I have been practicing yoga for over 25 years (teaching for over 18 years) and I have seen the trends come and go. When I was in my early 20s, my first yoga class was in a loud and chilly community recreation centre. It wasn’t very zen-like, but something about the practice had me intrigued. I continued to deepen my knowledge of yoga in small yoga studios.
This is how I see it ... 1. we only have the moment and 2. our lives are a series of moments linked together.
I identify with your struggle, for I struggle too.
I identify with your tightness and pain, for I feel it too.
I identify with your self-consciousness and timidness because I know what it's like to be so unsure.
While working with yoga educator/author Leslie Kaminoff many things rang true, but none so much as the above quote that he picked up from his teacher T.K.V. Desikachar. This has transformed my yoga practice.
The summer has arrived! Probably the most anticipated and eagerly awaited season, the summer is a time to recharge the internal batteries. My yoga practice usually deepens during the summer months, unlike any other time of the year. My senses are more alert and I seem to take more time. It blossoms differently in ways that always surprise me. This is the way I approach my summer yoga practice. Perhaps it speaks to you?
Robyn Bowman is a Mother on Fire! After eight years of being a “stay-at-home-mom” Robyn knew it was time to challenge her mind and “create.” She opened Creating Space Yoga Studio, now in its fourth year of business and leaves her work every day feeling fulfilled. Read her inspiring story of how she turned her passion for yoga into a creative and gratifying venture!
The summer flew by.
The speed at which it moved makes me think that I didn't find the time I needed this summer to be still, to reflect, and to pause. Although busy, it was filled with good times, socializing with good friends, playing with my kids, a long road trip and time spent at the ocean. It was good, but it flew by.
Recently I had the opportunity to spend a few days by myself at a comfy cottage in the woods nestled beside a rustic lake.
This week I am thinking of my fellow teachers, and students who are all practicing their yoga, enjoying some hiking and feeling a warm breeze on an amazing yoga retreat in Mexico led by Helen Duquette. I, on the other hand, am in Southern Ontario, feeling the temperature drop, raking mounds of leaves, avoiding the flu but thankfully, at the moment I am feeling the warm sun shining through the window as I write.
New beginnings can come at any time and in many forms. I thankfully feel the sense of new beginnings many times during the year.