Kuthuta Yoga

01/23/2024

We need beginnings. New beginnings. Chances to start over. That's why I think junctures like a New Year, your personal New Year on your birthday, or a New Moon cycle are special.

I know it is almost the end of January but I'm feeling New Year vibes. If you are still feeling them and want to do something to improve your health and wellbeing - commit to a regular yoga practice this year. Maybe you have been thinking about this for a while but never got to it....

I am still offering an Online Yoga Monthly Membership to do yoga in the comfort of your home whether live online classes Monday to Friday or follow a recorded class. https://yoga.kuthuta.com/monthly-yoga

If you have any questions, let's connect.

Namasté

Towani Clarke
Kuthuta Yoga

Live Zoom yoga classes as well as on demand recorded yoga classes

12/29/2023

To be clear, that blessing you've been praying for? It's right in front of you. Let's uncover it together. Set your goals and your vision this Saturday at The Vision Party. Then let's get your enterprise ready for the changes of 2024. Click this link to register...https://yoga.kuthuta.com/vision-party

12/14/2023

Would you like to relax & have enjoyable visualizations about 2024 & beyond?

09/11/2023

Do you feel you have the community and friends you want? Ones whose values align with yours and who through their presence challenge you to grow? Or maybe you have some and want more?

A couple of years ago hubby, W Sisk decided to be more intentional about meeting the people we wanted to spend time instead of just expecting the occasions to be together to just randomly which they also of course do but now at least we routinely see more of our friends. I love this article Chet wrote about our journey.

There ethos behind this is also in the new direction my work is taking from being a general yoga teacher to using yoga, meditation and a few other mind paradigm shifting modalities to help people rediscover themselves after heartbreak. I'll be holding a Roadmap Session to Rediscover Yourself after Heartbreak Saturday 30 September. If you like to join the session register at https://yoga.kuthuta.com/masterclass-registration

https://medium.com/motivation-inspiration/community-where-rugged-individualism-goes-to-die-c60fe4eb8f29

Futurist Chet W. Sisk

09/01/2023

My Mum turns 79th today! Those who know Sara Longwe know she is a force of nature, a warrior woman for women and human rights. But then again our maternal line through my maternal grandmother (Agogo in Ngoni/Zulu) is from the warrior trekking Ngoni tribe found in Malawi and Zambia after we splintered off from the Zulu in South Africa.

Despite, or maybe because of, her power, her purpose to make this planet a better place for her sisters, daughters, children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren she and my Dad have a wonderful relationship. I've seen how they give each other room to explore, grow, find purpose and meaning and support each other along their respective and joint journeys. In their marriage, I saw a blueprint of a partnership that helps you be more authentic, more of yourself and not less.

If nothing else our mothers gave us life. I'd love to hear what you are grateful for your mother for.

05/15/2023

Have you ever been angry with someone (or a situation) and then snapped at another uninvolved person or living thing? Spouses, children, or pets tend to be easy targets. Or maybe you’re just angry for days after? I confess this has been me, but thankfully less and less so. Animals in the wild do a great job of dissipating emotions after events. My 1st yoga teacher shared that after ganders’ fight, they flap their wings vigorously to dissipate any excessive energy and then go about their normal day. Emotional self-regulation is the ability to manage and regulate their emotions in a healthy and adaptive way. Self-regulation involves:
1. AWARENESS to feel, recognize and identify one's emotions, understanding their triggers. The opposite would being oblivious.
2. ACCEPT we have these emotions, admitting to ourselves and maybe to others. The opposite is denial.
3. EXPRESS how we feel to ourselves and or others in helpful, non-violent ways appropriate ways. The opposite is silence or destructive expression.
4. RELEASE the energy of the emotion from the body and mind. Holding emotions is energy-consuming. The opposite is repression which can lead to dis-ease. 4. RELEASE the energy of the emotion from the body and mind. Holding emotions is energy-consuming. The opposite is repression that can lead to dis-ease.

Developing emotional self-regulation is important for building healthy relationships, achieving goals, and maintaining mental and physical well-being.

Yoga is great to:
• increase awareness of our feelings
• be gentle, non-judgemental, and accepting of what we feel. “No judgment” is a mantra in my classes.
• help release pent-up energy freeing it up for other more positive aspects in our life and reducing dis-ease.

I love to speak to, teach and practice self-regulation using yoga in groups if you know of a group or organisation that needs this. As an individual you can check out the class schedule and book https://www.wellnessliving.com/schedule/kuthuta_llc

05/10/2023

7 REASONS WE WANT TO GO BACK TO RWANDA
A friend had been telling me for 10 years to visit Rwanda, saying it was “kicking” with so much opportunity for business growth. Then good friends moved to Rwanda & told their own stories of why they love Rwanda: clean with national days to clean, healthy with fun sporting activities, and high-speed internet. Hubby & I were in Zambia for my Dad's birthday so we decided to skip over to Kigali, Rwanda. It did not disappoint…

The only thing you may have heard about Rwanda is the 1994 genocide between the Tutsi & Hutu that killed almost a million people. That is part of the past, but this is what we saw and experienced last month:
• A people who’ve gone through heart-wrenching pain in & post-genocide but used local truth and reconciliation to move forward as one people
• Trust in a leader - Paul Kagame, though controversial in the West is largely trusted by the people for the peace he brokered & for improving the standard of living. Rwanda has the most women parliamentarians in the world (60%+).
• Infrastructure development in roads, buildings, schools. The quality of building is better than other African countries we have been to.
• Law & order - one simple example: hoards of motorcyclists but all wearing helmets. The World Economic Forum ranks Rwanda as the 9th Safest Country in the World and the World Bank puts Rwanda as the 2nd easiest African country for business.
• Cleanliness - I didn’t see a single piece of litter anywhere. Rwanda is considered one of the cleanest countries in the world.
• Valuing cultural heritage - we saw pride in the traditional culture through dance, decor around us, and in the demeanor & voice of the young women who showed us around the King of Rwanda’s former palace.• Valuing cultural heritage - we saw pride in the traditional culture through dance, decor around us and in the demeanor & voice of the young women who showed us around the King of Rwanda’s former palace.
• A country of hills - there were green hills everywhere. Rwanda is known as “Land of a 1,000 hills”

Of course, Rwanda, like all other countries has problems, from the political dominance of one political party for many years, some unresolved trauma from the genocide, and the restless elements that lead to the genocide still smoldering in the region. Nonetheless, it’s heartening to see a country that has so successfully changed the lives of its people for the better in such a short time period.

On our next visit, we’d like to spend more time out of the capital and in nature. If you’re interested in exploring Rwanda with us as part of a yoga retreat use this link to express your interest and for me to check in with your preferences with regards to specific dates, number of days, or any other suggestions - https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/catalog-list.html?a_shop_category%5B%5D=1075943&is_filter=1&k_business=416255

05/10/2023

EPIDEMIC OF LONELINESS AFFECTING MENTAL HEALTH

There’s an epidemic of loneliness in the US and the lack of connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 ci******es a day, says a new advisory shared last Tuesday from Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General.

Research shows loneliness and isolation are linked to sleep problems, inflammation, and immune changes in younger adults. In older people, they're tied to symptoms such as pain, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and a shorter life span. In people of all ages, they may be associated with higher risks of heart disease (+29%), stroke (+32%), diabetes, addiction, suicidality and self-harm, and dementia (~+50%). As May is Mental Awareness Month these are sobering statistics.

I agree with these 9 common sense things we can all do:

1. Maintain & strengthen our current relationships
2. Join group activities
4. Explore your hobbies
5. Volunteer
6. Get out in nature
7. Accept invitations & reciprocate
8. Ask for help
9. Reach out to others who seem withdrawn

Yoga classes help me maintain social contact with a number of people on a weekly level. We check in with each other, share what’s going on with us, laugh, or cry depending on the situation. Seeing the same people in safe & nurturing spaces regularly helps make new friends or deepen existing friendships. It's difficult to impossible to make friends when we are feeling stressed and or threatened.

Here’s to making time to socialize and to reach out to others daily to weekly. Yoga reminds us we are one, interconnected, so the healthier others are the healthier we are, and vice versa. Who are you reaching out to today?

If you are looking for mindful community-based yoga classes whether in-person, virtual live, or recorded, click this link for schedule & bookings https://www.wellnessliving.com/schedule/kuthuta_llc

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/02/health/murthy-loneliness-isolation/index.html

Namasté
Towani Clarke

05/04/2023

You love yoga. You love being in nature. And you love traveling to interesting places. That’s me too, so you can see why I love to travel to hold yoga retreats in nature. There’s something special about doing yoga outside in nature with a group of cool people.

I’ve held several retreats over the years and the magic blend for me that I incorporate into Kuthuta Yoga retreats is…

🌺 Going to beautiful locations in nature. Nature in and of itself is so healing. I love to pick places near water and natural vegetation.

🧘🏽‍♂️ Doing yoga outdoors in nature helps reconnect us to ourselves and the beauty of life. This may look like doing yoga on a deck watching the sun rise over a river.

⏱ Personal free time to explore whatever the location has to offer - trails, waterfalls, art, culture ….

🥗 Sattvic healthy food to help cleanse and energize but also brings in elements of the place where we are. Every place has cuisine gems to explore.

👯 Camaraderie that just spontaneously develops among the people who sign up. Yoga has a knack for bringing like-minded people together.

If you are inspired to come on a yoga retreat in the next year. Kuthuta Yoga is looking at holding retreats in Rwanda Aug/Sept 2023, Costa Rica Oct/Nov 2023, and the Tri-Country - Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana Mar/Apr 2024 if there is enough interest. Use this link to confirm interest and for me to check in with your preferences with regards to specific dates, number of days, or any other suggestions - https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/catalog-list.html?a_shop_category%5B%5D=1075943&is_filter=1&k_business=416255

I have happy memories looking at the pictures of the day retreats at Muka Munya in Lusaka, Zambia. Can’t wait to travel to another beautiful place in nature to do yoga with other like-minded people!

Namasté