New Beginnings and Continuation....

Progress is the result of consistent effort, dedication and skill over time. Although I have surely experienced a breakthrough moment or a big shift in a flash; I have also come to understand quick payback is not a tenable model of growth. Luck helps too, but buying lottery tickets is not a statistically likely form of financial planning. Rather, as the hashtag #YogaEveryDamnDay proclaims, yoga is the repetitious, recursive practice of self-awareness.

Consider the image of Ganesh (the elephant-headed one) eating a pomegranate. The scale is incongruous. He is an elephant, eating one pomegranate seed at a time, gracefully and with precission--without crushing the whole thing. This metaphor is a model to draw upon. How do we make progress in our work, in our yoga, in our lives? One seed at a time. One breath at a time. One pose at a time. One day at a time...Growth requires vision, an elephant memory, patience, dedication and follow-through every damn day. Then perhaps the day comes when you look at the aggregate of your great effort and appreciate that you have achieved huge transformation and progress.

Here at YOGAMAZÉ, we are in the final stages of a big shift on the heels of months of grueling hard work. We are now fully inhabiting our 169 location after setting an intention to more fully make this our home and invigorate our daily offerings. While this may not seem like a big move, it represents an enormous shift for us. This new phase of fully occupying our space feels like a new beginning, similar to a deep and thorough spring-cleaning. We have sifted and poured through years of accumulated "stuff," paring down, editing and revising to accommodate our new plan. Our studio is infused with increased energy, presence and efficiency as we are now inhabiting and filling ancillary rooms that were mostly unused before.

More than a year has now passed since our first emissary teacher training launched. I am blown away by the hard work, dedication and steady progress of all of the incredible souls who have chosen to teach with us. Our list of programs and teachers has grown too long for me to wax poetic on each  - but check out the right-hand column and our website to learn more about these rich and exciting offerings.

It has also been nearly a year since Rocky Heron came onboard at YOGAMAZÉ in a full-time role. Rocky has been an incredible addition to our team.  He is such a gifted teacher, and we are honored to be in his company.

Rocky and the incomparable Nichol Chase will offer a weekend format 200YTT here beginning in June along with me. Nichol, who brings such joy and expertise to this yoga, has also been on our faculty for more than a year now. 

Emissaries Rocky Heron and Erin Widman will be representing YOGAMAZÉ on the festival circuit this year.  Rocky will teach and sing (have you heard his music?) at Wanderlust Festival, and Erin Widman, also launching 200YTT this summer in Flagstaff, will be sharing her teaching at the Telluride Yoga Festival.  In retrospect we have certainly been in a time of radical shift.

I continue to be impressed by my beloved Tracy's ability to manage complex tasks, run a growing business, and operate as a single parent so much of the time. She somehow manages our family, YOGAMAZÉ and everything we do, optimizes space for a highly functional purpose and simultaneously makes everything so beautiful. (Now, if I can just get her to stop rearranging everything and regenerate her yoga & meditation practice, that will be progress indeed!) If you have not yet visited and experienced the beauty, please come see and share in our new beginnings. Come for a yoga class. Come for a weekend retreat/intensive with me and Douglas Brooks.   (our topic is Ganapati, of course). Come for a training program and continue to steadily grow your yoga practice or your craft.

If you can't make it in person, perhaps we will see you online.  We have new and exciting online courses happening. Anatomy 101 and 202, with Paula Gelbart, recently completed.

 Anatomy 101 and 202 each have a TON of content (basically a college level anatomy and kinesiology course), and they warrant time to work through lectures and handouts.  I loved offering this course.  

Our next course, Asanatomy  is set to launch April 22. Asanatomy will focus on the anatomy of 8+ fundamental poses, common misalignments, and teaching strategies (cues, use of props, sequencing etc) to bring the applied anatomy to life in yoga classes. We have been so excited about our work with Paula that we have asked her to join our faculty full time. So in both a big shift and a natural continuation of our day to day work, Dr. Paula Gelbart joins our YOGAMAZÉ team April 1st.

For my part, I am very much continuing my travel schedule and all of my content/teaching projects for an ever growing full range of YOGAMAZÉ curriculum. I am currently in Indonesia teaching trainings in Jakarta and classes at the Bali Spirit Festival, and managing my jet lag with green smoothies, coconuts and Vietnamese coffee. My office is a laptop and headphones from wherever I am, and home is often in the form of a suitcase.

The kids are thriving and bring endless light into our lives. Madeleine is in her second extra curricular musical theatre production. She recently played Sister Margaretta in the Sound of Music. Currently, she is rehearsing for "Into the Woods." Her confidence has grown exponentially and I am frequently moved to tears by her compassion and sensitivity. She and I continue to share yoga together-check out our Daddy & Me classes at Yogaglo, and look for some more cuteness and fun coming to your computer soon.   

Oliver (or should I say Baby Krishna?) is ever mischievous, playful and loving.  

I think he has my sense of humor. He and I recently took a trip to the Grand Canyon and had some quality daddy and son time. We hiked down from the ice and snow at the south rim to the heat below at three-mile house on the Bright Angel Trail. It's been a while since I've carried a 45 pound pack in that kind of terrain, or had sore legs like I did for the days following.

Tracy recently took them "glamping" (camping in a yurt) with many of Madeleine's Kindergarten classmate families and spent a weekend playing games and having adventures. It is a precious time and we are trying to be as present as we can as the time speeds by.

My wish for all of us in this time of new beginnings is that we enjoy great and inspiring visions that lead us forward, while we practice the discipline, dedication and patience it really takes to see them manifest.   

One pomegranate seed at a time. One breath at a time. One pose at a time. One day at a time.

#YogaEveryDamnDay

Namaste, Noah