 Photo by Harli Marten on Unsplash Silence is a true friend that never betrays. - Confucius This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 2.55 ततः परमा वश्यतेन्द्रियाणाम् tataḥ paramā vaśyatendriyāṇām Then one achieves perfect mastery over the senses. One of the main reasons people start practicing yoga is to learn how to become calmer. With all that is going on outside ourselves, it can be really difficult to learn how to be calm.
That is why yoga’s process is one of involution, or one of leading the practitioner within and un-layering the conditioning that leads a person to feel stress, overwhelm and fear.
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 What brought you to yoga?
My quest for healing and self-discovery shaped my journey to yoga. After enduring years of chronic anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and physical pain from conditions like spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, and a pinched ulnar nerve, I found myself stuck and dissatisfied with my life. Although I practiced yoga, it wasn’t until I was overwhelmed by persistent negative thoughts that I fully embraced it as a means of mental focus and healing. Yoga became my sanctuary, helping me calm my mind, alleviate anxiety, and relieve physical pain. Through this practice, I developed self-love, built strength, and shifted my nervous system from stress to relaxation. What is your approach to teaching? As a yoga and wellness practitioner, my approach is grounded in mindfulness. My goal is to help students learn how to connect with and honor their bodies for where it is at now, not where they think they need to be. I encourage students to tap in and listen more closely to their intuition and learn how to trust their heart-mind and grow in their yoga practice without judgment or self-criticism so that the experience of yoga feels safe and approachable. Why did you choose to teach at 5KY? I chose 5 keys because their philosophy and values align very closely with my own. Plus, I like the cozy intimate setting, which is helpful for those who prefer a smaller class size. What makes your soul sing? I am an amateur singer. In a literal way, singing makes my soul sing. Haha! Singing and performing have always been a part of my life. It makes me so happy to belt out the big soaring notes and just let my heart feel free.  What brought you to your yoga practice?
I had been interested in Buddhism and eastern spiritual practices since I was in high school but became more fully interested again in my late 40s when I started a regular meditation practice. My interest in meditation is what actually led me to yoga. As I read more about meditation, it became clear to me that the practice of yoga could enhance my meditation practice. What benefits did you notice once you started practicing consistently? First I learned that yoga was a wonderful way to become more centered, focused and calm in a way that was different from meditation but also a complimenting it . I also learned that yoga was good for my body. As I practiced more regularly, I found that my body became both stronger and more flexible. As I have aged, this has been a wonderful benefit. If I don’t practice regularly at this point, I really feel it in my body. Apart from Asana practice, the more I have practiced, the more I have learned about the other aspects of yoga including the precepts of the yoga sutras. These have helped to provide a compass in my life that I did not expect at all. What would you now tell yourself before you started practicing yoga? That yoga has so many benefits beyond the obvious ones of helping you stay in shape! More importantly, I would tell myself that yoga is a constantly evolving endeavor - a practice and not a goal. I used to hope that I could eventually do poses perfectly but I realize now that perfection is not the goal nor is it really attainable. It is the process of evolving toward any given pose or any given mindset that is the focus.  Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash The highest revelation is that God is in every man. - Ralph Waldo Emerson This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 2.52 ततः क्षीयते प्रकाशावरणम् tataḥ kṣīyate prakāśāvaraṇam As a result, the veil covering the light of the Supreme Self is dissolved. The final four Sutras within Book Two both summarize and hint at what Patanjali will spend the next two books covering. This process starts with the fifth limb of Raja Yoga, pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses). I find this limb so important that I will spend this month and next discussing the four Sutras which explain pratyahara.
 What brought you to your yoga practice?
Physical therapists, my chiropractor and doctor all recommended yoga as part of treatment plan to address osteoarthritis/past injury in my hip. After exploring several studios I was discouraged with class offerings and approach to yoga. It all felt very rushed and I wasn’t offered much instruction, or general benefits of yoga. My doctor suggested I look for something called “gentle yoga”, which led me to Five Keys. I was pleasantly surprised that Five Keys was right in my neighborhood. Everyone was welcoming, answered all my questions and have led/guided me to what I consider will be my life long yoga practice. They showed me that I can do yoga! What benefits did you notice once you started practicing consistently? More flexibility, improved range of motion, and a sense of stillness and peace for myself. What would you now tell yourself before you started practicing yoga? Keep trying, there is a place/people to show you the way to yoga. You will see a difference in your flexibility, mobility and general health. You’ll feel good!  Photo by Valeriia Bugaiova on Unsplash Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure... Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer. - Shunryu Suzuki Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 2.49 तस्मिन्सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः tasminsati śvāsapraśvāsayorgativicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ Having mastered a steady, comfortable position, inhalations and exhalations should be regulated. This is pranayama. Patanjali spends a little more time on pranayama in the Yoga Sutras than asana but compared to his discussion of "The Witness" and the constituents of nature (the gunas), pranayama is explained quite simply over five Sutras, which we will cover this month and next. This month, we’ll discuss what pranayama is and how to practice it. Next month, we’ll discuss the benefits of pranayama.
 OCTOBER 20th Fall is the perfect time to re-evaluate where we invest our energies. As we move from the hot summer months through the dry, cool fall months and into winter, Ayurveda guides us to find balance within ourselves. The transition from the full, hot summer months to the coziness of fall and the holidays can be one of most fruitful times of the year.
This is a great add-on for yoga students ready to learn the basics of Ayurveda and how to apply them in a fall refresh of their personal routines.  What brought you to your yoga practice?
To be honest, I started practicing yoga by signing up for a class at school for (what I thought would be) a really easy way to earn college credit. I ended up earning much more than that! What benefits did you notice once you started practicing consistently? Beyond gaining flexibility and strength, consistent yoga practice significantly improved my mental health, which transformed my life and outlook completely. Practicing yoga activated my body awareness and ability to engage with effective mindfulness and genuine contentment. It kindly and frequently reintroduces me to myself and demonstrates that with persistence, I can achieve beyond what I thought I'd ever be capable of mentally and physically. What would you now tell yourself before you started practicing yoga? I would tell myself that the goal of yoga is not perfection in asana, but making the choice every day to pursue earnestness, strength and ease in all facets of life. And I would remind myself, even now, that the secret to maintaining a regular practice is setting achievable goals and generating tons of self-compassion!  Transition into the energy of autumn. Gather your harvest from a full summer of light and activity. Reap the benefits and prepare your body and mind for the slower seasons, with a guided Yoga Nidra (Deep Relaxation), paired with the resonant full-body experience of sound bath.
Revel in the abundance of the Fall Equinox with us on September 22nd. You’ll leave vibrating with peace and harmony, ready to embrace the new season! In our intimate studio, we have space for only 8 participants at these special quarterly events. Spots go quickly and for this reason, we are not able to offer any refunds after booking. All sales are final. All-Access Members get 20% off. Book soon to save your spot!  Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It's about using posture to understand and transform yourself. - BKS Iyengar This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series. Want to start at the beginning? Yoga Sutra 2.46 स्थिरसुखम् आसनम् Sthira sukham āsanam Asana is a steady and comfortable position. You have probably heard one of us say “yoga begins off the mat.” It becomes like a broken record. But truly, the deeper you go into the Yoga Sutras, the more you realize how ridiculous it is that people are obsessed with asanas.
Don’t get me wrong, I love asana. It was my gateway to yoga. But I didn’t stop at asana, I now practice all eight limbs and can tell you for certain that the benefits I got from practicing the other limbs far outweighs the benefits I have received from mere asana (and I have gotten a lot of benefit from practicing yoga asana.) |
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