Self-Care: Recommit to Your Practice

What do you want your life to be about? That’s a huge question!

End of Summer, start of a new school year, bounding into Fall – this is a great time to re-evaluate where you’re headed and where you want to go. Have you fallen off the path of self-care and wellness practices? What is of value to you?

Are your yoga asana and meditation practices put on the back burner while you attend to life events that demand attention, right now? It’s not uncommon for us to do this. It feels like survival, but is it?

Research shows that when we feel stressed we are more inclined to drop activities that we enjoy and seem optional, like self-care, leaving only work or other stressors that often deplete our resources. These nourishing self-care activities are more than just relaxing and enjoyable—they actually nourish us at a far deeper level. They help us to build up our resilience to life’s stresses and strains and become more sensitive to life’s more beautiful nuances.

Other activities deplete us. They drain away our energy, making us weaker and more vulnerable to the dips in the roller coaster ride of life. They also eat away at our capacity to enjoy life fully…always distracted by the things we “SHOULD” be doing. Very quickly, these depleting activities can begin to monopolize our lives. And if we’re under pressure, the things that nourish us are gradually abandoned, almost without notice, pushing us into the heart of an exhaustion funnel.

As end of Summer approaches, we invite you to recommit to your practice at Grace Tree Yoga & Growth Studio. We continue to have favorite classes/teachers and will introduce some new classes and teachers this August. In addition, we have mind-expanding workshops and our annual Fall Gathering this Fall.

2018 Fall Class Schedule

Monday

10:00-11:30 am Gentle Yoga + Meditation

12:00-1:15 pm Noontime Nurture All Levels Yoga

5:00-6:15 pm Move to Yin All Levels Yoga

6:30-7:45 pm Mantra + Movement All Levels Yoga

6:45-7:45 pm Yoga for Wellness – Liberty Center Unity Chapel

Tuesday

9:45-10:45 am Yoga Meditation – Liberty Center Unity Chapel

10:00-11:15 am A Balanced Flow All Levels Yoga

10:30-11:45 am Tai Chi – Beginning Movements (new class)

5:30-6:45 pm Yoga for You All Levels Yoga

6:00-7:15 pm Shanti Mom Prenatal Yoga

Wednesday

10:00-11:30 am Mindful Explorations Gentle Yoga

5:45-7:00 pm Tai Chi – Beginning Movements (new class)

6:45-7:45 pm Yoga Meditation – Liberty Center Unity Chapel

7:15-8:15 pm Tai Chi Flow – A Moving Meditation (new class)

Thursday

10:00-11:15 am A Balanced Flow All Levels Yoga

5:00-6:15 am Vibrant Light All Levels Yoga

6:30-7:45 pm Music, Laughter, Flow Yoga (new class)

Friday

9:30-10:30 am Tanuja’s All Levels Hatha Yoga Practice

Saturday

8:30-9:30 am Weekend Work-in All Levels Yoga

8:30-9:30 am Yoga Meditation – Liberty Center Unity Chapel

9:00-10:15 am Active Soulful Flow Yoga

10:30-11:45 am Gentle Yoga Retreat

10:30-11:30 pm Heart-Filled Flow All Levels Yoga

Sunday

9:00-10:15 am Spirited Flow All Levels Yoga

6:00-7:15 pm Restorative + Yin Yoga

Upcoming Workshops

Calm and Focused Kids with Dawn Creed, PsyD

Dates: Saturdays, August 11th, 25th and September 8th, 22nd

Time: 6:00 to 7:00 pm

Investment: $80 for the series

This series of 4 interactive is for students Grades 3-6 and their parent(s); series is also appropriate for schoolteachers. Techniques and approaches to developing increased attention and centeredness will be practiced in these workshops. Mind, body and spirit will be addressed, and imagination and conscious breathing will be employed.

Healthy Mind, Healthy Baby: Prenatal Partner Yoga with Natasha Kohorst

Date: Sunday, August 12, 2018

Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm

Fee: $35 per couple

Please come and join me for a workshop designed for the mother-in waiting and a supporting caring partner. Yoga prepares the new mother for the many changes in the pregnant body, mind and spirit. Learn to move in a way that is safe and nurturing for all stages of pregnancy. Learn how breathing with awareness relaxes the body, and helps you to connect with yourself, your baby and your partner.We will begin the workshop with introductions and community sharing, followed by yoga movement appropriate for all levels and stages of pregnancy. Partner poses will be blended into the practice, and this will be an opportunity to have fun and enjoy working with someone close to you, while at the same time giving them valuable tools to help you as you move towards the end of your pregnancy.During the end of the workshop will be a time to rest and connect. You will learn relaxation poses to encourage the release of tension. Please join us with your husband/wife/partner/mother/sister/best friend, or anyone you feel would enjoy this time of connection with you. Wear loose comfortable clothing and come prepared to enjoy a peaceful break.

Mama + Me 4-Week Series with Natasha Kohorst

Dates: Sundays, September 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th

Time: 1:00 to 1:45 pm

Fee: $72 (Early bird discount if pre-registered and pre-paid by September 2nd - $10 off)

Postnatal yoga class designed for moms, caregivers and babies. Nurturing the postnatal body with yoga especially designed for the changing body. We will work on strengthening the pelvic floor and your core, all the while as your baby enjoys playful bonding. You will learn to calm your baby with massage techniques and helping with their digestion, and sleep. Connect with like minded moms and caregivers giving you a bonding experience with your little one through the movement of yoga. All in a playful supportive environment alongside other new moms, caregivers, and little ones. Bonding with an uplifting community and bonding with your little one. Come experience the joy of yoga. Designed for moms and babies in the 1st year after birth.No prior yoga experience needed. Please bring your own baby blanket.

The Art of Doing Nothing: Restorative Yoga for Health with Antonia von Hirschberg and Heather Hewitt

Dates: Saturday, September 22nd, October 20th, and December 8th, 2018

Time: 2:00 to 4:00 pm

Fee: $35

“The human body, at peace with itself, is more precious than the rarest gem.Cherish your body, it is yours this one time only.” -Tsongkhapa

The rushed pace of life can trigger the sympathetic nervous system. This is our fight or flight stress response that can damage our health and well-being. Slowing your life down, inviting in a period of rest, can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping the body to cope with stress, injury and illness, and promote healing. Give yourself permission to join us to rest and recharge through Restorative Yoga. Rest your mind, rest your body, and rest your being. We will guide you through a series of restorative, relaxing, supported shapes, while offering breathing techniques and meditation. The calming effects on the nervous system from this practice will comfort your mind and body down to the cellular level. Experience the art of being, not doing, through stillness. Please join us to learn these valuable skills and techniques to practice any time to help you nurture and take care of health. We will have Svasana Gravity Quilts, bolsters, blankets, sandbags, and eye bags available to use. Please wear loose, comfortable, layered clothing. Limited to 10 pre-registered and pre-paid students.

For more information and to pre-register as there are size limits on some workshops, go to www.gracetreestudio.com

#yoga #yogaselfcare