Row, row, row your boat...

 Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream, 

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, 

Life is but a dream.                                                         

Oh, the wisdom of a nursery rhyme! What a simple yet profound message about this adventure called life. 

Row, row, row your boat...reminds us to be mindful of the present moment. Which is not always easy but we do get better as we practice. There is nothing other than the present moment so if we don't pay attention we'll miss everything. No one else can row our boat for us, we must each experience life's lessons on our own. This is what our yoga practice is about. It brings focus and attention to the movements of the body and the breath and in turn promotes mindful awareness to the rest of our life. 

Gently down the stream...when the attention to the present moment wavers we drift into the flotsam and jetsam of life where are arms grow weary as we struggle with our troubles. It is vital that we go gently with the flow, not against the stream with resistance. Our problems arise when we drift away from the present moment, when we look back or too far ahead. Seeing where we are and learning to accept what is, moment to moment, with mindfulness will bring us back into the current. 

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily...life is meant to be joyful. The result of rowing your boat gently down the stream is happiness. Now we can relax, perhaps even lie back in the boat, feel the lull of the water and enjoy the view!

Life is but a dream...an incredible dream. Yoga leads us to mindful awareness of this incredible dream. 

Our story this month for the sassy seniors; Rowing Gently Down the Stream. 

Heart Hug Twists

Kirtan Kriya 

The practice offered the same benefits as rowing a boat, we worked the arms, legs, core and back as we brought mindful awareness to each movement with the breath. Full, deep breaths that come from our core keep us centered, balanced and stable.

One of the goals of yoga is to promote body awareness. Body awareness and mindfulness of the breath are important to everyone especially seniors with memory issues. The more one practices, the more one's focus improves and as we bring these techniques into our everyday life we gain a greater appreciation for this incredible ability to move and breath and dream!

Mahalo we serve,