Dear Students

With respect for the decisions and advice from the state health department and the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we are now postponing all classes and activities at the studio.

We feel that this step is necessary to help contain the spread of the virus.  The local schools and senior center have recently announced they are closing as well. Just now, as I write this (Phil), statewide school shutdown was mandated until April 6th.

We aim to resume offering classes at that time. In the meantime, please stay calm and do everything you can to maintain your physical and mental health. All the practices that we have taught you will support your well-being on every level. You can easily practice at home to help control your stress level and to strengthen your immune system. We have yoga blocks and a few blankets in stock, as well as Swami Nirmalananda’s Meditation Deep & Easy CDs. If you want to purchase any of these, give us a call to arrange for pick up.

Note that the Meditation Deep & Easy CD is available to listen to on Amazon Prime Music and also on this location online. You can also search “Swami Nirmalananda” for this and other CDs that you can purchase or download.

For your physical and mental well-being, we recommend:

• Daily Magic 4 practice followed by at least a few minutes of shavasana (relaxation)
  If you do not have the Magic 4 instructions, we will gladly provide them to you on request.
  Daily Ujjayi (Ocean Breath) practice
• Work your way up to at least 20 minutes once a day or, ideally, twice a day. If you find yourself coming up short because you fall asleep so easily, set a timer and do 5 minutes lying down, then reset the timer to do 5 minutes sitting up, and then 5 minutes standing, and return to lying down for another 5 minutes of practice.
• Daily Meditation and mantra repetition
  If you have taken meditation classes here or have a meditation practice of your own, do more meditation and mantra repetition.
• Compassion
  Compassion is also good for your health. You can cultivate and activate compassion by donating to agencies like Red Cross or to your local food pantry or a homeless shelter. You can check on your neighbors, especially the elderly, to make sure they have what they need. This month, we are sponsoring the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. You can donate to this center on our fundraising page online at http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/TheCenteredPlace
  or send a check made out to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to:
  Attn: Rachel Flannery
  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Office of Development
  PO Box 2710
  New York, NY 10087
  Please indicate on the check memo line that the gift is in honor of Brooks Nelson.

  You can also cultivate your compassion by showing compassion to yourself. Take care of yourself. Keep up your practices. Rest, eat well. Keep your thoughts on the positive side.

  Here’s a good article to read about this: How to Keep the Greater Good in Mind During the Coronavirus Outbreak.

We hope to be able to reopen April 6th. We’ll inform you as soon as we know for sure. While we are closed, we remain available to answer questions, provide suggestions for your practice and to support you in any other way needed.

Namaste

Much love from all of us.