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Donald Walters says, “There are realities we all share, regardless of our nationality, language, or individual tastes. As we need food, so do we need emotional nourishment: love, kindness, appreciation. We need to understand our environment and our relationship to it. We need to fulfill certain inner hungers: the need for happiness, for peace of mind for wisdom.”

We all need to be nurtured. If you look up Nurture in Webster’s dictionary it defines it as a “form of nourishment” and to “educate”.  These are both spot on with the philosophies of yoga.  In class teacher to student we are educating you on techniques you might use how to self-comfort yourself.  The flow of this self comforting is love.  Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself- if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself- it is very difficult to take care of another person. “In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice.” [Shambhala Sun March 2006]

We all deserve to love and be loved. 

Love is a form of nourishment. It requires action in thought in words and movement. 

So we meditated together on how we might nourish our spirits through our inner dialogue, how to speak words of kindness to nurture others, how to take actions in honoring our bodies as sacred, nourishing their health.  For a healthy heart lives in a healthy body.  We spoke of the junk food of life things like gossip or complaining and that these do not nourish us but leave us empty and drained.

I so want you to appreciate the forms of nourishment: Breath, Thoughts, Words, Actions, Sleep all of which make for a sweeter life!  Please let your time on the mat be that opportunity where you learn how to nourish yourself with bigger breaths, poses and self-observation. All of this leading to greater and greater self-growth!  Happy National Sleep Better Month!  Love you all, Silvia

Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself- if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself- it is very difficult to take care of another person. In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice. [Shambhala Sun March 2006 ]

We all deserve to love and be loved.  Love is a form of nourishment. It requires action in thought or word or movement.  If you look up Nurture in Webster’s it defines it as a “form of nourishment” and to “educate”.  These are both spot on with the philosophies of yoga.  In class teacher to student we are educating how to self-comfort. We hope to create such a safe and nurturing environment that as students in the kula it is easier for us to nourish ourselves with breath, poses and observation. All of this leading to greater and greater self-growth!  The sweetness of life is YOU!  Love, Silvia

FEBRUARY 27TH:  Hi Friends! This note came to me from my friend and fellow teacher at total body yoga Mary Scudella this morning.  I thought you'd enjoy it!  And don't forget Mary teaches Yoga for Children Teacher Training Workshop this weekend and there are two spots left!

Can you believe Spring is less than a month away? The Spring Equinox occurs on Friday, March 20. Before our snow the other day, I observed my crocuses starting to creep out of the ground. The earth is preparing for Spring. What are you doing to prepare for Spring?

This past Saturday we began preparing for the arrival of Spring in our yoga practice. We flowed through a detox practice which stimulated and refreshed the liver and kidneys. Forward bending and backwards bending not only aligns the spine, but helps us to cleanse our system through nourishing our organs that process waste. At home, try poses like high lunge and pyramid, Warrior 1 variation arching backwards and standing splits. Even strong backbends like bow can be combined with child's pose, as long as you move cautiously from one to the next. It you'd like to add a further cleansing effect to the body, add in some twists like twisting lunge or revolved chair pose to wring out what is weighing you down. Don't forget to come back to center in downward facing dog or child's pose, feel the breath and release what binds you.

The seeds, bulbs, and roots beneath the surface of the earth are readying themselves for Spring. They have stored up energy from the fall, taken in water and minerals for nourishment and are awaiting the gentle warming ahead. Spend some time readying yourself for Spring. Through your yoga practice and through your diet - shed off the winter quiet and prepare yourself for the glory of waking up to the sun that lies ahead!

Namaste, Mary

NOVEMBER 22^ND, 2008:  I was thinking about Thanksgiving coming up and how we either made or received an invitation about Thanksgiving, right? Well, Yoga is an invitation. The practice is an invitation to affirm your choice to live fully each day.  Coming to the mat and opening your heart is a way to accept the invitation. 

What else do we do on Thanksgiving?  We nourish ourselves in community.  Well yoga is about loving ourselves. What does this really mean?  NOURISHMENT.  It is no different than Thanksgiving where we’ll nourish ourselves with food.  But there are other forms of Nourishment as well.

BREATH AS NOURISHMENT

·         Breathing is a method of nourishing the body with air. We breath oxygen into our lungs where it is carried in the bloodstream to nourish all our cells.

·         Without oxygen we feel tired.

·         With oxygen nourishing us we perform at our PEAK level, full of energy, vitality and confidence!

NOURISHING THE SPIRIT

·         Yoga is learning how to love yourself first.

·         Yoga is soul food. It provides us with all of the essential spiritual vitamins, minerals, and nutrition we need.

·         We require spiritual nourishment because otherwise stress can make us sick.

·         If we nourish in our thoughts and actions things like Kindness, love, and compassion these will expand and return to us (if we grow hatred, anger, isolation these will expand and poison us)

Now is the perfect time to open your heart, be sweet to yourself just as you are.  Please join me on the mat and allow this practice to revitalize, rejuvenate you and nourish you!  The cool thing is when you feel nourished on the inside you’ll more easily nourish those around you.  Love in abundance! Silvia