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THERESA BRIGGS YOGA
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August is for: celebrating vulnerability. Allowing the soft frontside of the body open up. Moving into uncertainty. And knowing that you have your own back even if when you’re afraid you might fall.
💚💚💚

Part of the practice of yoga is embracing the unknown. Avidya, often translated as ignorance in the yogic texts, can come across as a negative concept in a world where we place such high importance on being right. On always knowing. Which doesn’t leave a lot of room for mistakes and growth.

We practice our yoga by acknowledging (and then reminding ourselves over and over and over again) that the only guarantee is change. That there is no real “knowing.” That much of what we think we know has been conditioned in us. And we work to recognize how holding on to “knowing” can create rigidity and suffering, both for ourselves and the continued suffering of marginalized groups in our communities.

So here we are! Months into a pandemic where no one really knows what comes next. Centuries into a culture soaked in racism and patriarchy. So thank goodness change is our only guarantee.

Keep practicing. Keep scratching under the surface of what you think you know. In moments of pain and fear and anxiety where it’s nearly impossible to access coping tools, the physical yoga practice (#asana) and breath-work (#pranayama) can remind our nervous systems that we are safe. If those practices feel out of reach because the agitation is too high, try jumping jacks, run around the block, or stomp and shake first. Try yelling! Or singing. These can all stimulate the #vagusnerve & help reset to the nervous system neutral so the quieter practices can become an option again.

#yogapractice #yoga #yogaeverydamnday #yogaeveryday #yogaforanxiety #yogainthetimeofcorona #yogaanywhere #polyvagaltheory #vagusnervestimulation #yogafortrauma #yogaforstress

rock the vote, not your nervous system

11/8/2016

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Happy Election Day. Wow has the stress been palpable this week. Classes were busy at Bow Street last night and I'm so happy to have the opportunity to come together and alleviate some stress as a community, and so grateful for a warm safe place to practice and breathe. One of the attributes we are cultivating in practicing yoga is vairagya — often translated as equanimity or dispassion. Early on in my practice of yoga this was taught as "it is what it is." And I had such a negative connotation with that phrase. I'm not supposed to care so deeply?! Should I just crawl in bed and give up?

In reality, the dispassion we are fostering isn't meant to hinder progress or action. It's not "it is what it is, so why bother," it's more of a sense of just — "it is." It's a letting go of the outcome, but not the action. And the election season has been a great teacher. We are called to put in the work. Exercise our right to vote, and do our best to raise awareness.

I know many of you have jumped on the phones and volunteered to drive folks to the polls. It's still important to care deeply and put that passion into action. But at the end of the day — once the action is done, none of us can individually control the outcome. And that is where the equanimity comes in. We vote, but none of us can ultimately choose the president or the results of the questions. What we choose is our reaction: the words we choose to speak to those who hold different views and how much we let the outcome rock our internal worlds.

So today: keep practicing! Choose to pause and breathe (slow exhales are excellent for calming the system), and check in with sensation in your body. Feel your feet on the ground. Shut off the media & take a walk — the trees are still beautiful out there. You're doing great.

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    This blog, together with the occasional newsletter, will be an active space to share thoughts about yoga on and off the mat. Please let me know what you like and what you'd like to see more of. And as always, thank you for the gift of teaching!

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