Author: Tracy Lease

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Practicing The Brahmaviharas- Loving Kindness

As we know, yoga sets the stage for us to deepen our enjoyment of life.  Through postures and breath we learn to pay attention, to turn our gaze and senses inward, to live in the present moment.  These practices help us build resilience and patience.

The practice also invites us to deepen into ourselves through the koshas, the sheaths of our being.  We watch the breath, the mind’s influence on the body, the body’s influence on the mind, and we learn how to steady all three.  And as we begin to take more pause time, we develop the ability to turn towards the deeper practices of our wisdom body– our Vijnanamaya Kosha.

The Brahmaviharas are considered the Four Immeasurables. They include the practices of Loving Kindness-  in Sanskrit, Maitri, Compassion- Karunā, Appreciative Joy-Muditā, and Equanimity- Upeksā.

These Immeasurables predate Buddhism and are discussed in early yogic texts.  As these Immeasurables have been taught and studied in Yoga, Buddhism and Jainism, the different perspectives have influenced one-another.

I love the practice of the Brahmaviharas.  They have literally changed my life.  I didn’t realize repetitive practices could slowly change the way I viewed the world, myself and others. These practices are often simple and seem connected deeply to my own wisdom and to my awareness that we are all interconnected.

Here is one simple example:  In the shower each morning I begin my loving kindness meditation.  I make deep wishes of well-being for myself and others.  Each day they may vary a little:

May I be filled with loving kindness for all beings.
May I be well.
May I be at peace.
May I be filled with joy and truly happy.
May I do good work in the world and make offerings from my heart.
May I be kind and compassionate.
May I recognize my place in a larger community.

Then I expand the wishes outward– towards my children, my parents, my friends, my students, people I see in town regularly and do not really know.  I then expand farther, to whole communities, cities, countries, landscapes… out to all beings on our small and beautiful planet.

I think this is why Trommer’s poem speaks to me. (Press here for the poem.)  The practice of the Brahmaviharas has helped me to know better that inner thrum that reminds us of our shared humanity.  I like being a river of blood, one of the notes in a symphony, a part of the one big conversation.  I like being one dust particle among many dancing in the light.

I try to really picture the people, the places, the beings I am wishing loving kindness for… Of course I can see the faces of my children– and do not see the faces of the people from Ukraine, Texas as clearly… and yet I imagine this love, these good wishes flowing outward, into all communities.

Loving kindness practice asks us to consider what love and happiness are– If I am to share love with those close to me, I have to be aware of my feelings as they arise.  Thich Nhat Hahn has a beautiful little book called Peace is Every Step  and in it is a chapter called Living Together.  

In Living Together Thich Nhat Hahn tells us that when we live with others we cannot be happy if those we live with are unhappy.  They cannot be happy if we are not happy.  So we very carefully need to watch our own feelings in these relations– and with kind speech, let these loved ones know if we feel knots developing in our relationship.  If we do, clear and loving communication can help us to untie the knots.  If we untie knots when they arise, we won’t end up with many knots in between us, and we will be happier.

Practicing awareness and clear speech with those we live with is another loving kindness practice.  Making sure we don’t develop resentments, hurt feelings, misunderstandings which I often feel growing in the tissues of my body; in my gut, in the tension in my shoulders and jaw.  I like the image of untying knots that come up in our relationships with others, and keeping the area between us clear and open.

And as I think of those I love, I realize I do have some knots to untie.  And as I write this I realize I will meditate on how to put my feelings into words with kindness and make sure when I speak I am also ready to take the time to truly listen to their perspective.

May you all be well– mind, body, heart and spirit.  And may the practice of loving kindness and the other immeasurables help you to live happier lives.

Namaste.

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June 23rd & 30th – Breathing Workshop on Zoom

Breathing Workshop June 2022

Thursday, June 23rd  3-4 PM & Thursday June 30th 3-4 PM

The breath is fundamental to good health.  The breath helps us to regulate the nervous system, the cardio-vascular system and to relax the muscular skeletal system.  We can live days without food and water– not so with the breath- and yet we take it for granted.

In this workshop we will learn breathing exercises that will help us handle stress and insomnia.  We will understand better how the breath helps us to support core strength.  We will learn why breath is of equal importance to the physical postures of yoga.

I have formatted the workshop so you have an introduction class, a week to practice what you learned and then a follow up class to deepen your understanding.

Cost for the workshop (both hour-long sessions): $60

In addition you can purchase links to two short videos to continue your practice towards breath for health at home. $20/video or $40 for both.

You may also receive $10 off on a follow-up private after the workshop.

Please email tracy@fulllifeyogastudio.com to sign up!

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June 26th – Relaxed & Awake 12

Relaxed & Awake 12: Inner Joy, The Timeless & The Unbound

Sunday, June 26th,  10 AM-4 PM– Delicious, Nutritious Lunch Included

Inner Joy, the Timeless and Unbound

~A full day retreat to savor Joy in movements, stillness and mindfulness~

with Tracy Lease & Miyu Tamamura

In-person program at Mountain Stream Meditation Center

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will experience it. The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart.”    Thich Nhat Hanh

According to Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the qualities of True Love is Joy. In our busy lives, we can easily let joy escape our notice. In our daylong retreat, we bring full attention to the present moment, find and savor Joy while playfully moving through physical practices, relaxing in meditation, and finding comfort in restorative poses. We melt fear as we practice together, and the deep joy ripples through our shared community.

As we touch into the wellspring of Joy, every aspect of us is nourished and replenished.  We will offer playful movements with music, fluid qigong, community lunch followed by singing bowl siesta, restorative yoga and meditation woven together with the soothing and expansive sounds of crystal singing bowls and silence. All levels welcome.

On this retreat, a beloved local chef, Julie Roberts, of Durga’s Divine (you may know her from her delicious hummus and salsa in our local stores) will serve delicious vegetarian lunch for us! Dana for Julie is included in the suggested donation amount below. We look forward to a day of Joy with you!

*Pre-registration is required

*20 person limit

*Masks are optional. Negative rapid Covid test is required.

No one turned away for lack of funds.

Suggested donation: $130 – $160

(Dana will be greatly appreciated and shared among MS, Tracy and Miyu. Dana for Julie is included.)

To register, contact Miyu at:

miyu@yuhealingarts.com

(530)205-8610

“Joy is you at the deepest level, and your joy is one with the infinite timeless joy of this unbound universe.” 

Robert Ellwood

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What is Yoga?

The root of Yoga means to yoke, to unite.  One of my first teachers taught me yoga is a practice of re-membering, of putting ourselves back together again, consciously. With each ah-ha moment, we get to know ourselves better.  Yoga is a delving inward towards our true and essential nature– through the shrouds and traumas of life towards our inner essence, which has always been there and is interconnected with all beings and with our planet.

Yoga is not a form of exercise– though the asanas, the postures, do strengthen and stretch the body.  Yoga is a practice of awakening.  And paying attention to the physical body is certainly a part of this practice. This is a developing awareness of our Anamaya Kosha– our food body.  And yoga takes us deeper and deeper into our energy body, our mind, our intuition, and our interconnectedness.

Through yoga we can calm and reset our nervous systems. We can expand our capacity to engage the ventral vagal nervous system and live more conscious, contented, compassionate lives. Through yoga we can learn to nurture and nourish ourselves and to become more present for others.

The restorative practice is of equal importance to the physical work of the practice. It is in these practices we learn to question the PUSH life can become and to invite balance– We learn to play as well as work.  We learn to listen as well as speak.  We learn to deeply relax as well as GO. In the restorative sections of practice we may move beyond trying to please others towards nurturing and caring for ourselves.

 

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What is Qiqong?

Qiqong is an age-old practice of movement and mindfulness where we become fully absorbed in flowing with ease as we learn to sense and build awareness of energy inside and outside the body. We feel ourselves as conduits of energy between Earth and Sky.

There are numerous health benefits to Qigong practice which is the parent of Tai Chi.  Qigong helps us move stagnant energy in the body, releasing long-held tensions. As we move energy through the meridians, we bring our system back towards balance.

After a practice you may feel more grounded, at ease, and happy.  You may feel that restrictions in joints and aches and pains in the body have eased. Your mind may quiet and you may feel a sense of calm awareness. My hope is that over time this builds greater happiness and joy in your daily life.

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What is Pilates?

Pilates is a system of exercises designed to improve physical strength, flexibility, and posture, and enhance mental awareness.  And, the practice takes us far beyond this!

For me, Pilates is a mindfulness practice. We feel into the natural curves of our spine.  We invite in space and length and fluid movement.  We pay attention to balanced weight, to which muscles are active, over-active, asleep. We then sense, visualize, imagine and move ourselves back towards balanced strength and fluid grace, towards healthy integration of limbs into the torso.

This is a practice of learning the inner landscape of the physical body and paying attention to the ocean waves of breath.  This is a practice  of deep listening, of building confidence, of remembering possibility, even after injury and even as we age.

A student wrote me an email the other day. She said she had just participated in an annual MRI.  The doctor told her, as if confused, “We don’t usually see improvement in your age group.”  She was so happy.

Pilates is a practice of deep respect for body and mind– and of realizing that tissue can change throughout our lives with love and attention.

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November 18th – Yoga, Qigong & Breathing To Nurture the Nervous System

Thursday, November 18th  3-5 PM. 

Delicious Stretching, Breathing & Relaxation to get us ready for the holidays!

I will also offer three different 10 to 20-minute nervous system reset videos for you to use when you do not have as much time and still want to re-set your nervous system.

$99 for each workshop and additional practice videos.

Please email tracy@fulllifeyogastudio.com to sign up!

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May 19th – Supporting a Healthy Spine

Activating the Core, Building Postural Awareness & Using the Breath to Avoid Back Pain

Thursday, May 19th  3-4 PM & Thursday May 26th 3-4 PM

There are so many ways we can injure our spines. And learning healthy postural alignment, yoga poses to ease the back, breathing techniques to release long-held tension, and core awareness to strengthen the center-line of the body can help us heal. If you have ever had back pain, want to avoid this pain, or if you are a yoga teacher and want to help yoga students who suffer from pain, you are welcome to join the workshop.

I have formatted the workshop so you have an introduction class, a week to practice what you learned and then a follow up class to deepen your understanding.

Cost for the workshop (both hour-long sessions): $60

In addition you can purchase links to three short videos to continue your practice towards spinal health at home. $15/video or $40 for all three.

  • Breath & Relaxation to ease the spine
  • Postural awareness for spinal health
  • Strengthening the inner core

You may also receive $10 off on a follow-up private after the workshop.

Please email tracy@fulllifeyogastudio.com to sign up!

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PAST – Workshop Series – Osteoporosis and Penia

 

Learn how to take care of yourself with Osteoporosis or Osteopenia

The workshop series will focus on how to take care of your body in exercise classes and in daily life while working with osteoporosis and penia. In the two one-hour classes, we will discuss the medical challenges and different perspectives on how to best take care of our bones and bodies.  We will also try a variety of yoga poses and physical exercises and discuss modifications you can make on your own at home,  in classes, & in the gym.  Then we will translate these modifications to the real world– riding your bike, working in the garden, getting safe cardio-vascular exercise.

Each Class comes with links to class videos so you can revisit the sessions.  The final two 30 minute pre-recorded videos focus on yoga poses, Pilates and Qigong you may repeat which will help you to build bone density, muscle strength, myofascial space and balance.

You may also purchase the videos without attending class if times don’t work for you.

Once signed up for the session, you may email me with personal questions.

The series will come with a reading list and handouts you can download.

$99 for the series.

This workshop will be returning in 2022!