Finding peace within is no small task on a good day, and it is all the more elusive in the midst of turmoil. Yet, calming the mind and strengthening the body can help us avoid much of the buffeting that occurs with every piece of news. Peace within self is also a step toward positively influencing the larger community around us.
As the leaves change color and begin to fall, we know the introspective time of winter is coming. It is a time of reflection and inner transformation.
Each season has a natural rhythm and energy for us to draw upon. The autumn through early winter period is a time for pruning back and turning inward as the light outdoors diminishes. In the plant world, this time is essential for nourishing root systems so that growth and flowering can follow in the spring. For us, this can be time of inner reflection. Paradoxically, in our culture, this has become a time of peak performance and outward focus, as the holiday season approaches. Is it any wonder, then, that many of us feel tense and worn out? So what better time to make a commitment to nourish yourself through yoga and meditation? Or, as in my previous post, Fall into something wonderful, find your unique nourishing activities – calling a friend, sipping some tea with no television or other distractions, taking a walk in nature, volunteering your time – and schedule them into your day.
At PCYH, we know that movement and meditation make us stronger on many levels of being and awareness. Here we can embrace the many different ways to practice loving kindness toward our bodies. Yoga, meditation and movement often work as an elixir for restoring energy. Yoga offers you a time for inner reflection while toning and strengthening your physical body. Yoga and meditation practices also remind us that all things change - that this time of darkness will pass as naturally as the seasons, if we honor our own inner rhythms.
Nature, indeed, has much to teach us. Let us grow and look deeply within our roots and be supported in the company of like minded people and a nurturing environment.
There’s no time like NOW!
I leave you with a poem we discuss in our Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program at PCYH:
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
- Mary Oliver
Deborah Metzger
To inspire you to see the benefits of yoga for yourself, at PCYH we are offering a new special for new visitors to the Center:
7 Bucks for 7 Days! Priceless yoga instruction nearly free!
Now through December 20, pay just $7 and take as many classes as you choose for 7 consecutive days. It’s a great way to begin what you’ve wanted to try for oh-so-long: yoga taught by the best instructors, in the right environment. Naturally, we hope you’ll stick around long after you’ve experienced 7 days of nearly free bliss!
For long term changes in your life and to ease into the holiday season, we offer our Holiday Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program, beginning November 17.
Replace holiday stress! Learn new strategies to enjoy the season and a new sense of calm.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Programs, based on the work of by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the Center for Mind Body Medicine have been shown to assist with pain management and chronic conditions as well as stress reduction, insomnia and other stress related conditions. Often, when we have a nagging pain, we can't really seem to get over it as our mind is preoccupied with a constant focus on it. In our culture, we put so much emphasis on our minds that we believe the mind will figure out how to get us out of pain. Yet, paradoxically, it seems the more we try to tell the mind NOT to think of PAIN, the more it dwells upon it! MBSR teaches effective tools to be with the pain and research has shown its effectiveness with painful management. We offer these programs at The Princeton Center for Yoga & Health throughout the year. Our new Holiday Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, beginning November 17, incorporates a very gentle and mindful yoga practice and practice CDs which includes guided meditation, breathing practices and yoga.
We offer Princeton Living Well members $45 off the price of this program. Register online by November 14 and use Promotion Code: Princeton Living Well 101
Our next MBSR program begins January 26, with a free introductory session on Monday, January, 12, 7:30 pm.
Sign up now! http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=-174&stype=-8&sTG=8&sTrn=100000094
About Deborah Metzger:
Founder and director of the Princeton Center for Yoga & Health, Deborah Metzger, is a certified advanced Kripalu Yoga teacher and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist, 500 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT)with the Yoga Alliance, a licensed social worker and holds an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed the Yoga of the Heart: Cardiac and Cancer Certification Training, and additional courses in Structural Yoga Therapy and Reiki. In addition, she has completed Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training programs with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli and other senior teachers at the UMass Center for Mind Body Medicine and co-leads MBSR and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy programs at the Princeton Center for Yoga & Health. She is currently enrolled in the 2 year Hakomi mindfulness based psychotherapy training program.
In addition to teaching throughout the area and at the Princeton Center for Yoga & Health, Deborah has led related workshops in corporate settings such as Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, L’Oreal, Merck, Summit Bank, Devry Institute, Princeton University, and State agencies, as well as local community groups, and has assisted programs at the Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA.