Dear Friends,

What a blessing to receive the e-mails for five things yoga has taught you!  I need at least ten more to choose the grand prize winner.  

Could you take a moment today and jot down five of your favorite things yoga has taught you? 

Here are some samples.

• Relax  (when I first sit on my mat I let go of everything from the day)
• Breathe  (still trying to master this, usually the ever so experienced instructor reminds me to breathe and it really does help with relaxing, focusing and being able to do achieve better results)
• Yoga isn't as easy as it looks (not even close!)
• Positive attitude (its such a breath of fresh air to have the friendly, inspirational and positive people around)
• Jeanne, Micah and Alyssa are amazing (haven't had Sheri but I'm sure she is too) I personally haven't done yoga before Tranquility and I feel so at ease, support in helping me to do the correct positions and that yoga is for Everyone. Cindy

********** 

1.  

​ 

No comparisons! 

2.  Slow down and breathe!

3.  It’s okay to relax.

4.  Yoga does as much good for my body as boot camp, 

​z​

umba, etc.  (I know you like that one!)

5.  “Scoop the belly in!” Love my yoga teacher and friends 

​ ​

 ​B​

etsy

​**********​

Five things Yoga has taught me :
1.  I CAN do it!!!
2.  I am stronger than I think I am
3.  POSTURE POSTURE POSTURE
4.  Breathe!!!!
5.  I miss it sooo much when I can't get there!!  I'm ready for summer!!!!  Stacy

**********

I have seriously thought about this all day. There are So many more than 5 things I've learned!

• It's ok to be me.
• Breathe. Just like difficult poses, this too shall pass.
• Be thankful for all the things. Breath, life, good, bad, body, mind, spirit. Everything is meant for my good.
• Perspective. Dont get so gosh darn fired up about every little thing. I don't need to be peeled off the ceiling 20 times a day.
• Be here. Right now. Enjoy what God brings me each day.

Seriously. If you need a longer list, just call me and I can give you more!  Julie

An article from Mind, Body, Green says it all!

I started practicing yoga for the first time on my Wii Balance Board with Wii Fit Plus. 

Fast forward a few years and yoga is now such an integral part of my life I don’t know how I ever survived without it. These are the lessons yoga continue to teach me every day:

1. New beginnings. 

Every day is an opportunity for a new beginning. My yoga practice is different every day. Poses that are hard on one day are manageable or even easy on another. I just have to accept what is happening on the mat for me today. I appreciate what I have on each given day… and know I can start again tomorrow.

2. The value of the pause. 

A friend once described me as a "quick thinking, fast talking" person. Having a million-miles-an-hour mind has its perks, but when that chatter becomes destructive, it’s hard to stop the snowball effect. Yoga taught me to pause and be still. I appreciate nothing more than those golden moments when I am moving, fluidly, in a dreamlike state, aware only of the flow of my own breath. Finally, my mind gives it a rest and I become free from its bondage.

3. Expression of my soul. 

Savasana has become an amazing opportunity for an encounter with my true self. Seated meditation is still a challenge for me but in savasana I connect with my soul. I don’t think, but things come to me. Insights into myself and I am left in awe of what is in my heart.

4. No more paralyzing fear. 

Challenging postures taught me that my fears and doubts paralyze me. When I doubt, I fall out and when I’m scared to fall, fail, or get hurt – I just don’t do anything. It’s my strategy in life too. So now I fall, I get hurt, and I get up… because it’s so important to DO something. When it doesn’t work out the way I planned, it’s never as significant as I thought it would be.

5. Releasing and letting go.

In a posture, when you hold on, you tighten up, constrict and contract, and there’s little room for moving forward. Sounds a bit like life – surprise, surprise! Letting go of what you don’t NEED is essential to move forward. The tension is self-inflicted; become aware of it, then release it.

 

6. Loving the bod.

Yoga has me seeing my body as a team. All my organs, cells, glands, and me – we have a little support group going on. I look after them, and they look after me. We chat and listen, and I learn so much from all of them because this body knows endlessly more than I could ever fathom. We heal each other every day.

 

7. Acceptance. 

My practice teaches me to be at peace with what is, even if it’s not exactly how I had envisioned it. I will be on a mission to conquer one of my nemesis postures, without progress to get excited about, when suddenly, without warning, I will get into another posture for the first time. Just like that. For every pose that has eluded me, yoga has given me another just as lovely instead.

8. My endless potential. 

I have expanded my body in yoga in ways that had me realize how much more there is to me. It’s a journey during which I am expanding my body, my potential and my understanding of the limitlessness of being human.

 

9. Physical body improvements. 

I am no spring chicken, but I’m in better physical shape than I've ever been. I am strong and I am healthy. No diet, no starvation, no extremes – just me and my "support group" doing the work as a team!

10. Happiness. 

Yoga has made me happy. I get a sense of intense joy when I roll out my purple mat and get into that first Downward-Facing Dog. I come home – centered, peaceful, and happy. I am being with what is. I am.  Tanya Kemp

One friend of Tranquility calls life BY (before yoga) and AY (after yoga).  She wrote 11!

• ​My feet don't hurt like they used to BY (Before Yoga)
• My right shou
  ​ld​
  er has greater range of movement than BY.
• I can walk longer without my lower back hurting than BY.
• I can turn my head farther than BY. 
• My knees aren't hurting like they did BY.
• I set my intention (balance) & am improving balance in yoga practice and out of yoga. 
• I feel accomplishment that I show up and try.
• Sometimes at the end of yoga during final relaxation I feel tears of release.
• I see such a positive change in my daughter that I haven't seen in almost 7 years since 
  ​her baby ​
  passed away. Priceless. 
• I see God working through you, Jeanne K, in many lives.  You encourage us, give us physical & spiritual tools to equip us for living lives to glorify God.
• I loved seeing you work with 
  ​another client​
   the other night.  You got him to do far more than I'd seen him do previously. I could just imagine you teaching 2nd grade students who struggled. You expected a lot & showed
   ​ him​
   how to do it & then praised him for his progress.  Inspiring.

Join our contest and give yoga an opportunity to make a difference in your life.  If it has been a while since you came to a class, make one today!

Namaste'

Jeanne K

​

photo by Jason Dulin
​I am missing our classes/teaching time, but I am learning so many great things here in Connecticut through Yoga for Every Body practices and workshop.​ I will be home next Sunday and ready to share.  (:  The workshop I went to yesterday afternoon while the kids and grands were at their church picnic was about shoulders.  I am sincerely sore and cannot wait to teach some of her secrets to releasing the fascia around the neck, upper arms, chest, and back area.  My chest and upper back feel so much more open today!   P.S.  Sarah Summers, the teacher of my workshop was from the Kripalu Institute, Michelle Dalbec!