Change is in the air!
The temperature is starting to change.
The leaves are starting to change.
The year just changed (Shana Tova 5781!)
Washington NEEDS to change (VOTE!!!)
And the yoga schedule is about to change…
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New Fall Schedule
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Through Friendliness, Kindness and Compassion, Strength Comes
We’ve been discussing in classes this month the pre-requisites for receiving the teachings of yoga, but really, as I’ve been saying, these are pre-requisites for just making our way through this world. The requirements we’ve discussed are LOVE, RESPECT, AND FRIENDSHIP.
Below are two sutras from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra chapter 3 – the chapter on powers – discussing friendship and love. We’ll discuss more this week 🙂
Speaking of friendship…a bunch of my friends from high school are supposedly coming to the 7 am class this Friday – you should all come too! One of my teachers, Lady Ruth, said this about 3.23, “Power comes, begins with, friendship. Do everything for your friends. Never underestimate the power of a friend.”
3.23 maitry-adiṣu balāni ॥23॥
Through friendliness, kindness and compassion, strength comes.
3.37 te samādhav-upasargāḥ-vyutthāne siddhayaḥ ॥37॥
By giving up the love of power, you attain the power of love.
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To Comprehend and Respect Another
COMPREHEND:
Latin root “com” = together in mind, “prehendere” = to grasp it, or pick it up
To comprehend something means to pick it up and be one with it. There is no other way to understand something.
RESPECT:
Latin Root “respectus”, from the verb “respicere” to look back at, regard. Consisting of “re” = back “specere” = look at or look back
Respect means to look again, to keep looking with increasingly sensitive eyes.
Respect only arises when we can take another look and realize the preciousness of what someone or something has to offer.
From Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart of Understanding”:
“When we want to understand something, we cannot just stand outside and observe it. We have to enter deeply into it and be one with it in order to really understand. If we want to understand a person, we have to feel their feelings, suffer their sufferings, and enjoy their joy.
If we are concerned with peace and want to understand another country [or our own], we can’t just stand outside and observe. We have to be one with a citizen of that country in order to understand her feelings, perceptions, and mental formations. Any meaningful work for peace must follow the principal of non-duality, the principal of comprehension [and respect]. This is our peace practice” to comprehend, to be one with, in order to really understand.”
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Tags: comprehension, jivamukti focus of the month, Jivamukti Yoga, jivamutki, latin lesson, prerequisites, respect, Yoga, yoga at home, yoga online, zoom yoga
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The Dog Days of Summer
It’s the “Dog Days of Summer!” Ever wonder where that phrase came from?
From Homer’s Iliad:
Priam saw him first, with his old man’s eyes,
A single point of light on Troy’s dusty plain.
Sirius rises late in the dark, liquid sky
On summer nights, star of stars,
Orion’s Dog they call it, brightest
Of all, but an evil portent, bringing heat
And fevers to suffering humanity.
Achilles’ bronze gleamed like this as he ran
From Wikipedia:
The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Sirius is by far the brightest proper star in the night sky, which caused ancient astronomers to take note of it around the world. In Egypt, its return to the night sky became known as a precursor to the annual flooding of the Nile and was worshipped as the goddess Sopdet. In Greece, it became known as the precursor of the unpleasantly hot phase of the summer. Greek poets even recorded the belief that the return of the bright star was responsible for bringing heat and fever with it; it was also associated with sudden thunderstorms.
See you on the Zoom mat!Love April
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New Summer Schedule and Avenues for Justice
After much consideration, I’ve decided to make some changes to the schedule for the summer. Monday 6 pm will now take place at 3:00 pm and Saturday 5 pm will only take place on rainy days.
What does this mean? Essentially Saturday night class will be on hold until the fall, but if the weather isn’t great, I’ll send out an email that day to see if there’s interest in a pop-up.
I know that sounds a bit strange, but I guess that’s one of the advantages of teaching on zoom! Unfortunately class size hasn’t warranted keeping it on the schedule – it’s summer and I have a feeling you guys would prefer some outdoor time after being cooped up inside for the last 3-plus months. New Schedule is below.
In Social Reform news…
On Friday I sat in on a live talk with Angel Rodriguez and Gamal Willis of the NYC organization Avenues for Justice, moderated by Jivamukti’s Jules Febre, who also happens to be one of AFJ’s success stories. A little bit about AFJ:
In 1979, Avenues for Justice reached into overcrowded Manhattan criminal courtrooms and found youths who might turn their lives around if they only had a second chance. We presented the courts with an idea: instead of sentencing young people to prison, judges could send them to AFJ for counseling, training, education and employment assistance. This simple tactic — keeping youths out of prison — has saved the lives of hundreds of young lives every year for four decades. At a time when the U.S. incarceration rate is the highest of any nation in the world and a cycle of arrests and imprisonment has become the norm within many low-income communities, AFJ has bucked the trend to become one of the most successful and cost-effective crime prevention programs in America. Read more here
One of their key initiatives right now is removing the NYPD from the school system. When I worked as a school counselor at Landmark High School I witnessed first hand the effect police officers had on the students, as well as physical altercations. They do not belong there. If you have been pushing for the defunding of the NYPD, think about volunteering or donating to AFJ.
AVENUE FOR JUSTICE’S GOALS
Keep kids out of prison – That’s how AFJ stops New York City crime. Our goals:
- Intervene to divert and reclaim young people from lives of crime.
2. Provide an overloaded court system a reliable alternative to incarceration.
3. Make New York City a safer place for everyone.
Keep Fighting the Good Fight
The fight against systemic racism will not end overnight. Some positive outcomes have emerged from the Black Lives Matter movement, but if anything that means we must keep going! There’s lifetimes of work to do.
I sat in on a panel discussion this weekend led by various global teachers from Jivamukti Yoga on the topic of Crisis and Community. From what I know this is going to be an on-going discussion, as it should be, and if you are interested the first discussion can be found on their FB page.
During the panel a resource on Talking About Race from the National Museum of African American History & Culture was brought up, which you can find here. The website is easy to navigate and breaks up topics based on if you are an educator, a parent/caregiver, or a person committed to equity.https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race?fbclid=IwAR21wMX945Vl7Hfk_ThEXXiQf9njfuETuIE815PXQnZ-LBegsHlDARJ53V8
Black Lives Matter
For those of you actively participating in peaceful protests – stay strong, be safe, be smart.
If you feel like practicing this week, I am here. If not, I get it. The schedule is below.
I never expected the person who sits in the White House to make any type of supportive statement about BIPOC, the Black Lives Matter movement, or the horrific actions of the police officers who killed George Floyd. The fact that he ran and hid with the lights of the White House turned off was extra appalling. I won’t dignify those officers or the person who happens to be sitting in the White House by saying their names.
I will say these names LOUDLY. I will support BIPOC in any way that I can and actively stand up for their rights, now and always. These are only the names of the people who were killed by police that made recent “headlines”. There are countless others:
TONY MCDADE
GEORGE FLOYD
SEAN REED
BREONNA TAYLOR
AHMAUD ARBERY
TAMIR RICE
KORRYN GAINES
PHILANDO CASTILE
ERIC GARNER
TRAYVON MARTIN
FREDDIE GRAY
SANDRA BLAND
President Barack Obama made a statement on Monday, June 1st. I urge you to read it. And to echo what he says later on, changes to the way our policing system works happens at the local level, not federal. VOTE!!!!https://medium.com/@BarackObama/how-to-make-this-moment-the-turning-point-for-real-change-9fa209806067
theroot.com also posted a timeline of events that led to what they call the “Fed-Up” Rising, https://www.theroot.com/a-timeline-of-events-that-led-to-the-2020-fed-up-rising-1843780800
Be well. Stay safe. Stand tall for BIPOC. They aren’t being heard. It’s way past time to listen. See you on the mat.
Love,
April
Suggested donation is $10-20 sliding scale or free if you are currently without income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please be honest about this as teaching Zoom classes is currently my only form of income.
Payments accepted via Venmo @April-Dechagas or PayPal aprildechagas@gmail.com, or Zelle.
Zoom Yoga 5/27-6/1 & Feeding the Birds!
Zoom schedule below. Send me a message if you need log-in details!
In other non-zoom news, I have finally invested in a bird feeder! The box it came in says it could take up to 5 weeks for birds to arrive, but if there’s seed, they will come! I learned (on Google) that there is specific seed that squirrels and pigeons do not like, so I bought a mixture of safflower, nyjer and striped sunflower seeds to keep them away. I had one curious squirrel pop by and he took one sniff and RAN as if it were the most disgusting thing in the world, so I guess the interwebs were correct.
I also had an interested male Northern Cardinal come by already! I was super excited since the only birds that have made an appearance the past 7 years are pigeons, but unfortunately I was so excited I scared it away before he ate some seed 😦 I’ve noticed that cardinals are more skittish than other birds.But I’m sure he’ll be back!
Picture of my new bird feeder below 🙂
See you on the Zoom mat! ❤☀🕶Love,April
Suggested donation for classes is $10-20 sliding scale or free if you are currently without income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please be honest about this as teaching Zoom classes is currently my only form of income.
Zoom Yoga 5/20-5/25 & Nature in NYC
This week’s teaching schedule has a slight change – the Wednesday evening 60 min class will now take place at 8 am. Full schedule below.
Quite a few people have asked me for recommendations on where you can explore nature and wildlife in the 5 Boroughs, so I thought I’d leave a list here of some of the places I’ve been exploring. Unfortunately unless you have a car, some of these places are more challenging to get to during current times, but well worth exploring if you can. The list below is by borough, and is definitely not all-inclusive, just places I’ve enjoyed.
Brooklyn:
Marine Park Salt Marsh Trail
Gerritsen Beach
Plumb Beach (go during low tide)
North Forty Natural Area (Floyd Bennet Field is currently closed – but putting this here for when it reopens)
Shore Road Park/Bay Ridge Promenade
Prospect Park
Queens:
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Forest Park
Manhattan:
The Ramble, Ravine, and North Woods in Central Park
Fort Tryon Park (one of my faves)
Staten Island:
The Greenbelt (High Rock Park and Latourette Park)
Zoom Yoga 4/29-5/4 & Blackout Poetry
To close out National Poetry Month, below you’ll find some “blackout” poetry by my friend Lauren Krauze. Yes, the same Lauren that brought you “Short Sweet Poems.” Check out her Instagram page for more – she’s been posting a new one everyday!
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april dechagas 