Cannon Beach

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Hey Everyone.

I hope you are all feeling well and nurtured after this past Thanksgiving weekend. We traveled down to Portland for 2 nights with the family and then on to Cannon Beach for a weekend of friends and more family. I so enjoyed having time to spend with people who are all so important to me. I also spent plenty of time cooking special dishes for the holidays. For me, cooking is always a pleasure, so that too was a boon. We even got to spend some time walking on the beach under blue skies. Ahhh.

Speaking of Cannon Beach – be sure to mark your calendar and reserve space at the Cannon Beach Yoga Festival, March 2-4, 2012. This is going to be an amazing weekend of yoga, with a line-up of Master teachers. I spoke with the director this weekend and she said that the teacher list will probably include both Sarajoy Marsh and Aadil Palkhivala. If you are in need of lodging, I know of a few places, and have a condo that sleeps at least 8 that will be available for rent. Grab a friend and make a weekend of it.

On much shorter notice, Girish will be here this weekend, playing with his band and singing kirtan in an intimate event in Seattle with his beautiful voice. I know you love his music, ’cause I’ve seen you opening your hearts and moving to it in class.
Check it out at Source Yoga, University Place, Seattle.

Also this weekend, Forest Yoga master teacher Kelly Rush will be leading a workshop on hips, necks and shoulders at Two Rivers Yoga. If you want to find freedom of movement in any of these areas, do drive down the beautiful road to Two Rivers Yoga in Carnation Saturday morning at 8:30am.

Swedish Hospital Yoga located in Sammamish Highlands is up and running. Classes are available throughout the week all day long and most are open to all level students and drop-ins are welcomed The majority of classes focus on therapeutics, and the teachers come from a variety of teaching backgrounds. Follow this link to see the schedule and sign up for a class or two. I teach there at 7:45am on Mondays and noon on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

Finally, I want to encourage everyone to make sure to take time out for yourselves this month. I know there will be plenty to do, what with holiday shopping, baking and parties, but you don’t want to find yourself tired and burned out. Not now you don’t. So take a break now and then, breath deeply into your pranayama practice, focus your mind on your breath and let go into the infinite peace of all being. Oh, and come to class and stretch your asana.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

Did you know that if you hit shift -four instead of simply hitting the four, you get a dollar sign? Thus 4th of July becomes $th of July, and I wonder if there was any significance in that typo? Has celebrating American Freedom come to mean celebrating our quest for financial freedom? Or the celebration of the almighty dollar as opposed to the celebration of the spirit of religious and political freedom upon which this country was founded? I am afraid I am about to get to heavy and cynical here. This is a yoga blog after all, and my original intention was to write a blog of celebration.

So first a scheduling note. Sunday Salutation Class is cancelled this Sunday as I will be out of town with my family for the holiday weekend. Do lift up your arms in celebration and bow to the earth in respect and bring your hands back to your heart in honor of the connection you provide between the heavens and the earth.

Playing at the beach

Second, Yoga for Hope: Samena Club and I are joining forces to offer an Eastside event for Yoga for Hope on July 16th at 10:00. Yoga for Hope supports the work done at City of Hope for Cancer, AIDS and HIV/AIDS. Come out and join us. This is a really good organization, doing some of the most cutting edge research and providing the most nurturing and integrative of care for patients and their families. You can support me and them by coming out on the 16th and doing some salutation with us and/or by clicking here and making a donation.

And now back to 4th of July. I spend every 4th with my family in Cannon Beach, OR. We have a great gathering of the clan. Meals are shared on porches, bonfires lit on the beach. Old and young share in songs and s’mores around the bonfire. And yes, we join in the annual parade. It is truly a small town parade, half the town is in it and the other half line the street, cheering. Everyone dresses in red, white and blue. In these moments, with family and friends surrounding me, I am reminded of how truly lucky we are to live in this beautiful country. And I honor the strength and perseverance of our forefathers, who left the confines of religious persecution to come to this country to start a new life. On the 4th of July, I stop to honor their strength and vision, and I hope that our country will try to remember the purity of vision that brought so many of us here. May we continue to open our hearts to others and support all peoples in their quest for freedom – freedom of religion, freedom from war, freedom from fear and hunger and persecution. And may we take better care to support those freedoms within our country, so we can truly be a country of light and hope and possibility

So, lift up your arms, and let your heart shine forth. Breathe in – in Celebration, and Exhale with Joy. Sparkle!

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi