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June, 2022
Yoga Newsletter
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The Essence of Practice (Sādhana साधन)
Online Practices, 'Live' or by Recording - Resume June 8!
June, July & August
Every Other Week (2nd and 4th weeks of the month)
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Centering Practice - Fridays, 9:00-10:15 a.m. Pacific Time
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Chair Practice - Wednesdays, 10:30-11:45 a.m. Pacific Time
In-Person Practices on Whidbey
Saturdays - June 25, July 23, September 17 & 24
9:00 -11:00 a.m. Pacific Time
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Regardless of whether you have been practicing regularly or not, you are welcome!
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A solid foundation of yoga experience is recommended.
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Reserve your place early. Class size will be limited.
Traveling over the last month has helped me recognize that we're all in the process of re-emerging. We're each finding our way and navigating different levels of sensitivity and tolerance to being with other bodies.
And it's apparent that the pandemic and continued post-pandemic crises, and the accompanying distress, have had and continue to have noticeable effects on our bodies. There is substantial research to support that these effects are driven by the neuromuscular system and can contribute to psychological and physical issues often attributed to structure or the aging process. Hans Selye describes these functional changes as 'diseases of adaptation'. We can learn to adapt differently!
'Anxiety is the very currency of exchange in an industrial society.' ~ Thomas Hanna
In response, we'll take an informal approach, give each other physical and emotional space, and take a soft and relaxed pace. Rather than holding firm to a specific theme or agenda, we'll lean back into the essence of practice (sādhana) for support, to assimilate, and to transform our ways of adapting.
"A hobby is something you do when you feel like it. A practice is there when you don't want to show up for it and in some ways, that's the magic. It brings you back to the present."
~ Rev. angel Kyodo williams
Summer practices (online and in-person), will provide a space to inhabit your body with sensitivity, unlock tension, and restore efficient and supple movement patterns within a caring circle. This is the essence of practice (sādhana) - inner alignment - to refine your capacity to return to what is arising and subsiding in the present moment.
In-person classes will explore in more depth asanas, breath and awareness practices that when practiced regularly, recover strength, balance, resilience, and return the nervous system to a calm and centered place. We'll play with variations to acknowledge and respect individual differences, and to enhance your ongoing home practice.
If you are joining me in-person, we'll gather at a home studio in Greenbank. The space overlooks the water and Baby Island. Eagles, herons, hawks often go soaring past. The address and further details will be furnished with payment confirmation.
We will do our best to foster health for ourselves and each other and will support each other's choice to come to class masked or unmasked. Class size will be limited. When full, a waiting list will be available. Please join me in trusting one another to take care of ourselves, the group, and the stewards of the lovely space in which we will practice. Please stay at home if you have any signs of illness.
In this newsletter:
- Listen to or read one or all of the contributions in Emergence Magazine's Vol. #3, "Living With the Unknown"- https://emergencemagazine.org/.
- Hear from current students about the benefits of Chair Practice. Try a class for free in June!
- Adorn your salad and add nourishment with edible flowers.
Abundant Blessings,
Wendy
Art courtesy of Mike Brennan www.mikebrennan.me
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Join
In-Person Classes
The Essence of Practice
Saturday Mornings
9:00-11:00 a.m. Pacific Time
June 25, July 23, Sept 17 & 24, 2022
Greenbank, Whidbey Island, WA
- Pay what you are able for 1-4 classes. Drop-in is not an option.
- Your payment is your registration.
- You will receive a confirmation with the address and further details.
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Join
Summer Centering or Chair Practices
'live' via Zoom or by recording:
- Pay what you are able for a 4 or 6-week series or drop-in.
- Your payment is your registration.
- You will receive a confirmation.
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Learn more about
One-on-One Sessions
(Individual Mentoring),
online or in-person
and contact me:
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Art from everydayhealth.com.
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Chair Yoga
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Try a Chair Class for free June 8 or 22!
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Use the recordings as ideas for movement and breathing breaks for kids or in your work day!
Using a chair as a prop is an adaptive strategy that makes yoga more accessible for kids, workers, people with disabilities, wheelchair users, and seniors who want to age dynamically. Moving your body in simple yet varied ways is essential for whole body/mind health, particularly if you sit for long periods of time or your work involves repetitive motion.
In addition to seated asanas, chair practices include conscious breathing, gentle yet stimulating movement for the joints, and standing and balancing forms to develop whole body strength and resilience.
Students' experiences:
"Thank you for the commitment to our yoga classes and format. This past year has been a gift for me to enjoy a deepening of my physical and mental capabilities. It always seems that you are speaking directly to me and delivering just what my body and mind require for the day." ~ Linda Luka, (Marketing & Communications Director)
"Thank you SO much! I just had a couple of days of intense editing, and this session was exactly what my body needed. I'm going to try to do it several times this week. I would never have dreamt that my neck, throat, and my upper arms would be such a powerful place for focus." ~ Margaret Bendet, (Editor)
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Edible Flowers
Culinary use of flowers dates back thousands of years in many indigenous cultures. Edible flowers are a simple way to add color, taste, and essence to a salad. According to Ayurveda, herbs and flowers not only adorn a salad but add nourishment. Through their particular 'taste' or energetic qualities, they have the capacity to uplift mood, soothe the nerves, enhance sleep, reduce inflammation, and balance the doshas.
Have fun growing them in your garden! Choose high quality or organic if possible. If you are collecting from another source make sure they have not been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers. When picking, have respect and gratitude for the plant. Always leave some in place for the insects, birds, and animals, and for nature to regenerate.
TYPES OF EDIBLE FLOWERS:
- Borage is a cooling and cleansing herb, soothing the throat, chest, skin, and eyes. It enhances resilience, gives renewed buoyancy in adversity, and is useful when feeling low after illness.
- Calendula reduces inflammation, soothes the skin, eyes, and promotes tissue repair.
- Chamomile is a wonderful relaxant for the nervous and digestive systems. It also relaxes the smooth muscles throughout the body. As a remedy of the sun, chamomile soothes anger and tension.
- Lavender has a mildly pungent taste and slightly cooling influence. It is soothing and can calm an agitated mind without creating undue dullness. Lavender can balance the emotions, relieve anxiety and depression, and reduce stress.
- Nasturtium is pungent taste and aids digestion. It has high vitamin C content and is a powerful anti-microbial.
- Roses have an uplifting and restoring effect on the nervous system and for the heart.They relieve insomnia, lift depression and anxiety. The petals have a cooling effect and bring down excess heat in the body. Petals or hips strengthen the lungs and re-establish the healthy bacterial population of the intestine.
RESOURCES:
McIntyre, Anne. Flower Remedies for Healing.
Hoffmann, David. The New Holistic Herbal.
Ladd, Vasant & Frawley, David. The Yoga of Herbs.
Simon, David & Chopra, Deepak. The Chopra Center Herbal Handbook.
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