For many years my yoga practice was one with an agenda of self-improvement.
There were things about my body and about me that I thought I needed to change: my belly wasn't flat enough, my arms weren't toned enough, my legs weren't shapely enough, I wasn't mellow enough, etc.. Bringing these desires for change to my mat was motivating in a not so healthy, negative kind of way. It got me to practice out of a sense of inadequacy and even fear. My perceived shortcomings provided the fuel for me to engage in a practice that was ultimately about fulfilling an externally driven perfection that can never actually be achieved.
I sometimes say to my students in class, "Imagine what your practice would be like right now if nothing about you needed fixing." We tend to expect from yoga practice what it cannot actually deliver: perfection of body, total relief of our anxieties and sadness, the end of pain, or fusion with a mystical source so that we are never lonely again. As we mature in practice and in life, we realize that seeking perfection to the exclusion of embracing our flawed human nature diminishes options and creativity. In a concept from Gestalt Therapy it is proposed that "change occurs when a person abandons, at least for the moment, what she or he would like to be and attempts to be what she or he is." In other words, be fully invested, with awareness and without judgment, in the current situation.
Intend to abide in a state of presence without preconception.
My most heart-felt wish for you as you evolve in your yoga practice is that your practice becomes a space of non-apprehensive exploration that brings pleasure in living in a good enough human body.
Please join us in Loving the One You Are this February!
- Denise
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND SERIES
Click on the event image for more info
Unlimited Yoga $100
To help you meet your Love the One You Are Challenge, we are offering a very special price of
$100 for unlimited yoga classes during the month of February!
*Commit to taking a minimum of
8 classes between February 1 through 28.
a great way to love myself more, especially when I spent more time with my teachers that I LOOOOVE!!!!"
- Gabby R.
"First, I am so happy SYA did this challenge. [...] the tangible goal of 8 or more inspired me to make time in my schedule and prioritize going to yoga class. It's not really the passes that I earned that are giving me such a sense of satisfaction ... it is getting back into doing something that heals me and [helps me be] present in my body."
- Tricia P.
"Without the challenge I would probably not have jumped back into a fuller commitment to Yoga so soon."
- Anonymous
Parking Announcement
Paid parking is coming to the streets surround-ing the studio on Feb 1. Free parking can still be had for those who are willing to hunt for it, but please allow some extra time. We truly regret any hardship this may cause, but sadly, it is beyond our control.
