The Shakti Shine - October 14, 2019
Shakti Love Notes
We are always growing. I love that! And the more I grow, the more I recognize how important it is for us all to share what we're going through-- even (and especially) me.
So these Love Notes are a space for me to share with you each week-- about the studio, my life, how our community is growing.
It's easy to say, 'Just be yourself.'
It's a lifelong journey to live it.
There's a scene in the 2018 movie Christopher Robin where adult Christopher Robin is in a hurry to get Pooh back to Hundred Acre Wood before he needs to be at work to make a presentation. (If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend you get comfy on your couch and watch it tonight on Netflix... and bring a few tissues with you.)
Anyway, Pooh keeps talking to all of the passers-by in the train station-- which is not a very stuffed teddy bear thing to do-- so Christopher Robin pulls him into a phone booth and the conversation goes something like this:
Christopher Robin: Look, you can’t just keep saying hello to people. People can’t see you moving and talking.
Winnie the Pooh: But why?
Christopher Robin: Because, because you’re different. And people don’t like things that are different.
Winnie the Pooh: So I shouldn’t be me.
Christopher Robin: No! No, you should always be yourself.
Winnie the Pooh: Oh, this is very confusing. It may be the hunger.
Christopher Robin: You’ve just eaten!
Winnie the Pooh: Oh, that’s right. Maybe I didn’t eat enough.
Christopher Robin: Look, never mind about that. For now, just try and be a less exuberant you.
Winnie the Pooh: Ex-Pooh-berant.
... and Pooh does a remarkable job playing the part of a napping Pooh Bear for a few moments before he just can't help himself and he's back to being fully Pooh...
But a version of this same exchange happened when I was a young girl and told that ladies should speak very softly. And a version happened to my mom when she was told she couldn't sing. And a version happened to my dear friend Emily when she was told her queerness was a phase (keep scrolling to the bottom of this email to read her full blog post on Visibility).
And I would bet a version of this story happened to you at some point, too.
But most of us didn't bounce back like Pooh Bear. Most of us are still hiding, pretending to be napping so we don't disturb the passers-by, catching a peak or tapping a shoulder or saying a few words sometimes when we're feeling extra brave.
It's hard to put into words what it feels like to try to hide a piece of myself. Most of the time it's been hard to pinpoint exactly what I've been trying to hide. I think it's layered, really. But it's definitely a feeling.
It feels like not being whole.
A lot of the work I've done in my life, especially in the past handful of years, has ultimately been work to show up fully- whole, complete, speaking loudly, plus big earrings.
It's nitty gritty work to unravel, unpack, and unlearn how to not be myself.
This past week felt like a pivotal marker of progress in that way. I felt like I was in an emotional tidal wave getting rolled around and into the next day to do it again. Nothing bad, just life stuff. But it was all stuff that a year ago I would have tried to explain, justify, find exactly what I did wrong, blame myself, hide, over-analyze, over-apologize, over-compensate for.
This week it looked different.
I trusted my intentions, said sorry when I needed to say sorry for my actions, and stayed present for life by moving forward. Not pretending to nap.
Watching myself move through life in this new way opened up my vision to see all the ways I've stepped beyond the less exuberant expectation of who I 'should be' and into who I am. It's a lifelong journey of becoming that's worth recognizing the small steps like this along the way.
It sounds simple or trite to say 'just be yourself' to myself, but since I've done the work to peel back some layers...and now that I know better than ever what 'myself' feels like... it's easier to live it than it used to be, and the impact feels like stepping into a fuller me--
Someone who is ready to be seen more clearly and unafraid of my most Ex-Pooh-berant me.
xx
Ruby
Beyond the mat...
We love Athens.
And we love you.
So let's have more of that-- together.
Here's where you can see what we're up to outside of the studio.
Have ideas about where we should be / what we should check out / how we can show up?
Reply to this email to let us know.
This Week
Thursday - JIP POWER SERIES / Release - 7pm - $10
Saturday - AFM Shakti Strength Pop Up - 9am - free
Sunday - Yoga & Coffee @ 1000faces - 9am - $10
Sunday - JIP POWER SERIES / Rejuvenation - 12pm - $10
SHAKTI YOGA UNIVERSITY
LEAD WITH LOVE -200 HR RYT Spring Program with Ruby
Learn More & Apply!
Heartfelt: a weekend away with Kate and Ruby / Nov 22-24
This is a weekend of sweat, connection, and growth. Each day you can expect to enjoy breakfast, yoga, discussion, nature, meditation, group workout, and delicious, fresh and local nourishment.
Self-love and self-work is a practice that is never-ending, but continually gratifying. This will be a time for you to connect and rejuvenate with like-hearted humans. Our goal is to provide you with the tools to come back to this work often and to deepen your understanding of and connection to your most authentic self with love and affection.
Learn More / Sign Up - Only 1 spot left!
Inquiry Corner w/ Emily
We're moving IC to IGTV and the blog, but we'll always give you a teaser here.
Emily's IGTV Series, Combatting Diet Culture, continues!
Debunking popular diets
and weight loss science.
Check it out!
Meet the Shakti Team!
Megan Bodnar
Why do you teach at Shakti?
I want to create a space of authentic connection and vulnerability- which is exactly what Shakti brought me.
How do you honor the roots of a yoga practice in your every day life?
I say I don’t know when I don’t know. I think it’s important to remember that yoga isn’t just a way to stay in shape, and I try to make that clear with students and just people I chat with.
What kind of teacher do you strive to be?
I strive to be the kind of teacher that a student could come to if they needed to vent, needed advice, a hug, or a cry. I want to create that sort of space for my students to be that way with each other.
QUEER VISIBILITY IS HARD (AKA. HERE’S ALL MY SECRETS)
BY: EMILY UNWIN
“NO ONE IS POSSIBLE UNTIL EVERYONE IS. ON THIS ONE TRUTH, NEVER COMPROMISE.”
— JOSHUA SASSOON OROL
Read Now!
~(another) very October playlist~
Try this partner! *strength* sequence:
Water Flow - Core: scissor legs /
60-30 lifts / abdominal twists / boat
Mind on Fire - Sun A's
Don't Kill My Vibe - Sun B's
She Makes Magic - twists / crow
Painkillers - yoga flow & *play*
you should see me in a crown - burpees (5) x abdominal twists
Glory And Gore - jumping jacks (30) x table top tricep dips
Only If For A Night - pistol squats (5 each leg) x goddess pulses
Flavor - sit ups (5) x forearm plank
Low Tide - backbends
Hesitate - half pigeon (2 min each side)
Lost in You - inversion
"Dearly Departed" - twists / final poses
I Am Easy To Find - savasana