Spring Soul Food Series

Soul Food Series

Are you ready to relieve stress, get inspired, and dive deep within to bring forth your true Self? The time is now!  We've been collaborating with several amazing guest presenters to offer you a workshop series called the Soul Food Series. Fuel for your Soul. During a time of heavy competition and performance expectations in the workplace, school, and athletics we're working harder and faster than we've ever had to in our lives. Then add in social media bombarding us with negative, fearful, and confusing information. It's enough to drive one crazy and we wonder why there's so much stress, disease, illness, arguing, and anger in the world.  It's time to initiate change. Claim your power, fix what's within first. It's time to feel good.

Our offerings during this series are for everyone to help you on the path. They're designed to take time for yourself and heal heart and soul so that you can present yourself to the world as a whole healthy grounded person. The world needs us to heal within so that we can Shift our own reactions, communication, thinking to create a more positive environment in our homes, schools, workplaces, and community. When we feel good emotionally and physically our thoughts about our selves are more compassionate, our communication with others becomes calm, objective, inspired, this then radiates out of our being. If we want peace in the world it starts in our hearts, peace within ourselves.  This workshop series is designed for you to be able to slow down and connect within, work towards healing, listening within, and step into your own power.  

Teachings for healing and connecting to your heart and intuition, should not be regarded as the gift of the few - they are the birthright of everyone on Earth. These abilities are latent within us all - intuition, healing, and empowerment development can occur through practices, such as yoga breathing, mediation, music, and mantra. 

Peel away the layers, get inspired, get connected, raise your vibration, and receive the fuel you need to Shine! Anchor the frequency of love for ourselves and the world. 

Join us on the mat!

Namaste,

Sara & The Synergy Yoga Team

SOUL FOOD SERIES SCHEDULE:
Book online www.synergyyogawellness.com under  Workshops

Book 3 classes at once and receive 10% off each (at the studio or over the phone).

Energy Flow with Sara & Denise:

Sara will guide us through a soulful flow class assisted by Jen along with meditation while Denise offers personal intuitive messages from the Divine for each participant.  These messages are positive & inspirational to help guide you on your path. http://denisepeters1.wix.com/denisepeters

March 12th 4 pm-5:45 pm Rock Hill

April 30th 4 pm-5:45 pm Steele Creek

$25 each / $30 day of

Prana Vinyasa Flow Yoga with LIVE Drumming with Carson & Joe:

Carson guides us a Prana Vinyasa Flow, an energetic, creative, full-spectrum approach to embodying the flow of yoga cultivated by Shiva Rea. Students of all levels are empowered to experience Prana - the universal source of breath, life-energy and conscious intelligence - as the navigating source of yoga practice and vital living. Accompannied by LIVE drumming by her husband Joe. www.sahajaspirit.com

April 3rd 2:30 pm-4 pm Rock Hill

$25 / $30 day of

Sound Soak with Beth:

Be prepared to get comfortable on your mat, and soak in the sounds of live blissful Harp music. A Sound Soak offers our bodies nourishing cellular alignment and relaxation, balancing both hemispheres of the brain. Historically, the harp has been a symbol of relief and comfort. No movement, all levels, all people. Feel free to bring your own cushions and blankets if desired. www.theharpwhisperer.com

March 20th 6 pm-7 pm Steele Creek

April 9th 5 pm-6 pm Rock Hill

$15 / $20 day of

Relax & Renew Harp and sound experience with Beth & Sara / Rita:

Our signature Relax & Renew class accompanied by Beth Brown playing live healing instruments such as the Harp, sacred drum, and her voice.  No yoga experience needed. www.theharpwhisperer.com

May 14th 5 pm-6:30 pm with Beth and Sara in Steele Creek

June 18th 5 pm-6:30 pm with Beth and Rita in Rock Hill

$25 / $30 day of

Create Space for Transformation

by Carolyn Adickes, RYT200 and Synergy Yoga Operations

Every new year, we're provided the opportunity to start fresh.  We set new intentions (or resolutions) and we face them head on with enthusiasm.  We make lists, agendas and spreadsheets, all in the hopes that these things will help us transform ourselves.  Within a month or two, we are exhausted because we're under the impression that it's our responsibility to do all the heavy lifting or transformation will not happen.  

While there's nothing wrong with lists or spreadsheets, these things will do no good if you don't first create space within yourself for transformation to occur.  

Transformation starts on the inside.  

"As far as inner transformation is concerned, there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot transform yourself, and you certainly cannot transform your partner or anybody else. All you can do is create a space for transformation to happen, for grace and love to enter." ~ Eckhart Tolle

Here are 5 tips to help you create space and begin your journey:

1. Be Present - As you move throughout your day, take time to really focus on the task at hand.  Whether it's driving the car, talking to a client or simply playing with your children.  Don't worry about what you need to pick up at the grocery store or what time the neighbors are coming over for dinner.  There is nothing you can do about them in that moment.  So, stop, take a breath and return to the present.
2. Meditate - Even five minutes a day to sit in a comfortable position and connect with your breath will allow your mind a chance to slow down, process the days events and create more space.    
3. Practice Yoga - The benefits to mind, body and spirit are endless.  But for anyone who has practiced yoga, you know that the moment we create space in our lives for our practice, our lives transform.  Even creating space within the body will allow us to go deeper into a posture.  Simply rolling out your mat at home and connecting with your body and breath is enough to get started.
4. Stay Positive - Your outlook has a profound impact on the life you live. There is always a silver lining.  Find that point of good and hold onto it.  
5. Be Kind to Yourself - The most important thing to remember as you work on achieving transformation is to be kind to yourself.  There are going to be days when you stumble or even fail.  Forgive yourself, pick yourself back up and try again.  No amount of angry words will change what has happened.  By stopping our negative self-talk, we are creating space for a kinder and gentler internal monologue.

See you on the Mat!

What the Duck?

A year's journey through loss, healing, and JOY

Life. Let's get real, sometimes it throws us curves, like the loss of a loved one, divorce, moving, loss of a pet, loss of a job, injury, etc. It’s important to our health to openly talk about the healing process. In reality, one day we will all experience loss and major change, if you haven’t already.  Life happened to our family in November 2014 when my mother unexpectedly passed away at 69 years old, her heart just stopped.

It’s documented there are at least 5 stages of grieving Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Depression, then finally Acceptance.  In a culture that values hard work, getting things done faster, quicker, with less help or no help, etc. it's difficult to imagine giving ourselves time to heal.   In my experience the stages of grieving didn't always show up in a neat perfect order or time frame.  They often showed up like when your 11 year old child shows up at your door in the morning and says he forgot to tell you he signed up to bring cookies for the class party today, while you're soaking wet getting out of the shower preparing for the biggest meeting of your career, while trying to make breakfast, and walk the dogs.

So not only did mom pass away then dad decided to sell their home, sell all her belongings and our childhood belongings, he moved further away into a new town, fell in love, and got married.  Add to this, our beloved dog of 11 years had to undergo emergency surgery otherwise he would die, then was diagnosed with cancer. AND get this, my doctor announced that some of my physical problems were due to peri-menopause starting. All this in under 9 months. Great, thanks Universe. Felt like I was sucker punched in the gut and it was time to "tap" out.  Yup, what the duck?  I was numb, couldn't think or see straight. Matter of fact I asked my husband recently what did we do last Thanksgiving. I literally have no memory of that day. The real journey began.  I decided to stop and face the work of grieving and healing head on.

In 1917 Sigmond Freud wrote “grieving is a natural process that should not be tampered with.” 

Through work with meditation, prayer, a great therapist, doctor, family, and friends, the way I've come to understand all of this is: grieving is a personal journey.  Everyone is different therefore, everyone’s journey through grieving will take a different amount of time, process, and course.  Don’t mess with it, you HAVE to let it happen to find freedom in your body, mind, and spirit. Give these tips a try:

1.   Let it out. Get the emotion out so it doesn’t get stuck in the physical body and perhaps manifest into illness.  Cry when you feel the urge, when anger rolls in go yell outside or punch a pillow. In the beginning stage of my grief, I went right back to work and stuffed the tears down until I had a panic attack.  Now, I cry if the urge hits.  I also learned that for the brain to process the grief, you have to talk about it and that will move it into the thinking part of the brain vs. feeling.

2.   Love. Surround yourself with positive people who support and love you.  Let them help you, they want to.  AND ask them to help.  Once I finally opened up to my husband, friends, and co-workers that I needed help they all joined in and continue to join in. Mornings when I'd wake up crying or shaking after having a dream of my mom, my sweet husband would jump back in bed and just hug me. The dreams no longer haunt.

3.  Breathe.  Try this for 5-10 rounds: Use nose breathing, breathe in slowly for a count of 4, hold the breath for 3 counts, exhale slowly 6 counts.  Every day when I wake up and go to sleep I place my hands over my heart and breathe in this way. Breathe in love exhale peace. Breathing is the one part of our nervous system that we have control of.

4.  Move. Get out and move your body, whatever you enjoy, walking, jogging, yoga, lift weights, zumba. (take it outside when you can) Also, notice if and when your body needs a break.  I got back into riding my bike during this time.  Getting on the bike on a beautiful day, pedaling down a hill with the wind and sun in your face, there's nothing like it. Pure freedom.

5.  Rest. Get a good night sleep, take days off.  I decided to modify my teaching and work schedule so I wasn't working 6-7 days a week and several nights a week.  Taking care of myself and being with family is number one and will always be.  Nothing is worth sacrificing your own health and well-being. Just like they say during the safety talks on an airplane, give yourself oxygen first.

6.   Fuel.  Fuel your body with good food.  During this time the brain and other organs need good nutrition to support getting through situational depression, etc.  I learned that loss can cause trauma, inflammation in the brain.  Drink lots of water, eat the healthy fats (like Avocado, coconut oil, etc), real foods.  Stay away from excess sugar and highly processed foods.

7.  Joy. Get a duck!  lol! This was my favorite part. Take time to PLAY and connect with what brings you JOY!  I took a trip to Arizona by myself to see one of my best friends, Tiffany, on the one year anniversary of mom's death.  First and foremost my goal was to create a new memory for this day and we sure accomplished that! We visited Sedona, Arizona, hiked 20 miles of the beautiful red rocks, ate great food, and laughed like a couple of 16 year olds.  While we were there, we bought these these little rubber ducks and took them everywhere with us!  During this trip I came into acceptance, mom was really gone and what a blessing I had to be raised by her.  I know she is with me, her heart is my heart.  I am the kind, loving, giving, patient, person today in large part because of her influence on my life.

If you can relate to this in anyway, take care of YOU and don’t hesitate to connect with your doctor or other health care professional for support.  Grieving has no expiration date.  Through this journey of healing, a huge weight has been lifted, my heart is lighter, There is beauty in loss in that that grief is evidence of love. What a blessing to have loved, be loved, and to love.  As I approach 2016, deeper, brighter, and heart full of joy I know I will no longer rush, push, force, or struggle through situations.  I will honor what is presented in my path, take care, and connect with joy.

Namaste and Happiest of  Holidays to all!  Now go hug your mom and find a duck!
Sara Cain-da Costa (Thank you Tiffany for being part of this journey! Love you!)

Three Simple Steps for finding Gratitude

Tis’ the season to reflect on what we’re grateful for.  Acknowledging gratitude about yourself, your life, people, and things around can cultivate a healthier and happier outlook for your own well-being. What a concept to actually put this into play all year long.

We’re constantly bombarded with what’s going wrong in the world and perhaps even hear what other people perceive what’s wrong with us.  And true it gets more challenging because life happens, right? Challenging situations can arrive, divorce, family member is ill, etc.  However, when gratitude is cultivated as a regular part of life, you realize that pain and joy are just part of the mysterious whole. It IS possible to rejoice that amidst life suffering there exists joy.

Here are 3 simple steps finding gratitude daily:

1.  Keep a gratitude journal.   Wake up each morning, take a few deep breaths, write down 1-3 things you are grateful for, and say them out loud.  Researchers show this helps you become more optimistic and feel better about life.

2.  Say Thank you.  It’s that simple.  Say it to everyone you come into contact with include to yourself for what you have.  For example, each time I work in one of my yoga studios, I quietly say in my mind “thank you”.  Studies show saying thank you also improves personal and business relationships.  Taking time to express gratitude for your partner enhances positive feelings towards the other person and can open the door of communication.  In the workplace, managers who thank their employees regularly typically perform better and are happier.

3.  Pray and/or Meditate.  Sometimes this can be as simple as sitting down, closing your eyes and say this with in sync with breath… Breathe in peace, exhale gratitude.

Let’s create a shift and take these simple steps for seeing the good each day no matter what.

Namaste and Thank you!
Sara

See the Good

How many times in life you've been hurt by someone you trust or someone close to you?  It's hard when we don't understand someone's actions: apparently contradictory or over the top angry, distant, aggressive, hurtful, etc.  Makes you think whether you have really known someone.  Many times our reaction will mirror what we receive, things escalate quickly and over time we eventually disconnect.  What you do and how you react in those situations can determine the outcome of a marriage, friendship, working relationship, relationship with our children, etc.

I don't remember how it all started but today I consciously choose to believe people are good.  I do that as far as I can remember.  I'm always trying to understand the reason why someone is behaving in a certain way that seem incompatible with a situation or my expectation.  I tend to believe there is always something else going on that while may not justify the behavior will at least explain it.

I have a great friend who for a period of time seemed distant and uninterested in cultivating our relationship.  In the beginning I thought giving space to my ego: "I'm not calling him anymore.  If he's interested in the relationship he has to initiate the contact going forward.  It can't be always me.  I have other things to do and can't afford to invest that much time in an unilateral relationship".  Eventually I paused and chose to take a simple step: ask.  I insisted a few more times and then explained how I was feeling.  I asked what was the reason he was behaving that way.  I found out he was having serious family problems.

Most of the times we don't want to ask because we think it's all about us.  Many times we believe we are the center of the universe and it's all about us.  We should not go the extra step, it's the other person's turn.  That way we miss opportunities to keep relationships and sometimes even help other people.

I've been in the opposite side, where I was the one behaving in ways my friends, or spouse would not understand: "what is wrong with you?" some would ask.  That's when I also found out many times people don't have it clear.  They don't know they are behaving in a certain way and when asked they don't know why they are doing it.  There are many things that affect the way we react in a given moment that sometimes we can't even connect the dots.  How many times I reacted in exact opposing ways to the same situation.  An easy example is my relationship with my kids.  There are times they will do something that will really tick me off.  I get angry and sometimes end up regretting the way I reacted.  Another time they do the exact same thing and I react like a Tibetan monk: master of patience and wisdom.  Why?

Every time I have composure to stop and think through my reaction I end up being able to trace the cause.  I'm running late to do something, or hungry, or it's something that is unresolved at work I didn't consciously realized was still in the back of my mind, etc.  Yes, we are not perfect.  If we don't give a second chance to each other imperfections it's difficult if not impossible to build and maintain relationships.

That's why I choose to believe people are good and there is something that can clearly justify a behavior we can't immediately understand.  Making assumptions is a very dangerous approach.  Our assumptions can be far from reality.  It's easy to make assumptions than spend the time talking, after all we are sometimes hurt or irritated by someone's behavior.  However, in many occasions it's worth it.  Take the time.  There may be cases where it is how it feels.  Not always it will work out.  However, it's better to be certain than lose someone you love.

Namaste
Vinicius

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Vinicius da Costa has almost 46 years of experience in life ;-), teaches at and helps building Synergy Yoga & Wellness into a place you feel good and welcomed to grow your yoga journey.

Relax, Nothing Is Under Control

I have heard many times of people who get lost when faced with a major life changing event.  I have felt myself that way many times.  In all cases I eventually found myself, which gives me confidence I can consistently overcome it.  Nonetheless, when it happens it’s painful.

That feeling of emptiness in your chest, lack of motivation to do even the things you like, wanting to stay quiet and isolated, sadness and no direction to go.  How to get out of it?

(Side note: that’s a perfect time to write a story.  The suffering is a greatly inspiring tool to write something deep and dramatic).

I observe this very often when people retire or are let go, in empty nesters, in broken relationships, when one is living someone else’s dreams, etc.  The common place in all those situations is a temporary lack of a meaningful goal in life.

I’ll share my own recent story as an example.  For half of my life I dedicated myself to create a family and be able to give them a solid foundation that would make our lives better.  This was such a powerful intent that any sacrifice seemed minor.  Moving away from my parents and siblings, my culture and everything else I had was somewhat easy.  I did everything that I deemed required to support that goal.

Then, without much notice my marriage was over, my kids taken away from my daily life.  All of a sudden all the sacrifice that seemed minor before became a big question mark.  I was stuck in a place with no family.  My kids were away, my mother and siblings much farther away.  The natural question in my mind was: what do a do now?  All the things I was doing were in support to a goal that no longer existed.  That’s why everything felt empty.  The goal is what fills our hearts.  Once it’s over the only thing that remains is the empty skeleton we built around to support it.

The only solution is to find a new meaningful goal.  The trick is that during a period of time we will long for that lost goal that was filling our hearts, providing motivation to our brains and energy to our bodies.  You take that away and it will work as a power switch.  It will shut down everything else.

What can I do to change that situation?

In the beginning we will only see all the reasons why we can’t change.  Over time you start to find little things here and there that will try to spark the fire within.  Similar to a car engine that doesn’t run for a long time those small sparks may not get it going.  Like the dormant car engine there will be some care required for the spark to get it rolling: cleaning, oil, battery, fuel.  That’s where you must take control.

Sparks are free and happen all the time around you.  Prepare to leverage them:

1. Care for your visual: my grandma always told us to look nice, clean and well dressed.  She said it was even more important when we were not feeling good.  The act of taking care of your look and the visual cues coming from it will re-energize you.  She was right.
2. Do more of the things that make you feel good: think about those things that every time you do you feel better.  One rule applies though: they must be healthy!  Many times they are the simplest things like going to the movies, calling a friend, yoga, dancing, listening to music, etc.
3. Do less of the things you don’t like: or even stop them completely if possible.  There are many things we don’t like that we can’t stop but we can definitely reduce or plan to reduce.
4. Care for your body: stay active, move, eat well.
5. Care for your mind and spirit: pray and meditate.  Be patient with yourself.  Do yoga, which will take care of body, mind and spirit at the same time.

These 5 steps will get you ready to your next big thing.  When you least expect you’ll start noticing all these opportunities around you.  Your engine will be ready and these sparks will make it roll.  From there just enjoy the ride again.

As for me, life gave me Sara, my wife and soul mate, a great stepson, awesome extended family, and a new home.  I stay as close to my kids as humanly possible, trying to learn there are things I'll never control.  As I read the other day "Relax, nothing is under control".

Namaste
Vinicius

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Vinicius da Costa has almost 46 years of experience in life ;-), teaches at and helps building Synergy Yoga & Wellness into a place you feel good and welcomed to grow your yoga journey.

How did I get rid of all problems in my life

Hints: I didn't completely yet but getting there.  Yoga in its full teachings has a lot to do with my journey to be free of problems.

During my almost 46 years of life experience I realized something critical.  No matter how perfect my life was at a certain time, one thing always happened: a problem would eventually come up.  Can you relate to that?  You are cruising in peace and happiness, you are growing in your job, your kids are doing great in school, your family is healthy, you reconciled with your parents after a long time, your sister finally got a job and left your house, etc, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere you get big news: your spouse talks about divorce, someone close to you was diagnosed with some disease you haven't heard of, your company is acquired and you lose your job, you find drugs in your kid's room, one of your parents passes away or anything else in a multitude of bad things that can potentially happen to us.

Yes, I thought: "No matter how perfect my life seems to be, something negative will come up".  And that thought was exactly what triggered my journey to find a resolution.  I broke that idea down and a single word stood out from the rest.  Guess which one was it?  Negative.

That was my break through, my a-ha moment.  As I looked back in my life I was able to identify a trend.  There was a close relation between how badly the problem affected my life to how negative I perceived it to be.  If I thought that my life was going to be critically affected, my life ended up being critically affected.  When I thought I was going to be able to recover quickly, I recovered quickly.  The outcome was greatly impacted by the way I thought about it.  So the solution was easy, right?  See everything in a positive way!  Well, no.  It is not that simple.  I mean, that's the idea, however, it's easier said than done.  Some problems are really bad and can't be underestimated.  But in the end it does matter how you look into it.

I was always a very anxious person.  The fact I was constantly expecting a problem to come up made me very apprehensive, and the actual problem made me depressed.  So I decided to find a solution.  I came to yoga because of that and some other reasons, and a few yoga concepts helped me to change my view of the situation:

1. Breathe - it's amazing how shallow and short our breathing becomes when we face problems.  That triggers a "panic" reaction in our body and mind to do something immediate.  It's there to (or try to) save us from a bear in the forest, but unfortunately in the modern world we can't just run from all our problems (as much as we wish we did many times).  Problems have this stubborn way to find us again because no matter how much we run it's in our mind.  Changing scenery does help though but that's a topic for another post.  So, just breathing properly takes away a lot of the intensity of the problem.  Trust me.  It does sound too simple and it is.  Think about it.  Breathing is the source of life.  The way we do it has major impacts in the way we live.
2. Stay in the moment - anticipation and overthinking has a lot to do with how big the problem becomes in our mind.  Another great learning in my journey was that no matter how big the problem was there was always a solution and an end.  The anxiety and depression caused by the problem made it bigger than it actually was.  Some problems are already big enough so you don't want to make them even bigger.  Meditation and asanas helped me focus on the moment and see the problem under different lenses.

Honestly, I still have problems.  I now look into them as an opportunity.  Breathing and staying in the moment helped me see them that way.  I know bad things will happen.  I also know they will go away.  I'll look into them as a way to grow personally and will jump into them head on.  This doesn't mean I don't suffer, but make it more bearable and reduce the length of it.

I know I can't oversimplify or underestimate other people's problems.  I know there are situations that would be unbearable.  Reducing the stress of the other ones will at least keep me strong to face them.

Try this.  Find a comfortable and quiet place.  Take a long deep breathe, hold for a second and then exhale slowly.  Exhale twice as long as your inhale.  Keep going slower every time.  Close your eyes and travel to a place that is naturally peaceful for you: a beautiful and warm beach at sunrise, or the mountains.  Stay there and breathe.  If your problem tries to come back to your mind, don't wrestle it.  Allow it to fly away.  As you come back, notice how strong you are to face the problem.  You are stronger than you think.  Trust me.

Namaste
Vinicius

Vinicius da Costa has almost 46 years of experience in life ;-), teaches at and helps building Synergy Yoga & Wellness into a place you feel good and welcomed to grow your yoga journey.