keep going

On this path no effort is wasted,
no gain is ever reversed;
even a little of this practice
will shelter you from great sorrow.

2.40 Bhagavad Gita

to be willing to be dazzled

Still, what I want in my life
is to be willing
to be dazzled—
to cast aside the weight of facts

And maybe even
to float a little
above this difficult world.
I want to believe I am looking
into the white fire of a great mystery.

I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing—
that the light is everything—that is is more than the sum
of each flawed blossom rising and fading. And I do.

~Mary Oliver, from “The Ponds”

stay on the track

Anyone who genuinely and constantly with both hands
looks for something, will find it.
Though you are lame and bent over, keep moving toward [it]. With speech, with silence, with sniffing about, stay on the track.
Whenever some kindness comes to you, turn that way, toward the source of kindness.

~~Rumi (III 978-981)

"just finishing candle"

A candle is made to become entirely flame.
In that annihilating moment
it has no shadow.
It is nothing but a tongue of light
describing a refuge.
Look at this
Just finishing candle stub
As someone who is finally safe
from virtue and vice,

the pride and the shame
we claim from those.

~Rumi,  v 672-682

But what is it then that sits in my heart?

“And still I’m looking at everything—
in the wide morning and the strike of noon
I’m humming and clapping my hands,
and I can’t stop
not for any reason
not even the easiest thought.

And, anyway, what is thought
but elaborating, and organizing?
What is thought
but doubting, and crying out?
————-
But what is it then that sits in my heart,
that breathes so quietly, and without lungs——
that is here, here in this world, and yet not here?

—Mary Oliver, from “Riprap”

Jennifer Beaumont demonstrating Urdhva Kukkutāsana from Śīrsāsana II

Who can open the door?

“Who can open the door who does not reach for the latch?

Who can travel the miles who does not put one foot in front of the other, all attentive to what presents itself continually?

Who will behold the inner chamber who has not observed with admiration, even with rapture, the outer stone...

Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?

While the soul, after all, is only a window, and the opening of a window no more difficult than the wakening from a little sleep...

For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters, caution and prudence?
Fall in! Fall in!”

~~Mary Oliver

New Kids Yoga Classes

 In January, the Iyengar Yoga Center of Grand Rapids will resume our Kids Yoga program. The class is playful and quickly-paced, however the impacts can be tremendous.   The practice of yoga in the childhood years can help prevent or reduce developmental, musculo-skeletal, stress-related, emotional problems, and builds a foundation for practice and serious study in adulthood.  There is a possibility for a group class for all ages kids ( 4 & up), or two classes: younger children (4 & up), and older children age 8 - teens, depending on the level of interest. Possible class times: Mondays 4:30pm - 5:15pm, Tuesdays or Thursdays 4:30 - 5:15pm. Please contact Jennifer@iycgr.com, if you are interested in these classes so that we can get your input on scheduling.

About the teacher: Jennifer Beaumont has been studying and practicing Iyengar Yoga for twenty years, beginning in her teen years. The practice of Iyengar yoga has helped her cultivate health and recover from injuries, chronic health problems and trauma experiences. Jennifer has been studying therapeutic applications of yoga with her teacher, Manouso Manos, for many years. She is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (at the Intermediate Jr. III level), a Certified Yoga Therapist, and a Certified Secondary Education Teacher by the Michigan Department of Education. She has been teaching kids and teens yoga in Grand Rapids beginning in 2005.   She is a dedicated teacher who inspires her students to overcome their challenges through the practice of yoga.