Our elements program is a journey of self-discovery through the power of embodied yoga practice, nourishing breath work, powerful meditation, working with nature’s rhythm and exploratory self-study.
We are about progress not perfection. Starting before we are ready and maintaining momentum even when it’s challenging. Finding time for ourselves every week because we are our most precious asset, our health is our wealth and our energy is everything. We will be uncovering ourselves little by little and beginning to let go of who we are supposed to be and set ourselves free to be who we really are.
Wholeheartedly living every day with courage, connection and clarity so that every night when we go to bed we are filled with gratitude for what happened that day, joy for what is to come tomorrow and energy to keep going with compassion throughout it all.
In term 1, we are working with the element Earth. Earth to me is to feel steady, grounded in my routine, intentionally creating my days, knowing where I am, who I am and where I am going. Being in control of what I am doing day to day, having a plan but not overwhelmed by it instead feeling comforted and supported by that plan, meal planning to feel nourished, having a spacious weekly routine with time for rest and a morning ritual to ground myself before I go out into the world.
On my mat and in my practice, it’s about slowing down to get strong, building a foundation of repeating the basics so that I can build upon that in the next season.
For the studio, it’s about trusting in my decision to change the way we are doing things differently from anyone else and how we have done things in the past. Having the courage to try a new way despite the worry of negative feedback, pushback, the fear of change and judgement. I want to foster the feeling confidence in my decision to create new class themes and term-long commitments from our members. I am doing this because our students are at the forefront of my mind every day. I have been feeling that our community needs a change, they’ve needed more from us, and I wanted to provide it for them. I wanted a way to bring purpose and play back into the studio keeping things fresh and fun. I also wanted to ensure our members are inspired and are making progress in their practice so they feel really confident and fully supported. TO do this I am combing my 20+ years of ashtanga practice with my yoga therapist skills to give our members a well thought out, nourishing and challenging program.
I recently came across a new sanskrit term called Bhav. Bhav can be translated as sentiment, feelings, attitude, affinity or absorption, but bhav also has spiritual significance. In the context of yogic philosophy, bhav is the spiritual attitude of immersing in thoughts of something greater than ourselves.
The feeling or sentiment or bhav that we are intending for our students this term is to feel grounded and supported, steadiness and ease. We are encouraging them to start before they are ready and focus on progress not perfection. We want them to start feeling connected to the earth and their routine, building confidence in their decisions with the yoga practice supporting a steadiness and a confidence to move through their day with ease and from a solid foundation, they know where they are and where they are headed, students are able to rise up from the strong foundations laid in their practice. We have a solid plan for them this year and each term we are taking them in that journey towards health, strength and balance.
The shadow or opposite of all this is:
- Feeling unsteady, unsettled and overwhelmed by to-do’s.
- Tightness, weakness and pain in the back body (hamstrings, lower back, back of neck, feet)
- Out of balance and disconnected with nature
- A feeling of Forcing against the flow, pushing sh$t uphill so to speak
- Not standing your ground or going with your gut, being taken off track by other’s influence instead of sticking to your truth/what you need
So if you are wanting to feel calm, grounded and steady, JOIN US for Term 1.
Remember our life is every day. We get to choose how each, and every day feels. Having practices and routines help to ground us in the small steps to take us from where we are now to where we want to be, and our superpowers grow when we find joy in the process along the way.
