Beginning Again at Yoga Sanctuary (Part 2)
Dear Yogi,
I first heard the phrase “Begin Again” at a week-long yoga workshop I attended for 20-somethings. We played a game in which we tried to recite the entire alphabet with only one person speaking a letter at a time. We had to intuitively sense when someone else was about to speak and when it was our turn. There was no order, and we weren’t allowed to create order. We failed over and over. Each time two people spoke at the same time, the teacher instructed, “Begin again.” It was infuriating. I found myself getting angry at this person or that, thinking “If they were just a little more sensitive…” or “If that person would just speak up…” We never made it to Z, but the lesson was clear. We were building resilience. We accepted that beginning again is not an indication of failure, but a necessary part of living. And maybe the point wasn’t to get to the end, anyways.
At the time of this workshop I was 27, leading the choral program at Mount Holyoke. The fact that I had “arrived” in a professorship in my mid-20s appeared impressive. Yet whenever I closed my eyes and was still for even a moment, I noticed a dissatisfied churning within. I had lived my entire life linearly, expecting that one day all of the hard work would propel me onto a mountain top of happiness, rainbows, and butterflies. I thought that if I worked hard enough, I would transcend the discomfort, the dis-ease, and the heartbreak of living in connection. Spoiler alert—I remained human.
This lesson relates deeply to what I have learned from yoga, specifically the Tantra form of yoga taught at Yoga Sanctuary.
It is not in the transcendence of our discomfort, but the direct engagement with our discomfort that we learn how to skillfully engage with our hearts, to receive dis-ease as a messenger, to hold heartbreak knowing that we are strong and spacious enough for every one of life’s flavors—to know that every feeling, experience, and person contains a spark of divinity. That this, too, is divine. And, we must acknowledge when our ignorance harms others inexcusably, and we must own when we are complicit in others’ suffering. Perhaps the more we open to our discomfort, the more empathy we can feel for others’ lived experiences. And maybe this empathy can lead us to action.
With each new season, with each new day, with each new breath, we have the opportunity to remember this Tantric lesson—begin again. It is vital to recognize that beginnings are not easy. Any person who has given birth can attest to both the beauty and brutality of new life emerging. It takes engaged effort as well as surrender. It takes the willingness to keep learning while accepting that we will never know everything.
It is in this spirit that Yoga Sanctuary begins again.
After closing for Labor Day Weekend (September 5–7), our new fall schedule launches on September 8, including:
Sliding Scale Pricing
Alongside our weekly asana classes, we are revising our pricing structure for drop-ins, class cards, monthly memberships, series, and workshops to a modified sliding scale.
More Community Classes
We are offering more community classes at a pay-what-you-can extended sliding scale, including classes for Spanish-speakers and BIPOC.
On-demand Yoga
We are launching a new user-friendly on-demand platform (coming very soon!).
In-studio Yoga Pods
A semi-private opportunity to practice yoga with others in our big studio. Learn more here.
Fall Series
As always, we are featuring amazing 6-week series taught by our beloved teachers, including Prenatal Yoga, Postpartum with Baby, Yoga for Teens, and Intro to Yoga.
All of these changes are enhanced by an aesthetic refresh of our logo and branding
This has begun to roll out across our website and newsletters, and on Facebook and Instagram. A huge thank you to my brother-in-law, Seth Gregory, for helping to bring our vision to life!
We hope that you enjoy reading about the continuation of our offerings and the changes we are making to serve our community now and into the future. I will continue to make myself available throughout the fall so that you can share what you love about Yoga Sanctuary, what you are enjoying about the fall programming, and what we can continue to work on.
Many of our students have been asking me how they can help Yoga Sanctuary. The best thing you can do is invite your friends and family to our classes, workshops, and series.
Tell them what yoga has meant to you and how Yoga Sanctuary has supported you. Because our offerings are primarily online, there is no limit to who can join our community. You can also contribute to our Member Monday social media campaign, which features a member of YS each week. Lastly, we are still looking for 2-3 more people to join our Work Study Team. For just two shifts per week, these team members receive a free monthly membership. If you know someone who would be interested in this opportunity, please have them email Jen.
From the deepest well of my heart, thank you for being a part of this vibrant community. May we use the energy of this season, this day, this breath, to begin again.
Yours,
Lindsay
