Nov 12

“Once you are real you can’t become unreal again!” The Velveteen Rabbit

To practice the 4th Niyama/observance, Svadhyaya or self study, we can “become real” developing a more intimate, compassionate and unconditional relationship with ourself.  Ultimately,  we come to realize our “true nature” which is one of pure consciousness.  Read more on the following link.

https://www.yogauonline.com/yogau-wellness-blog/fourth-niyama-svadhyaya-self-study

Ashtanga  Week 8:  November 13-November 19

Continued emphasis on Ujjayi Pranayama (victorious breath)  Mula Bandha (root lock) Uddiyana Bandha (abdominal lock) drishti (directed gazing point) and asana including a sampling of seated, finishing,  balancing poses, followed by a relaxing pranayama and meditation with mantra as tools to practice the last 3 limbs and perhaps cultivate Samadhi (8th limb) Ultimate peace.

Let’s look at shoulders and the neck this week and how we can use our practice to restore and cultivate balance.  Check out the great article below on Chaturanga (four limb staff pose) do’s and don’ts.

Continued homework….a down dog and child pose a day (5 breaths)

Nov 07

This Saturday: Empower Yoga moved to Grayling + Scheduling notes

Greetings, friends!

This Saturday, November 11th, Empower Yoga at 10:00 will take place at our Grayling studio due to a scheduling conflict in Higgins Lake. We hope to see you there! Click here to view the class schedule.

We also want to apologize to any of you who showed up for yesterday morning’s Hatha Yoga class with Patty in Higgins Lake. Gerrish had not notified us that the hall was going to be unavailable, which is why we were just as surprised as you were that it was occupied. We are taking several steps to improve these types of scheduling issues: Gerrish has promised to improve their communication going forward, and in the upcoming weeks we will also be expanding our class offering in Grayling, where we can achieve more consistency and less conflicts with the class schedule. Stay tuned, and thank you for your patience as we do our best to provide you with consistent, top-quality yoga instruction!

Have a fabulous week, and don’t forget to get outside and enjoy the fresh air!

Namaste,

Mariah, Amy, Dianne & Patty

Nov 06

“The magic of Now is consciousness.”

“To fall in love for any reason does cause fires of emotion. When we are in love, we ride on a positive energy as compared to not being in love. When we are love, we transcend conditional love to that of unconditional and we are now flowering in consciousness. Love is a very important element of consciousness as it becomes purer with Union even as our consciousness is expanded further. Consciousness is love that is light.”
― Nandhiji,  Mastery of Consciousness: Awaken the Inner Prophet: Liberate Yourself with Yogic WisdomTapas  

Ashtanga  Week 7:  November 6-November 12

Continued emphasis on Ujjayi Pranayama (victorious breath)  Mula Bandha (root lock) Uddiyana Bandha (abdominal lock) drishti (directed gazing point) and asana including a sampling of seated, finishing and balancing poses.  Continued cultivation of Pranayama suited to provide greater balance in meditation.   This continuous practice helps anxiety, depression, insomnia – https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/inhale-exhale-relax-and-energize

3nd Niyama  (2nd limb…practice/observance) TAPAS(तपस): austerity, self-discipline, persistent meditation, perseverance

Image result for tapas yoga quoteAmazing article/perspective-https://americanyoga.school/tapas-and-asana/

 

Continued homework….a down dog and child pose a day (5 breaths)

Highly encourage students to start ANYTIME the free online 21 day meditation with Oprah and Deepak.  It started Oct. 30 but you can  start anytime,  any amount of practice can be powerful! 

oprah.com/meditation