystery
Love
and Admiration.

…and try out something new…!

Amen? Amen.

Class Cancellations & Inclement Weather Policy

Happy Snowy Day, Local Yogis:

During inclement weather, class cancellations will be posted here.

For Saturday, January 19th:

Veteran’s Yoga at the Butterfly House is Cancelled due to snow storm in progress.

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Please stay warm and cozy, visit veteransyogaproject.org for awesome guided breathing practices, meditation, mindful movement, guided rest, and gratitude sensing.

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Typically, during the winter months when Richland County authorizes a Level 1 Snow Emergency, classes will be cancelled. If Lexington School district cancels, my daytime classes will automatically be cancelled; the evening classes will be decided later in the day.

During the summer months, our outdoor yoga class will be cancelled if rainstorms are in progress or are immanent. I will make a decision no later than one hour prior to class time.

If you would like to receive text messages regarding future cancellations, please follow these steps:

Enter this number: 81010

Text this message: @yogapr

Happy Practicing!

What is Trauma-Sensitive Yoga?

I’ve been studying at Yoga on High these last few months and am halfway through the EMBER curriculum. It has been a fascinating and rewarding journey. I have amazing teachers, and equally amazing classmates. By the end of April, I will complete the 100-hour EMBER certification, qualifying me to teach Mindfulness Based Emotional Resilience yoga classes.

Below you will find a description based on Yoga on High’s explanation of EMBER classes, as well as a quote borrowed from their site. If you feel you would benefit from this type of class, please visit the contact page and let me know. If there is enough interest, I would love to put one on the next schedule.

Trauma-sensitive yoga classes differ from traditional yoga classes in language, physical adjustments, and intention or focus. A trained trauma-sensitive (or trauma-informed) yoga instructor will use the language of invitation and inquiry, will not offer hands-on adjustments, and will continually offer options and encourage choice as a way for students to cultivate a sense of empowerment. The focus of a trauma-sensitive yoga class is not strength, flexibility, or stress-relief, though these might be happy side effects; rather, the intention is to create a safe space for the student to explore gentle physical movement and breathing as a way to communicate or reacquaint herself with her body.

The classes are structured to be predictable, beginning and ending in similar ways each time, with special attention paid to the types of props used, if any, and the potential for certain postures to bring about feelings of vulnerability. Students are not only encouraged to make their own choices about how to approach a particular shape, but also to opt in or out of any portion of the class at anytime.

“Because strong emotions may arise and be released during and after a somatic practice like yoga, [it is] suggest[ed] students also work with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional while on their healing journey.”

“Yoga allows survivors [of trauma] to regain a sense of comfort and ease within their own shape, to process nonverbally feelings that transcend language, and to experientially cultivate gratitude towards the body, which serve as a reminder of one’s resilience (Boeder, 2012).”