No one longs for what she already has, and yet the accumulated insight of those wise about the spiritual life suggests that the reason so many of us cannot see the red X that marks the spot is because we are standing on it. The treasure we seek requires no lengthy expedition, no expensive equipment, no superior aptitude or special company. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are.
– Barbara Brown Taylor,
Altars in the World
Next Monday evening (Sept. 22nd) starts the 6 week Daily Series. We will go through the 8 Limbs of Yoga, of which the physical practice we know as yoga (called Asana) is one of the limbs. The other limbs are about how we relate to others, ourselves, meditation, rest. It’s all good, rich, thought provoking stuff. It’s not a religion, I swear. The 8 Limbs provide a doorway to go deeper into your practice of yoga. The 8 Limbs can expand your perspective of yoga and make sense of the idea of taking your yoga “off the mat” and into your life.
It’s also not rocket science. The 8 Limbs are not learned through any secret and complicated code. You know it already, but just haven’t thought about it in this way. While I suggest you have some basic experience with yoga for this class series, that’s just because I’m not going to be teaching specific poses, and assume that you know the basic poses and can follow along fairly well. Although we will have an hour long physical practice, the focus of the Daily Series isn’t so much about poses, where to put your arm, or how to do a Down Dog. The Daily Series is about integrating the practice of yoga into your life in such a way that you can be fed by it everyday, regardless of going to a class or not.
The Daily series is a whole class and not a drop-in class. For better or worse, I will not reimburse you if you have to miss a class. It’s okay to be absent – I won’t kick you out. During the last class we will go over whatever you missed or would just like to talk more about. If you haven’t done a retreat or series with me, know that I provide a booklet that has all the weeks main teaching in it, so even if you miss a class you will still get the information. Make sense?
I hope you will think about joining the Daily Series, even if you have already done it with me before or know the 8 Limbs. To me, it’s kind of like taking a look at the current State of the Union (of you).
Let me know if you are interested in registering for or having any questions about the the Daily Series. It will be Mondays, Sept. 22-Oct.27, 7-8:30p.m. at St. Matthew Lutheran Church (in the basement), Urbana (next to Meijer). Cost is $60, which you just cannot beat with a stick. That being said, if the cost makes it prohibitive for you, please be in touch with me. Trust me when I say that I want you to be there.
peace on your fine looking head,
Rachel
