The last Monday night of each month I teach the 7:15 – 8:30pm Capitol Hill class with a focus on the chakras. It is a cycle I so enjoy, moving through the chakras once a year to address the unique characteristics, issues, and energy of these levels of consciousness that we all hold within our physical bodies. I began this study with one of my two main teachers, Shari Friedrichsen, back in 1999. She opened me to a whole world within my body, and a potent way to physically move through sticky psychological issues.
Chakras are energy centers, places where the lines of energy that run through our bodies, called nadis in Yoga (similar to meridians in Chinese Medicine), intersect. There are thousands of chakras, but the one we most hear about are the seven main chakras, or wheels, that are just in front of the spine from the root to the throat (1-5), in the third eye center (eyebrow level but set back in the brain), and the crown of the head.
In February our focus of the month is the Chakras, so you may hear your teachers bring their perspective of this way of viewing the energetic body in their classes. We chose this as our way to embrace Valentine’s Day, a day so connected to the heart chakra. May you have a sweet sweet Valentine’s Day, and fall deeper in love with your Self, your Soul, and through this, everyone in the world. I’ll be posting weekly blogs on the chakras throughout February, so stay tuned, and let me know if you have questions or comments I can address by posting a comment.

Posted by: Anne Phyfe Palmer

All drop-in class payments for Friday evening classes at 8 Limbs Phinney Ridge and 8 Limbs West Seattle will be donated directly to Doctors without Borders to aid their relief efforts in Haiti.

Friday, January 22, 2010
8 Limbs Phinney Ridge
6:30 – 7:30pm All Levels Hatha Yoga with Megan Costello
8 Limbs West Seattle
5:45 – 7:00pm All Levels Flow with Amelia Gailey

Drop-ins are $16, please bring cash or checks made out directly to Doctors without Borders.
Please spread the word.

Posted by: 8 Limbs

As the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti has spread across our office, a staff member directed us to a web page with a list of charitable organizations working in Haiti to help with the disaster. Click here to go directly to the full list, which is from Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC, or click one of the links below (this is a partial list). Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti.

Action Against Hunger
Beyond Borders
Mercy Corps
Yele Haiti (Wyclef Jean’s Grassroots Organization) or Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone

Posted by: 8 Limbs

Consider for a moment the way your body feels as you sit in meditation just after shivasana. Perhaps there is a quiet, subtle vibration to your muscles and connective tissue having just moved through an asana practice. Perhaps, too, you experience a crisp clarity in different layers of your being; energy channels, your breath, your thinking. You may leave your mat feeling like you’d just received an all-over body massage - pure bliss. Now imagine that feeling informs your intention with which you begin your day. What could be a better way for setting the tone of your day, each day, than a morning yoga practice?
8 Limbs has always been committed to offering early morning yoga classes to provide an opportunity for you to start your day with a led practice. We want to encourage YOU to commit to yourself and to an early morning practice. This time of year you do have to get up in the dark but you get to enjoy the change of light during class. You may even get to watch the pink light of sunrise suffuse the yoga room.
It is a wonderful time of day to practice!
Capitol Hill
8 Limbs Capitol Hill has adjusted the first morning class schedule to 6:30am-7:45am, Monday through Friday. Join Andreas (MWF) and Jeff (TTh), up on the hill any day of the week!
Phinney Ridge
Due to the strong requests we received for early morning classes before opening our newest studio, there are also daily weekend early morning classes here:
6:00 – 7:00am Mondays & Wednesdays with Megan for you early early birds
6:30 – 7:30am Tuesdays and Thursdays with Brent
6:30 – 7:30am Fridays with Tracy
Wedgwood
Join the longtime community over at Wedgwood for Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 – 7:30am classes with Gregg Turner.
West Seattle
Terilyn serves a vibrant Level II Flow class Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 – 7:30am.

Posted by: 8 Limbs

Here are some basic health tips to maintain your fire during the winter. In Ayurveda, winter is the kapha season. The earth and water elements accumulate in our body (adding excess weight) as well as in the organs (stomach and lungs) which can remain damp. The cold dries out the skin, and darkness promotes hibernation or time to converse with the creative muse.

Early Winter Ayurvedic tips to stay healthy:
1. Increase your physical exercise
2. Stay hydrated with warm beverages
3. Add omega-3 rich foods to your diet
4. Rub sesame oil on your body before showering
5. Avoid foaming soaps - they dry out your skin
6. Apply honey to your face, leave on 10 minutes, rinse with warm water
7. Meditate, take time for reflection
8. Practice visualization exercises, draw from your inner muse
9. Moderation with sugar, alcohol, and coffee
10. Sleep like a bear - retreat

Posted by: Melina Meza

Early Winter You Tube Mini-Sequence with Melina Meza

“Every year as this season of giving rolls around, I begin to reassess my goals for our family’s holiday traditions. What do I want my children to learn and remember? What seeds am I planting for their future holidays with their own children? What did my parents do that I treasure?
In a world that stresses materialism over spirituality it is difficult to make sense of it all. What I want my children to learn is that receiving gifts provides only a fraction of the satisfaction that giving away one’s love and energy can. I want to imbue their holiday traditions with a spirit of generosity and unconditional love. But how?
It is easy to feel that my days are spent in service to my family, since my primary job is as a stay-at-home mom. But if I want to take my yoga practice further, I need also to look further into ways that I can serve my larger community, ways to practice the selflessness of Karma yoga.
It can be extremely challenging to find ways to volunteer with children, but this last year my diligent searching finally came to fruition. On Thanksgiving my husband, two daughters ages 6 and 2, and I were given the opportunity to serve our community a beautiful and free meal. The day was transformative for us all; unquestionably, this is just the beginning for us. As we continue to create a family holiday true to our own values, we will deepen our commitment to our yogic practice as a family as well.