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Hello and Happy Monday,
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother's Day. Mother's Day invokes a lot of different feelings. There are those that miss their mom, have an estranged relationship with their mom, want to be a mom, the list goes on with the complications with this day. I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine and spent the day the way they wanted to. This month we are exploring the Kleshas, the obstacles that cause us suffering, and this week is about Asmita or ego. I want to mention that having an ego is not a bad thing. I once heard that our egos allow us to get in our cars every day and drive them. My ego has allowed me to get up and teach thousands of people over the past decade. Asmita, our ego, is our identification of ourselves. It’s the image we create that we believe is who we are. This can be internal, such as I am a bad listener, or external (I am too overweight). Both of these are false projections that we become trapped in believing. Our ego tricks us into believing this mistaken identity. During this time at home, this is week 9 (I base it all on when the kids started staying home from school), I've had a lot of time to reflect. I made significant changes to my teaching schedule dropping many classes that allowed for space in helping my children with school and finishing up my advanced yoga teacher training program, among making dinner just about every night. I don't know how people do that creatively, but I digress. I identify strongly with being a yoga teacher and all that it infers. I am desperately trying to live my life with ease and peace, I aim to be calm and steady. I find that when I am teaching yoga I embody those qualities without really trying. I sit down to teach and it comes easy to me, I feel calm and peaceful. When I led my first international yoga retreat to Guatemala, I cried on the way to the retreat center. Joe sweetly asked me, "happy tears?" and I agreed. I was so happy that I got to be "Jess Purtell Yoga" for an entire week. Jess who is light, Jess who is calm, Jess who is peaceful, Jess who seems to know how to handle most things with ease. Jess Purtell Yoga is my best self. The one I aim to be most moments of the day. I attach to this identity and am quick to tell people what I do because most people also think yoga teachers are calm, cool, and collected. During the last few weeks so much has changed. Taking the step back from teaching so much so I can be present for my family, also left me present for me. I got to take a pretty hard look at the other things I identify with that I don't like to share; being angry, judgemental, reactionary, selfish, and not perfect, to name a few. It was weird, once I got my classes up on zoom working with music and had a set schedule and things were flowing, I wasn't as tired as I had previously been from a heavy schedule or figuring out how to make online classes a thing. Not being drained from teaching a loaded schedule left me less irritated and happier for my family. Being less irritated lead to me responding instead of reacting, not all the time, but more of the time. And let me tell you, responding always creates amazing conversations. I'm still juggling all of this, I'm still uncovering what all this means, I am having many insights and I'm enjoying life a lot more. This is what the Kleshas have taught me; that all these statements I identify with: I am angry, I am a bad person, I am selfish, I am judgemental; they are all illusions. Not only are they illusions, but they are also great big limiting obstacles. I am none of these things. Sri Swama Satchidananda said this, "The Self will always be falsely represented by the ego until our ignorance is removed. I often refer to these two "I"'s as the little "i" and the capital "I". What is the difference? Just a small dot, a little blemish of ego. The capital "I" is just one pure stroke.... Without the dot we are always great, always the capital "I". All the practices of Yoga are just to remove that dot." I am peaceful. I am calm. I am peaceful. I live my life with ease. I am a good person. I am perfect. Do I believe this? Honestly, not all the time. But I will keep practicing. I hope you do too. Please make sure to sign up for this week and going forward - you can sign up for as many as you like. http://www.jesspurtellyoga.com/schedule.html Classes are live during the time listed, but you can watch and join in at any time. Monday 9:30 am Yoga Flow Tuesday 10:00 am Gentle Flow Wednesday 9:30 am Pilates for Yogis **** Friday 12:30 pm Pilates for Yogis Express - 30 min class - this is a one-time event.*** All classes as Pay What You Can (suggestion is $5-$15 per class). I know it's not easy for everyone to pay right now, but I also know the benefits of movement on our nervous system. If you cannot pay right now, please don't allow that to deter you from signing up and taking classes. If you can pay, I am so very appreciative. Payments can be made via PayPal CLICK HERE, Venmo @Jess-Purtell, or check. I can send my address to you separately if you want to do that. Also, I've set up my class packs to be used with my online classes. Visit my webpage and check out the packages you can purchase. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess Hello and Happy Monday, Another Monday. Today is May 4 - Star Wars Day - May the fourth be with you. : ) I need that... last week felt really long. I am so thankful for all of you that reached out after my last email. It helped me do another long ride on Saturday, this time a 45-mile ride! A friend of mine texted me asking how my ride was, I wrote, "It was amazing! Who knew I had this in me? I sure didn't! I'm already getting excited for the next one." I really believe our perceptions create our reality. The way we see ourselves and the world around us is the root and the first Klesha. Yes, we are back to yoga philosophy. This month I will cover the five Klesha's, or obstacles, that the yogis believe is the root of all our suffering. Avidya is the first Klesha and means ignorance, misconceptions, incorrect knowledge, misunderstanding, cloudy. It is the opposite of Vidya, in Sanskrit when there is an "A" in front of a word, it makes it the opposite. So Vidya means, clarity, truth, knowledge, understanding. Ayida is thinking that this COVID pandemic is eternal and that the quarantine, stay at home orders are our new reality. It's even going so far as saying "this is our new normal". None of this is normal. I believe life is about connection, so how could this be normal? Before I get sidetracked, back to Avidya. When I was planning my yoga and pilates retreat to Peru, I worked with a woman named Vidya. She was wonderful. She was organized, her communication was clear, she was really easy to work with, and she was kind. Part of what made it easy to work with her was her name. I think we show up to every event in our life with our experience. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are judging before anything happens based on our history. Show up to an old, dark, falling apart cobwebbed home for an appointment, my mind goes to the last experience I've had like this, or worse, a scary movie. Meeting someone new for the first time and they look just like that person that drives you nuts? Do you see where I'm going here? Let me mention that I didn't pour my faith into Vidya off the bat but it definitely influenced my judgement. Perception. Judgment. Opinion. Perception refers to a way you sense a situation, judgment and opinion are how you make decisions based on the situation and refers to our beliefs and what we think. Perception is the WAY in which you think. As you know, I draw lunch notes every day for Michael and Melissa. Their school has been "out" since March 16. I decided to create some consistency by continuing to draw lunch notes for school days. They are still doing school work and they are still eating lunch. Truthfully, it is not easy. I am not on top of the lunch notes since we have been home. They still have been getting them, but sometimes, I miss a day or two, and as we sit together, drawing a few at a time. I heard that the schools in DC are closing early, which is a big deal, and I was hoping our school would do the same. Not because of lunch notes exactly, but because it's tough to find structure at home. My children are still going between my home and their dad's home, school was a consistent place for them to have structure and now, we are all trying, but it's not the same. This morning, after I drew my note, I counted how many weeks were left of school. 7, seven weeks left, which means 66 lunch notes left to draw. 66 ideas to come up with, 66 facts. I exhaled loudly so many left. Then I remembered that I was writing about Avidya today and it changed everything. Only seven weeks left. 66 ways to be creative and funny and maybe teach them something they didn't know. 7 weeks of seeing their faces when they see the notes. 66 ways to show Michael and Melissa how much I love them. In this morning's yoga class the theme was smooth, fluidity, and ease. If that is how I want my life, and it won't be that way if I am dreading the things I am doing in my life. I remind myself often that living an authentic, truthful, clear life means I won't be happy all the time and that also means I get to experience things as they are. How do you think? How do you see yourself? How do you see the world? How do you see yourself in the world? These all matter, remember Avidya is the root, which means in the upcoming weeks we will learn how Avidya influences the other Kleshas. Keep me posted - I really want to know!! Please make sure to sign up for this week and going forward - you can sign up for as many as you like. http://www.jesspurtellyoga.com/schedule.html Classes are live during the time listed, but you can watch and join in at any time. Monday 9:30 am Yoga Flow Tuesday 10:00 am Gentle Flow Wednesday 9:30 am Pilates for Yogis All classes as Pay What You Can (suggestion is $5-$15 per class). I know it's not easy for everyone to pay right now, but I also know the benefits of movement on our nervous system. If you cannot pay right now, please don't allow that to deter you from signing up and taking classes. If you can pay, I am so very appreciative. Payments can be made via PayPal CLICK HERE, Venmo @Jess-Purtell, or check. I can send my address to you separately if you want to do that. Also, I've set up my class packs to be used with my online classes. Visit my webpage and check out the packages you can purchase. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess  Hello and Happy Monday,
I spent a lot of time reflecting this past week and have had some wonderful insights. Most of the insights have been about what is holding me back, or what I think is holding me back. When I first started this blog I thought it would be fun to explain the yamas and niyamas through my lens, and when I got through that, I thought, well, I'll go through the entire 8 limb path, and when I got through that, well, Corona hit and here we are 19 months later! I never would have thought that I had the discipline to write a blog every single week for this long about yoga! Granted, the last few weeks have been about surviving our stay at home orders and this pandemic, I think after going through the 8 limbs we all know yoga can be in anything. And now I want to get back to writing about yogic philosophy. Next week I will start explaining the Kleshas, which are obstacles. Buddhists believe all life is suffering and the yogis believe that the obstacles, specifically the 5 klesha's, are what causes our suffering. So what is standing in our way? Are they real obstacles? Are they illusions we are creating? Yogic philosophy suggests that we are in our own way. I couldn't agree more. We set limits and restrictions on what we can do. A lot of it comes from our upbringing, what our parents might have said, or not said to us, the messaging from society, and our own stories based on how we view the world and past events. So one of my big insights was breaking down this obstacle and illusion. Growing up I was told that I was not athletic. Even though I wanted to be. I danced, but that wasn't the same as being on a team, so I was told by my family how unathletic I was, which translated to, "I am uncoordinated", " I am weak", "I am not good enough to play on their team". I believed it and it became my story. I remember many years later taking spin classes at the Prudential Gym and the teacher called us athletes. I laughed. I was not an athlete, I could barely throw a ball, or play a sport, I wasn't even interested in sports. At the time, I was running 5k and 10k's a few times a month, but none of the bibs made me feel like I was an athlete. I had limited myself, set up mental roadblocks. And then this weekend happened. Since COVID, I've been riding my Peloton every day. We've had our peloton since 2018 and I go in phases with riding it, usually "life" taking me away. I love riding this bike that brings me nowhere but takes me everywhere. I joined a group on FB called Tour de Peloton where you take a ride with every single instructor. No breaks, no stopping. There are 23 instructors and the shortest "ride" is just about 3 hours. I've only spent 90 min on the bike, so I thought I could never do that ride. I instead signed up to do a Tour de Cody, 9 rides with one instructor, Cody!. There is a list of specific rides with the same rules, no breaks, no stopping. I got up on Saturday and did it. I was nervous. I had never been on the bike that long. Not only did I complete the ride, but I also wasn't really even tired after. Perhaps I was feeling that "runner's high"? (which I never got while running!!) It turned out, I made a mistake and one of the rides was the wrong ride. It would mean, that even though I did this competition, it didn't count toward a "badge" with this group. I was disappointed. I knew it didn't take away from my accomplishment, but I didn't do it right. Maybe, I thought, this is part of why I am so unathletic, how could I be part of a team if I can't even follow the rules? I barely slept. I woke up on Sunday and did the ride again, yes, all 9 rides again, in the right order, all the right rides. I PR'd on two of the rides and I beat my output on every single ride. Is it possible I didn't know how strong I really am??? 74.82 miles in 2 days. Beaming, I was beaming, I still am. I shared my news with a few of my peloton groups and one of my friends, said this, "My old boss used to say that when he meets people he thinks “Would I want them on my team.” Jess, I want you on my team! You are amazing." If I can be part of a team, yes my interpretation of the team is in an athletic way, then I HAVE to be athletic. Poof, that old story is gone... for now. I know it will creep back up, it's been a story I've told for a long time. But for now, it was an ugly obstacle, an illusion, and a distortion of the truth. I believe life is about remembering who we are. At the root, the core, our inner light. What other untruths am I telling myself? What limitations am I creating? What obstacles do I choose to believe are in my way? I can't wait for next week when we get to dive into the Kleshas. In the meantime, tell me what ceilings you have gone through? What walls you have broken down, what doors you have kicked open. I want to know!! Please make sure to sign up and join me this week and going forward: http://www.jesspurtellyoga.com/schedule.html Classes are live during the time listed, but you can watch and join in at any time. Monday 9:30 am Yoga Flow Tuesday 10:00 am Gentle Flow Wednesday 9:30 am Pilates for Yogis All classes as Pay What You Can (suggestion is $5-$15 per class). I know it's not easy for everyone to pay right now, but I also know the impact of movement on our nervous system. If you cannot pay right now, please don't allow that to deter you from signing up and taking classes. If you can pay, I am so very appreciative. Payments can be made via PayPal CLICK HERE, Venmo @Jess-Purtell, or check. I can send my address to you separately if you want to do that. Also, I've set up my class packs to be used with my online classes. Visit my webpage and check out the packages you can purchase. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess Hello and Happy Monday,
We've made it to week 6. I finally feel like I'm getting into the groove with things. I admittedly kick and scream to change but once I can accept my situation, I can adapt. I'm creating new routines and I'm practicing what I write about each week and it's helping a lot. The physical practices are helping too. Teaching three classes a week feels right. It's not even as close to as many classes as I was teaching, yet with the lights, the recordings, the uploading to my page, and making sure all is working takes almost as much energy as a full week of teaching did. Last week I was trying my best at doing less. On Tuesday morning our neighbors were getting a tree taken down and I could watch it from my kitchen window. I sat and watched and was mesmerized. After the tree was down, I went to teach my gentle yoga class. I was still in this, as the yogi's call it, trance-like state, meaning, I wasn't present or aware. I set up my space and taught what I thought was one of my better gentle classes. When class was over, I got up to end the recording to realize I didn't press record! I wasn't that upset, because I was talking about the kleshas in class, kleshas are obstacles that yogis believe cause us suffering. One of them is attachment to past pleasures. The irony was not lost. I started a new video and taught another gentle class so it could go on my website. When that class was over, I went to shut everything down and realized I didn't turn on half my lights in the room. I laughed at myself as I walked out of my studio. Repetition creates strength. The more we do something the stronger it gets. Take, for example, going to the gym and doing weighted arm exercises every day for 30 min. We know that our arms will get stronger, our muscles will start to get bigger, and maybe even lifting things will become easier. The same concept works with meditating every day for 10-30 min. Depending on the kind of meditation you choose to do doesn't matter, sitting each day for a set amount of time will strengthen your practice. Sitting will get easier. Calming the mind will get easier. You might even become more able to pause before reacting. Both of these, lifting weights and meditation can only be done if we want to do them. That's the good news and bad news, we are in control. We are the ones who have the power over where we build strength. I'm not going to beat myself up over forgetting to press record or turning on the lights, I'm human, I make mistakes and those mistakes helped me create reminders for myself for the next online classes. That's part of it too, the more we forgive, the more we are ok with making mistakes, the easier all of that becomes. Where do you want to get strong? It's up to you! For now, I'm going to keep trying to do less. Please make sure to sign up and join me this week and going forward: http://www.jesspurtellyoga.com/schedule.html Classes are live during the time listed, but you can watch and join in at any time. Monday 9:30 am Yoga Flow Tuesday 10:00 am Gentle Flow Wednesday 9:30 am Pilates for Yogis All classes as Pay What You Can (suggestion is $5-$15 per class). I know it's not easy for everyone to pay right now, but I also know the impact of movement on our nervous system. If you cannot pay right now, please don't allow that to deter you from signing up and taking classes. If you can pay, I am so very appreciative. Payments can be made via PayPal CLICK HERE, Venmo @Jess-Purtell, or check. I can send my address to you separately if you want to do that. Also, I've set up my class packs to be used with my online classes. Visit my webpage and check out the packages you can purchase. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess Hello and Happy Monday, It's week 5 of this pandemic and staying at home, and after I sent last week's email I felt like a weight had been lifted. The combination of writing how I was feeling and spring break had me in a great space. Thank you for reading and writing back and cheering me on and reminding me how "normal" I am. I love a fluid schedule. While I am all for routine and guidelines, I love it when my children can sleep in, do the things they want to do, and not worry about deadlines. We had a great spring break of doing just that. Michael and I listened to our first audiobook, I know, I've never done it before. He was given an option to read and listen and chose to listen. He listened to The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, which I remember reading when I was his age. So I decided to listen to it also so we could then talk about it. There is a lot happening in that book that I didn't pick up on the first time I read it which made for an interesting conversation between Michael and me. Meanwhile, Melissa and Joe decided to paint. They both love color and funky designs and what they came up with is beautiful. I added a photo below. Since I had some free time on my hands and didn't feel overwhelmed with figuring out which child had a zoom call for school, they each have between 3-5 a day, I decided I needed to set some boundaries. This really helped with my headspace. I started with my phone and set time limits on social media apps, news apps, and with texting. It made the week so much better. During that downtime from my phone, it highlighted the many group texts I was part of. Group texting brings me anxiety. There is an article on Medium that helps describe how some of us feel about group texts. You can click here to read it. So since I had set limits on using my phone when I would pick it up I would have 30+ text messages from these groups. It was unsettling to me, the red numbers sitting at top of my messaging app induce anxiety within me. I realize the intention of all the messages were for engagement, and to perhaps bring happiness, but it worked the opposite for me. It was a reminder that everyone is experiencing this pandemic and this separation differently. I debated for days if ignoring the messages was enough, it wasn't. While I still am learning to create boundaries without feeling like I've hurt others, I have to remember that speaking my truth is very important. Have you created any new boundaries during this time? With so many zoom calls and face timing, it's almost like we are more on call and available than before. I am curious how you are handling these types of changes to your schedule and if you feel it adds extra pressure to this already stress-inducing pandemic? In the meantime, it's Monday afternoon and I am already in the swing of a new week of classes. This morning's yoga class was, in my opinion, fun! I hope you get a chance to do it. I've set up my scheduler so you can sign up a few weeks in advance. Please let me know if you need help signing up. Please make sure to sign up and join me this week and going forward: http://www.jesspurtellyoga.com/schedule.html Classes are live during the time listed, but you can watch and join in at any time. Monday 9:30 am Yoga Flow Tuesday 10:00 am Gentle Flow Wednesday 9:30 am Pilates for Yogis All classes as Pay What You Can (suggestion is $5-$15 per class). I know it's not easy for everyone, but I also know the impact of movement on our nervous system. Payments can be made via PayPal CLICK HERE, Venmo @Jess-Purtell, or check. I can send my address to you separately if you want to do that. Also, I've set up my class packs to be used with my online classes. Visit my webpage and check out the packages you can purchase. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess  Hello and Happy Monday,
This marks week 4 of social distancing and no school for my family. Last week was hard! I am missing my everyday activities, especially going to Trader Joe's. While I have tried my hardest on seeing the silver lining in all of this, there is a certain amount of discomfort that has come with this pandemic that me wondering when will this ever end?! I wrote last week about checking-in, and I did a great job of checking-out after I sent out the email. Before I get into this, I'm, on purpose, making all my statements "I" statements". While you may be feeling the same way, I don't want to project what I am going through onto you. I checked out, by setting up and testing the new mic I got for my online classes and recorded some videos. I then went and put together some new playlists for upcoming classes, and did more "work", organizing my webpage, managing the kid's schoolwork, and so on. The price I pay for not checking-in is high. I feel agitated and irritable and I react instead of responding. Being housebound doesn't make any of this easier. So I have a choice. I can continue to sit in my pity, to grow my frustration, or to check-in. Want to know why I'm avoiding checking-in? I don't want to be sad, I don't want to be in pain. I miss seeing my friends, I miss teaching classes and seeing all the smiling faces looking at me, I miss dropping my children off at school, I miss taking my Thursday walk with one of my friends, I miss picking my kids up from school and hearing about their day, and I miss coming home with bags from Trader Joe's that I can't carry all at once and hoping Joe sees me through the window to help me in. I know this is all temporary. I know this isn't a "new normal". I know this is what is happening right now. The only way I know how to find harmony and balance is knowing when it's off. For me, right now, it is off. I know if I check-in, get quiet, relax, I can be a better me. It's not easy. So I need to be disciplined and know that I am worth it, that my behavior has an impact not just on me, but all those around me. So, I'm working at it again, every day I have a list of things I need to do to create harmony and balance. They include journalling, riding my bike, doing yoga, and listening to music. I'd love to know how you are doing? What have you changed in your every day to show up for yourself? Should we meditate once a week together for a few minutes? Are you practicing yoga, taking walks, riding your bike? Please let me know. Also, my new mic is pretty great. I am very happy how this mornings class turned out- even if I *might* have missed a pose on one side ; ) You can catch it on my webpage if you missed it. Remember if you haven't, you can register on my webpage on the last tab, and get access to all the classes I've done so far. Please make sure to sign up and join me this week and going forward: http://www.jesspurtellyoga.com/schedule.html Classes are live during the time listed, but you can watch and join in at any time. Monday 9:30 am Yoga Flow Tuesday 10:00 am Gentle Flow Wednesday 9:30 am Pilates for Yogis All classes as Pay What You Can (suggestion is $5-$15 per class). I know it's not easy for everyone and maybe these classes serve as part of your check-in. Payments can be made via PayPal CLICK HERE, Venmo @Jess-Purtell, or check. I can send my address to you separately if you want to do that. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess Hello and Happy Monday,
Congratulations on doing such a great job these last two weeks. What long weeks they were and here we are in week three of our "adventure". Please don't think I don't take this crisis lightly, I'm trying my best every day to see the silver lining. My hope that everyone is doing well, feeling well and trying their best to also see the silver lining. Checking in is what I wanted to write about today. Have you been checking in with yourself during this time? I realized in the midst of all of this, I haven't made time for me. I haven't checked-in, and when I don't check-in, all I want to do it check-out. I check-out through social media scrolling, by figuring out how to record a better yoga video, by anything that keeps me from myself. The less I check-in, the more I check-out. I was finally able to do some checking in yesterday. Earlier in the week, we had a big pile of mulch delivered and it has been sitting in our driveway. So Joe and I weeded, mulched, and we shoveled countless piles of mulch into the wheelbarrow. We weren't interrupted by anything and for almost 3 hours we worked outside, without the phones, without much talking, and completed work is fulfilling. The truth is, I can't always sit and meditate. I need to move in rhythm in order to check-in sometimes. That shoveling did it for me. The rest of the night I was at ease. I had no desire to check out. How are you checking-in? Are you meditating, painting, running, doing yoga? Please let me know, the more ideas are out there, the better equipped we will be. I also have good news. You can now sign up for more than just the classes I'm offering this week. Classes will now be held in Zoom, this is a free download. If you are a member of my webpage, I will still be uploading these videos to my page for access after class. Thank you for being so patient with me as I figure this out. I also wanted to remind you, I am very grateful to be able to offer Pay What You Can classes. I realize that these are tough times for many and these practices are so very crucial. If you are worried about not being able to pay, please receive these classes as a gift from me. If you are able to pay, thank you so very much. Weekly classes are as follows, join live or as you wish on my webpage. (register to become a member to have access to all the classes I've done so far) Monday 9:30 am Yoga Flow Tuesday 10:00 am Gentle Flow Wednesday 9:30 am Pilates for Yogis Please remember to sign up: http://www.jesspurtellyoga.com/schedule.html With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess Hello and Happy Monday,
Last week was surreal. It was also filled with lots of ups and downs. I lead my first live yoga and pilates for yogis classes and, in my opinion, they were a great success. I also started "homeschooling" and after days of trial and error; the kids and Joe and I sat down and came up with a school schedule that would work for everyone, not just me. All of us were craving a schedule, a routine, something consistent. I love having my kids home and I have always entertained homeschooling, but to be spontaneously put into this role with no clue what they need to be learning, left me dazed. I keep repeating to myself that we are the lucky ones. We have a safe, warm home to be isolated in, nutritious food for all of us to eat, and internet access. On Friday, I remembered that stress is trauma for our nervous system. We are all stressed and anxious, some of us more than others. Each day more information is coming out and is leaving me feeling confused and sad. What I remembered about trauma was from a weekend training I did on Yoga for Trauma, which turns out, isn't a special subgroup, we all have trauma. Yes, there are different types of trauma and different degrees of trauma, I can talk at length about this. What I am trying to get at is that in order to help regain perspective is creating consistency, predictability, and safety into our everyday routines. It's what Michael and Melissa were looking for in their "homeschool" days, it's what we are all craving as this virus has us sheltered in our homes, with all-new routines. If you don't follow me on Instagram, you might have heard me talk about the lunch notes. I've been drawing a lunch note for Michael and Melissa since they have been having lunch at school (2014!) At the end of last year, Michael and I estimated that I had drawn over 1,500 notes. When Michael was in Kindergarten I started posting them on Instagram. They are not my mom popular posts, and partly why I post them is because we keep the notes and they can be in order online and if one is lost, I know which one it is, the other reason is that once in a while I'll hear how others love them, that they look for them each morning. So in being consistent, in gaining some predictability in mine and my children's day, and maybe some of yours, I'm drawing and posting the notes again, after all, my children are still eating lunch. In my live yoga class this morning, I spoke about adding consistency, predictability, and safety into your life this week. Really, it's just adding consistency, if you add in one to two things, each day, the predictability and safety fall into place. Here are some ideas: Pick a time to wake up in the morning. Journal in the morning Drink a glass of water upon waking up Practice yoga during a certain time each day Meditate the same time each day Eat lunch the same time each day Another Idea: I'd like to do the breathing challenge again - this time where we get to see each other on Zoom, not just me. This will be for 20 days for about 5-10 min and will include breathing and meditation- please click HERE if you want to join in. I am asking for donations for this challenge. Please consider and remember that the 20 days is equivalent to about 3 hours of guidance from me. (suggested is between $5-$15 and donation information is in the confirmation email you receive after signing up.) I also have a gentle restorative yoga and pilates for yogis class this week. Gentle restorative on Tuesday at 10 am and Pilates for Yogis on Wednesday at 8 am. When you sign up for class, you can join live or when you can, once you have the link you can access the class as you'd like. Donations are also being asked for these classes, suggested $5-$15. The donation link is in the confirmation email after you sign up. Click HERE to sign up for Gentle Restorative Yoga. Click HERE to sign up for PFY. Thank you all so very much for supporting me and I hope I can continue to give even more to you during this time. Please reach out to me if you need anything, we are not alone. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess Hello and Happy Monday,
What to say, what to say. I reached out to you all on Saturday and so much has changed since then. For those of you who were able to sign up and take my LIVE online yoga class this morning, thank you! As I stated previously, I know how tremendously important it is to keep up with our practice. And while I hope that what I, and others, are teaching you in class, allows you to have your own home practice, there is nothing like being guided. While these times seem uncertain, I keep repeating in my head, and aloud, that This Is All Temporary. Not just this virus, everything. Our homes, our friends, our paychecks, our lives. My intent is not to have anyone feel sad, in fact, my hope is that there is more joy in what we actually "have" right now at this moment. It is with great disappointment that I have postponed my Hawaii Retreat until March of 2021. This was one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in a long time. It seems we are all making tough decisions these days and truthfully, I was hoping to have someone else make this decision for me. In addition to postponing Hawaii, I will not be holding classes in my studio until mid-April. If you have a pass, please do not worry about it expiring. When we are ready to come back into the studio together I will resume your passes. I would like to offer more online classes. These will be donation-based classes, suggested donation of $5-$15 and the classes will be available for several months for you to use. This week I hope you can join me live on Wednesday morning for Pilates for Yogis Class at 8:30 am and live Thursday morning for a Restorative class (this will be like the stretch class at Sport & Health). Please remember, once you sign up for this class, you can access it at any time and do when it is right for you, in the confines, or better said, the comfort of your own home. I will be working on more ways for us to be in touch You can sign up for classes by clicking on the names: Pilates for Yogis Wednesday, March 18 LIVE at 8:30 am Restorative Yoga Thursday, March 19 LIVE 10:00 am Please reach out to me, we are not alone. With so much love and virtual hugs, Jess |