As we continue to think about the people of Japan in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, we find that no words we can muster adequately express our deepest sadness and, outside of donating to the Red Cross and other organizations, we feel a bit helpless when we think about what we can do to help.
On Friday, LA YOGA MAGAZINE sent their weekly newsletter out and it contained a letter from Thich Nhat Hanh that moved us so much we wanted to share. Our hope is that it offers one possible way to honor those the world has lost and helps each of you find a way to treasure each moment you are alive:
“Dear friends in Japan,
As we contemplate the great number of people who have died in this tragedy, we may feel very strongly that we ourselves, in some part or manner, also have died.
The pain of one part of humankind is the pain of the whole of humankind. And the human species and the planet Earth are one body. What happens to one part of the body happens to the whole body.
An event such as this reminds us of the impermanent nature of our lives. It helps us remember that what’s most important is to love each other, to be there for each other, and to treasure each moment we have that we are alive. This is the best that we can do for those who have died: we can live in such a way that they continue, beautifully, in us.” —Thich Nhat Hanh
Though it rained heavily and lightning seared the sky, it was incredible to see so many people make the choice to practice together in the vast space of the Great Lawn. Yes, it was frustrating to have it all end so abruptly, but the lesson in patience is one that will stick with us for a long time.
Most powerful of all? The event footage we captured (on carefully garbage-bagged cameras to keep them dry!) tells a story we didn’t anticipate telling. A story of The Great Lawn filling up and The Great Lawn clearing out very quickly. Yet, to see the smiling faces, the hugs in the crowd and the genuine coming together of so many people towards a common purpose was fantastic.
Many of you in the YogaGlo community have been gracious enough to share your at-home practice challenges with us. One of the common themes is finding a way to get in a solid yoga class while your younger ones run around, sit on your mat, pull at your clothes or find other ways to entertain themselves, all while you’re trying to focus on your practice. We heard you and we thought it would be a great idea to work with YogaGlo teacher Elena Brower to film a short class with her son Jonah.
Well. As every mom out there knows…these things don’t always go according to plan. This video is our first attempt at a Mommy & Me style class and although it isn’t a class we’d add to our site, we thought it was important to share this funny and endearing outtake with you. We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief now. If Elena Brower, world-renown yoga teacher, has her son running in and out of “class” too, you know you’re doing just fine. Enjoy this lovely little outtake. It includes some fantastic ways to practice yoga at home or on the go with your little ones.
What types of at-home classes with your children would you like to see on YogaGlo in the future? Classes where you can practice together side-by-side? Classes for your older children to practice on their own? Let us know in the comments.
Update: Elena Brower has a fantastic piece up at Mindful Mama about the power of doing yoga with your kids & some important questions to consider before you begin. A must-read for yogi parents!
Join us for a Vinyasa Flow Yoga class with Seane Corn at YogaGlo on 1/11, 6-7:30pm. Cost: Donation
From January 8th through January 22nd, YogaWorks, Seane Corn, Gurmukh Kaur, Hemalayaa, Govindas, Kia Miller, Goda Yoga, Crenshaw Yoga and Dance, and a host of other top yoga teachers and studios are offering donation yoga classes all over Los Angeles to raise funds for Y.O.G.A. for Youth. We intend to raise $108,000. We cannot get there without you.
3 Additional Ways You Can Help:
1) Make a secure tax-deductible donation directly to Y.O.G.A. for Youth at http://yogaforyouth.org/
2) Locate a donation class, go to it and bring as much as you can afford to give. From January 8th through January 22nd, YogaWorks, YogaGlo, Seane Corn, Gurmukh Kaur, Hemalayaa, Govindas, Kia Miller and a host of other top yoga teachers and studios are offering donation yoga classes all over Los Angeles to raise funds for Y.O.G.A. for Youth.
3) Come to the “I AM THE DREAM” Gala Benefit in support of Y.O.G.A. for Youth on Friday, January 15, 2010. You are invited. Please mark your calendars. Details available here:
Yogaglo plans to hold these events on a regular basis, perhaps quarterly. Each event will have specific social/environmental/human
itarian cause themes with speakers and vendors associated with those causes. This video captures some of the June 2009 event. It was free to attend. It was also free for vendors to participate.
It was a fun, dynamic evening of interesting people and organizations doing meaningful, efficacious work. Thank you to all who participated! We had well over 1,000 people pass through during the 5 hours.
“Yoga as art, Anusara as shri, embodiment of the goddess dancing.”
John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, is widely recognized as one of the most charismatic and highly respected hatha yoga teachers in the world. Blending a life-affirming Tantric yoga philosophy with Universal Principles of Alignment and a delightful sense of humor, John’s teaching style guides each student to live every moment fully from the heart. Students often comment in amazement that they can perform their yoga poses under John’s guidance with a level of creative freedom and inner power that they have never experienced before. Above all, John respects and honors his students with a great deal of loving-kindness and inspires them to see their own unique beauty and divine goodness.
Founded in 1997, Anusara yoga is one of the most highly respected schools of hatha yoga in the world with an expanding presence in North America, the UK, Europe, Asia, and Australia. With hundreds of thousands of students and thousands of teachers worldwide, Anusara yoga is now practiced on every continent throughout the world, excluding Antarctica. With its closely knitted community and industry-leading standards in teacher certification, Anusara yoga is highly respected throughout the greater yoga populace as a preeminent 21st century yoga school.
video on Yogaglo: optimal computer and bandwidth requirements for streaming video are explained well here http://bit.ly/b0DMm. (yes, Yogaglo videos stream internationally)
yoga:
“Practice, practice, practice and all is coming.” Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois, 1915-2009.
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THE TEMPLE AND THE BODY
The rich
will make temples for Siva.
What shall I,
a poor man,
do?
My legs are pillars,
the body the shrine,
the head a cupola
of gold.
Listen, O lord of the meeting rivers,
things standing shall fall,
but the moving ever shall stay.
Basavanna 820, Speaking of Siva, translated by A. K. Ramanujan http://bit.ly/14c8pz
Enjoy this lovely little outtake. It includes some fantastic ways to practice yoga at home or on the go with your little ones.
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