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NEWSLETTERS:
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AWAKENING SELF NEWSLETTER — May 2005
1)
Announcements
2) Yoga
of the Seasons: May Day
3) Class,
Workshop, and Retreat Schedule
4) This
month's article - "All of You is OK " by Connie Habash
5) Spiritual
Quotes
SUNDAY CLASSES IN MAY: All the Sundays in May I am subbing the 10:30am-12 noon class at Devi Yoga in Menlo Park, Level 1-2. We're exploring the 5 Koshas, or body-mind "sheaths" all month - currently, we're on the 4rd week of the series this Sunday, 5/22. Look forward to inspiring classes, integrating Vinyasa and Shadow yoga styles!
For directions, see http://www.devi-yoga.com/directions.phpLAST Baby & Mom yoga classes: I will be ending my Baby & Mom yoga class at Devi Yoga on Monday, 5/23 - Meera is getting a little too big to be able to teach it! Stacy Day will take over the class and move it to the same time (2-3:15pm) on Thursdays. Hope to see some of you Moms and Babies before the end of the month!
YOGA & CHANTING WORKSHOP on Sunday, June 5th is cancelled. I've decided to make more time with my family for right now. :)108 SURYA NAMASKARS (sun salutes)! At YIY in Mountain View, we celebrate each solar quarter with this special event - this time for the Summer Solstice. Beginning at 7am, come early or late, do 1 or 108, chant or meditate! Tuesday, June 21st, 7-9am (come anytime in the 1st hour).
By donation, with refreshments afterwards.
Possible SANSKRIT intensive in mid/late 2005 or early 2006. Are you interested in studying Sanskrit, or want to review? I am considering offering a 6-8 week Level 1 course, about 2½ hours weekly in the afternoon or early evening at my home in Menlo Park in the Summer or perhaps Fall/Winter. If you are interested, please let me know and preference of times/days.
I will need a minimum of 6 people for this course.INTRO TO SANSKRIT come to Moksha Yoga Shala in Walnut Creek on Saturday, Sept 17th, 2-5pm. Curious about Sanskrit, the sacred language of yoga? Love chanting mantras or the Sanskrit names of poses? Want to learn correct pronunciation? This workshop is for you! $40 by 9/10, $45 thereafter.
FALL YOGA RETREAT: "Balancing Body and Mind: Ayurveda and Yoga" will be at Mount Madonna Center again on Oct 14th - 16th. Look for details next month!
2) Yoga of the Seasons: May Day
We may overlook it here in parts of the US, but for centuries
in Europe the first day of May has been a great celebration of
Spring and the coming of Summer.
May Day is also called Beltane by the ancient Europeans,
after the Celtic sun god, and the customs of this holiday do still
linger today. Gathering flowers to adorn the home is familiar
to most of us, or filling May baskets with blooms and other
goodies to give to loved ones. The Maypole may be the best
known tradition - a tree cut down to form the central point from
which ribbons are attached, the ends woven together through a
festive dance.
The people of the country also often lighted a bonfire to
represent the increasing strength of the sun's heat as Summer
approaches, as well as to symbolize desire and virility. Spring
and early Summer have been considered the most fertile time of
the year in nature, and that fecundity was reflected and
honored in the appreciation of the cycle of life. After all,
aren't we seeing a lot of new babies, from birds to bunnies
to deer, bounding about?
This was often a holiday most celebrated by the youth -
the maidens and young men who were coming of age and
would soon also carry on the cycles of life in creating family.
But is also was a time to reignite that young "juiciness" of
life within us all - even if we were beyond the child-bearing
years. Everyone lit up a fire anew within their spirits and
beings, feeling the bounding energy of deer leaping across the
fields, often translated into leaping over the bonfire with
exuberance!
Then, celebrate and enjoy the vibrant life that you see
blooming around you. Flowers, after all, are the reproductive
organs of plants. Their blossoms represent the continued
cycle of life. As you gather up some lillies, imagine you're
gathering up that vital inner juice that keeps us young within.
At any time of our lives, May Day is worth celebrating in body,
mind, and spirit.
Copyright © 2005 by Constance L. Habash
3) Class, Workshop, and Retreat Schedule: Spring/Summer 2005
CLASS SCHEDULE (PENINSULA & SOUTH BAY)RETREATS:
FALL YOGA RETREAT
Balancing Body and Mind: Yoga & Ayurveda
October 14-16 at Mt. Madonna Center
Early Bird Registration (by 9/16) : $260-350 after 9/16: add $30
(details coming soon)
WORKSHOPS:
108 SURYA NAMASKARS! 108 Sun Salutes to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Tuesday, June 21st, 7-9am (come anytime in the 1st hour).
At YIY in Mountain View, bBy donation, with refreshments to follow.
INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT WORKSHOP
Moksha Yoga Shala, Walnut Creek
Saturday, September 17th, 2-5pm
$40 if paid by Sept. 10th; $45 thereafter
MONDAYS
2-3:15PM Baby & Mom (pre-crawlers)
Devi Yoga, Menlo Park
***last class 5/23!***
TUESDAYS
9:30-11AM Iyengar & Vinyasa, Beginning
YIY, Mountain View
FRIDAYS
9:30-11AM Iyengar & Vinyasa, All Levels
YIY, Mountain View
4) This month's article: "All of You is OK " by Connie Habash
The client sat dismayed on the couch in my office, years ago, as a realization of a bad habit came over her once again. "I want to hit my ego over the head with a hammer!" she cried. My first thought was "ouch! that would hurt."
Becoming more self-aware has its challenges, to be sure. It's
not comfortable to begin to notice things about ourselves that
are unpleasant, dysfunctional, or are causing us more harm than
good. We begin to hear the harsh judgements of ourselves and
others in our minds. We notice how easy it is to react to others
with anger when they aren't behaving as we'd like them to. The
ego's need to be noticed or important sometimes leads us to do
or say things we wish we hadn't. There are times on this path
of self-awareness that we wish we could just demolition the
parts of ourselves that cause the anguish, embarassment, or
negativity and be done with it.
But hold on! Before you turn your frustration inward to attack
yourself, pause a moment. We tend to think that in order to
change a part of ourselves that is doing us harm, we have to do
it harm. This kind of thinking does more damage than good.
Thank about when you stub your toe, for example. How many
of us cuss, scream, or get angry at ourselves in that moment
when we're in pain. Would you do the same thing if it were a
child that got hurt? Of course not. You'd want to console him
or her, to comfort and hold that child. You might want to help
him or her avoid doing that again. This kind of treatment might
be more effective in dealing with these parts of ourselves that
unintentionally hurt us or others, too.
We're all made up of many parts of ourselves - the ego, the
critical self, the child self, the adult self, for example. I refer to
these parts as "subpersonalities". Each subpersonality has
specific functions that it fulfills for us. The child self might be
the playful, joyful, spontaneous part, for example. It also may
be the part of oneself that is insecure, clingy, and avoidant or
acting-out. Each part of ourselves, even those critical or
egotistical aspects, were created for a particular function at
some point in our lives. Often, even the negative parts of
ourselves are attempting to do something positive but their
methods have gone awry.
Most of the time, subpersonalities like the ego and critical
self were formed when we were very young. In fact, they may
be like a 2 year old, a 7 year old, or a 15 year old within you.
Usually their intention is to help out or protect you, and they
may have learned an unhelpful way of doing that many years ago.
What can be helpful is to reeducate, rather than obliterate,
these parts of yourself. They're really wanting to assist you, but
don't know any better way. They need your love and
understanding, not your punishment, since they're only doing what
they've known for so long.
The next time one of these subpersonalities surfaces - through
criticizing, shaming, attacking, or another behavior you don't like -
try these steps to deal with it:
1) Acknowledge it - let it know you heard it
2) Ask it what it's concern is - usually it is trying to protect you from getting hurt, failing, or being disappointed, for example.
3) Thank it - it may sound strange, but these parts have been working hard for a long time to do what they think is helpful; let it know you see how hard it has been working. It will be more willing to listen to the next step.
4) Reeducate it - let it know some more helpful ways that it can serve that purpose. Explain what you'd like it to do instead and what would make you happy (it usually wants to please you). For example, you might suggest that rather than judging others so that you feel better about yourself, it could remind you of the positive things you're doing. You could turn the inner critic, either of yourself or others, into an affirming coach (it may also be happier with that occupation, too!).
5) Let it know you appreciate its willingness to try that out, to adapt and change, and that you believe it will be able to do an even better job this way.
Remember that it's through loving ourselves more, not attacking ourselves more, that healing comes. All of you is OK: you don't need to get rid of parts of yourself to be a better person. Instead, you can envision new roles and behaviors for these less-than desirable, reactive aspects of yourself. You may find the results to bring more peace of mind, confidence, and self-acceptance.
Copyright © 1995, 2005 by Constance L. Habash
"Do not spoil what you now have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for."
~ Epicurus
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
~ Helen Keller"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold."
~ Maurice Seitter
Blessings,
Connie