August Community Theme: Cultivating Connection
As the summer months culminate in August, with greenery at it's fullest, the temperatures and humidity running high, we at Taozi Tree Yoga would like to focus on our connection as a community!
The symbol that best represents connection is the circle - and beautiful representations of circles are mandalas! We love creating them in the studio (or in the park!) as a symbolic gesture of our unity, the connection we maintain to both ourselves, and each other.
This month we would love to invite the community to join us for a mandala making gathering in the park, or to take a copy from the studio and color it in during your free time, a great meditation strategy as well! Bring it into the studio and we will hang them up on the lockers. Soon we will have a community wall of mandalas = connection.
Cultivating anything takes attention and the proper nourishment. This simple action generates new growth in the brain by fostering new neural network connections (how often to you sit and color?) as well as the visual act of creating art, together. Remembering that, “The seeds we water are the seeds that grow”, in August let us water the seeds of fun, creativity, and togetherness with this artsy project.
New to Yoga? Trust Us: Yoga is for Every Body
Have you wanted to try yoga but felt intimidated? Do you think you don’t have the right body for yoga? That you are too old? Not flexible enough? Or is something else keeping you from experiencing the benefits of yoga? Then our Intro to Yoga class series is for you!
3 Tips For Starting Yoga For The First Time
1. Start with Acceptance
Yoga is more than just a form of exercise. It's a way of existing in the world. A way of being, so to speak. The word yoga itself means "union" in Sanskrit. Union among all aspects of your life. When you live in a state of union, or yoga, there is no separation between your thoughts and your present state. That means, no whining and wistful thinking about the way things should or ought to be. While this mindset can take years to cultivate, you can get started before ever stepping foot on a yoga mat. Take a moment to appreciate your body, your life, and your circumstances. Exactly as they are. Right now.
2. Release Expectations
The moment you begin to practice gratitude, you will feel expectations start to slip away. Expectations such as "I should be able to touch my toes already...", "This looks so easy on Instagram - why can't I do it?!", "If I'm going to practice some yoga postures, it is essential that I own a Lycra wardrobe rivaling that of Jane Fonda." (Cue eye roll.) Try to focus on the core of what you're doing, not the extraneous fluff. Though you may be here to try to find the best way to start yoga physically, We are here to tell you that it’s most important to start with it mentally. Get yourself into the right mindset and then the practice will evolve naturally, beautifully, and safely.
3. Understand the Core of Yoga
Yoga is not about extreme flexibility or contorting your muscles and spine into fancy shapes. It's about breathing, finding inner strength through meditation, and creating freedom in the body with basic yoga poses. It's truly that simple. So don’t worry about losing weight or bending over backwards (those will come soon enough). Instead, understand that yoga is a process and a lifestyle. The physical practice is only one of the eight limbs of yoga.