PRINCIPAL
We don’t talk too much about the foundations of traditional Yoga here at The Space. Every so often we like to pull them out of the dark, dust them off, and remember the pillars and the philosophy behind the practice. It’s important to remember where you came from.
There’s always a buzz at the start of a new year— WHAT CAN I CHANGE?! How can I be better? I am going to do X,Y, and Z more…. sound familiar? Or maybe it’s a quiet impulse that leads you to taking more classes, watching what you eat etc. It sneaks in, it’s the subtle or not-so pressure that hums in our culture. “I have a chance to start OVER”. So we run, and we run fast towards the goal or the resolution, the “problems” that need solved in our lives. And come February, or maybe even you’re feeling it already, more times than not, we fizzle out. We are dedicating this month to returning to the PRINCIPALS. The base where all else stems from. The relationship we have with the internal divine. When we lift the foundations, everything else follows.
The Yamas (moral) and the Niyamas (observances) are traditionally the “moral code” for right living based in Eastern yoga culture. Like a rule of thumb of what to carry on the mat, and embodying it enough to take it with us off the mat too.
We have created a list of what this might look like— taking the principles into our lives, out of the Studio, off the mat.
YAMAS:
Ahimsa | non-harm
Speaking to yourself in a way that offers yourself and your inner child compassionate love.
Satya | truthfulness
Allowing yourself to know and stand in your truth, no matter how it might make others feel.
Asteya | non-stealing
Allowing yourself to say no, or to set a boundary to honor what feels right for you.
Brahmacharya | moderation of energy
Taking time to rest without having to earn it, or feel guilty.
Aparigraha | non-hoarding
Allowing yourself to continually assess if a material possession brings joy, or if you can live with less, creating more energy in your life.
NIYAMAS :
Saucha | cleanliness
Taking care of your body/vessel in a way that is sustainable and nourishing.
Santosha | contentment
Offering up gratitude for what you already have. Seeing the blessings that exist already in your life.
Tapas | dedication + moving forward
Allowing yourself to take small steps into radical change within rather than making too big of external commitments that might be hard to do.
Svadhyaya | self study
Allowing time and space and energy to see yourself and honor your needs day to day.
Ishvara-Pranidhana | devotion to the greater good
Can you offer something to your community, donate your time, items you don’t use anymore, etc. Giving back to raise the community vibration.
Nourishing the roots, the foundations of who we are rather than trying to fix or change the surface/exterior of our days. If the foundations are tended to, it travels through the whole system and eventually we will synchronize.
C O P A L
A new way to cleanse.
Copal is a resin that comes from the Copal Tree, originating in Mexico.
We fell in love with the grounding properties and principals of Copal on our last international Renewal Retreat. The feeling of it being ceremonial, rooting and cleansing. (and yes we are dying to go back to a tropical oasis together!!)
A little bit about the origins:
“Copal is referenced in the Mayan book the "Popol Vuh", which includes a long passage describing how the sun, moon, and stars arrived on earth bringing Copal with them.
The 16th-century Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagun reported that the Aztec people used Copal as makeup, adhesive for masks, and in dentistry where Copal was mixed with calcium phosphate to affix precious stones to teeth. Copal was also used as a chewing gum and a medicine for various ailments.
Copal is still used by the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America as an incense and during sweat lodge ceremonies. It’s magical qualities aid with the process of opening to the soul and to intuition and inspiration. It is thought to be food for the ancestors and is offered as a way of saying thank you.”
Copal cleanses and offers new energies to your environment. We now sell Copal in-house.
Featuring Kelli McMullen and Liv Monte
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We are honored to have been invited to sit in the Studio with the Welcome To Livingston Podcast this month. Listen in!
ALIGN AND REFINE with Kim Tessmer
is a workshop that will CHANGE THE WAY YOU YOGA —
no matter if you are a beginner or a seasoned yogi.
Created to outline the foundations of the poses we do in each and every class. This will be educational, then put into practice with an alignment based class in the workshop. Really get to lean in and feel it all.
Over the course of the next month, we have a wide variety of Workshops. Diverse in what they offer — but each an opportunity to tune in and see yourself more clearly.
Why rub up against the discomfort of confronting it all?
Why the heat?
Why the repetition in movement?
Why the sweat?
Why the message?
Why the intensity?
Why the sudden stillness?
Why the sound?
The method that comes forth in our classes is all on PURPOSE. Principles, foundations, the elements that come through in each and every class are there for you.
To invite you, to guide you, to a greater knowing of all that exists within you. When we rub up against something without trying to change it, we invite its highest purpose to be revealed. So instead of WHY, can you shift into WHAT.
What is the invitation of the heat?
What is the invitation of the repetition?
What is the offering through the sweat? What can I release?
Start asking the deeper questions, start leaning in a little further.
So begin— look INWARD.
If we want to go forward,
we must first go inward.
Lift the foundations,
and the rest will follow.
We love you so much. See you soon.
By Brianna Wiest from Ceremony
