I love to cook, and over the years have gotten pretty good at it.  No one ever "taught" me how to cook, I absolutely cannot be bound to using a recipe, and the big downside, according to friends and family, is that you'll never enjoy the same meal twice.  But believe me when I tell you, I got it wrong pretty regularly before I started getting it right.  As we start a new year and I begin another journey around the sun, I'm struck by how what happens in my kitchen is some kind of metaphor for my journey in life.  At this point, it's always something of an adventure, and here are some thoughts about the process.

- Regardless of how good your parents/mentors/teachers, no one can teach you what you need to learn.  We learn best through experience. Trial and error. Getting it right and getting it very wrong. So stop beating yourself up when you get it wrong.  That's part of the process. 

- Sometimes getting it really, really, painfully and utterly wrong is a necessary step on the path to getting it really, really, deliciously and euphorically right. Trust the process.

- There are a thousand "instruction books" in the Self Help section of your local bookstore on how to make up, break up, move up, move on, and move out, but ultimately the map you make in this life is yours and yours alone. You can't follow someone else's recipe.  Your process is just that.  Yours. 

- The present moment is all you can count on. You can never recreate it or undo it, no matter how hard you try.  So stop worrying and savor whatever you've got right now, because it won't last forever. This is your life.  Right now.  This. Is. It.

So I'm thinking about the New Year ahead, untouched and untarnished, full of potential and possibility.  An empty bowl, if you will, waiting to be filled with the ingredients to create the year ahead.

May you take the time to consider what you have before you and what you've learned along the way; may you call on your many resources and vast experience as a guide; may you choose wisely as you begin on this very first day of the year by adding into the bowl of 2014 only the best ingredients.  For me, I'll be starting with gratitude, love, rest, and quiet.  Not quite sure what I'm making yet, but it's off to a good start.

Happy New Year, friends.

Peace,
Jill

get to know our teachers

 

Sandy has long been the blue's Friday Flow maven, but this summer she also began teaching Yin Yoga. "This practice speaks to me in a way that is different," she says. "I love the stillness and the space it creates for the being-with."

 

A member of the blue lotus family from even before the beginning, Sandy also has a large family of her own - she is the sixth of seven children. "That's truly a gift that keeps on giving," she says. "So many lessons learned, growing up and in hindsight. We all lived in the same home, but experienced the same things differently. And it influenced who we are and how we continue to move about in the world."

 

Sandy gets some Ruby love as Oso and Patita stay alert for squirrels in their back yard.

If you know Sandy at all, you know her true niche is service and connection. Sometimes that means the obvious, like serving on boards for nonprofit groups. Sometimes it's not so structured: supporting her husband, Myles, as he makes his way through nursing school; connecting people with professional or personal opportunities; or - and perhaps especially - taking time to give some love to pretty much any and every dog that crosses her path.  

 

"Serving others heals us," Sandy says. "About nine years ago my brother gave me the book My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Reman, MD, and I pulled it out again recently to re-read it. Reman's grandfather saw life as a web of connection and knew that everyone belonged to him, and that he belonged to everyone.' I kinda feel like that."

 

Sandy is many things to blue lotus - since before the blue opened its doors, she's been our marketing and Web guru, our karma yoga goddess, and our general all-purpose savior. And that she's one of our talented teachers, too? We think she is the gift that keeps on giving.

 

new year, new classes, new intentions

return to the mat

Looking to make some changes in 2014? One of the best places to start is on the mat. Shake up your routine with a few of these new classes, teachers, and workshops at the blue:

• Morning Practice on Wednesdays with Kristin Monk -- 7:00 am beginning January 8: Begin your Wednesday with an energetic and flowing class that focuses on aligning your body, mind, and heart. This class will blend an inspiring vinyasa flow with alignment instruction to create clarity in your practice and encourage openness in your body and your daily life. All levels are welcome.

• Gentle Yoga on Sundays with Mary Scudella -- 1:00 pm, beginning January 19: This class, like the Monday 4:00 pm Gentle Yoga class, offers a gentle approach to yoga asana, and Mary puts special emphasis on therapeutics. The pace is a little slower than a typical vinyasa class, making it perfect for those who are new to yoga, have physical limitations, or desire a calming practice.

• Workshops to (re)set your intentions:
  • The Yoga of Goal Setting with Sherry Essig: Saturday, January 25, 2:30-5:30 pm: Can your yoga practice help you manifest your good intentions for 2014? Yes! Join Sherry Essig for this three-hour workshop on how to successfully achieve what's most important to you - in a way that's nurturing, sustainable, and aligns with your heart.
  • Finding your Voice, Standing in Your Truth, and Owning your Power with Carrington Jackson: Saturday, February 1, 1:00-7:00 pm: This one-day workshop is designed to test your boundaries, self-imposed or otherwise, about how you speak, move and act in the world. Whether you're a teacher wanting to deepen your teaching practice or a student looking to connect to your authentic voice, this workshop is designed to practice the art of standing in truth, owning your power, and letting your voice be heard. 

kids yoga + how we can change
the world

what if yoga would have found you when you were a kid?

Once you've discovered the impact yoga can have on your life, it's common to have that moment where you shake your head to this thought: "How different my life could have been, if only I'd discovered yoga sooner!"  

 

While we believe that yoga always finds you at just the right time, we also believe there's no better time than childhood to start developing the skills  yoga teaches us:  how to soothe, steady, and strengthen the body, mind, and heart. For the little yogis in your life, Jen Davis is offering another eight-week Kids Yoga series, beginning January 9 - every Thursday, 4:00-5:00 pm. 

 

change one life, change the world 

The blue is also embarking on a different project to help change the lives of  young people:  This year our anniversary celebration will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle, an organization that pairs at-risk kids with mentors to make positive changes in their lives - ultimately, to change the world one kid at a time.

We see so much common ground between the work of yoga and the work of BBBS, and we're so excited to be supporting them this year with at least 15 by-donation classes, a potluck and wine tasting, and a heaping pile of raffle prizes...stay tuned for details!

see you at the blue!