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.

We hope to see you tomorrow at Megan Davis’ Thanksgiving Day workshop where as a community we can take pause to give thanks.

Warm oms,

Team Grace ]]> http://www.anahatainternational.org/index.php/updates/practicing-gratitude/feed/ 0 http://www.anahatainternational.org/index.php/updates/cultivating-gratitude-a-thanksgiving-day-workshop-2/ http://www.anahatainternational.org/index.php/updates/cultivating-gratitude-a-thanksgiving-day-workshop-2/#comments Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:30:48 +0000 alexis mitchell http://www.anahatainternational.org/?p=1748 Already thinking about Thanksgiving?  We are too, as it’s just around the corner. 

Yoga teaches us to be grateful for the present moment and unveils the primary principle of the universe, sri (abundance).  So what better way to practice gratitude than for a Thanksgiving day workshop?  Please join Megan Davis just for 2 hours this Thanksgiving day.  The experience will entail 60 minutes of vinyasa and pranayama and 30 minutes of restorative poses followed by a 30 minute yoga nidra practice.  All proceeds will go toward our mission here at Anahata Grace.

And don’t foget this Saturday’s community meditation/Anahata Grace donation class.  This week Manisha Tare will honor us with her guidance through this practice at Flow Yoga Center at 9:30 am.

• September 4th, please join us in the upper level of Meridian Hill park for a yoga class open to all (and taught by the lovely Emilia) followed by a potluck/picnic for Anahata volunteers and those that are interested in becoming volunteers. It’s a great way to spend some time getting to know like-minded wellness activists + have some time outside doing what we love – moving with breath. More details about our monthly potlucks can be found here: http://www.anahatainternational.org/index.php/news/volunteer-potluck/

• September 12th, Flow will have a table up at this year’s Adams Morgan Day Festival – a crazy time on 18th street with lots of people and opportunity to spread the word about the yoga studio + Flow’s outreach which includes Anahata! I will be there but need a number of volunteers to take 2 hour shifts to help chat with folks as they stop by the table. All help is appreciated :).

• September 26th, Global Mala! This year’s DC Global Mala is raising funds to support Anahata (yay!). Thanks to the generous donation of online tools provided by Salsa (thanks Trina!), we are even able to create individual sponsorship pages to help raise funds through the generosity of friends and family. If you are interested in doing this, please check out our website: http://www.anahatainternational.org/index.php/dc-global-mala/ We are also in need of volunteers to help run the event and would love to get you involved if you are interested in helping. And finally, please help us by promoting mala to your friends by either posting to your fbook with a link to the website or just reaching out to people via email with details.

• We’d also love to increase the number of people that “like” our fbook page. If you know someone who supports Anahata’s mission but does not know about our fbook presence, please recommend that they check us out (www.facebook.com/anahatagrace).

Below is a brief update on our current programs that we couldn’t do without your help:

• We just completed a 6 week summer program with elementary school aged kids in low-income neighborhoods in DC and are about to restart the afterschool yoga classes through the same program for this Fall!  (a big thanks to Alexis Mitchell, Dawn Hennessey, Scott Carson, Emilia Retta, and Sarah Walter!)

• We are creating a wellness room at a domestic violence shelter that will open it’s doors in October and will provide holistic services including acupuncture, reiki, yoga, yoga nidra, nutrition classes and lots more!  (A big thanks to our Wellness Committee: Michell Stanley, Nicole Mires, Ana Abram, Riana Ackley and Jamie Larson).

• We are working with a community center that provides therapy to people suffering from severe mental health disabilities to create a 6 week yoga for trauma survivors program.

• We are increasing the number of homeless teen moms that we teach yoga to at Borromeo Housing. (Big thanks to Layne Morrison)

• We are now running the yoga program along with providing Afro-Brazilian dance classes (yay Angela Ingram!) at N Street Village – a homeless women’s shelter.

• The Troop Retreat for veterans suffering from PTSD will be the weekend of September 10th.  (Nicely done Angela, Frances and Andrea).

• We are continuing to explore partnership options for this year’s International Fellowship program!

Please email me at findinggraceyoga@gmail.com if you are able to give some time to any of the above volunteer requests. I hope to see you on September 4th if not sooner!

As part of the yoga community, Anahata Grace is fortunate enough to be surrounded by those who desire social change and hold themselves personally accountable to make an impact.  Leading by example is the District’s city-wide Citizen Effect 30 Day Yoga Challenge.    Spear-headed by Michael Hall of Mid City Yoga, funds raised through the 30 Day Yoga Challenge will support the construction of an orphanage in Cloetesville, South Africa.

Here’s the breakdown: Participants in the 30 Day Yoga Challenge will sign up online, set a challenge goal, create a web page/blog that features photos of the project, and displays a fundraising “thermometer” along with a link for online donations. Of course, challengers are encouraged to use social media to highlight their citizen activism, broadcast their cause on Facebook, Twitter, and email.  And while you’re consciously working that yogic karma for a good cause, the physical, mental, and emotional benefits to your being will naturally overflow.

Driven by the idea that anyone can make a real and significant impact, Citizen Effect aims to provide the every day Joe with the tools and networks necessary to work with communities around the world.  Echoing the same core values, Anahata International maintains the mission of offering yoga to post-conflict communities beyond our American borders in order to provide them with the ability to heal and spread wellness.  Through various projects to date, Citizen Effect has helped bring water, food, and housing to communities in impoverished countries across the globe.

So while this specific challenge helps to raise awareness about tremendous global causes, keep in mind those local communities in need.  Anahata Grace may just be the outlet you’re in search of to assist in spreading compassion and healing to those vulnerable communities found right in our backyard.

A bit about your teacher: Karen Chan came to yoga and experienced firsthand the powerful transformational quality the practice has on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.  She is a strong believer in yoga as a way of thinking and living, and encourages people to find ways to apply the practices of yoga in everyday life.  Her love of yoga is supported by her study of dance and Buddhist philosophy, and yoga is a place where those two interests of movement and meditation, along with a lifelong passion for music, all converge.  Not only does Karen teach a donation yoga class every first Sunday of the month to benefit Anahata Grace, but she also teaches on a volunteer basis at Miriam’s Kitchen, an organization that provides meal and support services for the homeless in the District.

What to expect: Shawn’s classes are strong and deeply nurturing, full of humor and heart. Her roots in the Krishnamacharya lineage and mystical poetry infuse the intelligent and progressive patterns of pranic movement she shares today.  Expect lighthearted and challenging play, and whatever funky or sacred rhythms fit the mood that day.

More about your teacher: Shawn Parell was introduced to the Ashtanga primary series at 12 years old, and has been a devoted student of yoga ever since. After countless namaskars over the years, Shawn embodies the spirit of practice – she has logged well over 500 hours of teacher training, teaches private and public classes regularly, practices shambhala meditation daily, travels to India every chance she gets, and is ever-deepening in exploration of asana, meditation, and philosophy.  Today, Shawn anchors her yogic journey with the Prana Flow global collective, guided by world-renowned teacher Shiva Rea. She works as a communications specialist for the United Nations Foundation, and studies the dialogue between modern psychology and eastern philosophy as a masters student at Naropa University. Shawn is also a catalyst of the annual DC Global Mala, part of a worldwide event that raises awareness and funds for issues such as global warming, fair trade, and equal education opportunities.

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.

Appropriate for students comfortable in Flow 1 or Flow 2.

This is a donation class. All proceeds will go towards Megan’s project to develop an adaptive yoga manual and teacher training for Anahata International teachers on the ground in Rwanda. Please bring cash/check. We recommend $25 but any amount is welcome!

So join us at Flow Yoga Center from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. in honor of Memorial Day.

Every week, Anahata Grace will honor our volunteer and staff teacher experiences through a weekly blog.  This week, Jamie Boese, co-founder of WelcomeOmDC, will chat about the importance of a website dedicated to yogis and other wellness-minded folks in the District in establishing networks among these inspiring communities.

Back in the Fall, during my teacher training at Flow Yoga Center, I had a random conversation with a friend over brightly colored hoodies at lululemon athletica Logan Circle. The gist of this conversation was “why is there no central place to go for yoga information in DC?” and “OMG, there are so many amazing local business owners and role models in our fitness community – why don’t we talk about them more?” And WelcomeOmDC was born in that moment.

WelcomeOmDC is a website hub dedicated to yogis, runners, athletes, and the wellness-minded of Washington, DC. We are a resource and online community.We provide information on events, classes, workshops, inspiring organizations (like Anahata Grace) and yoga and fitness leaders in the District. We highlight and support the infrastructure of the flourishing yoga, fitness & wellness communities and the business owners and practitioners who sustain them.

And we have fun.

So enough about us, here’s where you come in.

We are always looking for events, workshops, classes, and people to feature. We love cross-pollinating our subject areas (yoga for runners, swimming for yogis, outdoor sports, indoor sports, yoga philosophy, volunteer opportunities, eating right, etc.), with guest posts written by regular DC residents who have interest and expertise in these areas.

During the month of May, we are collecting Yoga Off the Mat submissions. We want to feature how you bring your yoga practice off the mat in any way that works for your own life. If you’re interested Read more about this opportunity and then email us a guest post at welcomeomdc@gmail.com.

You can also get involved with WelcomeOmDC by liking us on Facebook (facebook.com/welcomeomdc), following us on Twitter (@welcomeomdc), and/or adding http://www.welcomeomdc.com to your RSS feed burner.

We want to be of service to DC’s yogi’s, athletes and wellness-minded. This city has much to offer and its time we talked about it! So Welcome Om, DC. We sweat the District.

This Saturday, May 22nd kicks it all off  with yogi Jeffrey Platts who will lead a 90 minute class for all levels of students to enjoy.  The class will include a centering, warm-up, energizing asanas, cool down and a final relaxation — all aimed at cultivating mindfulness and intention. Students can look forward to a fun class designed to stretch, strengthen and balance the body, supported by a soundtrack of funky, soulful and uplifting rhythms.  Come sweat and move for a great cause!

A few more notes about your teacher: Jeffrey Platts is passionate about helping people follow their own groove. He received his 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher certification from Flow Yoga Center. Students can look forward to a fun class designed to stretch, strengthen and balance the body, all while cultivating mindfulness and intention.  Jeffrey reminds his students that yoga practice is really about honoring your own path and listening to your own heart and body.  Jeffrey is committed to making yoga accessible by blending other philosophies and teachings, sharing the lesson of Swami Satchidananda: “Truth is one. Paths are many.” He also integrates his many years of DJ experience to infuse each class with a mix of funky, soulful and uplifting rhythms.  Off the mat, Jeffrey loves exploring philosophy, writing, DJing, blogging about dating/relationships, and salsa dancing.  http://www.jeffreyplatts.com