As the seasons change, so do we.

BRAVE | adjective

Ready to face and endure; showing courage.

Inadequacies at 9:30 a.m

"It’s interesting how we often can’t see the ways in which we are being strong – like, you can’t be aware of what you’re doing that’s tough and brave at the time that you’re doing it because if you knew that it was brave, then you’d be scared. — Lena Dunham

I picked up my mat and walked into new yoga studio last week.  The Space.  Mind you, it’s beautiful.  It’s light.  It’s calm.  It’s Zen.  It’s essential oils are oozing out of its pores. I’m in love with the idea that I have a community here, in this Space, that I can grow and soar…and heal.

It’s amazing how many deep seeded feelings come up when you least expect them. Maybe it’s a word said.  Maybe it’s being seen.

Its been 18 years, yet I still feel inadequate.  Is it the newer, fancier cars in the parking lot that make me feel like my body will never be perfect (not that it ever was…lol)?  Or, is it the younger women that flood these doors, who are stronger, who are more put together than me at 9:30 in the morning?

Who said that I need to compare myself to these women to feel my worth, or worthlessness, as the case may be?

I feel laden with guilt because I should feel gratitude to this body who has birthed three wonderful boys; I should feel amazed that this body has learned to walk, not once, but twice; I should feel proud that this body learned to run a mile, as painful as it was, after being told that these legs may never walk again.  Yet, I feel somehow inadequate that I need to touch the wall so I don’t fall on my neighbor while flying my “Airplane”;  I feel self-conscious that my Eagle isn’t as majestic as the others’.

All of those deficits from years ago, are creeping up,  growing larger… taking Space… making a gulf between the person I once was, and the woman that I have become.  In my own eyes I see imperfection.  My own eyes are blurred with tears for the woman I will never be.   My heart lies heavy with grief for the physical self, that pain-free self, who I lost years ago.

I am brave because this is the only way to face the day.  I have learned to ignore ‘totally’ feeling, as ‘totally feeling’ brings too much pain (quite literally, in my limbs, and in my heart).  Though inadequate as I am, I need this yoga.  I need the heat in this Space.  This yoga is the only hour in my day that I can feel, without pain.  This is the only hour in my day that I can let myself totally feel.

This is who yoga is.  Yoga is totally feeling.  Yoga is not about comparison.  Yoga is not control.  Yoga is gratitude.  Yoga is life found in breath.  Yoga is acceptance for who I am at this moment, in this Space."

An entry by Marilyn Floyd, a client at the Space.

That's just it.

You have arrived.

Now remain. Choose.

Stay here,

Stay brave.

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We are looking for: Collaborations for Workshops

Do you have a brilliant idea for a workshop at the Space? Do you offer a service of some sort that you'd like to share with this community? We want to hear your ideas! We are looking to plan Wednesday workshops, but are also willing to plan along the type of workshop too.

Contact Melissa Parrish with your ideas! Melissa@discoverthespace.com

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Registration opens soon for :

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Our seasonal detoxification program. Please join us as we rejuvenate and realign our bodies as the season changes, from the inside out. The Shift is a 10 day cleanse where you eat intuitively based on the seasonal offerings. All the while introducing some really good ways of taking good care through rituals.

Please email LivMonte@discoverthespace.com if you're interested.

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More details coming so soon about our:

Teacher Training

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Excited to tell you that we are Yoga Alliance Certified and looking to do our very first Teacher Training January 2018. We are currently ironing out our schedule and details. If you're interested, we'd love for you to set up a time to come meet with us for more information.

Please email Kelli@discoverthespace.com.

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Nourish

The Spaces retail selections are  exclusively picked for the best methods of creating the space within your life. Indulging in the right ways.

This month's pick:
WOLF BONE CANDLES

These candles are hand poured in Chicago using only 100% natural soy wax. Each candle is concocted with the most yummy smells that will fill any space you put them in. We are so honored to carry such an ethically made brand as we support small business owners around the world. What we love about these candles is that they are each so uniquely blended with enchanting aromas that are just as good when its burning.

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The Team: getting familiar

NATASHIA ROBBINS
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How did you get into the Dance (buti) and why did you choose it?!

When I originally became interested in yoga, I was solely drawn to Ashtanga and Bikram. I loved the predictability of those practices, because the same poses are presented in the same order each time you hit the mat. As I progressed, I began to crave more creativity and freedom of movement. That's when I fell in love with Vinyasa... particularly the hot room, loud music variety of Vinyasa that allows opportunities to flow on your own. For me, being drawn to Buti yoga was simply a next step along that progression. The journey for me has been about learning how to "let go" and begin to move my body more intuitively. Today, I love both Vinyasa and Buti, so with The Dance I try to lead an athletic Vinyasa style class that is infused with extra movement within and between poses. I want people who come to my class to feel a little bit like they are doing Vinyasa with Beyoncé at the club. I want them to feel strong and sexy and badass! Tell us about a little snippet of "the Work". My graduate training was in Marriage and Family Therapy, and I worked in that profession up until a few years ago when I decided to take time off and enjoy more time with my girls while they were still little. I always knew that I would want to return to work at some point in time. After my mom died, I discovered that yoga helped me through the grieving process in a way that talk-therapy was unable to. Because of this experience, I became more and more passionate about the idea of bringing together the best of both worlds through the use of a coaching framework. This was the early genesis of "The Work." In our classes at The Space, you will often hear us talking about how yoga is so much more than the poses. Yoga is a journey toward a new way of living. It encompasses your relationship with the present moment, with yourself, with others, and with the world around you. The phrase The Work refers to the actual WORK that can be involved when someone is implementing changes in their life as they walk their yoga path. Sometimes that journey can feel like a lonely one. But it doesn't have to. We would like to offer The Work as a service to help support our members as they begin to incorporate the life changes that they are inspired to make along their yoga journey. So what is The Work? It is all the things you do to walk yourself back home to yourself when you have gotten off course. It is risking being more vulnerable in relationships. It is the process of uncovering buried emotions so that they can finally be released. It is honesty when honesty is hard. It is living and loving as fully as possible. It is removing barriers to intimacy in your key relationships. It is yoga and all other types of authentic healing movement. It is following your dreams and ambitions and living out your full life potential. It is self care when you have no time for self care. It is finally finally FINALLY learning to love yourself. It is ALL these things and so much more! Your favorite thing about the seasons changing? My favorite thing is watching the landscape change and realizing how much it parallels our own growth and transformation. I love how it is a reminder that we all go through seasons in life and sometimes we have to shed the old to create the fertile ground that is needed in order to plant our hopes and dreams for the future.

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Questions? Ask!

Warmly,

the Team