February Studio Update: Springing into Goodness, Joy & Thanksgiving

I can hardly believe all of the joyful goodness that has been spilling into Jaya Spirit Yoga over these strangely warm, winter months. The snowdrops are in bloom at the farm and so much community love is popping up all over the place.

In this update, you will find:

• New, in-studio courses & classes (Wa-hoo!)

• Happy News about Hanover Area Yoga for 12-Step Recovery

• A Prayer, A Quote, A Concepts & A Poem for your consideration

Jaya Spirit Yoga Studio Opens in March!

Wow! After a year of getting duckies in a row, Jaya Spirit Yoga Studio in Glenville, PA will open its doors! Our home-studio is cozy, offering space for 5 students. All props and mats will be provided, all you need to do is sign-up and come to class! We will also have opportunities for outdoor yoga in the sunshine on the farm alongside the stream, horses & chickens of Knucklehead Creek. Though the duckies might not be in a perfect row, our family is excited and beyond blessed to be able to open our doors to you. Check out the courses & drop-in classes below.

Courses & Drop-In Classes

Courses

"Begin with Me" Foundations of Yoga 6 Week Course

Wednesday Evenings, March 22 - April 26, 6:30 - 7:45 PM, $115

Join together with others who seek to explore yoga asana (poses & movement) practices & yogic philosophy as tools for cultivating personal peace. Each class will include a mini-discussion about yoga philosophy and an hour long practice to center into our hearts. Beginner-friendly.

All mats & props are provided. All you need to to is reserve your space and bring your beautiful self class. ​🥰

"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦!"

Living from the Soul: Book Club Meets Yoga Class! 7 Week Course

Wednesday Evenings, May 3 - June 14 6:30 - 7:45 PM, $135

(Registration Opens in April)

Yoga with a twist! Each week will feature discussion & yoga practice based on a chapter from Sam Torode's book, Living from the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Who knew Emerson was a yogi in disguise? Through yoga, self-study & exploring ideas, we can deepen our faith & live our purpose joyfully. Torode's book is a comfortable, illuminating & important. Perfect for springtime. The book is included in the course! I mean, how fun is this!

Read Emerson's 7 Spiritual Principles

1. Trust Yourself

All that you need for growth and guidance in life is already present inside you.

2. As You Sow, You Will Reap

Your thoughts and actions shape your character, and your character determines your destiny.

3. Nothing Outside You Can Harm You

Circumstances and events don’t matter as much as what you do with them.

4. The Universe Is Inside You

The world around you is a reflection of the world within you.

5. Identify with the Infinite

Center your identity on the soul and your life’s purpose will unfold.

6. Live in the Present

The present moment is your point of power. Eternity is now.

7. Seek God Within

The highest revelation is the divinity of the soul.

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Drop-In Classes

Rooted & Rested Restorative Yoga Class

Friday, April 7 6:30 - 7:30 PM

Come for an hour of peaceful relaxation, allowing your mind to unwind, your nervous system to soften, and your heart to be filled with calm. We will use props to support us as we restore our balance. All props and mats are provided. No yoga experience is necessary to root and rest into your authentic self.

Earth Day Outdoor Yoga by the Creek

Saturday, April 22 at 10 - 11:00 AM

Celebrate our beautiful Earth in the sunshine alongside Codorus Creek and the chickens and horses of Knucklehead Creek Family Farm. Bring your own mat and a towel for underneath incase the ground is damp.

Reserve Your Mat

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Hanover Area Yoga for 12-Step Recovery is On the Move!

Three amazing partnerships have been formed this month to support our beautiful community. Jaya Spirit & The Guthrie Memorial Library in Hanover, Pennsylvania will host Yoga for 12-Step Recovery from 6:00 - 7:30 PM on the second Monday of each month. Each class will include a theme, a sharing circle, and a beginner-friendly yoga practice. This is a donation-based class. You are more important than your money!

Check out these links to explore how Recovery is for Everyone and the ins & outs of Y12SR (Yoga for 12-Step Recovery).

I'm also thrilled to share that all donations gathered from Y12SR classes will be shared with The Freedom House, a faith based re-entry home located in Hanover. The home is an opportunity for male veterans and men who are pursuing freedom & second chances from incarceration, rehab or any addiction.

Finally, we received a very special grant from the Give Back Yoga Foundation of 9 lovely Gaiam yoga mats for community use for our Yoga for 12-Step Recovery classes. This is a great blessing and help! Now, participants can reserve their mat and simply show up, just as they are. Thank you, Give Back Yoga & Gaiam!

Phew! So much goodness in the power of community & connection!

Looking forward to seeing everyone at our first gathering Hanover Area Yoga for 12-Step Recovery at the Guthrie Memorial Library on Monday, March 13 @ 6 PM!

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Some Thoughts on Attachment & Faith

For Your Consideration & Contemplation

The following "A Prayer, A quote, A concept and A poem" weave together the the concepts of letting go, a gift that yoga offers us every time we step on the mat. We can choose to let go or hold tight, but we must be honest with whichever choice we are making. You are welcome to share your thoughts in this in the comments below.

A Prayer

"God,

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Amen."

A Quote

"Peace comes when we loosen our attachments to our own "rightness," judgements and critiquing ways."

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Invitations from God: Accepting God's Offer to Rest, Weep, Forgive, Wait, Remember And More, 2011.

A Concept

Aparigraha: Non-attachment

A Poem

The Choice

Is it faith or fear

that rises to the fore,

affirmation or negation

as the very core

and center of the self?

Will it be light or dark

within the heart today?

The icy grip of fear

that knots and sours

leaving me to cower

in the shadows?

There is another way -

I know it surely as I

know the scent of Spring.

The choice of faith

invites, invokes, calls forth

from all creation

both the blessing

and the lesson

of the day.

Whether faith or fear,

the choice is mine alone.

Each moment, choose,

stepping through the door,

trusting that the path

beyond will surely

lead me home.

- Danna Faulds

Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga, 1997

What choice will you make? What are you holding on to so tightly? What, if you loosened your grip, could actually open the doors to something better, something more radiant? Where is your ego standing in the way of your luminous joy?

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Thank you for your time, dear reader.

Please send me a note if you have any questions or thoughts.

In Peace, Gratitude & Love,

Annie

A Call the Wholeness Through 12-Steps & The 8-Limbs: Recovery is for Everyone

Recover: To reclaim or restore

Recovery: The process of reclaiming what was lost

Addiction: Disconnection. Anything used to escape a perceived intolerable reality that can be found within. Arises out of lack of connection with oneself, God, life and the present moment.

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In our purest essence, we are joy, wisdom, peace and happiness.

Life brings us to twists, turns, changes, challenges, traumas, great experiences, pain and suffering. Our mind & ego take control, helping us to survive and find our way down the path. Mix in societal & family pressures, expectations and things we "should" do, and we find ourselves moving down a path that is further and further away from our truth. Our current society doesn't value simplicity but rather "more, more, more" - more pressure, more "stuff" more notoriety, more "likes" more adventures, more, more more. This doesn't help. The unproductive thoughts that we consistently have and patterns that we continue to repeat become part of our belief system and identity. It can feel like we are not being our true self, like we are someone else, an imposter, or just plain lost.

Our ego wants us to survive. If we have past a trauma or issue that remains unresolved, it will keep creeping up and infiltrate our lives. Our brain then wants to believe something that was created for a matter of survival as a truth for other areas of our life. It can create toxic cycles that play out again and again. It's exhausting.

We can release false ideals & destructive patterns that have outstayed their welcome, sifting out concepts and beliefs we have collected over time, to recover our authenticity. But how?

The 12-Step Recovery Process is a really helpful lens to workshop any type of issue or pattern that we cannot seem to get a hold of on our own - not just addictions. While the 12-Step does have a foundation in Christianity, it is open to everyone, inviting you to connect with a bigger energy, God, Love, the Divine, Nature, Universal Oneness, the god of your understanding - the list goes on and welcomes all beliefs and religious thought. It is the process that matters as it helps us remember we are not alone, there is help through Love, that we can rely on one another and our unique divine wisdom for healing.

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If you are unfamiliar with the 12-Steps of Recovery, think of it this way.

We are all born with a body to serve as a vessel that holds our unique spirit & wisdom. Our mind is a filter between our body and our spirit.

• While beautiful, life is messy. Like our homes, our vessels can get messy, too. In time, they can be filled with junk, gunk, bad energy, dust and grime.

• We need to take time to step back and look at the gunk. Acknowledge the gunk.

• We admit that sometimes, we need help to clean up because it's a bigger mess than we can handle alone.

• We make the decision to take skillful steps in cleaning out the dirt and releasing the junk.

• We notice patterns start to fall away.

• We apologize to others if our junk got in their way or hurt them, too.

• We work on a daily basis, using our 12-Step tools to keep the space tidy.

• When our home is clean, we have freedom and space to live our purpose without distraction.

• We admit when we make a mess again and take the steps to clean it up.

• We help others clean up their homes, too.

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Now, what about Yoga, Recovery & Healing?

Healing: To make one whole, save, sound

Addiction: Disconnection

Recover: To reclaim or restore

Yoga: Union, balance, integration, path to wholeness

Yoga is like an ancient old tree with deep roots, a wide and strong trunk and branches that shade, bend in the breeze, and flourish in the air. A comprehensive yoga practice explores the 8-Limbs of Yoga. Each limb serves as a guidepost to cultivate a path of wholeness across all aspects of our lives, and highlights a different type of relationship. Don't worry, the Sanskrit terminology is important to honoring the ancient roots of this practice, but it is very accessible to all. Here is a quick overview:

The Yamas: The Relationship to the World Around Us

The Niyamas: Relationship to Ourselves

Asana: Relationship to the physical Body (Movement practice)

Pranayama: Relationship to our Breath

Pratyahara: Relationship to our Senses

Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi: Relationship to our Mind, Attention & Oneness

The asana (movement) practice is the most familiar and seeks to integrate the whole person - mind, body and spirit, inviting healing across those three centers.

Through movement practices, we can develop a new relationship of awareness within our physical body by reconnecting with parts of ourselves that may have been ignored or forgotten. Movement practices release blocked energy & emotions stored in our tissues over time. If we have a hysterical reaction to something, it is usually because it has been stored in our emotional memory bank - popping up to say "hello" when we least expect it. Yoga practice can help pull these reactions forward and release it from our system. Truthfully, it's not always fun or easy.

The Five Yamas help us channel our energy and how we connect to the world. The Yamas are Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (non-excess) & Aparigraha (non-grasping/possessiveness).

The Five Niyamas support cultivating love within and for ourselves. They are Saucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (willingness), Svadhyaya (self-study), Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender & devotion).

Pranayama is the relationship to breath, our life force energy. We learn to maintain it, play with it, to inhale and invite it in, to exhale and let it go. It is the ebb & flow of life. The more breathes we have, the more life we have to live. The more prana in the body, the more in control we are of our being.

Pratyahara prepares us for meditation, inviting us to be aware of our sense and then turn inward, away from them, into our inner wisdom during meditation. This can be as simple as finding a few moments in silence or a quiet outdoor space, softening your gaze and drawing yourself inward.

Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi are also aspects of our meditative practices. Dharana develops our concentration & focus. Dhyana quiets the mind adn samadhi is when all senses have fallen away and we find ourselves connected to the tapestry & wholeness of the creation.

Yoga is simplicity & a falling away. Simplicity - releasing the unnecessary so the necessary may come forward. When paired together, the 12-Steps of Recovery and the 8-Limbs are a cohesive set of tools, questions, invitations and lifestyle offered to bring us wholeness each and every day of our journey. As we set our intentions on welcoming new behaviors and transformation, old patterns and thoughts begin to fall away and a new freedom is found. Through this freedom, we return to our joy, wisdom, peace & happiness. And this freedom is available to each and every one if us.

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All are welcome to Return to Wholeness Recovery Workshops. Workshops are based on the Y12SR Model, beginner-friendly (though that doesn't always mean easy!), and by donation only.

Sign up here.

Read More About Y12SR (Yoga for 12-Step Recovery)

Life sometimes calls us away from ourselves. Yoga & 12-Step Recovery welcome our spirits home.

Y12SR: The Yoga of 12-Step Recovery

Open to those struggling with addiction,

living in recovery, or those who love them are welcome!

The Yoga of 12-Step Recovery is a holistic model designed to address the physical, mental & spiritual dis-ease of addiction.

The characteristics and effects of addiction could easily be described as separation. Addictive behaviors disconnect us from our loved ones, our environment and so much more.

Conversely, yoga itself means union, integration, balance. Yoga and its practices teach the fine art of balancing our multidimensional lives while living in a complex world.

Y12SR "connects the dots" by combining the somatic approach of yoga with the cognitive approach of the 12-step recovery.

Y12SR is not a replacement for meetings, sponsors or any part of the 12-step program.

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Join Annie, Y12SR Space Holder, for weekly Y12SR meetings & yoga practice.

All Classes are Donation Based.

$12 If you are able

$6 You can't keep what you have without giving it away

$0 You are more important than your money

Book a Class

Current Schedule:

Monday Evenings, 7:00 - 8:30 PM on Google Meet

Meetings Begin in January 2023!

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Yoga & Recovery Similarities

Step 1: Came

Yoga promotes conscious awareness.

Step 2: Came To

Yoga honores sanctity of the moment and restoration.

Step 3: Came to Believe

Yoga teaches the practice of surrender.

Steps 4 - 9: Removing Obstacles

Yoga encourages self study (Svadyaya) and inquiry (Vichara)

Step 11: Prayer & Meditation

Yoga incorporates prayer & meditation.

Step 12: Service

Yoga teachers practices of Karma and service (Seva).