MN YOGA + Life® | Spring + Summer 2023

Page 63

HEALTH + WELLNESS

EVOLVE

BY SARAH JANE WROBLEWSKI (SHE/HER)

O

ver the last three years, we have been pushed to expand beyond our containers of comfort as individuals and as a community. First, it was a matter of survival as we recovered from the pandemic, violence, marginalization, and the loss of personal freedoms. Now that we know we can “do hard things” (to coin a COVID buzz phrase), we answer the call to redefine ourselves and our place in the community. During the pandemic so many of us changed the way we worked, restructured our family units, and confronted the stability of our mental health in a crisis. Maybe we quit drinking, bought a rowing machine, got a dog, or created a “pod.” Healing practices across the board saw an increase in business in 2021 and 2022. The isolation of lockdown provided a perfect incubator for exploring health and healing through individual yoga therapy.

“Communal baths show up in health rituals around the world and connect human beings through the practice of self-care.”

MNYOGALIFE.COM

Yoga Therapy in the Viniyoga tradition supports a discipline inspired by the pañcamaya model, which acknowledges five parts comprising our whole: body, breath, mind, emotions, and behavior. If we practice yoga only to improve our physical flexibility, then we ignore the potential for expansiveness in our breath, or openness in our attitudes, or authenticity in relationships. Yoga Therapy also understands the effects of stress on our systems — so having worrying thoughts about the pandemic impacts not just the thinking mind. They also show up from a worn-down body, disrupted sleep, low frustration tolerance, and hopelessness. Working with a yoga therapist is like making a blueprint of yourself and building a yoga practice personal to your growth. Everyone has different structure, history, challenges, and goals, but the practice can be personalized to bring optimum benefits to the individual. By adopting a practice embracing these five elements, the individual can expand beyond a single, or even dual, dimension. We can evolve into better versions of ourselves. Communal baths show up in health rituals around the world and connect human beings through the practice of self-care. However, in COVID time, many of us became nearly phobic of gathering in groups. Re-connecting with other humans and sharing our

discoveries complements the very accessible introspective self-inquiry of the last few years. So elemental is the act of cleansing and purifying, doing it in a community synergizes and heightens the benefits. Water holds the ability to erode, on a physical and energetic level. We can use it to move emotion and soften tissue at the same time. When a group of strangers enter the baths in a therapeutic way, they make a commitment to heal together. This happens first on an individual level and then becomes collective.

“Beyond the communal and cleaning properties of water, the positive effects of body work drastically increase when a client does a steam, sauna, soak, or cold plunge before or after the treatment.”

Beyond the communal and cleaning properties of water, the positive effects of body work drastically increase when a client does a steam, sauna, soak, or cold plunge before or after the treatment. It is ours to choose how we will evolve beyond the COVID age. In our socially distanced, individual-screen, disconnected world, we forgot our ability to impact our communities by gathering, clarifying, and raising the vibration of healing for all. It is time for us to move within and beyond the self, and remember we belong to each other. We can use the ancient practices of yoga and communal bathing to adapt to modern challenges. By integrating this wisdom, we commit to self-care and share in the process of curative connection. +

63


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Articles inside

AMY ZELLMER LoveYourBrain Community Member

2min
pages 90-91

RECURRING EVENTS

10min
pages 86-88

WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL TO DRINK TURMERIC?

2min
pages 84-85

BOOK REVIEW: WILD YOGA

3min
page 83

FOREST BATHING

1min
pages 82-83

My secret to a healthy glow: 3 Simple Steps

1min
page 81

YOGI’S HALO: Glow Like the Moon in 3 Steps

1min
page 80

BOOK REVIEW: BETWEEN FRIENDS Not Your Average Romance Novel

2min
page 79

3 WARRIOR POWERS OF AMETHYST

1min
pages 78-79

NETI SOLUTIONS for a Better Season

2min
pages 76-77

ALIGNING YOUR DOLLARS TO YOUR DREAMS

4min
pages 74-76

CHI FOODS

1min
page 73

AVIATOR

0
page 72

THE POWER OF THE SANKALPA

3min
pages 70-71

SATYA + GROWTH

3min
page 69

SELF-CARE 2.0

3min
pages 68-69

THE EVOLUTION OF EMBRACING EASE

3min
pages 66-67

EVOLVE INTUITIVELY

1min
page 65

5 STEPS TO “WHAT’S NEXT?”

1min
page 64

EVOLVE

3min
pages 63-64

CHANNELING YOUR INNER WISDOM

1min
page 62

AYURVEDIC SLOW-AGING Transformation

4min
pages 60-62

THE EVOLUTION OF A PHARMACIST

3min
pages 58-59

INTUITIVE EATING

3min
pages 56-57

SELF EVOLUTION

1min
page 55

THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCOMFORT

1min
page 54

Your Pet’s Constitution

2min
pages 53-54

AYURVEDA FOR CATS AND DOGS

2min
pages 52-53

GOOD VIBRATIONS The Evolution of Sound Therapy

3min
pages 50-51

REVOLVE TO EVOLVE

0
pages 44-45

RECLAIM YOUR ATTENTION

3min
pages 42-43

TURN UP YOUR VOICE!

2min
pages 40-41

SUBTLE BODY SCIENCE Guided by Intuition

2min
pages 38-39

COMBATTING THE MYTH of Inevitable Pain with Age

3min
pages 36-38

HEALTHY HIPS & HAMMIES PROTOCOL

1min
page 35

HAPPY HIPS + HAMMIES

1min
page 34

ELEVATE YOUR EVOLUTION With Yoga

2min
page 33

SPRING CLEAN YOUR MIND with this Guided Meditation

2min
page 32

THE YOGA VITAMINS

3min
pages 30-31

CHAIR YOGA: Accessible Yoga for Everyone

2min
pages 28-30

WHAT IS THE ENERGETIC HIGHWAY?

2min
page 27

YOGA IN SCHOOLS

2min
page 26

IS BODY HATRED Sneaking into Your Yoga?

3min
pages 24-26

Evolution Requires Learning + Unlearning

3min
page 23

STUDIO SPOTLIGHT: SHANTI YOGA STUDIO Jessie Sandoval

4min
pages 20-21

SPOTLIGHT: BACK TO CENTER Laura Willenbring

4min
pages 18-19

SPOTLIGHT: MOXIE MALAS Jessica Hoch

5min
pages 16-18

SPOTLIGHT: HILLMAN RETREAT HOUSE

3min
pages 14-15

STUDIO SPOTLIGHT: MINNEAPOLIS YOGA Melissa Sargent

5min
pages 12-13

CONTRIBUTORS

11min
pages 8-11

EVOLVE

2min
pages 4-5, 7
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.