Possible Zoom Classes

Greetings! I am trying to assess at what point I might offer Zoom yoga classes from the Turtle Haven Studio, and relying upon you all to let me know if that would be of interest. My plan would be to offer classes of the same levels, and in the same time slots as usual– or what used to be USUAL! So, Tuesdays 9:45 am and Wednesdays 5:45 pm would be the traditional classes. Additionally, if there were enough interest, I would offer a Yoga Nidra irest session weekly as well, Thursday afternoons at 5 pm. All classes would include yoga philosophy and sutra study. Tuition would be the usual sliding fee for those who could afford it, with as much adjustment as needed for those struggling financially in light of our current collective situation. Hearing back from as many of you as possible either way would be heartening; also please feel free to share with others. I miss teaching, and seeing all of you! Please respond by April 3rd. The best way to resond would be by email, as opposed to responding to this post. Please use this address: elizabethkerwinyoga@gmail.com

For those who have not used Zoom, it is actually quite simple!

I hope this post finds you well, and discovering the most meaningful ways of being present with such a far reaching and impactful, unprecedented situation for the world community.

Tara Brach Home Retreat Resources

Greetings! Here is a link to Tara Brach’s resources for retreat at home; many wonderful options. May this find each of you finding your Way with this challenging time.

https://www.tarabrach.com/create-home-retreat/

Photo by Magicbowls on Pexels.com

 

Time for Pausing and Reflecting

Greetings to each, and may you be finding nourishment so needed in this collective time of challenge. I feel a deep sadness in the absence of our gathering together to reflect and practice in person, and hope that those who wish for practice are discovering inner discipline and resources online, or on their book shelves, for inspiration.

At the end of this post I will pass along a poem, which many of you may now have seen; but it has been very good medicine for me, and even if only one or two folks who had not seen it get to revel in the poem’s holding of the multiple strands of this time, I will be glad I posted it!

Meanwhile, of course we have no idea at this point when we shall all connect once again in person. I am sharing a few resources I shared with another group this morning, hoping they might be helpful to some of you as well! Also at some point soon I may record a Yoga Nidra meditation for those who wish to use it. I am including once again  here a link from Richard Miller the founder of irest.

Here are the resources I want to share for the moment. I am thinking of you with the joy of your presence in my heart, even when we can’t be together in person!

This is a link to Yoyo Ma’s Songs of Comfort initiative; he is a wonderful presence to all of us, as a profoundly gifted and compassionate cellist who has made this offering for the moment in history, in which we all share. You can find the link online, or paste this into your browser: https://www.pbs.org/video/songs-of-comfort-1584567629/ Please paste into your browser! It is more than worthwhile.

In case you are not aware, it is possible to sign up for updates as to the number of cases of the virus here in our county, which for me means less traveling on the web to find out on my own! For me it is helpful, because I am checking news etc too often anyway. Time for more discipline! Sigh…

See the top of the page for the link to sign up:

http://whatcomcounty.us/3373/Latest-News-Updates

I have been studying and practicing a meditation form that is extremely accessible, guided, and can be done reclined. It is the work of Richard Miller. This page includes the free irest meditaions I mention above, if anyone wishes to try!

No yoga equipment needed!

https://www.irest.org/try-irest-now

Here is the poem:

Lockdown by Brother Richard:

Yes there is fear.

Yes there is isolation.

Yes there is panic buying.

Yes there is sickness.

Yes there is even death.

But,

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares,

keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone

may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know

is busy spreading fliers with her number

through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples

are preparing to welcome

and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary

All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting

All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality

To how big we really are.

To how little control we really have.

To what really matters.

To Love.

So we pray and we remember that

Yes there is fear.

But there does not have to be hate.

Yes there is isolation.

But there does not have to be loneliness.

Yes there is panic buying.

But there does not have to be meanness.

Yes there is sickness.

But there does not have to be disease of the soul

Yes there is even death.

But there can always be a rebirth of love.

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.

Today, breathe.

Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic

The birds are singing again

The sky is clearing,

Spring is coming,

And we are always encompassed by Love.

Open the windows of your soul

And though you may not be able

to touch across the empty square,

Sing

And image from a visitor to the river at Turtle Haven!

Cancellations For Yoga Classes at TH

Monday morning has arrived, and it is now clear to me that despite my desire to find a safe way to offer class for this time, out of a sense of community obligation I need to cancel all remaining yoga classes for this quarter. These last two weeks of the quarter, which were originally make up classes for Winter Quarter will not be held, as we all discover the best practices for alleviating as much suffering as possible, caused by the presence of this virus. Containment strategies seem to be part of the answer.

While I am saddened as I shift away from our community gatherings for practice, I  trust that each person understands the need for us all of us to protect ourselves, and all those most vulnerable. We will already be experiencing much fallout on many levels from this pandemic, and I am called to be on the side of deep vigilance, as the situation unfolds. May each find the way to practice independently, to utilize what has been gathered as we have met together in class, and to perhaps at last practice with the books which may already be on our shelves, and to use readily available online resources. For me there is no substitute for being preciously together in physical space; but the time and the virus are calling us to another path at present, which paradoxically invites more solitude, and at the same time more awareness of our profoundly and inextricably intertwined lives!

I will post regularly with updates as to when we might once again gather together, in renewed appreciation for the learning, the holding and the nurturance of practice in embodied community.

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. ~ Thomas Merton

The photograph captures the Patañjali shrine sculpture created by Tim Lucy, and an offering left by an unknown person!

 

 

 

Yoga for March 17th and 18th

Greetings! I am sending out this blog entry, hoping you will offer a response VIA EMAIL: elizabethkerwinyoga@gmail.com

I held classes last week, and may well hold them this week, depending upon input; many expressed gratitude for the option to attend. My very first priority which I know we all share, is maintenance of good health, and responsibility towards the community at large, especially those most vulnerable.

Please inform me as to whether you would likely attend class this week, where I will be asking you to join me in utilizing the following safety measures. In addition to this abbreviated list, I will be adding to my blog an email letter Jillian and I are sending out to all clients who will be coming to Turtle Haven in coming days with further details.

1. All students will bring their own mats, and sanitize hands before entering the studio. Classes will be taught with no hands on adjutments, and minimal props. Please bring your own belt, and a blanket, and blocks as well.

2. Clearly social distancing (6 feet is the suggested distance) is to be practiced in greeting one another.

3. Bathroom and studio are equipped with sanitizing wipes, soap and water, and hand sanitizer. We will as a community be sanitizing door handles, toilet seat, sink area etc several times a day. We can all participate rigorously in these practices. Details will be included in the next post.

4. Maybe needless to say, but erring on the conservative side, please if you have any illness at all, practice at home!

I am so grateful for your presence in the Turtle Haven community, and hope that you are cultivating and strengthening  a refuge of peace and well being within, as we discover the ways to help ourselves and one another in a challenging time; and as we discover the deeper layers of meaning in this particular teaching which is certainly asking for deep inquiry and conscious attention to how we individually and collectively live in our precious communities, and in relation to our sacred earth.

I highly recommend working with the irest Yoga Nidra practices, for calm and for enhancing immunity; here is a link for free practices to do at home! https://www.irest.org/try-irest-now

 

 

Response to Covid Virus at TH for Yoga

I am wanting to be responsive to the potential health challenges of the virus so present in the news, conversation and therefore our psyches! While I don’t have a sense of fearfulness, common sense dictates that we can be wisely more cautious at this time by taking precautions.

• If you are sick, please refrain from coming to class.
• Wash your hands frequently, cover sneezes and coughs with a tissue, and avoid touching your face.
• We will wipe surfaces such as doorknobs, light switches, faucet and toilet handles, etc. with disinfectant wipes during the day.
• Please bring your own mat to class. You are welcome to bring your own props as well, of course.
• Please wash your hands before entering the studio, or bring hand sanitizer to use just before entering, and of course repeat after class. There are good recipes on the internet for making your own hand sanitizer!
• If you are using a TH mat, please wipe it down afterwards using the provided cloths and disinfectant spray.

• Please bring your own water bottle. You can fill it up at the sink in the back of the studio, which has filtered water.

Concert Flyer

Just because I am a great lover of classical music, and so deeply enjoyed another concert by this group Whatcom Chorale, I am posting this flyer.

Revised Winter Schedule

There are two weeks of make up classes this quarter, so the classes will be held through March 25th. Please feel free to do make up classes. If you are coming to a class the very last week, Restoratives, in the class that is not your usual day, please check with me so there are enough props for everyone. Thanks!

 

Stillpoint Offering!

Here is a flyer for a March 14th offering at Stillpoint. If you have questions, please do use the information on the flyer to make inquiries or register!