Many years ago when I taught pre-schoolers with special needs, we sang a song to welcome spring called “We Can Sing a Rainbow.” One of the lines was: “Listen with your eyes, listen with your eyes, and sing everything you see…”
That line reminds me that we seldom fully listen because our preferred sense is that of sight. Schools taught us to observe visually, reading blackboards, reading books, and today, much of our reading is done digitally. What will you hear if you really listen to your body? I believe you will discover that your body is incredibly wise. But most of us need to learn how to do that because this skill is not taught in most schools, including most yoga schools!
Consider that listening to what your body needs isn’t so different than listening to the story of a friend you care about. Mindful listening can open the door to precious, new information.
Just as you share the most intimate parts of yourself only with a trusted friend, your body is waiting for the same sense of safety to speak its wisdom.
Yes, your body is wise. That’s true even if you are feeling aches and pains right now or frustration about some current problem causing anxiety or discomfort.
What you need to be more empowered is living inside you, being completely accessible through wise and compassionate selfcare. This is why I spent the last decade of my life learning how to unfold my own body’s wisdom and to coach others to do the same.
To help you understand how this is done, I am shifting our group class curriculum away from traditional yoga poses (although purposeful poses will be included) to feature more of what will improve your experience beyond our 60–75-minute classes. My goal is to help you improve your self-care by adding a few beneficial practices into your daily routine. As James Clear states in Atomic Habits: “We become our habits and our habits become our identity.”
By working with individuals and groups to uncover more freedom in their bodies in a format where others can also follow along, I am encouraging you to help others, too! We have space to welcome many more friends into a class unlike all others — a class planned to embrace and support vibrant aging by meeting each person where they are. A one-to-one session is recommended for new students, especially if they are less active or they are recovering from an injury. Initial private sessions can be scheduled Monday through Saturday. One or more classes would be a wonderful gift for birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or just to show how much you care about a friend or loved one.
I recently dropped my membership as an “Accessible Yoga Ambassador” because I have always been dedicated to making healthy movement accessible to everyone without having to pay for this designation. Now I need you to be a “Vibrant Aging Ambassador” by putting helpful practices we learn into your daily routine. First, show up. Be open to new experiences. Practice in our safe and FUN studio or on Zoom. Install one tiny new self-care habit into your routine by doing it every day. James Clear says we either get 1% better or 1% worse each day, which results in getting 37% better within a year or 37% worse! Do you want to move forward or backward? As Wayne Dyer states, “You’ll see it when you believe it.” Believe me, progressive small steps over time aggregate into significant and lasting positive change.
And here’s the best part: We can do this while having FUN together!