The gift of finding peace and calm.



I had no idea yoga could take me from an anxious and stressed mom, to one who felt calm.

I started yoga 18 years ago at a time when my life was packed full of commitments. From taking care of my 4 little kids and my 3 foster kids, to running a small business and volunteering. I felt like I couldn't say "no" to anything and felt resentment after I said "yes". I was on a fast track to burn out. But I didn't know that yet.

I started yoga because everyone said it was a great workout. I was trying to get back into shape after having children and figured it was a vehicle to do that.  At the time, I didn't know that my stress level was causing serious havoc on my body. My immune system was low, my stress and anxiety was high, and the relationships in my life were starving for attention. I was showing up on my yoga mat for a perfectly good reason, which was to get my body back. Those of us who teach yoga know that whatever reason brings you to yoga is perfect. Because we see time after time people coming for one reason keep coming because of its deeply transformational tendencies in other areas of their life. That happened to me.

Initially, I did not realize that yoga would deeply transform me. What started as a purely physical practice morphed into a stress-reducing, gratitude-growing, relationship-forming practice that changed me. It brought me from a type-A busy mom to one that reacted differently to parenting. It brought me to a place of peace where relationships blossomed. It brought me to a place where I noticed the things I am grateful constantly. And it brought me a feeling of calm inside.

I remember one night specifically. We were in the process of building a house and had to move out of the old house because it sold quickly. We moved our 7 kids (4 biological and 3 foster children) into my parents' house for 3 months. All the other adults in the house were out for the night, and I was home with the kids. I had just fed the kids and was cleaning up the kitchen, as they were all running around laughing and playing near me. My youngest son, who was 18 months old, was sitting in the high chair happily tossing peas onto the floor. I was loading the dishwasher and wiping counters. As this busy, energy-filled scene was in full swing, my brother walked in and bee-lined over to my son, scooped him up and looked at me and said, "Amy, you are in way over your head!" The truth is, most mom's/dad's/caregivers ARE in way over their head. Trying to balance kids and work and commitments is a lot of stress! The funny part about that moment is that I was really enjoying it all. I was very present with my kids that night. My attention was there, in the kitchen. I was not feeling stress and anxiety. I felt peaceful. I had started yoga about 1 year before this night and its effects were working for me. I always say to new yoga students, "yoga doesn't reduce your stress. It doesn't make the kids listen or your boss nice to you. But what it DOES do is change your perception of those stresses". That is what it did for me that night. It allowed me to perceive my stresses differently.

There is a lovely quote I often read and share about peace. It goes like this:

Peace.
It does not mean to be in a place
where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things
and still be calm in your heart.

That is what yoga has done for me. After that night in my parent's kitchen 17 years ago,  there would be countless times that yoga would allow me to be peaceful in the midst of chaos. What started as a pursuit for fitness morphed into a lifestyle. For that I am eternally grateful. How has it helped you?

Namaste,
Amy

Amy Machacek
Owner and Director, HeartWork Studio and LIFE.REVAMP, inc.
amy@liferevamp.net
HeartWork Studio Newsletter
May-June, 2016
In this issue..

Mindful Movement

 Deepening Your Practice

Upcoming Events

Yogi of the Month

Life.REVAMP Highlight

Staff Spotlight

mindful
Mindful Movement with Daisy
Why does alignment matter in yoga?

Can't we just let the poses work for themselves, trusting our body's inner wisdom? Well, yes and no.

Let's say that you have a desk job, and spend the majority of your week sitting at a desk. It is true that just standing up and moving goes a long way toward balancing out your body. However, let's say that when you sit, you tend to slouch your back, tucking the  tailbone underneath. (The cause is usually tight hamstrings pulling your sit bones under).

When you sit on the floor, the slouch is accentuated. In yoga class, your seated forward fold looks like this. 

Here the back is stretched, but the hamstrings remain tight.  Your lower back may be more sore after the class!

A small adjustment, just using a bolster under your hips, assures that you bend at the hips instead of overstretching the lower back. See this post on low back pain and hamstring tightness for more on the anatomy behind this alignment.

Here are another few examples, where just being aware of a few things may make a big difference, not only in the way the pose feels for you, but also in preventing future injury.
Hips:  It is common to stand with one hip out to the side, especially when holding a child. The position is easily reproduced in yoga class when performing lunges and warriors, overstressing one hip joint. Simply learning to keep the hip in by activating the right muscles stabilizes the joint and decreases incidence of hip bursitis, IT band pain, and arthritis.  ( See this blog post on "mommy hip." )

Shoulders:  Baseball pitchers repeatedly bring the shoulder to its end range with throwing. Sloppy vinyasas can reinforce this excessive movement, so it is important to learn the correct way to perform chaturanga. (See this post on arm position 3 Poses to Watch if you have Shoulder Pain ).

Lower back:  Tightness here can develop from overusing these muscles for lifting/pushing and pulling.  A yoga practice focusing on spinal stability in poses such as plank and tabletop will feel better than letting the lower back arch or extend in these poses. (See this post on core stabilization in tabletop ).

Yoga works when it balances out our daily activities.  A little more awareness of our movements and positioning can make it even better.

Daisy has a clinical doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Minnesota. She has additional training in manual therapy, muscle energy technique, Movement System Impairment Syndromes, pelvic/core stabilization, and Pilates, and is an RYT-200.   Check out her blog at www.yogabydaisy.com
tt
Advanced Yoga Study & Teacher Training

"This yoga teacher training program is
 life-changing and uplifting.  [You will] form close bonds and, by the end of the program, it feels more like family than a training!  I recommend this program to anyone looking for an  opportunity to deepen their yoga practice or become a registered yoga teacher!"  ~ Karen, Summer Intensive  2015 graduate
Registration
 is now open and filling up!
Choose from our Summer Intensive & School Year (Sept.-May) programs.
events
Upcoming Events
Learn to Meditate  with Amy
Mondays, May 2 & 9, 7:00 p.m.
You + Food  with Amy
Thursdays, May 12 & 19, 7:15 p.m.
Advanced Arm Balances  with Cassie
Sunday, May 22, 1:00 p.m.
You + Food, Part 2 - Digging Deeper  with Amy
Thursdays, May 26 & June 2, 7:15 p.m.
Summer Solstice Yoga  with Shawnee
Monday, June 20th, 4:00 p.m.
United Way Fundraiser: Yoga at Red Barn Farm   with Alice
Wednesday, June 22, 6:00 p.m.
Yoga in the Park  with Amy
Saturday, July 16th, 4:00 p.m.
Yoga at Red Barn Farm  with Amy
Saturday, August 17th, 6:00 p.m.
Relax & Restore  with Amy
Friday, August 19th, 7:15 p.m.
yogi
Yogi of the Month
Meet Channing!

"My yoga journey began in my preteens, thanks to a mother who liked yoga and the yogic lifestyle well before it was en vogue, and a welcoming teacher to whom I still turn for advice. Yoga wasn't a regular, built-in part of my daily routine until after graduating college, when real life stresses, and living in New York City, made me increasingly anxious and in need of mental and spiritual grounded-ness.

After long days, working as an assistant office manager at a media start up, I would escape to fitness classes to release tension and to be a part of a niche community in the biggest city in the U.S. On a whim, I decided to try a Hip Hop Vinyasa Flow class and the rest, as they say, is history. I instantly fell in love with the music, the warmed studio, and I began to practice every day. My priorities in life, love, work, play, and my practice all became clearer. My self-image and attitude improved tenfold. And that mental clarity allowed me to make another huge jump - to move from Brooklyn, NY, to Cannon Falls, MN, to care for my terminally ill grandmother.

Within a week or two of moving, I immediately knew I found an incredible studio. I consider myself blessed to have found a yoga home and community like HeartWork, especially at a time in my life when I needed the benefits of yoga the most. HeartWork has been my refuge throughout my care-taking journey, in building a new routine and finding a new sense of balance. It has allowed me to find new friends, to make new insights on my future and my goals, and to reach new physical and mental health milestones. To be able to check stress and pressures at the mat, and to flow with grace, peace, love, breath, and gratitude is a gift I am thankful for each and every day."
revamper
Life.REVAMP Highlight
Meet Shelby!
Life.REVAMP! is a six-week program designed to change habits and uncover your best self - inside and out!

"After four years of up and down sickness and battling several different joint aches and pains, burning rashes, headaches, stomach issues and then a sudden huge weight gain (inflammation), I started to think that there was something really wrong with me.  But everyone kept saying, "Oh no, dear, this is 40. This is what happens when you get to the age of 40..."  Really I thought, I was so de-conditioned that getting up to the landing of my stairs was a challenge....this is impossible, I am only 39..not 90, this can not be happening. Then, one morning last winter, I woke up and rolled out of bed to get ready for the day, I put on a necklace, simple right, but it felt so go to just be able to put on that necklace for the first time.  I thought what else can I do that will make me feel good, yoga, a walk, a gentle work out, a little run... I am not going to be what happens to me, I am going to choose what happens to me.
 
I use to be a spring board and platform diver for the University of Minnesota and be a solid 130 lbs of muscle who lifted weights and enjoyed the outdoor hiker and camping. SO, after several doctor visits and specialist I learned all about auto immune diseases and I quickly made the decision that I was not going to let it define me.  I slowly started working into yoga again to get my balance back and worked on getting some of my core strength back.  When I sat down to talk to Amy about Life Revamp it all made sense, I was so uncomfortable in my body that I was depressed in all the other parts of my life.  She said on key thing to me, "maybe if you can heal your body and feel good again in it, your perspective toward work and family and yourself will change". I was sold. I am in!  So, I signed up for Life Revamp with the  intention to feel better in my body, and to have my body feel good again by healing the inflammation of stress and illness. 
 
At first I was fixed on the number on the scale. Mostly because I couldn't believe that it really reflected that much inflammation.  After about three weeks of Life Revamp I started to realize it is not the number, it is really about how I felt in my body... what this means to me was that I don't feel like I am going to collapse, lose my balance or want to crawl into bed once I made it up to my bedroom anymore!  It is  not about a number. It is about how and what you need to REVAMP in your life. It is to be what you want to be.  For me it was really how I ate and what I ate.  It was about how much time I spent taking care of ME, so I can enjoy my life with friends and family. The components of Life Revamp shaped the way I look at every aspect of the life I was living and help me design a life I really wanted to live. 
 
From learning about nutrition/sugar detox to experience a fun challenging butt kicking workout, (TRX- I love you!), to experiencing tears from discovering what I really wanted and to the joy I found from my new clean/healthy mind and body.  LIFE-REVAMP is truly a program that has changed the way I think about the life I was living and embrace the new life I am living and loving!
 
Cheers to your journey of healing, find(ing) a life filled with resilience and strength. Make a promise to not be what happens to you, but what you choose to happen to you.

Click here for more information on Life.REVAMP.
staff
Staff Spotlight
Meet Annika!

Current Class Schedule:
Fridays, 4:30 p.m. Barre Tone
Life off the mat: 
I am a sophomore at St. Olaf college and spend the majority of my time off the mat working on my Biology major and doing various workouts for the Ole track team. Most people wouldn't know that I throw discus and javelin for St. Olaf. I am also learning how to balance a life between college and family in the same town I grew up in.
In her spare time she enjoys:
I enjoy spending time with friends around campus, going on "adventures" off of campus, which usually only consist of Target runs, dinner at a real restaurant, working out, and being outside.
This or That?
Summer or Winter?   summer 
Peanut Butter or Jelly? peanut butter
Pancakes or Waffles? waffles
Dancing or Singing?  dancing
Roller Skating or Bowling?  roller skating
Truth or Dare?  truth
Words to live by (in ten words, or less):  
She believed she could, so she did.
[HEARTWORK STUDIO]
[101 w. 5th street, northfield, mn  55057] | [ email ] | [ website ]