UnGrinching with Love

UNGRINCHING:  How & Why?

We’re reaching way back to 1959 for this week’s video and it whimsically indicates that we may have collectively needed some ‘UnGrinching’, all along. Every year we hear complaints about the commercialism of THIS season.  What’s surprising is that the ‘commercialism of the season’ doesn’t seem to be as concerning for the other 3. You know, Valentine’s season, Easter bunnies and the 4th of July.

Not surprising, however is how this video ties in with our Holiday ‘UnGrinching’ project which starts today!  The idea is that with some yoga related activities, maybe we can find more joy and connections all through the holidays.

It’s easy to see where we might have veered off track with sock sales, stocking stuffers and snickerdoodles. We need a bit more creativity to recapture the essence of connection and celebration to see if we can change our minds about the current state of the season? Can we embrace holiday parties with slightly less indulgence? Can we create a new approach to gift exchanges? Can we include more people and less things into our holiday activities?  Can we change our minds first?  Let’s see. 

We’re offering as many opportunities as possible to find more joy and connection than usual over the next few months…. and we have more coming.  (list below).  We’re going hiking more often, rain or shine. We’re offering Yoga Nidra for pure, guided relaxation.  We have some hot classes, some candlelit classes, more free book club gatherings and some playful workshops like: Fun with Props. Our Yoga for Anxiety class on Dec. 2nd will be FREE, so if you haven’t had a chance to check it out or want an updated refresher, feel free to drop in.  We have our Thanksgiving Day flow with Juice & Truffles and our Winter Solstice Celebration coming in December!

The practice of yoga encourages us to observe our minds. Not change them. Unless you want to. Notice your breath, notice your energy, notice what you think and how you feel in this moment. Then try to choose… if you want a longer breath, a better feeling thought, a different kind of energy.

Sounds too simple, I know… and too hard.  The thing is… the choosing IS simple… it’s the practice and focus that’s complicated.

I’m choosing to change my mind about the holidays…and since I’ve just started, I still have to practice doing that every single day. I figured if I could do it with chair pose, I could do it for Christmas. But I’m starting with Halloween! (special post coming Tuesday!)

Holiday Happenings!