ClemsonYoga

December 2009 schedule

Hello Everyone,

 

This month, because of family obligations, I will not have Saturday classes.  Also, the last class will be Thursday, December 17th.

Tues	Thurs	Sat
12/1     6:00-7:15	12/3     6:00-7:15	12/5     no class
12/8     6:00-7:15	12/10   6:00-7:15	12/12   no class
12/15   6:00-7:15	12/17   6:00-7:15

 

Classes will resume Tuesday, January 5^th.

Happy Holidays!

Renee

Websites that I like

I have discovered quite a few websites recently that are taking my attention away from posting on my own blog.

The first is Ted.com. I watched a talk given by James H. Kunstler about suburban design. Kunstler's argument is that since the late 40's, suburban design has gotten away from being centered around people and must go back in that direction. We anguish over this. We watch movies and tv about the dysfunctional lives of people in suburbia and at the same time yearn to live in a small town. The square/downtown is not at the center of small towns these days. Hamburger Highway is the center of small towns. Yet people who want to escape city life want to live in a quaint small town. They move there and are disenchanted. It's not the lack of Target and Whole Foods. It's the lack of a thriving town center that is there for people. Our thriving town centers are about cookie cutter businesses and cars. Anyhow, I digress. This website has quite a lot to offer.

The other is The Interdependence Project. With the revival of a daily meditation practice, my interest in Buddhism has been revitalized. The ID Project has lots of podcasts. I am finding that a community of practitioners is indeed vital to one's meditation practice. I am so glad that we have begun to gather for meditation here in Clemson. I am also finding that although I am the organizer at the moment, I am by no means the expert. So, we will continue to meditate together and find our way as a group. The Ganden Buddhist Center is active in the upstate. I am going to contact them to see if they are interested in a foray to Clemson for one of our meditation sessions. With this revival comes a renewed fascination with Chogyam Trungpa Rinphoche for me. There is a Shambhala Center in Atlanta. I will also look into what they might have to offer to our community.

Michael Stone also has talks that can be downloaded on Centre of Gravity.  After reading his book The Inner Tradition of Yoga and attending one of his workshops, I am inspired to read the sacred texts of yoga and to have a dedicated meditation practice.

And finally, thank you Susan, I have been listening to podcasts from Dharma Seed.  Also, rich with buddhist thought and the way to apply it to everyday living in the middle of things.

November 2009 Schedule

Hello Everyone,

Below is the November 2009 schedule.  Contact me know if you have questions.

Many thanks,

Renee

November 2009 class schedule

Tues	Thurs	Sat	Sun
11/3	11/5	11/6 on Sunday	11/7 3:00-4:15
11/10	11/12	11/14 special event
11/17	11/19	11/21 (home game)
11/24	11/26 no class	11/28 no class

 

 

This Saturday’s class will be held on Sunday from 3:00-4:15.  The 21^st is a home game.   The time has not been announced yet.  It’s possible that we will have a Sunday class that day too.  I will send out an email once the game time has been announced.  We will not have class on Thanksgiving or the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  All other classes are on regular schedule.

 

November 14^th, we will have meditation after class and then a potluck lunch.  I am inviting other yoga teachers and practitioners in the area as well.  My hope is that our yoga community can begin to come together occasionally for people to get to know one another.  The schedule will be as follows:

10:00-11:15 class

11:30-12:00 meditation

12:15-1:30 potluck lunch

 

 

 

Max Strom Workshop

Just to let you know, Max Strom will be holding at workshop at North Main Yoga December 4-6.  He is considered a Master Teacher by The Yoga Alliance and is highly regarded in the world yoga community.  A few of us are already talking about going - possibly together.  Please contact me if you are interested in caravaning/riding to Greenville for the workshop.

For more information, take a look at North Main Yoga's Special Events section.  Click here for a link to the information.

Remaining October 2009 Schedule

This is just a recap of the yoga class schedule for the rest of October:

Tues	Thurs	Sat	Sun
---	----	10/17 12:30-1:45	---
10/20 6:00-7:15	10/22 6:00-7:15	10/24 10:00-11:15	10/25 3:00-4:00 meditation*
10/27 6:00-7:15	10/29 6:00-7:15	10/31 Sunday class	11/1 3:00-4:15   yoga

*The meditation session will be held at The Garden.  We will meet at the Hayden Conference Center and make our way to a spot outside for the session.  The group is currently making its way through Part I of Seeking the Heart of Wisdom - The Path of Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield.  This meditation session is a time for us to come together, meditate, and hear one another's insights that we get from meditating and from readings that we choose.  I know that some people may not have time to read or are only interested in meditating.  Just know that the reading is optional. Anyone can join us.

Many Thanks,

Renee

October 2009 Schedule

We are having all classes as scheduled with the exception of the 17th and 31st, which are home games.  The game on the 17th starts at 12:00, so class will start at 12:30.  When the time for the game on the 31st is posted, I will put the word out about class time on that day.

Many Thanks,

Renee

Yesterday's Meditation Session Sept 27

We sat for 30 minutes during a very busy time at Fort HIll.  Surprisingly enough, we felt pretty good about not getting distracted.  The last ten minutes or so were tough for all of us in our reading.  After we finished meditating, we discussed the book and what stood out for us.  Our discussion also generated some more questions about what it is like to be fully present, what it is like to live without media - books, radio, tv, what it is like to live with full attention and not multi tasking - even down to listening to music while driving.

We decided that to gulp the book in one month was a little ambitious.  So, we set a goal to get through part I of the book by our next session on October 25th.  We also decided that we would try the exercise at the end of chapter one.

The discussion that we had was great, and I am so glad to be meditating with other people and discussing questions and insights together.  I look forward to how our group develops.  For the October 25th session, I am going to look for a space where we can meditate outside.

Many thanks,

Renee

A Quote and a Reminder

From Eknath Easwaran's Passage Meditation

"To be secure everywhere is the mark of sophistication, to be unshakable is the mark of courage, to be permanently in love with every person is the mark of masculinity and femininity, to forgive is the mark of strength, to govern our senses and passions is the mark of freedom."

This has been ringing in my head for a couple of weeks now.  Meditation and yoga can help us become sophisticated, essential, strong, and free.  So easy to use words, to write about it, to talk about it.  To practice it - well, there's the work.

Reminder

A group of us will be meditating and following up with discussion this Sunday, September 27th from 3:00-4:00 at Fort HIll Presbyterian.  Anyone can join us.  Donations will go to The Nature Conservancy.

Many thanks,

Renee

Update on September 2009 Schedule

We will not have class Saturday, September 26th.  All other classes are as scheduled in September.

Yesterday's Meditation Session

We are off to a good start.  The group was quite satisfied with the space where we meditated.  Large windows line the hall, and there was plenty of natural light for us.  We talked about meeting there again for September's meditation, which will be on the 30th.  I will have to find out if we can.  At the same time, I have gotten some emails about the UU fellowship allowing us to meditate there.  There is a group that meets every Saturday morning to meditate.  I joined them this past Saturday, and we did loving kindness meditation, which is always good.  Yesterday, someone also offered to lead us through loving kindness meditation during one of the Sunday sessions.  

In the coming month, I will look into our group staying at Fort Hill or possibly meeting at UU and combining with the existing group there.  If anyone knows of another place where we can meditate, please let me know.  We are in the very beginnings of this, so nothing has set quite yet.

Also, we decided that we would read (as much as we can in a month) Seeking the Heart of Wisdom - The Path of Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield.  This book is a good primer, and reading it, even just some of it by the end of the month, can help us get a dialogue started.  My hope is that this meditation session is a time for us to come together, meditate, and hear one another's insights that we get from meditating and from readings that we choose.  I know that some people may not have time to read or are only interested in meditating.  Just know that the reading is optional. Anyone can join us.

Also, I don't think I have communicated that the donations from these sessions will go to a good cause. I have strong leanings toward giving it to The Nature Conservancy.  If you have any suggestions about where the donations should go, please let me know.  There are many charities and organizations in need of donations.  If the group consensus is to donate to a particular cause, I am happy to oblige.

Many Thanks,

Renee