Awesome Workshop- Anatomy of Yoga

I am really excited about this 2 hour workshop I am doing Sunday March 13 from 10am-noon.  We are going to take a closer look at three of the eight limbs of yoga to get a deeper understanding of the structure  of asanas(postures), pranayama(breathing) and dharana(concentration leading to meditation).  We will focus on some of my favorite yoga postures like Half Moon, Triangle, Tree, Downward Dog, etc.; get to know the three dimensional structure and action of breathing and check out the basic anatomy of mindfulness meditation.  All in 2 hours!
You can expect some yoga flow practice to warm up and then we will  delve in to the beautiful  geometry of a few poses.  We will learn to visualize and feel how the body breathes and practice a few pranayama exercises.  And then, I'll take you on a tour of inner space according to the map of basic mindfulness.
Ambitious beginners are welcome as well as anyone with an interest!
Please register with me at indystewald@comcast.net.  The cost is $25/person.

Self Acceptance

What if you wholeheartedly accepted yourself right now as good enough, not broken, as is....including all your neurosis, talents, fears, accomplishments and those extra pounds?
Does this seem like an unfamiliar mind set?  I realized that for me it is.  Underneath my "feel pretty good about myself most of the time.... except when I yell at my children, don't complete a project on time, spend over budget,  blah, blah, blah"....that I have never really considered, forget embraced, that I am good enough as is.  That perhaps I do not have to constantly pursue self improvement because I am lacking or fall short.

I am very curious about this idea of self acceptance and for the month of March I have collected a few books to help me look at this idea from various angles.  I am learning, through my relatively new meditation practice and study, that the lessons of Buddhism have a strong message of acceptance in general.





Perhaps, then, it is not so surprising that 3 out of 4 of these books have a mindfulness meditation/Buddhist background.
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth

Pocket Pema Chodron by Pema Chodron

The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron 





Relax and breathe in the goodness that you are....

Free Mindfulness Meditation Training

This is a special opportunity to explore mindfulness meditation with a world renowned teacher and scholar.
Shinzen Young leads a free Saturday retreat once a month at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

This Saturday, March 5th from 9am-1pm and 2-6pm at the Engineering Offices 81 Demeritt Place Waterbury, VT.
The next free retreat is Sat. April 2nd.  All you have to do is show up!
Link to Shinzen's retreat schedule
Link to Shinzen's info on mindfulness meditation