Buddha Mommy

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!

This is the time of year when gratitude takes the center stage. I love having a time of year that the media is focused on being thankful. It is the anthesis of the usual media message. The media seems to be the way to get any message out there. So, I am happy to use it toward a positive end, rather than the usual end of pushing fear.

To me, gratitude and simplicity go hand in hand. The less I have, the more I am able to focus on what is in my life, and to be grateful for it. For me, when there is “too much”(stuff, I mean), I cannot focus on what is truly important. This means I am a really lousy consumer and probably single-handedly keeping the recession going! Practicing simplicity takes you out of the mainstream mind set and into the group who is “prolonging the recession”. It’s a choice we make. We are responsible for our own choices.

We choose how to invest our time and our precious energy. Why not consider sending yours caring for your body, mind and spirit? Join us November 14 at the UU Church of Fresno on Alluvial in Clovis. We practice yoga from 6:30-8:00pm. Bring yourself and your grateful heart!

I have been having an on going dialogue with a fellow yogi and friend about our life paths. What happens when we know our life path, yet our circumstances make following it the way we desire not possible?
This in itself is the essence of being on our path. We recognize our direction, evaluate our current ability to progress on our path, and adapt to what we can do right now. If following our path was straight-forward and direct, our learning, patience, creativity and balance would not be honed. The saying, “its not the destination, its the journey” is so true. Those who know their dharma, can honor it but creating a life that allows us to follow that dharma in the present moment (within our present circumstances). There is always a way to honor the path, while we continue to honor our responsibilities.

If yoga is part of your path, come join us in asana practice each Monday nite. Monday, November 7, we will be practicing yin yoga. There are links and blogs on this site for you to explore what yin is. We meet from 6:30-8:00pm at The UU Church of Fresno on Alluvial in Clovis. Hope our paths intersect!

How is it that you listen to your life? Do you meditate, take time to yourself to reflect (as in a retreat), pray, spend time in nature? There is so much wisdom available to us if can take this time to listen. Yoga offers us techniques that can assist us on our journey of listening. Within Patanjali’s 8 Limbs of yoga we find find four ways to aid us: pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (intense focus) and dhyana (meditation). Each requires practice and are very attainable for everyone.
Our Monday nite yoga practice at the UU Church of Fresno provides a weekly opportunity to sharpen our practice of these 8 limbs of yoga. Please join us this Monday, Halloween, October 31 from 6:30-8:pm. No tricks, just the treat of caring for ourself!

This has been a year of traveling for me, which means it has also been a year of visiting yoga studios. Traveling provides me the opportunity to sample other styles of yoga, meet fellow yogis, and enhance my own practice.This year I have attended classes at Yoga to the People in Berkeley, Ca. (see previous blog 3/28/11), Freeman Yoga in Fullerton, Ca., Yoga by the Sea in Tamarama Beach, Sydney, NSW, Australia, and YogaKula Berkeley, Ca. Each experience was marvelous in its own distinct way. My practice has been enhanced by each teacher and each style. I highly recommend seeking out these traveling adventures where ever you roam.

If you live in Fresno or Clovis, you don’t have to roam too far to find a group to practice with on Monday nites. Come join us at the UU Church of Fresno on Alluvial in Clovis. We practice in the sanctuary form 6:30-8pm. Bring your wandering heart!

Monday evening, October 17, 2011 there will be our regular yoga practice at the UU Church of Fresno on Alluvial in Clovis from 6:30-8pm. Wear comfortable clothes and bring a desire to nourish your body, mind and spirit! All are welcomed!

In yoga, we aren’t so much focused on goals, more on intention. I think we in the West relate more to the word goal than intention. Perhaps that is one thing we could change and benefit societally from that change. I see those two words as Yin (intention) and Yang (goal). Soft vs hard. Our little friend above (courtesy of yogadork.com) is working on her intention to achieve sirshasana (headstand). What intention do you bring to your practice?
You are invited to explore this question through our weekly yoga practice held in the sanctuary of the UU Church of Fresno in Clovis. We meet on Monday nites from 6:30-8pm. Please join us this Monday, October 11!

A yin practice and a yin attitude toward your practice are so opposite of the Western mind that it requires your full attention. Our mind tends to want to hurry through everything, as is the way of our world. Yin asks you to change that speeding mind and body. Become present and yield your mind and body into the long slow holds. How you can measure that you are acquiring yin skills, is by what your body does in the pose. Are you fidgeting or are you settled? When you find yourself settled, then work on yielding. What does that mean? Allowing yourself the time and space to be present in the moment and present in your body.

We invite you to practice with us on Monday, October 3 from 6:30-8:00 at the UU Church of Fresno. The first Monday of each month we practice Yin Yoga. Come see what it is about. Donations go to the Building Fund of the UU Church. The peace, you get to keep for yourself!

This photo was taken by my husband in our garden. What amazes me is not just the content, but the fact that he noticed it. This is our last rose of the season with one of our many friends of the garden resting in it. Being present enough to see this common, yet beautiful example of nature in nature, is what yoga is all about.
Becoming aware and in the moment is a life long journey. There are many parts to the path. We would like to share this journey with you thru our Monday evening yoga practice. It is held at the UU Church, 2672 E. Alluvial, Clovis from 6:30-8pm. Come join us Monday September 26.