Your "Self-Harvest" starts November 1

Roshi Joan Halifax told Brené Brown in a conversation she writes about in her book, Braving the Wilderness, “Now it's time to inhale. There is the in-breath and there is the out-breath, and it's easy to believe that we must exhale all the time, without ever inhaling. But the inhale is absolutely essential if you want to continue to exhale".

I think of this offering as a practice to inhale for those always exhaling and doing for others. Hydrate our own selves so we can show up and be brave in our lives. We all deserve the time to harvest our wild and wholehearted self. Let’s do this together and give ourselves permission to fertilize our own courage, vulnerability, joy, and self-trust. We will incorporate yoga, The Daring Way Curriculum ® and F-U-N. We will dig deep into linking our minds, hearts, and bodies and unlearn and unsubscribe to messages keeping us small and tired and afraid. We will explore what it means to brave our own self-trust and how this can help us lean into our values as our guiding light in the darkness. This class is seed-planting. We will integrate the essentials we need to grow and harvest self-love. This is a 6-week course and each class builds upon the next. The class is set up in 2 parts. Yoga first, then conversation braided in concepts from Brené Brown and other teachers with a lesson each week to carry home as a special trinket to study and integrate outside of our time together. We start from the root and learn to ground ourselves in love and belonging. In the midst of a season full of comparison and pressure to check all things off the list, what a gift to carve out time to sit and connect and wrap compassion around like a warm blanket. The intention is to get to know our friends Courage, Resilience, Self-Love, and Compassion a bit more. We will hold their hands, listen to what they have to say, and honor their wisdom through yoga and kinship. Humor is always an important guest and loves to come along. I recently heard Luis Alberto Urrea say in an interview on the podcast, On Being with Krista Tippett, “Laughter is a portal for humanity” AND Anne Lamott says, “Laughter is carbonated holiness”. So, I invite you to join this carbonated portal with fun, connection, and yoga so we can look around and know we are not alone and our stories of pain and joy are human stories worthy of being honored. As we dig into the fertile soil of our hearts and scoop up generosity we learn to know how it feels to honor the inhale. The breath. The present moments. The noble time of collective experiences with yoga. I will never forget when my own yoga instructor said, “Get comfortable in the uncomfortable.” This honestly pissed me off but I knew she was right. The more I can sit in discomfort and trust I am capable and brave enough to do this, I grow stronger. Challenging my own stories and cultivating time to think, “Plot Twist!” when I started weaving more self-trust and health into my stories makes me value my inhale more and more. In regards to the yoga…this won’t be a Crossfit-hope-you-work-so-hard-you-throw-up-and-face-is-red-kind-of-practice. This is a practice focusing on the inhale and exhale. A time for those always offering their exhales to others and doing all the things for all the people to come in and not need to care for anyone but their own wild and whole heart. Let’s become literate in our own inhale and Self (dare I say it) CARE. In honor of all we do for others and in integrity of the great Maya Angelou, “I come as one but stand with thousands”. I look forward to seeing you on the mat with your permission slips of courage to take time for your own growth and inhale. Let’s get wild and Namaste all the way back to ourselves.

With Gratitude,

Vanessa