Intention Setting - excerpted from Elephant Journal (link below)

5 Steps to Intention Setting During Your Yoga Practice

see more at http://yoganonymous.com/5-steps-to-intention-setting-during-your-yoga-practice#sthash.RmRkZM8X.dpuf

Attitude of Gratitude: 

When you arrive for your practice start to shift into a state of gratitude. Take a moment to be grateful for this moment and the time you have on your mat that you have set aside for yourself. Practicing gratitude is a great tool that will help you a lot in becoming more open and more receptive.

Assess the Situation:

The first thing I ask my students to do in my classes when class begins is assess the state of their body, the rhythm of their breath and then, the state of their mind. Chuck Miller, one of the founders of Yogaworks in Santa Monica, used to say that before you start you first have to stop.

Create an Offering:

After their assessment, I ask my students to take a moment to offer their practice to someone they love or to the Universe. This small gesture can be felt immediately. Just by dedicating your practice to someone else or offering it to the Universe you feel yourself opening up a little, becoming a little more receptive.

You're Already There:

When you are setting your intention it’s important to feel the intention already working on you.  Imagine that it has already happened. You’ve already reached your destination.  See yourself already having made this shift in your life.  It’s already done. Try to see who is there with you.

Give Thanks: 

Offer thanks for everyone who has helped you along the way on your journey. If it’s hard for you to visualize then practice repeating your intention to yourself over and over again.
- See more at: http://yoganonymous.com/5-steps-to-intention-setting-during-your-yoga-practice#sthash.RmRkZM8X.dpuf

Special Yoga for Silver Sages!

Silver Sage Yoga for Bone Health and Balance

with Carolyn Boline

Saturday 9/12/2015  2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

$35.00 Early Bird, $40.00 at the door

This 2 hour workshop will include :
-moderate strength and weight-bearing poses to build and maintain bone density
-develop balance with stabilization poses
-props, including chairs, will be available to modify poses when needed for stabilization
-take home Yoga for Bone Health & Balance sequences for at home practice
-provide ample time for rest and integration for practices over 30 minutes
-lecture on benefits of Yoga with handouts

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/home?studioid=245196

Create what you believe in; believe in what you create.

In prenatal yoga we often do svasana or pranayama with one hand on the heart and one on the navel center, connecting our hearts with those of the children, helping us hone in to the soul to soul connection between mother and child, facilitate transfer of energy and draw awareness and calm into the body.

I like the symbolism behind connecting the heart center to the creative center, but I also tend to add in the power center to the mix - the anahata chakra is the heart, the svadisthana chakra is the sacral center, and the manipura is the navel center or solar plexus. All three are connected with our hands spread across our chest and bellies.

It's a drawing together all the energy of the torso, circling it around to energize and purify the organs, stimulate awareness of all the vital workings of our bodies, and facilitate us feeling the breath move throughout the entire abdomen. In and of itself this is a great mind/body connection meditation.

But you can extrapolate this to an off-the-mat lesson by considering the idea of creating something that not just comes from the mind, but the heart, the instinct, and out of your own personal strength and willingness to move forward. As well, devoting time and energy and focus into the things that you have lovingly created. Why create something that isn't worthy of your utmost attention, and why devote attention to something that you don't truly want to create?

Food for thought. Go forward and be awesome.

On Success

Do you undermine your own success by distracting yourself with things that aren't relevant in your life or underestimating your own strength to overcome adversity? You need to trust yourself and your instincts and do right by you.