It’s Both &…

As you may have noticed, we are a little more inspired around here. Our aim is to give people not only a space to slow down and breathe, but a space to feel it all. This means we make room for the highs and the lows. The peaks and the valleys. None of the emotional spectrum is off limits here. We know life isn’t unicorns and rainbows… it is both the light AND the shadow. The yin AND the yang. So while the world may feel like a giant dumpster fire or whack-a-mole (what to we need to fight today?), we need pockets of joy, community, inspiration. If we lose hope, we lose it all.

So what exactly is one to do? My thought is to allow yourself to hold the paradox of both AND… allow yourself to hold the sorrow, the anxiety, the anger, let them show you what you need to know or even the next right step to take. Hold them lightly AND let yourself be INSPIRED. Let your body, your heart and your mind move you toward what you love. It might be exactly what this world needs, someone who can hold all of it’s complexity and still shine a light of love and compassion through it all. I believe inspiration is the key.

Outside of the yoga world, I am trained as a coach by Martha Beck and continue to work with her today. One of her podcasts from 2025 still sits and rings in my ear every time I teach breathwork or think about why we do what we do. She shared research by Nobel Prize winning journalist Maria Ressa that shows lies spread 6 times faster than truth. AND she also found one thing travels faster than lies… INSPIRATION.

This is what we may be lacking these days. Where is the figure that stands before us and inspires us to dare to dream of a loving community, a healthy plantet, something that makes us believe in the good of humanity? I am convinced this is how Mamdani is winning hearts. However you feel about him or his policy, he certainly led a campaign of inspiration and continues to show that to the city of NY. He inspired through showing care and kindness. All the politicans of late. Who inspires? They all finger point and talk about each other. Who is there to show us the beauty and audacity of hope and lovingkindness? If there is no one out there, we get to find it in here. So what exactly does inspiration mean… Let me share from Martha:

“Inspiration” has several meanings. One is simply “drawing breath.” Or it can mean having a new idea. Or it can mean being “in-spirited,” filled with peace and grace from the mystery.

Here at Greenville Yoga, you can find all three! This is why we call our classes Inspired Flow. We literally, take time to focus on inspiration (and exhalation) one breath at a time. When we slow down and take a breath, it often makes space for us to create or hold a new idea. And by the end of class, theres a peace underneath it all if we have done our jobs right. There’s space to hold hope, paradox and mystery. Now it’s up to you to carry it forward into your day.

Our events for the remainder of the year are aimed at bringing light, levity, connection. Bring Your BOO! is our way of letting you share the joy of being in community or the peace you find here. Spread the word far and wide! INSPIRED is our first annual Open House (free yoga!) and local artists’ market. Not because we are blind to the world… because I believe community and art / creation are the fastest ways to touch the thread of inspiration.

We know things are hard out there AND we have to take time to find pockets of beauty, joy and inspiration. It might be the most powerful way through.