Candlelight Existential Yin Yoga and Meditation
7 – 8:30 pm starting on March 13th at the River School Farm (90 minutes) Donation Based (Suggested $5-10)
In this class, we prepare ourselves for relaxation and transcendence through a series of yin yoga postures to bring greater blood circulation and opening of the body followed by the meditation of our final and most important pose, savasana, “corpse pose.” While this might be a bit of an alarming name, it is actually quite beautiful, I think. As an existentialist, I truly love the way that yoga offers the opportunity to explore mind, body, and soul principles of well-being. It is important and necessary that we take notice of the breath in our lungs, the blood pumping through our body in accord with our heartbeat, and the fact that we are indeed alive to FEEL this, all of this. I have so many people come through my office door that describe such deep sorrow and despair, so one may ask, why would I want to feel more of that, or feel at all? Yoga brings a sense of peace as we detox the body with the breath, allowing the tension to release, and the areas of our mind, body, and soul that need our attention to receive the acknowledgement that we are internally seeking to heal. Yoga provides the opportunity to let go, to be with, and to appreciate all that is within us now and all that we have the potential to affect with our being as we live our every day.
I often use the analogy of trying to push a ball under water with my clients. What happens? The ball pops back up, every time! You can try with all of your might to push that ball down and keep it down, perhaps even putting your whole body over the ball. However, not only is this exhausting, it does not work, so it can be a waste of all that energy. Our emotions that we are trying to suppress, or the thoughts that we do not want to acknowledge are much like that ball, popping up despite our best efforts to keep it all down, tucked away, out of sight. When we allow for that ball to just be, we are no longer expending the energy, and it no longer pops up in undesired moments. This yoga session allows us the opportunity to be with whatever comes, to acknowledge it, and process it with love. With each breath, you can let it go, working through the tension. Once it is acknowledged, it no longer needs to pull on your mind and your heart with such persistence.
For this class, I ask that you provide yourself with any props that will support your stretches, i.e. pillows or rolled up blankets, that you can tuck under your knees or other joints as needed. In yin yoga, poses are often held for between 3-5 minutes in order to allow the body to find a release and relaxation of the muscles and tension we hold in different areas in the body. If you feel pain, that is the wrong sensation, and a modification or bolster for support is necessary. Give to yourself a deep stretch, but when you know you’ve hit your limit, do not heap on guilt or judgment, just be. Simple as that. Sometimes we can deepen our stretch over time, but sometimes, that is as far as we will ever be able to go. There is nothing wrong or bad about that, it just simply is what it is. This process is about getting to know the many different facets of you and learning your limits can be an extraordinary gift that will better support you in your everyday off the mat as well.