It's the last day of LOVE Month

 February always gets me thinking about my  direction in life. This is the time when I start to  get spring fever, and want to move on to the  next step. Which can be dangerous, because the  seasons would have us stay in a nice slow mode  until winter is actually over. The result? Well,  for me this time it meant a big fat does of the  flu. Stay slow, Calley. Stay measured, enjoy  your precious little down time. These are the  things I have to remind myself.

 This thing I teach called YOGA, I've come to  realize after all these years of practice, is really  just continually cultivating your relationship  with your SELF by way of physically movement, stretches, breath, and stillness - and attempting new iterations of those four things, SO THAT you can better interact with the world around you. If you're a physically delicate flower like myself (with a good dose of fiery energy), you need a little more time to restore, reflect, and take care of yourself so you can just be functional. I accepted these parts of myself years ago as I was suffering through allergies that seemed to rule my life. Interestingly, I think the modern world and all its fast - paced - ness is causing more and more of us to feel the suffering of not taking enough breaks!

And I not-so-suddenly find myself in a position of teaching the very tools that I've collected for myself over the years to help others move through their lives more healthfully. It is always my goal as a teacher to make yoga very approachable. There are plenty of pictures of slim fit yogis doing crazy backbends and advanced poses, but this has never been my motivation as a practitioner, and it is definitely not my motivation as a teacher. My motivation is this: take time for yourself, so you can be your best self, so you can enjoy your life and the advantages that lie all around you.

That's it. That's why I get on my mat, its why I have to continue to get on my mat if I want those benefits, and its what I hope to teach (along with healthy form so as not to cause injury) to my students.

In the last few years, I've used February as a time to reach out to my "framily" and remind them how much a part of my life they are. And this year, as I augment my skills around my business, entertainmentjill.com, I decided to create an audio picture poem to go with the whole thing. The video is posted at the top of this post, and I hope it reminds or inspires you to complete your own cycle of love back to yourself in whatever ways that you need.

Happy Leap Year!!

#YogaWithCalley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

   

Sundays @ 10:30am - 90 min - Mixed Level II Vinyasa

Mondays @ 5:15pm - 60 min - Mixed Level I Vinyasa

1229 Tyler Street Northeast, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Yoga Garden is cash / check only. 

Please note the doors to the FROST building lock 15 minutes after the start of each class.

Our Physiological Reactions

How YOGA teaches the discipline needed to overcome them...

This is a re-post from an emailer I sent out last week:

A few weeks ago a student of mine told me about something called the Prison Yoga Project, and how she had become obsessed with it. Yesterday I took some time to look at the website, look up the founder, and read a little about what the project is, and why its working for inmates. The physiological effects of stress on the body are intrinsically connected the mind, which is true for us all... and I got a little obsessed with the ideology behind the project, and how it applies to everyone in varying degrees.

"Most prisoners suffer from Complex Trauma, chronic interpersonal trauma experienced early in life such as abandonment, hunger, homelessness, domestic violence, sexual abuse, bullying, discrimination, drug and alcohol abuse, and witnessing crime – including murder. We call this “original pain.” These experiences, imprinted by the terrifying emotions that accompany them, are held deeply in the mind, and perhaps more importantly, in the body, with the dissociative effects of impulsive/reactive behavior, and tendencies toward drug and alcohol addiction as well as violence. Carrying unresolved trauma into their lives impacts everything they do, often landing them in prison, where they experience even more trauma...

...Traditionally, cognitive behavioral therapists have helped people process unresolved trauma, but more recently psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers — many working with US military veterans — acknowledge that embodiment practices such as yoga enriched with mindfulness practices can have more impact in alleviating the symptoms that lead to both reactive behaviors and stress related disease."

So, I watched the video. And they showed these big, burly, rough looking men, silently struggling to stay in down dog, twists, and seated meditation. You could see their struggle with various poses, but you also heard them commenting in interviews on how they had learned to use their yoga practice to withstand the effects of other struggles in their lives. It was teaching them discipline to manage their own reactions...

We all have our own versions of stressors and problems, and while some of us have ones that are "worse" or "easier" than others, we all feel the effects of stress and past pain. These things take a physiological toll on the body, and affect our psychological expectations and reactions. You can't avoid all of these factors in life, but I found this to be a beautiful reminder that we can help our bodies and our minds to process and release our experiences in healthy, effective ways. 


Hope to see you very soon,
~ Calley ✨

#YogaWithCalley at Yoga Garden Minneapolis:

   

Sundays @ 10:30am - 90 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa

Mondays @ 5:15pm - 60 min - Mixed Level Vinyasa

1229 Tyler Street Northeast, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Yoga Garden is cash / check only. 

Please note the doors to the FROST building lock 15 minutes after the start of each class.