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.
Continue reading 'A Community Class with Heart'»
Teacher Guest Blog
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anahata grace, Borromeo Housing, C, Child’s pose, Community center, Layne Morrison, Savasana, Sirsasana, Thai Yoga Massage, Viparitakarani, yoga
The blog post below was written by an incredible yogi, writer and survivor (+ friend of Anahata), Maragret Westley, who’s story of healing through the arts is inspiring to say the least. If you’d like to learn more about Margaret, you can follow her blog here.
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.
Continue reading 'Margaret’s Story'»
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.
Continue reading 'Room to Heal'»
DC Local Projects, Teacher Guest Blog
| acupressure, Acupuncture, anahata grace, cooking classes, Cornerstone Wellness Room, District Alliance for Safe Housing, Domestic Violence, Inc. (DASH), Nicole Mires, reiki, Ribbon cutting ceremony, Thai massage, Valentine's day, Verizon, yoga therapy
To kick off the change in season and the unexpected that’s left in 2010, yoga lover, activist, andnew DC resident Laura Randeles speaks to the beauty of being present within the unknown.
Lately, I have been inspired by the unknown. Making best friends with the unknown has been a wonderful blessing in my life since moving to DC last year. There are many days when I’m unsure of where my next job assignment will be, how long it will last, whether it will have a stable salary, or if there will even be another assignment. My wonderful meditation teacher, who survives off donation-based classes and workshops, calls this living by the “wisdom of uncertainty.” I think in the beginning of being confronted by Mr. Unknown there was less wisdom and more, um…freaking out, but over the last 6 months a welcoming shift of acceptance and peace has occurred and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Continue reading 'Loving the Unknown'»
This week, yoga teacher, musician and writer Holly Meyers blogs about living yoga in everyday life, and the impact of taking your practice off the mat and into the world around you.
“Trauma is a fact of life. So is resilience.” – Hala Khouri, Off The Mat Into The World Co-Creator
In 1993, I was emotionally, physically and spiritually bottoming out – again. In my 28 years of life, I’d experienced enough unaddressed trauma to leave me without possibility for healing or growth. I’d “lost my way,” my life was a mess and I felt empty inside.
A friend suggested yoga, and I’ve been “on the mat” ever since.
At first, my practice was selfish. Yoga’s initial “ahhh” brought immense relief and I started to feel better. Then came the intense transformation from being guided by teachers who embraced and passed on yoga’s comprehensive design for living. Self-examination and change are not always gentle processes. Surrendering, I fell back into the arms of supportive yogis and others devoted to healing. Years down the line, teachers started to suggest carrying the benefits of yoga into the world. Having gained so much from this precious practice, I knew I wanted to give back however possible. The seeds of Seva (selfless service) were planted.
Today, I try to take yoga off the mat and into my everyday world, every day of my life.
Continue reading 'Yoga in Action: Off the Mat Into the World'»
DC Local Projects, Teacher Guest Blog
| Chakra Asana, Claire Williams, Facebook, Hala Khouri, Healing, Holly Meyers, Kerri Kelly, Off The Mat Into The World, Om Shanti, OMT, Seane Corn, Suzanne Sterling, The Urban Yoga Den, Wordpress, yoga, Yoga In Action
As the DC Global Mala swiftly approaches, spiritual pioneer Jonathan Foust speaks to the meaning of the Dharma talks he offers our community and a bit about what we can expect during our time with him on Sunday, September 26th.
As a long term yogi and at one time President of
Kripalu Center, the largest yoga center in North America, I get asked interesting questions. Two in particular stand out – One was from a fashion magazine looking for a reaction to the fact that a famous designer had just come out with a $300 bag to carry a yoga mat. I knew what kind of response the writer was looking for, but just didn’t have it in me. “I think it’s great!,” I responded. “If a $300 yoga bag helps inspires someone to engage into and deepen their practice I’m all for it. Anyone who begins a transformational practice like yoga will benefit in ways that can’t be measured.” The second question I’m often asked is, “This yoga and meditation thing. Don’t you think that’s awfully self-indulgent?” This question always leads to an amazing paradox. Perhaps we are indulging the self, but all practices lead to a deep inquiry into what that ‘self’ actually is. Inevitably, those who engage into the practice of yoga and meditation become more aware of how inter-connected they are with others. They become more sensitive to the 10,000 joys and the 10,000 sorrows we collectively share on this human journey.
This week, Anahata Grace social media wizard Jeffrey Platts schools us on the importance of the viral world to the world of non-profits.
There are currently three big tools in social media. Blogging, Twitter and Facebook. All three are ways for you to expand and fine tune your brand, which I heard best defined as “what people feel when they think about your name.” Think Apple, Greenpeace, Southwest, Habitat for Humanity, Richard Branson. Each creates a certain feeling when you think of them. This post will hopefully serve as a strong nudge to get you and your organization on the social media bus so you don’t have to chase it down later.
Blog
Website are just billboards. They just sit there. What you need today is a WEB PRESENCE. Every organization and businesses has a website. It’s a necessity. It’s a starting point for people to get basic info on what you’re about. It’s got your mission, contact info, staff profiles. But it’s not enough. It doesn’t give people a reason to KEEP COMING BACK to your site. A blog, however DOES give them a reason. A blog no longer means just a diary of random thoughts or a collection of political rants. A blog is a way to easily publish new content to your site on a regular basis.
Continue reading 'Why Non-Profits Need to Get on The Social Media Bus'»
General, Teacher Guest Blog
| Billboards, Blogging, Charity, Connection, Customer, Donor, Expand Your Brand, Facebook, Facebook Fan Page, Family, Greenpeace, Habitat for Humanity, Information, Inspiration, Invisible Children, Non-Profits, Online, Online Tool, Pet, Profile, Reader, Resources, Retweet, Richard Branson, Shelters, Social Media, Southwest, Starbucks, Think Apple, Twitter, Viral, Web Presence
This week, Anahta Grace volunteer and psychotherapist Michell Stanley announces the creation of our very first wellness center, to provide healing for those inhabiting the District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc. (DASH).
The mission of the District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc. (DASH) is to ensure access to safe and sustainable refuge for victims of domestic violence through the development and management of safe housing and related services, while increasing the capacity of other community-based organizations to expand housing for victims throughout the District of Columbia. As part of fulfilling this mission, DASH has honored Anahata Grace with the responsibility of facilitating wellness programming for the organization’s newest program, Cornerstone, which is scheduled to open this fall. The Wellness room will offer a full schedule of yoga classes including acupuncture, reiki, yoga therapy, and meditation, all geared towards providing residents with wellness services from a holistic perspective.
Continue reading 'DASH Wellness Center'»
DC Local Projects, General, Teacher Guest Blog
| anahata grace, at-risk populations, community-based, Cornerstone, District Alliance for Safe Housing, Domestic Violence, holistic, Inc. (DASH), Meditation, Michell Stanley, promote health, reiki, Social Change, Wellness, Wellness Committee, yoga therapy
Every week, Anahata Grace will honor our volunteer and staff experiences through a weekly blog. This week, Finding Grace volunteer and dedicated yogini Shawn Parell will selflessly share with us her lifetime commitment to service.
“The fruit of love is service. Prayer in action is love, and love in action is service.” – Mother Teresa
I first learned about Anahata Grace (then just Anahata International) in the winter of 2007-2008. Like many of us at that time, I was inspired—and still am—by the story of a small band of karma yogis dedicated to promoting healing and social change in places that might seem geographically or contextually far away to most. As one among many thousands of non-profit workers in our nation’s capital, an organizer of the DC Global Mala, and a teacher and longtime student of the yogic arts, I resonated with the simple sankalpa, or intention, to share that which has enriched my life so immeasurably with others in need. And I felt an instinct to help.
… Does this sound familiar to you?
Continue reading 'A Genuine Instinct Towards Seva'»
Teacher Guest Blog
| anahata grace, Anahata International, Andrea Gibson, Chitta Vritti, DC Global Mala, Einstein, Eva, Freedom, Intention, Karma, Meditation, Mother Teresa, Our Nation's Capital, Prana, Saha, Sankalpa, Sanskrit, Selfishness, Selfless Service, seva, Social Change
Every week, Anahata Grace will honor our volunteer and staff experiences through a weekly blog. This week, Finding Grace staff member Alexis Mitchell will talk a little bit about how we’re all heroes.
The Pedigree “Heroes” ad tells the story of those who haven’t been given the opportunity to see the brightest side of life. “Shelter dogs aren’t broken, they’ve simply experienced more life. If they were human, we would call them wise. They would be the ones with tales to tell and stories to write; the ones dealt a bad hand responded with courage. Do not pity a shelter dog, adopt one.”
Pedigree has mastered the art of effectively relaying its pure intentions of changing the lives of shelter animals. The message it gets across is one of service, encouraging the listener to take purposeful actions to enhance the life of another and not to mistake a difficult state for a sorry one.
Continue reading 'The Hero Effect'»
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