yogaHOPE’s Teacher’s Blog

Comfort in Being

Full house yesterday at Women’s Hope. All new faces since last class. The class consisted mainly of women new to yoga and two women recovering from broken/sprained toes.  We started class with pranayama and three OM’s. A few women giggled, eyes wide, eagerly anticipating what awaits them during this hour. Gently we opened the shoulders using donated straps and opened the heart with seated postures. Class moved into standing poses, lunges, sun salutes, abs, balancing, bridge and a long guided meditative savasana.  What struck me during this class was how comfortable the women we’re in their poses. Many used the wall during the balances and rested in childs pose when needed. After class I visibly saw a difference in facial expression from that of uncertainty to that of relaxation. Three women stayed around after class asking questions and wanting to share their experience of yoga class. I was struck by one young women saying “We all have our path, maybe this time around it will be different”. I couldn’t help but think that her openness and participation in class contributed to such a realization.

Kat Larsen, RYT

Benefit Class at Baptiste

This past Sunday we had our benefit class at Baptiste Power Yoga in Brookline and 9 of the women from Meridian House were there!! They LOVED it (Coeli kept the heat low) and were smiling from ear to ear after the class! The thing that made my day was when A****, one of the women who I know also from Hello House came up to me and said, “I need to tell you how thankful I am that I met you, because if I had never met you I wouldn’t be where I am today” and she started crying. I helps me know that yogaHOPE is making a difference.

sue

YogaHOPE on the WLP Website

So after my last class at the WLP a photographer for the WLP website shot another yoga class in various asana (was only 30 minutes for photos).  There were new woman that came in for this because the woman in the last class didn’t want their pictures on the web…due to stalkers and protection rights.  So YogaHOPE was able to reach 6 new woman who were hilarious and responsive.  They were funny laughing when asked to do triangle.  “what you want me to do what?”  and the faces were priceless.  They did it and suprised themselves, feeling great and invigorated.  The photographer and 2 employees of WLP were there as well and really enjoyed the yoga class.  A few students may even start coming to yoga now.  Woohoo!  Go yoga!  Soon check out the website for WLP at www.womanslunchplace.org to see pictures.    Love and light, Lori

Community at the WLP

Hi Everyone! Hope you’re enjoying your summer. Taught the past two Mondays at Women’s Lunch Place on Newbury st. The yoga class and community is growing here. There is so much to write about in these two days that I’m bursting at the seams.
Starting with 2 weeks ago, after class the women were so moved by feeling alive they clapped. I was empowered and moved by their feelings, I kept this feeling with me all day. Reminded of how powerful yoga is and how amazing YogaHOPE is. This week, I had 14 woman…yes 14 in that small room (12 woman & 2 adolescents) came to experience yoga. 3 woman chilled out on the couch. One stood with her hands in sutra, one young woman came fell asleep to my voice (She’s done this before..assures me i’ll be a good bedtime story reader when I get the chance), and another breathed and participated in yoga from the couch. The other woman went through some shoulder opening and standing poses. One woman who’s been coming the past few weeks is very chatty. I’m comfortable working with her but was unsure how others would react to her constant excitement and inquisitiveness. This new Woman Paula seemed to be getting a bit bothered. After a few more poses, the chatty yoga started up again how she already did 45 minutes of exercise before yoga class that day. Paula chimmed in with the most loving voice, “that’s great!” And she smiled at this chatty yogi. It was so amazing to see this reaction. I smiled at Paula and was grateful for her ability to love.

In addition, two woman are looking to bring more healing into their lives.  One woman would like a mentor to continue a yoga practice and become a teacher. This is GREAT! Sue let’s chat about this. Another is looking for a holistic healing with herbs and naturalpathology. Does anyone know of someone? I only know John Priester in Watertown. She is hoping to find someone in Boston.

Meridien House Celebrates!

On Saturday, we had a wonderful time at the Meridien House. Sue, Kat and Amy all came to take class with the women. I felt really supported and grounded by their presence, as I’m sure the women did as well, so it was great having them in class. I led them through a flow, really trying to empahsize the fact that we all have many supporters willing to help us, but in order for it to be effective, we have to be able to drop some of the walls we put up and allow people to enter our hearts and share their love with us. The women continue to soak up everything we are offering to them and they are showing incredible growth not only on their yoga mats, but how they carry themselves and how they are using the principles of yoga to help them in their everyday lives. One of the women told us that anytime she is in a stressful situation, is angry or upset, she comes right into her ujayyi breath and she is able to calm herself down and refocus. After the class, we had a small celebration because two of the women hit their 1st certification for taking 20 yogaHOPE classes! They were presented with a starter kit provided by Lululemon which included a bag, mat, water bottle, headband, and mat strap. The women were so excited to receive these items and have been working hard to achieve this certification. We also had a cake for all of the women to help celebrate the occasion. We have a few more women who will be achieving their certification in the next few classes, so I am very excited for them as well. I am so proud of all the women for their strong commitment to growing and healing themselves!

One woman flow at Shepard House

Tonight at Shepard House I had Sasha assisting.  She and I were getting caught up as 6:00 rolled around and no women.  This has been an issue Wednesday evenings.  We chatted a bit more and at 6:15 one woman showed up, eager to do yoga.  We were excited, to say the least!  Sasha decided to take class, and I took them through a 45 min practice.  The woman taking, L*** was familiar with yoga and could do the poses, though not without challenge.  She had great breath though which kept bringing her back to her practice.  She said at one point, “do you always teach so hard?”  I paused for a moment, then told her I thought she could handle it.  She agreed with me, but said she was worrying about the other women and said if I taught this challenging for them they might not come back.  But she said she liked she was the only one because she got a challenging class!  She even liked the hip openers, saying that it’s a good kind of pain - she hit the nail on the head with that one!  I fell in love with her, I tell you.  A true gem.  We made it to Savasana and soon a fight began in the house, one of the women accusing another of hitting her.  It escalated into name calling and yelling.  L*** and Sasha did a great job staying true to yoga, and just existing with that moment.  It’s ironic though how life always brings you what you need - in the sense that life reminds us yoga won’t all be quiet and stillness and what we find in a studio.  True yoga in a sense is being able to be in the middle of chaos and have peace and serenity.  After class, L*** shared with us that her grandmother passed away last night and during her Savasana she was able to picture her with her grandchildren happy and not thinking about her dead.  She seemed really happy about that.  A great experience for Sasha, L*** and I.  It honestly taught me as well that yoga isn’t about expectations.  It’s been hard for me not knowing whether I’ll have 6 women, one woman or no one.  Shepard House has taught me to be more present and accept what is. 

Amanda

Freedom!

The women of Meridien House are finally off of restriction! I could tell immediately when I saw them that something had shifted because they were alive with energy and they were smiling from ear to ear! Since they are now off of restriction, yoga on Saturday mornings is no longer mandatory. The women get to choose between yoga and going to an AA meeting. So I ended up having a class of four women while the others went to the meeting. The class went well and the women kept getting stronger like usual, but the best and most important part was after class when we just stayed around and chatted about how yoga was really impacting their lives. This moment was special because I think this is the first time we truly connected beyond doing yoga poses and we realized how much yoga really means to them now. We definitely connected before in other ways, but it was not as deep as this. One woman said that at first, yoga was just about the body and a good workout, but now, it is much more than that. It is now about exercising the mind to help deal with difficult situations. Another woman said that yoga is giving her life lessons that she’ll always be able to draw from. We also talked about V***, the woman who was discharged last week. Although they haven’t heard from her, they said that she was a very strong women and would come through. They also said that she took the book I gave them because it was her favorite thing and she found so much inspiration from it since she read it all the time. I am so proud of these women and I think they are starting to use and view yoga as more than just a workout. They are truly embodying the essence of what yogaHOPE is all about and each one of us, myself included, is learning to “Heal Ourselves through Personal Empowerment.”

Namaste,

Brian