Happy August!
The return of the mythical newsletter or I’m back in email newsletter form.
I want to start by apologizing for the delay in updates; there has been a lot to share since last fall. I want to start by saying I am really grateful to have you as part of my community and for your time and support.
This summer has been really beautiful weather-wise here in Boston. Political climates nationally and internationally a whole other story…. It has been almost perfect weather. As I walked through the public gardens this week it made it much easier to stay present to the beauty around and “be happy”.
Since I last wrote, I have a website thanks to my friend Bethania Bacigalupe, who helped me put it together. Please check it out, the address is vitoyoga.com, and feel free to share any feedback of thoughts. It is still a work in progress, but I have been getting better with staying up to date with schedule, workshops, and sharing playlists and readings from class.
My latest readings in class have focused on True Happiness, by practice of acceptance and presence. Here are some words I recently shared on the blog:
Presence + Acceptance = Peace = Happiness
“We are addicted to pleasure, in part because we confuse pleasure with happiness. We would all say that deep down all we want is to be happy. Yet we don’t have a realistic understanding of what happiness really is. Happiness is closer to the experience of acceptance and contentment than it is to pleasure. True happiness exists as the spacious and compassionate heart’s willingness to feel whatever is present.” – Noah Levine, Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries (taken from The Buddha is Still Teaching by Jack Kornfield)
Happiness takes effort, especially as our minds will readily keep us from it. Practice is the perfect training ground for this work in presence and acceptance, which is closely tied to patience. Patience is regularly tested in practice especially as all kinds of muck gets kicked-up. The challenges are to not wish away the suffering (the funky thoughts, feelings and judgements, the “limited” range of motion, the dread or anticipation of the challenging poses to come, etc.) and to not attach to expectation or the easeful moments (the feel good stretches; the excitement of achieving a challenge pose, etc.). The more often I practice the more present and at peace I can be with Reality: my “imperfections,” challenges, change, etc.
May Peace and Happiness Be With You Always!
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.” — Reinhold Niebuhr
I also shared how the Serenity prayer is a great practice of surrender, acceptance and presence that takes me closer to a sense of Yoga — Patanjali’s second sutra 1.2 and definition of yoga:
citta vritti nirodha – Yoga is the resolution of the agitations of the mind (translation by Judith Hanson Lasater).
Aggiornamento * News/Updates:
Yoga Wall Workshops return starting next week, Saturday August 22nd @ 3:30p
Experience MORE on your mat using the yoga wall:
More depth, more length, more extension, more upside- down time, more open, more release!
The yoga wall or Karunta yoga provides a special opportunity to access more challenging poses, find a deeper level of stretch and expansion and to inform your practice with a greater understanding of alignment and right action. It is a strong practice that combines core engagement, longer holds and some dynamic sequences in different planes including standing poses, inverted poses, backbends, and hip openers
You’ll leave feeling more open and taller as you traction your joints and spine to create space and ease in your body.
Appropriate for students with a regular practice only. Space is limited to 10, $35, pre-register recommended.
To register: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=7335 or 978-744-YOGA
Come with an open attitude and ready to play. For more information and to register:
Next session is scheduled for Sunday Sept. 24th @ Yoga Sakti
Bliss Yoga Retreat to India: October 20-30, 2013!
I had a milestone birthday this year and promised myself I’d take a vacation*. So if you did not know, I am super excited to announce that I am assisting a Retreat to India this Fall!
This is not your average yoga retreat…
Jaganath Puri is one of the most sacred places in India. They say the healing air of the ocean mixed with the transcendental potency clears our negative karma and manifests our dreams to reality.
This October will mark my first trip to India — something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I’ll be assisting my friend, fellow teacher and bhakti queen Jaishree on this life-changing spiritual retreat. I will be providing Thai bodywork and some guest teaching to participants. Please find more information here on jaishreeyoga.com.
I would love to have you join if you are interested as there is still room…and time to get a visa. I have not applied for mine yet, and just bought my tickets last week. While I can point to all kinds of reasons as to why now may not a good time to go (the shoulds), it feels right on so many deeper levels. If not now!
( * My last vacation was in 2006. Please note: this is just reality, by no means advice).
Deep Stretch: TBD September @ Yoga Śakti, Salem, MA
This workshop combines active and resistive stretching, with more passive yin and restorative stretching to get deep into muscles and connective tissue to relieve tension and build flexibility. This is a great class for everyone especially for athletes, and to all those who simply need a good stretch. Special attention will be paid to the hamstrings, hips, quads and lower back to relieve tension created from running, cycling, playing sports and those who spend hours behind a desk or in the car.
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Anniversario
“Do not wait for strength before setting out, for immobility will weaken you further. Do not wait to see clearly before starting; one has to walk toward the light. When you take the first step and accomplish that tiny little act, the necessity of which may be apparent only to you, you will be astonished to feel that the effort, rather than exhausting your strength, has doubled it—and that you already see more clearly what you have to do next.” – Philippe Vernier
This past April, marked my 6th year of teaching and this quote also used in class really resonated with me on many levels. As I continue this path, I am grateful for the faith and time and energy you have put into practicing with me. I am truly grateful and honored by your support. I very hesitantly dipped my toe into teaching, doubting myself all along the way. Despite the constant fear of failure, I was inspired by a feeling of something important and right about taking the steps that let me share my love for this practice and serve.
Alicia update:
I am deeply grateful for your continued support, thoughts, prayers and inquiries regarding my niece Alicia. My niece and goddaughter Alicia, is now 2 and a half years old. Her one year post surgery and radiation MRI had some great news this past spring. Since my last newsletter, she no longer has her Halo, and continues to be cancer free…and is just starting to walk — sooo beautiful.
Her motor skills were most affected by the tumor, hence the delay in walking (never mind cervical spinal fusion, etc). However her speaking and communication skills are really great and she is smart and funny. It is most heart-warming to have her welcome me when I get to my weekly (I try) Friday visits, and have her happy to see me!! It’s quite a joyful highlight of the week to make this time for Alicia and her siblings Jason and newest addition as of this past June, Brianna.
Thai Yoga Bodywork
I’m continuing my practice of Thai Bodywork
- What is it? Thai Yoga Bodywork is a 2,500 year old therapeutic healing art with Ayurvedic roots that combines the benefits of yoga and massage. Often referred to as assisted yoga or lazy-man’s yoga, as the practitioner guides and manipulates the receiver into yoga stretches and massages along the energy lines of the whole body.
Benefits of this healing art include:
- stress relief and relaxation
- relief of muscular tension
- improved circulation
- strengthens the immune system
- increased joint mobility/flexibility
- an energetically balanced body
- I tailor the session to meet your individual needs, focusing on strong, deep or gentler, or more therapeutic active release.
- If you are looking to feel completely stretched out, relaxed, rejuvenated, free and open contact me to schedule a session: vito.politano@gmail.com.
For more information follow this link: http://vitoyoga.com/thai-yoga-bodywork/
Lezioni privati – Private Sessions for individuals, groups or corporate
Private classes or workshops that can be catered to meet specific needs from beginners getting started, working therapeutically with injuries, helping with range of motion and balance, finding safe alignment, supporting athletic training, working towards advanced poses and also working with the yoga wall!
Students really enjoy these opportunities to get my undivided attention and begin or evolve their practice. Please contact me and schedule a session to upgrade your practice: vito.politano@gmail.com
Calendario per agosto * August 2013 Schedule
The latest schedule updates can be found on the Schedule page of my site.
Majestic Yoga Studio
I am very excited to announce I will start teaching at Lindsay’s Majestic Yoga Studio in Cambridge starting Monday, September 9th. Consequently, I’m very sad to announce that I will be leaving my Andover classes in order to accept this opportunity.
And-Over…
My last Monday night in Andover will be Monday of Labor Day weekend. As a teacher I have regular practice with this reality of impermanence as students, studios, and classes come and go. Yet, it is still really hard for me to say good-bye, especially to my students there, as that night and the community and friends in Andover have maintained a special place in my heart. Andover is where I started teaching 6 years ago and I am honored to have students who have been with me literally since day one of teaching. And I’m grateful for the opportunities I was given at HOME Yoga and UnionStudio Yoga over the last year to continue
Back Bay Yoga
In January I also started teaching at Back Bay Yoga on Wednesdays, and really love it. The not-ready-for-prime-time-player in me was really nervous at this prospect. I have really enjoyed the community of students and teachers that Lynne has cultivated.
Canzone/Scelte Musicali – Songs/Playlists:
I am now regularly posting my playlists on the website on the blog section: http://vitoyoga.com/category/playlists/
Please email any questions, thoughts, suggestions, language corrections etc.
Grazie Mille!
Vito
Ch. 2 verse 40, Bhagavad Gita
No effort on the yoga path is ever lost,
nor can any obstacle hold one back forever.
Just a little progress on the path can protect
one from the greatest fear.