Buddha Mommy

For those of you who are looking for a Hatha yoga practice in a tradition that focuses on energy flow and relaxation, this week’s practice is for you! If you check thru old posts on this site, you will find more information on Ananda yoga, the yoga tradition that I was trained in. It has alot offer everyone, especially those who are looking to a more internally focused practice.
Please join us at the UU Church of Fresno in Clovis. Our practice is on Monday evenings from 6:30-8pm in the sanctuary. See you Monday, 1/23/12!

Thanks to one of our yogi’s, Maryann, for the picture this week!

My son recently sent me this cartoon. It’s humor and message gave me pause this past week as a discussion has been whipping thru the yoga community. An article in the NY Times entitled, “How yoga can wreck your body” is the source of this debate. I have been closely following the conversation. My point in bringing it to your attention is that I feel it presents an opportunity for each of us to think about our own perspectives on the practice of yoga. How we come to our practice is very individual. By that I am referring to whether it is a purely physical practice or includes the spiritual components. However your practice fits into your life, your physical safety is tantamount. Those of you who practice with me know I am a “safety nag”. I am in teaching yoga for the long haul and desire yoga practice for my students for the long haul as well. In order to accomplish this, we must honor the unique qualities and limitations of our bodies.
Whether you see your practice as a 3 or 4, come join us for our community practice on January 16, 2012 at the UU Church of Fresno. The church is located on Alluvial in Clovis and we meet from 6:30-8pm each Monday nite. A 3 or a 4, you are welcomed!

This week, our Monday nite practice will be guided by one of our own. I will be taking the week to adjust to my new work schedule so Pablo will be be your guide. Please join him and all the Monday nite yogis at the UU Church of Fresno on Monday, Januaury 9, 2012 from 6:30pm -8:00pm. We meet in the sanctuary!

As we move past the winter solstice and back into the light, we find many opportunities to improve our lives and the planet. I am talking about those pesky New Years resolutions. We really don’t need New Years to make changes in our way of being, but it does seem like a good time marker (” I started this on Jan.1. It’s been three weeks since I started….”). I have a friend who takes up pages listing her resolutions each year. I think it may be a good place to start, writing down all the things that come to mind, but I don’t really think we can change more than one thing at a time (successfully, anyway). I have many ideas at the moment of what I’d like to focus on, but haven’t narrowed it down to one.
One thing I have committed to and will continue to commit to for 2012, is continuing our Monday evening yoga practice. Each Monday evening at 6:30, we practice until 8pm at the UU Church of Fresno in the sanctuary. On January 2, 2012, the first Monday of the month and new year, we will have a Yin yoga practice. Perhaps your intention this year is to bring more peace and grace into your life. We’ll be there to walk with you on your path!

As hard as it is to believe, Christmas/Hanukkah is here! The solstice has occurred, and now we slowly make our way back into the light. On Monday evening the 28th, we have our last practice of 2011 together at the UU Church of Fresno (from 6:30-8:00pm). As we move into 2012, our little yoga community will celebrate 2 years together. Amazing! It is never too late to begin your practice. We welcome you when the time is right for you!
See you for the last practice in 2011 and let’s move forward together for a healthy and peace-filled New Year!
The Santa above was gently and loving “lifted” from yogadork.com.

I am grateful for each season of the year. They each bring a special rhythm, feeling and quality that I love and honor. The coming of the winter months inspires in me a time to look inside, clean out the cob webs (AKA old habits and patterns), set new intentions and begin again. Some years, I continue my intention from the prior year, as long term change doesn’t happen in a heartbeat. New positive patterns and as difficult to set as ridding yourself of the the old patterns.
Our Monday nite practice this week will be focused on the winter solstice. Come join us for a time of releasing old patterns and extracting blessings for the coming seasons. We meet on Monday nites at the UU Church of Fresno on Alluvial in Clovis (from 6:30-8pm). Happy Hanukkah and happy solstice!

As we move toward the winter solstice each year, I find myself in conflict between being quite and inwardly focused and the pull of the holidays. I enjoy the festive lights, music, smells and chill of the year, but the pace and attitude makes me want to run and hide! Yoga gives me that brief respite from the world around me, helps me refocus my own attitude and move more gracefully through the holidays.
I offer you that opportunity once a week on Monday evenings from 6:30-8pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno. Take an hour and a half away from the season of the year and find the season of your heart. We welcome you! See you on the 12th!

Depending on your perspective, we are slowly/rapidly moving toward the Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice season. It is a time when life should be slowing down, but it speeds up for many because of the pressures the holidays bring. The pressure is there only if we allow it to occupy our heart. Rather, let us allow the love of the season occupy our hearts, slow us down to appreciate each other, our individual and collective gifts as we share those gifts. We who have been given so much for so long tend to forget how fortunate we are. We tend to fill the season with “more” : more food, more spending, more drinking. Let’s fill it with less or these and more of what helps us connect: love, sharing and joy.

If you are in the Fresno/Clovis area you have an opportunity on Saturday, December 3 from 5:30-9pm to share with the people of Haiti and your yoga community in a benefit/yoga practice. This event is designed to raise funds for the relief effort in Haiti while providing a time of group sharing and enjoyment. It will be held at the UU Church of Fresno, the same location as our weekly Monday nite practice. For more info on this event, follow the link:www.erinoglesbyyoga.com.

This coming Monday December 5, also join us for a regular Monday nite class from 6:30-8:00pm. It is the first Monday of the month, so we will practice Yin yoga. On this blog you will find links on Yin yoga. Hope to see you at both practices!

While I have so many things to be thankful for this year, I want to say a special thanks to my yoga community. I feel so privileged to lead yoga classes every week with people who appreciate the practice and the time together. My goal for completing yoga teacher training was to share the practice with all who wished to learn it. I never expected such a overwhelming and consistent response! It is very rewarding to me to provide yoga to so many people.
Don’t forget our weekly class on Monday nite from 6:30-8pm at the UU Church of Fresno. We will get together again this Monday, Nov. 28th.
Again, thank you for this wonderful addition to my life and my path.

I have found that living simply a struggle. A struggle worth pursuing, but a struggle none the less. I think this is because it goes against the grain of normative society. It is such a radical change in attitude, that much like the act of being present, we accomplish simplicity in small successes. While we work on being thankful at this time of year, we are presented constantly with the notion of having more. Tough stuff this simplicity!
In the book Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin, the author uses a dictionary definition of simplicity that expresses the depth and breath of this quality: ” being direct and clear; being free of pretense or dishonesty; free of vanity or ostentation, and undue display; free of secondary complications and distractions”. So, it’s not just about consumption and acquisition. We return to the theme you find throughout this blog, its about intention.
We “intend” on having our regular Monday evening yoga practice on November 21 from 6:30-8pm at the UU Church of Fresno (on Alluvial Ave in Clovis). Bring your intention to give thanks and stretch your body. Hope to see you then!