Holiday Update

Greetings, sweet friends and fellow yogi's!

I thought I would take a few moments this morning before all the busyness and hustle-bustle of packing and figuring out where I'm going for Thanksgiving begins, I wanted to give you all a quick update on all the happenings in my world and my current schedule.

As most of you know, the Pop-Up yoga has come to a little halt due to the time change and coldness (for outside venues at least) and I have yet to find a big open space (with no or little cost) to hold more Pop-Ups in. BUT, they are not gone for good and if you happen to have any suggestions on where I can continue to offer free community Pop-Up classes, please let me know. Whether it be your own personal offering of space or a corporate space, I'm down for all ideas. If my living room were just a tad big bigger, I would do it here:)

I also want to thank ALL of you who participated in the October Pop-Up Yoga month. I had so much fun and learned so much as I am attempting to find my voice again as a teacher. Outdoor yoga isn't something I've done much of in the past due to conditions (whether it be too hot, too loud, no wall, etc) but I must say that practicing outside regularly for that month was just about the greatest thing ever. I miss it everyday. In fact, due to our inconsistent weather here in Mississippi, I got to practice outside earlier this week and it made my heart swell with joy and gratitude.

What I got to see and experience with the Pop-Up Yoga was so very personally fulfilling and touching and I felt so honored to just be a part of this wonderful community of people who truly do aspire to make a difference and to live out their truth while desiring to learn more about themselves and who they are in relation to the bigger picture.

I had the privilege of teaching people who had never set foot on a yoga mat before and assisted some folks with more advanced practices than my own. I got to encourage the overly flexible to strive for strength and balance in their bodies and for the supper tight and strong folks, I got to teach them how to open up, let go, and relax in order for them to find some flexibility. I worked with people who had rheumatoid arthritis, torn rotator cuffs, fibromyalgia, herniated discs, back pain, knee pain, and a plethora of other disabilities and impairments and I got to use my knowledge of anatomy and physiology through the lens of my therapeutic background and framework into teaching them and helping them discover movement without pain!

Each person touched my heart with their presence. Each person gave me affirmation that I am on the right path.

What you may or may not know about me is that stepping back into the role of a yoga teacher wasn't something I had planned to do nor something that I ever thought I wanted to do again. It's a huge responsibility and practicing yoga and teaching yoga are two totally different skill sets. You can have an amazing, advanced yoga practice and be a terrible yoga teacher--or vice versa, you can be an amazing yoga teacher who may not necessarily have an advanced practice--but that doesn't mean you can't get your students into postures you can't do yourselves.

When I realized that I felt the call again to teach yoga, there was a lot of fear and self doubt. There was a lot of, "but I don't really know if I want to do this and what is this going to look like if I don't teach just studio yoga?" going on in my head but I knew I had to listen to my inner truth and just take that leap of faith to follow this calling. I, of course, wouldn't have done it without all the many people in my life that show up for me on a regular basis to tell me, "You can do this! You were born to do this! This is your gift to the world, Jen." To all of those people (you know who you are) thank you. Thank you for encouraging me, inspiring me, supporting me, and loving me enough to make me get out of my own comfort zone.

But back to the present moment--tomorrow is THANKSGIVING!!! Which means that Christmas is in 28 days!

I have several things I want to talk about in regards to the holidays and how I want us all to be kind to ourselves as we embrace what is normally a very busy, chaotic, guilt-ridden season but I think this post is long enough and I shall just have to write more over the weekend.

Since the time change and season change, I've spent the last month working and focusing on my home practice and learning to find the balance with both of those things.

I worked a lot over the past 3 weeks in order for me to be able to take off the rest of this week and I'll be doing the same in December thanks to the beauty of PRN work.

I'm still contemplating and discussing some ideas with a few folks about what my yoga schedule is going to look like in the new year and at teaching possibilities and I will let all of you know what that looks like as soon as I get it figured out.

In the mean time, I am totally open to teaching more Pop-Ups for the month of December. Whether it be your living room or your office or community event, please don't hesitate to contact me with your ideas. Most of them will have to be in the evening due to my work schedule but sometimes that works better for people anyway. I want to make myself available to my precious little community so please let me know how I can be of service. 

My prayer for you all during this coming weekend and next month is that you will choose to find the joy in your lives. Regardless of family drama, work stress, kid stress, busy schedules, and full bellies my hope is that you will give yourself the gift of perspective and be determined to stay focused on seeing the joy and the gratitude in each moment.

Thank YOU for being a source of joy in my life.

With humbleness and thankfulness in my heart,

J Nan