It’s Day 35/40 of following “40 Days to Personal Revolution” by Baron Baptiste! This week’s theme is TRIUMPH and for our final week we are requested to practice 90 minutes a day.
SCHEDULE CHANGE 5-630pm:
For this week my Monday Feb 15th Baptiste Power Vinyasa and Wednesday Feb 17th Deep Flow zoom classes will move to 5pm and will be 90 minutes long. Book your spot here.
After you register you will receive a zoom link 15 minutes before class.
Are you or someone you know curious about yoga but, you don’t even know where to start, you might not even have a yoga mat or feel intimidated or lost? This series is for you!
Why am I offering this course? Years ago I heard my papa say “I should try that yoga thing sometime, not what YOU do, Amelia, but, yoga for people like me.” I laughed and suggested he look for a class at his local community center. I never thought to teach him myself, especially since we live far away. Fast-forward to “Covid-times” and, after about a year of connecting via facetime or family zoom calls, a light bulb went off “Why not teach to my parents, a custom class just for them, via zoom?” My cousin asked me to teach her dad, my uncle, beginner yoga then a friend asked if I would offer an introductory virtual class to take with her mother. So, I decided it was time to create this course for any and all of YOU!
The more the merrier! If you are reading this and have a family member or friend in mind, I recommend you join this beginner series WITH them! The gift of yoga is truly life-affirming and life-changing. Those of you who practice yoga, you know the benefits of yoga. Here’s an opportunity to share what you love with anyone, anywhere!
Book for yourself or a loved one for $40. Purchase it for two of you to participate together for $75!
Weekly Sessions: These 30 minute sessions will be offered Thursdays 6-630pm in an accessible, non-intimidating format:
Welcome and Check-ins
Weekly themes: Yoga as a life-skill
Breathwork
Mindfulness
Link Movement with Breath
Relaxation (while laying down in savasana)
How to Participate? Join this class in the comfort of your own home! Every week you’ll receive a zoom link via email (FYI same link every week.) Join the zoom class 5 minutes before class starts. Watch, listen, participate, and relax!
What equipment do I need? First class, just show up! I will briefly talk about yoga supplies (mat, block, strap.) If you have a yoga mat, great, have it ready. If not, no worries! Here is my request to set up before your first class:
Optional Chair: If you experience difficulty sitting on the floor or standing up from the floor, I recommend having a chair close by and for the final pose laying down on a bed or in a recliner.
That’s all you need! I will be available for questions and answers during the class and via email. When you book the class I will email you. Feel free to reach out with your yoga questions!
Pay what you can: currently for all of my classes you can book my classes online for free. I request you pay the specified cost of the course via Venmo or PayPal as listed above. AND, I don’t want cost or financial hardship to prevent you from receiving the benefits of yoga. No judgment. Pay what you can.
Are you interested but, these times don’t work for you? I create custom private individual and group classes. Email me: amelia@spirituallyfityoga.com
In honor of celebrating the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Madame Vice President Kamala Harris, the theme of today’s Spiritually Fit Yoga podcast episode is renewed VITALITY! Grateful for this new chapter for the United States of America. Breathe deep and big sighs of relief!!
This podcast episode is recorded for Week 2 of “40 Days to Personal Revolution – A Breakthrough Program to Radically Change Your Body and Awaken the Sacred Within Your Soul” by Baron Baptiste. The focus of Week Two is VITALITY!
30 min. Yoga + 5 min. savasana + 5 min. meditation.
You are not alone. I acknowledge you feel stressed. Acknowledge that what you’re experiencing is part of being a living, breathing human with a beating heart with the beautiful capacity to feel deeply. What’s happening can feel jarring, like mentally, emotionally, and physically receiving the impact like shockwaves. You are not alone in experiencing the impact of stress.
Breathe. Inhale to a count of 4, pause with a full inhale, slowly exhale to a count of 4. Repeat 5 times or until you feel more relaxed. Start and end your days with this mindful breathing, and use anytime you you want to a calm body and mind.
State of Mind and Body. Stress is a state of mind and body, which can be shifted and shaped. How you feel and think is temporary. Take a break from negative images and thoughts. Limit your intake of anything disturbing Turn off the news/social media. Instead of watching repetitive news stations, read or listen to your news. I opt for the 20 minute weekday morning Start Here podcast. Choose an activity that floods the brain with positive thoughts. One of my mindset shifters is laughing at Friends reruns. What makes you laugh and feel happy? Get out of your head and into your body. A vigorous yoga class with challenging poses does the trick for me. When my practice invites me to focus on my breath, my physical sensations, and a positive affirmation or mantra, I fill up with positivity and crowd out the negativity. A positive mindset practice is protection towards letting negativity pentrate your mind and body. Choose to deflect negativity like teflon, not have it get stuck to you like velcro! Do what you love! Getting out in nature is another fav activity. Do what you lifts you up, which nutures your body, mind, and spirit.
Connect. Reach out and connect to another person. Facetime and audio messages can feel more intimate than texting. Joining a virtual zoom yoga class can help you feel less alone. I teach zoom yoga classes and we do a mood check before class. In my free/donation livestream meditation and yoga classes on the Insight Timer app, I do a quick check in before and after class where students can share comments and questions in the chat box. It is amazing how connected we feel as if we were together in a community class.
Meditate. A regular meditation practice can train the brain and nervous system to be less-reactive to stress, to cultivate a calm, neutral state of mind. Anger, fear, worry, sadness are all real emotions worthy of our acknowledgement and compassion. My meditation and mindfulness practices have taught me, when uncomfortable emotions arise it’s a warning bell reminding me to pay attention and check in with myself. “Ok self, what’s really going on? Let’s breathe, sit, and pay attention to this exact present moment.” Imagine stress makes its appearance like your hand in a boiling pot of water. The more you practice being in tune with your physical sensations you’ll notice the temp of that water before it even starts simmering then you stop and drop everything for a selfcare break. What happens is we don’t pay attention and before we know it we’re reacting like our hand in boiling water and primal, freak out stress kicks in. Noticing what is triggering stress can signal you to change course and learn lessons to avoid those triggers. Meditation and mindfulness is the practice of paying attention. Give it a try! Here is a link to a short meditation and a brief commentary about spirituality and politics on my Instagram page @spirituallyfityoga: click here.
CURIOUS NOT FURIOUS: Lastly, after meditating and doing all the things to calm your body and mind, from a centered state and with clear thoughts, ask yourself if there’s an action you can take which aligns to what you believe is right. Stress can often be telling you that you care deeply about something. Pay attention. Are you being called to be of service? Channel your energy towards a cause or allow a passion project to arise. Stress can be a powerful way to motivate you to make a difference, to support a cause that really matters to you.
An additional resource I found helpful: click here
Was this article and the meditation helpful? What are you struggling with? What are YOUR tried and true methods for coping with stress, especially during this current political climate? Please share to benefit and support others. Leave a comment below. Thank you being here. Peace out 🙏🏽 Amelia Andaleon
