Signs Around Town
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Similar Posts
Brrr. Looking Forward to “Indian Summer”
I’ve been working at home all day instead of at the office because of the icy, wet, and dank stuff that was coming out of the sky this morning. I am really looking forward to the warmth of “Indian summer” next week, though less so to the 30 hours plus or minus of travel it will take to get there.
Current long range forecast for Chennai (and we’ll be heading south from there) is for highs in the low 80s F, lows in the high 60s. Salwar, sari, and dhoti weather.
- Art and Culture | Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Body | Miscellaneous (blog matters, etc)
Thanksgiving Schedule and Greetings (Web Version of E-Letter)
Dear Friends ,
This weekend I will be celebrating our local Anusara community at the weekend workshops in College Park, Maryland with John Friend. I look forward to seeing many of you there. My good friend Jane, who in honor of Thanksgiving donated the sub fee to S.O.M.E (So Others Might Eat)., will be covering my gentle/therapeutics this Saturday at Willow Street. It’s sure to be full of gentleness and nurture, so check it out if you’re in town and won’t be at the weekend workshops.
On Thursday, I will be leading my ninth annual Thanksgiving Day yoga class for the benefit of Oxfam. It will be at Willow Street’s Takoma Park studio from 10-11:30am. The more the merrier, so bring yourselves, your family, and your friends. For those of you who remember the days when you brought a check and I mailed them in, my matching donation of up to $200 still applies even with the convenience of being able to register and pay on line at Willow Street. Registration in advance is appreciated as it helps us get ready for you, but drop-ins are most welcome, too.
I’ll be teaching all of my regular classes next week and not only celebrating Thanksgiving, but also sharing the abundance of energy from the weekend with John Friend and all of our wonderful Anusara community. Stop by on Tuesday night to set your intention for the holiday or complete it with gentle/therapeutics at noon on Saturday at Willow Street. As always, friends and family are welcome to drop in.
I hope to see many of you for some of this outrageously abundant yoga feast. If you will be traveling, may it be safe and joyous.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
Guru Purnima (without a “guru”)
A yoga teacher acquaintance once said rather dogmatically to me that it was not possible to be a true yoga teacher unless one had a guru. He meant having a guru in the traditional sense — being devoted to a particular person as the embodiment of the divine and of the true teachings. I did not engage on the issue, thinking (perhaps unfairly) that he would not listen to another point of view.
I do not have a guru in the technical sense. It would be unlikely. I was raised attending unprogrammed meetings of the Society of Friends (Quakers), where services are premised on the idea that there should be no preacher or minister because the light of the spirit shines equally in all and that each person is equally able to connect through his or her own faith and practice to the spirit. My first major exposure to the teachings of yoga was through the writings of J. Krishnamurti, which a teacher in an alternative program in high school I attended gave us to read, along with the classic yoga texts. Krishnamurti believed that all change comes from within and eschewed devotion to a guru.
Although I do not have a particular guru to whom I give my devotion (bhakti), I strive to honor and recognize that our true teacher is the light and spirit that is within all beings. The first line of the Anusara invocation — om namah shivaya gurave — resounds with truth for me.
On this guru purnima, the full moon of July, I honor the teachings that have so shifted my life, my teachers, especially John Friend and Suzie Hurley, and all of my students and friends, who shine with light always, and who inspire me to try each day to live more aligned with the ideals of yoga.
Website Version of December Newsletter
Note: If you would like to receive newsletters or previously subscribed, but changed your email or have not been receiving emails, please resubscribe directly through the website or send me an email and I’ll try to get you on the list. I do get some mysterious bounce backs.
I hope this email finds you well. I’ve been enjoying the decorative lights outside and candles inside as we move towards the Winter Solstice. Even with the excitement of the holidays, it is a great time to turn inward, to pause and refresh our remembrance and recognition of the light inside us all.
Many thanks to all of you who came to the Thanksgiving Oxfam class (in spirit as well as in person). Thanks to the generosity of Willow Street and all of you, we raised almost a $1,000 for Oxfam. All of you who come to regular classes help support the Wednesday night practice being 100% for charity. All fall, in recognition of one of the biggest issues of our day, the charities selected have been health-care focused, and I’ll continue that for December. If you have any suggestions for cause of the month for 2010, don’t hesitate to share with me.
Workshops:
December Serenity Saturday: Give yourself or a friend or loved one a holiday gift of sweet relaxation at the next Serenity Saturday, which is December 19th, 3pm-5pm, at Capitol Hill Yoga. Do a little local shopping or dining at Eastern Market and then join us for the delight of a deep restorative practice. To register, please visit www.capitolhillyoga.com. $5 discount if you register more than seven days in advance.
New Year’s Day Workshop: Flow into grace with an all-levels asana practice, followed by yoga nidra from 2-4 pm on New Year’s Day. Suitable for the well-rested and late-night revelers alike. Go to www.capitolhillyoga.com to register.
Classes:
Needing a little extra yoga or to get back into the swing: come drop in at William Penn House on Tuesdays at 6:15 for all-levels or at Willow Street on Saturdays (level 2 at 8:30am and gentle/therapeutics at 12 noon).
Holiday Schedule:
Willow Street is on break from December 21st through the end of the year. I’ll be teaching through December 19th and then teaching free classes as part of free class week on January 9th. Yes, there will be class at the William Penn House on Tuesday, December 22nd, but alas no class on December 29th.
As always, please visit the website at www.rosegardenyoga.com to get more information on classes and upcoming workshops and to enjoy the blog.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
