Our Optimum Health

Two years ago I started doing something I thought I could never do: I started running. At first it was terrible. In elementary school I could never finish laps around the gym. In high school I was twenty five pounds overweight. The last time I remembered running was as an eight year old girl on the playground and even then I hated it. So why start? It was something I thought I could never do, and I had to prove myself wrong. At the time that I started running I was in a tough spot in my life. Nothing was going right and I was living somewhere I needed to leave but I didn't think I had the strength to do it. I didn't even have the courage. I read a quote somewhere by a buddhist monk who said "love what you most despise...love what is repulsive to you." That day I bought my first pair of running sneakers.
The first day of my routine I got up at five in the morning and jogged for one minute through the South Bronx, then I walked, then I jogged, then I walked and so on. I felt useless. The next day I got up again. Just waking up and putting on my sneakers proved a lot to me about myself and my abilities to change my circumstances. Every day that I ran I got better and stronger and more courageous. In January 2011 on New Year's Eve, I signed up for the Midnight Marathon through Central Park. It's a four mile marathon to ring in the new year. I went alone in my sweats and the tee shirt they hand out and my number pinned proudly on my front. I still couldn't run far but I ran and walked the mini-marathon. Two months later I moved out of the Bronx. One month after that I began yoga, another thing I thought I could never do.
I always hear people talk about the oxygen bags on airplanes and how before you put the oxygen over your child's mouth you must first put it over your own. This is because you must save yourself in order to save your child. Taking care of myself physically, emotionally and spiritually is a daily challenge. Our culture is always on the go and it's easy to get lost in it all. Yoga and running both bring me to an internal place. They are both meditative and transforming.
Summer is a good time to start to make small changes. It's warm out, the flowers are in bloom and we can't escape ourselves. It's also more difficult to escape the things which repulse us. Instead of escaping this summer why don't we grab a hold of what scares us and start loving what we most despise. This is my challenge to you this month. Put on some running sneakers...run through the park...then join us for some yoga.

Experience the Joy of Summer Practice Yoga in Prospect Park with YogaSole FREE Summer Yoga in Prospect Park (Meet under the Big Trees) Sunday Mornings 10am - 11am Dates: Sundays in July (1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th) All levels *Beginners Most Welcome  Invite your Friends, Family & Neighbors ***Bring your Mat***  In this class, students will explore their strength and flexibility through a flow series of postures that incorporates twists, balancing, and some inversion. We will exploring the body's subtleties, celebrate and honor our connection to the natural world. Build your endurance through breath, deepen your stretches, and increase self-awareness.   Where Enter at the Bartel Pritchard Lot, 15th St. (adjacent to 15th St F train station). Just across from the Pavilion Movie Theater. Walk straight ahead, down the drive. You will come to the main loop. Gaze slightly to the left. We will practice under the big trees. See you there.

Meditation/Contemplation/Relaxation

     My father liked to play three things: Chess, Poker and Piano. He would sit in the living room for hours and play some of Bach's, Chopin's and Beethoven's greatest sonatas. On Friday nights he would cut the deck for four of his friends and on Sunday's he would go to Coney Island and challenge the older russian men with his U.S./Soviet chess board. All three of these things aggravated his children.
     "Pop can we go to the movies?" we would shout from upstairs. We were met with a silent response and more music coming out of the Steinway.
     "Pop, can we go get ice cream?" the cards were held up to hide my father's face and a cough, a groan, even a sneeze followed.
     Once my father was concentrating on something, there was no disturbing him. He was set on the task at hand. He also took us to baseball games, he watched us ride our bikes, he bought us clothes and fed us. I remember that while he was playing chess he was so calm I felt the only thing that could possibly interrupt him is if a tornado had swept the board off the table, and even then he would probably still have an image in his mind of his next play.
     During my first meditation class I had a panic attack. The room I was in seemed to be getting smaller. It was hot. My mouth was dry. As hard as I tried to focus on my first breath, it felt like it never came, or it was to quick. I was sweating. What were all of these feelings about? Where was the calm in my life? Sometimes in the meditation group I would sit with my eyes wide open and watch everyone else.
     One day I closed my eyes in the meditation group and heard Beethoven's Sonata number eight. It had been my favorite as a child. When my father played that sonata I would dance around the living room with my arms up like a ballerina and imagine a whole theatre in front of me. As I closed my eyes I understood for the first time the reason my father played music, chess and cards. All three of those things for him was a form of meditation. Participating in those three activities didn't fix any of the problems in his life, but they were a calming way for him to accept and get through every day. For my father, sitting at the piano was his time to breathe. Nothing could disturb him because he was at peace.
     When I close my eyes to meditate I still always try to hear my father's piano. It brings a wave of calm over me and allows me to focus on my breath. As I continue on my path through life I understand that meditation is a practice, much like piano, chess and cards. It is an exercise in accepting what is. It is a journey and a lesson that nothing needs to be fixed and we can accept things as they are. It is an art and a window into our most inner selves: the real us, without all the bells and whistles. It allows us to relax and it gives us permission to let go.

Yoga & Meditation Retreat 
with Evalena & Genno Linda King
Friday, May 18th thru Sunday, May 20th 2012

Revive, reconnect and re-center at this inspiring yoga/meditation retreat held at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, a Zen monastery high in the Catskills. Take the opportunity to regain your own natural rhythm and reconnect with yourself and with nature. Immerse yourself in two daily yoga sessions, practice zen meditation, and pranayama.

click here to visit our website Retreat page for more info
To reserve your space or for more info contact:
evalena@yogasole.com 718 541-1382