Frozen pipes and finding a way to feel that it only half sucks!
I have closed down the yoga studio at The Anchored Heart and even this did not go smoothly. Like everything else in this past year it became a challenge, With the change in temperature we had a frozen pipe and damage that will need to be repaired in the future. I called upon Murray to help me with this and kept my fingers crossed that there was not too much damage. He is was wonderful to help me right away but yes there is damage and could possibly be quite expensive. This was unexpected but also expected considering how challenging this year has been! I decided to let it go for now because what is done is done! As Patanjali quoted find comfort in the discomfort.
There has been loss and joy throughout this past year, and many of you have shared this is a similar experience for you. Many times people ask me as a Yogi if I can handle challenging times because yogi's are expected to be enlightened. I am here to tell you that I am not. unlighted and honestly do not know if I have even felt enlightened YET in my life. There is the reality that we are guaranteed to have life "half suck" throughout our lives. The last few years for many of us have truly sucked! An awful and juvenile word I know, but I honestly do not have any other way to describe it. I looked it up and this was also described in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/. It does describe this past year in one short sentence.
suck it up
: to make the effort required to do or deal with something difficult or unpleasant
Between my Mum being unwell, with an awful fall in the summer and ending up in ICU and losing a kind man Hank, who I fondly just began calling my "stepdad," to recently my husband losing his beloved Uncle Don. My daughters broken jaw, the fire that had us on evacuation alert all summer and the loneliness that COVID has brought on. My mental health has been challenged beyond all measures! Do I increase my antidepressant or do I find more ease and peace though the practice of yoga? Yoga does help and increasing my antidepressant would leave my numb without feeling anything. Sometimes i do admit feeling numb has its advantages but I know that this in not how to live my life.
Then there is JOY. The joy of my new grandson Sawyer born last February, the joy of my daughters and grand-babies and now looking forward to our twelfth grandchild due in four weeks. Yes that is correct 12! I have an amazing yet and patient husband Greg who I have been married to for 33 years, amazing friends and my Mum and brothers who all so loving. There was the joy of my father-in-law & mother-in-law, and at the age of 81 my mother-in-law went to Foothills Treatment Centre, he was oldest person ever to go the the Foothills and she became possibly the most loved person ever there. This does not surprise me!
I also opened a new spaced to call our yoga home called The Anchored Heart and there was even a wedding reception there with my daughters childhood friend Alyssa. The Anchored Heart was celebrating LOVE in so many ways and this truly warms my heart, with two amazing yoga teachers Ruth and Jolene joining to teach and also my daughter Brittany offering beautiful Sacred Sundays. I look forward to more joy in the future with more workshops, patio yoga in the warm sunshine and starting to offer yoga retreats!
I hope this blog meets you with memories of JOY in your heart along with the things that challenged you this year. And this brings me to a free WORKSHOP invite on December 30th. It is a mini workshop to let go of that feeling that we were dragged through the past year and look forward to the upcoming new year. It is now offered as an online session with the once again PHO for COVID, but that is ok, yet it does half suck! The positive is you can stay home, stay warm and wear comfy clothes with nice mug of hot chocolate or tea. Jewel and I really hope to see you online!
The Yin & Affirmation Workshop is an end of the year yoga class to flow into the new year. How did the last year go? The past year may have felt like you were dragged along with many bumps along the way! This class is a yin yoga focused class with a little flow with positive affirmations as a mantra. The class is 65 minutes with a few minutes to journal and set a new year intention. You will be provided with simple journaling and everyday prompts for the next 21 days to start your new year. I am really excited that to explore inspirational journaling prompt & reading with Jewel Veitch from her book TRUE GIFTS . You will need a yoga mat, journal, coloured pens or felts, blanket and any yoga props you wish.
Find out more about the Yin Yoga & Affirmation workshop with myself and Jewel by going to this link: https://www.georginakylloyoga.com/service-page/yin-yoga-affirmation?referral=service_list_widget
More about Jewel: https://www.innercorecoach.com/
More about Foothills: https://www.foothillscentre.com/