Beacon Yoga

Forgiveness – Freeing the Heart from the Past
-Swami Ramananda

The month of September contains two of the most important holy days in the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah begins a 10 day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement. These holy days remind us that seeking forgiveness and offering forgiveness to those that have offended us, are two of the most important ways to free our hearts from the past and the psychic knots that can restrict our ability to give and receive love. With this in mind, we decided to practice forgiveness for the month of September.

I am going to write here about the process of forgiving others, which can be very difficult, but can also be very healing. If we have been deeply hurt, we may have no interest in forgiving someone or it may seem impossible. But an inability to forgive usually means carrying inside a toxic energy of anger and ill-will that darkens the heart and keeps us connected to the very person from whom we may wish to be free.
Correctly understood, forgiveness is a conscious process of releasing resentful feelings. It frees us from being emotional victims of others, allows our hearts to breathe, and moves us one step closer to experiencing the natural flow of compassion that arises when blockages are removed.
Forgiveness does not mean condoning someone’s behavior, allowing them to be irresponsible or abusive, or letting them back into our lives. It does not mean being nice to the person you forgive--or even talking to them. Because it’s primarily an inner process, we can practice forgiveness and still take appropriate action to correct someone, set boundaries to protect ourselves, or even press charges.

A significant obstacle to forgiveness is the presence of anger, rage, grief or fear that may prevent us from acting skillfully. We may be more comfortable directing our fury toward someone than facing those painful feelings within ourselves. Inflicting suffering on others may feel good or justifiable temporarily, but it won’t heal our wounds or offer real peace to our hearts.
Resolving painful emotions requires that we acknowledge them without shame or self-judgment. Emotions are meant to move through us. In order to feel safe enough to experience them, we may need support, particularly if our own mindfulness is not strong enough to be fully present to our pain without getting lost in it. As we untie these emotional knots, we recover our perspective and clarity, and often see the hard lessons that our suffering has taught us.

This effort to reflect on and release painful feelings lays a foundation for the process of forgiveness. As we learn to face our own impulses and reactions, it becomes easier to understand the actions of others. Forgiveness then becomes a practice of looking beneath the surface of a person’s behavior to acknowledge the deeper spiritual essence that is worthy of our respect.

Looking deeply, we may recognize that many of our interactions with each other are unconsciously based on protecting our self-image, trying to control the ever-changing world around us and win the acceptance of others. We can practice having compassion for the ways that we all suffer from our attempts to arrange for happiness, reminding ourselves of the innate goodness within, like the light beneath a lampshade. We can also acknowledge the ways we may have hurt others when we’ve been preoccupied with our own safety and desires, and in this spirit of compassion, forgive ourselves for these mistakes.

Forgiving ourselves is a significant step toward understanding the actions of others that have hurt us. We can practice looking with eyes of compassion and releasing bitterness from our hearts, seeing both someone’s behavior and their deeper spiritual Self. It may help to envision such a person as a child, full of hopes and dreams and shaped by the various traumas of human life.

True Nature calls in the silence. Listen listen

We had such an amazing time dancing together at The Goddess Festival!

Nataraja - Short Film (Aldous Huxley - 1961) Nataraja - Short Film The great writer Aldous Huxley (Brave New World, The Perennial Philosophy, The Doors of Perception, Isla...

New Class w/ Sara on Saturday mornings sign up online 🙏🏾 practice in studio only

Hafiz

Thanks to J. Alice Sipple for leading the awesome children's yoga session at The Goddess Festival. (photo credit to Alison Fornes)

Sweet video by Tanaka 💖

Unplugged: A Sound and Yoga Fall Retreat Unplugged: A Sound and Yoga Fall Retreat at Garrison Institute Oct30- Nov1st 2020 https://www.resonantheartyoga.com/events/unplugged-a-sound-yoga-retreat-oct...

MeSpace/BabySpace is a Prenatal Alexander Technique workshop I’m offering online. - Saturday 9/19/ 20 at 10-11:15 EST - $25 Online through Beacon Yoga Center To register beaconyogacenter.com - @beacon_yoga_center - Your baby is growing themselves inside you at this moment, and there is no other time in your life that you will share space with your baby in the way you are now. This workshop is all about self-care as you and your baby respond to each others shifts and changes. We will begin our time together with an Alexander Technique body awareness mediation, leading into developmental floor sequences to enhance flexibility, centering, breath and balance. We will explore Body Mapping to help you connect to the space inside you that is your support as well as your baby's support. You will learn AT tools for living with ease in your new body and respond to it's changes in size, weight and structure. We will then apply what you learned to practical daily activities such as walking, sleeping, sitting and bending. So you and your baby can find buoyancy, and freedom through out your pregnancy. This workshop is open to all trimesters. - -

Black-Owned yoga studios with livestream classes you can take from anywhere! Thanks to @roomtobreathechicago for updating the resource list so regularly. If your studio is missing from this list comment below and I’ll make sure it gets added!

Thou who art Power fill me with power.
Thou who art Valour infuse valour into me.
Thou who art the Vital Essence endow me with vitality.
Thou who art Wrath against wrong instill that wrath into me.
Thou who art Fortitude fill me with fortitude.

-Yajur Veda

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityor Maa Amritam Gamaya

Lead us from unreal to Real.
Lead us from darkness to the Light.
Lead us from the fear of death
To knowledge of Immortality

Lokaah Samastaah Sukhino Bhavantu
May the entire Universe be filled with Peace and Joy, Love and Light.

May the Light of Truth overcome all darkness!
Victory to that Light!

Jai Sree Satguru Maharaj Ki!
JAI!!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Yogis says that our very first guru (teacher) in our life was our mother. They have taught us so much about how we see the worlds..
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We want to honor the amazing mothers out there in the world and couldn’t think of a better of way of doing so than offering a class dedicated to you!..
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This class is open to all, so come as you are. Start your Mother’s Day nourishing yourself with a 9:30 gentle yoga class with ..
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Registration is required for this class - can be done through Mindbody or our website www.beaconyogacenter.org (link in IG profile)..

Yogis says that our very first guru (teacher) in our life was our mother. They have taught us so much about how we see the worlds..
⏺
We want to honor the amazing mothers out there in the world and couldn’t think of a better of way of doing so than offering a class dedicated to you!..
⏺
This class is open to all, so come as you are. Start your Mother’s Day nourishing yourself with a 9:30 gentle yoga class with ..
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Registration is required for this class - can be done through Mindbody or our website www.beaconyogacenter.org (link in IG profile)..

Relax the body and mind, softening into a space within us that is inherently compassionate. Restorative yoga is a beautiful practice that is healing and balancing..
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75 minutes of feeling soft and warm, with the guidance of our amazing Restorative yoga teacher Karla 💙 She has the gift of being able to read the energy of her students, connecting in the ways that serve them..
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Slow down and restore with Karla this evening starting at 5:15pm via ZOOM 🕊 To register, click on link in bio to register, sign up via mindbody or visit www.beaconyogacenter.org..

🙏🏽 Be patient with yourself. One moment at a time 🙏🏽..

Here for you - together as a community 🧘🏽‍♀️🧘🏻‍♂️🧘🏼‍♀️🧘🏾‍♂️🧘🏿‍♀️🧘🏾‍♂️🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏾‍♀️🧘🏿‍♂️..

Meet Linda ()! She is our amazing Tuesday evening yin yoga teacher who guides students through a quieter and more in drawn practice of yoga..
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Linda is a former editor of Yoga International and Yoga Journal, has been teaching and writing about yoga for more than 20 years. She has authored several books, including A Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health and the award-winning Yoga At Home and contributes to many online offerings, including yogaanytime.com and YogaUOnline..
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She has been teaching vinyasa yoga and yin yoga classes and workshops nationwide. Linda sees yoga as a way for us to wake up to our true selves moment-to-moment using a combination of open-mindedness, lighthearted humor, and a sense of adventure..
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Join her online LIVE class this evening from 5:15-6:45 as she guides you through a simple but challenging practice that allows you to pay more attention to the movement of the mind. It offers therapeutic benefits on the physical, energetic, and mental/emotional bodies. All levels are welcome!..
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Sign up through (or click link in bio). $5 drop in, use your monthly pass or class pass, donate what you can, or just come as you are 💙

Our online schedule for this week - flowing together as a community. See you on the mat? 💙..
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It’s been a while since we posted here but we are back and want to announce to you that we are offering our yoga classes online!..
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In this time of forced stillness we have the opportunity to go deeper. We are here to help connect you to that sacred practice..
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Ommmm shanti, shanti, shanti 🕉
Ommmm, peace, peace, peace..
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Our classes are accessible via ZOOM. Here’s how it works:
• Download ZOOM via your desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone..
• Register for classes via Mindbody on your phone or desktop. You will receive link to ZOOM room via your registered Mindbody email account. Make sure you’re signed up to receive all emails.
• Drop in classes are $5-10 donation or you can use your monthly or class card pass. Can also donate what you can via our PayPal.
• Set up your space in the comfort of your own home and enter digital room within 15 minutes before class starts..
• Enjoy a practice to help center you in the mind, body, and spirit..
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Enjoy an array of yoga and meditation through hatha, iyengar, Vinyasa, chair, restorative and so much more! We are here to serve you and navigate you through these challenging but spacious times together 💙..

Restorative Hatha Fridays 5:30pm w/ Sara

Relax and Restore with gentle stretchy postures and a guided meditation with various tools such as candles/crystals/aroma/sound... and more!

All welcome - End the week and start the weekend with self care

See you on the mat!
Sign up online or drop in
www.beaconyogacenter.org