Allison Waguespack Yoga

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Allison Waguespack Yoga Mindfulness Coach, Yoga Teacher, Writer and Creator of the KLARITY Mindsette.

Most of us can relate to the heaviness when others around us are suffering. The practice of mindfulness teaches us many ...
08/12/2025

Most of us can relate to the heaviness when others around us are suffering. The practice of mindfulness teaches us many strategies for learning how to hold others pain lightly in an effort to be of service to both them and yourself. This is, of course, often understood in theory but difficult to deploy in practice which is why it is called just that... a practice. As I sought guidance on this topic myself I went where I often go, to my trusted books of inspiration, and here is an excerpt from what one that became by message for last week:

✨Allowing Pain In, Mark Nepo✨

I am becoming water:
I let everything rinse its grief in me and reflect as much light as I can

Another paradox I continually struggle with is how to let others in without becoming them. How to open the door of compassion without the things and people we feel for overpowering us.
It goes as far back as Jesus and Buddha, and the miracle of such spirits is that they show us that there is some basic clear element in each of us, like water, which can glow without a name, which can allow the pain and grief of others in without turning us into just pain and grief. ✨

Both on the mat and off we practiced connecting to our water element. Water is both strong and flexible, powerful and resilient. It can be soft at times like a gentle stream, and at other moments overtake anything. Water picks up all kinds of things on its journey but leaves behind what it doesn’t need in order to continue on its path; and the entire time it is reflecting back the light of the sun or moon.

Water is one of the strongest forces on earth and it yields its power at times. Yet it can also be a source of great solace and calm. Within water lies the beautiful balance between strength and ease; the balance we look to attain on the mat in our bodies and in our hearts and minds as well.

The picture above always makes me laugh because 2 seconds after it was taken that wave came in and washed me out! It was a humbling reminder of the both the beauty and the power of this force of nature.

🌸SCHEDULE
🌺MON 9:30-10:30
🌺TUES 9:30-10:45
🌺FRI 8:30-9:30

Last week I had the chance to meet in person with someone I have known for the last four and a half years. We are part ...
10/11/2025

Last week I had the chance to meet in person with someone I have known for the last four and a half years. We are part of the same small group of six that was paired together at the start of our two year mindfulness meditation program.

Since completion of our program in early 2023, our small group of six has continued to meet monthly online to stay connected and meditate together. Of the six, I have now had the pleasure of meeting three and each time the experience is similar.

There is a palpable energy exchange that happens when you see someone that you care about in person and in a situation like this it is almost like that energy stores up over the years and spills out even more powerfully. It has never been more apparent to me than in these instances where I have met members of this group in person. Each time I am struck with how powerful our energy is.

What I am reminded of through the power of this energy exchange is that we are all constantly creating and sharing energy in various ways and when we set our intention we can channel that energy. This gives us a real opportunity to make choices about the energy we want to offer ourselves and give to others.

Starting with our bodies we can begin to notice when we clench or tighten and what is corresponding with that in the mind. Is it judgment or frustration? What if we soften into acceptance? Can we notice the opportunity to bring out a softer more open energy?

Meditation offers us this practice as well. We can send loving energy to others through a Metta (loving kindness) mantra practice and even if you are not sure they are receiving it, the offering of it helps us put that energy out into the world and we benefit from that regardless. It is a constant boomerang effect; what we put out is what we get back. Most of the time we are not in touch with this constant energy exchange but with practice we can make it an intentional practice and once we harness our energy, what we can do with it is limitless.

🌸KLARITY Mindsette RESET MOROCCO
🌺details in link in bio

🌸SCHEDULE
🌺MON 11:30-12:30
🌺TUES 9:30-10:45am
🌺FRI 8:30-9:30am

🌸MONDAY MESSAGE🌸We all have those times when we are feeling vulnerable and sometimes we view that as weakness but it is ...
20/10/2025

🌸MONDAY MESSAGE🌸

We all have those times when we are feeling vulnerable and sometimes we view that as weakness but it is actually quite the opposite. As we shed the layers, what we find underneath is raw but authentic and that is where we can connect to our inner strength without ego or delusion. We create walls and defense mechanisms to “protect” ourselves from pain but all it does is block us. This quote explains it perfectly.

✨✨The heart itself cannot break, for its very nature is soft and open. What breaks open when we see things as they are is the protective shell of ego identity we have built around ourselves in order to avoid feeling pain. When the heart breaks out of this shell, we feel quite raw and vulnerable. Yet that is also the beginning of feeling real compassion for ourselves and others.✨✨— John Welwood

On the mat we experience that sometimes; a vulnerability when our bodies release some of what we hold onto so tightly. We can feel an emotional release and then a lightness on the other side.

The same is true off the mat; vulnerability allows us to free ourselves from the stories we tell ourselves out of fear. We think these stories are protecting us but in reality they are blocking us from seeing what we need to see in order to make mindful changes and grow from them. This is not completely our fault. Rather it is a societal expectation to be “strong” and emotionless and to not show “weakness”.

Yet, vulnerability actually makes us stronger. It allows us to be honest with ourselves which is scary at first but the result is powerful. We see clearly and can be compassionate with ourselves and others.

From there we can cultivate the rare combination of clarity and lightness. I have been working on that myself these last few weeks and wish the same for all of you because what we find when we break down the shell is an open heart beneath. ❤️

🌸SCHEDULE
🌺MON 11:30-12:30
🌺MON 5:30-6:30pm
🌺TUES 9:30-10:45am
🌺FRI 8:30-9:30am

I feel very blessed that my husband and children are doing well but there are people in my life experiencing deep hearta...
13/10/2025

I feel very blessed that my husband and children are doing well but there are people in my life experiencing deep heartache and we know how that pain is not contained with the individual but rather all their loved ones experience pain and sadness as well. So my heart has been heavy these days and I remembered this quote that became my message this past week.

✨✨Our hearts are like stained-glass windows. Those windows are made of broken glass which has been forged back together, and those windows are even stronger and more beautiful for having been broken.” — Cori Salchert✨✨

Our hearts are stronger and more resilient than we realize and our bodies are as well.

It is through acknowledging the pain and the source of it, honoring what it is there to teach us and then repairing through hard work and constant care that creates the “stained glass” that shines more brilliantly and with more colors, depth and strength then was there before.

As I visualize my stained glass “heart” being “forged back together” with perspective and light, I can feel the power of resilience at work.

This combination of strength and flexibility with the addition of perspective offers us all the chance to let the beautiful colors of our lives shine through, both the difficulties and the joys, with brilliance and strength to create a sparkling mosaic of color and light.

🌸 I am extremely blessed to share that there are only *2 SPOTS LEFT* for my Morocco retreat. Please see link in bio for info🌸

🌺SCHEDULE
🌸MON 11:30-12:30
🌸TUES 9:30-10:45
🌸FRI 8:30-9:30 slow flow

Things have been quite heavy these last few weeks for me. Three people in my life have passed away and that of course ha...
29/09/2025

Things have been quite heavy these last few weeks for me. Three people in my life have passed away and that of course has made me pause and reflect. We are also in the last weeks of getting college applications out which is quite overwhelming and my body has been going through a bit of a heavy time as well with some imbalances that I am working through. Not to mention the weight of the world. I know that when I am feeling all of this weight that one of the best ways to work through it is to do a deep dive into gratitude; to go below the obvious things in our lives that we are grateful for to a more granular level.

One of the ways that we can ✨unravel gratitude✨ is with a type of body scan meditation. As we move through the parts of our bodies, we give thanks for the specific components that make our bodies function; our bones, our blood vessels, our brain, our heart, lungs, kidneys etc. It puts the aches and pains in perspective when we can connect to all that is working in the body. We started class with this body scan this week to ground us in taking a deep dive into gratitude.

Off the mat the same chance exists. As I sit here on my couch I can be thankful for a comfortable couch but I can also be thankful for the people in the factory that made the couch and to the cow for the leather and to the person who drove the truck to bring me the couch and the list goes on. What this helps us to do is train the mind to look for gratitude below the surface and that helps lift some of the heaviness away. I am excited to be home teaching my regular class schedule this week. I have missed my routine of teaching (something else I am extremely grateful for) and my students. I hope to see you soon.

🌺SCHEDULE
🌸MON 11:30-12:30
🌸TUES 9:30-10:45
🌸FRI 8:30-9:30

This past week I was focused on grounding. It has been a busy travel month and for me it always takes a bit to settle ba...
22/09/2025

This past week I was focused on grounding. It has been a busy travel month and for me it always takes a bit to settle back down after that. This reading below represents a focus on physical grounding (connecting to the earth) as well as using grounding as a way to allow pain and difficulty to help us grow. Both meanings were helpful to me last week.

✨When Cut in Two, Mark Nepo✨
The cut worm forgives the plow— William Blake

The worm is one of the only creatures that grows from being cut. Mysteriously, if you cut a worm in two, each cut half becomes whole, and you have two worms.
What is it in how the worm lives that allows it to grow from its pain, and how might we translate that to being human? Well, without looking too far, the worm is completely in touch with the earth. In fact, it eats earth. It lives in soil- inside and out.
Perhaps the secret to growing from our wounds is to live close to the earth, to live with our hearts and minds and bellies always in touch— both inside and out— with that which is larger than we are.
Perhaps, when cut in two, it is a life of humility, of risking to be at one with the soil of our experience, that allows us to heal into something entirely new.✨✨

On the mat, connecting to what part of the body is grounding in each pose helps us be more stable. When we are stable, we are lighter and less burdened. Steady, focused breath also helps us stay grounded. This can work together powerfully on the mat.

Off the mat it is largely the same. Feeling grounded helps us think more clearly and make mindful decisions. Taking a few moments to consciously breath (meditate) can accentuate the grounding and help us feel more focused and lighter. What we practice on the mat truly helps guide us off of it.

🌺SCHEDULE
🌸MON 11:30-12:30
🌸TUES 9:30-10:45

🌄MOROCCO Retreat 2026

My latest article posted on Substack.
19/09/2025

My latest article posted on Substack.

🌟MONDAY MESSAGE🌟Last week I only taught one class before I drove back to North Carolina with my daughter to move her int...
25/08/2025

🌟MONDAY MESSAGE🌟

Last week I only taught one class before I drove back to North Carolina with my daughter to move her into her house for her last year at college. I was keenly aware of how fleeting the time with her is; realizing that there is likely one more drive home to Florida after graduation and then she will begin her new post college life. I really focused on the two most important elements of mindfulness during our time together and in preparation for the trip I had shared them in my class as my message last week as well.

Yoga on the mat and mindfulness off the mat boils down to two principles... ✨ATTENTION & INTENTION✨ Being present and being intentional. It sounds simple enough but in practice it can be very challenging. As I often remind you all here; whatever we practice we get better at. If we practice scattered thoughts, we get better at those. If we practice moving through life in a bit of a trance of reactivity, well we get better at that too.

Both our practice on the mat and off helps to train our minds to stay focused on the moment, touch all the emotions that live there and then make mindful choices from there. This is actually why I created the KLARITY Mindsette mindfulness program. Because mindful decision making is the key to happiness and we can’t make mindful decisions without paying true attention. It is a gift to fully practice. I felt it last week in the precious time with my daughter, and this morning when hugging my son goodbye as he starts his first day of his senior year of high school.

It is both the small moments and the big ones that deserve this powerful combination of ATTENTION and INTENTION and the practice brings it all together.

🌸SCHEDULE
🌺MON 11:30-12:30pm Flow
🌺TUES 9:30-10:45am FLOW
🌺FRI 8:30-9:30am SLOW FLOW

✨MONDAY MESSAGE✨Happy Monday! For some folks here, school starts back today and that is the official end of summer. The ...
11/08/2025

✨MONDAY MESSAGE✨

Happy Monday! For some folks here, school starts back today and that is the official end of summer. The last couple of weeks for me have been a slower pace than typical and I have been really enjoying them. It helped me remember and experience this quote:

✨If we go half as fast, we notice twice as much.✨

This, along with the short poem here, became my message to classes this week.

🌟When your World Moves Too Fast — Christy Ann Martine

When your world moves too fast
and you lose yourself in the chaos,
introduce yourself
to each color of the sunset
Reacquaint yourself with the earth
beneath your feet.
Thank the air that surrounds you
with every breath you take
Find yourself in the appreciation of life.🌟

Slowing down and noticing can be difficult. We have become so programmed to ✨go go go✨ that when we have the chance to ✨slow slow slow✨ it may feel strange or unnatural.

We need those times to recharge, to gain perspective and to notice. That is exactly what we did this week on the mat, we slowed down and just as it is often more challenging to go slowly and immerse yourself fully in an experience, we noticed the same can be true in the body. When we move through poses more slowly we notice all the sensations and also the attempt in the mind to “pull us away” from them.

I made an effort to remind myself often to go slower and notice more over these last two weeks. It was a luxury I don’t often have and it truly was a gift. I noticed more evening colors in the clouds in my backyard and more different types of birds in my neighborhood. I noticed a quieting of the mind as well and a softening of judgment and the pressure to “be productive”. As a result, I found myself focusing on specific things that bring me joy; like finalizing my next RETREAT (details in my next post)

Slowing down is hard work and as a result we reap a wonderful reward. I wish you all a week of moving half as fast and noticing twice as much!🌟

🌸SCHEDULE
🌺MON 11:30-12:30
🌺TUES 9:30-10:45
🌺FRI 8:30-9:30

last week I was processing the pain of someone close to me and I noticed my first reaction was ANGER at the person who c...
28/07/2025

last week I was processing the pain of someone close to me and I noticed my first reaction was ANGER at the person who caused the pain. However ANGER is really just a SHIELD we put up to avoid touching the deeper feelings of hurt, sadness and disappointment.

These emotions are ✨more complex than anger✨ and they wait for us until we put down the protective shield. They wait in the deeper recesses of the mind and they also wait for us in the body. They do not move through until we process them.

I shared a reading by Mark Nepo with my students that explains this. Here is an excerpt:

✨Feeling Your Feelings, Mark Nepo✨

This sounds pretty simple, but though it’s easy to know their weight and agitation and and suddenness of mood, it is another, more subtle matter to feel them— that is, to let them pe*****te your being the way wind snaps through a flag.
This is necessary because if we don’t feel our feelings all the way through, they never leave us, and then we do all kinds of unusual things to get out from under them.

🌟🌟I’ve diverted myself many times by becoming involved with what surrounds my pain or sadness, while never feeling the thing itself. So when someone asks me how I feel, I wind up retelling the circumstances of the pain, but not feeling it. Or strategizing what to do next, but not feeling it. Or anticipating reactions, but not feeling what is mine to feel. Or swimming in the anger but not diving through the wound.🌟🌟
Though we fear it, feeling our feelings is the only clear and direct way to free our hearts of pain.🙏

After twenty years of exploring mindfulness it still amazes me how powerful this understanding is in shifting the mindset. I teach these concepts all the time however, just like you, I am practicing, and sometimes it takes me a little time to notice my unhelpful thoughts and my shields. Once I do, I can almost see the wall crumbling around the deeper emotions that are hard to touch. From there, the heaviness of the shield is lifted and while the suffering may take time to move through, once it does we really can find freedom.🙏

🌺SCHEDULE
🌸MON 11:30-12:30
🌸TUES 9:30-10:45
🌸FRI 8:30-9:30

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