Happy New Year!

 

We are thrilled to be well into our fourth year here at HeartSong and have many wonderful things to share with you this year.

 

Some of our resolutions for the year include offering more great workshops by all the wonderful teachers here as well as special visiting teachers who will help to deepen the well of resources we provide.

We will also be collaborating more regarding the thematic aspect of class and bringing a more consistent emphasis of yoga philosophy to enhance your studies.

 

To get the year started we will be focusing on some foundational elements of yoga philosophy in all classes over the next few months.

In one of the oldest texts on yoga, the Yoga Sutras, we are given some ethical guidelines intended to help us to live more aware and conscious lives. These guidelines are called the Yamas and Niyamas.

 

The word yama, literally means restraint; the yamas are behavioral restraints that we can commit to in order to improve our relationships within the world around us. They are the principles of non-harming, truthfulness, non-stealing, non-grasping and right relationship. The niyamas are more internal restraints - they pertain to the development of the relationship with self. They are: cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-study and surrender.

 

When we look at our typical new year's resolutions we see that the underlying motivation is basically to live better. Sometimes though we identify a specific behavior we want to engage more fully in or often not do anymore but we don't necessarily identify the bigger reasons for following through. This is one reason so many new year's resolutions fail.

 

Our hope is that by bringing the the yamas and niyamas to light within our our asana classes we all be supported in making resolutions this year that truly enhance our lives and that we stay conscious to the  underlying motivation to help us live moment to moment making choices that support our base intentions. 

 

Our next several newsletters will include reflections from each of the teachers on the yamas and niyamas. Enjoy!

 

Peace, joy and many blessings to you.

Namaste'

Leslie, Lani, Katharine, Lynn, Emily and Elise