8 Limbs is a big fan of The Samarya Center and their dedication to providing yoga and yoga therapy to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Located in Seattle’s central district, the Samarya Center is a 501 (c) non-profit organization that offers a variety of low cost yoga classes to their immediate community as well as to the greater community through our workshops, trainings and on-going yoga classes.

The Samarya Center is community-supported yoga, much like Seattle’s beloved community-supported radio. Since they started almost 10 years ago, Samarya Center has been 100% supported by donations and support from the community and through fund-raising events. This enables them to offer many free programs to marginalized and under served populations. In addition to their many on-going community programs, including the ground-breaking Bedside Yoga program for people who are seriously ill and dying, they have recently pioneered two new, innovative programs – one at Pike Medical Clinic, offering yoga for free to people with chronic pain (many of whom are homeless and/or drug addicted), and another at The Samarya Center, a free yoga class (with childcare) taught in Spanish for low income moms from the Latino community.

This Saturday, July 24, please come out to learn more about The Samarya Center, celebrate the radiance of all beings, the sun and community, and help them to reach their $10,000 goal to continue to provide and to grow their unique and desperately needed community programs. All the information you could possibly need can be found at: www.saluthon.org. Register today, or send in your tax-deductible donation of any amount!

Posted by: 8 Limbs

Happy belated summer solstice to you all! I hope you all have some amazing adventures, retreats, or garden projects to look forward to over the next few months! So far, this Seattle version of summer has been full of creativity, career insights, and change.

As far as career insights go, it’s time for me to take a break from my weekly routine teaching classes at 8 Limbs Yoga Centers and follow my inner muse and bliss to Austin, Texas, where I will live part-time for the fall and winter. I intend to take some time to connect with my practice, dreams, and open new possibilities for the next stage on my journey. This career break, also known as a “adult gap year” or “sabbatical,” is part of my commitment towards developing skills and gaining experiences outside of my work, or to “un-become” as Dr. Claudia Welch recently said in her lecture at 8 Limbs!

From October 2010 -April 2011, I will be reverse commuting from Austin to Seattle to co-direct the 8 Limbs Teachers’ Training, lead a Business of Yoga series, and host Seasonal Vinyasa workshops. When I’m not in Texas or Seattle, I will be looking forward to reconnecting with you all on retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs, Esalen, Mexico, or Hawaii! I will continue to offer incredible retreats year round, to hold space for those of you also looking for ways to reconnect with your dreams, muse, and sense of well-being.

To enhance the final note of this chapter at 8 Limbs Yoga Centers, I hope to see you in class before I leave. July will be my last full month of teaching in Seattle. However, I will be teaching August 2-4 and August 16-20. I want to thank you all for being part of my journey; your support is invaluable to my growth. Newsletters and blogs will continue while I am away from my regular schedule, so please keep in touch via my website or other social media outlets.

Posted by: Melina Meza
Photo: Jeremy Allyn

I just returned from a longish time away from Seattle to help welcome my niece Lulu to the world. My younger sister asked me to be birth and postpartum doula (attendant) for her first child and I jumped at the opportunity to go home to help.
While away I was given an excellent opportunity to practice the art of balance, the balance of work and play, of productivity and rest.

As a self-employed businesswoman, I have the great fortune to be able to travel when I wish. I have amazing managers and teachers at 8 Limbs who keep everything rolling smoothly along while I am gone. However, I still have plenty of work to do.

When I arrived in New Orleans on June 25, we had all been so relieved that I made it before Lulu arrived that I hadn’t really considered that she might not arrive til the end of my two week trip, making the purpose of my visit less “productive” (at least that’s how my mind saw it).

In my mind I felt regret for a few days: “why did I come so early? will I even be here when she goes into labor?” Then I realized that I am someone who is very good at working hard and being productive, and also very good at totally unplugging from work/phone/computer. What I found difficult, and what was making me anxious in the days leading up to my sister’s labor, was a challenge in balancing the two. I couldn’t be fully productive: I had my 4-year-old with me who missed her father and sister and was not going to let her mother out of her sight for long, I had internet issues, and I was needed as a birth doula and postpartum helper. But I also didn’t have the option to ignore my work responsibilities.

So I shifted my perspective. With the help of one of my mentors, Heidi, I saw the longer trip as an opportunity rather than a regret. And it made all the difference. Instead of feeling a dread of what I wasn’t getting to work on, I simply made time to work a little bit each day and prioritized. Then I enjoyed my time with family and helped my sister with her big transition to being a mommy.

Sweet Lulu arrived on July 2nd, smack in the middle of my visit. We think she’s the bees knees.

Posted by: Anne Phyfe Palmer