I’ve been trying to use my free time wisely – exploring nature right here in NYC and I’m in awe of what surrounds us.
Did you know there are 2800 acres of natural woodlands and creeks right in Staten Island (with the exception of Moses Mountain – which is man made, but still very cool!)? I have lived in NY my whole life and had no clue this was here! It’s called the Greenbelt, and it’s amazing! I felt like I was upstate yet was only 15 minutes from my apartment in Brooklyn! So crazy, and my new favorite spot! Before now SI was mostly just a way for me to get to the mainland US, and to occasionally attend a Passover Seder or SI Yankee game. Who knew!!
I imagine that this, along with the marshlands I’ve been exploring, is what most of NYC looked like before it was built up. It’s filled with wildlife – just yesterday I met a raccoon, chipmunks, squirrels (of course), turtles, a red bellied woodpecker, bluejays, gray catbirds, great egrets, and canadian geese. Oh, and chickens (!), but I think they belonged to someone. There are deer also, but I did not have the pleasure of seeing one. I can’t wait to get back!
Zoom teaching schedule and some photos from my outdoor (socially distanced and face masked responsibly) adventures.
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!
My dear friend Lauren Krauze is a poet and author and for a while was writing haiku that she called Short Sweet Poems. These poems brought such imagery to my mind with such a small amount of words that I found myself drawing them.
In addition to this week’s Zoom schedule, below you will find some drawings I did a few years ago based on Lauren’s poetry.
Letters to you/ my words will always/and never/fail
he holds hands/in his hands – clock repairman
tossed high from the pile/the leaves fall again
under the umbrella/a tiny hand/reaches for the rain
Haunted house: $5/ strya cats/ wait on the porch – original
Supper! Bike in the driveway/back tire spinning
Leaves ride the wind/from a passing train/November
Green light-/Runaway balloon/crosses the street
Surrounded by space/ tree’s last leaf/dances wildly/with the wind
It’s National Poetry Month! Each week a different poem will be featured as the dharma talk in my 90-minute classes! Along with this week’s schedule below, you’ll also find a poem by Rumi called The Guest House.
Log-in for Zoom classes is available by email only. If you are not currently on my mailing list, but would like to attend class, please send me a message!
The guest house ~~ Rumi
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, Some momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, Who violently sweep your house Empty of its furniture, Still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out For some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, Meet them at the door laughing, And invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, Because each has been sent, As a guide from beyond
As much as I love personal connection with friends/families/students and miss it A LOT, I am extremely grateful for the technology we have today that allows us to still stay close, even though we are apart. Zoom yoga has been a surprising blessing.
Some changes for this week – I will not be holding class on Thursday this week. It is my 40th birthday, and I am taking the day off! By request, I am also adding a 7 am class back on to my teaching schedule. For those of you who need to get practice in before you work from home.
Schedule for the week is below. From now on Zoom log-in information will be sent via email only. If you would like to take class and are not currently on my email list, please contact me with your email address!
I recently made a short video for Aavrani, an Indian beauty ritual company. It’s an easy 3-step method for you to find a few moments of calm and quiet.
Drawing upon Indian identity, heritage, and a deeper meaning of beauty, we reimagine clean skincare. This is beauty infused with bold sophistication, confidence, and wisdom. This is aavrani. At our core, we celebrate female empowerment. In Hindi, “rani” means “queen.” Our mission is to champion and uplift by encouraging all women to embrace their natural beauty.
When I was growing up, and music stores were still in existence (Sam Goody – my go-to, Toward Records, etc.) Tuesday was the day new music came out. It wasn’t always easy to convince my mom to take me, but once I had my license, that is often where you would find me – perusing the newest music releases – examining cover artwork, reading track listings, and making carefully selected purchases. I could spend hours in a music store. This was even more exciting in college where in Albany they had actual small scale record stores rather than the chain stores found in Long Island.
So in keeping with tradition, Tuesday is the day my weekly Zoom schedule will be released. I will also start creating playlists again (it’s been a few weeks since my last compilation) that you can play from Spotify (if you want) during my classes. Below you will find the full schedule, including one-click links as well as meeting ID/passwords.
Three new class times have been added to the schedule – all 60 minute classes, including Spiritual Warrior. If you are unfamiliar with the Spiritual Warrior sequence, it is a 60-min set-sequence Jivamukti class created by Sharon Gannon & David Life.
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.
NYC and most parts of the world are currently in social distancing mode to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately this means no in-person yoga classes (and honestly, also no income for self-employed yoga teachers.)
I will be offering live-stream yoga classes and guided meditations (schedule below) via Zoom.US until we are no longer in lock-down. Sign-in details will be posted on social media outlets, so if you don’t follow me already, you can on Instagram @aprildechagas and my FaceBook yoga page April Dechagas Yoga.
Recommended donation for yoga asana classes is $10 via Venmo @April-Dechagas or PayPal aprildechagas@gmail.com. Meditation sliding scale $5-10. Class is free for those of you who do not currently have income due to COVID-19 closures – but please be honest about this, as I mentioned above, I also do not have any incoming $.
Schedule (log-in details change for each class – so be sure to check Insta or FB):
Monday 6:00 p.m. EST; 90 Min
Wednesday 12:00 p.m. EST; 90 Min
Thursday 9:00 a.m. EST ; 30 Min Guided Visualization Meditation
Saturday 5:00 p.m. EST; 90 Min
Coming soon – 60 Min asana classes
This poem by Fr. Richard Hendrick was shared with me by a student today:
Lockdown
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.
