Insights & Inspiration
Yoga Among Friends is looking for 8 volunteers interested in a free yoga therapy session on Saturday or Sunday, November 11 and 12, 2:30-4pm each day. You will be working with a group of 4 interns supervised by a registered yoga therapist.
Email Julie Pate at info@yogaamongfriends.com if you are interested.
"It is the experience of what resides deeply in your heart that gives rise to an illuminated mind, a mind filled with wisdom and knowledge, with understanding and compassion. You can think all you want, and get no where. It is the heart that illumines the mind, not the other way around.”
–- Chetananada
I have often said that our minds are too hot and our hearts too cold, and that we must warm the heart, feel the glow of the inner light as pure conscious awareness for the mind to be illuminated in a balanced state of yoga.
With yoga, we are able to step out of the reactive habit of worry, doubt, and/or fear and take action from a decerning place of clarity that arises from a balanced state of mind, and arising from this state is an illuminated heart; the pure essence of one’s true nature or greater Self.
In these turbulent times of unrest and agitation of the small mind, we need the tools of yoga and the mindful focus meditation to be able to live in compassion and understanding that is not intellect but intelligence. This knowing arises when we are firmly established in our witness or in our source, our soul.
Yoga is a pathway into this higher consciousness and to be able to live in a balance state where we feel stable and confident to live to our highest potential. In our busy, crazy over-extended world, these ancient practices are needed more than ever.
I never wanted to be a yoga teacher when I embarked on my first yoga training in 1989. I just wanted to learn more about this ancient science that was offering me a gateway into my inner life. Today, I have surrendered into my passion of teaching and have found endless joy in sharing my heart with my students.
After many years of going deeper into the therapeutic yoga system, I have decided to offer a teacher’s training for those students that long to go into the philosophy and the physiology of yoga in a stuctured 200 hour teacher training program. Julie Pate and I are offering this course to bring our community together and nourish those that want and desire to understand these tools for enhancing the wellbeing of one’s life.
Yoga is a lifestyle of enhanced wellbeing that starts with learning the function of the asana and breath versus just the form. We'll go deeper into self study as it links to our inner desires to live authentically and in JOY.
Julie and I will be hosting a gathering this Saturday, October 14 from 3:30-4:30pm to further explain our program and answer questions that might be presented in thinking about going forward. You can also read more about the program here.
Furthermore, I am thrilled this month to host Shelly Craigo from the Himalayan Institute as we embark on a special practice of Rudra Yaga, turning darkness into light through our personal practice. Shelly is traveling to communities across the country to spread this message on how to participate on a personal and collective level, and we are fortunate to have her here at Yoga Among Friends to share this timeless practice with us.
Enjoy each day with love and light,
Laura Jane
Join Laura Jane Mellencamp-Murphy and Julie Pate to learn about a very unique program that will deepen your knowledge of yoga holistically and act as a gateway to open your heart to transformation. Perfect for everyone including nurses, psychologists, physical therapists, and others in health professions. 200 Hour Yoga teacher training starts January 2018 and will meet one weekend a month.
Interested, but can't make the meeting... No worries! We'll be holding another meeting in November. Click the RSVP button below for details.
In the midst of all the chaos of mother nature’s erratic behavior of the elements: fires in the west, water in the south, and winds blasting their powerful energy throughout the land. Hurricanes and tornadoes are reminders that form is only impermanent.
I have long surrendered into the practice of letting go; and yet, I am firmly committed to making intention. Outcome is not mine, yet I am fully aware that I must honor a daily practice to bring me into a steady mindful state. In this state of yoga, I can move into a direction of my highest good. I do know that I must seek the light.
Every winter, for the last twenty years, I have created an opportunity to retreat to a deeper place of nourishment. To unplug and go into a quiet still place of mind so that I can listen to the wonders that life is always presenting in the direction of my heart.
I am inviting you join me this February in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Yoga Among Friends' annual retreat is a time to share in the study of yoga. Whether you have never practiced yoga or you are a yoga teacher, I will meet you where you are; and together, we'll take the journey in the adventures of going into the authentic nature of the soul’s desire to live fully.
Exhaustion, fear and uncertainty are by products of our busy world. To come on retreat is to spend time learning how to practice asana and pranayama so that the effects can bring about a joyous state of wellbeing.
Hosting these retreats, offer me a time and place to share the philosophies of the yoga sutras, to teach the many tools of meditation and to share our stories. We have ample private time to enjoy all that Cabo and the surrounding area has to offer; and yet, the greatest gift of these weeks has always been the lasting friendships that have formed and continue to grow.
Community is key to the humanity of heart. This week is an opportunity to gather together and say hello to your true self and let the beauty of Prana Del Mar take away the stresses of daily living so you can return renewed, energized and open to living life in LOVE.
Enjoy each day with love and light,
Laura Jane
Be sure to register now and benefit from the $100 savings. Early bird pricing ends on October 1, so don’t miss out on the offer! We look forward to seeing you there.
