Change; It’s Happening
"Samkhya" is an ancient Indian philosophy that is the foundation of much of contemporary yoga practice. Samkhya's central tenet is that life as we perceive it is divided into two separate categories of reality: prakriti, or matter, is impermanent and continually changing. Purusha is eternal and unchanging, unknowable, and present in all things. Purusha is pure, unadulterated awareness itself.
When we practice yoga, we create enough clarity and space to allow purusha to shine forth and observe reality in its true nature.
If this idea is deeply disorienting at times, it also can liberate us. If we grasp the truth about the impermanence of the physical world, including our own bodies, then we can be free. These are lessons of non grasping, of allowing our true nature to shine though, of being ok with the impermanent nature of life around us and within us.
It's taken me most of my (almost) 60 years to embrace impermanence. I do not want to waste time battling the realities of my aging body, but to celebrate what I am able to enjoy and feel now. I do not want to waste time and energy trying to keep a stranglehold on the studio, one that keeps it from being a fluid, vibrant and ever changing home for body and soul. I am curious about how things shift and change and I hope to greet change, when it comes, with an open mind and heart.
If you’re open, then life, in any form, will unfold before you.
So, friends, change is coming. Always. After many years teaching weekly at UVY, Angie has decided to step away from regular weekly teaching to better tend to other aspects of her life as a teacher, studio owner, artist, and human being who drives a car a good distance to get to WRJ. Beginning in September Angie and Josh look forward to hosting "pop up" yoga+live music sessions at the studio, possibly on the occasional weekend. I am enormously grateful for hers and Josh's loving dedication to the practice of yoga, and to so many years of showing up weekly to share that dedication and love with students.
On Tuesday evenings, I hope you will welcome Robin Caissie, who will offer (beginning June 25) a 5:30 class that combines somatic breathwork and sound healing using sound bowls. The cumulative effect is a balancing of the nervous system to restore calm and reduce anxiety.
On Thursday mornings (beginning June 27) Natasha will be offering her delicious "Bhakti Slow Flow" at 9:30 am. We are hoping the later start time might work well for more people.
Please remember that while things are fluid and ever changing, I base decisions mostly on what I observe with regard to attendance. If not enough people show up, we understand that the time, the class, is not working for whatever reason, and I go back to the drawing board. If we draw a good crowd, we understand this to be a vote of "yes, please!" and it stays on the schedule. Thank you to everyone for understanding that in this matter as in all matters of scheduling, I can't make everyone happy—there is no such thing as the "perfect schedule", but I am listening and happy to respond to feedback and input. Beyond that, showing up is what keeps a class on the schedule.
I wish everyone much joy as we move through the late days of Spring and into the early days of Summer.
