25 July 2018

Taking a Break

To the dear CMY community, 

After long and heartfelt deliberation, I have decided to take some time away from teaching public yoga classes. 

lighted path, wishes come true :: sfe  2018
Sharing this decision feels like practicing revolved triangle pose: It’s hard, I sort of dread it and feel like I’m about to fall over. But thanks to time and repetition, I know that if I do practice this challenge, some new space will be created and, after the hard part, I’ll revive the flow of energy in my body, the creative flow in my heart and the clarity in my mind.

For two decades yoga has been a source of healing and strength in my life. That remains. CMY has been a place of nourishment as a student and a cornerstone of my personal and professional development as a teacher. The intrinsic motivation to share the practice has felt divinely and inextricably guided by source. It has been an honor and a privilege to share yoga. I feel continually inspired to see, feel and hear the way that this practice has changed the lives of each of you who have shared it with me over many years. Thank you for this, for letting me into your space and trusting me to be a part of your experience.  It is so hard to say that I will not see you in class on a weekly basis. This feels like practicing the pose I don’t want to practice but know I must because I’ve identified, as I say in class, a flat tire that needs some air. And as divinely guided as my public teaching has felt, so too is the call to turn inward, to be quieter and to reestablish a boundary between my practice and the business of yoga. Thanks to my intimate relationship with the practice I feel clear that the call to reclaim this boundary is important, necessary and timely. This feels both empowering and vulnerable…similar to how practicing yoga feels each time we practice with a sincere approach. 

I’d love to close this letter by sharing my plan for the future but the truth is, I do not know what’s next. I know what I have come to learn and trust through years of practice: that awareness will light the way and trust in the deep call I hear in the quiet must be honored. And simply that it’s time to take a break.

So for now, and always, keep practicing. As I say upon closing each practice:  feel gratitude for your body, your practice, your breath. Thank you for sharing your practice. I wish you a peaceful day, a peaceful week and wishes come true.

With love and gratitude, Stephanie