hearts and bones..sit schedule..come!

pearls do not live on the seashore..
if you want one - 
you must dive for one ~
             oriental proverb

Sunday april 12

Sunday may 17
Sunday june 14
( Julie Cowen will oversee these two for you!)

4-6 pm
by donation

No foolin' ~ new yogini ~ yoga schedule

i must learn to love the fool in me -
who feels too much,
talks too much
& takes too many chances....
                       theodore issac rubin


here it is ~ the new schedule for  a wing..
please note :
Kathy has moved in!
Jeri will not be teaching her Monday 
evening class April 6, 13 and 20..
she'll be back the 27th..

you'll find the bio of each teacher, 
their class schedule and class fee..

'tis a change and a mighty one..
LONG LIVE IMPERMANENCE !



Jeri Lancaster

Jeri's yoga practice began in 2002, with dunja.  She still remembers doing her first full back bend ever in her first yoga class ever.  Jeri kept practicing with dunja and other local teachers, not just for the physical benefits of the practice, but because yoga gave her a place to quiet her mind.  She completed her yoga teacher training during the summer of 2013, at Flow Yoga in Hood River.  The catchphrase during the teacher training was: "advanced yoga is not advanced asana, advanced yoga is advanced awareness."  That phrase sums up what we are trying to find in our yoga practice, starting from a deep awareness of the body in the pose, then working towards an awareness of what's happening in our heart and mind.

In Jeri's classes, there is a balance between careful attention to physical alignment and simple movements that flow with the breath.  Students are guided into poses in ways that add to their bodies strength and ease, and to use the practice as a meditation in motion to ease their minds.  (All while not taking ourselves too seriously, of course.)

monday 6:30 pm  
may and june
wednesday 7 pm
friday 9 am
drop-in $15  ~  5 classes for $60

Kathy Johnson RYT

Kathy has been practicing Hatha and Vinyasa style yoga for over 14 years.  She initially tried yoga hoping to find relief from severe low back pain, and soon found that she not only felt better, but also had more strength and coordination when participating in her favorite sports and activities.

She completed her 200-hr RYT in spring 2014, with a special concentration in Yin yoga, and an additional 100 hours of yoga immersion in early 2015. Kathy appreciates the therapeutic and spiritual benefits that yoga has to offer, especially the calm, peacefulness of pranayama and meditation. Her hope is to help others find yoga and begin to experience the benefits of an alignment-based practice.

Monday 8 am yin practice                     may and june
Tuesday 5:30 pm beginners                   Tuesday 8 am 
Thursday 10  am                                     Thursday 8 am
drop-in $15 ~ 4 classes for $50


Julie Cowen
Julie lives in Anacortes and has been in the Skagit Valley for nearly thirty years. She has studied with dunja through many of those years and has also practiced with others in a variety of classes from Hatha and Vinyasana flow, Anusara, and Iyengar disciplines and in master class study. Julie has a strong connection to nature and loves to get her hands dirty as spiritual practice. Her personal practice focuses on nourishing and opening to the heart's fullest expression.

may and june
Saturday 9 am
 drop-in $15
  9  saturdays for $108

Sue Jones
Sue Jones has been involved with alternative health practices and nursing for over 30 years. She received her yoga certification in 2001 in San Diego and has been involved with teaching small groups in her spare time over the years. She is passionate about mind-body-spirit healing and feels that yoga fits in with this approach perfectly.

Sue will be the honored substitute, if necessary..


what an opportunity for us all to stretch beyond the known..

learn a new language and get a new soul...
                           ~czech proverb

beaming through all gloom ~ happy spring!

from hongzhi's practice instructions ~

study the buddha and research his lineage's subtlety.
you must clarify your heart,
dive into the spirit,
and silently wander in contemplation,
apprehending the dharma's source.

without pettiness,
or weaving hairs to create an obstacle,
be magnanimous without appearances.

splendid and lustrous like the waters moistening spring,
noble like the moon overwelming the darkness,
from the beginning just beam through all gloom,
profoundly free from stain.

constantly still and constantly glorious,
the stillness is not extinguished by causes,
the glory is not marred by shadows.

vacant,
round,
and pure,
the empty kalpa will not shift,
shake,
or obscure this source.

able to be serene,
and able to know,
here you can walk securely.

the jade vessel turns over on its side,
at once dispensing energy for you to return,
share yourself,
and respond to the world.

in this realm are the separate, limited forms,
but all are only what the self establishes,
arising along with our own four elements.

how could there be any obstruction?

since this mind is entirely without obstruction,
there is no difference between that one and me,
self and other are not separated by their names.

sounds and colors crowd together,
carefree and transcendent,
directly leaping into each other.

so it is said
that mountains and rivers
are not separated.

you must embody this
like the brightness
apparent everywhere.

ides of march heart sutra sit

mark your march calendar for the
15th of march
sunday
4-6 pm
by donation

come and sit still
chant a wee while
walk the walk


happy new year!
wood sheep ~
tashi delek!

here's what's up !

growing up
one of my wings beat faster,
i couldn't help it -
the one away from the light.

it hurt to be told all the time
how i loved that terrible flame.
                ~william stafford

to make a long story shorter..
the yoga classes will run as scheduled
thru the end of april!

in may and june, the same schedule will be available
with new and brilliant teachers and guides..
in july ~
beginning tuesday, the 7th..of july
i'll be back for the next four months..
july thru octobre..
then..
the same brilliant teachers and guides..
(more or less)
will lead you through classes
thru the winter season..thru spring..

i plan to return in may of 2016
(who, in heaven's name can know all this?)
for another 6 months of sharing the dharma..

it will be a spiced up version of a wing and a prayer 
with new vitality..
some younger teachers..
refreshing new classes..
what a miracle!
then the olde teabag and soup pot
will arrive to stir things up..
please stay close, if you can..
let's unfold the mystery together!

the sun came up differently today.
souls move in the changing light.

jupiter, the moon, the good luck house we inhabit,
the friend, all one presence today,
this grand health where we are servants to each other.

one who pours wine and makes toasts
arrives at the banquet just as it is over.

it is the perfect beginning for ending,
as feet become head in this new way.
        ~ rumi

heart sutra sit... february 15

the old man

must have stopped our car

two dozen times to climb out

and gather into his hands

the small toads blinded

by our lights and leaping,

drops of rain.

the rain was falling,

a mist about his white hair

and i kept saying

you can't save them all,

accept it, get back in

we've got places to go.

but, leathery hands full

of wet brown life,

knee deep in the summer

roadside grass,

he just smiled and said

they have places to go

too.

             ~birdfoot's granpa

               joseph bruchac

remember!
we are practicing for the great benefit of all beings..
we are not crossing the great ocean ahead of anyone..
we bow before our ancestors and all sentient beings..
we practice for the great vast!

HEART SUTRA SIT
SUNDAY
FEBRUARY 15
4-6 PM
by donation

the heart of the matter-valentine's 2015

stuff your eyes with wonder ..

live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds.

                        ~ ray bradbury

there has been some kind of whirly-gig 

with my balance and the gravitational pull and push..

1000 miles an hour, you know ~

after the rib stumble..

and the next two tumbles..

i am paying attention!

withdrawal can be the very best way 

of stepping forward 

and done well, a beautiful freeing act of mercy.

withdrawal is often not what it looks like - 

a disappearance -

no, to withdraw.. 

can be to appear again in the world

in a very real way and begin the process

of renewing the primary, 

essential invitation again.

to remove ourselves...

is often the real and radically

courageous break for freedom.

we make ourselves available 

for the simple purification

of seeing ourselves (and others) 

and the world more elementally

and therefore more clearly again.

we withdraw not to disappear, 

but to find another ground from which to see; 

a solid ground from which to step, 

and from which to speak again,

in a different way, 

a clear...embodied voice.... 

                                         consolations - david whyte

~ withdrawing ~

everything seems to be falling (excuse the pun) into place 

for me to find my traveling boots and set out yet again..

what a run we've had at the studio this stint..

2 years in march!

a new floor..such a beauty..

( and leaving the place better than when we found it!)

6 practice classes per week -

praises and gratitude 

to jeri lancaster for her monday night offering

big benefit for yoga behind bars..

ora mae's elegant quote book ~

sallie's picnic table ..

blankets and blocks..

monthly heart sutra sits ~ om gate gate!

a trunkful of money for the elephant sanctuary ~

thank you, thank you for your brilliance..

your presence and your generous hearts..

(~many heartfelt thanks to ricky knue 

who kept the classes steady and graced

on my last romp around the planet ~)

my dream is to keep the studio a 'flying.. 

though i simply don't know how to go about this ~

i welcome any ideas, suggestions & wisdom

with a wide heart & mind 

regarding a wing's transformation..

my vision is to return 6 months of the year

and share practice w/ those interested..

help! please!

in finding a new flight pattern..higher ground..shared space..

i would have liked very much to 

sit face to face with each of you,

a cuppa in front of us..

sharing the news and the new horizon..

kindly accept this note as just that ~

please know that i am devoted to the practice

of waking up..devoted to the dharma treasures..

devoted to you - the practictioners..

let us practice strong these next few months!

let us remember & actualize our clear light luminosity!

those of you with class series..

you'll be able to clear the books

as i am here thru the end of april..

if you are unable to attend classes, please!

feel free to pass your classes on to family and friends..

the series never expires so perhaps 

we'll meet on the mat when i return.. 

i am - as always - boundlessly grateful

for the breath we breathe in the same vicinity ~

lovers gather and give each other shade,

relief from the direct sun.

stay close by that community

'til you become light like the moon,

then like the sun.

                           ~rumi

i am selling many things..

- giving much away - 

gathering funds..emptying out..

please let me know if you need or want anything..

i must surely have it somewhere!

o how i long to keep the world

from narrowing in on me

and to look at things bigly and kindly.

                 ~william morris

  

~ love is the heart of the matter~