Namasté

Namasté can be spoken both when greeting another and when taking leave. The spoken word is most often expressed with a slight bow while holding your hands in prayer pose — hands together, fingers pointed up, and pressing your thumbs slightly into the xiphoid process. I love the word, but the meaning behind the word is even more special. In Hinduism it means, “I bow to the divine in you.”

Even if you don’t yet have a regular yoga practice, you will likely appreciate a recap of our first Yoga/Meditation retreat with Kathy Zerler. We opened the retreat with the foreword from her new book, Creating Love, Joy and Peace, soon to be available!

Creating Love, Joy and Peace combines the culmination of Kathy’s wonderful life’s journey—skillful teacher, gifted writer, and committed human being. She shares brilliantly the philosophy of the yoga of life. Healing, inspiration, information, and hope are woven on to the pages in such clarity they are palpable.

Please join me and let Kathy’s words speak to your sweet spirit. Find yourselves lulled—body, mind, and spirit—back into beauty and balance:

This is your yoga. You are invited—more than that—you are expected to take good care of yourself. Every move is from the inside out.

We’re working every muscle group. Every body part. Gaining flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, and peace of mind. Remember, you are encouraged to stop whenever you feel like you’ve had enough. There’s nothing in this class that is mandatory. There are no grades. There are no pop quizzes. This is for you, right now, and so honor how you are feeling, and do what’s right for you.

You have it all. We have everything we need to take great care of ourselves. Breathe. Let all thoughts pass through as you take a few moments for quiet reflection, allowing your lips to lift up into a smile that is only for you. And let that smile reflex flow through your entire body. You have done well. (long pause…) ~ Debra Basham

A formal hour of practice was followed by a walking meditation, ending up out-of-doors enjoying the Memorial Garden at Caring Circle. The volunteers do an amazing job with the planting and weeding, and the garden contains a peace pole and this incredible wind feature:

Lunch was beyond delicious because of the mindfulness that went into co-creating our vegetarian potluck, including a beautiful and yummy birthday cake for Kathy provided by her sister, Karen:

After our reclining meditation, Kathy led us in a mindful eating exercise using mini “Her-She” chocolate bars. We mindfully selected the variety, holding it and smelling it, unwrapping it slowly, and allowing tiny morsels of chocolate to melt in our mouths. One participant said she had never been so intentional with chocolate!

Kathy provided each of us with a special stone, to keep as a reminder of the benefits of the day of yoga and meditation and mindfulness.

Our day was honored and ended by group sharing and although not everyone was still there when we thought to take our group photo, you can easily see we each lifted our lips up into a smile and let that smile reflex flow through our entire body. Thank you to our wonderful yoga teacher, Kathy Zerler, to Diana Collins from Caring Circle, and to each of these amazing women who took time to take good care of ourselves in body, mind, and spirit.

(Note* Kathy teaches Gentle/Restorative/Hatha Yoga at the YMCA and at 815 Main Street in St. Joseph. Let me know if you would like more information about her classes, the next retreat, and/or her new book!)