Anchoring with Connection and Clarity
Does unexpected weather, or any change, offer the opportunity to look within?
What an interesting season it has been in the Northeast this summer! From torrential rains, local floods, and mini-heat waves, Mother Nature has offered us many weather experiences. With our hearts and minds sending blessings to local farmers in acknowledgement of the struggles that challenging weather brings, we also celebrate the generosity and endurance of our neighbors who offer volunteerism and support to those most in need when intense changes arise unexpectedly.
Pantajali was a student of Yoga who lived and wrote the Yoga Sutras around 400 BCE, by the estimates of scholars such as Phillipp Maas. It is an old, classic text written as his own personal notes about the ways of practice or the teachings of Yoga. Not much is actually known about Pantanjali and his life, yet much has been written about his Yoga Sutras.
Yoga Sutra 1.2: Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha, as is generally translated by many as: “Yoga is the practice of calming the fluctuations of the mind.” Another translation offered by Susuaana Bakaratis, from her new book Embrace Yogas Roots is: “Yoga is the calming of the fluctuations of the mind in order to find unity within. When we are able to calm our own mental talk and find a sense of ease, we begin to unite our small ‘s’ self with our large ‘S’ self. This unity comes by bringing mind, body and heart into harmony. Yoga is both the result of this practice and the mind training that brings us into the joy of being fully present in this moment.”
Perhaps these translations offer us an opportunity to reflect and inquire about our own mindset and how we experience, and respond, in daily life. ((One interesting side note about Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is that of almost 200 verses (or threads), only 3 are about the physical practice of postures! The rest are about meditation, breathing practices, and the practices and observances of a mindful life.))
During big changes, times of uncertainty, and unexpected weather swings, perhaps our Yoga practice offers us an opportunity to dig deep, reset, listen, and discover the clarity of seeing things without judgment or evaluation. Do you notice yourself shift or release during, or after Yoga practice? Do you find the ability to calm, center, and ground, even during stress? Is there a greater sense of ease and clarity within?
We offer our gratitude for the consistent devotion, caring, and presence that everyone in this community brings each week. It is such a gift to be a part of such a loving community. There is something special about showing up each day knowing that you will be surrounded by your neighbors (in all kinds of weather). Yoga invites us to connect inwardly, as well as more deeply with our surroundings, inviting us to align, attune, and become aware of right now. When we practice, we have the opportunity to deepen our experience of the sensation of breath within ourselves, watch the wingbeats of birds, feel the dewy grass underfoot, hear the songs of frogs, observe the scuttle of insects, and feel the presence of others.
Thank you for sharing this practice with each other. Thank you for providing each other a safe sacred space to anchor ourselves during a storm. We appreciate you!
And, THANK YOU to Jacquie and Andy and the whole Andrews family for hosting us on this beautiful land.
Be sure to share the Yoga Love all over the Valley! We are an open and welcoming community and Yoga practice is for all.
~ Namaste
For those interested in supporting local farmers effected by recent flooding:
Yoga Indoors? November 2023 - May 2024
We are thinking ahead to the indoor season and need your input! Rental prices and availability may change at Venture Way, and we may have an option for classes at Munson Library. Click the button below to answer 5 quick questions. It will take less than two minutes! We want to know your preferences.
For more information, teacher bios, and an up-to-date calendar check out our website:
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Teacher Spotlight - New Feature!
We plan to highlight the background and practice of a teacher or student from our yoga community each month. Stay tuned. Are you curious? What do you want to know? Email Linda at lacastronovo@gmail.com and get your questions answered!
Sebastian Merrill, one of the newest additions to our teaching community, has subbed at Venture Way and at Andrews. I know you will enjoy learning more about his background, his award winning poetry and his life as a yoga instructor.
One interesting side note: His first book GHOST :: SEEDS will be published this fall by Texas Review Press. It was selected by Kimiko Hahn as the winner of the 2022 X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize.
Interview with Sebastian Merrill
1. When did you first discover yoga? What does yoga mean to you?
I hold a degree in South Asian Studies from Wellesley College, and during my Junior Year I studied abroad in Delhi, India where I studied Hindi, National Identity and the Arts, and completed an independent study on the impact of the British Raj on national identity through the lens of Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim. I spent time at an Ashram in Delhi, studied yoga in Rishikesh, and traveled, mostly by train, throughout India. Following my academic studies, I received a Wellesley Funded Internship to teach English in Mumbai, where I continued my study of yoga. To me, yoga is an experience that literally yokes, or binds us together: the practice enables us to connect more deeply to ourselves and to each other.
2. What inspired you to become a yoga teacher?
As a queer and trans person, yoga has been integral in helping me learn to love and accept myself as I am. I wanted to become a yoga teacher in order to help create more inclusive spaces for people of all different identities, bodies, and abilities.
3. How long have you been teaching?
I’ve been teaching for five years.
4. Describe your current personal yoga practice.
I have a daily personal yoga practice. I enjoy practicing in studios and learning from other teachers, and I also really enjoy solo time on my mat. Meditation is also an essential part of my practice.
5. How has your personal practice changed or evolved over the years?
When I first studied yoga, I was quite focused on the physical, asana, form of the practice - I thought yoga was all about the poses. As my practice and my studies have deepened, I have come to realize that asana is a limb of a much larger tree. My studies and my teachings have come to integrate the yamas and niyamas, or ethics of a yoga practice, as well as pranayama, or breathing techniques. Infusing yoga philosophy in my teaching is also an important way that I pay respect to yoga’s lineage and history.
6. Who or what has been your greatest/most important teacher?
I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training with Jacoby Ballard and Molly Kitchen and I feel so grateful to both of them for their continued guidance and support. I also want to uplift the teachings of Susanna Barkataki, David Kam, and Jivana Heyman.
7. What’s your best advice about teaching/practicing yoga?
Yoga is not about achieving the ultimate perfect pose. It’s important to take care of yourself and to make choices on the mat that are right for you. Let go of expectations and allow yourself to be present with your breath and your body.
8. Reflect on our Yoga Outside community and what it has meant to you as a student and teacher.
As a resident of Amherst, I am grateful to have been welcomed in as a substitute teacher for the Yoga Outside community. A morning yoga practice is a wonderful way to start the day, and the Andrew’s Greenhouse location is absolutely gorgeous.
Linda’s Travel Update
Paul and I finished up our first month of horse camp in mid-July and hit the road. We’ve been camping, hiking, and exploring parts of Utah and California. We hiked the Narrows in Zion, the rim at Red Rock Canyon, and drove through the Grand Staircase Escalante to stay (and eat) at one of our favorite places: Boulder Mountain Lodge and Hell’s Backbone Grill.
We spent three days in the Lake Tahoe area (far from the summer crowds), and a couple of days in Mammoth Lakes. We hiked in the Sierra Nevadas (part of the Pacific Crest Trail), visited family in San Francisco, and hosted a family reunion in Southern California (so our newest grandchildren could meet their cousins). In between we drove a significant portion of the California coast (Big Sur is amazing!) and passed through some quaint and ritzy, big and little towns: Malibu, Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Santa Cruz, and Monterey.
We live in a diverse and beautiful country and it’s been a blessing to be among so many delights: from the tiniest wildflowers, spider webs, and lizards to crystal clear mountain lakes, volcanic cinder cones, and jaw dropping mountain top views.
We are getting ready to head back to Wyoming for the second half of the horse camp season and it actually feels like we are heading HOME to our little twelve by fifteen foot tent cabin. We’ll be there among the moose, elk, coyotes, cranes, beavers (and, of course, the horses!) until the third week of September. I am looking forward to higher altitudes and cooler weather after spending some hot summer weeks in the desert!
I feel grateful every day to be on this adventure, AND I’ve missed my regular yoga practice. I still get 15-20 minutes on my mat most days, but at 62, it just takes a few missed days for me to feel the difference in strength and mobility. Taking care of this aging body has become a fulltime job! I’ll be happy to be back to regular practice soon!
Thank you, Erin, for managing our community in my absence! You are a blessing!
Love to all,
Linda
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