12/02/2024
December Newsletter from Ganges Yoga Studio :
Dear Friends,
Ganges Yoga Studio is open throughout December, offering a sacred space to move in mindful ways, to exercise your body, calm your mind and lay the foundation of healthy practices for the cold months to come.
Please check the Class Schedule for changes this month as some teachers will be taking time off during the holidays.
Osho Kundalini Meditation will conclude on December 17th and start again on March 11th, 2025.
Jayne's Hatha Yoga: All Levels class is cancelled on December 25th, as is Improv Theatre Class on December 26th. Yoga Flow with Howie is taking a break December 21st & 28th. Restorative Yoga with Gillian is also on break December 22nd & 29th.
Adam's Crystal Bowl & Harmonic Toning sessions are on December 6th & 20th. He will also be joining Laurie Steffler & Friends to offer a sacred mandala chant & circle dance during the Solstice on December 21st!
Solstice Dances of Universal Peace
Saturday, Dec 21st 7-9pm
A sacred mandala chant and circle dance with Laurie Steffler, Adam Huber and other musician friends. Connect with each other and our planet in the heartful intention. By donation.
December Class Schedule
A message from Jayne Lloyd-Jones
Dear Students,
For the month of December onwards, instead of teaching both the Monday 9:30am Hatha Yoga class and the Wednesday 9:30am Hatha Yoga class, the Monday class will come off the schedule. I will continue to teach the Wednesday 9:30am Hatha Yoga class. Please let your fellow students know, in case they don’t receive this newsletter. I look forward to seeing lots of you on Wednesdays. If the demand surges in the spring, I’d be happy to consider reinstating the Monday class.
“Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.” ― B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life
Ahimsa
— written by John Howe
Being part of a yogic community most of us have heard of the Sanskrit term Ahimsa at one time or another. Ahimsa is one of the Yama’s (constraints) in the Yoga Sutra. Some of us may even already know that Ahimsa means nonviolence. However, knowing its literal meaning is not enough to consistently be compassionately loving. How, then, do we cultivate this loving heart state on a regular basis?
We can all agree that violence against all sentient beings is not acceptable. We wouldn’t knowingly cause harm to another, be it a person, creature, or the natural environment. Our conscience, upbringing, and culture also teaches us the difference between what is a kind action and what is hurtful. Thus, there usually is no issue between knowing what is loving and what is not. However, knowing Ahimsa intellectually is quite different from being non-violent and kind in our moment to moment lives. Naturally, we don’t intend to hurt anyone or anything. However, sometimes, for example, we keep the truth to ourselves, or tell half-truths (lying, gossiping), rather than being honest, mistakenly assuming that telling the truth would be more hurtful. Similarly, in the natural world, we can all agree that we are now experiencing a climate crisis mostly due to our human behaviour. But knowing our climate is in trouble, doesn’t always translate into making personal choices that would be better for our planet. (Flying less, walking more, using less plastic, not clear cutting our forests, etc. etc.) Sure, most of us recycle and understand the importance of limiting our water usage. But what about our other day to day choices, small actions that seem unimportant at the time but negatively impact our environment? (Driving to town a couple of times a day in our gas powered, carbon producing vehicles, for example.) While we can agree about the value of non-violence, this knowledge doesn’t always translated into right action born of a loving heart.
What are the obstacles, then, to practicing Ahimsa in our day to day, moment to moment lives? Being human we often use the excuses of time, energy, and money for justifying our behaviours, inconsequential as these actions may seem at the time. If we are living an engaged life, which is true for most of us, this often means a full slate of responsibilities and commitments. Being busy is sometimes used as an excuse for making the easier choice. So, instead of making a meal at home, for example, we pick up a takeaway meal from the grocery store, complete in its plastic container. My example of what we sometimes choose in the time crunch of our lives is not an admonishment of prepared meals, which have their place. It is used instead to highlight how important it is to to pause before we buy that frozen pizza, or miss out on that walk, excusing ourselves by saying we are ‘too busy’. Is it that we are too busy, or is it how we choose to use the 24 hours each day that is the issue? Similarly, energy, or lack thereof, is used as an excuse for not being loving towards each other. When we are tired, we sometimes revert to being noncompliant or speaking unkindly. Being fatigued at times is a human condition; it is not a valid reason, however, for violence against another, including ourselves. Finally, the excuse of money, or not enough of it, causes us at times to act in ways that do not align with our peaceful natures. For me, I often notice not being generous when paying for donation classes, justifying my actions by saying I don’t have enough money. Being thoughtful stewards of our cash flow is a positive practice. However, lack of financial generosity is an issue when our spending does not align with our generous hearts.
How then do we move beyond these excuses, tapping instead into our peaceful nature? While self-love may not be the first thing one thinks of when trying to live a more generous/loving life, it is, however, the birthplace of Ahimsa. Most of us have little trouble being kind to others, both in word and in deed, (above noted excuses aside.) However, we often do not extend our warm and peaceful hearts to ourselves. Non-violence begins in our own thoughts and feelings. The way we communicate to ourselves, thus, impacts all of our actions and thoughts. If our tendency is towards negative self-talk it seems easier, somehow, to act in harmful ways as a means to buffer our troubled thoughts. Judging others, for example, can be used as a defence if we are feeling not seen or heard. If, however, we are treating ourselves compassionately there would not be a need to judge others unkindly. Caring for ourselves involves not only kind self-talk, it also means loving actions externally. One such kind action is setting boundaries around people and situations that cause harm or do not align with our values. Sometimes saying no is the most self-loving thing we can do. We have all heard the oft repeated safety instruction when flying to ‘put on our own oxygen mask before assisting anyone else.’ This safety rule of caring for ourselves first and foremost is where Ahimsa originates, and which when practiced consistently will tap into our peaceful heart.
However, like so much of living this spiritual life in a human body, Ahimsa is way easier to write about than consistently practice in our lives. We do have a better chance, though, of tapping into our indwelling peace-filled natures, if we practice self-love and care first. Practicing loving kindness towards ourselves is our best chance of increasing Ahimsa in the world.
Love and Ommm,
Namaste
Ganges Yoga Studio
