I’m sitting in a room the size of an airplane hangar watching a bunch of kids flip, flop, tumble, swing, and generally defy gravity.

eh. More so work with it.

I’m at my 9 year old’s gymnastics practice. And it’s awesome watching bodies move in every which way.

This place can look a bit like Olympics training grounds sometimes.

My favorite moves are the ones that are so controlled, so precise, so smooth.

A handstand lowered onto a flatback.
A back rollover into a pushup position.
A swing around the bars with that freeze frame of a handstand on top.

So cool. So much work. So much screwing up. So much trying again.

These kids have made core connection.
Yes, they’ve got a bunch of big ol’ muscles swinging them in and around and down and up.

But those slowed down, subtle, most awe inspiring moments to me, those are a whole different can of worms.

Those are the deep core in action.

It’s stunning to witness the results.

And I get to teach about it in-person soon.

hehe hehe hooray!!!

Deep Core Connection – A Yoga Therapy 3 week mini-series
hosted by Cary Yoga Collective, 2425 Kildaire Farm Road, Suite 407, Cary, NC
Tuesdays, May 17, 24 and 31
1:45-2:45pm
$90 / series or $35 / class

Max students: 8

We all know we need a “strong core”, right?But what exactly does that mean? (Hint: It might be a bit different than you think.)

And how do you get one?

In this 3 week mini-series, we’ll dive down and explore what’s called the deep core. You’ll learn why the deep core is critical to both stability and mobility, explore a wide variety of sneaky-hard movements that activate the deep core, and learn one big way we tend to impede access to the deep core.

This class will be primarily on the floor in seated, lying down, belly and side lying positions. It will be appropriate for all levels of students who are able to access the floor.

·  As with all Yoga Therapy classes, you’ll complete a pre-series questionnaire that will help to customize the class for the registered students.
·  At the end of the mini-series, you’ll receive a video link to a 10 minute practice sampling from the deep core classes you’ve completed.

I’d love for you to join me for this mini-series.

I think it will be surprising to feel some new stuff in that most excellent body of your’s.
And I know we’ll have some fun.

There’s 3 spots left right now.

Register here or drop me a note if you’ve got questions, rachel@pureresilienceyoga.com .

Take good care,
Rachel

I have no idea how to start this.

The competing voices in my head have many opinions,
“Write about why you haven’t written (again) in so long!”
“No! Write something cute and quippy!”
“No! Write how you’re feeling in your body right now!”
“No! Write about filming your little chai time practices!”

Alright, alright.

I hear you all. You’ve got ideas out the wazoo.
And I appreciate that.

But if you can all hush up for a quick sec, I’ll ask the most important question,
“Rachel, what do you want them to know?”

The answer is this.

Things are hard.
And things are better.
All in the same breath.
All in the same moment.

That’s the big stuff.

And in the here and now in these four walls and in this little life of mine, I miss something.

I miss people being together. In a group class. That I get to teach.

That’s something I can control (few things can I, you know).

Sooooooo… here’s the scoop.

I’ve got an in-person 6 week series coming up.
My first one since fall 2018.

Jeesh.

As my now 9 year old Ruthie said years ago at Target in the diaper aisle, following a seriously impressive roll-around-on-the-floor temper tantrum, sitting up alert as a meerkat and spinning her wide, clear eyes around to look at me,

“huh. What happened to Ruthie?“

Right? I totally get it, girl.
So here we go with what’s next for me:

In-Person, Small Group Yoga Therapy for Low Back & Hips 
Tuesdays, March 29th – May 3rd
1:45-2:45pm
Cary Yoga Collective
2425 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary

In this series, we will:

We’ll have a small group with 6-8 students total. I love that since it allows me to give individual attention but also feel the collective joy + learning from together time. (As a student, I’m pretty poor at asking questions of my teachers so I love being in class where other people have good questions. I get to stay shut-up in absorption mode but also get learn. Yesssssss for my learning style. Luckily, I do happen to talk more as a teacher… eh-hm… much more. I’m quite excitable in case you haven’t noticed.)

Honestly, I don’t love moving all that much. I’d much rather lie on my screened-in porch, read a book and drink some tea. But I also know that when I do that, I eventually feel like a lump, my aches turn up as does my restlessness.

So I’ve got to use a bit of trickery with little ol’ me to get in some movement.
Because I know that when I do it, I feel better. 

Not earthshaking information, but somehow never ceases to surprise me.

Move better, feel better.
Simple, but not easy.

The cost of the series is $179.

I can’t wait for a handful of us curious learners to hang out together for a bit..
I’ll bring my wonder wandering, my movement curiosity, probably some writing and whatever else it is that rolls up into me.

You bring all of you.

Signup for the 6 week series or – as space allows, individual classes – here:
https://caryyogacollective.com/therapeutic-yoga-low-back-hips/
or
call the Cary Yoga Collective in Lochmere Pavilion at 919-533-YOGA (9642)

No matter how long its been, I miss you. For real.

Take good care,
Rachel

The 500+ promotional emails I’ve received since Thanksgiving reflect the noise of the world.
(And the noise in my mind. And body. And heart.)

Delete All is a super helpful and gratifying feature in my email.

Ah, instant
S          P           A           C           E.

Movement, stillness, breath and the tools of meditation and mindfulness can also give us

s p a c e.

Reprieve.

Time out.

Escape.

That’s not Netflix. Or social media. Or the black hole of my pantry.

The Mary Poppins bag of yoga therapy is available anytime and every time
we want it.

We need it.

You see, a yoga class can be wonderful.
But the right yoga tool at the right time can be

extraordinary.

I used to “pishaw” at yoga as an escape.
(Good thing I’ve given myself the liberty of growing and evolving this play-doh mind of mine.)

Because we do.
Need it.
A lot.
Right now.

I’m here to help – with these three holiday packages that could get you re-remembering what yoga therapy can do for you
or perhaps, introduce you for the first time.

We want to be there for our partners, our kids, our jobs, our pets…

Hard stuff. It’s hard stuff showing up for life right now.

Consider whether you, or someone you love, needs to feel a little less overwhelmed and a little more calm in this ocean of blah ugh yuck waves crashing upon us.

Take good care,
Rachel

Boo.

I’m still here. For which I’m immensely grateful.

Moving on to related news…

I’m not sure about you, but I can’t quite give the year of 2021 a score of

“10, PERFECT, FLAWLESS!!!!!!!!!”

as if I were watching Michelle Kwan own the ice 20 years ago.

Nope.

It’s felt pretty sucky for me. And yeah, I can dive into the details and mindfully invoke the million pinpricks of starlight to remind myself it wasn’t as sucky as my negativity bias wants me to think.

Or I can just let it feel sucky for now.

Why does it feel sucky?

And because I gave up a whole lotta’ me to get through it.
To get my kids through it.
To get my family through it.And standing back up again, finding my edges, figuring out my way…
none of that is proving to be easy or straightforward.

So there you go.

When my nephew died, I remember this thing my sister, a Latin Teacher to middle schoolers for the past 15+ years, said…

“I don’t know how to be a mother to a dead son, but I do know how to teach. So I’ll do that for now and figure out the other.”

Wisdom speaks.
Grief reveals.
And here we are.

I’m grateful to once again invite you to join me in-person for some much needed yoga. Really and truly a class of few words, and much movement, stillness and breath.
And all for a heart holding cause.

4th Annual Donation class in benefit of Transitions Hospice Care
In Grief and Gratitude –
All-Levels Gentle Flow Yoga class and Share sessionDate: Saturday, December 18th

Time: 3:30-5:30pm

Location: Yoga-Mojo Studio*
1127 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary, NC

Register here – Space is limited to allow distancing

*Please note Yoga-Mojo Studio requires all studio teachers and students to be fully vaccinated.

3:30-4:30pm is the time for our All-Levels Gentle flow and 4:30-5:30pm is the time to share my homemade chai and reflections on grief, gratitude, or the messy mix of both. (So yeah, there’s gonna be more words in that part.) You can journal beforehand and read it, you can speak to whatever arises for you, or you can sit in silence and bear witness to others.

And if you want to practice but are either out of the area or unable to attend, drop me a note and I’ll send you a Vimeo link on the 18th for a pre-recorded class. I’ll also include a few options on how you can submit a donation.This offering means a great deal to me.

It’s in honor of my nephew,
it’s in honor of my dear friend’s father and her brother,
it’s in honor of my dear friend’s husband,
it’s in honor of my dear friend’s mother,
and on and on…

And it’s in honor of the empty space that remains once the bodies are gone.
And it’s in honor of the fact that we’d have it no other way than to
grieve the loss of a life well lived.

People have passed.
Time has passed.
Things are different than we thought they would be.

We must make space for the sadness, the wanting.
We must honor the grief of knowing more, seeing more and feeling more
in these years of 2020 and 2021.

These years of plenty and not enough all at once.

As Frank Ostaseski says, grief needs time and loving attention.

Let us offer it that which it needs.

Register now and we’ll do what we can together.

Take good care,
Rachel