Sheila Walsh Yoga "Anusara Inspired"

In Anusara yoga we begin by softening to remember our universal self (the core of our being), as absolute resplendence. It’s our Dharma (duty) to remember that we are in essance always perfect and full of light and goodness, no matter what! If we forget that?….. we aren’t on our side. Reality becomes fragmented, we will feel dissonance and life will suck.

So my dear friends, you’ve gotta get on your side now and plug into the “big battery in the sky”! That’s your source, align with it! Once you’re hooked up, be loyal to yourself by making a daily practice:

Look deeply inward, look into and through your wounds and weakneses, doubts and fears without judgment and with great spaciousness. Hold that space for self concern, hold space for sensitivity, warmth and tenderness, hold space to forgive and show mercy for oneself as you navigate yourself through your daily going-on’s. Most of all, keep coming back to the remembrance that you are grounded in absolute goodness and authenticity. YES, This practice takes a tremendous amount od discipline and effort, but I promise in time, it will create momentum that will bolster you!!

The best news is that every time you charge yourself and drop into a mode of self-worth, happiness, and/or contentment, you stimulate your neural substrates, and when they are stimulated, you strengthen them! When you strengthen the “muscles” of your neural substrates, there is a natural tendancy to drop into that place – AND that IS the ground of your being!!

I Hope this motivates you to be with yourself in a way that brings more light to your world.

“Man is made either great or small by his own will to love oneself”, Love Sheila

Hello my dear yoga friends…

I can’t believe that we are already well into January! With a light covering of snow here in Southern New Hampshire, nature seems lifeless and barren for sure. As Anusara practitioners, our work is to align with the natural forces that exist all around us. Because the energy of nature is inwardly drawn to its essence at this time, it is powerfully significant that we (our mind-body) reflect this pattern of nature by going deeply inward to our core, into silence and contemplation.

When I look outside and see our gardens frozen, in deep sleep, I know beneath them lies a rich interconnectedness of extrememophiles (microorganisms that are not dormant in extreme temperatures) – and right now, this web of soil life is fully awake and dreaming of spring!

Like nature, I encourage you to align with this natural pulsation of winter by making the commitment to occasionally stop and soften into deep stillness….allow yourself to ride the wave inward. Go beneath the surface. Listen quietly to the “whispers in the winds,” the voice of your higher intelligence, to gain greater clarity to what is most essential and life enhancing in your daily life. With practice, I promise that beyond your fettered mind, deep within the dimensions of stillness, your creative force will be re-born.

As you make the commitment to occasionally sit in stillness, ask yourself, “do my intentions, thoughts, words, and actions support life and the people around me? Do they strengthening a false sense of self? Do they align with my higher purpose or are they pulling me away from it”? In this way, you can become more clear to what is essential and what is not essential These are just a few important questions that you are ultimately responsible for asking because you are the gardener of your life, and it is you who lives amongst that which you grow in your garden.

There is plenty of “still”, dark and cold days of winter left as opportunity to ride the universal wave inward and to make your biggest effort ever to align with your deepest and highest truths. Start small. Nurture your intentions with affirmations. Have a deep presence of mind when conducting your day. With a gradual return of light and the eventual coming of spring, the support you give yourself each day, will create transformational forces that bring forth more ease, grace, and lightness. You will feel brighter, lighter, and less dense in your body as a result of the work you’ve done. You will be in a brighter place to return an abundance of your gifts back to your family and community

In grace, Sheila

Friday December 23, 2011 – 6:00-8:00pm Merrimack Valley Dance Company, 11 Progress Ave (off Rt 110), Chelmsford, MA

As our amazing violinist kenzie Woodrow creates peaceful, healing sound vibrations, you will be guided through a series of delicious yoga postures that will encourage an inward reflection and rememberance to what is truly important through this holiday season and into the new year.

I invite you all to join us in this devotional practice of radical transformation!

$25 adults
$15 teenagers & students

Yoga Classes to Benefit the Animal Rescue League of NH

Pets give us so much. They teach us compassion, protect our families, work as therapy professionals, and entertain us. Pets comfort us when we’ve had a bad day and touch our hearts with their unconditional love. The Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire saves pets’ lives, and they enrich ours.

I will be offering two yoga classes a month throughout April, May and June at the Animal Rescue League of NH, 545 Route 101 in Bedford. These classes will benefit yoga practitioners of all levels, from beginner to advanced. The cost for all six classes will be $60 and there will also be a drop-in rate of $12 per class. All classes will run for 90 minutes and participants should come in yoga-appropriate clothing; either roomy or stretchy and feet will be bare during the class. Mats will be provided if participants do not have one.

The class schedule will be:
• Saturday, April 9th from 10-11:30am
• Saturday, April 23rd from 10-11:30am
• Saturday, May 7th from 10-11:30am
• Saturday, May 14th from 10-11:30am
• Saturday, June 4th from 10-11:30am
• Saturday, June 25th from 10-11:30am

100% of the six-week classes will be donated to the Animal Rescue League of NH. Students must be 16 years or older to participate in this class. For more information on the class series, contact me, Sheila Walsh at (603) 465-2402.

It was my parents that taught me to say thank you – but that was usually for the things that were good. I discovered later in life however (in Anusara yoga), that gratitude is truly a discipline which should be cultivated for all things good and bad! You see, being grateful for even the bad things that come our way, are golden opportunities for us to turn in & realign in order to dispel anger, hatred, resentment, jealousy, and so on. Gratitude becomes like a feather duster, dusting the dirt off of our hearts so that we can see our true gifts more clearly. Life is designed this way! When we can live from the place of our true talents and gifts that serve ourselves and others, we naturally become content, satisfied, happy & even more grateful.

Although I start each day affirming contentment, “may this be my best day ever”, the Thanksgiving holiday is a reminder for me to take the time to recognize all my blessings, good and bad, to appreciate what I have in my life, and to rejoice in the good fortune of others. Choosing to “not complain” will be my biggest challenge, but my intention is to go straight to gratitude to make the truths more clear!

May the seeds of appreciation bloom brightly in all of our hearts!

Today I am grateful for: my health, my family, my friends, my job, my students, my animals, my coffee, my fuzzy blanket, my toothbrush, the sun, the fresh air

Like a cement truck, we need to keep spinning, turing and stretching every day, we should not stop moving. Otherwise we will lose our fluidity, our human body will literally metamorph into Fuzz….yes FUZZ!!! And when that fuzz starts to accumulate and thicken, the fuzz starts to “cure” itself like cement. And when that fuzz hardens like cement, we’ve then metamorphed into a rigamortis-like situation… choose not to live like a dead person in a stiff body, and get on your yoga mat and move!

Hers’s what Dr. Hedley has to say about it…….

“WINE” down and watch with us, the ……….

Anusara Yoga:  “The Heart of Transformation”  Documentary film

Friday November 19 , 7:00pm

AT 31 Iron Works Lane, Brookline, NH 03033 

Call 0r email sheilawalsh@yahoo.com  603-465-2402 if your interested in coming!!  

This documentary film is a look into what makes the system of Anusara Yoga so effective and life-altering. Featuring interviews with founder John Friend, Anusara teachers and practitioners and some of the most respected figures in the yoga world, this vibrant 50 minute documentary explores the development and principles of Anusara Yoga and along the way, offers a glimpse into the heart of transformation.

This inspiring film reveals the essence of what makes Anusara yoga one of the most popular systems of yoga today.

The film’s official website can be found here: 

http://www.AnusaraYogaTheHeartOfTransformation.com 

“AN ANUSARA INSPIRED EXPERIENCE ” 

With Sheila Walsh & Michael DeCicco

Saturday, November 6, 9:00 -4:00   

Brown Lane Barn @ Beaver Brook, 117 Ridge Road, Hollis, NH  03049  

Come join us in our “second” day long yoga retreat at Brown Lane Barn, part of Beaver Brook Associations beautiful country setting.  We are inspired by the  natural “retreat” setting of Beaver Brook,  for nature and it’s wisdom truly offers us greater freedom and well being. 

We will explore a map on this path to greater freedom which will include technique and teachings to increase receptivity and awareness through  playful asana (physical postures),  chanting to live music,  journaling & sharing.

We will be featuring a special guest Ravi who will introduce us to Kirtan which is chanting accompanied by live music.  This sacred practice is to heighten awareness and to help celebrate our freedom.

As always, you will be able to move through the day’s challenges at your own pace but we do recommend that participants have some previous yoga experience.  

——————————————————————————————————–

Cost for the entire day:  $75 per person.  Since we are limited in space, and it’s first come first serve, reserve your spot ASAP by sending check/money to Sheila Walsh 31 Iron Works Lane, Brookline, NH 03033

What to bring:  lunch, snacks, yoga mat, blocks, strap, warm cloths

What not to bring:your cell phone, iphone, ipod, ipad, blackberry, laptop etc.

Note:  We will supply extra mats, blocks, straps and bottled water.

Morning session: 9:00-12:00, Lunch: 12:30-1:00, Afternoon session: 1:00-4:00

For more information contact  sheilawalsh@yahoo.com or mdecicco@gmail.com

I’ve never been much of a morning person, although I do “open to” and revel in the freshness of each new day!  This morning,  I awoke extra early and had this great urgency to go running in the wooded trails of Beaver Brook.

Normally I run on the treadmill at the gym, spending most of the time focusing on the act of exercising.   This morning however, what began as a place just to do a routine run, suddenly became a sanctuary, a place of solitude and contemplation.    The usual act of “running” became merely a byproduct of the act of my “being” in this sacred place – I was truly moved by the auspicious surroundings and was infused with a healing dose of divine bliss.

 As the morning air swirled around me with a chill, I luxuriated in all my observations. My breath was taken by the  beauty of the suns rays as they filtered through the thinning autumn canopy.  And although i could not see any movement, I could sense and  hear the scurries and flurries of natures elemental creatures all around me.

As I jogged up to one of Beaver Brooks prairies,  I paused to feel the support of mother earth and its life force surging through me from beneath my feet and then mindfully coaxed my heart to beat in great harmony with the gentle cool breeze.    I softened and tuned in to the powerful wisdom around me – seeing the felled limbs, leaves, acorns, and milk weed droppings, I was overcome with gratitude, for they have fallen in great tribute and service to its future generations.

Then, right between two milk pod plants, I embraced the most intricately-woven spider web which was drenched in fine dew and glistened like freshly cut diamonds in the brightness of the morning light.  This  final glimpse of one of life’s many ordinary miracles, left me reeling with an overwhelming sense of awe, peace and love.

   A GREAT TEAM OF YOGA TEACHERS

9/18/2010 Global Peace Event, NH Community College, Nashua, NH

HELLO ALL you PEACE WARRIORS…….

The New Hampshire Global Mala Peace Event is an initiative to spread peace around the community and world, and is founded on the idea that good is every where and this is a way to nurture it.  So come build the excitment and be part of the community that’s empowered to build peace!!  See the link below for details.

http://www.yogacaps.net/globalmala2010.html