Joyful Spirit Yoga Studio
October/November, 2008	Volume 2, Number2
Of Special Interest · Welcome new teacher! · Good to Know · We will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27 · Mudra of the Month Quick Links: JSYS Home Page Yoga In the Park Yoga Alliance All Natural Personal Care Products Contact Us www.yipyoga.com/JoyfulSpirit email: marjoriet@aol.com 214-282-9608 To be removed from this email list, please send email to marjoriet@aol.com and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.	Joyful Day! What is it that we really want? Do we want more time, more stuff, more awareness, more freedom, more choices, more, more, more? Or can it be enough to seek more intimacy in our lives – being in relationship with others? What is truly imprinted on our hearts? I propose that what is right now IS enough. Truly. All we need to do is to participate fully in the moment. Participate with our whole being – our body and Soul, our humanness and our Divineness – this connection naturally given to all. I had the incredible opportunity and privilege to practice yoga with some amazing teachers recently in Austin, including Mark Whitwell. Mark has an uncanny ability to be able to speak truth in such a way that no one may deny it, and through his teachings I have come to a few understandings. One of those understandings is that trying to attain something – whether it be a specific yoga pose, more strength and flexibility, or some state of enlightenment - suggests that we are somehow less than right now. Rather than trying to attain, we can simply participate in and embrace the pose, body, moment exactly as it is. What we are seeking is already there. Attempting to follow a linear path of improvement denies our wholeness that already exists. Trying to get somewhere implies that we are not somewhere right now. “How absurd – we are here now!”, says Mark. Our humanness and our Divineness are embodied in each and every extraordinarily ordinary moment that we breathe. All we need do is participate. Engage. Embrace ourselves and our relationship with others. All that there is in this moment exactly as it is right now is enough. We can completely experience the fullness and richness of this moment – the beauty of the sun-crisped Fall day, the cooling of the earth, the colorfully ripened leaves raining down from the trees, a healthy feeling in the body, knowing that we are loved by family and friends. These are the riches that surround us. They are here now. We are here now. It is enough. It is enough that we are completely loved and that we completely love. I am genuinely grateful for each and every one of you. You - my teachers and my friends. Thank you for your participation with me in this wonderment of Life. May Your Spirit Soar, Margie Welcome New Teacher Lydia Ferrante has joined our team of caring, compassionate teachers. She has been subbing for us when needed, and she now alternates in the Saturday morning schedule. Lydia and I have practiced together for several years now, and she recently finished her 200-hour yoga training program through Purple Lotus. If you have not yet experienced one of Lydia’s classes, please plan to attend one soon – you will definitely be glad that you did! Good to Know I recently received this information from Local Harvest, and I think it is good to know. Have you been wondering about your organic milk products? Are they really coming from happy cows? How do we know if the organic dairy products we are purchasing are really something we want to support? The Cornicopia Institute has put out an organic dairy scorecard which rates organic dairy farms across the country on a scale of 1 to 5. If we choose to drink milk from dairy farms, it is good to know on what kind of farm our cows are actually being raised. We could also opt to take the advice of a dear woman I had the privilege of meeting and conversing with on many occasions this summer who said simply, “you know, we could follow the example of other mammals in the kingdom and once we are weaned from our mothers, just quit drinking the stuff.” Whatever our choices, we can make them with awareness and compassion. Closed Thanksgiving Day Please be aware that the studio will be closed on Thursday, November 27 for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Enjoy the time nurturing and being nurtured by your families and friends, and remember to practice some yoga at home! Mudra of the Month (a mudra is a hand posture) Kelly McGonigal is a psychology, yoga, and meditation teacher at Stanford University. She describes Dharmachakra Mudra as a hand gesture that represents speaking your truth and serving from the heart. The mudra is formed by bringing the thumb tip of each hand to touch the tip of the index finger. Bring hands to heart level, right palm facing out and left hand facing the heart. The two hands can touch lightly, left middle fingertip to right thumb tip. This mudra connects us to our deepest desire to create, teach, heal, or help.