Get Open Hips with Jen
Sunday, November 30, 2008
12 – 2pm
The hips are home to many vital organs as well as the seat of our creativity and sensuality. This post-Thanksgiving two hour session will get the creative juices flowing, and gently open the hips bringing liberation to the lumbar spine and often a release of toxic emotions.
What better time to get open in the hips than this season of thanks and giving.
What’s wrong in the world? When will it stop? Can I make a difference? These are questions raised and answered in the book “The Trouble With the Alphabet”. A creative project to raise awareness of crimes and injustices to children around the world. Including dramatic portraits as well as information on 26 different countries and how to volunteer or be active with outreach programs aiming to stop abuses and human right violations.
Visit the website here to buy the book and to learn more. See the video below for a preview.
Meet Virginia.
Sharing a meal with her sisters, she is on the far right.
Virginia is such a light in my week, an eager student, a friendly smile and always a positive attitude. If there was need to exemplify the “beginner mind’ I would think of Virginia who welcomes each class as another opportunity to explore and broaden her horizons. Through difficult times she has held fast to her practice and enthusiasm for learning. As I have gotten to know her, it seems every conversation reveals another fascinating detail be it her immersion in Spanish, care and love of her family, her classes on Film Documentary, her genuine awareness and interest in community efforts and the list goes on. Chatting with Virginia always enriches my day.
I asked her the usual questions…
Q: How long have you been practicing Yoga?
A: I began practicing Birkam Yoga about 7 years ago at the behest of my Spanish teacher who had started practicing yoga. I found the Bikram extremely challenging but continued with it – determined to “be successful” – until early this year when I finally realized that I wasn’t finding joy in my practice. It was exhausting me. I was only able to take one class per week as the heat and the closed in feeling of the room wore me out. So, I started practicing at the Tully Center in Stamford where I found the classes less exhausting . . . enabling me to take more than one class per week and to begin to see some progress and improvement. My first exposure to Kripalu was a class I took on Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, MA (Cape Cod). A few years ago, a Kripalu trained teacher started offering classes every summer morning at 7:30. I fell in love with the classes immediately. I am sure that the early morning sunlight, the beautiful white sandy beach and the mighty North Atlantic are part of what seduced me. But, it was not all. The practice itself was so spiritual and fulfilling. Last summer I went to Lenox for a week of Kripalu yoga practice; that week convinced me. I realized that with the Bikram Yoga I had been fighting with my body and wearing myself out. With Kripalu yoga I had found a way to be at peace with myself.
Ann Russell joins the schedule for a 4:00-5:30pm Thursday class. Drop in or add this class to your weekly practice schedule for a wonderful afternoon break in your day. Ann’s incredible presence, soothing voice and expert instruction will guide you through breath work, postures and a blissful relaxation.
Please join us in welcoming her to Dew!
Class begins Thursday, November 6, 2008. You can read Ann’s bio here.
Yogini Di offered this gem of a quote in my inbox today, couldn’t keep it to myself. Thanks Diana.
“As you give love out, it’s received and reciprocated–and it grows. That’s the beauty of it. Love is an energy. You can feed it to people, and they in turn feed it to others, and eventually it comes back.”
Have you ever passed someone on the street who was apparently angered and then felt a sudden change in yourself? Have you ever walked into a room occupied by people who are happy and then felt a sense of calm and joy wash over you? I try to explain this phenomenon by using Peanuts character Pigpen as an example. He always has that cloud of dust and dirt around him. When we are in a negative internal state, we walk around like Pigpen, exposing others to our toxic energies.
Beautifully said, Babaji explains the idea of mantra and how we connect energetically to that outside of ourselves. Watch for yourself, it only takes a minute.
Meditation
for people who can’t sit still long enough to meditate.
Meditation Workshop at Harmony Yoga, 48 Union Street, Stamford
Thursday, November 20, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
So you think you can’t meditate because your mind is “chattering too much�? You’re not alone.
Come learn a few simple techniques in both pranayama (breathing) and meditation that can help
you find the soothing calm that exists inside. You’ll amaze yourself, and leave with a newfound
respect for the power of meditation. Ann Russell will lead this enlightening workshop.
Ann Russell is a certified 500-hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher.
She’s been teaching yoga and meditation in Fairfield County
for over eight years, you’ll love her unique energy.
RSVP by contacting Carol Shwidock
962-4672 or carol @ harmonyogastudio . com
Get Open Hips with Jen
