kelly ann beavers

PBS visits Boundless Yoga

Thank you, PBS, for visiting our 10:45 Boundless Yoga class last Saturday!

getting ready for Kim’s yoga class on Saturday morning

Kim’s lovely interview!

Doris and Paul, two much-loved practitioners, chatting after class

Kim’s interview after her class

say, what’s on your mind?

Boundless is looking for bright yoga voices to animate our blog online. If you enjoy writing, please contact us to let us know! Our blog is an open forum for dialogue and an outlet for your creative expression. You are encouraged to blog conversation-style pieces, poems, pictures, or anything inspiring for you personally!

I know that an important part of my practice is often finding words to explain what I experience. I also have recently discovered that writing down events in my practice is a way for me to remember interesting discoveries. For example, I have been focusing on Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) in my home practice, and I’ve just begun trying it upside down. Or rather, standing up normally – since Shoulderstand is already an Inversion. I’ve always felt a good deal of confusion in my neck during this pose, so I’ve taken to situating my head, shoulders, and arms in aligned shoulderstand form – while standing normally. I’ve found that even taking my chin to my chest while standing requires A LOT of release in the shoulders/upper back, and that dropping my chin with strength and deliberation is something very new for my body. Trying this while standing up has altered my experience in my diaphragm, my kidneys, and yes, it’s re-animated my beloved inversion, Shoulderstand. How do you explore your poses creatively? How else can you explore inversions right-side-up? Any fun tricks you’ve learned from Boundless teachers?

Peace -

Kelly

kickoff yoga week with boundless circle!

Kick off yoga week with Boundless Circle! Saturday, May 12 from 4-6 p.m.

Get Yoga Week off to the right start with Boundless Circle, Saturday,
May 12 from 4-6 p.m.

On May 12, Circle will meet at Meridian Hill Park, upper level, to
enjoy a light yoga practice and the beautiful spring weather. Please
bring yourself, a blanket or mat to sit on, and a snack to share. As
always, please feel free to bring a friend to Circle! Please RSVP to
Erin Duncan — erind@boundlessyoga.com.

Circle is a social event for the entire Boundless community – and
guests – offering an opportunity to get to know one another off the
mat!

** In the event of rain, Circle will be held at Boundless Yoga Studio.

best of dc voting!

lil convo on FB re: yoga

Not taking sides on this one, but thought you’d find it…. interestinghttp://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/12/is-yoga-for-narcissists/

learn to turn it upside down with carol!

Carol teaches Level 1-2 yoga tonite at 6:30. Check her out! Her class will spend the next six weeks working toward handstand. This week she will focus on the steadiness and ease needed to “kick up” (think lots of hamstring work, three-legged dog, chatturangas). In her own practice lately, she is focusing on the whole concept of steadiness and ease, which she learned from Kim:) Oh, and also forgiveness when she is frustrated in a pose! And clearly, she is loving handstand right now. Love love love. Her nemesis of the moment? Paschimottanasana. Reserve a space online now as Carol’s class is quickly becoming one of the most popular slots on the schedule.

how yoga ruined my life

hi everybody!

Tons of you i’m sure have seen the much talked about article in the NYT  .. it’s called “how yoga can wreck your life” and if you ask me, its introductory image speaks as loud as any of its words. (it’s three actors doing yoga poses in costumes with silly faces and bad form.) Still, i found some portion of the message valid.

First, i’ll jump on the ship most respectable yoga teachers will ride and say that if you buy into any of this B.S. you’re aligning yourself with a body of teaching that is frankly low-quality, piss-poor, and hardly yoga at all. Then, i’ll tell you about the validity i noted in his message.

The oddest thing about the article to me is that the main guy they’re talking about is blabbing on about “yoga” as if it is a “thing out there.” A thing that can come and get you while you aren’t paying attention and oh my goodness! “wreck your body.” This is a blatant way that people who have not claimed their personal agency in the world present their problems. It’s called having a victim mentality. Google it.

Before you decide to lock yourself in your house and hide from the yoga monster, let me clarify a few points. Yoga is a practice. Therefore, it requires a practicer. That would be you. Or me. Or whomever is practicing at that moment. In its most essential form, it’s all of us. Practicing yoga. That means, we are the dictators of whether or not yoga “wrecks our bodies.” If something feels like it is “wrecking you,” might i suggest you stop doing that thing? This is not rocket science, but it is worth saying twice. If any practice is wrecking your body, you should stop doing it or change your approach. That’s called having personal agency and ruling your own body. You are the boss. Asana and yoga are vast.

The squirrely part emerges when you examine the nature of any student-teacher relationship and observe that there is a possibility for any student to defer to their teacher’s instruction to such a degree that they carry on forth despite signals in their mind-body that are saying RED ALERT! I’M BEING WRECKED. I will clarify first that at Boundless Yoga, our teachers honor YOU. You are the practitioner, and you are the absolute 100% boss of your body at any given moment in class. Our teachers are just that. Teachers. And they can and will offer you the highest quality, very best, information they have at any given moment.

So – in short. I don’t think this guy’s imaginary yoga monster is going to come to your house and wreck your body, but as you may recall, I did say i felt some of his message was valid. strongly so . It’s this. asana is not a panacea. I firmly believe with my entire body that yoga is a MIRACLE. but the idea that asana is a cure-all for everything — that is a viewpoint that can be taken to an extreme and could hurt you. Believing that asana is the path to resolving all of your ailments is something that could cause you harm. The practice of yoga has eight limbs, and asana is only one limb. Further, your dharma and your karma both shape what the correct action for your unique body is at any given moment. I think this article is cool – bc it’s timely — bc more people are embracing the mystery and the miracle that asana is in 2012. And as they do, like any wonderful creation, it’s possible to over-indulge ones-self. Remember to maintain a sense of balance in your world, in your mind, and in your relationships – especially with your teachers. Then you will not need to fear that the yoga monster is coming to get you. Rawr.

in dharma,

kelly

kim weeks is back on saturdays!

So, as many of you, Kim has been teaching Seeing Bodies on Saturday mornings, which has been incredible. This week, she returns to teaching the Saturday morning Open level class at 10:45, and to teaching the Level 3 Yoga class on Thursday evening. I am so thrilled to share this news with you all and to welcome her bright energy back to the studio. Anyone who studies with Kim knows she provides a beautiful, clear direct line to the teaching your body needs that day. Her ability to communicate specific body needs to an individual and a group is unparalleled. I’m writing to remind you to take advantage of the chance to study with her. Sign up now online to reserve a space in one of her classes, and let me know how it goes! Can’t wait to hear about it. namaste, kelly

new levels and class types

Check out our schedule! The studio has added several new class styles including Hot Yoga and Power Flow yoga. There are also new levels, numbered 1-3, and you can read more about all of these here!

Our emphasis is always on quality instruction, helping you succeed, and sharing the teaching that has been shared with us. Your body is truly your key to success in 2012. Come to class, or sign up for Seeing Bodies to explore how many tools there are available to you to keep yourself aware and engaged this year.

and kim was all like, “OMG!”

I go through Kim’s email as part of my job (not all of it, just relevant info to marketing and programs.) And occasionally, I find a gem like this..

This is a blip from one of Kim and Rob’s recent G-chat convos. It gives such a great “OMG!” style Kim comm that I just have to share it. All of the “me:’s” below are Kim.

me: i never feel ready before a class

stil