February offerings {sharing the love}

 

Welcome February, the shortest and last full month of winter. This year we have an extra day due to leap year as it takes 365.25 days for the Earth to orbit the Sun. The first weekend of February marks the halfway point of winter with each day getting closer to spring and more light. 

February is known for being a month dedicated to love and deep wintering. Author Katherine May describes wintering as those moments when life turns cold through crisis or loss and we find ourselves living at a different or slower pace. In the natural world, winter is a time of retreat and hibernation, wintering is where our bodies and souls seek rest and recuperation. With all that is going on in the world, having a month that symbolizes love and care may be just what is needed. 

February love can be expressed as small acts of service, showing up by shoveling neighbors sidewalks, steps or driveways, dropping a surprise note in someone's mailbox letting them know you are thinking of them, or baking up mini sweet breads, muffins, or cakes to give away. February is a time to cozy up under blankets, snuggle your pets, read a book, watch a movie, or cook winter foods. February can also be a start towards making room in your schedule for taking care of your body, heart, and mind through yoga, movement, and meditation. This may look like finding a few minutes in your day to connect to your breath, taking a break, listening to a guided meditation, enjoying an energized yoga flow, or a slower paced, restorative rest.

Here are a few practices to help sustain your self care.

A few years ago I wrote Heart Light Meditation and published it to Insight Timer. This short meditation is my valentine gift to you. It is meant to promote a sense of loving awareness within oneself. Spending a few minutes visualizing the expansiveness of the heart space sends messages to our cells and helps stop the patterning of negative or worried thought cycles. Sit back or lie down, relax, and listen. 

Back to Your Heart is a gentle yoga flow I recorded two years ago. This video highlights the head, neck, upper back, and shoulders connecting with the heart space.  

Low Back Love is a slow flow I recorded during a time when I was struggling with my now chronic low back discomfort. This video shares mindfully paced movement with gentle awareness to the muscles in the body that support and strengthen the low back. 

February {open-hearted} Flow is a ~60 minute heart centered flow with breath connection.

Monday morning Chair Yoga (11a-12n) in Wakefield at the McCarthy Senior Center will continue as well as Thursday morning Gentle Yoga (8;45a-9:45a) and Chair Yoga (10a-11a) in Melrose at the Milano Senior Center. 

Those who are 60+ in surrounding towns and cities are welcome. 

There will be NO class on Monday 2/19/24.

In March, I will be hosting a 4-week online yoga series through the Melrose Public Library. More details to follow as we get closer to the dates. 

Here are a few more generous offerings from friends and colleagues. 

Please join my friend Linda Sheehan of Kind Kitchen as she hosts a winter workshop for women. Linda has been practicing Ayurveda and living a vegan lifestyle for some time now. I've had the pleasure of enjoying her delicious recipes and attending past workshops where she shares her knowledge as a guide toward seasonal self care. I've had many long walks and talks in the woods with Linda through the seasons, I feel lucky to live so close to her. Linda has inspired me to eat more plant based meals and has helped me get creative with vegan and vegetarian cooking for my kids. Many of my go-to weekly family meals have come from her. 

2024 marks twenty years of learning reiki, choosing to bring this practice into my life, and sharing it with those I love. I have had the pleasure of meeting many reiki practitioners as a nurse which makes for a wonderfully healing and holistic working environment. Parris Frediani is one of my nursing colleagues who has mastered the art of work life balance and is now opening a Mindful Living studio in Bedford, NH. Her passion for helping and caring for others is palpable, she has many years of experience working as an emergency room nurse with families in crisis. Her skills and pursuit of living and learning reiki, MBSR techniques, and mindful meditation are inspiring. 

Save the date for Moments of Serenity Mindful Living studio open house this February. 

Reiki, Meditations, Inspirations + Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice!

Thanks to all who joined me earlier this month for our reiki meditation. We had a nice turnout with a good mix of those who were new to reiki and some who have an established reiki practice. It was a beautiful 20 minute virtual practice that started with a few rounds of reiki light breath followed up with self holding techniques. So many of you sent me messages expressing interest but were unable to make the scheduled zoom time. I am so happy I decided to record it and can send this beautiful moment of peace and calm for you to practice anywhere, anytime!  Email: heronyoga@gmail.com for the video. No reiki experience necessary, just follow along and enjoy!

Since today is the summer solstice I'm sharing Soften & Shine, a guided meditation I wrote honoring the transition of spring into summer. Finding moments in our days to relax our body and release responsibility from our minds is so important for our health. All biological functions occur rhythmically, our heartbeats, the rise and fall of our breath, the ups and downs of our hormones, our sleeping cycles and more. Our bodies are like nature with its cycles of light and darkness, warmth and cold, changing seasons, the sun and the moon. If we give ourselves time and attention, the connections begin to harmonize. 

With all that is continuing to go on in our world, I find that listening to others reflect on how to keep going brings me hope in difficult times. So, as I catch up on some of my favorite podcasts, I thought I would share this episode from On Being called To Be a Healer with Dr. Vivek Murthy. Many of you know I am a nurse and work with patients at the bedside. I have had the pleasure of working with many amazing practitioners in my career, but Dr. Vivek Murthy stands out as one of those hard to forget doctors. I met him almost 20 years ago while working overnight in a small community hospital. It's a gift that he is our nation's leader in health and wellness.  I love that Dr. Murthy prioritizes mental health care and supports the benefits of meditation as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. 

This summer I am only teaching 2 Thursday morning yoga classes at the Melrose Senior Center.

Here's to making space in our days for rest, joy, fun, adventure and holding light. 

Wishing you all a wonderful summer with your families and friends!

With love and care,

Michelle

Spring Yoga, Reiki & Meditation

Spring is in full swing here and the way we move and feel can be influenced by our environment.  The shifts of nature have long inspired my yoga practice and helped me to adjust and adapt to what is needed moment to moment. 

Gentle Yoga & Guided Meditation ZOOM practice 

Wednesday 5/31/23 7:30p-8:30p ET

This month I'll be sharing a slower practice with longer held poses using supportive props (blankets/bolsters/blocks) followed by a ~20 minute guided meditation for rest and relaxation as spring shifts into summer. Over the last few years, I've been leading online classes to honor the transition of the seasons. These moments are meaningful to me as there is beauty within each phase and ways to be with each season. In my home practice, I have found that moving slowly with intention helps me find balance in my life and in my health. 

Health is built on balance, literally every cell in every body system has a role in finding balance. This process known as homeostasis is so important that the body has amazing compensatory mechanisms to bide time until homeostasis can be achieved. Rest is essential in this process. Restorative yoga is the use of props to create conditions of physical comfort, ease, and safety so that we can restore ourselves, allowing time and space for our bodies to adjust to a state of equilibrium. Resting in a supportive state enhances our body awareness, attentiveness and presence, regulates our emotions (hormones), and assists our sensory processing functions.  This directly impacts our nervous system which is seen in our reactiveness and our responsiveness. In an effort to integrate all of these benefits, we simply need to get grounded (earth connection), lean into our supports (yoga props!), and find space within our days to rest. 

Reiki Self Practice 

Wednesday 6/7/23 at 12n ET on ZOOM.

Many of you know I share yoga + reiki in my class offerings. It is a powerful combination with mutual benefits of stress reduction, improved sleep, and relaxation. After many years of teaching reiki practice, I have been thinking more on how to share reiki for self care and community connection. Since I am no longer affiliated with any yoga studios and I don't have an in-person space, many of my offerings have been online. Over the past two years, I have been sharing free seasonal classes from my home to yours through the ZOOM platform which widens the circle of connection for those who may or may not live near me. I've decided to offer a reiki self practice session. We will meet for ~20 minutes as a mid-day moment of reconnection and meditation. I am opening this up to everyone, those who have trained in reiki, and those interested in learning about reiki. Reiki is a Japanese healing practice that encourages rest, balance, emotional, and physical well being. Our hands are extensions of our heart, with focus and attention we can send care and compassion to ourselves. Reiki works on the body, mind, and spirit to relax the sympathetic nervous system ('fight or flight') and activate the parasympathetic nervous system ('rest and digest'). My intention is to offer reiki through a guided self practice as well as exploring other reiki techniques that can bring balance and peace into our days. Email: heronyoga@gmail.com for the ZOOM links.

THANK YOU to all who signed up for the 4-week 'Strength Series' I hosted on ZOOM in March. I'm grateful for the messages and supportive feedback, which is so helpful in guiding me on sharing future offerings. The recordings are available for purchase. For class details and to learn more about the benefits of building strength, read on here. 

For those who can't join my live zoom, practice anywhere, anytime!

FREE Yoga and FREE Guided Meditations

I recorded a ~60 minute 'Spring Flow' yoga class that focuses on twisting, balancing, and strengthening for enhanced circulation and energy activation within the body/heart/mind. 

'Rest & Restore' is a guided meditation I wrote that highlights our connection with nature. This meditation practice offers a space to ease into the seasonal shifts of our current moment. 

This spring marked one full year of sharing yoga in Melrose at the Milano Senior Center! My Thursday mornings teaching Yoga (8:45a) and Chair Yoga (10a) continue to be a joy as I get to know more people in the community and guide a practice that brings so many wonderful moments of care and connection.  I also teach Chair Yoga (11a) on Monday mornings in Wakefield at the McCarthy Senior Center September through May. 

Participants must be 60+, those living in surrounding towns and cities are welcome.

Wishing you all a beautiful month of May! 

Enjoy all the trees and flowers in bloom. 

Rest & Restore: FREE Gentle Yoga and Guided Meditation with Reiki!

 

Restorative yoga is a gentle and supportive practice for the body, heart and mind. As the name suggests, to rest and restore is the intention. Every few months as the seasons continue I offer a free gentle yoga and guided meditation practice. Our next ZOOM session will be Wednesday February 8, 2023 7:30p-8:30p ET. I plan to guide ~30/40 minutes of movement and breath awareness followed by a ~20 minute guided meditation. 

As we enter the midpoint of of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, enjoying moments of pause and rest are symbolic to the nature of this season. Combining reiki with yoga is a synergistic practice that blends well with slower, introspective poses. Reiki is a Japanese healing technique that promotes balance. Through the hands, we can send positive energy to ourselves and others. Reiki works on the body, mind and spirit to relax the sympathetic nervous system ('fight or flight') and activate the parasympathetic nervous system ('rest & digest'). I offer the practices of reiki and yoga as resources for nervous system support and self care.

'Rest & Restore' is a guided meditation to promote rest and restore our inner resilience in these darker days of winter as we wait for spring to arrive. 

Email: heronyoga@gmail.com for details and ZOOM link.

These classes are live streamed from my home in Melrose located on native land of the Massachusett/Pawtucket tribe.

I found these websites helpful in learning the history of the land and how to support the ongoing reparation for those who came before us. 

https://www.mcnaa.org/donate

http://www.naicob.org/history