Category Archives: Poems

Fall’s Descent

Blog, Life and Yoga, PoemsBy Todd November 11, 2018 Leave a comment

Fall is a cold wet curtain,
coming down on us all
like a mother at dusk
urging her children indoors
sooner than they’re ready.

Yoga, movement, breath, and community ARE essentia

Yoga, movement, breath, and community ARE essential business, especially in times of chaotic uncertainty 🌪
In the nearly two decades of practicing yoga & fourteen years of studio ownership, we’ve been present to the folks in our community who have had to weather some very serious storms in their lives. We’ve weathered a few ourselves ☔️ It’s always been our policy that, for folks going through a particularly difficult time, yoga is on the house. Many have taken us up on the offer and leveraged their practice as a processing tool. We have heard countless stories from our beloved community about how yoga and community played an integral role in healing from the trauma of loss, and kept them sane as they navigated extreme existential uncertainty 📖
Right now, we are all going through a difficult time. On top of that, our house has been closed down. We have no available sanctuary to offer 🏡
While we understand the logic behind the government ordered shelter in place laws - and safety is paramount - closure seems like it adds insult to injury 😢
We find ourselves wondering why so many corporate monoliths remain open while so many small businesses have had to close up shop 🖐

Yoga teaches us to let go of our grasping for things beyond our control so we can free up bandwidth for that which we can 🙏

If you didn’t know, we opened an online class platform where you can enjoy a full virtual class schedule for just $15 per month. If you’re not able to pay this, please reach out so we can help. If you want to help ensure a sanctuary to return to after this blows over, please tell your friends far and wide about our virtual offerings. Encourage them to lean into yoga this way. There’s never been a better time for practice than now 🕰
Thank you family. Stay safe and healthy 🧘🏼‍♀️

As of Tuesday, March 17, the doors of Yoga Union C

As of Tuesday, March 17, the doors of Yoga Union Community Wellness Center will be closed along with those of our collaborating business, Prema Health. This marks the first closing for anything other than holidays since we opened over 20 years ago. Needless to say, our hearts are heavy from having to make this decision. It is not something we are choosing, but rather something we feel we need to do in order to meet the demands we are facing.
What next?
Introducing Virtual Y.U.
In order to continue providing yoga classes that support the stresses of your life and times, we have implemented a new online yoga platform. It is our intention to maintain close resemblance to our existing yoga schedule via live streaming. Virtual Y.U. allows our teachers to lead classes and you to join classes live from the safety and comfort of your own homes! While we recognize this is not the same as practicing together in physical space, we sincerely hope it continues to support your healthy practices of movement and breath as we navigate what it feels like to experience a pandemic coupled with social distancing.
We are hoping to implement this online platform as early as tomorrow, 3/17. Please stay tuned for details.
Weekly Community Check In
We plan to launch a Weekly Community Check In via Zoom . The virtual gatherings we hold will address three fundamental intentions:
1. To continue to share the medicine of togetherness.
2. To hear the needs of our community and provide aid.
3. To share in our humanness amidst what could potentially be a very difficult time. Please stay tuned for an invite to this virtual conversation.

We hope these offerings will help us all through the challenges that lie ahead. We are holding you all in our hearts as we navigate the complexities presenting us. Please know, we will do our best to continue to show up for you.
Love and blessings,
Yoga Union

“Cleanliness, from a yogic perspective, doesn’

“Cleanliness, from a yogic perspective, doesn’t mean simply washing our hands and bleaching our countertops. It includes the thoughts in our mind + the way we speak to ourselves & each other.”

What practices help you show up centered and ready

What practices help you show up centered and ready for rising pressures? 🌊
What can you do to keep a clear head and a loving, open heart? ❤️
If you practice yoga/movement, this may be a time to lean in a little heavier. If you have a meditation practice, this may be the time to make sure you're making the time. 🧘🏼‍♀️
What other practices might help you fill your cup?
🥛

Togetherness and unity. 🤝 Each individual is a

Togetherness and unity. 🤝

Each individual is a whole part of something greater than themselves. Just as an atom is a whole part of a molecule, which is a whole part of a cell, which is a whole part of an organelle, which is a whole part of an organ, which is a whole part of an organ system... like Russian dolls, the “great chain of being” means life is stacked - one being, not just ‘beside’ but ‘inside’ the next 🤯
What are you a part of that’s bigger than your individual self? 🌍
#pdxyoga #yogainpdx #pdxyogascene #pnwonderland #pnwphotography #namaste #namasteeveryday #yogaeverydamnday

Peace is the product of listening and feeling. D

Peace is the product
of listening and feeling.
Distractions are not short cuts.
We must meet our inner voices
as students, interested.
Only after we have been heard
and felt into
may we come to rest
in peaceful silence.

#rest #silence #peace

Healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens w

Healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens when we choose to come together and witness the truth of existence. It happens when we stop filtering reality and start tuning into what’s truly there. It happens when we quit pretending and finally surrender to the way things really are. It happens when we put down our mask and finally let our true face show. It happens when we stop twisting others into who we want them to be or who they’d like us to make them, and start seeing them just as they are. Healing needs radical acceptance of reality. If it’s painful, we need to say it’s painful and we need to be heard. If it’s frustrating, we need to express the frustration and know that we’re not going to hurt others or scare them away with it.
We all need healing. We can all show up in greater transparency. We can all let our insides show. It might be messy. Own it anyway. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It just has to be honest and real. We can all repress less and forces less repression on others. We can all practice being less reactive when another’s truth seems to make us look bad. We can all practice owning our feelings without blaming others. #healthyrelationships

We've moved Chris' Thursday 5:30 Hatha class into

We've moved Chris' Thursday 5:30 Hatha class into the North Studio. This means we'll be able to accommodate more of you in there. We believe the change is a higher service to the community.
Please continue preregistering for this and all YU classes. Preregistration helps foster a more easeful check in experience.
Sincerely,
Yoga Union

What energies are alive in you right now? What’s

What energies are alive in you right now? What’s stirring your heart? What’s driving your gut? Can you feel into those sensations more deeply? Can you touch and validate them with your breath? We’re not conjuring anything up here. Only sensing what’s already in us. What’s trying to come up?

Become aware of that which is waking up in you. What wants to move and be expressed? From that place, let yourself be animated by emotion - energy in motion. These energies need a voice. Words aren’t sufficient. They need a language older than words. They need to be expressed through the whole body, not just the mouth. Let them move all of you. Grant them your trust, your consent - that they can lead you in a dance. With every lift of your limbs, with every twist of your spine - meet them with awareness and breath, so that what’s compelling you in action is doing so with full transparency. No filter. Let yourself be taken on a ride. Your job is to keep sensing deeply into what’s moving in you and let it move you. Keep granting it the license of your breath. Breath and awareness lead the way. 📷 @nataliegildersleeve @primalvinyasa @age_rebel @_kate_saul_ @annamitralove

What are you going to do today to open yourself to

What are you going to do today to open yourself to the world? “If you are waiting for anything in order to live and love without holding back, then you suffer.” @daviddeidaquotes

No human can discover their potential without a co

No human can discover their potential without a collection of others encouraging their work. This doesn’t mean we all need a squad of cheerleaders behind us. It can simply be others doing similar work beside us.
When we move, breathe, and self-reflect together, we generate the energy needed in order to take us further down the path. When we travel down that path together, we widen it, making it more available for others to traverse as well. How are you harnessing the power of the collective on your journey?
#letsgettogether #letsgotogether

On a scale of 1 - 10, how much fun are you having

On a scale of 1 - 10, how much fun are you having with your yoga practice? If you want to have more fun, how can you make it happen? If you’re having fun with it, how are you making it happen?

Thanksgiving yoga class 2019. We are so blessed to

Thanksgiving yoga class 2019. We are so blessed to have this beautiful gathering space and this healthy, conscious community to practice with. Love you all! .

Thank you @nataliegildersleeve for capturing the magic 📷

A fond farewell to Em. After six years teaching,

A fond farewell to Em.

After six years teaching, holding space, bringing flowers from her garden, and tending the alter, the beloved @emmabelleyoga is moving on. Em has our love and blessings in the next chapters of her life. We are grateful for her dedication to the community. We’ve learned so much being in the dance of relationship together. It’s been a rich and meaningful experience.
We will miss you greatly Em.

Uplevel your teaching. Learn to guide self-inquiry

Uplevel your teaching. Learn to guide self-inquiry based, functional yoga in this hybrid program (online & in studio) with @primalvinyasa.
Dates: 2/2 - 4/5

Includes:
- In-studio training sessions
- live video conference calls
- 50+ professionally shot tutorials. Yours for life!
- 10+ pre-filmed yoga classes
- Deck of 52 Orinal Vinyasa practice/class planning cards
- Audio recordings (embodiment meditation, guided breathing, calling in the directions, mythological stories, and more)
- PowerPoint PDF’s (fascia, breath mechanics, sensory processing, common injuries, language, and more)
- virtual manual (drill tendencies, planning ‘triangle’, elemental journey, theme ideas, and more)
- therapeutic intake form template.

Cost: $1,800 (by 12/1) $2,200 after.

May all people be blessed with the generative powe

May all people be blessed with the generative power of a welcoming, loving, & supportive community.

This is a space to come together, not just despite

This is a space to come together, not just despite our individual differences, but in celebration of those differences 🎉 In community, it takes all kind. We don’t want you to be more like us, we want you to be more like YOU. Through the self inquiry practices of breath, movement, and mindfulness, we can help you come to know yourself more deeply - to celebrate your wild, natural, unique, individual self. We have a beautiful community of individuals waiting to welcome you AS YOU ARE, to encourage all of you to come forward, and to bare witness to the person you are becoming. We welcome you. Come practice being human with us.

You're committed to healthy choices for your body

You're committed to healthy choices for your body and mind. Maintaining that commitment can be a struggle of epic proportions. If you've ever tried practicing alone, you know the powerful pull of distraction and temptation. These destructive forces can derail even the strongest and most dedicated among us. .
We need the energy of the collective driving us forward. We need others standing by - a community of friends with common goals. This is the most powerful tool there is to keep us focused in becoming our best. .
When you invest in a membership at Yoga Union, you're not just committing to your practice, you're committing to your community - you're allowing your community to support you in becoming your best self.
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Distractions and temptations are powerful forces. They diminish our vitality and abduct our potential. Turn away from these dark forces. Turn toward the light of your practice and your community. Invest in your best. .
There's never been a better time than now. .
Save $200 when you purchase an annual membership now. Offer ends 10/31/19. Link in bio. .
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#yogamembership #community #commitment #weneedeachother #stoplonewolfingit #collectiveenergy

As 24 year olds with no prior business experience,

As 24 year olds with no prior business experience, the opportunity to buy the studio where we met and fell in love, appeared nothing short of a gift from the universe. Naturally we received it, and began the journey we’re still on today. That was exactly thirteen years ago. For thirteen years we’ve been moving, breathing, blessing, teaching, practicing, and co-leading a community of movers and seekers... It’s become far more than a gift. It’s our life. Our very existence. To this day, my favorite thing about that existence is getting to be in it with you. Thank you Annie Adamson - @primalvinyasa .
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#studioownership #yogastories #happyanniversary

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