meditation

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Meditation Workshop

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Meditation Workshop

Sunday, September  30, 1:00 – 3:00

Village Green Yoga, Issaquah

This is a wonderful workshop for anyone who has ever wanted to try meditation and also for those who have enjoyed a meditation practice in the past. This two-hour workshop will include asanas to settle the body, pranayama (breath work) to focus the mind, chanting and guided meditation. This is a great foundational workshop which will also help prepare anyone who is interested in joining our fall meditation circles, which will meet twice a week throughout the fall.
Cost: $20 in advance. $25 day-of if space permits.
Pre-registration suggested.

I am happy to say that my meditation workshop this Sunday is rapidly filling.  There are only a few seats left.  So if you are interested, contact Village Green Yoga soon.

If you have been wondering what it might be like to start a meditation practice, come to the workshop.  If you are wondering if there was any one else near you who is meditating, come to the workshop.  If you have meditation practice, but need a tune-up, come to the workshop.  If you are looking for answers, they are already inside of you, but come to the workshop anyway.

Have a great weekend.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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New Classes and Workshops!

 

New Classes

Vinyasa Flow appropriate for all levels and all bodies.  Drop-ins welcome

Wednesdays @ 5:00pm at Issaquah Dance Theatre:

Upcoming Workshops

Loving Your Sun: How to get the most out of your sun salutations and learn the fun-damentals of the individual asanas and how to transition safely between them.  Perfect for building your home practice and deepening your awareness.

Sunday September 23, 1:00 – 3:30 – Village Green Yoga

Take the time to Meditate:  This is a wonderful workshop for anyone who has ever wanted to try meditation and also for those who have enjoyed a meditation practice in the past.This two-hour workshop will include asanas to settle the body, pranayama (breathwork) to focus the mind, chanting and guided meditation.

Sunday, September 30, 1:00 – 3:00pm   Village Green Yoga

 

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Appreciating the Labors of Living

Hello Everyone,

This weekend marks the official end of summer. Folks are bounding out for their final fling; boating, hiking, beaching, capturing live music. I hope that this weekend you will find some time to celebrate and honor the labors that you have put forth this year.

Often times we find ourselves running from one thing on our “to-do” list to the next. We wonder if we will ever get it all done. By the time we are half way through that list, we are already building the next list. It is this busy-ness of living that wears us down. Without taking time out to appreciate all that we have done, we will forever feel like the mouse on the wheel; spinning and spinning, yet going no where.

This is, I think one of the true gifts of meditation. We set aside time to be in stillness. We give ourselves permission to step off the spinning wheel of the doing and busy-ness of living. This is really hard to do, believe me, I know. I really like my lists. I am a doer of the highest order. And while we may stop our physical activities, the mind is still trying to keep it all going. It takes time for the mind to slow down, and stop making lists and telling stories. But if we get in the habit of sitting, every day, if even for a just a little bit, our bodies and our minds begin to look forward to this time of not doing, to this time of being. If you are new to meditation, or are looking for a refresher class, I will be hosting a meditation workshop September 22 at Village Green Yoga.

So, I am grateful for Labor Day Weekend. I am grateful I have the time to pause and reflect on all that I have done this year. I am grateful to all the workers – that would be all of us – who make this life possible. So a big shout out to farmers, truckers, engineers, laborers, office workers, cooks, writers, yogis, scientists, teachers, all of you who put your time and energy into making a living and making a life. Thank you for your labors of living.

Have a great weekend. Step with ease into the Fall. Lots of interesting things will be happening in the Seattle yoga community. My contributions include a couple of workshops and a meditation circle to begin in October, after I return from a meditation trip to India. A brief summary of my schedule is listed below, more details available through the links.

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

Upcoming Events:

Loving Your Sun – A workshop exploring the fun-damentals of the sun salutation series

Intro to Meditation – A workshop offering tips and tools to help your meditation practice.

Class Schedule

Day                       Time                   Style                                     Location

Monday         9:30 – 11:00         Hatha Integration        Village Green Yoga

Tuesday         Noon – 1:00        Hatha Integration        Swedish Hospital

Tuesday         5:30 – 6:45          Vinyasa Flow                 Village Green Yoga

Wednesday    9:30 – 11:00        Hatha Integration         Village Green Yoga

Thursday        Noon – 1:00        Hatha Integration          Swedish Hospital

Thursday        5:30 – 6:45          Vinyasa Flow                  Village Green Yoga

Sunday           9:30 – 11:00        Sunday Salutations        Village Green Yoga

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The wisdom of having a spiritual practice

Hi Everyone,

Hope you have been having an awesome, amazing and abundant summer.  How did you do on that Pacific Northwest checklist of fun?  Let’s see, just this week, I logged:

  • Blueberry picking
  • Camping
  • Visited the San Juan Islands
  • Watched the Orcas swim by
  • Jumped and played in three separate lakes
  • Danced to Pink Martinis at Zoo Tunes
  • Meditated – lots and in some really cool places
  • Finished a couple of books

Whatever you decide to do these next few weeks make sure it nourishes your soul.  So often we forget about that in the hustle and bustle of living, and then I wonder if we really are living.  Find Joy & Embrace it.

Next month (September) I will be hosting two workshops at Village Green Yoga.  More info to follow shortly, but mark your calendars now.

  • Loving Your Sun – learning the fun-damentals of the Sun Salutation Sequence
    Sunday, September 23, 1:00 – 3:30
  • Taking the Time to Meditate – opening to the heart of a meditation practice.
    Sunday, September 30, 1:00 – 2:30

And here it is, the reason for the title of this posting.  This is an excerpt from a letter from my rabbi on this week’s Torah portion.   The whole of his writing is powerful, but this short bit says it all.  Enjoy!

 

When we make spirituality an essential part of our existence, however, what we are able to see is radically different. Because our spiritual path serves to reconnect us to Source, it expands our awareness beyond the tunnel vision of the ego. In removing our blinders and opening our eyes it also opens our heart. As we become spiritually aware, we are able to see the essential goodness of the world, the miracle of life, the unfathomable gift of our own birth, and the preciousness of relationship. We are able to hold the pain and suffering, the struggling and the fear with acceptance, understanding and compassion. The existence of love brings up feelings of gratitude, the wonder of aliveness, feelings of pure joy. In such awareness the other is no longer seen as a means to satisfy one’s needs; one is able to leave the past in the past, welcome the future with an open heart, and be fully present to one’s experience in every moment, just as it is. When awareness transcends the ego, one can’t help but see abundance and love.

 

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

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Summer Schedule Changes

I find it hard to believe we are half way through summer.  But I know it must be true, because I just sent my daughter off to Camp Nor’Wester for a month, and she won’t be back till the end of August.  That means there are only 6 weeks left of summer.

Earlier in the month I wrote a post about what to do in Seattle in the summer.  How are you all doing with that?  So far I have been to the beach, hiked in the woods and gone berry picking & made some raspberry jam.  I have a lot to do in the next 4 weeks.  Next month, I will cram in all the rest – summer concerts, Shakespeare in the Park, Paddleboard Yoga and a trip to the San Juans, to name a few.  Did I mention I want to go on a food cart junket?

I missed Wanderlust at Whistler (the 3-day outdoor yoga & music festival) – Did any of you go?  How was it?

As you may have noticed there are some changes to my teaching schedule this summer.  New Summer hours:

Yoga at Swedish Hospital:
Tuesday & Thursday     Noon – 1:00    Hatha Integration/Therapeutic Alignment

Village Green Yoga:
Monday & Wednesday Mornings:

9:30 – 10:45     Hatha Integration – Alignment/Anusara Inspired

Tuesday & Thursday Evenings:

5:30 – 7:00    Vinyasa Flow

The Meditation Circle will restart in the Fall.

Speaking of meditation, if you have ever dreamed of going to India to study meditation and/or yoga, there is still time to sign up for Journey to the Source – a 2 week life changing trip to India in October. Travel with Ajayan Borys (Effortless Mind Meditation)and myself to the Majestic Himalayan Mountains and the source of the Ganges River and explore the roots of Yoga and Mediation.  For more information and to sign up, click here.  As the date draws nearer I am getting more and more excited.  Two weeks of meditation and yoga right in the very birth place of the tradition. Ajayan spent many years in this very location deep in meditation, so not will we be traveling to an amazing location, but we will be traveling with an amazing and dedicated teacher. Join us as we reach deeper into the very heart of our practice.

Have an adventuresome August.

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

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We Are Made of Light

We are made for Light. There are moments of perfect happiness, moments when one feels so well, at peace with oneself and with others. Such moments of fullness exist. They are rare, perhaps, but we have all experienced them. Each of us is capable of living such moments. They continue to send signals to us even when we are in despair.

(Jacques Gaillot)

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I Do Not Live Here Alone

I came across this poem today, and since its been so long since I’ve done a post I thought I would keep it short and sweet.   I do believe that everything we do is interconnected. That every action is significant, and that every person is important and perfect.

I Do Not Live Here Alone

Each breath I take affects the air all around me


Each word I utter falls on someone else’s ears.

That which I touch is felt by another
.

That which I do will certainly affect another
.

That which I do not, will also affect another.

We never know how far-reaching something we say or do 
really is, until it returns to us.

And it always does.

All things in life form a circle
.

Whether or or not we see the circle.

I do not live here alone.

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Summer Fun in Seattle Area

Continuing Thoughts on the Joys of Summer

Since writing yesterday’s post, I have been thinking more about all the things I love to do in Seattle.  In fact I moved to Pacific Northwest because I had such fond memories of summers spent up here.  Well actually, I moved up here because we could get jobs and find affordable housing, but Seattle was a contender also because of all that it offers.

So here is a list of some of my favorite summer activities.  Please chime in so we can help each other have a truly amazing, inspiring and nourishing summer. I have included some links,

  • Berry picking at Harvolds Farm
  • Watching Firework Displays
  • Beach combing and tide-pooling
  • Concerts in the park at ZooTunes, Chateau St. Michell, or Marymoore Park
  • Bike Riding on the Burke-Gilman Trail
  • Swimming at Lincoln Park Pool in West Seattle
  • Mountain Biking
  • Kayaking or canoeing in the Mercer Slough or Lake Union
  • Sailing  on Lake Union – Center for Wooden Boats
  • Sailing on the Sound – Shilshoe Marina
  • Watching boating activity – so many beach parks abound on Lakes and the Sound
  • Hiking – So many trails on the I90 corridor you could go to a different one every day of summer and not get bored.
  • Check out local islands – Vashon, Bainbridge, Whidbey
  • Check out further islands – Orcas, San Juan, Shaw, etc
  • Camping – Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainer, Cascade Wilderness, Olympics
  • Hanging out at the beach – Ocean Shores, Olympic Peninsula, Shi Shi, Cannon Beach in Oregon
  • Ferris Wheel on the the Seattle waterfront
  • Yoga for Hope – outdoor yoga at the Seattle Center for City of Hope
  • Wanderlust – Multi-day yoga and music event offered this year in Whistler, BC
  • Meditating while sitting in the dunes by the beach, or next to a river
  • Yoga on the beach

Okay, this is enough to get everyone started.  Off to meditate, work in my garden and study yoga.  Perfect day.

 

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

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The Freedom of Summer is Good for Your Soul

I love summer time!

School is out for almost everyone.  The kids are off to summer jobs or enjoying the luxury of sleeping in.  Mornings are slow and calm.  This parent has a lot less driving to do and a lot less nagging.  No more homework, no more projects, no more school related meetings.  The sun has even popped out once or twice this month, and I went to my second outdoor summer concert this week.

Summer is the time to slow down, refuel and reconnect.  Almost everyone will take some form of vacation, whether it is a weekend of camping, a trip to the beach or maybe even something longer and more adventurous.

Many of us will have a bit more time to be with friends and families enjoying picnics, sightseeing, concerts, camp-outs, barbeques, and bonfires,(with marshmallows and dark chocolate of course).

Taking time off from our regular routine not only allows us respite but it also provides us the opportunity to reconnect with our deeper selves.  We get the extra moment for reflection, we get the extra moment for play, we get the extra moment for love.

I wish we could have summer all year-long.  It’s not that I am lazy (I might be, but that’s not the point), it’s just that I think people would be healthier and happier if we all embraced the value of summer throughout the year.

So, to all my friends and yogis, I wish you a summer full of:

  • rest
  • music
  • dancing
  • sunshine
  • friendship
  • good books
  • fresh berries
  • corn on the cob
  • walks in the moonlight
  • strolling along the beach
  • hiking in the woods
  • family
  • bonfires
  • meditation
  • YOGA

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

 

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Reflections on Yoga & Gardens

Happy Spring/Almost Summer. 

 
Wow! I am amazed at how much growth there has been in my garden this week.  Flower beds that have been dark and empty all winter are now overflowing.  Honest, I haven’t  planted anything. I just get to watch and enjoy.  I guess it’s just that the conditions were perfect for emergence.  The soil had all the nutrients, there was plenty of water, a burst of sun and some careful attention, and plenty of space to allow for expansion and abundance.

 
And that is what we do in yoga, we create conditions which enable us to emerge from the darkness.  We sow the seeds of abundance and create space in which to grow.  We kindle the natural energies of expansion – earth, fire, water, air.

 
And it is from this place of nurturence that we find our deeper selves rising to the surface.  Our bodies begin to shed the densities of the winter months and perhaps even years of dormancy.  As we move slowly, with compassion and integrity, our bodies begin to heal and strengthen.  Injuries and traumas from years past which have remained buried and stuck can be carefully addressed.  Injuries of the spirit and soul which have become stored within the body memory, can also be released.

Plant the seeds of your healing, nourish with healthy food and plenty of water, build some heat, and add some prana, breath deeply and aerate, allow space for growth, and be open to the growth and change that can and will happen.

Have a great week.

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi