Yoga as Mood Stabilizer
Yoga makes you feel better. Sometimes it's just that simple. While I would love to be feeling the joy of the holiday season, I'm going to be honest here. I am mostly not feeling it. Not yet. That said, the newly snow-blanketed landscape does brighten my mood. And, when I came home from the studio Wednesday afternoon and my husband Greg had hung the lights, hung the wreaths, put the candles in the windows, I did feel a little something stirring. but mostly what I felt was gratitude to him, because it meant I didn't have to do it. This is not a 'bah humbug' but more a confession that I am still carrying around fears and curtains of mood fog—from our insane new political reality—that do not easily part for the tug of holiday cheer. I've done no shopping that does not involve groceries. (Or dog food. Or construction supplies.) I don't feel particularly motivated to start. Neither my husband nor my sons want anything in the way of gifts, and one of them will be out in LA anyway to start an internship. BUT, before I bring you down too much, I will say that profound mood shifts happen when I come to the studio to teach. I enjoy the studio in its spacious, bright warmth, sans holiday lights or decorations. I feel that the gifts I give and receive in that space provide me with real nourishment and remarkable mood enhancement. It energizes me to be there. It lifts my spirits. I'm fairly sure a lot of students feel that lift as well. While I don't always know with 100% certainty that what I am doing when I teach helps anyone other than myself—I mean, can any of us know that about our work?—I do know with 100% certainty that the community of UVY itself helps many....it's a sanctuary of growth, humor, inclusion, compassion and self exploration. It's a place where people remember they have enough, and are enough. Because a bunch of us show up to teach what we know, and a bunch of you show up to learn and practice and be among others who want similar things, we are a little bit better off, happier, and better equipped to deal with it all—the good stuff and the bad—with equanimity and grace.For that gift and the gift of daily seeing people made happier and more fully themselves, I thank you with my whole heart.See you on the mat.p.s.Thetford classes are officially beginning first week in January. Take a look at our calendar to see the what, the who and the when. You must pre-register for these classes because attendance is limited to 12 students. Once you have pre-registered, I will send you an email with the address. Happy New Year to us!