I saw this Instagram posted by my friend @debra977, at Essence Yoga in RI, and had to repost it, knowing that I’d have this news to share.
On Monday, July 11, I will begin teaching a “Mindful Vinyasa” class at Pause Yoga in Amesbury, MA, 7-8:15 PM. It’s a sweet little studio perched right on Main Street in a town at once timeless and trendy. I look forward to meeting new students and having new adventures in āsana there.
This morning we marked a full moon, and tonight, we’ll observe the Summer Solstice. The last time this happened was in 1967, during the “Summer of Love.”
So I do like the advice above from @mysore_sf to rest. The full moon in summer lends enough energy on its own, and the solstice does even more so. Our inclination, observing and sensing these energies, is to expend a lot ourselves. We can really go off the charts with that energy, and should balance it with more resting, cooling practices. Minimize those things that aggravate pitta dosha: caffeine, alcohol, activity, and strenuous practices. Being as I am largely kapha dosha, I can forget I also have a fair amount of pitta, which can get easily aggravated by such energies. It’s wonderful in vata autumn and winter, and kapha spring to rely on such energies, and so invigorating to use summer for what it’s for, but if I find myself getting strung out as I have over the past few days, I have to dial it back, to “lean toward earth’s moist green gifts,” which also are made possible by the sun.
Remember also that the sol–stice refers to the stillness or stillpoint of the sun.
Cate Stillman says it, also, and even @ski_yoga_guy, normally known for his arm balances and inversions, is doing stillness today. Please consider this.
Also, as an added bonus, enjoy this song by “The Head and the Heart.”
…means to be “great–souled.”
If we are to be great–souled, we must develop trust in giving and receiving. We’ll explore this in Form and Flow today at Discover the Wonders Yoga in Dracut.
Here’s some more inspiration:
For the past several years, I have been doing spring cleanses with Charlotte Clews. I highly recommend her approach, and plan to offer supportive yoga classes locally if there is interest.
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Source: 21-Day Spring Cleanse And Seasonal Shift | Wild Open Heart Charlotte Clews
Which way do you run to
Are you coming out or in
When one cycle goes around
Another one begin, begin, begin
This song by Trevor Hall is my “ear worm” right now, because it speaks of change and its cyclical nature. As surely as the seasons, we will pass this way again. A little over two weeks ago we observed the cross–quarter day between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox (Imbolc). We’re more than halfway to astronomical spring. The moon, after having been full on Presidents’ Day, is waxing to fullness.
The most external reason for that has to do starting a new regular class at what is for me a new studio. While I have been subbing since my second shoulder surgery in March 2015, this will be the first time I’ll be on a studio schedule. I’m pleased to report that beginning tonight (Thursdays), at 5:30 PM, I’ll be teaching a class at Discover the Wonders Yoga in Dracut, MA. Dracut is an old–school town full of farmland and hard–working people, right next to the historically industrial town of Lowell. A beautiful community has grown up in that studio. Right down the street there is a conscious café expanding its offerings of fresh, local, organic products. Beyond there is much fertile farmland, some of it being leased to small nonprofits. The people of Dracut are not only hardworking, but politically savvy and well–connected. It’s a very interesting place to find so close to a major city in the northeast corner of a northeastern state.
And I start with a trifecta! As it is school vacation week, I also get to sub at the same time tomorrow night, and at the primo slot on Saturday at 9:30.
It’s a wonderful new beginning that evokes an openness to experience I am already feeling in the rest of my life.
Like my Facebook page in the right sidebar to mark your calendar for events, and be sure to sign up for my e-mail list as well. I’m very happy to be on this journey with you!
One of my yoga friends could be on the cover of Yoga Journal and is profiled on their website. I met Julie at a workshop given by Amy Ippoliti. After that, I connected her with a dear friend who lived near where she did, and they practiced together for some time.
I recently committed myself to taking the steps to teach yoga full time. To be on the cover of Yoga Journal would throw that plan into full throttle. It would mean a whole new level of responsibility to my students, my practice, my dream. It would mean truly putting myself out there. And it’s scary. But isn’t that a huge part of our yoga? To push up against our edges so that we can expand, and thrive, and shine.
Community is one of the hidden rewards of yoga. It’s a way to form firm fast bonds with diverse people who choose interesting paths. I’m so glad to count Julie among my friends, even if she now lives far away.
Source: Meet Our 16 Yoga Journal Cover Semifinalists | Yogis You Should Know
I have some good news to share on what is a snowy and reflective day for me. I am fortunate not to have University classes to teach on Fridays, and I decided to forego traveling to my “goto” Friday morning public class because of the weather. Home practices are in order.
One of the most delightful practices I engaged this morning is to prepare a yoga class for a studio to which I am applying to teach on a regular basis. I haven’t been on the schedule at a studio for a year. When I haven’t been recovering from a second shoulder surgery, and rebuilding my own practice from it, I’ve been mainly subbing for Roberta Dell’Anno and Linda Moran.
I get to prepare this class for a group in teacher training; for colleagues, then. I get to do so when this month, I mark seven years since I immersed myself in Anusara Yoga. The decision to do so took my practice and my life in directions which have not yet seen their full fruition. It has given me the gift of vital and decisive friendships I’m committed to treasure without consideration of cost or effort. The maintenance of these relationships has become a practice in itself.
It is one of these improbable friends who introduced me to the studio to which I am applying. The opportunity to teach is something which had “come together” more than which I had to overeffort to seek. So the aphorism on the Yogi Tea bag is appropriate. I welcome it.
A teacher of mine suggested we don’t fully appreciate the wisdom of the assertion of Jois, “Practice, and all is coming.” We think it means practice improves our lives. That’s the half of it. Practice, and all is coming: joy, sorrow, ease, challenge, love, and conflict. In some sense, the greater capacity we presumably develop to live and to savor life means our spirits grow. Larger spirits seem to attract bigger challenges precisely because of this greater capacity to grow from them.
It is with this in mind that I embrace the sacred duty to theme and sequence this practice. I treat it as a challenge, rather than take it lightly. Should I be extended the opportunity to teach at this studio, I will post that outcome here, with great relish, I must add. For I teach to share. The sharing makes the practices sweeter.
While I had been on hiatus from regular yoga teaching since the second of two shoulder injuries, I have been back in the studio subbing for a bit. Those of you who subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Facebook have been alerted to these opportunities. I expect more of these opportunities as the summer wears on, what with vacations and such. Be sure to sign up for my mailing list below.
Recovery from my most recent shoulder surgery is going well. I have full range of motion, and I am working on strengthening three of the four rotator cuff muscles. It’s important to me to maintain a regular yoga practice if I am to teach yoga at all, so this recovery has been related to my teaching. I’m not attempting inversions or arm balances, but I am bearing weight in poses as my strength and endurance allow. I am pretty satisfied with the pace of my recovery, but also longing for the return of full capacity. Both of these inspire me to work hard in my physical therapy, personal practice, and public classes.
See you out there!
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This cleanse is dedicated to helping you head into the Winter feeling nourished and resilient. The goal is to eat whole-food meals with little or no snacks in between so as to balance your blood sugar, rest your digestion and reset your taste buds. Resting and cleansing your digestive system will help you clear allergies, constipation and skin issues and will help strengthen your immune system so you are less prone to summer allergies and rashes.
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via 21-Day Spring Cleanse and Sugar Detox | Wild Open Heart Charlotte Clews.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, who had appeared on On Being with Krista Tippett in October, was on WBUR’s “Here and Now” today.
I find very intriguing his idea that trauma resides in places inaccessible by language. Thanks to Panayiota Bertzikis for posting this to Facebook today.
Wholehearted Yoga 
