I want to share something with you and ask for a little of the same patience and care we practice together on the mat.
Last year, I tore my hamstring. It is the kind of injury that heals slowly and asks to be taken seriously, and I have come to realize it needs more focused attention than I have been able to give it while teaching a full schedule. So, after some reflection, I have decided to step back from my regular teaching through July and August and use this time to properly rebuild strength. It was not an easy choice. Teaching is one of the great joys of my life. But tending to this now is what will let me return to you in the fall fully present and strong.
There is a thread in yoga philosophy that has been sitting with me lately: ahimsa, often translated as non-harming. We usually think of ahimsa as something we extend outward, in the gentleness we offer other people. But the first person we are asked to practice it with is ourselves. Ahimsa means listening when the body says enough. It means resisting the urge to push through, and trusting that rest is not the absence of practice but a form of it. Healing, it turns out, is its own kind of discipline.
So here is what the summer holds.
I will still be at campground yoga on Saturday mornings. Bring your mat and come move with me outdoors. I may not demonstrate the practice during these sessions, but there are regulars who attend, and a quick glance at them will help if my words aren’t enough.
I will also be offering two free noon-hour sessions at the Somba Ke Park Amphitheatre beside City Hall, on Thursday, July 16 and Wednesday, August 12. These are open to everyone, all levels welcome. Bring a friend, bring a blanket, and we will move and breathe together under the open sky. These sessions are sponsored by the Yellowknife Community Foundation.
Looking a little further ahead.
I plan to return to my Thursday evening classes in September, in the same 7 to 8 pm slot you know well. I am also excited to try something new this fall, a faster-paced flow class at noon on Wednesdays at Collective Soul Space, for those days when you want to build a little heat and move with your breath.
Until then, I hope your summer holds long, warm days filled with light, time outdoors, and plenty of rest of your own. Thank you for being part of this community. I will see you on the grass.
With care,
Amy