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In This Issue
Restorative
Yoga this weekend!
Why not schedule some downtime for yourself during the holidays to seriously unwind those knots in mind and body?
The class starts with gentle (i.e. "easy" yoga stretches) then we progress to rest poses that allow
you that stillness and quiet you've been seeking. All the poses are supported with blankets or bolsters and last about
5-10 minutes so you can really find that "Ahhh" place.
For the self-declared Type As who don't believe their minds could ever not be active, I will give you ideas
to occupy your mind while still being able to relax. (Really! It is possible.)
All levels welcome, so bring a friend!
Sunday,
November 15, 7-8:30pm - $20
Sunday. December 13, 7-8:30pm - $20
Location: Yoga North Park, 5507 N Sawyer.
Register here so I'm sure to have enough props for everyone.
Ongoing Yoga Classes
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Tuesday, 7:30-9pm
(Open Class)
Thursday, 7:30-9pm
(Beginner's Class)
Friday, 9:30-10:45am
(Beginner's Class)
Purchase 8 classes for use over 16 weeks - $96
Drop In classes - $14
**Bring a friend for free, or bring yourself and your first class is free! (see below)**
Click
here to see full class schedule.
Bring a
friend for free extended to Jan 31!
Give
your friends the gift of Yoga, or finally treat yourself.
Bring a friend (or two!) to a regularly-scheduled group class
anytime from now
until Jan. 31, 2009 and your friend's class is free.
Come by yourself to try the class, and your first class is
free until Jan 31.
I'm now teaching at Bloom Yoga Studio!
I've
temporarily taken over the Gentle Yoga class at Bloom (Rockwell/Wilson)
while the teacher is on maternity leave. Join me at 8:15-9:15pm on
Mondays.
Gratitude Meditation
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(inspired by Goswami Kriyananda)
Sit quietly and close your eyes. Pay attention to the fact that
you are breathing. Recognize that each breath brings life into your body and be grateful for this opportunity to breathe.
Without the breath, there is no life.
Bring into your minds eye an image that stimulates a feeling of gratitude
for you. Allow this feeling of gratitude to spread through your body, feeling it in every part of your body - even in
your fingers and toes. Let the feeling settle at your heart, recognizing that gratitude is not far removed from joy.
If you can think of someone who could use some joy in their lives, picture
them in your mind's eye. Imagine that you are sending this feeling of gratitude and joy from your heart to theirs.
See them become joyful as they receive your gift.
Then take your attention back to your own experience. Rest momentarily
in this feeling of gratitude. As you open your eyes, recognize that you can keep this feeling with you or recall it
at any time you choose.
Get more tips on cultivating Peace through gratitude
here.
Inner Smile Meditation Back to Index
(adapted from Beautiful, Bountiful, Blissful by Gurmukh)
Sit quietly, follow your breath and turn your focus inward. Think of something that makes you happy or something you're
grateful for, and imagine that a smile is starting at the very center of your being. Allow that "inner smile"
to spread to every cell of your body, filling you with a sense of contentment. Allow the smile to spread to your face
and to become an "outer smile."
Rest in this feeling of contentment as you go through your day. People might start asking you what you're so happy about!
Thank you!
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I learn so much from students and clients and it is such a joy to be of service
to you. Thanks for sharing your lives with me!
If
you know someone who might benefit from this newsletter or might be interested
in any of my services, please use the link below to
pass this newsletter on. Referrals are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Forward
this message to a friend
Questions, comments, feedback, just want to say "hi"?
Email me or call 773-531-8513
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The holidays are fast approaching and I'm trying to ignore the Christmas items already on the store shelves
(I'm not ready yet!). Along with the holiday cheer can come holiday stress during a season that's supposed to be about Peace
and Light. If you'd like to infuse a little more peace and lightness into your holiday season, join us for our monthly
Peace Meditation and Potluck and/or Restorative Yoga. Your body, mind
and spirit are sure to appreciate some downtime during this busy season. In the meantime, how about actively choosing
peace over stress?
I know some people have already completed their holiday shopping by now (God bless you!) but if you're still
looking for gifts, I'd recommend my online gift certificates. Purchased online, in any amount you choose, and paid via Paypal, the online gift certificates can be instantly
emailed to your gift recipient. You can also get the good old paper gift certificates too!
Thank you all for your continued support and interest over this past year. It's been a pleasure growing
and learning with you. If you know someone who would benefit from this newsletter, or any of my services,
please forward this
on :-). Referrals are always greatly appreciated.
Be peace, be well, happy holidays!
Francine
"More Peaceful" or "Less Stressed"?
You choose.
Holiday intentions of peace, light and goodwill to all can quickly be upturned by the hustle and bustle of
family visits, event planning, shopping, and all the other activities that seem to burn up the last part of the year.
Yet this winter season is also a good time go inward, to look over the past year, with compassion, learning it's lessons so
as not to repeat them in the future. If even the notion of introspective time seems impossible to you, it may still
be possible to harvest the challenges of the holidays as opportunities to mindfully choose Peace. This can be done simply
by choosing where we focus our attention.
I wrote a blog entry last
winter about Becoming Peace in which I mentioned that when we say "I want to be less stressed" we actually perpetuate
the notion that we are "stressed." On the contrary when we say "I want to be more peaceful" the
mind hears "peaceful" and there is a subtle quieting that takes place within the body without any additional effort.
In this way, through simple focus of attention, we begin to change our perspective on ourselves, and perhaps even on the season.
Simple ways to do this during the season are to focus on the love you have for the people you are gifting,
rather than worrying about the perfect gift or how your gift will be received? Instead of judging those particular family
members as annoying (or worse) and getting yourself all riled up, allow them to be the wonderful bringers of your Lessons
of Love that they are. Instead of constantly running from one event to another (planning or attending),
schedule in some time to be still (a Restorative Yoga class maybe ;-) ? In the midst of all of
this, stop for a second to remember that you are breathing, and allow your breath to bring some quiet and peace to your body,
and even to your mind. Two quick meditations on the sidebar are easy
ways to do this. Remember that in every moment you have a choice: peace... or not.
The yogis say that Peace is actually our essence - not something to become, but something to realize.
Unconscious fluctuations of mind are what keep us from experiencing ourselves as Peace. This is all well and good in
theory, but finding that peaceful essence is what seems to elude most of us. A speaker I heard recently mentioned that
we put more effort into do-ing than we do into being still, and that which you practice
the most becomes what you are good at. I often hear people say: "I can't be still - it's too hard.
My mind races because I have so much to do and my body becomes restless." Or I hear myself say: "I don't have
time to be still." It is curious, because these statements represent avoidance of the very thing we claim to want.
Observed closely it becomes clear that all these thoughts are merely excuses cultivated by the mind to justify our resistance.
Part of what makes Peace seem difficult to come by is that we identify with our thoughts. A wonderful
teacher Mooji encourages us to just watch
these fluctuations as they occur, recognizing that they are not who we are. Many of these thoughts don't even hold up
under scrutinity. Though they seem very real, thoughts are temporary fluctuations - smoke and mirrors. Yet they
influence so much of how we live our lives.
Mooji suggests that as you watch all those insistent thoughts and to-do lists
and judgments and frustrations and fears go by, ask yourself "Who is watching all of this?." The answer reveals an essence that is inherently peaceful and unchanging. Some call this "the silent witness."
Regardless of what occurs in our lives, what arises the field of awareness and ruffles the feathers of the mind, this peaceful
essence remains untouched and cannot be harmed.
As A Course In Miracles says in its introduction:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
This holiday season, may you have even a glimpse of your true and peaceful essence.
Working with the body to ease the mind - Yoga & Body-Centered
Psychotherapy
Emotions
live in the body. Think about it. How do you know that you're angry?
You clench your fists, and maybe your teeth, you get flushed, your
breath gets shallow & fast. Your body tells you that you're
angry. Sometimes emotions get stuck in the body and talk therapy will
go just so far, but no further to heal the mind/body system. Sometimes
these stuck emotional patterns even manifest as pain or illness in the
body.
The body is a
wise caretaker of our emotional health, and can also be a wonderful
place to find healing. During private yoga sessions, we explore,
through yoga poses and the use of body-centered psychotherapy
techniques, how these patterns are held in the body. We guide the body
to release them using its own wisdom. Here's what a recent client had
to say the day after her first session:
"...feeling pretty darn amazed by my mind and body...that was a wonder
to me and I'm still not feeling that pain in my back!!" - SF
Call 773-531-8513 or email me to schedule your session and access the powerfully healing wisdom of your body.
Monthly Meetup, Meditation & Potluck (free)
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We had a wonderful time last month as we reconvened for our first meetup after
a summer break. Billie Topa Tate's Loving Kindness meditation put us all in a quiet mood for an informal discussion
about The Sedona Method. The food, as always, was yummy and a good time was had by all ;-) If you missed it, or
if you're interested, please join us this month on Friday, November 13 at 7:15pm. Meditation starts at 7:30, so please
arrive around 7:15. You can also come after the meditation at 8pm just to join in the group discussion. Yoga
North Park is at 5507 N Sawyer.
If you haven't meditated
before, or feel like you're not sure what to do, don't be
deterred! Each month features a guided
meditation which means someone is talking you through what to do with
your mind during that 1/2hour. It's very relaxing and good for the soul.
For the potluck, bring a dish you enjoy
- we're a pretty adventurous bunch. And yes, we'll eat take-out ;-) Dessert is welcome too!
Topic for November meetup: Staying Peaceful over the Holidays. Click
here to RSVP.
(December's meditation/potluck will be Friday, December 11 - same time, same place.)
Reconnective Healing & the Reconnection
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If you're working with a stubborn physical or emotional challenge, Reconnective
Healing might be effective for you. If you're looking to put yourself back on the path of your Life Purpose,
or open to a deeper level of awareness, The Reconnection can help you do that.
The session is simple - you lie fully clothed on a massage table while the practitioner works around you.
It is a non-touch method, and the session takes roughly 40 minutes. I recommend that you
schedule 2-3 Reconnective Healing sessions for a specific problem. You can read more about Reconnective Healing at my website.
Sessions take place at Yoga North Park. Here is a testimonial from a recent Reconnective Healing
client:
Francine, I've been dying to tell you this, since I had my sessions with you last
winter, my neck issues are mostly resolved! I get flare ups once in a while but they are usually due
to something tangible, I lifted something heavy and felt a painful
strain.... So I think your treatments did a world of good for me. Of
course it has taken me so long to thank you for this, if I was still in
pain, I would have let you know immediately! - KN
The Reconnection is a separate process that restores your connection
to the meridian system of the planet & the Universe. It requires 2 sessions within 3 days and is done only once in your
lifetime. You can read more about The Reconnection at my
website.
To allow these amazing frequencies to begin working for you too, contact me by phone (773-531-8513) or email to schedule
your sessions.
Akashic Records
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The Akashic
Records are
the records of your soul's entire existence. When you have a reading, you tap
into the vast storehouse of knowledge that exists beyond our physical
perception. The Records are particularly helpful in assisting with your soul's journey throught this lifetime.
If you’re
interested or just curious to find out more, call me at 773-531-8513 or email me
to set up an
appointment. Sessions are $70 and last up to 1 hour.
Gift Certificates & Gift Ideas!
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 Gift certificates
can be purchased online! You can pay via Paypal and have your gift certificate emailed immediately to the recipient.
You can purchase gift certificates in a specific dollar amount online, or for a specific service in person
or via mail. With each gift certificate you will receive a pass for a free yoga class that you can use or gift to someone
else. Check out the Fees & Gift Certificates
pages on my website for details.
Also, check out my Amazon.com webstore
for great book/DVD gift ideas.
You can now pay for any of your online gift certificate purchases (or for your
classes/workshops) through Paypal on my website.
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