Community Connections: Breath as a Compass

An Introduction to Pranayama

This event is part of our Community Connection programming: a seasonal offering, free to BYMC members and open to all. It's an opportunity to connect with the people you practice with while also diving into enriching topics.

Breathing is inherently relational, has the profound capacity to be self-revealing, and is possibly the most mundane thing we do on this impossibly beautiful planet. The shapers of the yoga practice, with their refined and complex understanding of the subtle architecture of life, have left detailed maps for contemporary practitioners to follow, each of the cardinal directions of the compass rose pointing toward liberation.

In this experience we'll spend some time in somatic exploration of our breathing bodies, some time in quiet contemplation, some time in group discussion, and we'll look closely at and work with (at least) 2 kinds of pranayama.

Pranayama is the movement of vital energy (prana) utilizing the breath. We first enter our lives and the larger story of relating with an inhalation, and by grace we depart it on the current of the breath out going. And while the molecular composite of the sky has and will continue to change, each of us breathers is in league with every breather who has ever breathed and will ever breathe, ever. Breath is the ineffable strand wending through the warp and weft of a life, kin to the mind, every single bodily system, and the subtle timbre undergirding the relational experience.

What to bring:

• Feel free to bring your own journal/sketch book, paper and pens will be available.

  
  

Date/Time

Saturday, October 18th

1:00pm - 3:00pm

In-person

Investment

This event is free for BYMC members

Use the exclusive discount code at checkout. Email us if you need the code: connect@thebymc.com. Donations from members are welcome if you feel called.

Non-member pricing below:

Tiered; Supported $29 / Sustainer $39 / Amplifier $49

To request equity pricing, contact connect@thebymc.com

Fragrance Notice:

Our studio is a fragrance-free zone. Please avoid wearing or using scented products at the studio. Natural and synthetic scents such as essential oils and scented personal care products, laundry detergents, and perfumes cause debilitating symptoms for some of our community members. Thank you for being a part of creating a more accessible space.

Covid Safety:

There are no requirements for this series. Masking is optional and we ask that you stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of illness.

About Cary Spaeth (she/her/they/them)

I have been a dedicated practitioner of Yoga for more than half my life, and have been teaching for more than a decade. I came to the Shadow Yoga practice after the death of my father when I was in my early 30s, having felt the instinctual/intuitive pull to an established and strong container that I understood to be authentic in its approach, and have been on that particular path ever since. The elegance of that practice informs the facilitation I offer, and supports my life in every other way.

In another life I was the steward of North Portland Yoga, and that was an honor in the highest. I attempt to be a humble guest on this path and bow deeply to the lands whence it comes. I have studied in-depth with Sarah Trelease from whom I received certification to teach hatha + vinyasa yoga; and I have learned the Shadow Yoga practice from Mandy Kruger. I am a grief/death worker, having gone through a formal training program with Alua Arthur and Going With Grace. I am so very honored to be in this practice and in this life with you.