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Blessings for Peace, Prosperity and Health in the New Year
  January 2011
Message from Yoga Heals Us
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Dear Friends,
 
Did you have time to relax and renew during the holidays?  Are you thinking about the new year and new beginnings?  This is a great time to delve into the yoga practices of the Yamas and Niyamas. 
 
How we treat ourselves is not disconnected from how we treat others, our friends and family, co-workers, people we don't know, our homes, our environment...The Yamas and Niyamas are the 10 guiding principles or codes of conduct for skillful living that's at the root of spiritual progress.
 
The 5 Yamas are the ethical practices of restraint:
* Ahimsa:  non-harming
* Satya:  truthfulness
* Asteya:  nonstealing
* Brahmacharya:  conscious use of resource
* Aparigraha:  nonpossessiveness
The 5 Niyamas are observances:
* Saucha:  purity
* Santosha:  contentment
* Tapas:  self-discipline
* Svadhyaya:  self-study
* Ishvara Pranidhana:  surrender to a higher power
 
Choose one and see where it takes you.  These practices are both practical and spiritual.  And they apply to our thoughts, words and actions.  For example, ahimsa, non-harming.  Ahimsa also means non-violence.  What does that mean when considering thoughts, words and actions?  Thinking about our behaviors invites self-study, the niyama svadhaya. 
 
During this next session of yoga, each week we'll explore one aspect of these practices of right living.  To get you started, I've included a message that I received from Mother Maya.
Living Ahimsa ~ Reclaiming Love & Harmony in the Golden Age By Mother Maya
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On the Living Ahimsa World Tour Mother Maya presents the imperative work for each one of us to take back the world of love, inner harmony and happiness. She teaches us to cement the indelible bonds that bind us together as a human family- love, humor, enlightenment, kindness and compassion. The perfection of the present time makes it possible for each one of us to harvest our serenity.
 
This is a momentous period when each and every human being will have the unprecedented opportunity to invoke their rite of consciousness. We have arrived at the Golden Age. 5011 years into Kali Yuga, as predicted by the Rishis whom, eons ago, identified this period of universal time as the phenomenal Yuga for the rapid progression of individual awareness. Whether or not we chose to participate in awareness, the universal space and time in which we live is fashioning a new order rooted in the cosmic wisdom of her age. At this moment, our minds and hearts are being retooled with sentiency necessary to meet the cosmic requirements of a new emerging reality. That is, if we can receive the gift to stay open in spirit whist we shift habituated patterns of mind into a place of serenity. We have a golden chance to rise to the demand of our own personal power, but "power" here is being redefined as harvesting our human sentiency, and not as material gains, fame, notoriety and so on. To accomplish this way of living, we pare down excesses, simplify our daily lives, and reclaim innocence. We have got to be prepared to do the inner work in cultivating awareness in our thoughts, speech and action.
 
Contrary to popular belief, this is not a Yuga of cosmic punishment as in the perception of "Doomsday" or "End of World" scenarios. We are in a cycle of natural progression in the universe's evolution. This is a time for individual and collective awareness. The universe is processing a massive rebirth for which we must expect a prescient degree of death, disease, despair and destruction. To cross this critical juncture, we must reclaim our human sentiency and be mindful and conscious of the operation of our mind thought, speech and action. In so doing, we can make a quantum leap onto the next phase of our consciousness evolution. We are living in an unusual time of golden opportunity, and phenomenal chances when we can easily shift negative patterns of the mind into a more sentient place for harvesting serenity, happiness and prosperity. If we can get past the fears and fragility that come from human attachment and material loss we will be able to transcend today into tomorrow.
 
Living Ahimsa is a perfect work for our time. As we take the necessary time to pause, to step back from our overdriven and challenged lives, we create the space to grow. Let your loving Living Ahimsa intent invoke a time for awakening the heart. In creating the inner space to let go of expired karmas we sum up the courage it requires to assimilate into the open light of love. In this way, we move in harmony with the cosmic sway of our new era.
 
Ultimately, the work of Living Ahimsa restores the spiritual voice. We must take back the world of harmony from the political and religious authority in order to bring an end to the propagation of war, battle, competition, seizure, acquisition, and the general degradation of nature. At this very moment, everything is being changed forever. The worn-out approaches have lost their power for us. The paradigm of leadership is rapidly changing across the global landscape. The traditional model of hierarchal control and patriarchal command is swiftly falling apart. Living Ahimsa brings about a renewal of spirit; an infusion of purpose and meaning that is already taking shape in the formation of love, honor, harmony, and prosperity for all. In this new epoch where harmony rules, we are apt to be inspired by the collaboration, authenticity, and empowerment of all cultures.
 
Let us, together, clean out the affairs of all past years, shred the baggage of burdens, let go of the regrets, empty the mind and keep alive the heart whilst we sum up the courage to go forward in Oneness and allow innocence to live for the length of our years in eternity. Join me in renewing the Ahimsa Vrata to cultivate inner harmony and world peace for nature and all of her species. "I take the Vow of Ahimsa. I make inner harmony my first priority. I take the Vow of Ahimsa in my thoughts, speech and action".
 
Mother Maya (Maya Tiwari) is a world renowned spiritual teacher and a cancer survivor who has helped thousands to heal from devastating disorders.  She is an acclaimed author of several best-selling books and the founder of Wise Earth School of Ayurveda, Mother Om Mission, and Living Ahimsa Foundation. Her quarter-century long humanitarian work and service transform disease, despair and violence into health, harmony and prosperity.
  » Mother Maya
Tribute to Sandra
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Senior yoga student, Sandra Harrington, left her body on Tuesday, December 22, 2010.  She was a core member of the first yoga class at Ledyard Senior Center for nearly 10 years. 
 
I received this message from her son:  "I am going through her email to make sure to contact some of her friends who she had not been able to see as much during her illness. Sandra joined my  Dad and my sister Kim and is finally at peace now after a difficult struggle with ALS.  Yoga and Tennis were two of the things she missed so much. She passed away on Tuesday morning and will be very sadly missed. My Best, Her Loving Son"
 
Sandra was an amazing woman.  She left her mark in many ways.  She handled adversity with style and grace. 
 
She was so good at balancing poses.  She had great form and she always wanted to try more.  Her strong and beautiful voice made the closing chant sound so much more powerful.  She is indeed missed.
Yoga classes begin this week
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Time to register!  Classes began today.   » Class schedule
St. James class time change
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Class time will change from 5:00 to 5:10 next week so that we can all get adjusted to the new time.
Yoga, Meditation and the Philosopher’s Stone
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I’m teaching at the 2011 conference called Yoga, Meditation and the Philosopher’s Stone.

This 5-day Virtual Conference is scheduled to be held February 8-12, 2011, and you can listen to the workshops for up to two weeks after the live event is over.
 
This means you stay at home, or get together with friends at a local yoga studio, and connect via the phone or Internet with teachers from all over the world who will share tools and techniques for living a fulfilling and happy life.
 
The session I’m teaching is called Chair Yoga:  Basics and Flows
 
When you register for the conference, you can attend any and all of the sessions. If for some reason you can’t make one, you can listen to the recording at your convenience.
 
The full details and registration information here:
 
 
Because I’m a scheduled as a conference speaker I am able extend a special $50 savings to you by using the coupon code:
 
YHU219
 
(Note: this coupon can be applied to your cart during the checkout payment process for an instant $50 off the general admission price.)
 
 
Looking forward to connecting with you during the event.
 
May your new year be filled with love and happiness,
 
Karen   » Virtual Conference
Contact
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Karen O'Donnell Clarke yogahealsus@yahoo.com

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Yoga Heals Us LLC • 129 Rose Hill Road • Ledyard • CT • 06339
http://www.yogahealsus.com
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