I know this won’t come as a surprise to many of you: I have closed Yoga Bodega.

When I graduated from Dominican last spring with my teaching credential in biology and general science, I didn’t know where, or when, I would find a teaching job. I thought I might end up substitute teaching and teaching yoga in the evenings. It’s a hard time to look for teaching jobs and because of budget concerns, many teachers are hired close to (or even after) the beginning of the school year.

As it happens, I was hired by a school in Alameda, two weeks before I needed to report to work.

I found an apartment; we packed and left. Trent and I are now residents of Oakland, which we are absolutely loving. We’re close to Lake Merritt and I’m only 10 minutes from work. Trent has learned to ride BART. He is such a big guy, I had underestimated how exciting it would be for him to ride a train!

The hardest thing was packing up the yoga studio. I spent so much time there over the last 10 years and have so many good memories. The empty studio absolutely resounds with all the positive energy that has flowed through the place.

Yoga Bodega wasn’t just a room, however. The most important part was the people.

Some of you have been my students for nearly 11 years, and it’s hard to say good-bye to this part of my life. There isn’t one single person to whom I’ve taught yoga, or massaged, that hasn’t taught me something in exchange. I thank each and every one of you for that gift.

During the last decade, I’ve been through all sorts of changes and I’ve watched you change, too. I’ve seen you grow as individuals. Some of you made friends with your bodies, others found a place to still their busy minds. Marriages happened and babies were been born. There were sad times, too, and an extended community to embrace all of it. Any teacher – any person – couldn’t have asked for more. In the words of Mary Oliver,

So every day

So every day

I was surrounded by the beautiful crying forth

of the ideas of God,

one of which was you.

I have let two other yoga teachers in the area know about the empty space.

However, I heartily recommend Clare Venet, an Iyengar teacher, in west Santa Rosa. She teaches at the Solstice Dance and Yoga Studio. Clare has been a very popular teacher for many years. She is great with older students and people recovering from injuries, surgery, etc. You’ll find her schedule online at www.srsolsticestudio.com.

Namasté,

Suzi

There be a class this week on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. All levels are welcome.

There will be NO Saturday yoga this week.

Several people have asked me to share my New Year’s Day playlist:

“Angel’s Prayer” – Ty Burhoe
“Simple Gifts” – Yo-Yo Ma & Alison Krauss
“Imagine” – John Lennon
“Om Namah Shivaya” – Wade Imre Morissette
“One Day” – Matisyahu
“Christian Peace Prayer” – Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe
“Patience” – RedBird
“Lokah” – Lokah
“Gayatri Mantra” – Wade Imre Morissette
“The Rainbow Connection” – Sarah McLachlan
“Love, Peace, and Freedom” – David Newman
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Roberta Flack
“Hallelujah”- Brandi Carlile
“God is Real/Hare Ram” – Krishna Das
“Amazing Grace” – Darius Rucker

The playlist opens and closes with a short segment of toning bowls by Larisa Stow and Gathering Guru

Because I start student teaching in January, my morning classes are going to move to a fluctuating schedule. They will alternate weeks between Tuesday-Thursday and Wednesday-Friday. They will still be at 8:30 a.m.

This is because I’m teaching in a block-scheduled school, and I’ll be teaching on alternate days.

If you don’t know what this means, don’t worry about it too much. (Or ask a seventh grader.) The main thing is that you’ll see more emails from me clarifying the schedule. And, if you plan on coming in the mornings, you’ll need to pay attention!

January will also see the return of Wednesday night yoga class, 6 to 7:30 p.m. This will be a mixed-level class and will start Wednesday, January 12.

I look forward to seeing you soon,

Namaste,

Suzi

This is a project for a class in Literacy and Writing. We were asked to develop a blog in our subject matter that we can use as an information and classroom management tool when we start teaching.

You’ll find it here (feel free to pass the link along):

www.MyScienceMind.com

I’m a fan of the writing of Judith Hansen Lasater, Ph.D., P.T.

I’ve had the joy of taking a couple of trainings with Dr. Lasater and use many of her techniques in my restorative pose workshops. She is a founding editor of Yoga Journal and is the author of many titles, including Relax and Renew, a now-classic book about restorative yoga. (Many of you know her writing from her anatomy columns in YJ.)

However, her Ph.D. is in East-West psychology, and she also authored one of my all-time favorite books about yoga, an unimposing volume called Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life.

Published a decade ago, Living Your Yoga is, of course, still perfectly relevant in the 5,000-year-old yoga tradition. Aimed at westerners and geared to modern life, the book is not about asana, or yoga poses, instead it’s a book about personalizing the spiritual teachings of the yoga tradition. It’s a rich book, yet very easy to read, and easy to become involved in. I highly recommend it to anyone of any faith, whether practicing physical yoga or not.

So I was delighted to find A Year of Living Your Yoga: Daily Practices to Shape Your Life, on the shelf at Many Rivers Books & Tea in Sebastopol. This little companion book is filled with short daily practices. They’re not cumulative, and you can start at any time during the year. It was my New Year’s gift to myself.

The meditation for January 28:

Feeling at ease does not mean feeling nothing.
Living Your Yoga: Three times today, stop, close your eyes, and ask yourself, What am I feeling right now? Can I be at ease with it? Name it and wait for the answer.

It’s that simple.

Kudos to Many Rivers

While I’m on the subject of books, I have to say this: Many Rivers Books & Tea consistently has the best selection of yoga books that I’ve found anywhere in the area. They also have a wide variety of books about almost any spiritual tradition you can think of, and fantastic gifts and items to support spiritual practice. Have a cup of tea and spend some time browsing. If you’re not familiar with this little gem of a business, read about the store’s mission here.

The Saturday morning class at Yoga Bodega is a flow, or vinyasa, class, with lots of movement and less detailed instruction than I provide during my weekday classes. It’s challenging and fun and exuberant. Music helps to set the tone. (It’s also not a class for yoga beginners.)

Here are a couple of tracks from the Saturday morning class playlist. You can find them on iTunes and buy them there if you’d like to use them for your home practice, or just listen to them in the car!

One Day – Matisyahu

Christian Peace Prayer – Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe

Kali Durga – Lokah

Om Sri Lakshmi – Robin Renee

Gayatri Mantra – Wade Imre Morissette

I came across this tea at Whole Foods in Sebastopol. It’s made by the Yogi tea company and was formerly called “Active Body” tea. With a base of organic green tea, a great anti-oxidant, the blend contains traditional soothing herbs such as organic turmeric root which is one of the most widely used herbs in India. It also contains devil’s claw root and yucca root – herbs from indigenous herbal traditions to help decrease recovery time from minor aches and pains that may result from exercise. There’s also ginseng-eleuthero extract to help you re-energize. This tea does contain caffeine. (This is not a bedtime tea!)

If you’re being treated for a medical condition such as high blood pressure, or have concerns about any of the herbal ingredients, you should do more reading about the ingredients before you give it a try.

I’ve had a few cups now and I don’t seem to be feeling any soreness from several deep practices this week. It tastes great – a little sweet (there’s some stevia in it) and sort of floral and fruity. (Also, it was on sale at WF, 2 boxes for $6.)

But best of all, I love the little messages that are on the tiny hang tags at the end of the string on Yogi tea bags. My last two have said, “Happiness is nothing but total relaxation,” and “May your inner self be secure and happy”.

Now, that’s what I want at the end of a long practice!