The MN Yoga Conference is this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. The conference brings together yogis of all levels from across Minnesota and surrounding states. It targets all levels of students, including beginners, advanced students, and yoga teachers. I'll be leading a session on Sunday called "Reclaim Your Attention."
I love teaching yoga at the Minnesota Arboretum, and last night was no exception. I had a fantastic time leading Yin Yoga and Sound Healing in the Sculpture Gardens. This was the first outdoor event of the summer Yoga in the Gardens schedule. The weather was unseasonably warm and just right for yoga.
Yesterday, at a board retreat for onelove.yoga, the board members were kind enough to participate in a forgiveness practice that I had been wanting to try for many years.
I have been thinking a lot about attention recently. "Reclaim Your Attention" is the title of my article in the current issue of MN Yoga + Life Magazine and the workshop I will be offering at the MN Yoga Conference next month. With both of those, I focus on using techniques such as yoga, meditation, breathwork, and chanting to improve attention. Here I'd like to mention one way I have been using software to help pay attention.
Please join me next week for our 2nd annual onelove.yoga gala, Root to Rise, at the Minnesota Arboretum on Friday, Feb. 24. We will gather to dine, dance, and bid on auction items to support yoga in schools.
Yoga is not therapy or a cure for depression. However, scientific studies continue to show that contemplative practices, such as yoga and meditation, can be as effective as medication for treating anxiety. Yoga, in its many forms, can help us redefine our experiences during difficult times. That certainly has been the case for me, which is the single biggest reason why I come back to these practices again and again. Practicing yoga, meditation, and chanting continue to leave a wake of positive benefits in my life and I love to share the practices that I find most helpful.
About a year ago I started incorporating harmonium and chanting in my yoga classes. Those have become regular features at the beginning and end of my classes. Now I’m offering yoga classes with (live) sounds throughout.
On Thursday (October 20, 2022) at 6pm I will be teaching another free yoga class at the Minnesota Arboretum. Whether it's indoors or outdoors, an evening class or a day-long retreat, I always seem to enjoy teaching in the Arboretum. It feels beneficial.
As the years tick by and I continue to go deeper and deeper into yoga, I feel more focused than ever. I prioritize activities like volunteering to teach at the Arboretum and let go of other pursuits. Happiness increases.
Starting tomorrow, September 20, 2022, I will be leading a new, weekly, online mindfulness meditation group for onelove.yoga every Tuesday at noon Central. You can register here.
I'm not sure what to call it. Biking meditation. Bike yoga. Meditation in motion. Meditative biking. Maybe just mindfulness meditation while biking.
But I know something happens on my bike. Riding by myself, unplugged, no earbuds, outside in nature feels good. It relaxes me. It helps me let go of concerns about the future or past. If I have a problem I've been trying to solve, I often arrive home from a ride with a solution. Especially if I was not trying to solve the problem.