The Importance of Relaxation by Nancy Weshkoff
The Importance of Relaxation
By Nancy Weshkoff
Doesn’t it often seem that life has become even more challenging? Children have assigned “play dates” and lots of other scheduled activities where we are rushing back/forth to drop them off and pick them up. Many employers expect you to be available online through the use of portable devices. There are more cars on our congested roads which causes the aggravation of waiting in traffic. And these are just a few examples of why we have more stress today. Medical professionals all agree that stress has a very negative effect on us, and it can be a contributing factor to health issues.
At Moonflower Yoga in Bellmore, on Long Island, New York’s Nassau County, we recognize the importance of reducing stress for our clients. We have a wonderful candlelight restorative class where you are pampered for an hour with soft music playing in twinkling candlelight. There are other great yoga classes too such as Unwind and Relax, where you will do a bit of movement to release muscle tension from the day but then we restoratively end the class to help you have a great night’s sleep. In October, we have added a meditation workshop at Moonflower Yoga to help you feel better. And, for something more energetic, there is the popular Stress Reducing Vinyasa Flow class on Monday and Tuesday nights where you will move your stress out and then end the class in quiet restoration.
Although these are all great yoga classes that will make you feel fabulous, sometimes we need to take the additional step of going on vacation and leaving everything behind for a week and exploring a new destination. For us at Moonflower Yoga, our staff of great yoga teachers is taking a one-week break and the Moonflower Yoga studio will be closed the week of Labor Day, returning on Sunday, September 8th. We wish everyone a wonderful Labor Day week. For those of you who are returning back to school, have a successful school year.
And if you would like to try one of our great stress-reducing yoga classes at Moonflower Yoga in Bellmore, New York, in Long Island’s Nassau County, you can reserve your space online from our website, www.moonfloweryoga.com. See you all soon!!
COURAGE written by Nancy Weshkoff
Courage
Written by Nancy Weshkoff
In the last week at Moonflower Yoga, the subject of courage has been one of our focuses, and I wanted to expand a bit on this topic.
Moonflower Yoga recently hosted a screening of the film LEAP OF FAITH, the story of BKS Iyengar’s amazing life. The film spans the 90+ years of his life plus his 7 decades of teaching. BKS Iyengar has led a remarkable life. He came from a humble background in India and was a very sickly child. His family was told that he would not survive into adulthood. Despite this dismal prognosis and through extraordinary circumstances, he found the will – and courage—to bring himself to health through yoga. Mr. Iyengar not only survived but flourished into becoming one of the fathers of modern yoga today. He is 93 years old and still practices yoga.
Another event at Moonflower Yoga was a story telling session for children of JEEVA FINDS COURAGE. In this story, a little boy named Jeeva goes on a fascinating journey discovering new things along the way and uses courage to help him.
The week has also been a busy one with some new students coming through the doors of Moonflower Yoga to try yoga for the first time. Many of these are baby boomers. It can take courage to try something new. I feel remarkably blessed to have these new students choose Moonflower Yoga as the place to start a new journey. Yoga has so many wonderful benefits, and I know they will join the other students at Moonflower Yoga who also walked into the studio doors for the first time a bit scared but now love practicing and return to the studio each week to feel better, learn something new, and have fun doing so. And, yes, it took courage to take that first step. How wonderful life can be when we find that courage and try something new.
Do you have the courage to embark on a new path of discovery? If so, come try a yoga class or workshop at Moonflower Yoga in Bellmore, New York, in Long Island’s Nassau County. You will find great teachers who are dedicated to help you grow and learn. And your first yoga class at Moonflower Yoga is free so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by having the courage to try yoga.
“How Yoga Can Change a Life” written by Nancy Weshkoff
Yoga has changed the course of my life. Can it change yours too?
More than a dozen years ago, I noticed that my local gym was offering a new yoga class. I decided to give it a try. I instantly fell in love. This was different than working out on machines at the gym or taking various aerobics classes. I loved the flow of the class. And you got to take a long relaxation at the end of the class!
Over the years, my practice has grown, and I have gotten stronger and more flexible. But something more important has happened. When life was stressful, either from work or the challenges that life throws at you, it was on my yoga mat that I found inner peace. Going to my yoga classes, moving, breathing, and taking a break from those stresses enabled me to release some of that tension in a positive way and feel better. And I also developed a new circle of friends from attending classes, many of whom remain close friends today.
And then a year ago, a whole new set of challenges started to unfold. My husband lost his job of 30 years when his company went bankrupt. Three months later, I was told that my position of 18 years was coming to an end because of the sale of the company that employed me. In a tough economy, this is not the news you want to hear. For my husband, he found a great new job that he likes. For me, the job search was hitting brick walls. What to do?
I decided to turn to what always helped me when life was stressful: my yoga practice. I enrolled in a teacher training program and fell in love with the teaching. I started to realize this is where I wanted to be: helping and teaching others. But in order to truly do this in a way that I wanted, I felt I needed my own small yoga studio. And I wanted to reach fellow baby boomers, as well as beginners of all ages, who have been afraid to try yoga because they couldn’t do complex poses. This was the genesis for forming my new yoga studio, Moonflower Yoga, which offers small class sizes and personal attention. In addition to the classes I teach, I have some wonderful teachers working with me at Moonflower Yoga, and they designed interesting classes for different fitness levels. Moonflower’s philosophy is to make yoga enjoyable for everyone and to create a sense of community from its weekly workshops and small class settings. If you live or visit Long Island, New York, come stop by and try a class or workshop at the studio!
So yoga changed my life: It helped me deal with some very difficult times. I have built physical strength and flexibility and met some wonderful people. And it changed the course of the direction in my life, as I am now the proud owner of my own yoga studio opening in September, 2012. Owning a studio also has some interesting moments, and I’m hoping to share those with you in future blogs.
Tell me about your positive yoga experiences. How has yoga helped you?
