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Thank you for a great Chair Yoga class today. Thank you for being patient waiting for chairs. Our class was literally standing room only with 31 students and only 25 chairs! Many thanks to the gal at the front desk who brought some chairs.
I am looking forward to next week!
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This Friday is the "World Day of Prayer". The theme is "I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
(www.wdp_usa.org) I particularly like that theme as I make it my theme, whether it is teaching water aerobics or yoga or lifeguard at the pool. My goal is to make an atmosphere in which everyone entering my class will feel at home, comfortable, wanted and part of the community. One of my growing edges is remembering names. I don't do it well. But, I do remember faces and conversations and expressed needs. I was a pastor for 8 years. My first church was small and in a city. I so enjoyed welcoming people. One warm Sunday morning, the front doors to the church and sanctuary were open. As I stood u front, I saw a man standing outside the door. I welcomed him to join us. Bobby did come in. He was a quiet, unassuming man. From looking at his exterior and speech you might wonder what Bobby was capable of. We discovered he could read, slowly, so Bobby would read the Bible some Sunday's. Bobby gained in confidence. Bobby's favorite activity was running the overhead projector. (Although he did nod off occasionally between slides!) Bobby joined our Bible study. He did not say much, but we soon realized he new the Bible inside and out. You see, Bobby listened to the Bible on tape each night before bed. One night at Bible Study, Bobby told us in all his years going to church, no one had ever invited him to attend a Bible Study! Bobby had been given the gift of compassion, acceptance and belonging. We had been given the gift of his presence. Soon, Bobby's sister who attended a church across the city began to attend our Bible study. I have to admit there ar people that challenge my "welcoming." If I am patient, pray and persist, I will find a way. This is another growing edge for me - seeing through my initial impression and being able to extend out my hand in welcoming, even when my initial impression challenges me to do so. I would love to see this them of welcoming a stranger become a daily them for the world. I believe, especially in the electronic world of western cultures, we are moving ever farther apart from each other, becoming isolated and less welcoming. May prayers this Friday will be for God's guidance to seek out those who need welcoming and that the world becomes more welcoming. Have you welcomed a stranger lately? How did it feel? Pease share. Our challenge in yoga class this week has been to look for creative places to practice yoga. For example, I shared that I practice while waiting in line at Stop and Shop. The shopping cart is just the right height to hold onto while I stand in Tree Pose with my legs or bend one knee up as I balance on the other. I have been lifeguarding at the Y pool a lot this week. As I guard, whether standing or sitting, I have tried to do some yoga, like seated pigeon, twists, point/flex feet, ankle circles and hand exercises. Yoga can be done most anywhere!
Please share where you have done some creative yoga practice this week.  Boat Pose on a mountain of snow! Boat Pose on a snow pile after the Blizzard of 2013!
Recently I read some articles from Yoga Journal about the effects of yoga and meditation and pain.
"Suffering is Optional" talks about learning to work with our pain and being present to our pain. http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2246?utm_source=MyYogaJournal&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=MyYogaJournal Another article "Teaming Up to Fight Pain" explained how eastern and western practitioners are coming together to help people with pain. They are working together to make a holistic plan for each patient. The article also tells us how to form our own circle practitioners. This is exciting to me as I believe both eastern and western medicine have great elements that can help us heal better than on their own. http://www.yogajournal.com/health/929?utm_source=MyYogaJournal&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=MyYogaJournal As I read these articles, I thought of the personal stories many of you have shared with me. Many of you have been or continue to live life with pain. One of the members of our Chair Yoga class has been dealing with pain for years and was stuck in the house until he began water aerobics and yoga. Recently he had some surgery to help control his pain. Since then he has been doing yoga at home 3 days a week and finding great relief both physically and mentally. What has been your experience with yoga helping you physically? Please share your stories. As I type, it is snowing and blowing....again! It is pretty however.
Last weekend was the great Blizzard of 2013. Sunday afternoon the sun was out and the air warm. Paul and I had done another round of shoveling our yard and our neighbor's yard. So I headed back to the house. Something made me stop on the deck and look around. It was beautiful with the sun on the snow. The air was so fresh. I found myself doing yoga poses on my deck with a full heart. I finished my yoga in mountain pose with jana mudra (hands at heart center), heart full of thanks for the day's beauty and for my yoga practice. Today, as the snow falls, I am thankful for the house that keeps us warm and protected, electricity (at least for now!) and the company of my husband and cat. I pray for many in my community that do not have a place of shelter to call their own. What are you thankful for today? Yoga Journal has a great website with all kinds of resources from yoga videos, to articles on yoga history, poses, meditation and more. Under the Newsletter sign-up column you can sign-up for daily/weekly newsletters on various subject.
Check out the Office Yoga newsletter. It is 15 daily newsletters with short videos that describe easy yoga poses and breathing. Those in my Chair Yoga class will recognize most of the poses. These poses are great to do at home or anywhere. If you have a friend who says "oh I can't do yoga" show him or her these videos so they can see how easy it is. Let me know what you think of the Office Yoga newsletter. A few weeks ago the ground hog told us we would have an early spring. Hummm...2 feet of snow? Perhaps he is right. Whether short or long until spring the upcoming weeks are a great time to take an honest look at ourselves. It is a time to ask how we would like others to see us. What kind of attributes we would like others to see in us. If you believe in God or higher power, maybe there are attributes there that you would like to emulate. I have been using the periodical "Alive Now" as my daily devotional. {www.alivenow.org} Last week, it was suggested that I draw an outline of my body and draw rays to words that described the attributes I would like others to see in me. I found this so helpful. The next step would be to look at our list and look for our growing edges....what attributes need some tweeking? A suggestion would be to sit with your picture and thoughtfully meditate or breath or pray. Those attributes that shine and those that need some work will come to light. Next step would be to look toward that growth in your daily life. Again, meditation, breathing and prayer will help. The idea is to see some new fresh shoots in your growing edges when spring finally comes bringing new growth in your gardens.
How has this blog post helped you? Please share your experiences.  We had so much fun in Chair Yoga making a chain of Goddess yoga poses!
All 26 of us!  With the upcoming snow storm we will be shoveling ALOT! Please use your knees as you shovel. Try the Seated Pigeon Pose before you shovel to warm up and after you shovel to warm down and prevent aches.
(pic from beactivedecatur.com) |
AuthorI enjoy yoga as it brings peace to my life. Teaching yoga has brought joy to my life and given me a chance to encourage others in learning yoga. Archives
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