Do you remember your first Sirsasana? I don’t, but I’ll never forget the first headstand for one of my students last month. “I did it!” she crooned ecstatically, “That was my goal and I did it!” Rising from her counter, Child’s pose, she was still thrilled and glowing.

You won’t typically find headstand in many Anahata Grace classes; if we do any inversion, it would be the safest and most accessible, Viparitakarani (“Legs Up the Wall”). At first, in my class, there wasn’t even a wall, since we were practicing in the middle of a living room. The small group of teenage moms would gather at the house where some of them were living, and while child care went on below, we would push away the furniture and roll out the yoga mats. Occasionally, Savasana (“Corpse Pose”) would end, not with the gentle awakening of fingers and toes, but the gleeful squeals of the children racing up the stairs to jump on their moms.

Now, the class has been going on for over a year. The Sirsasana Diva is our longest and most faithful student, as women come in and out, deliver babies, find jobs & stable living arrangements, move to distant counties. There’s always at least one new student each class. The community center was rented out for yoga nights, so now we practice in a beautiful wooden space that looks like a chapel. Against this wall, Laura first practiced tripod headstand, gingerly raising one knee to one elbow at a time. Even this first accomplishment, upside down, prompted such joy that she got a fellow student to capture it on the camera phone. Soon, she was straightening a leg, then both legs.

Not only have the students developed and our routine matured, but I have learned how to be a little better teacher each time myself. I started volunteering at Anahata Grace as an assistant, while taking a teacher training program in yoga therapy. Caitlin began letting me teach half the class, then the full class, and always providing me feedback and guidance afterward. I am learning how to better instruction to a group of women who are often awkward, tight, lethargic, giggling, shy, and sometimes practice in textured tights and a skirt.

Sometimes, I still feel a little awkward with the new students. But by the end of class, emerging from savasana, yoga has transformed the space, calmed us and deepened our connection. One young woman recently mentioned how relaxed she felt after a class where Dahlia, who is trained in Thai Yoga Massage, assisted. “I’ve never slept so well,” she said. “My shoulders were so much better!” I hope that the yoga class gives these busy young moms a little time to themselves in their busy day and more connection to their own bodies. What they give me is so much more: the joy of sharing a practice that has changed my life and made me a happier, more resilient person.

“Ring the bells that still can ring.  Forget your perfect offering.  There is a crack in everything.  That’s how the light gets in.”

Join Anahata for the month of May as we find our way back into the sun.

Saturday, May 7th is our monthly volunteer potluck.  This month’s potluck is back in Malcolm X park!  Anahata’s Program Director and lovely teacher,  Shawn Parell, will be teaching the community class open to all from 11am to noon.  A volunteer meeting will follow from 12 to 12:30pm.  Guest speaker, Jill Hall will be joining at 12:30pm to speak about the new ear acupuncture resource created by Nicole Mires and provided to the women at the wellness room.  Please join and bring friends! 

Volunteer opportunities: if you’d like to learn more about the opportunities below, please email us.

~ Are you or somebody you know interested in an Anahata summer internship?  May 15th is the deadline to apply for this year’s DC Global Mala internship.  We are currently accepting applications – more details here.

~ Want to assist or teach yoga to DC elementary school kids in low-income neighborhoods?  We are looking for a lead teacher and an assistant to commit to a weekly class for six weeks over the summer with our partner KidPower.

~ Do you provide wellness services beyond yoga (acupuncture, massage, accupressure, nutrition classes) and would like to work with domestic violence survivors?  Please send us an email with details about your current wellness offerings.

~ Do you have a background in psychotherapy, psychiatry or social work and would like to help us in creating resources for others interested in yoga/wellness service?  Please let us know your area of expertise and we will let you know the resources we are developing.

~ Would you like to put on a workshop to support Anahata?  We have studio contacts and plenty of ideas for workshop curricula; we’re looking for motivated, dedicated teachers.  If you have an idea for a workshop you’d like to offer, let us know!

Upcoming Donation Opportunities: 

~ This Sunday (May 1st), stop by Flow Yoga Center for the 3rd anual Vegan Bake Sale.  Proceeds from the sale of these delicious treats will support our work.

~ Monday, May 30th, join Megan Davis for a Memorial Day Workshop: The Art of Remembrance.  In this workshop we will do 60 minutes of active vinyasa and pranayama and 30 minutes of restorative poses followed by a 30 minute yoga nidra practice.  In honor of Memorial Day, we will explore the art of remembrance as it relates to the practice of yoga.

~ Saturday, June 4th, join Caitlin for a Nourishing Flow at Past Tense.  This extended class will start with rhythmic vinyasa flow and movement meditation – keeping you connected to the earth while tapping in to the currents of breath though movement – and close with nurturing yin postures (passive postures held over time). The combination will gently unlock contracted muscles, joints, and the hard-to-reach connective tissue – all while tapping into the subtle wisdom of our bodies and releasing emotional and physical holding from the past. 

~ Every Saturday, join Caitlin for a 45 minute community meditation class at 9:30am at Flow Yoga Center.  This class is a great way to start your weekend with grounded balance cultivated through a little yin yoga, restorative poses and seated meditation.  *If you are an active volunteer, please drop in as our guest – no donation required.

Upcoming Trainings Sponsored by Anahata:

~ Teaching Yoga to Beginners - On May 7th and 8th, Megan Davis will be leading a weekend workshop on teaching yoga to new yogis.  Active Anahata volunteers will receive a 15% discount.  If you are interested in attending, please send an email to findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

~ Yoga Therapy Immersion – with Megan Davis, Angela Cerkevich and Sierra Weaver for three weekends in May and June.  Sign up before May 1 to receive early bird discount!  This training is an incredible series of weekends focused on physical and mental therapeutics of yoga.  Weekends can be purchased a la carte or as a complete 35 hour CEU for current teachers.  All active Anahata teachers will recieve a 15% discount.  Email findinggraceyoga@gmail.com if interested in the discount.

Upcoming Trainings We Have Our Eye On:

~ May 20th and 22nd, Street Yoga TT in DC!  The Street Yoga Training workshop is for those interested in learning how to teach yoga to individuals facing huge life struggles.  Participants will learn how to weave yoga and mindfulness practices into youth activities and therapy work, about the trauma-healing effects of yoga, appropriate boundaries for touch and much more.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support! 

om shanti,
Caitlin Uzzell

I recently came across a box of photographs in my lawyer’s office. For months, he had been nagging me to stop by the firm, and had even threatened to throw my belongings in the trash. When I read his e-mail, I smiled to myself and immediately replied. I wrote he was too much of a softy to do such a thing and that I would take the trip down town as soon as I could. A few days earlier, the blizzard of 2011 hit. While outside, I was very cautious and did not want to venture far from my apartment in Brooklyn. I knew if Frank were alive, he would tell me to stay inside fearing I may slip on a patch of ice and hurt myself, especially since I only had one “real leg,” and the other was a prosthetic.

Frank Durkan was a well known lawyer and had been working at O’dwyer and Bernstein for decades. He was internationally known for his quick wit, even in the courthouse, love of Irish football (soccer), and was one of the kindest people I have ever met. Those who know me well, have often heard me say, I love lawyers, especially mine because they saved my life.

On February 23rd 2003, I was your average college freshman. I had come to New York City to attend Marymount Manhattan College and peruse a career in Sociology. My dream was to become a social worker, return to Washington D.C. (my birthplace), and eventually work in the District of Columbia Public School System.

That dream came to a crashing halt when I was struck by a commuter bus while trying to cross the street at the intersection of 39th and 3rd, commonly known to taxi drivers as the, heart of Manhattan.

As a result of the collision I broke my right ankle and severely damaged my left leg. Thankfully the bus driver stopped when he hit me but I was pinned underneath his front, left tire. Though I was not able to stand, I knew, from the severity of the pain, a portion of my left food had been crushed. I also took a strong blow to my head. Later, I learned this trauma impaired some of my basic cognitive skills, like the ability to read and write as I once had done.

After Emergency Medical Technicians rushed to my side, I was taken to Bellevue Medical Center where I spent six weeks recovering. I had multiple surgeries, one in which amputated my left leg six inches below the knee. Within the first two weeks, I gained the strength to be admitted onto the rehabilitation floor. Physical and occupational therapies prepared me to stand on my own, even if on one foot, and in due time, I slowly started using a temporary prosthetic. I also re-learned how to bathe, clothe myself, make a bed, and a meal while using the support of crutches. Though, I knew life would never be the same, I excelled in my therapies, because I was eager to return to college and the world I had left behind.

However, that world no longer existed. I spent the following weeks after being discharged balancing weekly (sometimes twice) outpatient therapy sessions, meetings with the lawyers and my new prosthetic doctor.

City life, which at one point in time, had lured me out to party on several occasions, now exhausted me and I was more then ready to leave, and return to D.C. where I already had a summer job lined up.

A new plan surfaced; I would work all summer long, save  every penny, and return to the Big Apple. The college I had been attending, was more then willing to put aside the scholarships I had been awarded the Spring before Freshman year and I was told they would admit me, once again, with open arms.

Friends and loved ones were amazed by how well I was handling myself. Though clearly, I had suffered a mind, blowing traumatic experience, I was up beat and dutifully went to work every day.

People who had not seen me since the accident, patted me on the back, and told me how great I looked. While in the hospital, not only did I lose a significant amount of weight, but the seclusion  provided me an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate. My skin cleared up, as did my mind, and I became more confident. Men started to hit on me, though I turned down most of the offers to become engaged, and my future looked bright.

Or, so I thought. It was not until I visited my former high school that someone mentioned they were worried about me. I was speaking with one of my favorite people in the world, Mrs. Weintruab, a guidance counselor and college advisor, who I had become close to my junior year. In fact, she was the first person, after my mother, that I told I had been admitted into my dream college in New York.

Mrs. Weintruab asked if I had considered seeing a therapist and I quickly laughed away the idea. Couldn’t she see how well I was handling myself?

“You look very thin, Margaret,” she said cautiously, being careful not to push this subject matter too much. She knew I was very sensitive about my weight. For most of my life, I had been the heavy kid and picked on extensively.

I smiled at Mrs. Weintraub, and told her my doctors and prosthetists told me to keep an eye on my weight and stay healthy. Extra pounds could prevent me from fitting into the prosthetic leg I would get once I returned to the city.

Denial is usually accompanied by smiles and comments that reassure. Though I worked dutifully for the rest of the summer, I became moodier then ever especially when I had to have two more surgeries as a result of an ulcer that appeared on my residual limb. Even though it was unnecessary, I fell in love with the Slim Fast plan and my weight plummeted.

The first thing I did once I returned to the Big Apple for college, was join a gym. A five a.m. wake up call sent me directly to the shower so I could go work out. At first, I went once a day. Then, as the pressures at school increased, I decided it would be best to work out as much as, three times a day to help me with the additional stress.

Not only was I balancing a full-time school schedule, my lawyers were eager to set up meetings throughout the week and encouraged me to visit them as much as possible. They also warned me that photographers hired by the opposing side may be following me, so I was told to carry a crutch once I was up and walking.

To my surprise, walking (or, re-learning how to) was not as easy as I thought it would be. Between classes, I met with prosthetists who molded my residual limb and fit me with my first prosthetic.

As the number of meetings with lawyers, and doctors increased, the more withdrawn I became from my studies and school life. I started skipping school to go work out and my diet was restricted to two bowls of Kashi Go Lean cereal and a banana, if that.

Eyebrows raised. People were not shy to mention I was becoming thinner and asked if I were alright when I said I was too tired to stay awake at night.

“It’s only six o’clock,” my roommates said.

At school, I spent most of the time hiding out in the bathroom. When I did attend class, I was too weak to stay awake. Students shook me abruptly when the teacher asked me a question I did not hear. I stumbled over a response while wiping away the collection of drool on the surface of my desk.

I dropped to 89 pounds, and then I went crazy.

“I can’t take it anymore,” I told my college advisor, and he agreed withdrawing would be the healthiest thing to do. Frank, called two friends of his and got me a room in a boarding house, and a job interview. He made sure I had warm winter clothes, and enough cash to get me through until I found a job.

I stayed in New York City for three years. Even though life was still chaotic, something deep inside of me knew it was time to heal. I learned about boundaries, bought books on nutrition, vitamins, and ayurveda. One fall evening, I went to my very first yoga class, and knew it would be a part of my path when I started to sob. The tears began to break away at the tension stored in my body and for the first time in a long while, I inhaled deeply. Finally, I could breathe, and then I decided to leave New York.

Moving home was one of the most important decisions I have ever made, because I gave myself the time and space to begin healing. I started practicing yoga daily, and sought out a variety of healers. I have tried them all; everything from acupuncture, to massage, to shamanism.

When my beloved lawyer Frank passed away, I knew it was time to pick up the pen and write my story down. In its own right (no pun intended), writing helped deepen my healing process. As of now, I am putting the finishing touches on my manuscript, am working with an editor and have sparked the interest of a literary agent.

Adapting to life with limb loss will never be easy, but having the accessibility to several avenues of healing have allowed me to balance these challenges with every day life. And, I have gained a more sustainable outlook regarding how I live in my body; one that soothes me, but also allows me to peruse my passion, helping to inspire the people I meet to also heal and turn an adverse situation into an opportunity to transform. I have done this in several ways. Over the course of the past eight years, I have helped raise over $250,000 for a variety of non-profit organizations and have visited Sierra Leone and Haiti where I worked as a volunteer. I am also a holistic health counselor and yoga instructor.

Though I know it will have it’s ups and downs, the future, once again looks bright.

“At this time of the turning point between the dark and light, what is churnning, shedding and breaking through for you?” - Shiva Rea’s Meditation on the Spring Equinox.

Join Anahata for the month of April as we come out of winter caves and face into the blossoming energy of Spring.

• Saturday, April 2nd is our monthly volunteer potluck.  In light of the tragedy that occurred at the Lululemon in Bethesda a few weeks ago, we will be joining Faith Hunter’s class on the mall to honor Jayna T. Murray at 10:30 to 11:30am @ the Sylvan Theater (15th and Constitution – details here).  Post-class we will all meet at noon @ Penn Quarter Teaism (map) to discuss Anahata and join Dr. Lauren Rubenstein, a clinical psychologist and yoga teacher, as she discusses her new Anahata trauma resource and answers questions you have regarding this topic.  Please join and bring friends.

Do you have a topic that you’d like more info on regarding wellness therapeutic services?  Please post suggested topics on our facebook page or send us an email.

• Wednesday, April 27th, a group of Anahata staff and volunteers will be attending the premiere of the Academy award winning documentary, Poster Girl – a film exploring the impact of PTSD as a young female veteran returns home after serving in Iraq.  More details about the event can be found here – please email us if you would like to join as part of Team Grace.

Volunteer opportunities: if you’d like to learn more about one of the opportunities below, please email us.

• Are you or somebody you know interested in an Anahata summer internship?  We are looking for a motivated individual to coordinate with the larger DC yoga community and help plan this year’s Global Mala. We are currently accepting applications – more details here.

• Want to assist or teach yoga to DC elementary school kids in low-income neighborhoods? We are looking for a lead teacher and an assistant to commit to a weekly class for six weeks over the summer with our partner KidPower.

• Do you have a background in communications, grant writing, website development or photography and would like to lend your skills to support Anahata? We would love to put you to work.

• Do you have a background in psychotherapy, psychiatry or social work and would like to help us in creating resources for others interested in yoga/wellness service? Please let us know your area of expertise and we will let you know the resources we are developing.

• Would you like to put on a workshop to support Anahata? We have studio contacts and plenty of ideas for workshop curricula; we’re looking for motivated, dedicated teachers.  If you have an idea for a workshop you’d like to offer, let us know!

Upcoming trainings sponsored by Anahata:

• Teaching Yoga to Beginners – On May 7th and 8th, Megan Davis will be leading a weekend workshop on teaching yoga to new yogis.  Active Anahata volunteers will receive a 15% discount.  If you are interested in attending, please send an email to findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

• Yoga Therapy Immersion – with Megan Davis, Angela Cerkevich and Sierra Weaver for three weekends in May and June  This training is an incredible series of weekends focused on physical and mental therapeutics of yoga.  Weekends can be purchased a la carte or as a complete 35 hour CEU for current teachers.  All active Anahata teachers will recieve a 15% discount.  Email findinggraceyoga@gmail.com if interested in the discount.

Want your yoga practice to support Anahata? Saturday donation classes at Flow have been revamped; we are now teaching a 45 minute community meditation class at 9:30am every Saturday.  This class is a great way to start your weekend with grounded balance cultivated through a little yin yoga, restorative poses and seated meditation.  If you are an active volunteer, please drop in as our guest – no donation required.

Are you interested in volunteering but are unable to attend our monthly meetings?  Please join me (Caitlin) for one of our Saturday classes – we can sip tea and discuss volunteer opportunities.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support!

om shanti,
Caitlin Uzzell

Poster Girl, an academy-award nominated documentary, tells the story of Robynn Murray, an all-American high-school cheerleader turned “poster girl” for women in combat after her return home from Iraq and ensuing struggle with the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Shot and directed by first-time filmmaker Sara Nesson, Poster Girl is an emotionally raw documentary that follows Robynn over the course of two years as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and redemption, using art and poetry to redefine her life.

Please join us for the premiere of this inspiring film at the George Mason University Johnson Center Cinema on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 6:30pm.  Director Sara Nesson and subject Robynn Murray will appear in person for a post-screening talk.  For more details please visit http://www.postergirlthemovie.com/.

Valentine’s day sent some love to the women of DASH, the District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc., in the opening of the Cornerstone Wellness Room.   Brought to you by Anahata Grace and funded by Verizon,  services offered in this room will include acupuncture, acupressure, Thai massage, yoga therapy, cooking classes, and other wellness programs for women who have been victims of domestic violence.  There to partake in the ribbon cutting ceremony was acupuncturist Nicole Mires, who shares with us a bit from her first day offering what wellness her hands are able to provide.

I had a great time yesterday.  Anticipation on my way to the house… worrying if the women would like me, if they’d like the treatments, and if we could really make a difference here.  I worked as a behavioral health counselor while I was in grad school, but that experience was years ago and miles away, and not a very positive one.  I wondered if the women would look at me as a privileged middle class white girl with no experience of need or pain.  I wondered if they would accept their treatments without me telling them “you can trust me, because I’ve seen the bottom”.  I shuffled through these thoughts and insecurities and then I realized with a pang that my ego was running away with me.  This isn’t about me.  This isn’t about me being able to tell my friends and family, with my chin held high, that I was doing something selfless for someone else.  This isn’t about my experience or my ego or my expensive shoes.  I’m a conduit.  The treatment works.  The healing is in them, as they have probably already figured out.  I’m just a conduit, and whatever I think I might be able to add to their healing is stubble and hay, burned away by their own curative fire.
So I got up to the room.  Stowed away some props, swept the floor, opened the windows to let in the fresh air, and rearranged the flower pots.  I set up two mats and turned around to absorb the view.  It’s a good space.  Clean and humble.  A young woman walked in dressed in her bathrobe, with bright eyes and a huge smile.  “I didn’t know you’d be here today, what are you doing?”  “Acupuncture.  You want to try?”  She didn’t hesitate.

She was the only one who showed up, which was one more than I thought would come that day.  I placed the needles in her ears and did reiki on her, since there was no one else to care for.  She liked it.  She said that she felt better.  I told her I would be back in two weeks, and I would like to see her again since the first treatment is always a little odd, since you don’t know what to expect.

I hope two women come in next time.

Vipassana meditation is an offering made to those inhabiting this end of the line prison as an alternative to the daily grind of a life sentence.  Vipassana simply means “seeing things as they are,” an offer that some would rather forget.  This particular correctional facility, named after an officer killed at the prison, is reserved for the worst of the worst who have committed the ultimate egregious crimes.  Some have chosen to try and regain some sort of balance back in their lives as an attempt to reconcile the horrible things they have done.

A 10 day silent meditation can seem daunting enough to those of us who yearn for a small reprieve from our daily dose of stress or for those who simply desire a stronger connection with the self.  Imagine such internal observation for one who is haunted by actions that can never be mended.  Vipassana, seeing things as they are, facing crimes that have been committed, minds that have made wrong choices – what comes up?  Is it worth learning too late in life the significance of mistakes made? Does it help to be tortured with the self awareness of what you have done and who you truly are?  For convicted murderer Johnny Mack Young this meditation allows him to have the highest quality life that he can, and has forever changed him.  Meditation has chipped away at denial and any blame put on others for your own faults – it has given these inmates the ultimate responsibility of taking ownership of the self.

The result has been significant behavioral changes, an almost peaceful calm to certain inmates, as well as a sort of compassion for others through service as volunteers in the prison hospice and offerings of self-help guidance in the prison chapel.  Currently, there’s a waiting list to be a part of this 10 day Vipassana meditation and next up is organizing the same service for female inmates.

To learn more about this program, please visit the NPR segment “At End-Of-The Line Prison, An Unlikely Escape”.

“Everything that we see is a shadow cast by what we don’t see.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Join Anahata for the month of February and beyond as we examine what we don’t see through somatic connections.

• Saturday, February 5th is our monthly volunteer potluck!  The topic for this month is Trauma and Yoga.  With this nip in the air, we have found a winter home for our meetings (1113 Rhode Island Ave NW 20005).  The yoga class (11am to noon) is open to anyone who would like to start their day with some flowing yoga, then stay for an Anahata meeting (noon to 1pm).  This month, join Dr. Lauren Rubenstein, a clinical psychologist and yoga teacher, as she discusses her new Anahata trauma resource and answers questions you have regarding this topic.  Please join and bring friends – more details can be found here.

Do you have a topic that you’d like more info on regarding wellness therapeutic services?  Please post suggested topics on our facebook page or send us an email at findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

Volunteer opportunities: if you’d like to learn more about one of the opportunities below, please email findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

• Want to assist or teach yoga to DC elementary school kids in low-income neighborhoods? We are looking for an assistant to commit to a weekly class for six weeks with our partner KidPower.

• Do you have a background in communications, grant writing, website development or photography and would like to lend your skills to support Anahata? We would love to put you to work.

• Do you have a background in psychotherapy, psychiatry or social work and would like to help us in creating resources for others interested in yoga/wellness service? Please let us know your area of expertise and we will let you know the resources we are developing.

• Would you like to put on a workshop to support Anahata? We have studio contacts and plenty of ideas for workshop curricula; we’re looking for motivated, dedicated teachers.  If you have an idea for a workshop you’d like to offer, let us know!

Upcoming trainings sponsored by Anahata:

• 30 hour Thai Yoga Therapy Training – Anahata’s Founder, Angela Cerkevich, and Vanessa King are offering a 30 hour Thai Yoga Massage Training during March 2011.  Active Anahata volunteers will receive a 15% discount.  If you are interested in attending, please send an email to findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

• Teaching Yoga to Beginners – On May 7th and 8th, Megan Davis will be leading a weekend workshop on how to teach yoga to new yogis.  Active Anahata volunteers will receive a 15% discount.  If you are interested in attending, please send an email to findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

• Off the Mat and Into the World’s Leadership Training will be in DC this March and is filling up quickly!  This training is an incredible 5 day intensive to help find your inner leader/dharma through yoga and group exercises with the powerful Seane Corne, Hala Khouri, and Suzanne Sterling.  Tickets can be purchased here.

Want your yoga practice to support Anahata? Saturday donation classes at Flow have been revamped; we are now teaching a 45 minute community meditation class at 9:30am every Saturday.  This class is a great way to start your weekend with grounded balance cultivated through a little yin yoga, restorative poses and seated meditation.  If you are an active volunteer, please drop in as our guest – no donation required.

Are you interested in volunteering but are unable to attend our monthly meetings?  Please join me (Caitlin) for one of our Saturday classes – we can sip tea and discuss volunteer opportunities.

Other trainings we have our eye on:

• Trauma Sensitive Yoga Teaching Certificate Program with Dave Emerson – The Trauma Centre of Boston is hosting this incredible four day training; Anahata is putting together a group of our volunteers to attend.  If you are interested, please send us an email at findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support!

om shanti,
Caitlin Uzzell

Sick of the same old new year’s scene and the feeling you wake up with the morning after? Connect with the intention of new beginnings and community in this sacred and celebratory evening.

Purify through a vigorous asana practice, release through deep yoga nidra, and reconnect with your spirit through sacred silence – come ring in the New Year with Jivamutki.

Celebrate and Elevate
New Year’s Eve 2010 with Agi Glowacki and Justin Blazejewski

Date: Fri 12/31/2010
Time: 9:00 PM – Midnight
Flow Yoga Center, Washington DC

Purify through a vigorous asana practice, release through deep yoga nidra, and reconnect with your spirit through sacred silence.

9-10:30pm – Special Jivamukti class with Agi Glowacki
10:30-11:30pm – Yoga Nidra practice with Justin Blazejewski
11:30-midnight – Mauna (sacred silence), with traditional Puja ceremony and meditation
Midnight – Sparkling cider toast!

REGISTER HERE.

Proceeds from this event will benefit the important work that Anahata Grace is doing in bring healing to soldiers. Specifically the money will go towards the next “Troop Retreat” for veterans where, at no cost to the veterans, a team of trauma therapists spend 3 days helping them heal from the trauma experienced in war.

• Saturday, December 4th (tomorrow) is our monthly volunteer potluck!  This month, I (Caitlin) will be teaching the yoga class starting at 11am.  With this nip in the air, we have found a winter home for our meetings (1113 Rhode Island Ave NW 20005).  The class is open to anyone who would like to start their day with some flowing yoga, then stay for an Anahata meeting about our upcoming volunteer opportunities and an informal time to meet and support like-minded compassionate activists.  Please join and bring friends – more details can be found here.

Volunteer opportunities: if you’d like to learn more about one of the opportunities below, please email findinggraceyoga@gmail.com.

• Want to teach yoga at a homeless women’s shelter?  We are looking for volunteer/certified yoga teachers for a weekly class on Mondays at 10am at N Street Village.

• Want to assist or teach yoga to kids in elementary schools in low-income neighborhoods in DC?  After the holiday school break, we will have new 6 week classes starting with our partner KidPower.

• Are you certified as a holistic healer and would like to be a part of a 3 day retreat for service providers? In the next few months, we will be providing a 3 day rejuvenation retreat for case managers at a domestic violence shelter and are looking for talented volunteers to provide the rejuvenation.

• Would you like to put on a workshop to support Anahata?  We have the studio contacts and plenty of ideas for workshops but need the teachers.

Want your yoga practice to support Anahata? Below are the upcoming donation classes and workshops for November.  If  you are an active volunteer, please feel free to drop in to any of the classes without donating dollars.

• Sunday, December 5th, Megan Davis will be teaching a Yin Yoga donation workshop at Yoga Chai to support Anahata.

• Saturday donation classes at Flow have been revamped.  We are now teaching a 45 minute community meditation class at 9:30am every Saturday.  This class is a great way to start your weekend with grounded balance cultivated through a little yin yoga, restorative poses and seated meditation.

Upcoming trainings:

• Anahata is excited to announce that Off the Mat and Into the World’s Leadership Training is coming to DC!  It will be brought to you by Flow Yoga Center and Anahata Grace.  It is an incredible 5 day intensive to help find your inner leader/dharma through yoga and group exercises with the powerful Seane Corne, Hala Khouri, and Suzanne Sterling.  Tickets can be purchased here.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support and happy holidays!

om shanti,
Caitlin Uzzell