What Will Carry You Through?
This summer we were scheduled to have a Summer Yoga Challenge. All about pushing yourself to the next level of your practice. But somehow this feels wrong for this moment in time. I don’t want to sell you something else. I don’t want to tell you what yoga can do for you. Yoga has quietly seeped into my life since I was in middle school and listened to my mom’s old yoga records. Fast forward to me in my 20s in Los Angeles in the 90s when yoga is flourishing and exploding with me as part of the yoga scene. Yoga carried me through years as a school teacher, a mom, a divorcé, a wanderer, a householder, and whatever hats / masks / roles I chose to wear. Yoga carried me through pandemic world and has hoisted me to shore on the other side. No one had to tell me to show up. No gimmick got me to come to class or get on my mat. I just knew life would be better for me having taken a few breaths in awareness, a few movements to work the kinks out, and a few moments to connect with myself and the divine. My life would not be what it is today. I would not be the parent I am, the woman I am, the business owner I am without it.
If you, like the rest of us, are feeling burned out with a low tolerance for the difficult people or situations in this moment in time; this may be your soft place to land and your place to grow through to the other side. Instead of some grand challenge of 30-days to a new you or 600 classes in 60 days… what if we do something different? What if we just remind you the gifts of yoga and invite you to join us when you can with a few little gifts to say thank you for being here? How does that sound?
I know we are tired and one more thing to do is not what any of us need. But maybe, just maybe, this will be the time the yoga makes sense and there will be no going back. Yoga won’t be one more thing to do, but it will be the thing that saves you. The thing that is essential to remind you of the truth of who you are and what you are meant to be (free from the masks, the hats, the roles we wear… the place that shows the you what lies beneath it all).
For those of you who set an intention back in January, feel free to use this as a time to check on those seeds, weed the garden, and see what is growing into life. Let your yoga practices give your seedlings a little boost as they grow toward the sun. For the rest, let this be your life raft that carries you through the turning tides.
Unlimited Yoga from June 20 through August 20 is $160
Passes can be purchased now through June 20th and are only valid for use 6/20-8/20.
Come kick-off your summer season with a FREE Seasonal Yin & Flow with Liz (and maybe a guest teacher), Sunday June 19th from 10am-12pm.
CommuniTEA with Jill McBurney for collective care, 2pm June 28th.
Celebrate the close of summer with a picnic in Rain’s Garden, Sunday August 21 (also our 18th anniversary!). Food truck and music TBD.
Commit to something that is yours alone and show up. This yoga stuff is not about pushing into pretty shapes, getting your body fit for the summer or for Instagram-worthy moments. This is about removing all the obstacles between you and your untamed version of you, that limitless being that is safe, at ease and free. Your body may change, but the changes of your heart and mind are the ones we are seeking.
If you still aren’t sure, below our teachers each share how their lives changed when yoga became a consistent companion:
My energy tone changed from frantic pushing to get “it” done to a calm awareness and attentiveness to whatever needed to be done. ~Jill McBurney
I became more mindful about my thoughts and actions. ~Callie Adams
The biggest challenge for me when I started practicing more than two times a week was that I always allowed other things to become more important than myself. I know I felt awesome after class, but I didn’t think I was important. Everything and everyone else came first. In practicing more, I had to learn to put myself first! ~Deb Honore
I had a lot of anger, rage, and anxiety. I started to find calm and eventually was able to take that [calm] off the mat… and after yoga teacher training (practicing several times per week) I was able to jump on trampolines without peeing. ~Amanda Barbarito
Self awareness grew so I could begin noticing my inner dialogue. I began to learn that the loud inner critic didn't have to rule and hurt me. Through mindful observance I could turn down the volume on that voice with loving kindness practices. More self acceptance and even celebration emerged. ~Susan Kohart
It helps and continues to help me with anxiety & building a centered pathway from inside out. Nobody can take it from you, it's all you! (Your practice) ~Nikki Childress
After waking up and running out the door to work, I kept running back unlocking the door feeling I had forgotten something. I finally figured it out. It was my back pain. I simply wasn't carrying it around anymore. ~Caroline McIntyre
I found a calm in my body and mind (integration) I couldn't experience through long distance running (that was always how I would quiet my mind/deal with stress previously). Within months my world naturally evolved to less running and Lots more yoga. I loved the physical practice, the peace in my head and heart, and the beautiful inspiring community that felt so right. Yoga offered me glimpses of stillness and an inner knowing that I wanted more of, both on and off the mat. I love that it's never "mastered". Instead, the more I learn and the longer I teach, I realize how little I know, which is humbling and exciting because it's truly a forever practice. ~Kristen Albert
We need collective care right now. We need people waking up to the beauty of who they are free from the need to buy more, be more, do more. Yoga can help you find that. We invite you to slow down the frantic pace of life and drop into a consistent, intentional practice, be open and see what happens. (You can thank us later.)
With love ~ Liz
p.s. One final note… if you love us, please share your love of Greenville Yoga (or this email) with a friend. Word of mouth is the only way our community grows. We value your support and promise to take good care of every friend you send our way. We still stand true in trying to keep our prices affordable for all. The best way for us to do that is to keep growing our community and you are the best support we could have to do so.