We want to help you savor every moment during these last weeks of summer. With new beginnings and a changing season on the horizon, it’s easy to beeline in that direction, forgetting about the present moment. Use your practice and your breath to slow down, take a look around and immerse yourself in the present.
Any of our August special workshops will help you do just that. Keep reading to learn more about these opportunities to slow down and to find joy in the moment, wherever you are and no matter where you’re going. Enjoy yourself!
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in this issue
QUICK LINKS
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
STUDIO NEWS
PRACTICE
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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
SVAROOPA® STYLE YOGA SERIES – MONDAYS AUGUST 3-24 7:30-9 PM $55 4 weeks
Svaroopa® Style Yoga is a deep but blissful practice using poses in a whole new way. Start in Shavasana, end in Shavasana! Our focus on awareness creates a “core opening,” releasing tensions deep in the muscles attached to the spine. Create an easy feeling of well being. No experience is necessary!
LAUGHTER YOGA CLUB! – FRIDAY AUGUST 7 5:45-6:30 PM $1 suggested donation
Every first Friday this Summer! Join Katie for an evening of fun and laughter…the yogic way! Laugh to get your heart pumping and the positive energy flowing! This is an excellent way to support the community and yourself in an ongoing way. Come laugh with us! No need to register, just show up!
YOGA NIDRA – SATURDAY AUGUST 8 2-4 PM $20
Every second Saturday this Summer! Yoga Nidra is a powerful yet simple technique of guided relaxation; the perfect antidote for a busy and fragmented life. As you are guided to move your awareness throughout your body, you will experience deeper and deeper states of relaxation, resulting in a sense of peace, harmony and balance. Deep healing is possible with the practice of “yogic sleep,” a true gift to the body, mind and spirit. No experience is needed.
LIFE, LAUGHTER AND LEVITY – SATURDAY AUGUST 22 10 AM-12 PM $25
Join Katie, the Levity Coach, for an energizing two-hour workshop to help you recharge your sense of fun and freedom. We will explore how to maintain a sense of lightness and joy in daily life, especially during challenging times. Through the practice of laughter yoga, we will use laughter as a tool to help infuse life with a sense of fun and vitality. Additionally, we will envision what a joy and laughter filled life looks like and explore some steps to help bring the dynamic, positive and freeing energy of this class back into day to day life.
RESTORATIVE YOGA – SATURDAY AUGUST 29 2-4 PM $20
Every last Saturday this Summer! Restorative yoga uses blankets, blocks, cushions, ties and the wall to support the body in a complete letting go. Releases tension, calms the nervous system, removes the toxic leftovers from stress and floods the body with happiness and bliss. A gentle and slow-paced class. Totally relaxing, no experience necessary.
To register, try our online registration system, available up to one hour before the start of an event, by following the links on our website, www.JaiYogaHome.com. There you will also find a complete listing of workshops!
Or, register by phone at least 24 hours in advance. Just give us a call: 207.725.7874. Leave a message with your NAME, PHONE and which WORKSHOP you want to attend and we’ll return your call ASAP.
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STUDIO NEWS
FALL 2009 SCHEDULE COMING SOON!
The Fall 2009 schedule begins September 1 and runs through December 31. Copies should be in the mail, at the studio and posted on our website, by mid-August. Stay tuned!
SUMMER 2009 OFFICE HOURS
Jai Yoga will hold regular office hours on MONDAYS 1:30-4:30 PM and THURSDAYS 12:30-3 PM. At those times, messages can be left for specific teachers, questions can be answered and ideas will be heard! These are also excellent times to shop in our retail store! Please get in touch with us if you have any comments, questions, concerns or praise. Stop by the studio or give us a call at 207.725.7874.
DON’T LET ANYTHING STOP YOU FROM COMING TO YOGA CLASS!!
Jai Yoga offers partial and full scholarships, work-study programs and accepts time dollars (MerryMeeting Community Shares Program) as payment for classes! If you, or someone you know, are experiencing financial hardship, all the more reason to get to a yoga class. Our community is here to support everyone’s well-being! Please call 207.725.7874 today to discuss opportunities to enjoy the practice of yoga. Yoga is good for all of us!!
THE JAI YOGA SCHOLARSHIP FUND NEEDS CONTRIBUTIONS!
We’ve been helping so many people practice yoga that our scholarship fund is running low. Donations are very much appreciated and are welcome at any time for any amount. Please give us a call at 207.725.7874 or email us at info@jaiyogahome.com if you are interested in making a contribution!
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PRACTICE
BIG AWARENESS MEDITATION
During extra busy times, we often tend to put blinders on, bringing our focus completely to our own personal circumstances, plans, future or past.
While planning for the future and attending to our personal needs and business is good, our busyness-induced tunnel vision can cause us to forget that the world around us is a very big, wondrous place.
Taking our focus away from the details of our own lives and to our present moment and surroundings can bring joy and relaxation during busy times, reminding us of where we are right now.
Try this simple meditation technique to explore the world around you and to bring your awareness to the present. This technique can either be used as a precursor to your regular meditation practice or as a stand-alone practice at any time.
1 – Find a comfortable seated position, either on the floor or in a chair, where you can elongate your spine
2 – Gently close your eyes and begin to notice your breath as it moves in and out.
Allow your awareness to sink into the body, noticing sensations and where the body is in space
3 – As you continue breathing, let your awareness grow bigger, hearing the sounds in the room or immediately around you. Do not label the sounds, just become aware of them
4 – Taking your time, allow your awareness to grow bigger and bigger, travel farther and farther, becoming aware of more and more sounds
5 – Visualize your energy or mind growing farther out of the body each time you expand your range of awareness. Let everything your awareness touches become part of you as your energy expands
6 – Continue like this for a few minutes or as long as is comfortable. Give yourself plenty of time to come back to center before gently opening the eyes
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Namaste,
Jen and the Jai Yoga Family
Jai Yoga
Suite 314 Fort Andross
14 Maine Street
Brunswick ME 04011
207.725.7874
info@jaiyogahome.com
www.jaiyogahome.com