This is a must listen. Take the time. You won't regret it.Rich Roll and MD Zach Bush generously shares real information, both science-based and heart-centered, to connect, inspire, and empower. They are not based in fear nor are they complicit in contributing towards power dynamics and dependencies. They bring to us what we need to hear to heal ourselves and the world. It's 1 hour 49 minutes long. If you want to get right into it, start the video at 14:50.
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The word on the street is yogis are flexible right? This flexibility is not just about the body, more importantly, it's about the mind. We need this flexibility now more than ever to be able to be agile, to change and adapt to new situations quickly. To be able to "move with the cheese" (have you read this book?) means we can live with purpose, open to new possibilities without the stress and worry of what's next. Sounds like a yoga & meditation practice to us. This is why we practice, to prepare for times of uncertainty.
And we see you all doing this! Coming together, supporting each other and us, adjusting to this new virtual way of life with hope and optimism. Thank you for continuing to keep up for yourselves and each other. We are grateful for your kind words of encouragement & gratitude as well as your generosity and support of community members who have been financially impacted by COVID-19. Over the last month we received unsolicited donations ranging between $75-$300. These funds go into our Community Growth fund to support clients who cannot afford to pay for classes due to loss of income. If you would like to make a donation into the Community Growth fund, please visit us here. Or perhaps you know someone in the healthcare or the service industry who could use some self care right now or in coming months. Here we have gift cards available for 10 class passes, Unlimited Yoga, and Bodywork services which can be used at anytime throughout the year. We are grateful for you. We feel blessed to serve you. We honor and pray for you. With love, Savitree & Jodh author Kristin Flyntz. This letter, written by Kristin Flyntz, whom we do not know here at the studio, was passed on to us by one of our instructors, Raj Devjoti (Emily), and we had to share it here. It's worth the read. Please sit down to read this when you have time to take it in. It is poignant and beautiful, and it asks us to take a look at this moment in time to forklift ourselves from the madness. It directs us towards a pathway to healing, not just ourselves, but the entire world. Stop. Just stop. It is no longer a request. It is a mandate. We will help you. We will bring the supersonic, high speed merry-go-round to a halt. We will stop the planes the trains the schools the malls the meetings the frenetic, furied rush of illusions and "obligations" that keep you from hearing our single and shared beating heart, the way we breathe together, in unison. Our obligation is to each other, as it has always been, even if, even though, you have forgotten. We will interrupt this broadcast, the endless cacophonous broadcast of divisions and distractions, to bring you this long-breakingnews: We are not well. Despite what you might think or feel, we are not the enemy. We are Messenger. We are Ally. We are a balancing force. We are asking you: To stop, to be still, to listen; To move beyond your individual concerns and consider the concerns of all; To be with your ignorance, to find your humility, to relinquish your thinking minds and travel deep into the mind of the heart; To look up into the sky, streaked with fewer planes, and see it, to notice its conditions: clear, smoky, smoggy, rainy? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy? To look at a tree, and see it, to notice its condition: how does its health contribute to the health of the sky, to the air you need to be healthy? To visit a river, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, clean, murky, polluted? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy? How does its health contribute to the health of the tree, who contributes to the health of the sky, so that you may also be healthy? None of us; all of us are suffering. Last year, the firestorms that scorched the lungs of the earth did not give you pause. Nor the typhoons in Africa, China, Japan. Nor the fevered climates in Japan and India. You have not been listening. It is hard to listen when you are so busy all the time, hustling to uphold the comforts and conveniences that scaffold your lives. But the foundation is giving way, buckling under the weight of your needs and desires. We will help you. We will bring the firestorms to your body. We will bring the fever to your body. We will bring the burning, searing, and flooding to your lungs that you might hear: We are not well. Many are afraid now. Do not demonize your fear, and also, do not let it rule you. Instead, let it speak to you - in your stillness, listen for its wisdom. What might it be telling you about what is at work, at issue, at risk, beyond the threats of personal inconvenience and illness? As the health of a tree, a river, the sky tells you about quality of your own health, what might the quality of your health tell you about the health of the rivers, the trees, the sky, and all of us who share this planet with you? Stop. Notice if you are resisting. Notice what you are resisting. Ask why. Stop. Just stop. Be still. Listen. Ask us what we might teach you about illness and healing, about what might be required so that all may be well. We will help you, if you listen. Since Governor Pritzker has ordered "shelter in place" beginning tonight, Saturday, March 21, 5:30 pm, our teachers are setting up to teach their live, virtual classes from their respective homes.
Some of us are ordering mics which won't arrive until the latter part of next week, and we are all figuring out how to deliver the best quality experience to you. It will be an ongoing process over the next couple of weeks. For this reason, if or when it is necessary, you might see some moving around of teachers from their time slots. We are doing our best to continue providing yoga and meditation to you with the least amount of interruption to you as well as to continue to support our teachers in their professional work in the best way that we can. We ask for your patience as we do this as well as your feedback, so we know where we might need to direct our attention. Thanks so much in advance. It's been really great to see many of your faces online! The best part of this is to see those of you we don't often see because you live in other parts of the country. Thanks for tuning in. We acknowledge and appreciate the blessings of (a) being able to connect with our community like this, and (b) witnessing the flexibility and generosity of you, our community members, in taking care of each other. Sat Nam. With love & gratitude, Savitree, Jodh, SachKiret, Raj Devjoti, Kristen C, Seetal Tej, Dhyan Bhajan, Jot Saraswati, Kamal Prem, and Mehtab Kirtan This 8-minute video by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell does a fantastic job explaining
Suddenly, we find ourselves in un-chartered territory.
We have heard from you - we know you are feeling stressed, worried, uncertain and afraid. Schedules have shifted, life is different. You are doing your best to keep up with it all. For some, navigating and managing constant change feels easy, perhaps exciting. For others, not having that routine and predictability is down right terrifying and anxiety provoking. You may be finding that you have more time on your hands than you know what to do with or perhaps you are working non-stop and are busier than ever before... Please know we hear you and we are here for you. When you are feeling stressed or perhaps even bored try on one of these suggestions:
Take care and be well. With all my love, grace & gratitude, Jodh Kaur In the coming days, we will be sharing recipes & tips to strengthen and maintain healthy immune and nervous systems on our UYC blog, Facebook and Instagram. Please check in there for ways to keep yourself healthy and uplifted. Dear UYC Community,
We know there are a number of stressors that are impacting you right now and we want you to know: your health and well-being matters and we are here for you. Over the coming days and weeks we will be sharing a variety of ways that you can keep your immune and nervous systems strong and your mind calm and relaxed using a variety of lifestyle tools including mindfulness, meditation, yoga, food and Ayurvedic practices. In addition, we received positive feedback from our community members who attended virtual classes on Friday and Saturday and we are pleased to share that all of our adult classes for the next 2 weeks will be 100% virtual. We have created a special webpage with information on how to access the classes, tips on making the most of virtual classes, our tune in mantras and commonly used terms. Please click here for that webpage. We encourage you to bookmark it for easy reference. As we move forward, we are open to feedback about your virtual classroom experience, so please email us to share what is working well and any challenges you are experiencing. We look forward to seeing you in classes on Zoom. With love & gratitude, Savitree, Jodh & Team UYC Dear UYC Community,
We are writing today to address the growing concerns about the flu and coronavirus, and how we can work together to keep them at bay.
Let's take care of ourselves and each other. With love & gratitude, Savitree, Jodh & Team UYC First sent out via email on Friday, March 6.
Dear UYC Community, There was a book that was published by a former assistant to Yogi Bhajan that alleges abuse of power, including sexual abuse. Since then, other women have come out. Needless to say, there have been a range of responses and reactions to these allegations from book burning to heart-break and investigation on different levels to denial; this is extremely triggering to some and completely irrelevant to others. Questions are coming up, and those that have known about this for several weeks now have gone through their own processing evolution. Rather than having you guess or make assumptions about this, we are writing to let you know that:
We want you to know that our doors are open. One of the questions we hold as our litmus test to how our decisions are serving you is to ask ourselves, are we creating a safe space to voice, to be authentic, and to heal? To this end, we have been coming in at the end of classes this week to share this difficult news with you, and to make sure that you know we have your concerns in mind first and foremost. If you have any questions, please know that we are here to listen and discuss. As it relates to the White Tantric Yoga all-day meditation event coming to Chicago at the end of April, it has been our tradition to go to the event together as a group followed by going out for a vegan dinner. This year, we, the co-founders of UYC, have decided not to attend. This is not so much a statement against YB or its establishment as it is a decision to extend support to those who are needing or preferring a safer, more neutral space - considering the circumstances - to do the clearing and healing work without the presence of YB in video. In lieu of going to the event, we will be opening up the studio that day to do healing practice together followed by a vegan dinner out. If you have interest in attending WTY, it is indeed a powerful course, and we are not discouraging you from going by any means. We are just letting you know our intentions in case this factors into your plan. If you are considering going and would like to talk with one of us about the experience, please reach out. If you have already registered and have since decided you prefer not to go, please let us know. Please note that this is not necessarily a forever statement. We will be reviewing our decision to attend in the subsequent years as more unfolds. This is not easy news to share, but we feel it is important that we share this with you to create transparency, encourage open dialogue, and offer proper support to our community in a moment in time where we need to make sure women are heard, taken seriously, and supported. With immense love and gratitude, Savitree & Jodh, Co-Founders of UYC with the UYC Team p.s.: many of you have emailed us your thoughts and responses to this, and we are deeply inspired and encouraged by the strength, love and courage that is clearly present in our community. Please keep your thoughts flowing- either here (under comments) or via email - it is so much healthier to share and communicate than it is to have anything like this swirling around in one's own head. by Yogi BhajanOh my purity, purify me in consciousness. Oh my capacity, give my mind its purest form to recognize and serve others. Oh my values, be gracious to all. Oh my courage, may I be full of compassion. Oh my intelligence, let me be kind to all. |
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