Source Yoga, Tacoma WashingtonSource Yoga, Tacoma, University Place

21 Day Challenge: Prologue from Melissa

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Thursday, June 6th, 2013

I am excited to lead the 21 day summer yoga challenge this year and will be newly returned from Mexico when we begin June 30^th. As I was getting ready for our family trip to Mexico, I decided that I would do my own mini yoga challenge since I will be leading one. This way, I can encourage (and hopefully inspire) those of you who are worried about your summer plans, and speak from my own experience.

I anticipate I will have to be creative with my practice like we all do, but I know that I will be doing more yoga on vacation by making this commitment than if I had simply chosen not to. I also imagine that this will help me with the stress that I experience while traveling with young kids, and the many hours of socializing with my husband’s family while speaking Spanish. (For those of you that don’t know, my husband is originally from Mexico and much of his family still lives there.) I understand more Spanish than I speak but I can get by fairly well. However, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to Mexico and it always takes a lot of mental concentration at the beginning.

One of the reasons I am looking forward to working with many of you during this challenge is that I love connecting with people and having the opportunity to be more intimate. I learn so much from being with others. I am in awe of our yoga community; I want to create a space for it to grow and people to meet new friends, to be supported during the challenge, to share new insights, and to have the experience of making changes that support a lifestyle of living healthy long lives.

A couple of years ago Erin and I worked with a business consultant and she had us do an exercise to bring clarity to who we want to be for ourselves and others in the world. It was called the “dharma code” and to this day I have this reminder on my computer screen and read it daily.

“I am a vessel of light and love encouraging and inspiring all those around me to see their own greatness.”

I will do my best to post some fun pictures on Facebook while on vacation–but since it’s vacation. I will make sure to take time away from my everyday life and step back into time with the beautiful Mexican culture that is part of my family.

Namaste, Melissa

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Tags : source yoga, source yoga tacoma, source yoga university place, yoga challenge, yoga with travel

Newsletter greeting from Melissa, May 2013

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Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

“The truth is we are all so very, very vulnerable. Life is as it is. We don’t even have control over the health of our children. The only thing we can control is our attitude. We have the choice of life or death, love or fear, in each moment. ”

-Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison

I had a life-altering event happen the same week of the unfortunate bombings at the Boston marathon when I was rear-ended in a car accident. Now, clearly this was minor in comparison to the horrific tragedy in Boston and it was in my own way a reawakening. Fortunately, I was alone in the car, and it was the car that took most of the pain, as my body was hardly affected. I thank the health of my body and its resiliency from my yoga practice. However, as those of you that have ever been in a car accident, you know how it shakes you up and certainly makes you think about your life and the events that you absolutely have no control over.

In many respects it has felt in some areas of my life as if it has been going slowly: having to be patient, methodical, and take gradual steps. And then at the same time when the accident occurred, it seemed like life was coming at me at a rapid pace, signs telling me to stop and listen. I often hear from you that you can’t imagine or don’t know how we do it–how Erin and I run two studios, take care of young children, and all the duties that come along with running a household and life in general. Well, we are not superheroes by any means and I honestly think that my car accident was a reawakening for me to personally look at what is most important for me. How can I continue to serve you, this vibrant abundant yoga community, and be able to live a balanced life at home?

As a business owner it is easy to get consumed by all the tasks, doings, and future planning and then lose any semblance of balance. This has happened at different times throughout the 8 years of running the studios and I know it happens for all business owners out there. You may think that since I practice and teach yoga I am immune to the stresses of running a business but as my youngest son, Mateo, often says to emphasize the truth of what he is saying, this is “for real.” Since I have been practicing for years I do feel grateful to have great resources for managing my stress. Finding my way to the mat is always healing and meditation becomes just as important as breathing during stressful times.

I don’t always have the answer or control over the situation in front of me but I do know that I can choose each moment for what it is and to have faith and courage.

What area of your life challenges you today? Are you listening to the signs or pretending they are not there? Bring this to your mat and discover what it truly means to deepen into the practice. You are stronger and know more than you think you do.

We hope you’ll join us on May 4th to help us celebrate the second birthday of the University Place Studio.

Namaste, Melissa

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Categories : Newsletter greetings, Uncategorized, yoga studio

Tags : yoga classes

open house up 2013

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Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

Happy 2nd Birthday, University Place Studio! An Open House
Saturday, May 4th, 2013 9AM-2PM

6720 Regents Blvd. Suite 102, University Place, WA 98466

You and your friends and family are invited to the second birthday of our University Place studio! We are the source for yoga in the South Sound and have been voted Best Yoga Studio in the South Sound for the 4th year in a row!

You can register now for these FREE classes:

9AM-10AM Mixed Levels with Kate

10:15AM-11:15 AM: Basic Level I with staff

11:30AM-12:30PM: Intro to Yoga with Melissa

12:45PM-1:45PM: Relax and Restore with staff

Birthday Specials

Available for purchase that day:

2 weeks FREE with purchase of New Student Special ($49/ 1 month unlimited yoga)!
15% off the Intro Series!

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Get To Know Your Community: New Source Teacher Dawn

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Monday, April 15th, 2013

You may already know Dawn as a fellow Source yogi. Please help us welcome Dawn to the studio as a teacher!

Source Yoga (SY): How did you get into yoga?

Dawn Bowden (DB): At the age of 45 I realized that I had to change how I was exercising and taking care of my body. After years of teaching and taking exercise classes such as step, hi/lo, cardio kickboxing, weighted workouts, and cycling, and running half marathons, my body wasn’t recovering quite as quickly as it once had and was beginning to break down. I was in pain-physical, mental and spiritual-and came to the conclusion that I needed to exercise and live differently because what had worked for me in the past wasn’t working now. So, instead of pushing and beating my body to its limits, I began practicing yoga (asana or postures) at a gym. After a few months I began to feel better, life seemed more manageable and I felt happier. Then I went with a friend who was a yoga instructor to a Shiva Rea training. Shiva Rea’s training was unlike any yoga I had ever done. It was at that point that I realized that there was something more to yoga than just poses, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Determined to find out what it was, I joined Source. After practicing for a year and taking workshops, I felt that it was time to learn even more so I enrolled in the year-long teacher training program at Three Trees Yoga in Federal Way and became a yoga teacher.

SY: Why do you practice yoga?

DB: First and foremost, I practice yoga to connect and commune with God, my true nature, and with everyone and everything around me. In the words of Rolf Gates in his book Meditations from the Mat (one of my favorite books),

“The real payoff of a yoga practice is not a perfect handstand or a deeper forward bend-it is the newly born self that each day steps off the mat and back into life.”

I also practice yoga because it keeps my body strong-I’ve noticed that yoga has strengthened my feet, legs, hands, abdominals, lower back, legs and shoulders. I also practice because it improves my flexibility by helping my joints, tendons and muscles stay limber, improves my endurance, helps with my chronic neck and back pain (I tend to hold stress in these areas), and improves my bone density (which is important to me now that I’m getting closer to menopause).

SY: What does your practice look like?

DB: I practice daily. After waking but before getting out of bed, I express gratitude and contentment and set my intention for the day (I typically pick one of the yamas (moral restraints) or niyamas (spiritual observances) of the eight-limb path of yoga). As I drink my morning cup of hot water with lemon and honey (to cleanse my body), I read some sort of sacred literature-a daily meditation, article or book by a spiritual teacher. This reading practice helps ground my everyday behavior and gives me insight into new spiritual terrain. Then I practice asana at home or at the studio (I take off one day a week from asana practice to rest), pranayama (mindful breathing) and meditation. I also practice Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India and the sister science of yoga which covers a variety of health practices including diet, herbs, exercise, bodywork, detoxification and life-style management.

SY: How does your practice affect your life?

The following quote, again from Rolf Gates, encapsulates how my yoga practice has affected my life.

I’ve melted away the stiffness, strengthened the weakness, and mended the broken places. I’ve also had to confront the mental, emotional and spiritual assumptions that had created disability in my body where there could have been ability. In a parallel process, my mind and psyche have freed themselves of their own rigidity, weakness and injuries. Gradually, over time, I’ve become capable of tolerating deeper and deeper levels of stillness and connection. As my body, mind and spirit were gradually being refined, what I thought in my heart changed as well, and so I changed.

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Categories : Newsletter greetings, Teacher Previews, Uncategorized, yoga classes

April 2013 Source Yoga newsletter greeting from Erin and Melissa

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Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

We are proud to announce that Source Yoga has been voted Best Yoga Studio in the South Sound by the readers of South Sound Magazine for the 4th year running! We are honored that our community thinks so highly of us, and to thank you for voting, we would like to invite you to bring a friend for free to class in the month of April! You can bring one friend to every class you attend, as long as they are new to Source Yoga. (One free class valid per new person.)

We think there are a number of things that set Source Yoga apart.

First, we have highly trained, skilled, and amazing teachers. Our teachers have had hundreds of training hours as well as on the court teaching hours. Each of our seasoned teachers is unique and brings the heart of yoga through their own expression. You know that whatever class you attend, you will have an extraordinary teacher.
Second, we have something for everyone. We have athletic and vigorous classes, but we also provide excellent gentle classes that focus on relaxing and destressing. We also offer classes with basic postures that are accessible, yet still challenge you. Our classes are accessible and made available for many different body types and capabilities.
Third, you know that at Source Yoga, you will be getting more than just a workout. You will find a physical, mental, and spiritual practice that creates a profound sense of wholeness and connectedness. Each of our teachers has studied many different aspects of yoga, and fluidly connects the philosophical with the physical.
Fourth (and this is our favorite!) – The community! We hear over and over again that one of the top reasons you keep coming back is the community. What a rich, vibrant, alive community we have here, and that is an acknowledgment of all of you, our students.

Again, thank you for voting us Best Yoga Studio in the South Sound for four years in a row! We are honored that you have chosen Source Yoga as your “yoga home!”

With Gratitude,

Erin and Melissa

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Categories : Newsletter greetings, Uncategorized, yoga classes, yoga studio

Teacher Preview: Angi, March 2013

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Sunday, March 10th, 2013

Finding Ground

The way inward is down
Into the seat of this body
Where red roots are eager for depth.
It is here that flesh and bone
Hold access to the unseen,
Our substance giving anchor
For the infinite to breathe.

To find this way
Dig here to the earth’s center
And comb through the matter
Of its crimson heart.
A force will meet you
And pull you thick
Into the ground of life.

Once tethered there,
Your soul will know its home
Steady upon the soil
Of that which draws you in,
And even with eyes open
You will rest deep
Into the great unwavering.

As the tides shift between winter and spring this March I invite you to join me in deepening your foundation to prepare for the bursting of the new to begin. I believe this is where we will be able to grow together as we weather the changing of life.
Always Love,
Angi

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March newsletter greeting from Melissa

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Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

I have been participating in the Resolve to Evolve series at the studio with Source teacher, Sherry Williams, and as I always find when I attend her series classes, this one is nothing short of awesome. We have been reading from the book, The Wisdom of Yoga, by Stephen Cope and it is a very nice read weaving in several characters real lives with the teachings of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. In case you are not familiar with the Sutras, Cope explains that it is a two-thousand-year-old treatise written by a sage named Patanjali. And that the views and practices described embody ”the genius of many centuries of yoga practice and investigation.”

I am thoroughly enjoying the structure of the series: reading, journaling, practicing some physical postures, meditating, and then sharing our personal discoveries in a group setting. Most recently, in this series, we began discussion on what Patanjali calls Asmita the phenomenon of “self-feeling,” the sense that “I am a self.” What we continue to read in these sutras is that

“The self is a process, not an entity. And a very complex and paradoxical process at that. Yogis found that the entire human bio-psycho-mental complex is composed of patterns created by causes and conditions, and triggered by any number of random stimuli. Once we grasp this central characteristic, we have already begun to free ourselves of their capacity to drive us. In this view of yoga, the only Real Self is the Witness-the mind that sees and knows it all without judgement.”

Sutra 4.18 Patterns of consciousness are always known by pure awareness, their ultimate, unchanging witness.”

Now, you may be wondering, “and what’s the point?” I think many of us struggle with who we believe ourselves to be. We believe every thought and story about ourselves, especially the ones that limit us. We may feel trapped, unsatisfied, stressed, and fearful to follow our dreams. I know I fall into this trap often because it’s part of being human. And then through these teachings, I can bring into practice the Witness: watching my thoughts, feelings, fears, judgements, expectations, those mental loops. Simply by taking this awareness of being the Witness, I can have a brief moment of freedom, peace, calm, trust.
Now keep in mind, this is not a one time event; this is an ongoing practice. Many of us search for meaning in our life, for less anxiety and worry about the future, for finding that inner peace that never goes away. Consider that everything we need to know is within us not outside and by being present to the Witness we have access to all that we need and desire.

“Yogis discovered that through practicing in this way, something subtle but astonishing begins to happen: we stop taking these patterns personally. We stop naming them “I.” We stop identifying with them. We see that they are impersonal.”

If you want to expand your practice and bring that Witness in to your awareness consider several of our Spring series and workshops (Intro to Meditation, Yoga with Amy Petty and Live Music by Girish, Girish in concert sponsored by yogaJoyproject, Pranayama and Meditation), listed in our newsletter.

Namaste,

Melissa

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Teacher Previews: Angi, February 2013

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Monday, February 11th, 2013

Here is a preview of Angi’s classes in February 2013.
February Classes: Into The Listening

Be a receiver, like an open drum ready for the sound of life to make its way into your willing heart.

Here we will find our steadiness, a ground built for light, an open space for being.

Our intuition waits patiently, hungry for us to be still and calling us to live in the silence that leans in to hear the presence of the moment speak.

This February 2013, let the listening grow within you as we move to the beat of the breath and the heart, and then melt into the deep stillness of healing restoratives. You will also find a little bit of partner yoga play (listening to others) sprinkled in.

For February class schedule go to http://stepintopresence.com/Yoga_Classes.html

Much Love and Light,
Angi

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Teacher Previews: Bryan, January 2013

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Monday, January 14th, 2013

Here is a preview of Bryan’s classes this month.

Starting this Saturday begins a 6 week series on “non-resistance” (my word of the year). In all of my Basic and Intermediate classes we will be embodying the graceful art of non-resistance as we practice twists in our asana. This week we look at what we are most resistant to in ourselves, and we embrace it with the loving field of our heart, and ring out stuck ideas and patterns as we spiral and twist our bodies. I offer you these classes:

Saturday 10:30am-12pm Basic Level 1-2
Monday 6am-7:15am Sunrise Yoga
Monday 5:30pm-7pm Basic Level 1-2
Tuesday 5:30pm-6:45pm Basic Level 1-2
Every other Tuesday 7pm-8:30pm Intermediate
Friday 6am-7:15am Sunrise Yoga
Friday 6pm-7:15pm Flow and Let Go

Om shanti om

Bryan

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Teacher Previews: Angi, January 2013

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Monday, January 14th, 2013

January 2013: A Path of Radical Self-Love

Ever since I can remember I have felt a subtle weight of self-doubt on my heart pulling and tethering back the richness of my soul. Along the way and indirectly I was told that there was a wrong and a right way to be and that the inherent me needed a filter. There were parts of me that I should love and parts of me that I shouldn’t. Sometimes this filter has been thick and sometimes thin yet for the most part it has always been there, a net just between my face’s surface and the deep everything of who I am.

I do not believe I am alone in this. It seems that most of humanity itself, culture to culture, has been living in agreement that we should limit what we show to the world, an unsaid yet abided by list of acceptable and unacceptable human expressions. Yet is it possible that it is the covered-up ways of being that bring us closest together and the most feared that teach us the deepest ways of love and compassion?

I have seen this discussion opening up more and more and our hidden selves, now heart-clinchingly bare, living right alongside the unquestionable beauty of our soul’s veracity. There has never been a better time to stand for and live into our truth. We have nothing to lose from freeing our souls and everything to gain. I feel clearly now all the way into my bones that it is EVERY piece of the whole that creates the brilliance and vitality of life!

This January 2013 I invite you into a wildly honest conversation about opening to the truth of our hearts without reservation so that we may begin to know the power of being exactly who we are. Let us dive deep into the courageous act of radical ALL-inclusive self-love and with each moment, may we come to know more and more the gifts of the raw and unspoken!

From the belly of my untethering soul I offer you these classes:
Source Yoga North Tacoma: Tues./Thurs. 9:30am Basic Flow & Wed. 9:30am Refine & Align; Source Yoga UP: Wednesdays 7pm Relax & Restore.

See you there!!!
Love and Light,
Angi

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Categories : Teacher Previews, Uncategorized, yoga classes

Thank you for voting Source Yoga Best Yoga Studio in the South Sound, FOUR YEARS IN A ROW! 
Register now for Source's 21 Day Summer Yoga Challenge with Melissa!
Check out our newest offerings Gentle Yoga for 50+, Yoga Boot Camp, both at the UP Studio!
NEW STUDENT SPECIAL: 1 week free in June/July/August, $49 for 1 month of yoga!
The Joy of Practice (September Harmony Hill retreat with Erin and Melissa), Early Bird registration deadline is June 30th. Save $40 and register today! 
New students: check out FREE INTRO NIGHT for our Intro series! Univ Place July 18th, 5:30-6:30PM. Receive 15% off Intro series if you register during the Intro Night!
Consider our new 20 Class Package ($240) or New 20 Class Autopay Package ($204)!
Check out our upcoming series, workshops and events! Pre-registration recommended! June offerings: Kids Yoga Art Camp; 21 Day Summer Challenge
Upcoming Intro Series, $80/6 weeks: June 10th-July 15th (NT Studio) with Melissa SOLD OUT, July 22nd-Aug 26th (NT studio), July 25th-August 29th with Paula (UP studio).
We are searching for more committed work-study (trade) students to perform customer service and administrative duties. Please fill out the application and email it or bring it in to the studios.
Read more about our rewards program through Perkville! Only takes 150 points to earn $15 on your account.
Kirtan ScheduleEvery 4th Friday of the month at the North Tacoma studio, 7-8:30PM -

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Happy 2nd Birthday, University Place Studio! An Open House Saturday, May 4th, 2013 9AM-2PM

Birthday Specials

Happy 2nd Birthday, University Place Studio! An Open House
Saturday, May 4th, 2013 9AM-2PM