“Village”
For me, this word has always evoked a sense of shared humanity. We are all inextricably linked. Our village is who shapes us, challenges us, and bolsters us. The people who walk with us, laugh with us, cry with us, and sometimes carry us. And we them. The compassion, empathy, joy, grief, and love strengthen our bonds and add depth, dimension, texture, and beauty to the tapestry we are perpetually weaving. It takes a village not just to survive, but to thrive.
“Vinyasa”
This word is derived from the Sanskrit term nyasa which means “to place” and the prefix vi “in a special way.” When I look at yoga with this mindset, it’s one of the simplest ways for me to bring my awareness to all the rhythms of life and to see how the practice of yoga is happening all day everyday both on and off our mats. Life becomes a meditation as we unify our breath and our movement. As we link each action with the next, each breath with the next, we are cultivating a deeper level of consciousness. We are able to be here, in this very moment. While the sequence may change day to day, as it does in our vinyasa yoga practice on the mat, the intention remains the same. Chopping vegetables and bringing a warm, nourishing meal to a slow simmer on a cold day. Tucking babies in at night with all of their favorite blankets and snuggly friends to help them drift peacefully to sleep. Walking with a loved one on their grief journey. Calling a grandparent to hear their laughter and listen to their sage advice. Bearing witness to the last leaves as they fall and the first buds as they bloom. Building a sand castle just to watch the tide begin to carve away at its foundation. Unrolling our mats for our practice and taking that first breath in, and then, letting the breath go. We arrange, we place, we entrust, we stumble, we cry, we laugh, we endure, we hope, and we love.
It would be an honor to be a part of your village and for you to be a part of mine. I’d be humbled and grateful for you to place your mat, in your own special way, by mine. As my Grandma Lou would say, “my heart loves your heart.”
Every time we practice together, we provide hunger relief and aid to individuals and families with Thrive Peninsula, and we plant a tree with One Tree Planted!
New opportunities to move and breath together are coming soon! Join my newsletter to stay in the loop!
I can’t wait to see you!
-Sarah
