Hello Darkness, My Old Friend – Archive

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Lifting the Calm, Focused Energy of the Body to support the changing seasons

This nourishing series of group classes is intended to support us with integrated practices for the body, emotions and thoughts – with particular focus on the fact that we are moving in to a time of greater darkness through our daily schedule.  Let’s manage our nervous systems together. 

  • Session 1 – Brahmana Energizing (59 min)
  • Session 2 – Nurturing the energy (57 min)
  • Session 3 – Embody Joy (55 min)
  • Session 4 – No Obligation to be Happy (1 hr 11 min)
  • Session 5 – Lift the Heavy Heart + Neck support (1 hr 2 min)
  • Session 6 May Peace Envelop Us (57 min)
  • Bonus Practice – Gentle Peace and Trust (57 min)

These practices offer nourishment, support, and most importantly, they remind our BodyMind of hope, energy, and joy.  And for the times when we need to stay in the quiet darkness, we can reside there with gentleness until we are ready to move out.  We will utilize Ritual, Simple conscious movement, Conscious breathing, resting, and sitting in silence.

Making a friends with what is

Are we are willing to be with the silence of this moment, with the light deep within the light of the heart? Turning to the peace that already is, let’s call that awareness.  If I call that awareness, then if I make the right effort to turn towards that via intimacy of my breath.  This stillness is a mirror.  Through this mirror, we come to a place of clarity that is compassionate and aware that is connects with this moment.  We see ourselves tied to the highest quality, nourishing quality as compassion, spaciousness, and joy.  As we make the right effort to connect with that, it will inspire and continue to inspire us in any and every situation that presents itself – in our inner life, relationships, community, and with our dear and complex world.  We are in training, and our goal is wholeness.

The goal is not to be controlled, but to be aware.  Sometimes we take awareness as an extension of controlling our lives, our thoughts, feelings, children, diets, etc.  We can watch this.  This control can sometimes be a way of being unkind to ourselves if it arises out of judgment.  The ultimate goal in Yoga is grace/freedom – it cannot be achieved; it is something that reveals itself.  The sutras do talk about control and changing things, the methodology.  How do we practice? the sutras say (Sutra I-12) – Abyasa (persevering  practice) and Vairagya (with non-attachement) – observing ourselves in this kind of practice makes us more aware of the fact that we are not necessarily in control of our own transformation.