The Shakti Shine - March 30th, 2020
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.
Here's something I shared on my personal instagram last week:
I don’t feel very inspiring right now.
I‘ve decided that I guess it’s more important to be real.
Every night this week as I’ve gotten into bed—and I guess it’s been the first time all day I’ve gotten still and quiet because it’s in that moment that— I freak out.
I spent the first few nights trying to push through and ignore my feelings. (I even set a rule: No talking about COVID-19 after 8pm.)
Last night I named them: concern, worry, sadness, confusion, grief, frustration.
I woke up today with an emotional hangover.
Cute.
This afternoon, in addition to throwing around the phrase ‘existential crisis’ lol, my therapist helped me connect some dots. I see now how a lot of the ways I’m feeling, *in addition to just being normal and reasonable feelings to have at any time especially during a global pandemic*, also correlate with past personal experiences from a long time ago relating to death and loss.
Woof.
So I’m making a written agreement to myself here to disrupt business as usual, even now with a fresh new ‘normal,’ and get serious about not running away.
I commit to holding still & quiet space for myself every day.
I 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬—
💫𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥: 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡
💫𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬: 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞
💫𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞: 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰
In both of my classes today I read a passage from Being of Power that starts like this:
“𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘬𝘦𝘺.”
The point in sharing all of this is as a reminder of that.
Let’s get serious about not running away.
Whatever you’re feeling, there’s no magic key to fixing it except to get still and quiet and be with it.
And when we all do that together— imagine how real we will become. Imagine how much we can heal. Imagine what life will be like on the other side of all this.
Maybe real can be the new inspiring?
----
Every day feels new and tough and unchartered. Every few hours my mood changes, my emotions shift. Every morning I wake up wondering what the day will hold.
I can't help but wonder about the deep shifts taking place.
I see within myself the ways in which I'm healing, rerouting, opening up.
Right now we're in it. And it's deep. And it's important that we let it be.
A couple times a week, though, I feel like I can pull myself out of the feeling of uncertainty and doom. I feel like I can kinda soar above it and imagine us on the other side. I let myself imagine what's possible.
And I think in order to get there, we've got to give up pretending so much and really get real.
'Let’s get serious about not running away.
...when we all do that together— imagine how real we will become. Imagine how much we can heal. Imagine what life will be like on the other side of all this.'
xx
Ruby
What does inspiring mean to you?
What would happen if you chose to be real-- with yourself & with others?
What would happen if you took some time to be still today?
What's possible when you get clear, honest, and present?
Reply so we can talk about it!
Life is brand new for most of us right now.
We also know you're probably being bombarded with content on all sides.
What's working? What's missing?
What do you want more of from us?
Meditation? Certain class styles? Times? Inquiry? Workshops? A book club? Journal prompts?
We want to know - Reach out :)
Tell us what you want
April pose challenge from home
extra offerings this week
Resources that have helped us
and might help you, too
share a resource that's helped you
inquiry corner / IGTV
Emily walks you through creating an intention for the month of April.
Set your eyes on what's possible!
An extra note:
People have been asking us: How can I help?
Thank you for that. Thank you for asking. Thank you for being here.
Here's how you can help:
Keep showing up
Keep supporting us with your presence (and your membership)
Keep sharing your practice with your friends and family
Keep reaching out when you have ideas, questions, or gratitude
We are paving a path forward for Shakti that feels uncertain and exciting. Even though we can't be with you physically, we feel your presence and support.
We can do hard things together.
And while we may be separate, you are never alone.
We are here for you.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything Shakti (or I) can do for you.
If you or someone you know needs financial support to be able to practice with us from home right now, please reach out or fill out our Shakti Scholarship form.
Thank you for giving your presence, love, and financial support that makes Shakti possible and so magical.
Some Notes About our New Way of Being Together:
If you are already a Shakti member, your membership will be adjusted accordingly to the new Live Stream membership as of today.
If you are on a Shakti Scholarship your membership will adjust if applicable
If you are on 4x per month, reply to this email to upgrade to *Unlimited Live Stream for only $5 more per month
If you are on 8x per month, your membership will be adjusted automatically to unlimited
If you would like to continue to support us at your normal rate, please reply to this email (and Thank you!)
If you want to help support Shakti Scholarships at this time, venmo us at @shaktiyogaathens
All current members should have received an email with a link to free Shakti @ Home downloadable audio classes. If it's not, reply to this message for the link.
If you are not a member, you can access Shakti @ Home here.