LOVE

Updates For February

"I see you and I love you."

 

Erich Schiffmann says phrase above in his lessons. From the first time I heard him talk about this, I was interested. He instructs to start with something you absolutely love - like a family member or a pet. Say it over and over again - to yourself or out loud.  Say it like you mean it and when you practice it on someone or something you love, then it gets traction. When you get good on this comfortable level, you take it out wider - like the rings of Metta - friends, acquaintances and then those who challenge you. Don't go to the top of 'those who challenge you,' start with someone who cut you off in traffic. Work your way out from there.  Eventually, we can expand to any and all beings - including ourselves. In a Lovingkindness practice, we start with ourselves, but that is challenging. We need traction and a compassion warm up to get into ourselves these days.

 

The point is to open ourselves to love and what love means.  Love is packed with compassion and gratitude. Can we see those we love with compassion and gratitude? Probably and pretty easily. Can we see our friends and acquaintances with compassion and gratitude? Can we see those who challenge us with compassion and gratitude? WHAT? They piss me off! Why should I?  The real question is 'Why shouldn't I?'

If you subscribe to interconnection of all beings and nature, why would we separate out some from compassion and gratitude?

I remember way back in the 80s, Linda Evans (of Dynasty fame) said that everyone we see and are irritated by are simply reflections of ourselves.  That made me think about what I was seeing that was ticking me off. What about me do I recognize here?  Can I have compassion for myself with this?  Can I be grateful for this glimpse of myself? Can I befriend myself and move out of this suffering?

 

Can we recognize attachments, aversions and ignorance as the causes of our suffering and the suffering of others and apply compassion and gratitude?  How does this leave us feeling once we do?

 

I know this seems pretty deep. It is. And I bring this up because February is that month we talk about LOVE and celebrate it on Valentine's Day.  I bring it up to see if we can see ourselves and write notes of love and compassion to ourselves.  I bring it up because the world, if it's a reflection of what's inside of us, is confused and needs compassion.  I bring it up because it starts with each of us.  Our yoga mats are a place where we start to see ourselves reflected in how we respond to putting ourselves in poses and transitions that challenge us, that sooth us and support bringing us back to being aligned in our bodies, energy and emotional well being.

 

I've highlighted some things I think will be helpful to you in pursuit of Love, Compassion and Gratitude this month. I hope they will help you practice Erich's mantra, "I see you and I love you."

 

Just a couple of notes for housekeeping...

Schedule notes: I am studying with my teacher, Cyndi Lee, to become an OM Yoga Certified Teacher.  I will be in a week long intensive later in February and will have to cancel a few day classes that week to accommodate the workshop intensive schedule.  I will update the live stream booking calendar with those dates. I apologize for the inconvenience. I encourage you to book a similar on demand class on those days so you don't lose your momentum in your practice.

 

I am offering some serious bling for the February Challenge - Attend Live Stream Classes. Please see below for the details.  I am encouraging attendance in live stream classes because it is a great way to build accountability to yourself and your practice AND it is a great way to connect with others. It can be pretty lonely out here.  Also, I want to make sure you are engaged in classes as I have had to institute a new rule - if classes are not well attended, they will come off the schedule. There is now a minimum attendance requirement for classes. If there are not 2 or more people booked into a live stream class, an hour before the class starts, I will cancel the class. If this occurs more than 3 times in 6 weeks, the class will be removed from the schedule and will no longer be recorded for On Demand.  I want to focus my energy where there is interest.

 

As we approach the 1 year anniversary of the pivot to online classes, I would love to hear your home practice stories. Please tell me how it's going and what you have learned about practicing at home. Drop me a line at MBFYoga108@gmail.com.  I would love to share stories in the newsletter next month.  It is not easy to roll out your mat and do your practice. I am so proud of you all for doing this for yourselves.

 

Wishing you peace and love. My deepest gratitude for our practice together,

Andrea

 

 

Andrea Dyer

mind|body|fitness yoga

www.mindbodyfitnessyoga.com

Over 275 classes on demand | 10 live classes weekly on Zoom

Please Note:  I will be in training with my teacher on Feb 22, 23 and 24th.  Morning classes on those days will be cancelled.  

The How To Build An Ashtanga Practice Check Ins at 7:30 am will still take place.

I apologize for the inconvenience. I encourage you to take classes on demand those days.

 

The best way to attend classes is to make a plan. Planning is a way to build accountability to yourself. Once you create your plan, Book Classes!

Valentine's Day is February 14th, but I like to think of the entire month as a valentine opportunity.  Wouldn't it be nice to create the causes and conditions for love in your life?  I'm not talking exclusively romantic love. How about cultivating self love?  Grab a stack of post its and write a love line to yourself every day in February. Stick them on your bathroom mirror to remind yourself what you value and appreciate about yourself. It just takes a couple seconds, and it will frame your day with compassion, gratitude and happiness.  You deserve it!

It is NOT TOO LATE to join the How To Portal and learn yoga from the ground up.  The How To Build An Ashtanga Practice is a great way to learn - really learn - how to do yoga. It is self-paced and you can join at any time.  I am offering 3 check in sessions a week for those participating. All sessions are recorded so you don't have to attend the live sessions to get the benefit of the information shared.

 

The portal contains small lessons. Each lesson has a blog post about what we are focusing on in the session and there are accompanying visual aids and videos that break down skills, poses and techniques.  

 

When you join the How To Portal, you get a year of access, so you can pace your learning and reinforce your practice on your own schedule.

 

I am using the Ashtanga practice as the first series in the How To Portal because I feel it is a sound foundation for any yoga practice - especially if you like to flow.  This series covers the fundamental information you need on alignment, channeling energy and engagement in poses and transitions, and the key principles for practicing yoga:

Bending

Twisting

Back Bending

Balancing

Creating Strength and Stability

 

Throughout the series, I offer different approaches and modifications so you can meet yourself where you are and set your direction for your own journey.

 

Interested? Learn More!

 

Questions?  Email me at MBFYoga108@gmail.com

 

Future Portals are in the works:

How To Meditate

How To Align Your Energy Seasonally

How To Care For Your Back, Hips and Shoulders

 

February is a great time to establish and re-establish connections in your practice.  The February Challenge is to attend Live Stream Classes.  I'll be taking attendance in every live stream class this month and at the end of the month I will be drawing a name to win 2 Manduka Cork Blocks and a rectangular Manduka Bolster.  Every Live Stream Class you attend = an entry into the drawing. The more classes you attend live, the better your odds are of winning.

 

Why attend a live stream class vs On Demand?

Connection - There is something to being in a practice with other people, you can feel the energy of connection knowing you are practicing with others. We use time before class to connect socially - it breaks up this pandemic isolation.

 

Correction - If you have questions, I am here to help you. In the time before class, you can ask questions or you can email me before class to get specifics in the class's instruction.

 

Visibility - Every soul longs to be seen.  Even if you don't chat it up before class, isn't it nice to be recognized as present and accounted for?

 

Accountability - If you make a specific appointment, it will be easier to keep that commitment when you know you are expected.  It is too easy to let things that are important slide off your list of to do's when you don't feel accountable to anyone. It's sad, but true that we are more prone to be accountable to others than ourselves.

 

Book into a Live Stream Class and join the February Challenge!

 

Questions?  Email me at MBFYoga108@gmail.com

 

 

Yoga is a great way to establish a healthy wellness routine for your body, mind and spirit. Nothing says, "I love you" more than doing something good for yourself on a regular basis.

 

Often we do things for others, but when we ignore our own well being, there is soon little left to give others.  Consider your yoga practice to be like a fuel tank.  You need a regular way to fill your tank so you can motor on helping others.

It's a brand new month. It's a great time to hit the refresh button and do something for yourself and let it become a healthy habit.

 

Physical and emotional wellness AND mask wearing are the most effective ways to be well in the time of COVID.  As the vaccinations roll out, it's important to remember that it's not just the vaccinations that keep our risk levels down. We must all be self empowered to make our health and wellbeing a priority.

 

Start here:

Take 5 deep breaths.

Take 5 more deep breaths, but this time raise your arms on the inhale and lower them on the exhale.

Keep breathing deeply for 3 more minutes.

If you feel inspired to do more, get on all fours and get into Downward Facing Dog.  Be curious about balancing out your weight between the right and left sides of your body. Be curious about engaging your legs and drawing your thighs back to distribute weight off your hands. Be curious about how much your head weighs. Be curious about how nice gravity feels.  Be curious about moving your shoulders away from your ears and how nice that feels to have space in your neck.

 

And then just sit for one minute.

 

If that felt good, why not do that again tomorrow?  Keep going. You've got this.

It's time to get back to the ways things were - a nice juicy flow class on Monday evenings! The tradition of my Monday night flow class started way back at Fitness Today and carried forth through the studio years.  It was a book end for the week like the Friday Flow class.

 

It's time to flow again on Monday evenings. It all starts back again on Monday, February 1.

What is this class like?  It is a vinyasa class with a moderate base of poses. I offer challenges to play with if those challenges meet you where you are.  

We warm up with sun salutations and then go off road into sequences that explore standing and balancing poses. We get warm and juicy so we can play in back bends and inversions.  There is always a "maybe buffet" of options, but this is a class where you will work, exert and sweat. So, this is not for those without fundamental knowledge of poses and less than 6 months of consistent vinyasa practice.

 

This class will be live only. That means it is a unique event that will not be recorded for use forever and ever. It gets us into living in the moment.

 

I will be teaching mainly off the mat, so I can coach and instruct more effectively, so you should be comfortable with audible instruction for most of the class.

 

Want to play? Book to attend!

336 392 9224

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