Lotus Blossoms

If the lingering (and, some would say, malingering) winter and late-blooming spring of 2013 have taught us one thing, here it is: Sometimes we must create our own heat, shine our own light, and show our own colors. As April behaved more like a stubborn ram than a mild lamb, we experienced “thunder snow” and shopped around desperately for more snow-melt crystals just at the time we had hoped to be slipping on stylish new rain boots and garden gloves.

Our neighbors Roger and Edie, who wisely and annually spend some weeks in Hawaii in late winter, were spotted shoveling with the most divine deep tans in April in sharp contrast to the foothills of snow that were once again accumulating alongside their driveway and sidewalks. To be honest, it looked other-worldly! One day as I drove past, hoping that I was waving at him with more gaiety than I felt, Roger simply broke into mad laughter and shook his head at the odd turn of events, even as a sad little flock of hungry robins huddled into his evergreens watching in feathery disbelief.

Our neighborhood’s Divine Miss M – no, not Midler but Mosier – shocked me when she yelled across the brunch table in my direction one day, “We’re moving to Arizona!” Well, not permanently, I cajoled. “You bet your sweet —- (use your imagination here; what can I say? She’s from Chicago’s South Side.)!” Two days later, I called her and offered not only to sell their house, but also to box up their belongings, drive them down there, and unpack if only I could use the guest room for just one month a year. Good friend Julie texted me from Costa Rica around April 2, “Thinking of coming home a week early. What do you think?” It happened to be a balmy 45 degrees or so that day in Minneapolis. Yes, I said, it’s gorgeous. She’s been dressed in her parka ever since.

No one complained in April about how hot the studio was for their Monday night gentle class, even though they were following a 90-degree power vinyasa session. Students begged for the curtains to be drawn so they wouldn’t have to gaze on the once-again frozen pond and the whiteness of everything. We practiced to tango music because it reminded us there were warm places on the planet; we defiantly adorned ourselves in pastel tank tops and leggings. Debbie G., defying all odds and health concerns, strode through the door in her flip-flop during one late blast of Arctic air, snowflakes clinging to her bare toes. Eighteen weeks –not days – in India might have been just enough.

This is why the 2013 Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge, which begins Memorial Day, is going to be more fun and sweeter than ever. Forget that you can win State Fair tickets and other grand prizes or earn 10, 15, or 20 percent off your first fall package – or equivalent account bucks. (Fall? Fall? Did she have to write the word “fall”?) Never mind that the summer schedule includes one-of-kind classes you can take for no extra cost, or that you’ll get the new GL tank top or shirt for participating. No. We’re going to do it because it’s summer, pure and simple. We’re going to move, groove, compete, stretch, lose weight, and build muscle because we have waited a long time. We’re going to sign up in droves as fast as our flip-flops can get us there because it’s finally Summer in Minnesota. Arizona be dashed!

 

Marcia (writing), MB, Candy, and Christie

 

P.Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge details below!

 

 

Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge

Sign up by June 15!

Green Lotus want to challenge you to bump up your practice for the summer!  We also want to entice & encourage you with free stuff, discounts, prizes, and even $$$ to spend! Join now for only $10!!

• Get a Free Green Lotus Sizzlin’ Summer Challenge tank top
• Attend any Special Sizzlin’ Summer Class, held on a variety of topics from chakras to cleansing, and use your class package, unlimited monthly yoga, or pay with a drop-in.
• If you hit the goal of an average of 3 classes per week, you will receive 20% off your first yoga class package after the end of the challenge.  Participants who have unlimited yoga will get $25 in their Green Lotus account to spend on retail, healing services, or anything!
• If you hit the goal of an average of 2 classes per week, you will receive 15% off your first yoga class package after the end of the challenge.  Participants who have unlimited yoga will get $15 in their Green Lotus account.
• The three people with the top attendance will win a really awesome prize.
• The three people with the top Special Sizzlin’ Summer Class attendance will win an awesome prize too, but there will be no double-dipping (these prizes will go to six different people).

Sizzlin’ Summer Class Schedule

Sizzlin’ Summer Classes are like mini-workshops taught by your favorite Green Lotus teachers. All classes are one hour long. They cover a wide variety of topics.  Here is what we have scheduled so far, but we will be adding a few more. Please see class descriptions below the schedule.

Lakeville	Class	Teacher
Tuesday, June 11, 6:30 p.m.	Bite Size Pieces of Chaturanga Dandasana	Bailey Anderson
Thursday, June 13, 5:15 p.m.	Goddess Yoga: Calling on Kali, the Fierce Goddess of Empowerment	Maureen Farley
Thursday, June 27, 5:15 p.m.	Yoga and Inner Mantra: A Practice for Body, Mind, & Spirit	Maureen Farley
Tuesday, July 16, 7 p.m.	What Happens Next? Moving Through Your Yoga Practice: A Discussion	Bailey Anderson
Friday, July 19, 6 p.m.	Free Flow	Patti Opsahl
Thursday, August 1, 5:15 p.m.	Goddess Yoga: Lakshmi, the Embodiment of Abundance, Prosperity & Grace	Maureen Farley
Saturday, August 10, 11:30 a.m.	Bite Size Pieces of Chaturanga Dandasana	Bailey Anderson
Friday, August 16, 6p.m.	Free Flow	Patti Opsahl
Thursday, August 22, 5:15 p.m.	Pranayama and the 3 Aspects of Breath	Maureen Farley

 

Mendota Heights	Class	Teacher
Saturday, June 8, 11:30 a.m.	Heart Opening Yoga	Dr. Alane Lucht
Wednesday, June 19, 7:30 p.m.	Gently Restore	Patti Opsahl
Thursday, June 20, 6 p.m.	Yoga and Inner Mantra: A Practice for Body, Mind, & Spirit	Maureen Farley
Saturday, June 22, 6 p.m.	Inversions: Its Not Just Standing on Your Head	Dr. Alane Lucht
Sunday, June 23, 6:30 p.m.	Free Flow	Patti Opsahl
Tuesday, June 25, 6 p.m.	Chakra Flow	Dr. Alane Lucht
Thursday, July 11, 6 p.m.	Goddess Yoga: Lakshmi, the Embodiment of Abundance, Prosperity & Grace	Maureen Farley
Saturday, July 13, 11:30 p.m.	Heart Opening Yoga	Dr. Alane Lucht
Saturday, July 20, 11:30 a.m.	Inversions: Its Not Just Standing on Your Head	Dr. Alane Lucht
Wednesday, July 17, 7:30 p.m.	Gently Restore	Patti Opsahl
Sunday, July 21, 6:30 p.m.	Free Flow	Patti Opsahl
Thursday, July 25, 6 p.m.	Goddess Yoga: Calling on Kali, the Fierce Goddess of Empowerment	Maureen Farley
Tuesday, August 6, 6 p.m.	What Happens Next? Moving Through Your Yoga Practice: A Discussion	Bailey Anderson
Thursday, August 8, 6 p.m.	Pranayama and the 3 Aspects of Breath	Maureen Farley
Wednesday, August 14, 7:30 p.m.	Gently Restore	Patti Opsahl
Thursday, August 15, 6 p.m.	Yoga and Inner Mantra: A Practice for Body, Mind, & Spirit	Maureen Farley
Saturday, August 17, 11:30 a.m.	Chakra Flow	Dr. Alane Lucht
Sunday, August 18, 6:30	Free Flow	Patti Opsahl
Tuesday, August 27, 6 p.m.	Inversions: Its Not Just Standing on Your Head	Dr. Alane Lucht

Stillwater	Class	Teacher
Wednesday, July 24, 4:45 p.m.	Bite Size Pieces of Chaturanga Dandasana	Bailey Anderson

 

Essays, News

Why? This is the one-word question you ask yourself. It is the question your children and others ask you. It is the question you ask others. When the world shifts, as it did at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, it is so human of us to ask that simple question. Why?

 And then the question builds on itself:  Why? Why here? Why now? Why her/him? We watch the same footage over and over, seeking clues that stack up to answers.

 When no simple answers are forthcoming, it is tempting – and fully human of us – to devolve into a dark place, to despair, and perhaps to denigrate unknown “others” who may or may not have committed this horrendous act. It is so easy to feel alone, to feel diminished.

 But other news is breaking, if only we observe. Everywhere people were helping others; not only the courageous first-response teams (how brave they are, how focused), but also common citizens who opened hands, hearts, and homes to the strangers in their midst. Out of the chaos and the shock pours the pure light of people helping people and out of that comes the growing understanding that this didn’t happen just to “us.” It happened to the whole world, to the good people of any country that had runners in that race and were watching their countrywomen/men and cheering for them with hope and pride.

 This is the lesson of the mat, why we come together to practice in group classes and workshops an tod work with the healers at the centers: We are connected, and we are not alone. We are strengthened and supported by our connection, and we are not diminished. We walk our paths openly and freely, and we cannot be forced into ever smaller spaces – externally or internally.

 We believe in community, we support it, we promote it – in Lakeville, in Mendota Heights, and now in Stillwater. The currency of our shared experience at the centers, as it was in Boston, is our common humanity – unshaken, unyielding, unbroken.

Marcia Appel, Green Lotus founder and teacher

News

When we embarked on the Green Lotus journey five years ago almost to this day, we sailed into unchartered waters. When we explained to most banks and landlords the plan – to offer integrated alternative healing services, including yoga, in one place - puzzled faces gazed back at us. Oh, they knew a little about yoga, massage, acupuncture. But Chinese medicine, healing touch, Reiki, holistic chiropractic? Not so much. When we revealed our simple mission – to help persons heal and grow from the inside out – they showed interest and hesitancy. Then, miracle of miracles, one local bank held out a helping hand and guided us through the requirements of the SBA to ensure financing. The plan took root.

You, however – the yogis, the clients, the adventurers, the healthy, and the longing-for-health – understood from the beginning. When we opened our doors for the first time in December 2007, you entered with curiosity, awareness, excitement, and encouragement. You didn’t need to read the business plan or sit through a presentation. You simply wanted to explore new ways to improve health and vitality, to find calm and peace, and to support yourself and others. When we celebrated our first birthday in 2008 with a customer appreciation day, you pioneers arrived in droves. You told stories about the first class, the most exquisite massage or other healing treatment, a mind-opening workshop, some of them funny, all of them poignant and personal.

Today Green Lotus turns five, and once again we are excited to greet you for an all-day party at Lakeville and Mendota Heights. The pretty gift bags line the walls, the treats – savory and sweet – spill over the tables, the twinkle lights sparkle and reflect on the new fallen snow which finally arrived last night to turn Minnesota from brown and tan to white and bright. We will reminesce, laugh, and reflect. You will decide if the bonus gift card you purchase is for yourself or someone else – and you won’t feel guilty if it’s for you because you know first-hand it’s the gift of health. Dozens of people will try yoga for the first time in our Especially for Beginners workshops, others will have their auras read or have a sample mini-healing session, and some will lift their voices with ours in a kirtan late this afternoon, the proceeds of which will go to Off the Mat’s efforts to help end human slavery.

We, the partners, healers, and teachers at GL, will see you all for what you really are: The rain, the sunshine, the nutrients that showered the root planted by one brave banker and the SBA. And for that we offer our eternal gratitude.

By Marcia Appel, grateful founder of Green Lotus, teacher, and student

 

 

Essays, News

I knew that all was not right with my world when my husband brought me my daily wake-up of extra bold, and I felt blue all over, my whole body rejecting it. I was either pregnant or all hell was about to cut loose on planet Gwen.

I was not pregnant.

The next three days I surfed the astral plane of delirium and rode the magic carpet of my queen-sized bed. I would wake up in pools of sweat with my teeth chattering. I had the time to chat with my body and comment on the wild party going on within. (Writer’s note: No Nyquil or meds were involved in the writing of this entry.) 

 During one of my magic carpet rides I was walking down the streets of India with Lakshmi, the many-armed bearer of wealth, prosperity, and abundance, who let it be known on no uncertain terms that I would learn as much if not more about my truest self from my sick bed in Bloomington as I could here on the streets of India. I awoke sick as ever but a bit relieved. As a yogini, I always felt it was my obligation to walk the streets of Calcutta and go back to the place where my way of life all began. Now, somehow, I felt off the hook.

Thank you, Lakshmi.

Well, I am back off to my magic carpet (bed), where maybe Lakshmi will be waiting for me with more divine wisdom. Be well, but if not, enjoy riding the astral plane!

Gwen Linden-Bruzek, Teacher and Ayurvedic Health Educator

News awareness, Yoga

Welcome to our new Blog!

Check back often for the latest news and musings from our Green Lotus Yoga Center Staff.

Thank You.

The Green Lotus Staff

News