Giving and Receiving Freely

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And now ask in your heart, “How shall we distinguish that which is good in pleasure from that which is not good?”
Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower,
But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee.
For to the bee a flower is the fountain of life,
And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love,
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.

- Khalil Gibron

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When we dive deep, our yoga practice teaches us how to be of service.  Swami Satchidananda taught us that service-surrender (or non-attachment to the result of your service) is the way to live a peaceful, easeful, and useful life.

Act in a way that benefits someone, harms no one, and is performed without attachment to the result.

A tall order, for sure, but that is what yogic philosophy regards as a perfect act. So we are always returning to this idea when providing classes or finding ways to welcome you to the studio, even if that visit is virtual. 

How can we be of service to you? This includes how all of our teachers serve our students and also how Rita and I serve our teachers. 

What can we provide that will allow you to connect more deeply with your practice of yoga?  Not just poses, but your outlook on the world and yourself as well.

In the last year or so, I have been exploring yogic philosophy on this blog as a way to make connections for myself about how my yoga sadhana (daily routine) and the way I conduct the rest of my life interact.

I have tried to be open about how my own life has been transformed through my sadhana.  In being vulnerable, I hope to give courage to anyone who might be struggling with the vulnerabilities that we are learning to face this year (and realistically, all the time). 

I am not attached to this goal because just by writing, I have helped give courage to myself. The act of writing is done for its own sake.

Rita and I have been brainstorming in the background for several months now, trying to figure out ways to serve you even better next year.  This has been greatly helped by the addition of our fantastic social media manager, Lauren, who has lots of fun tricks up her sleeves.

And of course, our teachers just continue to take our ideas and run with them!  It's so fantastic to see their perspectives, toolkits, and styles getting richer and more specific, as we all work on this common goal of serving our lovely students.

Next year, I plan to re-calibrate the focus of this blog onto the practice of yoga, rather than the philosophy.  After all, as our beloved teacher, Sonia Sumar says, "too much theory intoxicates."

In yoga, we have to practice to learn.  With our whole heart, consistently, and for a long time, if we want to be firmly grounded in it (Yoga Sutras, I.14).  Luckily, to those of us who are eager, the attainment of yoga comes faster (Yoga Sutras, I.21).

So as we commit to new visions for 2021, let's hold our yoga sadhana as one of our highest priorities, whether that looks like classes in the studio, outdoors, live-streamed, pre-recorded, or self-led.

But if you are looking for extra special ways to commit to your practice, do we have some goodies for you!  Rita will lead a special Chakra themed  Restorative Yoga class in honor of the Winter Solstice.  I am leading a pajama party yoga class on the morning of Christmas Eve, and we'll team up with Kim to provide our third annual Reflect & Restore Workshop on New Year’s Eve, which is the perfect time to release the last year, create a vision for the next, and be guided toward bliss by the restorative yoga poses and heavenly essential oils.  I will also teach a four-week Yoga for Beginners class on Saturdays in January, just in case you know anyone with yoga resolutions.

Whatever your plans this holiday season, we hope that they are filled with the ease and flow of giving and receiving freely.  And may your yoga practice become even more firmly grounded in 2021.