I Don't Know

Have you noticed we were blessed with a week or so of hot hot summer weather, then it rained, got a bit cold and now it's moderate again?  The weather reminds us of  the teachings on uncertainty, letting go, and surrendering to the universe's plan.  Rather than struggle to "find the magic solution" or "the answer," i let the process happen today. 

Currently I am teaching at a few different studios, two of which are just opening their doors to customers.  This means 0 to few students.  It can be frustrating to take a 45 minute bus ride and not see the class numbers you were hoping for.  As a yoga teacher, making a living comes from a very small percentage of what the student actually pays.  It's quite the balancing act physically, mentally, and spiritually for the yoga teacher trying to make ends meet.  When it comes down to it, a yoga teacher needs students to teach just as much as the students need their teacher.  

It is very easy to travel down a dark road to fear when uncertainty and the unknown submerge!  Coming back to the yoga mat is a great antidote to this, simply watching the breath, taking each moment as it comes, releasing the past and the future.   Worrying is not going to fill up classes but rather cause me to suffer mentally and emotionally.  

As change is the only thing that is permanent, I remind myself that nothing can be forced, everything presents itself when the seeker is ready.  At the same time I am only human living in a culture where instant gratification and satisfaction are the hallmarks of success.  Not today.  Today I rest in certainty that all is uncertain and that I can hold this with faith, compassion, and trust. 

NAMASTE YOGIS! 

Natalie 

Have You Tried a Vigorous Kripalu Class?

What's going on in that big white castle (the armory) on Highland Ave.? Well, lots of breathing, moving, and melting into tranquility with moi!

I am offering all types of Kripalu at the new studio Shanti at the Armory.

As you know I recently started offering classes at this beautiful studio and right now they are offering first time visitors 2 weeks of Unlimited Yoga Classes for only $35.  

Shanti Schedule

Tuesdays 4:30-5:45pm Vigorous Kripalu 

               6:00-7:15pm Moderate Kripalu

Thursday 12-1:15pm Gentle Kripalu

Friday 12:00-1:00pm Kripalu Flow 

www.shantiatthearmory.com 

-- Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Natalie

Shedding The Unnecessary in Our Lives -Letting Go

Chances are if you've been to at least one yoga class, you will hear your teacher telling you to just "let go" to "surrender" but sometimes it's hard to really understand why or how to let go.  The Buddha illustrated through his First Noble Truth that "life is suffering" and that once we accept that fact we can start to learn how to eliminate suffer.  A lot of what makes us suffer in life has to do with wanting something different than the current reality.   This makes us suffer because we are constantly in a state of flux and we will never have things exactly the way we want them.  As soon as we attach and relax into success, a failure will come up; or as soon as we get that job or that relationship maybe something else in our life goes wrong.  Ultimately, we can't hang on to anything ever staying exactly the same. Once we relax into "what is" rather than what we want to change or what we want   more or less of, we begin to have an honest relationship with reality, a feeling of acceptance and ok'ness about life "as it is."
Therefore letting go in yoga for instance means forget about trying to touch your toes in a forward bend, try letting go of your idea of how things should be and relax into the pose as it is. Letting go really means meeting reality face to face and accepting it regardless of your aversion to it.  Letting go means releasing the urge to identify with circumstances and remain calm and focused despite any chaos around you.  Let's take an example here: Sadness.  Does sadness make you suffer?  No, of course not.  The suffering comes when we push away sadness, or feel ashamed of sadness, or perhaps when we deny the feelings of sadness.  The buddha said, "Suffering is Optional" and he had a point.  It's a choice.  
Letting go is a choice.  It can't be forced and will come when we are ready. 
What can you let go of today.  The process of yoga is not to take on new poses, make progress, and beef ourselves up but to rather chip away all of the "stuff" that we don't need.  Think of it as a shedding process as a cat sheds it's fur in the summer, we too shed away all that is unnecessary in our lives. 
Namaste!
Natalie