December 2022 at Oyster Bay Yoga

Rest

Dear Oyster Bay Yogis,

Happy December! Go EASY on yourself. I hope you can continue to take some time out of your busy holiday/end-of-year schedule for a little bit of rest, it’s our theme of the month! As an added incentive, this month in my classes we’ll be taking extended savasana. Don’t worry, if savasana is the hardest posture for you, I’ll be guiding you through some relaxation techniques so your busy mind has something non-stressful to chew on.

Consider what you might need to receive from your practice this time of year. It’s ok to let your practice grow, or slow, or change WITH you. That’s what will help sustain us, and keep us coming back. Take some time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished this year on your mat - thank yourself for each and every conscious breath! And, if the people you love the most in this world are annoying you through the holidays - leave your house, skip down to the studio for an hour, and come back to your breath. Nothing makes me happier than to see you get your break for the day within our 4 walls. Thanks for filling our space with your smiling face these past 12 months. Cheers to a happy, healthy 2023!

See you on the mat!

Amy

Pose of the Month

Salamba Savasana: Supported Corpse Pose

This month we breakdown Salamba Savasana, or Supported Corpse Pose. Click to watch the video!

Sutra of the Month

Naturally we make mistakes, but when, through want of understanding, we fail to reappraise or reflect, error becomes habit. As the processes of thought and action have existed from the beginning of civilization, so has trial and error been used in the search for knowledge. The discriminative power of intelligence comes to an end and pure wisdom alone remains, in which perception and action are simultaneous. Objective and subjective knowledge become one. This is the highest knowledge.

Oil of the Month

Our December OOTM is:

Peppermint

“Originating in India, Peppermint has been used for centuries for its revitalizing properties. Steam distilled from the leaves of the mint plant, Peppermint Essential Oil creates a strongly aromatic scent that has a fresh, cool, grassy-minty smell. This scent is invigorating to the senses and helps promote energy and alertness. Peppermint is a refreshing and stimulating oil that is both soothing and enlightening.

Peppermint Essential Oil has a cooling effect on the skin that is revitalizing and wonderful to the touch, due to its menthol content. With many amazing uses for this essential oil, Peppermint is a valuable addition to any oil collection.

Peppermint can be diluted in a carrier oil and applied to the temples and back of the neck when having head and neck tension. Add, well-diluted, to a carrier oil for an uplifting massage. It is also helpful to sniff when having a queasy stomach. Also useful at the end of a long day as a foot-soak, add a few drops to ½ cup of Epsom salt dissolved in warm water.” -Plant Therapy

Click here to learn more about Peppermint

This month, enjoy 20% off your purchase of Peppermint essential oil at the studios.

Monthly Challenge Winner

Our Monthly Challenge Winner for November 2022 is:

Kate Lucano

Congratulations Kate! You attended 19 classes in the month of November, and you’ll get your next month of membership for free! Great job! Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our community.

Who will be our December winner?

Holiday Schedule

Happy Holidays! This week's schedule changes are as follows:

  • Saturday, December 24th: Closed (No Classes) at both studios

  • Sunday, December 25th: Closed (No Classes) at both studios

  • Saturday, December 31st: Normal Saturday Schedule at both studios

  • Sunday, January 1st: 10:30AM New Year’s Day Class at Oyster Bay Yoga / Closed at Glen Cove Yoga

Events

 

Pajama Yoga

Friday, December 2nd

6:30pm-7:30pm

with Diana Singh

at Oyster Bay Yoga

Kids ages 4-10 can come dressed in their PJ's for a fun yoga class with stretching, games and stories to help them get ready for bed.

Milk & cookies provided!

$15 per child

Full Moon Movement, Meditation & Gong Bath

Wednesday, December 7th

7:15-8:30pm

with Martha Flanagan

at Oyster Bay Yoga

Full Moon Gong Meditations allow us to honor the cyclical nature of the moon together. During the class there will be a seated meditation, incorporating mantra, pranayama and mudra, gentle movement to prepare the mind and body for the healing vibrations of the Gong.

$24 to drop-in / FREE for members

Oyster Bay Holiday Market & Tree Lighting

This is always a wonderful, family-friendly event. Hot chocolate, & other treats, mini outdoor skating rink & local vendors selling holiday gifts, tree lighting & a visit from Santa. Thanks to the Chamber of Commerce for continuing the tradition this year. Oyster Bay Yoga will be there, and we hope to see you!

Come down to the heart of the hamlet of Oyster Bay!

Once again, the Oyster Bay - East Norwich Chamber of Commerce & the Oyster Bay Main Street Association brings to you this beloved annual Holiday event!

Take a stroll around town, check out the shops and market, grab some gifts for friends and loved ones, grab a bite, grab a drink, and be merry!

Festivities kick off at noon with the kid's ice skating rink. The market begins at 1pm! There will be continuous activities throughout the afternoon including a visit from SANTA! Tree Lighting will be around sunset (appx 4:30). See you there!

Yin Yoga

Sunday, December 11th

2:45-4:00pm

with Martha Flanagan

at Oyster Bay Yoga

Are you moving too fast?
Doing too many things at one time?
Too much "mind chatter" or just want to slow down?

Yin yoga can provide an antidote for this.
This class will guide you through a series of poses that are primarily done sitting and lying down. The poses are held for 2-5 minutes at a time to allow connective tissues (fascia, ligaments) to soften, lengthen and lubricate. A yin yoga practice compliments a yang practice and allows for a more balanced approach to life.

$24 to drop-in/FREE for members

Friday Night Flow: Holiday Flow

Friday, December 16th

5:30pm-6:30pm

with Anne Davidson

at Oyster Bay Yoga

Tis the season! Let’s celebrate and move in a one hour all-levels flow class to festive tunes that will put you in the holiday spirit.

$15 to drop-in/FREE for members

New Year’s Day Class

Sunday, January 1st

10:30-11:45am

with Sydney Matuszak

at Oyster Bay Yoga

This time of year can invoke different feelings in all of us, from being stressed and tense from the holiday season to feeling joyous in welcoming a new year. Sometimes setting resolutions for the full year can be daunting.

Instead, let's take it one month at a time.


Practice will start out with some breathwork to dial into the present moment. Then we'll move into a grounding, balance-focused flow for 1 hour to find our footing for perhaps our first practice of the new year.

After practice, we'll have time to journal and reflect on our upcoming January to set practical goals! If that's not your thing, you're welcome to stay in savasana longer or take a seated meditation for the duration.

Hope to see you there.

$25 to drop-in/FREE for members

21 Day Meditation Challenge

Sunday, January 8th - Saturday, January 28th

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit

Let’s use the first weeks of 2023 to form a meditation practice that will serve us throughout the entire year.

What does it feel like inside your mind right now? Do your thoughts run wild throughout your day? Do you feel like you don’t have any control over what happens inside your mind?

Meditation can absolutely help us clear our minds more efficiently, but it can also help us cope with, and even reframe any distressing, pervasive thinking.

Do you feel like you CAN’T meditate? Well, let me ask you this: Can you think of any time in your life when you felt completely absorbed in a task? (your work? your studies? your yard work?) Perhaps it was something enjoyable, or something repetitive (folding laundry? going for a run?). And when you were absorbed in this tasks, do you remember having a feeling of forgetting everything else? A sense of time moving more quickly? It feels really good when we stumble upon these moments of meditation in our everyday lives, right? Those moments of being completely absorbed ARE a state of meditation. We all CAN do it. However, when we sit down to TRY to meditate, oftentimes our mind picks back up its incessant chatter.

We know we WANT to get into a state of meditation, and we WANT to have that feeling of timelessness, but anything worth doing takes practice. Through this program we’ll create the routine, and train our brains to find stillness (just like you train your abs at the gym). There’s also power in togetherness. So, let’s let’s do this together, and support each other in our commitment to cultivating more peace and ease in our inner worlds. What could be more important than that?

What to expect

Week 1:

Find Your Rhythm

Learn to guide yourself into a state of meditation through simple cues you can easily learn and repeat each time you sit down to meditate.

Week 2:

Refine Your Intention

Now that you’ve found your rhythm, and feel more comfortable entering a state of meditation, you can begin to clarify and refine your intention for meditating. How we approach our meditation will impact what we receive from the practice.

Week 3:

Discover Your Center

Now that you’ve learned how to enter a state of meditation, and you’ve settled into your intention, learn to center, and re-center as you lengthen sitting time, and cultivate stillness and inner-peace.

Register for the Challenge

Each week includes 6 pre-recorded meditations you can practice at your own pace. Choose a time that works best for you. The 7th meditation each week will be “live” with Amy on a Zoom call at 7am. You can join in live, or you can watch the recording of the live meditation practice anytime.

No experience required. No special equipment required. Listen in from any device.

Yoga Book Club

Friday, January 20th

7:00-9:00pm

with Peggy Adair

at Oyster Bay Yoga

Save the date!

Join us for a one hour all levels flow yoga class followed by an hour discussion about our Book Club pick,

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer!

BYO snacks & drinks to enjoy during the book discussion.

$25 to drop-in/FREE for members

Upcoming Events & Schedule Updates

EVENTS

SCHEDULE UPDATES

Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter. I look forward to seeing you soon. Until then, stay well.

Amy