Cheryl Thomas, RYT

www.cherylthomas.com

yoga@cherylthomas.com

415-308-3377

Me and Facebook

I've heard more than one time: "You're not on Facebook"? Why?". It's the "why" that I struggled with. I'm not a Luddite, as I consider myself fairly technologically inclined and a bit geeky. I wasn't scared of it. I'm also not a slacker. Getting things done I can do. I've composed and sent this newsletter out every Sunday at 7:15 a.m. for 4 years. I'm also somewhat of a connector. I have a knack for putting people together, in a good way. So, what was it? Why wasn't I on Facebook?

I do have reasons. It's not that I hadn't given it any thought as my friends knew more about what my other friends were doing that I did. I was lamenting to one friend that I hadn't heard anything about my friend, Stacey. But, they all knew exactly what Stacey was doing, where she'd vacationed and her latest hike. Facebook.

Pros -

It's almost a cultural norm like the iPhone and pdfs and Pandora, now Spotify. Not being on Facebook is like looking in the yellow pages for the phone number for SoHung Restaurant for your Crab Rangoon takeout. Even grandmas are on Facebook (much to the chagrin of their kids).

It provides a connection. Isn't that what we want more of? More interdependence. More sharing. More community. That's where I'm headed.

Facebook is an information source via your contacts. Remember (or not) the kitchen klatch, stitch & bitch, the water cooler, or bridge? Now, it's Facebook.

Facebook is a tool and a powerful one. But, just like any tool, it can be used for good and/or evil. Discernment is the key.

I'm a business and I'm told I need it.

Cons - Oh, there are many, where should I start?

Numero Uno: It can be a time sucker and I don't need any more of that. I am arranging my life to spend "less time" in front of the computer. And as Louis C.K. (see below) says, "You need the ability to be yourself and not be doing sumthin'." Facebook is one more sumthin' to be doing.

It can be a soul sucker as well, as we become voyeurs of other people's lives. Look at that photo of Tim and Jessie in their Tommy Bahamas sucking on a top shelf margarita on their Maui vacation with their 2.5 lovely, if not ADD-diagnosed, children. Maybe you just got laid off, lost your home and your kid just got another piercing. How does that feel?

Facebook is creating havoc in relationships. One-third of divorce filings include the word "Facebook". I like my marriage, a lot. Also, as reported in HuffPo, "Facebook users are more likely to connect or reconnect with . . . previous partners, which may lead to emotional and physical cheating." Jeez, that we don't need more of.

Yes, I know, there's the privacy issue and there are privacy settings, I hear. But I have given up any notion that what I do is private what with the internet bots roaming like PacMan through my emails, credit card statements, medical records, and market receipts. They (whoever "they" are) know I took a yummy, but hard, yoga class in Del Mar last month and that I bought a black cashmere sweater from Talbot's online using a 25% off coupon (yay!). I'm over the privacy issue.

So, you may wonder. Did I do it? Yes, I did. I'm on Facebook. Want to join me? Click right here.

Want to read some of my previous articles? You can do it here. Enjoy.

Bulletin Board

Did you see it? On the upper right of this page. You betcha. It's a Follow Me on Twitter link. Do. It'll be fun to connect with you a bit more often.

My weekly schedule is below (scroll down or click here! ). Or, you can always go to my website and click on the always up-to-date calendar to find where I might be.

Check out Nadra McAuliffe's sweet new studio in Kenwood, Lion Heart Yoga. They're having a Grand Opening with a week of Free Classes - Oct 7-14.

What will they think of next? Yep, Hoop Vinyasa Yoga. It's Hula Hoop Dance and Vinyasa Yoga. Really. It's at the OMFactory in NYC.

Get ready, there's another Yoga Out the Door event in the works. Join us on a Tuesday at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco for yoga. Yes, yoga is held IN the cathedral on the labyrinth with live music. Imagine 100 people om-ing. It's pretty magical. Then, we'll enjoy dinner together. Date and time coming!

Kusuma Rose, back from 3 years in India, is offering an Intro to Yoga and 6-week series starting in Oct in Graton. Find out more at www.kusumacreates.com.

Yay! Anne O'Brien returns to Solage Spa in Calistoga. A day filled with inspired yoga, a dip and a steam and opportunities for yummy goodness. What could be better? It happens October 25.

Want to get your groove on in the mornings. Penny will challenge you with a strong, athletic practice of killer arm balances, core work and lots more. At Sonoma Yoga Martial Arts in Penngrove. Mondays at 7 and Wed at 8:45.

Yoga Alliance is offering a link for liability insurance. If you're a fitness/yoga instructor, you want insurance, for sure. I just renewed mine.

The Move2Change Studio in Sebastopol is adding two morning classes with the awesome, Jeanie Gartin. Both at 8 a.m. on Tuesday (Gentle) and Thursday (Power). Stick around for Ann Austin's classes M-F.

Support the Art of Yoga Project and get a cool bag at Rowve. Made right here in the U.S. They're cute!

Heh, Teachers....Feel Good Yoga teacher, Tamara Ice, is offering a yoga class at Apple Blossom School from 4:30 - 5:30 on Mondays. More info at 707-953-2379 or seb.org just show up.

Yoga Teachers and Advanced Students! Study in a small class setting with Tony Briggs. It happens on Tuesdays from 2-4 at at Alive Yoga in Sebastopol Q? Mr. Briggs at tony.briggs108@gmail.com. AND, he starts in November at YogaOne Petaluma on Mondays at 6.

Get boatloads of yoga information and lots of free downloads from YogaU Online. Really, tons. It's a great resource for teachers and students. There's one right now: Free Download - The Key to Improving Alignment in Yoga Postures-Hamstring Health and Why It Matters

Bravo Mr. C.K., My New Hero

My new hero is Louis C.K. for his diatribe on why he'd not giving his daughter a cell phone. Well, it's not really about his daughter, it's about how we use our "devices" to zone out and disconnect from life. This video is flying around the Buddhist communities, as he hits on (knowingly or not) the 4 Noble Truths. See The IDProject's article here. Regardless, a man willing to admit to weeping while listening to Jungleland is loveable.

Whole Foods is Like Vegas

What a hoot and a half. Stand-Up Comic, Kelly MacLean, has written a hilarious article about her experience at the love it or hate it, Whole Foods Market. Here's a bit:

"Next I approach the beauty aisle. There is a scary looking machine there that you put your face inside of and it tells you exactly how ugly you are. They calculate your wrinkles, sun spots, the size of your pores, etc. and compare it to other women your age. I think of myself attractive but as it turns out, I am 78 percent ugly, meaning less pretty than 78 percent of women in the world. On the popular 1-10 hotness scale used by males the world over, that makes me a 3 (if you round up, which I hope you will.) "

Frankly, I'm a Whole Foods Market shopper. I know some cringe, given they see it as an over-priced, mega-corp that, among many things, competes with local farmers. I appreciate a market that had already vetted my food choices. It makes it easier for me. And, I'm glad to pay a bit more for food that is non-GMO and organic. I shop in my garden and the local farmers market for fruits/veggies.

When the Going Gets Tough, the Materialistic Go Shopping

ScienceDaily reported that a recent study suggested that "materialism's intensifying effect on extreme stress may be driven by a global response to fear of death and by low self-esteem."

Also,

"When the going gets tough, the materialistic go shopping . . . and this compulsive and impulsive spending is likely to produce even greater stress and lower well-being. Essentially, materialism appears to make bad events even worse."

Read more here.

Divorce After 50 Grows More Common

Say it isn't so. It's my experience with my set of friends that, yes, many are finding themselves divorced after age 50. Disaster? I don't think so, but it takes some adjustment. An adjustment that includes some counseling and lots of rethinking of income, employment, retirement and identity.

In 1990, 1 in 10 was over 59 or older. By 2011, it was more than 1 in 4. Read the entire report right here. Here's a clip.

"I don't necessarily think this will accelerate, but I don't expect it to go down," she said. "Staying together until death do us part is a bigger challenge than it used to be because we expect so much more of marriage than we did in the past, and we have so many more options when a marriage doesn't live up to those expectations.

New Agey Self Help Books

Here's one person's option of the 6 "Totally Must Read" new agey self help books. Frankly, I haven't read one, but I don't read that much self-help, but that's me, and it may be obvious to you(!). What about you? Are they on your list? I like Pema Chodron's comments. Check it out here. From Elephant Journal.

Steroid Shots for Back Pain

Many of you have or know someone that uses an epidural injection of steroids to manage back pain. The NYT is reporting that:

"Injecting steroids into the area around the spinal cord, known as an epidural, is the most commonly used treatment for back pain, but a new review of studies suggests that injecting any liquid, even plain saline solution, works just as well."

Very interesting, don't you think. Here's the report.

Daily Dharma - Tricycle Magazine

Sept 27, 2013

On Not Elevating Oneself

One of the worst kinds of elevation of the self is playing the victim. There are times when we actually are victims, when actual blame is appropriate, but to take on the identity of a victim and be stuck blaming is something else. Surprisingly, it is actually a subtle form of elevation-I'm not responsible, you are. This is giving up all freedom. I think the reason that remarkable stories of forgiveness take our breath away is that we instantly feel the liberation in the lifting of boundaries, the end of separation, of 'inside' and 'outside.'

- Nancy Baker, "The Seventh Zen Precept"

Be Happy on Friday's

Instead of shots of tequila and fried artichoke hearts, spend your Friday happy hour moving and grooving at an
most-levels vinyasa flow class.

On Friday's from 4:30 - 6:00, we'll end each week with an energetic vinyasa flow class. Through building heat from the inside, we'll strip out the stress hormones from the day. A long rest at the end of class will reset our nervous system and prepare us for our weekend.

You'll be done at 6:00!! That'll leave plenty of time for dinner with friends, a movie or a relaxing evening with your pooch. Or, maybe a Chia filled Kombucha or that 100% agave margarita!

Get Your Girlfriends Together

It's fun to get friends together. Treat your friends to Yoga and Tea rather than Food and Booze. Inviting friends to come together for a Gentle or Restorative Yoga class is a perfect way to enjoy each other's company and do something good for yourselves. Many yoga parties end with tea or champagne and some munchies. Your friends will thank you!

Please call on me if I can help you book a private yoga class or answer any questions. I can be reached at cheryl@cherylthomas.com.

S
Schedule of Upcoming Classes

Click here to jump to my calendar

Week of October 6, 2013

Tuesday

11:00 - 12:00

Yoga One Santa Rosa

Gentle Flow Vinyasa, All Levels

12:10 - 1:00

Yoga One Santa Rosa

Vinyasa Flow, All Levels

Thursday

Week of October 13 , 2013

Tuesday

11:00 - 12:00

Yoga One Santa Rosa

Gentle Flow Vinyasa, All Levels

12:10 - 1:00

Yoga One Santa Rosa

Vinyasa Flow, All Levels

Thursday

8:45 - 9:45 a.m.

Graton Community Club, Graton

Gentle Flow - All Levels

11:00 - 12:00

Yoga One Santa Rosa

Gentle Flow Vinyasa, All Levels

12:10 - 1:00

Yoga One Santa Rosa

Vinyasa Flow, All Levels

Friday

4:30 - 6:00

Westside Yoga Studio

Happy Hour Vinyasa

Yoga Studios

Yoga on Center: www.yogaoncenter.com

Westside Yoga Studio: www.westsideyogastudio.net

Graton's Got Yoga: www.yogaingraton.com

In This Issue

Me and Facebook

Did you Know?

Bravo Mr. C.K.

Whole Foods

When the Going Gets Tough

Divorce After 50

New Agey Self-Help

Steroids for Back Pain

Daily Dharma

Happy Hour Vinyasa

Private Yoga

Week of Oct 6

Week of October 13

Bulletin Board

Graton Yogis Info:

Did you know your class pass (get these from your instructor) are accepted by all yoga teachers at Yoga in Graton?

We Gratonite Yogis have a place to call our own. It's www.

yogaingraton.com. There is information about current and new yoga classes offered in Graton. Don't live in Graton? No problem. We want you to come anyway.

When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes. Ansel Adams

"Not to have what we want is stressful; to have what we do not want is stressful."Buddha

Dalai Lama: "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

"Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it's not yet the end!" The Magnolia Hotel movie

Eat Right Rule

If your Food can go bad, it's good for you. If it can't go bad, it's bad for you. Originally pinned by Michael Leaming, Ed.D. onto Fitness, Nutrition & Wellness