Deirdre Guthrie, studio owner
I think of yoga as a living poem I create with my body each time I step onto the mat. And like confronting the blank page, there are days when it can feel intimidating or exhilarating.
During practice I feel tendrils of sensation awakening in my body which may feel achy, poky, electric, or warm and glowing. Currents of prana (life force) ebb and flow with my breath. On a mental level I may be distracted by samskaras (those pesky karmic traces) or what Virginia Woolf calls "atoms as they fall upon the mind." All of this is what it is to be alive!
When I feel disconnected or the monkey-mind is really rattling in its cage, I use tools like mantra (sacred sounds like the Bij mantra SAT NAM) or drishti (visual focal points) to regain focus. Or I simply wait for the thoughts to run themselves out like wild horses, kicking up clouds of dust until they are spent. And then spontaneously, when I'm ready to let go of the struggle, it's there. Ah, Santosha, sweet contentment.
Whatever brings you to this practice of yoga, welcome to YogaGlow. May our studio offer up a space for you to deepen a connection with yourself, others, and our world.
Deepest Shanti (peace)!
Deirdre Guthrie has been teaching yoga since 1998 in San Francisco, Chicago, and Southwest Michigan's Harbour Country. Deirdre completed the Chicago Temple of Kriya Yoga's two year advanced teacher training program and Seminary, apprenticed with Dynamic Yoga Teacher Godfrey Devereaux in Ibiza, Spain, and is certified in Ayurvedic nutrition and deep-tissue massage. She has helped facilitate yoga workshops and retreats in Scotland, Mexico, California, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas.
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