Yoga in Place~ Day #1 (Week 3)

  • By Judy Bramhall
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  • 20 Apr, 2020
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April 20

Isolation. Confinement. Lockdown. Shelter in place. Words of terror for some and words of freedom for others. With lots of hours, days and weeks to think about the terrifying and uncharted world in which we are living, some may settle in to new routines and others may resist. I fall into the former category, settling in and tuning out. Kind of like being on your yoga mat in a sea of different people, often unknown. When you walk onto your mat, your intention is to settle in and hopefully, to tune out. Words of terror for some and words of freedom for others. Strangely similar one to the other. But yoga is meant to be a practice that connects our minds and bodies, slows down the chattering and awakens our physical beings. In this particular moment in time, yoga practice has to work doubly hard to connect our frightened, anxious, worrisome minds with our tense house-bound bodies. Finding the time and space to practice is in itself a challenge, and also a privilege. With a houseful of my own, and with multiple adult children and husband WFH, when I can’t find a quiet space indoors on my mat, I’m finding solace, space and focus outside in the springtime forests that surround me. This I know is a luxury, a social distancing privilege, but a walk outside in the cool, crisp air can benefit everyone’s body and mind, no matter its state and no matter where you are. So get outside every day, tune in to your surroundings and breathe in each step as if it’s your last.

Bio: Judy B. has been practicing at OTM since 2002 when it all began (it actually all began in her barn!). She is a trained yoga teacher, an artist, a writer and a nature lover.

On The Mat Yoga Blog

Heart~ Day #7 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 3, 2020

“There is a light in the core of our being that calls us home—one that can only be seen with closed eyes; We can feel it as a radiance in the center of our chest. This light of loving awareness is always here, regardless of our conditioning. It does not matter how many dark paths we have traveled or how many wounds we have inflicted or sustained as we have unknowingly stumbled toward this inner radiance. It does not matter how long we have sleepwalked, seduced by our desires and fears. This call persists until it is answered, until we surrender to who we really are. When we do, we feel ourselves at home wherever we are. A hidden beauty reveals itself in our ordinary life. As the true nature of our Deep Hear is unveiled, we feel increasingly grateful for no reason—grateful to simply be.”

—John J. Prendergast, PHD, The Deep Heart  

SUN!~ Day #6 (Week #4)

By Linda Malcomb • May 2, 2020

Seems like it’s been rainy, windy, dreary for eons. Which may have helped us shelter inside a bit more. I remember reading years and years ago in a Seth book that weather can be influenced, and even created by mass human emotion. Why not? We are far more powerful than we currently acknowledge, and science is beginning to validate many phenomena that had seemed inconceivable before. Those seemingly endless days of “bad” weather seemed congruent with the emotional tone of covid her in New England. And now SUN! Glorious, warming, invigorating, hope-filled Sun! Today I will be outside basking and gardening and thanking. And I’m sure the whole neighborhood, and most of New England will go outside, stand with our faces to the sun and breathe a huge healing breath of joy. And maybe the collective energy of that will resonate out across the word as a promise of brighter days to come.     


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