Balancing act

Looks like great fun, doesn't it? These students in Judi's Wednesday morning Yoga Basics class had a great time with this cooperative balancing pose. Many of our new students have commented on how much fun they had in their first classes with us! They were surprised. They didn't expect yoga to be fun. But laughing is great for you and our teachers like to have a good time. Some of our classes may be quiet and meditative, some may be an intense work out, and in others you may laugh a lot and get to know your classmates.

Judi, whose background is also in teaching dance, is well known for her creative and fun classes with lots of partner work. If you haven't tried one of her classes, why not join the fun? Don't miss her special Have a Ball yoga workshop on Saturday, September 16, from 11:15 am-12:30 pm. You'll learn all about fun ways to use a fitball in your yoga practice. The suggested donation is $12. You can bring your own ball or use one of ours.

We encourage you to try out all our classes and teachers. With Donation Yoga, you can take as many classes as you like! So we hope to see you in class soon.

Jan

How is the yoga center doing?

Many of our yoga students have asked how the yoga center is doing. They tell us all the time how they have come to rely on their yoga practice in so many ways. We can sense their concern that our Donation Yoga adventure may put an end to their yoga classes! We want to do everything we can to ensure that that doesn't happen! We believe that information is power, so here's an update:

Attendance: The number of new students since we started Donation Yoga has exceeded our expectations. We've had 97 new students between July 5 and August 24. This is an amazing number for the summer months! It's been exciting to have fuller classrooms. This is our main reason for offering donation yoga, to introduce yoga to students who would not otherwise come to class. We also wanted to encourage students to attend more frequently, which has also been happening. One student is practicing 5-6 times/week.

Income: We expected that our income would be down some through July and August as many of our students finished out their class cards. Even so our donations in July were enough to pay all our most essential bills like rent, phone, website and newsletter expenses, insurance, etc. This was very encouraging! We also had enough money in the bank to pay our teachers a flat rate of $20 for each class and to pay small administrative salaries totaling $350 (about $2.50-$3.00/hour).

Our August donations (as of August 20) have already exceeded those from July. This month we expect to be able to pay our basic bills and small teacher and administrative salaries almost completely from donations. This basic budget doesn't, however, include anything for advertising, printing, and other important budget items. And, of course, we would like to pay our staff and teachers more fairly. Staff has often worked with no pay at all and the teachers have taken a pay cut in order to get Donation Yoga started. Hopefully this is temporary!

Fall: We expect that attendance will increase quite a bit this fall. September is always a time when many new students start. And, with the buzz being created about Donation Yoga we expect this September to be extra busy! So we're optimistic about the future.

The bottom line: We love to teach yoga. We believe that our community is a better place because yoga has a presence here. We are committed to keeping the yoga center open and have great faith that "if we teach, students will come!" Yoga is just too good to be kept a secret in our community. Please continue to spread the word. Donation Yoga works because of you!

Namaste,
Jan Harcourt

Students' stories

Today I was at the Jefferson City farmer’s market when I ran into a former yoga student who I hadn’t seen in ages. We had a great time visiting and getting caught up on what we’d been doing for the last few months. Then she caught me by surprise when she said, “I still do my yoga … every day. And all those pains I used to have in my knee and wrist are gone!” Phyllis had only been my student for a short time before her schedule changed and she was unable to come to my chair yoga class. I was so impressed to hear that she had continued to practice on her own after only a short introduction to yoga! It’s not often that I meet students who are this committed to practicing on their own without the ongoing encouragement and advice of a teacher. And it’s the consistent practice of yoga over a long period of time that leads to results like what Phyllis reported.

Since we began Donation Yoga many of our students have been coming to classes more often and discovering for themselves the benefits of consistent practice. Regular student Jenn Heintz has been an inspiration to all of us teachers who have worked with her. She says, I had practiced yoga before moving to Jefferson City, but never with the consistency that I have been practicing since coming to Show Me Yoga Center. I currently practice five to six times a week, and I find that the more I practice the better I feel physically. I have more energy, and practicing yoga so frequently has also given me an increased sense of emotional well-being. The instructors at Show Me Yoga are engaged and interested in my progress, and I am happy to be studying with them.

How about you? How has your yoga practice affected your life? We would love to hear from you.

Namaste,
Jan Harcourt

Our Deepest Fear

Megan blew my socks off last night (okay, I wasn't wearing socks in yoga class) by starting her Thursday night Yoga Mix class with this reading:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Whoa. I'm still reeling.

That's a quote from Marianne Williamson's book, A Return to Love.

Megan went on from there to teach a simple and powerful yoga pose series with some really cool "Shiva squats" in the middle.

Tomorrow she's teaching a two-hour yoga workshop, by donation. And it's all about flowing from one posture into the next, called vinyasa.

Don't miss it.

I'll see you in yoga class,

Kevin Perry

mo_yoga@yahoo.com

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Upside-Down Yoga, Habit-Forming

I went to Sallie's Intemediate Yoga class Saturday morning with a back ache. Specifically, I had sacro-iliac pain on my left side. If you've experienced this, you know it's not fun.

At some point in class we practiced a pose most people call "headstand on chairs."

It's a strange looking pose. But one of it's great advantages is that you can stay in this pose for a long time.

I did. It felt great.

If you're new to yoga, you may not know yet that one of the regular practices of yoga is turning upside down in various postures like shoulder stand, head stand, hand stand, legs-up-the-wall pose, and even dog pose.

These inverted postures, once you get comfortable with them, offer some tremendous benefits to yogis.

When I came out of the pose I noticed that my S-I pain was gone.

Sometimes I think that when I'm standing or walking or sitting, doing my normal routine, I'm not "acting naturally." Rather, I'm maintaining a habitual pattern in my body, for no reason other than...habit.

What's cool about being upside down is this: I don't have many habits. So instead of replaying a pattern that I've ingrained into my body, I let go of them.

When I let go of habitual alignments, tensions, or contractions my body naturally aligns with gravity.

I think that's what happened.

I love yoga. When I practice, when I do the pose that's right here in front of me now, I am always surprised by the newness of the moment. My anticipation of the pose, what I think is going to happen, often does not.

I didn't expect back pain to leave me when I went upside-down. But it did.

Who knows what might happen in your next yoga class?

I'll see you in yoga class,

Kevin Perry

mo_yoga@yahoo.com

p.s., If you'd like to read a Daily Yoga Tip I wrote about letting go of habitual body patterns while in a topsy-turvy position, see "Inversion Confusion" here.

p.p.s., I teach a Basics yoga class each Monday night at 5:30. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

Remember, all of our classes are by donation only. You pick the price, the teacher, the schedule, and the frequency of your classes. There's no reason not to come to yoga classes.

p.p.p.s., Would you like to experience private yoga instruction?

In a one-on-one setting, you get individual feedback, meant just for you. You get instructions tailored to address the issues you want to work on. I'll meet with you privately. Email me at mo_yoga@yahoo.com. By donation only. You pick the price...or no price at all. I'll work with as many of you as I can, as my schedule permits.

p.p.p.p.s., If you've read this far, you get the big amusement pay-off. You'll notice above that I said most people call the pose "headstand on chairs." Some people, tongue in cheek, call it the "head in the toilet pose."

p.p.p.p.p.s., If you see me or Sallie this week at Show Me Yoga Center, be sure to ask us about our up-coming yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico. It's not too soon to be preparing for this February, 2007 week-long yoga adventure. This will be our third year to return to the beautiful Hotel Lagunita.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

The Yoga of Generosity

I listened with interest to a brief presentation a gentleman made yesterday about generosity.

He used a story from the Bible (Jesus fed 5,000 people with just a few pieces of fish and bread given by a young boy) to illustrate the power and effect of generosity.

He made two points that are very much in my awareness now that we are offering yoga freely, based only on donations. He said:

1) God uses people to do good works, and
2) Generosity is what makes truly great things happen (...not timing, cleverness, more effort, struggle, better education).

When the young boy was generous with what little he had, many were fed.

I see these principles at work so clearly now at Show Me Yoga Center.

Once we decided to quit worrying about the trick or gimmick or pricing scheme that would keep the yoga center going, we were able to focus on the simplest way to make the joy and benefits of yoga available to as many people as possible.

Disregarding "a strategic business model," the yoga community has begun to flourish.

Wow.

I am encouraged, excited and grateful.

If you've received some benefit from yoga, I hope you'll generously let others know that they can benefit too by joining us for the regular exploration of yoga.

I'll close with a challenge, too. Now that yoga instruction is "cheaper," I notice that a handful of students are coming frequently to classes. That's right, they're not just coming to one class per week. Some are coming to 2 or 3, or more!

My greatest disappointment about becoming a yoga teacher was that I was unable to study twice a week with my teacher! Our schedules just didn't match.

Don't worry about the money. See if you can get in two yoga classes each week for a while. You'll be surprised at how this sort of generosity with your schedule will repay you with energy, focus, ease and improved health.

I'll see you in yoga class.

Kevin Perry

mo_yoga@yahoo.com

p.s., Would you like to experience private yoga instruction?

In a one-on-one setting, you get individual feedback, meant just for you. You get instructions tailored to address the issues you want to work on. I'll meet with you privately. Email me at mo_yoga@yahoo.com. By donation only. You pick the price...or no price at all. I'll work with as many of you as I can, as my schedule permits.

p.p.s., Speaking of fish, here's a picture of fish pose. Take a quick peek at it and then consider your reaction when you see it.

I'll admit it, I hated this pose. Then, my teacher taught me to do it in a way that 'clicked.'

If, when you looked at that picture, you said, "I can't do that!" then yoga is just right for you. I couldn't balance my check book, or do my laundry, or drive a car until someone taught me.

There's no reason not to come to yoga classes at Show Me Yoga Center. We'll teach you yoga! And you'll get the benefits.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Yoga Connections

I was in Sallie's class last week practicing bridge pose when I noticed that I came to class with a pain in my neck. Ouch.

Eventually, I got around to lifting my chin a bit and pressing the back of my head lightly into the floor. It made my neck pain go away.

Here's a funky little Haiku I jotted down afterwards:

I lift my chin
and press my head into the mat.
Neck pain in bridge pose...
goes.

By the way, had I been listening, I'd have heard Sallie give this instruction. She says it all the time when she teaches this pose. Eventually, the little light in my head went on, the connection was made.

A bridge is a connector between two pieces of land that are otherwise separated by water or some other feature.

I don't know what stood between me and the hearing of Sallie's instruction, but I eventually heard it, I made the connection, and it really worked for me.

I love the connections I've been making at Show Me Yoga Center lately. It has so much to do with the connections our students are making as they bring their friends to the yoga center for donation yoga classes.

More and more people are coming and more are benefitting from yoga, just like me.

Classes are fuller. And you can feel the excitement and energy in the room. I love it.

I'll see you in yoga class,

Kevin Perry

mo_yoga@yahoo.com

p.s., Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means "the union of opposites." Sounds like a connection, a bridge, to me.

p.p.s., I teach beginner's classes on Monday evenings at 5:30 pm. I hope to see you there.

If 5:30 pm is too early for you, come to my 6:30 pm "Breakthrough Training" class. It's continuous movement. It's a fantastic fitness and wellness routine that keeps you moving and helps you make progress quickly and efficiently.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

New students stretching their limits!

Photo: New student Kate Miller looking marvelous in Ardha Chandrasana (Half moon pose). Since we began Donation Yoga one month ago 62 new students have experienced the blissful feeling of yoga at Show Me Yoga Center. To all our new students: Welcome! Send us your comments about your experience of yoga. We'll post some of them here!