Watch this clip from their appearance on New England Cable News.

Health Yoga Life is located on Cambridge Street and Temple Street, in Boston.   We offer a variety of classes, personalized coaching, workshops, trainings, and retreats.   To learn more visit www.healthyogalife.com 

We want to help you love your life!  Call 877-777-2010 or email info@healthyogalife.com for more information.

Come in. Take class. We can’t wait to meet you.  All levels and beginners welcome!

Location

122-128 Cambridge Street Boston, MA 02114  (corner of Cambridge St. & Temple St.)                       

Class Schedule

Please CLICK HERE for Health Yoga Life Class Schedule.

For More Infomation

www.HealthYogaLife.com; info@HealthYogaLife.com; 877-777-2010

]]> http://vydabielkus.com/2011/11/27/health-yoga-life-cambridge-street-yogaboston/feed/ 0 vydabielkus studio mat http://vydabielkus.com/2011/04/05/featheredpiperanch-montana-yoga-retreat/ http://vydabielkus.com/2011/04/05/featheredpiperanch-montana-yoga-retreat/#comments Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:54:27 +0000 vydabielkus http://vydabielkus.com/?p=294 ]]>
I am in all ways, shapes, and style a city girl. I don’t mind that I share this little space of our planet with millions of others who are carving out their lives in the concrete jungle. But every now and then, when I bump up to my own contraction of spirit, I love to blare Merle Haggard’s “Big City.” I let my mind wonder to the open space, the majestic mountains, the peaceful lake, and the people of Feathered Pipe Ranch.

As Merle’s gritty voice drifts through my ears “I’m tired of this dirty old city. Entirely too much work and never enough play. And I’m tired of these dirty old sidewalks. Think I’ll walk off my steady job today. Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montana,” I find myself easily brought to that place in the middle of Montana that has welcomed me over and over again. Instantly I am there, standing in the expansion, feeling my feet (firm, rooted to mother earth), my heart (expanded to the fullest reach beyond the mountain tops) and my spirit (loose and free, completely without constraint). Very few places illicit these deep psycho-somatic connected memories in me like Feathered Pipe.

Feathered Pipe Ranch is by definition down to earth. It is why when I look to bring groups on our B1 Community Yoga Health retreats it is always at the top of my list, and why I can’t wait to lead a retreat there in September. A yoga retreat needs a backdrop as powerful as the program to contain the deep shifts that happen for folks who are taking time out of their lives for growth. Many a day I have spent on my mat in the log cabin lodge, looking out at the mountain peaks that surround the Ranch. The mountains really become part of the experience of the retreat, a dear witness to one’s own reach toward the heavens.

On most self development programs, insight for learning doesn’t just come from the experience in the classroom it occurs through the interactions you have throughout the week, with each other, the teachers, the staff, and the quiet moments. On one of my visits to the Ranch, little did I know that I would grapple with one of our biggest obstacles we face as humans, fear. And I surely didn’t expect it to happen along a quiet path in the middle of the woods. But there I was, enjoying the sun as it played on the golden leaves of the recently turned trees, minding my own business, when there it was: The Beast. This moment is burned into my memory bank forever. The antlers alone must have been my height. The Beast was so close that I could here his gums flap as he chomped on his lunch of prime vegetation. My body literally came to a screeching halt, completely frozen in fear, unable to move. My only real experience with wildlife up to this point had been at the zoo, where there was a wall of comfort between me and the animals. So I stood there frozen, deciding what to do. I could yell. I could run. I could wait; all unviable options. As I stood there examining my options, I could tell one thing for certain, he did not mind me one bit. In this moment of observation, I realized I had power over my fear. And as soon as I reconnected to MY power, I was able to look the Beast, who now started looking a little bit more like Bambi, in the eye and walk right on by.

A great treat to partake in, that we will experience on the B1 Yoga Health Retreat, is the potent power of a sweat lodge. My first sweat was a gift, I have never forgotten. Pat, the Native Elder, brought us into his sacred world and healing happened on levels unknown. India, the owner of Feathered Pipe Ranch, gives a little prep talk before the sweat lodge as most people’s closest experience to a sweat lodge is the sauna at their gym. “If you have too many questions,” she says, “you aren’t ready for the sweat lodge.” Honestly it is an experience that is hard to describe and a bonding of spirits that seems to heal generations past, present, and future. The people who visit the Ranch are lucky to have this deep experience available to them, with authentic and traditional healers.

Making the experience complete at the Ranch are the people that make it come to life. By sharing a tea with India Supera you get inspired by her tales as a pioneer of the yoga world we all enjoy today. Her staff, some of them her children, brings warmth and love to the food they prepare and the service they do everyday. Guests feel fully cared for from the time they arrive to when they part with a hug and an “until next time.”

I am a fortunate soul who has found her way to Feathered Pipe Ranch and invite you to join us for a Self-Enrichment week of yoga, health seminars, amazing hikes and more, September 3-10th, which will leave you moved beyond your imagination, email info@b1community.com for more information. See you on the path!

The only time I find these little spats escalate is when they can involve an adult to try to justify their position.  The adult tries to analyze and rationalize with the children to try to get clear on who was right and who was wrong.  But more often then not, this typically doesn’t resolve anything and has everyone spending way too much time on something that really didn’t matter in the first place.

I remember at a certain point in my life after college, I made the decision to let go more and control less. I quite distinctly remember getting it that I was the one suffering by not letting go. I was the one getting hot and bothered and stressed.  And none of those reactions were healthy for me.  To be honest, it has taken this type-A woman (who always had to be right) a good ten years to finally really feel like she has mastered “the art of letting go.”  And how did I master it? I practiced it all the time.  Life gives us plenty of opportunities to practice this one.

This decision to “practice letting go” has served me well. It has offered me freedom instead of pain. It has provided me access to solutions instead of more problems.  It even gave me back time, for when you “let go” you actually gain back the time that you would have spent doing all the things to prove that you were right.  I even believe it has brought me more health over the years, because I didn’t have to stress out over proving that I am right.

Often people can’t move toward letting go because they believe that their power is in question, that if they let go they will be seen as weak, unworthy, wrong, powerless. Quite the opposite.  “Letting go” brings the power back to your court. It gives you power back because you can choose to react from balance and present moment, rather then from reactivity.   To be clear, letting go is not doing nothing when you are wronged.  It is finding your way to peace so you can fully choose the correct action to take that serves you and others best.

The most magnificent thing when you start letting go is that you find it is actually far easier to do then holding on to the need to control.  Needing to control or to be right requires a significant outpouring of energy and prana-life force.  Energy that quite frankly is better suited for other things like having fun, moving forward and play!

Traveling beyond the comfy borders of your home is always an adventure.  But when you go on a journey to a far off destination you are almost guaranteed new perspective.  These past few weeks I was certain were going to be a mind blow. I was going to India.  I was ready to be changed.  But as life had it, in my stopover city of London, I broke my foot and ended up staying there my whole vacation.   London is familiar to me as my sister has lived here for over 7 years, and it was always a popular spot for me on connections to other parts of Europe during summer vacations. Thus I wasn’t expecting much of anything new.

And let’s face it.  London is not a far off-shoot from the US.  People speak the same language, although sometimes it is hard to understand them with their proper Queen’s English, and most things just aren’t that different.

However, one day on this trip I realized why people need to go away and experience new places. Why traveling has been, forever, a topic of excitement, of stories, of awe, of a way to rock your world.   For as you stay longer in am unfamiliar place, you begin to question long held beliefs, from the mundane, to the more complex.

One day shopping for groceries with my sister she asked me to grab a bag of chips.  Perusing the aisle of chips, oops I mean “crisps”, I noticed two flavors that really 100% disgusted me.  Chicken Tarragon and Honey Ham& Cranberry. What the…what the?  Meat flavored potato chips. Even if I was not vegetarian the thought of poultry powder on a potato chip did not sound appetizing to me at all   As I thought about the chips, I thought what a wide variety of taste buds there are out there.  But I still could not make the chips fit into my belief of what chips should be.

This idea that when things don’t fit in our mental model our most inner beliefs are questioned became clearer as I rode “the Tube” (London’s subway). In the US, we are so bombarded with images of people who look, sound, smell, and appear a certain way.  Everyone is constantly trying to fit into that image we are being sold.

But in London, especially riding on the underground, you see people being more themselves, not trying to fit into the US cookie-cutter ideal. Of course you have those that are buying into local marketing too, but Londoners seem to retain an element of originality.  One morning, as I mixed, mingled and observed, I was fascinated by two young men I saw on the Tube.  One boy had extremely bloodshot eyes and shoes that were too big, and he looked sullen. And the other sat pensively next to him.  They didn’t speak to each other and seemed disconnected from the world around them.  The image of them stayed with me for the day.

As I thought about them throughout the day, I wondered who they where and where they were from.   I couldn’t place their ethnicity and all of a sudden I had no way to make them fit in my mind of what was known and familiar to me.

I realized this is how we humans get stuck.  Our beliefs keep us tied to what we know – even if what we know should be questioned.  We want things to fit in our mind. Neat. Tidy.  And when they don’t we either draw lines in the sand, start wars or change.  And since change is so hard for humans it seems often we opt for war.

The thing about beliefs is that we formulate them when we don’t have the education or information needed to develop rational beliefs grounded in truth.  Beliefs are created in early childhood and for the most part we do not question them even if they no longer serve us in adulthood.  This is because other, new beliefs feel like they don’t fit.  And it can be uncomfortable.  For example, if you carry a belief of unworthiness with you from childhood and all of a sudden you have insight that “hmmm maybe just like every other human on this planet I am worthy just because I am alive,”  it can seem almost impossible to hold onto the insight.  It doesn’t easily fit in your mind’s mental model.  So when life’s situations (like rejection, or an upset of some kind) happen, giving you reason to believe in your old belief, for the most part you cuddle back up to it like a good old blanky on a cold night:  “there now, you see you are unworthy.”

In Brene Brown’s TED speech, “The Power of Vulnerability,” she explains that one of the most important findings of her work was identifying the variable between people who had a sense of worthiness and those who didn’t.   What she found is this:  “People who have a strong sense of love and belonging BELIEVE they are worthy of love and belonging.  That’s it.  They BELIEVE they are worthy.”

So how do we attack, combat and slay those dragons of beliefs that no longer suit us?  First, you need to understand that you have beliefs and that they shape your action. Then you need to face and acknowledge them every time they arise,“oh hello-there you are my good ol’ belief of not being good enough”.  Then you need to take steps to replace the old belief with present reality and truth. You must do this every time to reshape your mental terrain to allow the new belief to take up the territory the old belief used to hold.  On our own this can be a challenge. It is why working with a coach can be so effective at letting go of old beliefs while cultivating new budding beliefs into a bouquet of beautiful blossoms.

Gifts don’t always come wrapped in pretty packages.  And this week, maybe because of the moon’s complete eclipse, life has been generous with reminding me what a gift truly is.

My best friend’s flight being cancelled out of Heathrow.  Life.
Being able to spend Christmas with him in London and then being flown home in first class on the 26^th.  Gift.

Fracturing my foot and needing to cancel my trip to India.  Life.
Getting to spend more time with my sister and her lovely fiancé while enjoying the lights of London.  Gift.

A friend getting a flat tire after her soccer game. Life.
Finding someone to help her change it and be on her way in under 45 minutes in the middle of winter.  Gift.

My mom cooking all day traditional Christmas foods with her mom.  Life.
My Grandmother celebrating her 95^th Christmas.  Gift.

There really is a gift in everything that happens to us.  It is how we choose to look at life, and whether we have faith or not, that can turn life’s moments into precious gifts.  This Christmas open your eyes and your heart to all the gifts in your life, especially the ones not hiding under the tree.

Thinking about our human fate, and my own life, I thought about how many “deaths” my spirit had already experienced and continues to experience as I push the limits of her growth.  The imprints from childhood that etched grooves on my psyche, which as I aged I had to confront in order to thrive.  I had to see how these limiting beliefs and behavior patterns that were formulated so long ago wreaked havoc in my adult life.   I made bad choices and stayed in bad situations for too long. Looking back now I see these were all the Universe’s way of helping me understand, befriend, and dissolve those parts of myself that didn’t believe in herself or didn’t believe in her own worth and power.

By confronting the untruths I formulated and lived by, I was able to let go of the limiting beliefs and behavior patterns that were keeping me in a permanent state of dis-ease.   Each time I confront these patterns, it is like a death. I cry with grief at the pain I had lived with and the loss of my old ways. But by filling the space that is left with faith and trust, I walk a little closer to a new life finding myself that that much closer to blooming.

Our willingness to transform from the carcass of our past is connected to whether we have faith and trust – or we don’t.  Faith is tricky, and we lose it at times, because it can take some time for a seed to germinate into a flower. As we shed old ways that no longer serve us, we need to experiment with new ways that more closely match who we truly are.  It can feel a little lonely, scary, and definitely uncertain.  Yet as you step forward into the new with faith by your side, you can trust that life will provide you the sun and water, through experience, necessary to blossom.

Ahhhhhhh hydrotherapy one of life’s most rewarding experiences.  Seriously some of the most deeply relaxing and enlivening moments of my life have been spent in water.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that our bodies are about 60% water that we are very comfortable in water or maybe it has to do with the peace and quiet that comes when we soak in a bath.  In the silence, we can hear our breath – our connection to life. There is a sense of peace all around.  That is why I am so excited to be leading a retreat in Miami with the Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women.  Participants will have the chance to practice yoga, eat healthy meals and replenish in the waters at The Standard Miami.  Check out the extensive spa and bathing area set up for soaking and lounging.

Some of my favorite travel experiences have involved H2O.  The times in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, where in the middle of nowhere, like an oasis in the desert, bubbled a steamy spring.  The air was crisp and the hot water churned my sore muscles into soft butter.  The Japanese tourists (who long have known the restorative power of water) would find their way by the bus loads.  After a few soaks, work, stress and problems were non-existent.  Life was good.

On another journey after a week-long yoga retreat in Hawaii, there was a waterfall plunge on Kauai.  Approaching the edge, I teetered for a moment before…jumping! All my fears leapt with me that day as I heard the rush of the water long before I saw it.  The water surrounded me, and each cell I had, pumped in the hydration and out all the toxicity of negative thinking and fears that plagued me. Floating in the waterfall’s pool I could no longer feel the difference between me and my surrounding. Time stood still.  I was renewed.

Even a simple swim at the beaches of Cape Cod where I spent my childhood remind me that I am  not my fears, I am not my problems, I am not my stress.  I am just a woman taking a swim in the ocean of life.

Hydrotherapy, for me feels like Nirvana; a perfect complement to any retreat or vacation.  It is the ultimate health restoration.  So join us on this Great Escape, the first weekend of November, and experience in a historical and healing tradition. Don’t miss your opportunity to combine a yoga retreat with the power and relaxation of this magical water playground at the Standard Miami  where you will be able to “Explore the curative effects of water, steam or mud in our Hamam, Aroma Steam Room, Cedar Sauna, Sound Pool, Roman Waterfall Hot Tub and Mud Lounge.  If you are in the mood for a more private experience, unwind in the spa or choose from an array of in-room treatments including therapeutic massage, acupuncture, Chinese herbal baths and restorative mind-body therapies.  Here you can indulge in a steamy mix of health and hedonism and learn the ageless art of bathing indoors and out.”

Nirvana is only a soak away!

For registration information email vyda@b1community.com.

Today at the doctor’s office, I picked up the August 9, 2010, issue of Time Magazine.  On the cover is a startling image of a young, pretty woman from Afghanistan with no nose. It had been cut off along with her ears after she ran away from her abusive husband’s family.  As I read the article, I was so saddened to read that the Taliban’s rules and laws will be part of the fabric of Afghani daily life as the country rebuilds.  Women as second class citizens will remain the norm and horrific violence against women will continue to be lawful.

Whenever I read stories like these I often think about the men. What could they possibly have been thinking when they took the young woman to a mountainside in the middle of the night and brutally disfigured her and left her to die?  What justification did they use in their minds? What threatens them so?  I thought to myself, how asleep this group of people.

Driving home from my appointment, recalling the disturbing image, I started to think what if anything can be done.  Should the US increase its force against the Taliban in Afghanistan? Can it? Why are we not more outraged? Have we as citizens of this great nation just become numbed into complacency that nothing can be done? As long as we are not suffering, do we care so little about others suffering?

As my mind contemplated these questions, Eminem and Rihanna’s Number 1 hit “Love the Way you Lie” came on the radio.  And I realized, we are just as asleep.  Our world accepts violence, hatred, and mistreatment toward women everywhere; and in turn, our world is not at peace.  We are at war.  The few more violent, more powerful have us all afraid of demanding change.

If you haven’t heard the song, in this popular catchy hip hop tune, Eminem outlines the course a violent and abusive man takes in a relationship, culminating in the lyrics: “I just want her back/I know I’m a liar/If she ever tries to fu***ng leave again/I’ma tie her to the bed And set the house on fire”.  Through out the song Rihanna sings the part of the dutiful abused girlfriend: “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn/But that’s alright/ I like the way it hurts/Just gonna stand there and hear me cry/But that’s alright/Because I love the way you lie.” Is Rihanna trying to justify her personal experience of abuse as the “new normal” by singing along?  Rihanna being quoted as saying this is a “beautiful song” just exemplifies how unwilling we are to take a stand and to say enough is enough.

Now, I am all for free speech but to be playing on the radio a song that so glorifies a toxic relationship has nothing to do with free speech and everything to do with normalizing violence against women.  And yet where is the outrage?  Instead we have people downloading the song at warp speed.  It has so struck a cord with people that it has leaped to number one, what does that say about the status of our most intimate relationships?  Is the violence, the volatility, sexy, even desired?  I am afraid that we are so utterly confused that we actually accept that love and hurt go together.  I also believe this is why at some level we are okay with women being brutally tortured in Afghanistan.

This song being played on the radio, with a survivor of abuse singing the chorus, clearly punctuates our collective hatred toward women.  Along the way to this song being made and produced did not one person stop and say “What are we putting out here?  What are we really saying?  And what do we want to teach the children who are the ones buying the music?”

Taking no action to stop the production of such a song or worse yet to justify it as something good and acceptable, is exactly how the Taliban gets away with abusing half the population. And to those who say don’t buy it if you don’t like it, I say wake up!  Just because we might not see a women stoned to death in the street doesn’t mean it is not happening. Do we not have a human responsibility to stop turning our heads or demand that misogynistic songs be removed from the airwaves?  Isn’t it time to get outraged?  To call out and step out against those who keep violence against women as part of our collective cultural experience.

Many of us grow up without a healthy picture of what love is.  We all come to relationships with different parts of ourselves to be healed.  When you first fall in love with someone it is so all consuming that you feel it has to be love.  We all know that feeling of having your heart super-charged.  This is one of the best feelings in the world. No one instantly falls in love with an abuser.   When a partner becomes abusive (verbally/physically) it is so unbelievable and out of context that you rationalize it away.  Unless you have been or know someone who has been in a relationship like this there is almost no way to grasp this cycle.  But once you are free from the cycle and healed from the pain, it is hard to imagine saying the words “I love the way you lie.”  There is no loving it when a partner is yelling at and lying to you.  There is no loving it when you are verbally put down.  There is only pain.  In all those moments there is only deep, deep pain.

Our world will not heal and be at peace until we fully expose and heal the rage that is taken out against women.  As a women said in the Time article, “If you sacrifice women to make peace, you are also sacrificing the men who support them and abandoning the country to the fundamentalists that caused all the problems in the first place.”  By doing nothing, by continuing to lower women’s position and power, through culturally accepted media outlets like this song, we do not get any closer to bringing peace to our individual hearts, our country and our world.