Yoga and our Lives: A Deeper Understanding

Autumn will be teaching a recurring Saturday class in which we explore the Bhagavad Gita. I attended the class in September and I highly recommend taking it in October. If you, like me, have found the physical practice of yoga to lead you down a road of further inquiry into the heart and history of it all, then I encourage you to come and discuss this beautiful, timeless text with us. Below you will find what led Autumn to develop this class and anything you might have missed last month. Copies of the text can be purchased at the studio, on-line or in town.

Peace--Jess

I chose a specialty class on the Bhagavad Gita to explore this rich text with others who similarly want to discover the ways in which this song's wisdom can enrich our physical yoga practice and our lives. What better basis for community than a discussion of this ancient allegory of such human questions? So many of us can relate to Arjuna's struggle to understand the ethics behind some of our most poignant choices and we similarly try to reconcile our faith with life's inevitable tragedies. We can learn from Arjuna's struggles and Krishna's insight, and glean meaning to transfer to our own lives through this exploration of Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana Yogas.

Our two-hour long class begins with a discussion of the session's previous readings including the literal and symbolic, and is followed by a series of saluations, pranayama, and meditation. My intention with the class is to sit with others who would like to journey into this scripture to reveal more subtle, spiritual nuances in how we engage in our asana practice and, much like a mirror, how we engage in our lives.

While attendance at each session is recommended, it is by no means required. For our next session on October 17th, we will be discussing the text up to, and including, chapter six.

I will be posting notes from our first session on this blog. Stay tuned!

Namaste,
Autumn

New Monday Night Class taught by Autumn Bolin

Curious about the new Yoga for Your Type class on Monday evenings from 7-8:15pm? Autumn shares more about it below....

Monday evening’s class “Yoga for Your Type” is an Ayurvedic-based yoga practice that offers an opportunity to learn about and experience the wisdom and healing benefits of the sister sciences, Ayurveda and Yoga. The main focus in one’s Yoga practice is to calm and heal the mind through the meditation, pranayama, and asana to (re)discover self-realization while the main focus in Ayurveda is rooted in one’s physiology to (re)discover self-healing. The intention of this class is to offer healing asanas with an awareness of Ayurvedic aspects such as doshas (body types), gunas (mental qualities), our energy cycles, and more. Ayurveda encourages us to identify and honor our unique physical constitutions; by doing so, we can take the helm of our health and wellness. The focal points of this class will be to balance the doshas, strengthen the condition of the body, enhance our prana, and restore balance to the mind. During this 75-minute practice, we will engage in meditation, pranayama, and various asanas with guidance regarding intention and breath to help restore one’s natural balance. The asanas will include standing, balancing, inversions, backbends, forward bends, twists, and floor poses and will range in intensity, but the physical practice will approached with gentleness to find peace in the evening hours.

*The title of the course comes from one of Dr. David Frawley’s books; I am currently in his program of study to become certified as an Ayurvedic Counselor.