Heart Forward Events and Themes

Good afternoon, friends!

Heart Forward Yoga is moving right along! And for this second newsletter, I want to go over a few things:

1. Upcoming Events

2. Themes

3. Five Things I’ve Loved about This Week

. . .

Upcoming Events

I have three grief programs and three anxiety programs starting next month. Each class is 90 minutes long and includes asana (poses), breathwork, meditation, and journaling.

Grief programs: Six weeks each

Cohort A—Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m., beginning March 7; on Zoom

Cohort B—Thursdays at 7:00 a.m., beginning March 9; on Zoom

Cohort C—Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., beginning March 14; at the Collegeville Institute

Anxiety programs: Three weeks each

Cohort A—Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m., beginning March 8; on Zoom

Cohort B—Sundays at 2:00 p.m., beginning March 12; on Zoom

Cohort C—Mondays at 4:00 p.m., beginning March 20; at the Collegeville Institute

. . .

Themes

You may be wondering why I’m offering “programs” instead of just doing classes on grief and anxiety generally. Indeed, a “program” gives the impression of neat and tidy processes for these experiences that are anything but neat and tidy. But I want to run the gamut of grieving and anxiety. No, your anxiety will not be gone after a three-week program. But you’ll have new tools for your anxiety toolkit. You might gain new insights about how anxiety is operating in your body. Your grief won’t all of a sudden disappear after six weeks of yoga. But perhaps you’ll breathe differently as you move in and out of the intricacies of grieving.

It is my hope that you will experience grief and anxiety with awareness, curiosity, gentleness, and patience—as well as a healthy dose of roaring into the abyss on occasion.

So what are the themes?

Grief

• Isolation: We can feel so very alone in the midst of our grieving; let’s acknowledge this isolation and explore its truth and falsehood.

• Anger, Regret, Confusion: Grief unsettles, and it brings up a lot of emotions that discomfort.

• Anxiety: This one can catch people off guard as they grieve, so we’ll examine what anxiety has to tell us in our grieving.

• Internalization: Our world is different because we grieve; this makes us look inside, reevaluate, reconsider; what is shifting in our grieving?

• Slow Work and Silence: We may be tempted to rush or avoid grief, but it is work that has great potential for us, if only we listen. (This is not to say we enjoy that grief is here but that we are open to what she has to say.)

• Emergence: Grief is an unfolding; much like a peony unfurls from a tight bud-ball to a soft, complicated flower, our grievings slowly open for us, in us, through us. We emerge—eventually.

Anxiety

• Grounding Down: Anxiety untethers us from reality, from our bodies, from our breath; grounding brings us back to what is real, physical, flowing.

• Unwinding the Fear: Our thoughts can become a tangled knot that we continue to worry, causing them to tighten; by unwinding, we breathe space into what’s taut and give ourselves room to rest.

• Riding the Wave: One of the hardest things to do when experiencing a panic attack is to simply let it happen, not to fight it; and yet, such surrender allows us to feel the fear, let it wash over us, and acknowledge that we can and will make it through what terrifies.

If you have questions about any of these themes, please feel free to contact me.

And yes, I am currently brainstorming ways to offer ongoing classes so once you finish a series we can continue the work we’ve been doing. So stay tuned for more on that in coming weeks.

. . .

Five Things I’ve Loved about This Week

Ever since I was in high school I’ve written down “Five Things I Love about the Day.” They’re not detailed or earth-shattering, but they provide a little window of appreciation and goodness in each day. On my worst days, I’ve sometimes written that I loved brushing my teeth: a simple thing shows I did the most basic care for my body, for myself. On my best days, I love oh-so-many things. I will be sharing this practice with you as a weekly list in the hopes that it will inspire you to also find things you love about your days—even if those days are dark, scary, challenging, or sad.

1. The support for Heart Forward has been truly astounding.

2. Snuggling with the girl dog on the couch last night. (Her brother has been getting most of the couch snuggles since he’s a puppy . . . and oblivious to space.)

3. Attending my husband’s orchestra concert on Saturday.

4. Making bread on Thursday and enjoying it as grilled cheese with tomato soup on Friday.

5. All the socks matched up in the laundry last week.

I look forward to practicing with you! Please feel free to share this post with friends.

Peace,

Lauren