“Humility and gratitude go hand in hand. The feeling of gratitude is an interaction between the mind and the body. Both will benefit from it. Awareness increases so that we become grateful for everything we are given. We have to learn, literally learn, to be grateful for what we receive day by day, simply to balance the criticism that, day by day, we voice because of powerful emotions.” – Swami Sivananda Radha
Thanks to Andrea for sharing this reading from Yoga Gems
Stephen Legate DC and I designed this workshop specifically for those dealing with back pain or looking to keep their backs safe in their yoga practice. The goal of this workshop is to empower you with Yoga specific tools to manage your back pain. You will be guided through a practice designed to prevent and minimize back pain, and support the health of the spine. Experience the appropriate poses and transitions to perform while using safe technique and integrated monitoring and bio mechanical input by Dr. Legate. Come and explore Yoga as a means to manage your back pain and improve overall health.
All levels of yoga experience welcome, so please forward to friends and family who could benefit. Class size limited to maximize personalized attention. $40
To register contact Dr. Legate @ 617-678-7888 or http://www.greenteayoga.com/events-and-workshops.html
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, $30, so pre-register recommended.
https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=7335 or 978-744-YOGA
Come with an open attitude and ready to play.
Yoga Wall Workshop October 14, 2012 1:30-3:30p @ 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.
To Register: https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=7335 or 978-744-YOGA
Ben tornati Amici! * Welcome back! * Bentornato l’autunno!
“If we fall, we don’t need self-recrimination or blame or anger – we need a reawakening of our intention and a willingness to re-commit, to be whole-hearted once again.” – Sharon Salzberg
I really connected to the reading above in this season of home coming, change, new beginnings, rejuvenation, growth! Trying to find roots among the volatility or learning to ride the waves/winds. We can use this time to come back to something fulfilling – back to schools, our practices, mats, meditation, ourselves.
For me it’s also back to newsletter, back to doing more thai sessions, workshops, privates and generally teaching more fully (back in Andover, B Yoga Center). It has been particularly special to continue practice together in Andover. It’s been deeply touching to see the community ties continue outside the Kismet walls reuniting at UnionStudio and HOMe Yoga.
In my last email I discussed how greatly I value how this practice teaches us we can overcome great challenges. My whole venture into teaching and personal growth has been a process of facing fears and uncomfortable situations.
My teachers are these opportunities for growth. Recently, I was able to really challenge my comfort zone teaching at the Greater Salt Lake City Yoga Festival, and most recently teaching at the lululemon AmBADASSador Night Out on the Rose Kennedy Greenway last week. These were both events I felt I should do, however, the thoughts of them were anxiety-ridden. My inner voice categorized these as steps for growth, even though it would have been initially easier on my nerves to not do them and saved me much anxiety. However, the benefits of these experiences have both greatly outweighed the initial tension. I was able to learn a lot about myself – mainly that I wouldn’t completely mess-up, suck and die as a result. In the end, these “painful” experiences are bringing me closer to peace.
“’People’s beliefs about their abilities have a profound effect on those abilities….Ability is not a fixed property…there is huge variability in it; people who have a sense of self-efficacy bounce back from failures; they approach things in terms of how to handle them rather than worrying about what can go wrong.’ Albert Bandura…..If ability is not a pre-ordained, limited, commodity, then our potential to grow, to understand, to love, to connect is significantly nourished by what we believe about ourselves.” Sharon Salzberg from The Force of Kindness
I am also deeply fortunate to have you all – a supportive community of students, friends, family and a practice that push me out of my comfort zone, and be more than I thought I could be. I’ve learned from working with great friends and coaches like Sho and Hilary who helped me more formally identify weaknesses in my beliefs and some tools to help me navigate these thoughts and feelings. And working with Joanna Benevides for lulu was a gift! People’s beliefs in me that they share are much more encouraging than my own. I’ve been lucky to have many of these supportive teachers and voices embedded in me and slowly becoming more second nature.
This encouragement and support has given me the strength to follow my intuition. While I’m grateful for a growing ability to tap into intuition, I’m not often comfortable with outcome. The “right path” is often the initially bumpier one. And lessons are learned by both following and not following the inner voice.
While I easily forget, experience teaches me I can be more, especially in service of others:
I need to think more of myself
I can be more than I think I am
I can do more than I think I can
You think more of me than I do
I think more of you than you do
We need to think more of ourselves
Assume and trust our potential
SLC
I am so grateful for the trip to Salt Lake City. I had such an amazing weekend at the festival and all around Salt Lake with friends new and old. I was greatly inspired by the nature (beauty and majesty of mountains and canyons) and the people. I was honored help Santosh Maknikar with his festival and mission to make yoga accessible to all people (i.e., yogaforpeople.org). He also inspired and gathered such a great group of people. The students were so warm, welcoming, supportive and fun! I was fully inspired by the example and lives of my fellow teachers – living examples of the endless opportunities for growth that inspired living affords. I was once again reminded about how special we all are and how unique and similar our experiences are on this path of yoga and life.
“People are capable, at any time in their lives of doing what they dream of.” – Paolo Coehlo
National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
September is now over, however, just wanted to acknowledge that it marked National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Obviously this means a lot to me given my niece Alicia, and my baby sister that is also a childhood cancer survivor!!!! In honor of that, and a cousin’s recent diagnosis of Leukemia at hospitalization at MGH, I’ve returned to a regular schedule of platelet donations – a practice I started years ago when my sister was treated at Children’s and needed platelets. Anything you can do helps!
I’m very happy to report that Alicia has been acting her age! Despite lacking good night’s sleep, she is talking and playing more and more physically active. She is scheduled to have the halo of screws around her head, posts and vest removed this month – can’t believe she’s been in that 24/7 for the last 4 months. Once that comes off, she’ll have her next scan and continue with a neck brace. I can’t say thank you enough from my sister, my family and my heart for all the continuous intentions, prayers, well-wishes, gifts and support for Alicia.
ai Genitori – per support del figlio absentee!
Grazie mille ai miei genitori!! Deep, heartfelt gratitude for my parent’s, for their continued support of their son as he follows a path, both they and I don’t fully understand.
And for fun, some of my Favorites (i miei favoriti) from the Summer:
* Kouign Amann pastry from Les Madeleines in Salt Lake City – locally Flour Bakery’s Butter Breton Cake is not as melty in the middle as Les Madeleines’ version, but still meets my cravings all too well
* West Bridge in Cambridge – soo delicious, excellent service and drinks, and eggs in a jar!
* Sharon Jones in Christopher Columbus Park – for free!
* Super fun, challenging and groovy Warrior Power w/ Marc MacDonald @ omwarrior.com
* More Salt Lake City: Library, Hiking, Mountains, Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork
* Teaching early morning yoga on a dock in Marblehead Neck
* Roofdeck Yoga and Dining– alone and with friends
* Goat Milk Greek Frozen Yogurt
* Wanderlust Yoga Festival in Vermont (Alison West, Cindi Lee, Ani Difranco, Elena Brower and always Natasha Rizopoulos)
* Kumare – very interesting, entertaining, inspiring and disturbing documentary
* Bhangra Yoga – super fun, joyful ecstatic and challenging, described by creator and teacher Atma as kundalini on steroids
* Hubway expansion to Cambridge and Somerville – now biking to Life Alive just got easier!!
As it’s harvest season, I wish you many fruitful returns to your mats, your breaths and your Selves!!
Pace e amore,
Vito
“’People’s beliefs about their abilities have a profound effect on those abilities. Ability is not a fixed property…there is huge variability in it; people who have a sense of self-efficacy bounce back from failures; they approach things in terms of how to handle them rather than worrying about what can go wrong.’ Albert Bandura…..If ability is not a pre-ordained, limited, commodity, then our potential to grow, to understand, to love, to connect is significantly nourished by what we believe about ourselves.” Sharon Salzberg from The Force of Kindness
“Your work really begins when you release struggle. To let go of struggle initiates a change of vibration within you. This change puts you in touch with the flow of Life Itself, which is essentially what you are. To cultivate your awareness of this flow is your real work.
When you’re in touch with the flow of Life and feel your heart and mind open, you’ll note that a certain presence starts to assert itself. This presence changes your physical chemistry, your feelings, and your mind. It is the spirit itself, starting to inform you about yourself, about it, about Life, and about God. It’s a simple work.”– Swami Chetanananda
From Yoga Gems
Cari Amici,
Che bell’estate!!!
Hope you are having enjoyed a chill summer, a bit of slow down to accompany the beautiful weather and heat! That slow down has been literal in my completion of this email – originally June, then July, now July/August. And you will likely hear from me sooner than later as I continue to update my schedule as this summer has presented many changes, opportunities and developments to share. I truly hope this finds you well!
One thing I value greatly about our practice is that it teaches us that we can overcome. Very tangibly, through regular right practice, we may learn that certain physical challenges can be overcome. And often as practice deepens with breath and meditation, we may learn these may be tied to mental, emotional or belief limitations, which affect how much right effort is made.
Back in June I was incorporating more Astavakrasana (8 crook or 8 bends pose) by request and as Father’s day themed pose. This is a pose I’ve grown to, and story of triumph that I LOVE. Back in December I called this my Hanukkah pose, as 8 bends…8 nights…and a parallel story of misjudging and disqualifying someone’s capabilities based on external factors – more than our bodies get stretched in practice. In class I’ve made attempts, to recall and share the story, with varying degrees of success. (There are a lot of great versions of the story online, here’s a link to a Yoga Journal article that discusses a few other poses as well!: “Heroes, Saints, and Sages” By Colleen Morton Busch http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/1245?page=3)
Some of us are quick to limit and misjudge our own capabilities – (it literally goes on and on for me). As I am really hard on myself, and growing up with a worriers mind…doubt, self-doubt and criticism come easy. I used to just look at these “crazy arm balances” like Astavakrasana and just shake my head like “no f-n-way,” until I made real effort. However, as I began to make efforts, sometimes futile, sometimes in the direction of the pose – learning to ignore the doubts, and strengthen and reinforce right actions– aspects of the pose began to present themselves. And the big recurring lesson was the impossible IS possible.
As a yoga teacher, I’ve learned lessons in misjudging others abilities and situations as well…I’ve been guilty of making assumptions about someone’s capabilities only to be pleasantly surprised and impressed. One of my favorite parts of teaching are these moment’s of elation, when we get out of our heads and something clicks that allows us to get to the next level of practice – mental or physical. For many it’s learning to actually step back, slow down and for others it’s learning not to hold back in certain areas.
I imagine all of you, having been brought to your mats and to me for any number of reasons, have very likely experienced the end of your worlds as you knew them…and very likely felt you would never be whole or right again. It can be challenging to see the light, especially when you’re in the middle of “it,” and overwhelmed by fear and doubt – the sufferings of our minds. These challenging situations serve as opportunities to go inside and shed the unnecessary suffering along the way. Life has taught us that these challenging situations, help grow our spirits/connect to our divinity. It can help to remember we’ve been there, we’ve faced the seemingly impossible, only to overcome. And likely you’ve developed, grown and arrived at a place that is different, but “better than you may have imagined…as the challenges continue.
Outside my own negative self-talk, I have been especially working this practice with my niece Alicia. Her first post radiation MRI showed no signs of tumor or additional fluid retention – all beautiful!! Then about a month ago, she was back in the hospital having spinal surgery to fuse her cervical spine from C1 to C6, completely limiting any range-of-motion. Over the next few months, she will continue to wear a halo of screws around her head with 4 poles attached to a lambs-wool vest to help stabilize the head position. This beautiful little girl has been through a lot over the last 7 months (more than a third of her life to date has been challenged by the brain tumor). And all along, my family has been challenged in our faith and hope for what is possible. I am sooo grateful for your continued support, well wishes and prayers – deeply appreciated!!!
So let’s continue to inspire and impress each other and ourselves. And for many of us, the actions that are most impressive are the simplest and most overlooked acts of kindness we can bestow on ourselves and others.
Happy Healthy Summer!!!!!
Pace e amore,
Vito
Taken from Georg Feuerstein’s Yoga Gems:
“When our inner nature is truly free, we find within ourselves a wealth of treasure: love, joy, and peace of mind. We can appreciate the beauty of life, taking each experience as it comes, opening our hearts to it, and fully enjoying it. Realizing these qualities within ourselves is the greatest freedom that can be gained.” – Tarthang Tulku
This week’s reading:
“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”
~ Pema Chödron
My New Year’s Wish to you all…(from class)
Sandra Sturtz Hauss:
May you find serenity and tranquility in a world you may not always
understand. May the pain you have known and the conflict you have
experienced give you the strength to walk through life facing each new
situation with courage and optimism. Always know that there are those whose
love and understanding will always be there, even when you feel most alone.
May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace.
May a kind word, a reassuring touch, and a warm smile be yours every day of
your life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them.
Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending.
Teach love to those who hate, and let that love embrace you as you go out
into the world. May the teachings of those you admire become part of you,
so that you may call upon them. Remember, those whose lives you have
touched and whose have touched yours are always a part of you, even if the
encounters were less than you would have wished.
It is the content of the encounter that is more important than the form.
May you not become too concerned with material matters, but instead place
immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart. Find time each day to see
beauty and love in the world around you. Realize that each person has
limitless abilities, but each of us is different in our own way. What you
feel you lack in the present may become one of your strengths in the
future. May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility.
Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.
May you find enough inner strength to determine your own worth by yourself,
and not be dependent on another’s judgment of your accomplishments. May you
always feel loved.
