Our yoga community continues to grow. Every day new and returning students arrive behind the greenhouse at Andrew’s a little before 8 AM. We roll out our mats on dewy grass. We take in the view over the pond, the meadow, and forest and out to Long Mountain in the distance. We practice together with the teacher of the day, grateful for the time and space, grateful for the teachings of yoga, and grateful for the opportunity to connect with breath, body, and source energy.
Our ninth summer season is off to a great start with yoga offered every day (rain or shine) down by the pond 8:00 - 9:00 AM.
Regular weekly teachers will sometimes have travel or vacation plans. No worries. We’ve arranged for a variety of substitute teachers you’ll love getting to know. You can find the schedule of who is teaching on any given day by accessing the teaching calendar below. And you can always get more information and teacher bios at our website (www.yogaoutside.today).
Yoga Outside becomes a Nonprofit Organization
We are excited to announce that Yoga Outside will become a Nonprofit Organization with a broader purpose. We will still offer free, donation-based daily yoga, and we plan to expand our offerings to make other life-enhancing habits accessible to all.
The new organization will be called Everyday Wellbeing, and our mission will be to educate the public about everyday activities and practices that improve health, longevity and well-being. Our aim is to strengthen community connections and make increased vitality, greater resilience, and graceful aging available to as many people as possible, including by providing information and coordinating free, donation-based classes.
We’ll start with a small board of directors (Thanks to Ilana and Erin who volunteered to sit on the board with me!). Stay tuned for more information about upcoming fund-raisers, book study groups, nature walks, writing partnerships, meditation practice groups, and workshops on nutrition, body image, journaling, the power of community, and yoga history and philosophy.
Do you have an idea for a group, class, or workshop? Do you have an idea for a fund-raiser? We’d love to raise the money we need to cover start-up costs. This is only $310 because Jamie Class, with the backing of her law firm Foley & Lardner are offering their legal expertise pro bono. Thank you, Jamie and Foley! It would also be great to raise what we need to rent the Munson Library for the winter (approximately $3000).
Let’s brainstorm together. Send me an email and share your ideas! We aim to make life-enhancing habits, practices, and community connection available to all.
Spread the word!
Quick Reminders about Yoga at Andrew’s Greenhouse
Huge gratitude to Andy and Jacqui Cowles for making this beautfiul space available to us since 2016! Remember to park ONLY along the back border of the parking lot (overlooking the field) and use the main entrance and exit by the Greenhouse shop. The driveway and parking on the other side of the farmhouse (near the solar panel) is reserved for tenants and Greenhouse employees only.
Thanks again to Jacqui and Andy a greenhouse is available for us to practice undercover in case of rain, but cancellations (due to the threat of thunder and lightning) will be posted on Facebook and on the website calendar by 7 AM. Otherwise, class is ON!
Meditation Practice
Interest is growing in the power of regular meditation practice. Kim gathers a number of students immediately after her classes for a 20-minute guided practice. Ivor (and others) are interested in an informal, peer-led meditation practice on other days. We move to practice in the relative shade of the greenhouse after asnana practice by the pond. All are welcome!
As always, our classes are offered freely to all. No registration required. Donations are gratefully accepted, but not expected. We want the benefits of community practice available to all.
A Reflection on Daily Practice
I recently learned about decision-fatigue. I felt especially tired when I read that the average adult human brain makes 35,000 decisions a day! Going to yoga is one decision I never have to make. If I wake up in town, Yoga Outside is part of my morning routine. I’ve automated this part of my day along with several other daily habits that enrich my life. I am grateful for this community and the opportunity to begin each day anchored in my body, centered in my mind, and with my spirit enlivened with yoga.
This daily asana “habit” wasn’t always in place, however. I’ve written elsewhere about the self-criticism and judgment of my early years as a student (and teacher). No one would look forward to practice with a critical, comparative voice in their head, right?
Cheryl Strayed calls her self-critic her Inner Terrible Someone (ITS). Others call it their inner a__hole. I’ve also found it helpful to give these voices names. Instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to keep them quiet, or to resist when they show up. I’ve begun welcoming them with patience and attention. I now recognize that these aspects of my personality developed to try to keep me safe, to keep me conforming, to maintain my place in the tribe. After all, we evolved as social animals, and we need each other.
It’s helped to see my Critic and Judge as fearful and misguided, but still deserving of love and acceptance. I remind them that “we” are safe. We’re okay exactly as we are. I invite them to watch as “we” move and breathe, relax and replenish. It’s been a welcome change from an old pattern.
Do you have an inner terrible somone?
Shraddha Yoga and Yoga Sanctuary
Corinne and Matthew Andrews of Shraddha Yoga are now collaborating with Sanctuary in Northampton to offer Yoga Immersion and Teacher Training. You can view a recording of their May 22nd information session by clicking below.
There are a few spaces left for a local retreat with Onatah and Corinne this weekend!
My sister and I did this trip to India with Corinne and Matthew in 2018. They are fantastic group leaders and guides, and the trip was life-changing for us! Highly recommended!
Move with Tiffany
Email Tiffany for more information at groundedinwellness365@gmail.com.
More Yoga with Ilana
Mondays: Kripalu Online Studio, 6:30 am Meditation, 7 am Gentle Yoga
Weekly in-person at Kripalu - check out the local resident discounts (Amherst is considered local!) and the daily R&R schedule.
Private and small group sessions by request.
Upcoming retreats:
Jan 25 - Feb 1, 2025 Retreat to Lake Atitlán, Guatemala - REGISTER NOW (only a few spots left!) and use code “EARLYBIRD” for $300 off
Stay in touch: Join Ilana's Substack and Ilana's newsletter
More Yoga with Erin
SUMMER Prenatal / Postnatal Yoga Thursdays 7/25 - 8/15 (4 wks) 4:30-5:45pm at Serenity Yoga & Wellness in South Hadley: in-person only
Yoga Flow Saturdays 9-10am at Central Rock Gym in Hadley: free for members or $15 to drop-in
Sunrise Yoga Wednesdays 6:30-7:20am at Central Rock Gym in Hadley: free for members or $15 to drop-in
Farm Yoga Thursdays 7/27 - 8/15 1-2pm (beyond the front flower garden. Cancelled for stormy weather) at Brookfield Farm in South Amherst: all experience levels are welcome, donation-based, a portion of the proceeds benefit the Brookfield Farm Food Access Fund. No pre-registration required. Email Erin with questions.
Accepting Private Practice Clients - In-person and Online (via Zoom)
Birth Education / Preparation / Doula Services
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For more information, teacher bios, and an up-to-date calendar, check out our website. You can also find us on Facebook. If you’ve missed past newsletters, you can find them in the Newsletter Archive on Substack. Thanks for being a part of Yoga Outside.
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