April 2010

Friends and Fellow Yogis,

Spring is synonymous with rebirth and newness, and my monthly newsletter is no different. I am stoked that I just discovered Microsoft Publisher this week! I guess I have always known that Publisher was lurking among the other Office applications that I use so frequently, I just never had a use for it until now. Look for changes in this issue, including the fun, but obviously template-inspired new format. As a reminder of the perpetually shifting universe we are all a part of, my newsletter will remain flexible and subject to periodic changes.

It is beautiful outside today, and I am taking this opportunity to make a note of how lucky I am to be here to enjoy it. Not just that I am grateful to be here on earth to experience the sunshine, but that I have the physical ability to get out of bed and feel the soft breeze on my face and that I have the freedom to walk outside without someone else telling me when I can do so. I think it’s very common for most of us to take for granted how fortunate we really are. Most people do not take the time to reflect on the many things they have to be thankful for. Daily reflection not only improves happiness by helping us focus on what we have rather than what we don’t have, it can also help us still the mind which is what the physical practice of yoga aims to help the mind accomplish.

I have been struggling to squeeze my own yoga practice into my currently crazy schedule. However, I have been trying to make time to sit in silence and breathe for at least a few minutes a day. This is something that most people rarely take the time for but can do wonders for physical and mental stress, especially when we are unable to get up and sweat. After all, yoga is simply a control of the senses through movement, breath and meditation. Physical practice is just a small part of it. Yoga can be practiced just about anywhere. I do quite a bit of yoga while driving in the car. I find that pranayama helps make traffic more tolerable. Through practice and restraint, we can disassociate the mind from the fears and desires of life.