Nature Walks Soothe the Soul!

Have you ever just felt all frustrated, closed up, and confined?  Try going outside for a nature walk with contemplation and meditation.  You will be amazed at how much better you will feel.  This morning I went on a run with my daughter.  She is the mother of three precious children, a busy working mom, and a wonderful person. Sometimes we forget how precious the moments that we spend with our children truly are.  I have seen so many moms and daughters or dads and sons practice yoga together.  It is so exciting to see the togetherness yoga builds.  My advice?  Put up the technology and just go outside with your kids.  Just "be!" Do yoga, go for a run, take a nature walk, or just sit outside.  "For one minute walk outside, stand there in silence, look up at the sky, and contemplate how amazing life is."

It's All About the Journey; Not the Destination! Come Journey with us!

A heart-centered yoga can open us to the experience of joy. Relishing inner contentment, we can more fully experience delight in each moment. Immersed in equanimity, our people can more lovingly bring our hearts' wisdom and light to the larger contours of our lives. Honoring the body, mind, and spirit, we have the opportunity to deepen our reverence for the Source of joy and align our hearts more fully with God.

Our daily lives in the world may not always fully support us in our feelings of joy, which can then seem dissipated, deflected and smothered. This is one reason why the practice of yoga can be so important and helpful. In this time of quiet, mindful movement, and simplicity, we focus on breathing practice, yoga postures, and final relaxation that refresh us as they open us to the stillness of inner tranquility.

Come open your heart with us today on Wednesday at noon, 5:30 p.m., and 6:40 p.m.

*****

How to Meditate:

1. Choose a quiet place.  It can be anywhere.  Outside is very nice, and it is my favorite spot.
2. Use a timer on your watch or phone.  Set for 5 minutes.
3. Sit, walk, or lay - your choice.  Different ways appeal to different personalities.
4. Stillness is the key.  Still your eyes, still your mind, and still your noise level.
5. Use your inhalation and exhalation to improve your meditative mind set.
6. Breathe in a word; breathe out a word.  Your word is your mantra.  
7. Equanimity means a place of equal balance where you are not upset by the fluctuations of life.  Using the breath and a mantra helps.
8. When, and not if, your mind becomes distracted by a thought, gently bring it back to your word or phrase.  This is not the fallacy of the empty mind that people assume is meditation.
9. I treat unwelcome thoughts like phone calls and doorbells for advertising. "No, thank you" and hang up.
10. Do it regularly.  Increase the time if possible, but do not try too hard and then neglect altogether.

*****

No levels on classes; just speed, hard, or soft.  Think of it as a vehicle for movement! 

 

Speedy Sports Cars:

5:30 p.m.  Monday, Wednesday, Friday

7:30 a.m.  Saturday

2:30 p.m.  Sunday

4:00 p.m.  Tuesday and Thursday

Luxury Cars Slow:

12:00 p.m.  Tuesday and Thursday

6:40 p.m.  Monday and Wednesday

4:00 p.m.  Sunday

Hard Hat Work Truck:

5:30 a.m.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

9:00 a.m.  Saturday

12:00 p.m.  Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Soft Pedaling Hybrid:

6:00 p.m.  Tuesday and Thursday

Manly Mustang:

12:00 p.m.  Saturday

Trikes and Bikes:

10:30 a.m.  Saturday for Tweens and Teens - starts this week, but can be joined at any time during the six weeks (Cost of course is $42.00)

Thanks for journeying with us!

Namaste'

Jeanne K

Tuesday mornings with Micah at 10:30 a.m. begins in September!  Join her the day after Labor Day on September 3rd for a yoga practice for all levels.

www.tranquilityyogastudio.com

I read the article below and thought, "Wow!  I could not have said it better myself."  What do you do with discomfort?

Discomfort is just another part of us. We can avoid it, or we can learn to greet it like an old friend.

Read on at the end of the weekend update and see if you can spot yourself in the story.  I included a great tutorial on how to breathe in yoga at the end. 

Please remember:  In yoga the breath is always the key to success (not flexibility).  If you can breathe, you can do yoga.
*****
Come practice with us this weekend and take a picture with us on Tuesday, July 2nd, at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday classes, June 29, 2013
7:30 a.m.  Yoga for All - Weights?  Yes or No - You decide.
9:00 a.m.  Core Vinyasa Flow - Abs and Back Work
10:30 a.m.  Private birthday party
12:00 p.m.  YOGA DUDES
Sunday, June 30, 2013 - Last day of the YOGA IS FUN challenge!
2:30 p.m.  Yoga Isn't for Sissies
4:00 p.m.  Family Yoga
Monday, July 1, 2013 - First Day of July - Bring one new friend for free!
5:30 a.m.  Early Morning Workout Yoga
12:00 p.m.  Core Vinyasa Flow Yoga
5:30 p.m.  Yoga for Strength and Conditioning
6:40 p.m.  Back Healthy Yoga
Tuesday, July 2, 2013 - Breaking Ground Day
5:30 a.m.  Early Morning Workout Yoga
12:00 p.m.  Easy, Easy Yoga
4:00 p.m.  Glow and Glisten Power Yoga
5:30 p.m.  Picture Taking Time
6:00 p.m.  Happy Hips and Hamstrings
Please note:  116th Street will be closed from 7 p.m. - 5 a.m.  You may want to go a different way home.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 - Hump Day
5:30 a.m.  Early Morning Workout Yoga
12:00 p.m.  Yoga with Weights, Straps, and a Stability Ball
5:30 p.m.  Iron Yoga
6:40 p.m.  Flexibility Yoga
Thursday, July 4, 2013 - Happy Independence Day
Only class is outside at noon!  FREE to ALL!  Come celebrate freedom!
Friday, July 5, 2013 - T.G.I.F.; NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT, JULY 12, PICNIC Dinner at TY is free.  Bring a dish to go with FRIED CHICKEN!  Bring the drink of your choice.
5:30 a.m.  Early Morning Workout Yoga
12:00 p.m.  Back Healthy Yoga
5:30 p.m.  Modified Astanga Yoga
Saturday, July 6, 2013 - REMEMBER:  Next Saturday on JULY 13th TAI CHI Workshop at 1:30 p.m.
7:30 a.m.  Yoga for All - Weights optional
9:00 a.m.  Core Vinyasa Flow Yoga
12:00 p.m.  YOGA DUDES

“Relax, and breathe into the sensation.”
Most of us, myself included, avoid, run from, and try to stay away from "discomfort" of any kind. However, when we focus on our breath, we can stay just a little bit longer and develop our skills of perseverance.

HOW TO BREATHE (OR HOW TO EXHALE):

Alternate Nostril Breathing - Nadi Shodhana

• Thumb and index finger or thumb and ring finger - can be done in any position of standing, seated, or lying down

• Breathe in one nostril; breathe out through the other

• Benefits:

• Restores imbalances in the brain

• Calms the nervous system

• Enhances peaceful sleep

• Regulates body temperature

• Better thinking skills for concentration

Relaxation Breath

• Seated or lying down position

• Breathe in to a count of 4, 5, or 6

• Breathe out to a count of 8, 9, or 10

• Deep belly breathing; follow the exhale to the end with your attention

• Benefits:

• Releases "fight or flight" emergency sympathetic nervous system overload

• Engages "rest and digest" calming parasympathetic nervous system

• Excellent for your heart and blood pressure

• 1970's developed by Dr. Herbert Benson, Harvard Medical School

Three Part Breath - Dirga 

• Best practiced on your back with knees bent

• Three steps

1. Inhale as the belly rises; exhale as the belly lowers
2. Inhale as the belly rises, and then inhale a little more as the lower ribs expand; exhale very slowly
3. Inhale as the belly rises, inhale a little more as the lower ribs expand, and inhale another sip as you imagine breathing all the way up to the collarbone; exhale as if you were releasing through a straw even slower than before

• Benefits:

• Increases feelings of self-control

• Enhances energy systems

• Oxygenates the blood and releases carbon dioxide

• Calms in times of trouble or feeling out of control

Cooling Breath - Sitali or Sitakari

• Air Conditioner breath for hot summer days or feeling over heated

• Smile and inhale through the nose

• Exhale through the curled tongue like a tube and mouth is slightly open

• Benefits:

• Calms and cools

• Helps to lower blood pressure

• Regulates digestive issues

• Detoxifying and beneficial to endocrine gland system of the body

Bumble Bee Breath - Brahmari

• Inhale through the nose

• Exhale with the lips sealed but using vibration in the throat that sounds like a humming bumble bee

• Benefits:

• Calms the mind and soothes anxiety

• Good for migraines and headaches

• Terrific for concentration and memory improvement

• Beneficial for depression, fears, and sleeplessness

Skull Shining Breath - Kapalabhati

• Not for pregnant women

• "Ego eradicator" in Kundalini Yoga - best accomplished in seated meditation

• Inhale through the nose is passive

• Exhale forcefully through the nose

• Focuses on the lower belly between pubis and navel

• Benefits:

• Cleansing for the digestive system

• Invigorating whole body

• Great for weight loss

• Energizes nervous system

Victorious Breath - Ujjayi

• So-ham  "I am that" breath - inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose

• Restricts the glottis at the back of the throat making a noise that you can hear

• Sounds like "Darth Vader"

• Warms the body and builds elasticity in the lungs

• Perfect for Power Yoga Practices

• Benefits:

• Heats up the body

• Builds concentration and focusing skills

• Lowers blood pressure and slows down the heart rate

• Internal purification - great for asthma and respiratory function

Bellows Breath - Breath of Fire or Bhastrika

• Equal inhale and exhale forcefully through the nose

• Best accomplished with a certified teacher

• Benefits:

• Builds immunity system

• Oxygenates and detoxifies circulatory system

• Reduces addictions and dependence

• Improves sense of well-being

Breath Practice is called "Pranayama."

• Pranayama is an experiment in stillness. It is a subtle and dynamic exploration involving the art of breathing. It gives a veritable understanding of the prana or the vital force that moves us. It's an exercise without spending energy, and relaxation without any stimulation.

• In our daily life, we are so unenviably pressurized and embroiled in our worldly problems that an added bout of exercise seems tiresome. We often fail to find any respite from our daily schedule, an interval which is indispensable for the sustenance of energy. In such a predicament, the only solution you can perhaps opt for is Pranayama. It's indeed a sound answer to this chaotic situation.

• It's indeed amazing that sitting and breathing evenly can be a means of tapping deeper resources within us. Devoting half an hour a day even for a week reveals the beauty of this practice. It increases the quality of alertness of the mind, which becomes capable of looking afresh and thinking in completely new ways.

• Breath is not only the nourishment of our body but it is also the one essential link between the terrestrial and the vast expanse of the cosmos, for it ties us through its incessant cycles to the universal order of things.

• Patanjali, the sage who formulated the Yoga system, the science of oneness, says that Pranayama is a step to be one with God.  S. Das

Thanks for practicing with us!  Hope to see you this week as we practice gratitude for God's miracle working power.
Namaste'
Jeanne K.
Jeanne K. Doss
ERYT 200/Yoga Alliance; Certified Personal Trainer/Cooper Institute; Pilates 
 
918-855-6459 cell 
 
www.tranquility-yoga.blogspot.com
 
tranquilityyogastudio@gmail.com 
 
“I rest well.  I sleep peacefully, and I awaken with joy”  Louise Hay
  

I remember my first yoga class very well.

Though I had occasionally practiced the postures in the high school gym, I wasn’t physically fit by any means when I walked into a yoga studio that fateful afternoon. From the outside, yoga looked so relaxing. Easy, even. Wasn’t it just a lot of interesting ways to stand? I wasn’t expecting it to be much of a challenge.

Boy, was I wrong.

That first class was a real shock. Far from graceful, I tipped right over in tree pose and my arms shook as I moved through a vinyasa. Wasn’t downward dog supposed to be a resting pose? I had spent the first 20 years of my life actively trying to avoid discomfort, and here I was voluntarily tying myself into unbearable knots. In yoga—as in the rest of my life—it was a struggle to find strength and balance. As I fought to keep my hips back in utkatasana that first time, clenching everything, a grimace firmly set on my face, my teacher said the words I would return to, time and time again:

With every class, with that in mind, I learned to slowly relax the parts of my body that didn’t need to be working. Though my quads, triceps, or abs were often shaking, my shoulders relaxed, my teeth unclenched, and the grimace of pain slipped way. I was calm.

As I got to know by body through yoga, I began to feel more aware of the connection between my body and my mind off the mat. I was working in a stressful environment, and while I sat at my keyboard throughout the day, I felt my shoulders creeping towards my ears—I was tense and uncomfortable. When I noticed my body physically manifesting my stress, I heard those same words that had been repeated to me in yoga class. With new mindfulness, I was able let go of the tension. Just because my mind was uncomfortable didn’t mean that my body had to be!

Next, I started to notice the way body manifested other types of discomfort. I noticed the way my stomach would drop when I had to speak up in meetings; the nervous twitching of my lips when I had to introduce myself to a stranger; the tingling in my hands when I had to make a difficult phone call. No matter what I was feeling, I found comfort in those simple words repeated so often by my yoga teacher: Relax, and breathe.

Since yoga never actually assigned a value—discomfort—to that sensation in my quads, in my shoulders, in the pit of my stomach, little by little I stopped being afraid of it. That discomfort, like an itch or a sneeze, was just another way that my body was physically reacting to the environment around it. Though unpleasant, it isn’t inherently good or bad. It’s not something to avoid at all costs. It’s just a part of life. By relaxing and breathing into it, we face it head on, and come to know it as a part of us.

In yoga, when our bodies feel that particular sensation, that shaking, burning feeling, we know that we are getting stronger. Off the mat, the same is true. By facing the things that make us uncomfortable, we will get stronger. We will grow. When we accept fear and discomfort as a part of us, when we can greet that feeling like an old friend, we can meet every seemingly impossible task, from an arm balance to a job interview, with strength, grace, and even a smile.

We can relax, breathe in, and let go.  Jess Wallin

Tranquility Yoga in Owasso LLC 

June 1st Challenge and Summer Time Class List

Remember on Monday, Memorial Day, we have Stroller Yoga at Funtastic Park at 9 and only one yoga class at 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.!  Veterans practice free. 

Sunday's classes are at 2:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Here is what you have been asking for - each class explained!  Detailed Class List is as follows:

Tuesday, May 28 - August 13:  

5:30 a.m.  Great Yoga Early Morning Workout - If you need to get your workout in and then scoot off to work, this is an amazing class just for you!

9:00 a.m.  Kids' Story Time Yoga with Micah - Fun games, character building story, and yoga poses for you and your child.  $7.50 for kids and parents practice free.

12:00 p.m. - Easy, Easy Yoga - to prevent or help with arthritis, build bone density, and activate your metabolism.

4:00 p.m.  Glow and Glisten Yoga - this practice is sweat producing, energy building, and core strengthening just for you to ramp up your calorie burning for the end of the day.

6:00 p.m.  Happy Hips and Hamstrings - tight hips?  tight hamstrings?  lower back issues?  Jeanne will incorporate all of her training to make yoga beneficial for you.

Wednesday:

5:30 a.m.  Mid-Week Workout with Yoga Strengthen and Stretch - this class is designed to strengthen and then work on flexibility.

12:00 p.m.  Any Way You Like It! - in this hour long yoga time, you get to choose what you want the class to be about.  For example:  some people ask for shoulders or hips, others ask for hamstrings and Achilles tendons.  Then, I make up the yoga practice to target your area of concern.

5:30 p.m.  Iron Yoga - due to the holidays being often on Mondays, we have moved yoga workout with light hand-weights to our Wednesday power hour.  This is a fantastic workout with upper body strengthening and lower body movement.

6:40 p.m.  Micah's Marvelous Flexibility Yoga - if Downward Facing Dog is a pose you need to work on, Micah will teach you the foundation and basic concepts of it to build onto your yoga stretch/strength.

Thursday:

5:30 a.m.  Yoga Early Bird Workout for Chest and Shoulders  - posture issues are addressed in this early morning chest opening/shoulder strengthening class.

12:00 p.m.  Easy, Easy Yoga - 55 minutes of yoga with the advantage of a chair, joint rotation, range of motion practice, and light weights 1 - 2 pounds for strength building along with yoga standing postures.  The last 5 minutes is for quiet meditation on the chair or on the floor with the knees and feet on the chair.

4:00 p.m.  Glow and Glisten - Alyssa is almost complete in her mentoring process that began earlier this year.  She is teaching today an awesome class for Vinyasa Flow yoga and movement.  Amazing workout!

6:00 p.m.  Chest Opening and Shoulder Stretch and Strengthen - Many times we pull or tear shoulder muscles because they are not strong.  Our chest may be too tight, and our back may be too loose along with the shoulder weakness.  This causes the stooped upper back position and often our head will also jut forward.  Come and see how this class will benefit you!

Friday:

5:30 a.m.  Yoga for Runners, Cyclists, and More - even if running is not your thing, this practice will be.  It is fun, moving, and an active way to get your yoga groove on for T.G.I.F.

12:00 p.m.  Yoga for Back Health - back strength without pain is motivating for all of us.  Come and spend a great hour strengthening and lengthening the back, chest, and core musculature. 

5:30 p.m.  Modified Astanga Power Yoga -  each week this is a fun, happy, sweat producing workout early on Friday evening, and once a month we have a cookout/potluck dinner to enjoy community building afterwards.  Our next dinner is June 7th!

Saturday:

7:30 a.m.  Yoga with Weights - bring light hand weights to this practice early on Saturday morning for an active Vinyasa Flow using dynamic movement and isometric holds.  We tone the lower and upper body along with the torso in this class.

9:00 a.m.  Core Flow Yoga for Beginners  - even if you are not a beginner, this is a good 60 minutes of yoga forward folding, standing postures, seated postures, balancing, and more!  If the time works for you, get on your mat.  You can always ramp it up for more or modify it for less.

10:30 a.m.  Workshop Course for How to Begin a Yoga Practice - next Saturday we will work on seated postures and learn how to meditate.  If you think this is too easy for you, accept my challenge to come and see what a difference yoga  will make in your life!

Sunday:

2:30 p.m.  Blaklee's favorite:  Yoga Isn't for Sissies! - Blaklee has practiced with us since I taught at All American in 2007.  She loves this Sunday afternoon workout to get a work in.  Join us for Sun Salutes and more today at 2:30 p.m.

4:00 p.m.  Yoga for Family (Ages 10 and up)  Beginner's Flow Yoga - this is an easy, modified class for everyone to enjoy as blocks, straps, blankets, and lots of instruction follow the flowing sections.  Yoga is truly for every body, size, and age!

Monday, June 3, because tomorrow is Memorial Day (with a modified schedule):

5:30 a.m.  Get Your Week Going Great!  Early Morning Workout Yoga - if you work in Tulsa or just enjoy getting your yoga practice in before your run, this class is growing!  Thank you, early birds, for being so faithful to keep this practice on the schedule.  It is my favorite time of the day as I enjoy getting up and moving while the sun comes up!

9:00 a.m.  Stroller Yoga at Funtastic Island Park - every time I am asked to start a class, I will give it 4 - 6 weeks to grow.  This is a $7.50 class or punch your card with 45 minutes of walking and 15 minutes of yoga stretch.  Last week, we achieved 3.1 miles and had a great visit with our stretch.  Even with no baby to push in a stroller, you can strap on your tennis shoes, and have a personal certified trainer get you going on a walking program.

12:00 p.m.  Noon Yoga for Core and Posture Improvement - as all poses are core poses and posture is an integral part of every one's well-being, this 60 minute workout is a abdominal and back from Friday's class is revisited for all of our yogis and yoginis who enjoy an active flow with movement, twists, and tone.

5:30 p.m.  Power Up Yoga with Twists - postures that twist are excellent for the core, legs, arms, and back.  We call it Yoga Chikitsa.  You will practice approximately 10 salutations and add the pose/counter pose to each standing posture.  It will be a challenge, and you will feel amazing afterwards.

6:40 p.m.  Flexibility Yoga for Lower Back Health - as I study to add onto my certifications with a 1,000 hour yoga therapy program, I learn so much on how to help you help yourself with a better back and less pain.  No, it will not happen overnight, but flexibility/mobility training works.  Join us and give it the gift of time!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  Don't forget to get your $60 in before next Saturday if you plan to join the challenge.  Friday, May 31st, is the deadline for Yoga Is Fun!

Namaste'

Jeanne K

New Studio Coming! New Workshop Course Starts Today at 10:30 a.m.

We are so excited to start building the new studio!  Yes, we can!  Thank "Handsome Yoga Man," as Suzanne calls him, for his hard work preparing for this huge improvement for our yoga classes and practice.  He has been busy, busy, busy on the phone, meeting with contractors, and planning for the Tranquility Yoga in Owasso LLC addition.  Thank you for your faithfulness to see this project get off the ground.  It is your attendance in class that makes this possible.

Today at 10:30 I am teaching our new workshop 6 week course for "How to Begin a Yoga Practice."  I have a few spots left.  This Saturday we will learn just the standing postures.  My goal is to introduce 5 - 10 new poses each week.  Step-by-step instruction and easy movement are my intentions with no partner poses.  $42.00 for this six weeks of yoga time.  Any level of yoga is welcome to join us!

New Classes in May:

Iron Yoga on Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m. and Monday evenings at 5:30 p.m. starts today! Fun class with a light hand weight of 2 - 3 lbs. for most of us (due to the shoulder lifts) will be great for toning, strengthening, and learning some new options for your yoga practice.  This is a more difficult class, but you can modify to make it your own.

Stroller Yoga on Monday at 9:00 a.m. starting May 20, 2013, at Funtastic Island Park on 116th Street between Garnett and 97th Street.  No level of yoga necessary.  We will be warming up, walking, and cooling down.  It is a 45 minute class for moms, dads, grandparents, or caregivers.  Babies or toddlers can stay in the stroller or not - your decision.  $7.50 each class for the adults or punch card date. I will be providing the coaching as a personal certified trainer on how to add some simple cardio to your workout routine.

Story Time Yoga with Micah Davis on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. starting May 28, 2013, for ages 3 - 8 and parents.  Mommy and Me, Grandma and Me, Daddy and Me, or Grandpa and Me type of yoga with games, yoga poses, and character based stories of courage, following your dreams, and kindness.  45 minutes for class time, and you will love this delightful class.  Kids pay, but parents are free.

FREE Dinner on Friday, May 10, 2013, at 6:45 p.m.  Help us build our yoga community by bringing a dish to share and a beverage of your choice to our Tex Mex theme dinner.  It is a wonderful time of fellowship and sharing.  If you like to laugh and enjoy your Friday evening, the community building dinners on Friday evenings in the summer will be just your style.

Mother's Day Yoga on Sunday, May 12th at 4:00 p.m.  Join us for a terrific class and a happy celebration of motherhood with your favorite yoga postures.  (Only class that day)

Memorial Day Yoga on Monday, May 27th at Noon 12:00 p.m.  If you are not traveling out of town that weekend, come for an outside class (weather permitting) and enjoy the beauty of nature and yoga with us.  All level class.  (Only class that day)

"Backbending Made Easy and Understandable for Importance to the Body" at 1:30 on Saturday, June 1, 2013.  Join us for yoga in the afternoon.  If yoga will not work with your regular work schedule, this afternoon teaching is for you.  You do not have to be super flexible to benefit from the teaching and practice of this class.

FREE Sun Salutation Class coming on the Summer Solstice.  Keep reading the newsletters for more information.  It will probably be on Saturday or Sunday morning early.

Who would have ever thought from our past drought that we would want it to stop raining?  Our new yoga studio is funded, contractors hired, and we are waiting for a dry enough yard for a typical fully loaded concrete delivery truck which can weigh up to 70,000 pounds (35 tons).  The present yoga room will continue to be for private training or small groups with exercise equipment.  If you are a gold card Unlimited yogi, you can work out 30 minutes before class on the treadmill or bike once we get this established.  My goal is for an open house the middle of July to celebrate God's goodness and our wonderful yoga people in our new studio (998.7 sq. feet with separate entrance, 10 ft. ceilings, windows, lots of mat space, heated/cooled floor, and fans that your fingers do not touch)

Let Go of Negativity - Five Helpful Ways to Dismiss That Negative Energy Someone Just Dumped on You!

Ever had a conversation or incident with someone that left you upset for a day or two? Maybe there's someone in your life, perhaps a boss or family member, that this happens with regularly? Energy is exchanged in conversation and in events, and if this happens, you've likely gotten a dose of bad energy. If this happens regularly with certain individuals, it's likely that they're accustomed to spreading it, and also that you're not sure how to let it go. Especially for the more sensitive among us, negative energy can sometimes be hard to let go.  Kim Evans

How to let go of negative energy:

• Take your hand and with your imagination, brush imaginary cobwebs away from your shoulders, arms, and head.  In your mind's eye, pretend that you are letting go of the words and attitude of the person who just unloaded their negativity on you.
• Take a shower or bath and wash all that stress away.  You can even mix up sea salt and water to pour over your body as a cleansing agent according to Chinese medicine for the gall bladder meridian.
• Take charge of your thoughts - one at a time.  Keep a swinging door over your mind - bad thoughts are not entertained and go right back out the door.  Good thoughts are allowed to ruminate in your thought process. (Yes, like a cow chews its cud.)
• Take a break from too much talk or TV or Facebook or whatever is stressing you out.  I call it a mental wellness vacation...MWV outside in nature, in a separate room, or even in a closet or restroom.  Even 5 minutes will make a big difference.
• Take a stance with the negative party and say in a gentle way, "I am on a mind cleanse.  Please keep your critical comments in your mind without sharing them with me."  It may sound a little harsh, so be as gentle as you can.  Perhaps your stance will help the other party realize how he or she sounds.

Did you notice that each idea started with an action verb?  "Take" means that you are making a decision to let it go even at the expense of not participating in the conversation and/or risking the approval of the negatively speaking person.  

Just like we often say, "TMI," for too much information.  I believe that we need to coin the phrase, "TMN," for too much negativity.  Let it go today!

*****

Today's noon class is yoga for all people and your joints.  You do not have to be older to enjoy this yoga practice.  As I laughingly told someone, "I would call it Joint Yoga instead of Yoga for Arthritis Prevention except someone might totally misunderstand."

                                                       It was a joke.  (:

4:00 p.m. for Power Glow Yoga.  Come on schoolteachers and early to work/early off people, this class is for you!  Work out before you eat dinner.

6:00 p.m.  for Tight Shoulders  =  Too Stressed Out.  Join us as we roll our shoulders down and back opening up our chest with Super Stretch Yoga Hour.

*****

Mats for Sale!  Mats for Sale!  $25.00 for beautiful blue yoga mat rugs.

*****

Friday's practices include 5:30 a.m.  Early Morning Workout

12:00 p.m. for Core/Back Health Yoga

5:30 p.m. for Modified Astanga Yoga

*****

Saturday's classes include 7:30 a.m.  Yoga for All and 9:00 a.m.  Core Vinyasa Flow.  If you would like to come to our FREE yoga for Complete Care Chiropractic, please contact Kara at 918-272-8054.  Next week starts our Workshop Course for six weeks on How to Begin a Yoga Practice (one pose at a time).  Call for more information at 10:30 a.m.  I have spots left if you would like to enroll.

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Sunday is Fun Day at Tranquility Yoga with a 2:30 p.m. Vinyasa Flow and 4:00 p.m.  Family Yoga.  It is a great way to add yoga to your weekend. On Mother's Day, Moms pay, but kids come free.  (Ages 10 - 90)

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Marvelous Monday has several class offerings at 5:30 a.m. Early Morning Workout, Noon for Vinyasa Flow for Core and More, 5:30 p.m. for IRON Yoga - bring light hand weights (2 lbs. - 5 lbs.), and 6:40 p.m.  Flexibility Yoga for Lower and Upper Backs.

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On Tuesday we offer an early morning practice at 6:00 a.m., a noon class for Joint Health, a 4:00 p.m. class for Total Body Workout Yoga, and 6:00 p.m. for Happy, Happy Hips.

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Wednesday is a great day at TY with a 6:30 a.m. Vinyasa Flow (no boot campers ever showed up), noon for Any Way You Like It, 5:30 p.m.  Power Yoga, and 6:40 p.m.  Flexibility Yoga with Micah.

Always ask yourself the 3 questions:

1. Is it kind?
2. Is it helpful?
3. Is it necessary?

If not refrain from saying it.  Earth Day was this week, and it means clean up our world including our conversation.

Namaste'

Jeanne K.

Next Saturday afternoon workshop is June 1 from 1:30 - 3:45 "Backbending Made Easy."  $15.00 to register, and $30 for the workshop.

How to Begin a Yoga Practice - Starting May 4 at 10:30 (Six week series)