Have you ever heard of Sangha? It’s the Sanskrit word for community, often associated specifically with a Buddhist spiritual community.

In my yoga teacher training, the group of people I learned with became my Sangha. Since I’ve started teaching, my Sangha has expanded considerably to include so many who’ve touched and supported my life through yoga. 

If you read these newsletters or respond to my Instagram posts, you are part of my Sangha. Your interactions encourage me to share what I learn. 

If you come to my classes, you are part of my Sangha. Your participation fuels my desire to learn more, to do my best, to show up. Your personal growth and appreciation is affirmation that my practice is meaningful and worth offering. I hold dear the community of caring, creative people who share time, space, and energy together in my weekly classes. 

My classmates from teacher trainings are part of my Sangha. We grow together and share so much vulnerability in the learning process.

My peers, my yoga teacher colleagues, are part of my Sangha. From covering classes to sharing resources, we support and encourage each other. 

My mentors are part of my Sangha. They inspire and guide me. I’m so grateful for all I’ve learned from these strong, dedicated teachers. 

To give deeper insight into who and what has shaped my practice as an individual and a teacher, I plan to regularly honor special people in my Sangha. Hopefully you’ll find inspiration from them, too. 

SANGHA SPOTLIGHT

Let’s start with Sarah Longacre, founder of Blooma, an incredibly compassionate Sangha that supports women and families. Sarah was my yoga teacher while I was pregnant 16 years ago. She was also my birth doula. As a doula, she guides women through deep places to navigate pain and find strength, joy, resilience. 

From her I’ve learned to sit with discomfort and breathe into it. She’s taught me how to listen to my body and respect my intuition, to really feel what I need and to nourish that. With feel-good organic movement that’s comforting and challenging at the same time, many of the flows I guide in my yoga classes are inspired by my prenatal yoga training with Sarah. 

Sarah is fun and lively, real and true. Her ability to inquire about deep personal truths is a great foundation for her podcast Belly Up. I especially love the heart-wrenching yet affirming episode “Discussing End of Life Options,” where she interviews her mom about Alzheimer’s and her plan to die with dignity.

UPDATES

CLASSES

I'm teaching Sunday and Friday mornings this week. No Tuesday evening class. Sign up here.

MEMBERSHIPS

I'm happy to share that I've added a Regulars Membership to my offerings. You can sign up for unlimited classes for $60/month. A great option for anyone who takes 5 or more classes a month, Regulars Membership also includes unlimited access to my video library.

VIDEO LIBRARY?!?

Yes, upon request of several of my regulars, I've been building a video library that includes shorter targeted videos as well as full-length classes. For a nominal fee, you can "rent" a video for a week. Or as, I mentioned above, you receive unlimited library access with a monthly membership.

You're invited to check out up to 3 videos for free over the next two weeks. Use the code LIBRARY and let me know how they work for you.

Take care,

Heidi