Yoga with Sara V.

For the past four months I have been part of a wonderful developing community of yogis and yoginis at The Point EB and I feel so grateful and just want to express it!! Practicing Yoga Essentials with yoga newbies and my regulars Tuesday evenings has been a highlight of my week - you always make me feel happy and at peace, even when I didn´t go into class that way ;) I´ll now catch you Thursday evenings 8-9 for a Power Flow. As I said last night, you are ready!!

"If the way you see the world isn't helping you make the changes you seek to make, consider seeing the world differently." -Marketing guru Seth Godin.

A SuperTool: Constructive Resting Pose

Un-learn How to Do Navasana/Boat Pose - Your Back will Thank You

NavasanAAAAAAAA (said in a musical tone). I´l love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to comment!

saravalverdeyoga.com Practice boat pose these two ways, following Cues #1 first and then Cues #2: “ #1 -Start laying on your back, then engage your ¨core¨ to bend at the hips and knees, to arrive in boat. -Lengthen your spine -Keep the chest open. Continue to pull the bellybutton toward th

“Simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.” -Lao Tzu

Yay! Coachup is offering discounts for their 5 year anniversary. Use the codes below when you book your yoga sessions with me here: https://www.coachup.com/coaches/sarav. I encourage you to message me with any yoga-related questions. I´m happy to help.

Spring 2017 Musing

New blog post :) Have a luminous spring.

saravalverdeyoga.com When I was a young kid, I remember not quite capturing how spring came after winter. To understand in my head, I explained to myself that the four seasons are a sensical transitioning from one to the other. Warm spring turned into the hotter summer months. Then the crispness of fall would co

Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.

~ James Cash Penney

Scientific American

“Breathing is about staying alive on one level, but it’s also connected to emotional life."

Let's Do Good in the Face of Bad

Feeling grateful for what I have and for what I can give.

saravalverdeyoga.com In college one of my best friends introduced me to the Jewish practice of Tzedakah. It roughly translates to charity. But it's more related to as a sacred obligation than an optional act of generosity. From the perspective of karma, this makes sense because what goes around comes around! I wan

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate ~Carl Jung

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
~ Albert Einstein
We'll be practicing internal peace this morning at The Breathing Room @10:30 😁😄

How to Stop De-stabilizing Your Core

May your mind be blown ;-)

saravalverdeyoga.com Most yoga practitioners want to strengthen their core. But like anything, we first should be sure to truly understand the problem before we can resolve it. How did your core become weak? Perhaps it's a desk job or sedentary lifestyle. I can add that some chronic ways of holding yourself whi

Tomorrow night will be my last Candlelight Flow practice at The Breathing Room in Harvard Square. This class has been such a peaceful and refreshing treat to guide every Monday evening...I will miss it and everyone who practiced together. I'd love to see you at 7:30 tomorrow night...12 Arrow St, Harvard Square.

Is Detoxing Really a Myth?

Just my style: using both scientific research and common sense to filter through the truths and non-truths of a big health claim. I´m planning to do a cleanse for the first time in April, and this article further encouraged me to keep to my simple plan of simply eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, with water and no-caffeine tea for 8 days. No products to buy or regimens to follow, because I like simplicity. This is a safe way to give my liver, kidneys, and colon a nice break, and therefore do what they already can do so well. What do you think? What are your thoughts or experiences with a cleanse? I´m eager to hear what you have to say :)

huffingtonpost.com The Guardian released an article entitled:

Utkatasana - An Alternative Approach

After class, Zoe shared with another student that she thought I was the ¨queen of chair pose¨. Thanks Zoe for inspiring me to write this post!

saravalverdeyoga.com Chair pose is one of my favorite poses. I´m sure I´m an anomaly with this one, because as any yogi would tell you, utkatasana is hard and not very fun. It´s hard to stay in it for more than about ten breaths, because your thighs and butt start burning, and your body is telling you to ¨Stop!¨

Every moment, every decision, even every mistake, is all part of the process. Be kind to yourself. Zen saying: "The snow falls, each flake in it's appropriate place".

One, Three, or Five lessons are being auctioned off today and tomorrow, for Suffolk Law's Public Interest Law Group (SPILG), a Fellowship program that "provides funding for students working in otherwise unpaid summer internships with non-profit and government organizations. The purpose of the fellowship program is to support Suffolk Law students dedicated to public service while providing an invaluable service to non-profit and government organizations and the communities they serve." The silent auction will raise funding for the fellowship. Go bid if you're near Suffolk, and spread the word!

The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest. ~Bruce Lee

Living with Less… Consciously Choosing What to Keep, Use & Let Go: A Liveaboard Life – Part 2

Cross posting here! The seed that was planted in my mind, to practice seeing my life as abundant, was as much planted by studying Yoga as it was practicing clutter-clearing. ☺ Everything's connected!

living-peace.com In Part I of my Liveaboard Life series, I shared how refreshing it is to not have stuff from my past weighing me down, as well as how living with what I only love and need in my beloved sailboat su…

A Master Marketer's take on staying anchored in your inner truths and values:

I got to the gate just as they closed the door and the plane began to back away.

It was thirty years ago, but I still remember how it felt. I think we’re hard-wired to fear these painful moments of missing out.

Deadlines don’t cause death if missed, but sometimes we persuade ourselves that it’s almost as bad. As a result, marketers and others that want us to take action invent cliffs, slamming doors and loud buzzers.

We put a rope at door, a timer on the clock and focus on scarcity and the fear of missing out. And as a result, consumers and students and co-workers wait for the signals, prioritizing their lives around the next urgency.

When everything is focused on the deadline, there’s little time to work on the things that are actually important.

When we build our lives around ‘what’s due’ we sacrifice our agency to the priorities and urgencies of everyone else.

More important is the bigger issue: Time is running out.

For all the things you might want to experience, not merely the ones that are about to leave the gate.

Time is running out for you to level up or connect or to be generous to someone who really needs you.

Time is running out for you to become the person you've decided to be, to make the difference you seek to make, to produce the work you know you're capable of.

Set your own buzzer.

~Seth Godin

Problems cannot be solved by thinking with the framework in which they were created. ~Einstein

Candlelight Vinyasa - The Breathing Room

I can't wait to guide some folks through a soothing yoga practice tonight 💜👍 I'm at The Breathing Room, 12 Arrow St. in Harvard Square. Sign up below to reserve your spot.

breathingroomboston.com Teacher: Sara Valverde When: Mondays, 7:30 pm to 8:45 pm Where: Harvard Square Investment: $15 Also included in The Breathing Room’s weekly pass, monthly pass, and class packs Hold Space: Reserve Your Place In Class Move through a vinyasa flow … Continue reading →

You'll never find rainbows
If you're looking down

Life may be dreary
But never the same
Some day it's sunshine
Some day it's rain

~ Charlie Chaplin

Mmmm brought in the New Year right with Ana Schreck Yoga and Caitlin Green 's workshop. Thank you so much 💜
May 2017 bring us all even more solidarity, understanding, and progress 🎉🎉

Vasisthasana (Side Plank): The Myth, the Benefits, the Practice

This article made me appreciate side plank in a whole new way! Thank you Dr. Zo Newell 💜

yogainternational.com Exploring side plank in all of its multidimensionality.

Your Body, From a Complicated Machine to Something Else Part II

Latest blog post!

saravalverdeyoga.com Part I introduced an orthodox of our times: relating to our bodies as complicated machines since the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, we study, treat, and percept our bodies by breaking them down into parts and systems, like we do with computers, engines, even the earth! To help unde...

20+ Resources to Help You Process After the Election of Donald Trump

In times of transformation, continue to listen to your inner voice, your inner guide, your inner teacher - your higher self transcends impermanence.

everydayfeminism.com Many of us are reeling after last night's election results. Whether you need to process with others or just take a moment for yourself, these resources are a place to start.

Feeling stressed and anxious about this election? Need some perspective? The theme of tonight´s Candlelight Vinyasa Flow will be Impermanence. Do something productive for yourself and join us! At The Breathing Room in Harvard Square.

On this rainy day I´m feeling grateful for water, and also feeling humbly astounded that all water is connected and ever flowing through the Earth we call home. I´m treasuring all water I´ve experienced this year, from the snow-capped Illumani mountains, to the Amazon River, to the Boston Harbor, to the Harbor Islands.

¨Living creatures are nourished by food, and food is nourished by rain; rain itself is the water of life¨ ~Bhagavad Gita

Close your eyes and meditate on water for just a moment, perhaps saying a silent thank you to all it does. And then drink some ;)

My love for de-cluttering has manifested in:

1. Being a yoga teacher that guides you to internally de-clutter.
Un-learn habitual ways of moving and thinking, postural habits and more.
2. (Training to) be a professional organizer that supports you in your external de-clutter goals for your home and/or office.

Check out Living-Peace.com to learn more about what we can support you with.

May you find your path

Galileo was a wise soul. He said, "We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves".

You can now find me on Coachup, whose headquarters are right here in Boston. This startup connects people with pre-screened quality coaches.

--> coachup.com/me/yogawithsarav

coachup.com

Leave The Yoga Plow In The Field | Huffington Post

¨If you are doing yoga to get the buffed out yoga butt, forget the plow pose. Plow can create a flat neck, which makes a flat butt."

I had the privilege of learning from Michaelle Edwards at Kripalu, a teacher ahead of her time. She is pushing the evolution of Modern Western Yoga in the right direction, and I have a lot of respect for her. Read her recent HuffPost article about why she, nor I, teach Plow Pose.
Yoga is about creating more self awareness and finding Truth. Why do you do plow pose? Are you being honest with yourself about how you feel while doing it and how you feel afterward? Feel free to comment!

huffingtonpost.com Leave the Yoga Plow Pose in the Field Many claims have been made to the supposed benefits of the plow pose.

How to deal with uncontrollable noise

I´ve always been sensitive to the sound pollution in Boston, such as while trying to sleep at night or taking the T! I´ll admit, I´ve been told by close ones that I´m being unreasonable about it. I even remember in high school storming up the stairs late at night to yell at my mom to put a place mat underneath her computer, because the typing of her keyboard through the floor right above me was waking me and keeping me up!!!
This blog post by Karen Kingston shed a new light on this, that I´d like to explore. I´m sure I´m not the only one who may find this helpful.
I may have just been blessed with really good hearing :) And/or maybe my sensitivity is my higher self communicating something potentially empowering for me. As a yoga practitioner, I practice the ¨beginner´s mind¨ by staying open to learning, experimenting, and possibility.
Comment below if you resonate with what I share!

karenkingston.com Feng shui is a lifestyle choice that can be systematically applied to enhance all areas of a home. But some people view it as an all-purpose fix-it system with miraculous powers to banish anything …

Guest Blogger: Learn to Un-Learn Stressful Habits

Debunk tension habits! Check out my latest blog by Guest Blogger Cecile Raynor-Alexander Technique, Thai Yoga & Reiki.
May it engender the next steps in your journey to resolve those nagging areas of stiffness and discomfort that won´t go away, that we all experience in our bodies.

saravalverdeyoga.com I am sharing this blog post from Off the Mat Yoga, an top-notch resource for yoga practitioners. The author, Cecile Raynor, AmSAT, has been an Alexander Technique teacher for over 25 years, a Swami Yogananda devotee for about just as long, and now works as a Yoga Teacher Coach. She is also the artis...

Had a great session with Zach yesterday; we both had the opportunity to review the value of listening to your body. One example is how his knee has been bothering him after a lot of recent crouching/squatting for work - and how he wants to improve his padmasana for his meditation practice. Lotus pose can place a lot of strain on the knees. If your knees are calling your attention through discomfort, stiffness, or pain, listen to their calls! Be kind to your precious knees, because yoga is a practice in kindness to your body. We were able to find a seated posture where Zach felt at ease and pain free (no acting up of the knee especially), able to be still and meditate for however long his heart desires😃