Annual field trip to Chuang Yen Monastery

Invitation for April 26 (Sunday morning)
ANNUAL FIELD TRIP TO CHUANG YEN MONASTERY.
Meet between 7:30 and 8 am at the Lutheran Church in Mount Kisco
(across from Northern Westchester Hospital) for caravan / car pool
or meet at the monastery (www.baus.org) in Carmel before 9 am.
Join morning meditation (sitting and walking). Enjoy dharma talk,
beautiful grounds and vegetarian lunch ($5).
Call John (589-0964) for more info. Donation is appreciated.

Yoga on Main
John Kortmulder, Teacher
Classes at Lutheran Church
15 South Bedford Road / Main St
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
www.yogaonmain.net
914-589-0964


A useful sentiment on breath to preface the field trip announcement -

The face of breath
Our faces tell ourselves how we feel- in a good mood, down in the dumps,
confident, interested, bored or fearful. Hazard a guess about who we are.
Can we see shyness or smug attitude or kindness coming from a similar
place behind our gaze? We even say 'expression' to describe our facial
muscles pulled this way and that.
Can't we think of respiratory muscles contracted in the same way?
In what ways are our breathing patterns affected, as plain as the nose on
our face? How is breath deep or shallow, either self aware, often proud, or
self deprecating. The costal lift can set us on a self confident pedestal. Or
creeping into unfulfilled thoracic expansions, short intrinsic back muscles
may become too tight to extend the spine. Shoulders could be flexed inward.
Breath shows up our fears and comforts by the tensions in respiratory muscle
and body tissue. We release these tensions, undo habitual appearance and
change our mood the same as if softening a grimace by twinkling the eyes.
Our expression is a connection between our mind and body. Yoga is mind
and body connected through our breath. Yoga looks in the mirror.

We begin class practice on Fridays, 7pm, for our spring excursion to
participate in Chuang Yen Monastery's Sunday morning sitting meditation
hour. Join in to have our breath smiling by the last Sunday in April.

Namaste )ohn