Sometimes it feels as if time is accelerating.  This seems to be truer for those of us in the autumn years of our lives who know that we have fewer years ahead than those already lived. 

At the same time, we have entered a time on the planet when change is happening at an accelerated pace.  It can be difficult to absorb this change without feeling anxious or tipped off balance.

Strangely, this sped-up pace is being mirrored within the world of yoga.  Classes are shorter and often instructed at such a frenzied pace that one might wonder whether it is serving the pathology of the culture and thereby becoming part of the problem. 

While that might seem harsh, as I’ve begun the Mastering Simplicity course, one of the most common observations from the attendees is that they have stopped going to yoga classes.  

And they’ve stopped attending live classes because they find themselves unable to sense, feel and respond to their bodies in an intelligent way because the pace of the class is just too darned fast! 

I know many of you are yoga practitioners and teachers with decades of practice behind you and that your level of mobility, fitness and awareness is exceptional.  What I can surmise is that it’s not that the generic public yoga class is too physically challenging, it’s just counterproductive for someone with a mature understanding of their body/soma and psyche.  

Why do yoga if the net result is that you feel discombobulated and left with a case of jangling nerves! 

This is why, whether you are joining these monthly sessions or not, I applaud those of you who continue to show up on your mat and to draw upon your own inner guidance to find a sense of calm amidst the storm.  

Moving slowly through a yoga practice allows you to regulate the nervous system, sense and feel into what is truly happening on the day, and build strength without strain and without injury.  

These are the kinds of experiences I hope to offer in shared-inquiry teaching.  And this is the kind of yoga practice that can give us ballast in a topsy-turvy world.

Namaste,

Donna