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A Quick Update: What does Begin Again Yoga mean?
Wow – I haven’t sat down to write a blog for my business, brand and website since August 2020. That just goes to show how I’ve been adjusting to the pandemic and new way of life headquartered from home. I am also nearing the end of my first pregnancy and preparing for maternity leave.
One thing that hasn’t shifted these past six (yikes, six!) months is my love for yoga. The first half of my pregnancy I had been teaching virtually and in open-air community settings like local parks in Indianola and surrounding areas, and West Hill Brewing Company’s beer garden. I typically begin my classes with an introduction of myself, my teaching style, why I practice, but also a little bit of rationale behind the name of my brand: Begin Again Yoga. That’s what I hope to share with you in this blog.
Yoga has always been an opportunity for me to connect with who I am deep, deep down inside that sometimes feels icky or stuck to go that far. Confronting those feelings and wringing them all out through yoga poses usually leaves me feeling rejuvenated by the end of a yoga practice. Yoga brings me a fresh perspective of growth, challenge and opportunity. This is where the inspiration came for “Begin Again Yoga.” Even when it’s hard to step on the mat and work through poses, there’s always the opportunity to begin again when we do.
A dear friend of mine designed the brand from the logo (pictured above) and font choice to the color palette. The moon represents the lunar cycle (also symbolism of starting new each month – looking at you, ladies!) with leaves representing growth. A secondary and supporting logo bug was also developed for special projects (pictured to the right). The colors are calm and grounding, much like the style of yoga I teach. This project was a joy to work on, especially with my marketing and creative agency background.
I’m excited for what’s to come for Begin Again Yoga in 2021. Although I’m starting to hibernate once again (this time into motherhood), I’m very eager and excited to get back on my mat teaching this summer. I’m already thinking about how I can get more integrated in the Indianola and Des Moines communities and will be updating you all over the next few months. But for now, you can count on catching me at free yoga in the park every third Saturday at Buxton Park and toasting to beers after community yoga at West Hill Brewing. More to come there, so please check my schedule or Instagram regularly for updates.
As always, I am so glad you are here and am very grateful for your presence.
With light and love,
Bethany
Mindful Eating Exercise
Have you ever sat down for a meal and realized you ate so fast you didn’t even taste it? Me too. Which is why I’ve incorporated mindful eating habits into every day life.
Have you ever sat down to think about where your meal comes from – who was the grower, where on Earth it came from, how it was processed – before you eat it? Have you ever sat down for a meal and realized you ate so fast you didn’t even taste it? Me too. Which is why I’ve incorporated mindful eating habits into every day life.
Mindful eating is a powerful tool to help manage weight or over eating, reduce binge eating and make you feel better in more ways than one.
I have led this specific exercise in a group setting, but also practice mindful eating at home. I encourage you to set aside 15 minutes of time in a quiet space to walk through the following steps and repeat any you would like to spend more time with. Bring a journal with you to write down and reflect on your thoughts. Quiet any electronic devices, allowing you to truly focus on yourself and your food.
Step 1
Before you pick up your food, notice how it looks on the table in front of you. Notice its color, how the light reflects from its surface, and its size. Where did the food come from? How was it grown or prepared? Who grew or prepared it? And where was it grown or prepared?
Step 2
Now pick up the food, whether that’s with your hands or an eating utensil. Notice the weight. Notice its texture. Notice if it’s smooth, rough, slick, soft, firm or if it has other properties. Hold the food to your nose, and pay attention to its smell.
Step 3
Next place the food in your mouth, on your tongue, but don’t eat it. Notice how it feels in your mouth. Does the texture or weight feel the same as when it was in your hand? What do you taste? Roll the food around in your mouth and pay attention to the feeling.
Step 4
Finally, begin to slowly chew your food. Notice how your teeth sink into it, and how the texture is different inside. Pay close attention to the flavor, and how it spreads across your tongue. Notice how your body changes, does your mouth fill with saliva? Does your tongue feel hot or cold? Continue to chew your food, playing close attention to many sensations as you finish your meal.
As you drink water between bites, do you feel different sensations than your food?
Feel free to refer back to cues 1-3 throughout your meal.
Resources to stay mindful during times of change
There are so many uncertainties in the world right now, but one thing is definitely for certain: staying calm and mindful during times like this are especially important to stay emotionally healthy. Waiting on the "what comes next" can be uncomfortable and overwhelming, but letting go of how something needs to turn out or a vision of how it has to be may offer space for something new.
Luckily there are many online resources to assist with becoming more present in the moment, accepting what is versus what it should be, and allow time to recharge during chimes of stress and change. I have gathered a few resources I rely on when I am I need of a reset myself.
The Insight Timer App has tens of thousands (literally, 40,000+) free guided meditations that users can meditate along with for as long as time allows without ever paying a dime. I love this app because users can search a particular word or feeling to reflect on and choose the session that best aligns with personal goals… all on one’s own time. There are also options to sit in silence or with ambient sounds for a certain allotted amount of time with the assistance of a timer.
Yoga with Adriene YouTube Channel
The Yoga with Adriene is a free YouTube channel connects as many people as possible through high-quality pre-recorded YouTube videos. Her videos are for all levels of yogis, but she also has a beginner’s yoga series to start fresh with a yoga practice. Scroll through her massive library of videos to select the class particular to you.
Chill App offers daily reminders on how to simply and quite frankly… chill. The daily inspirational quotes from gurus like The Buddha, Lao Tzu, and other Zen Masters are accompanied by beautiful imagery that puts users in the right frame of mind for the day. And all of the imagery and quotes are sharable to social media so friends can also get in on the zen. I have settings for random notifications through the day that bring me back to my center, which I find super helpful and aspirational throughout the day.
Be well.
The Perfect First Blog
I’ve had the tab open on my computer to write this blog for nearly one week with zero movement, with an added pressure I gave myself for my very first blog on this website to be absolutely perfect. I’ve been jotting ideas down in my mind for months to craft something visitors will be drawn to and hooked to continue to follow along the journey. All of those ideas may eventually come through pen (or keyboard) to paper (or blog), but for now I’ll keep it simple.
So, welcome to my blog! The goal of this area at BeginAgainYoga.com is to provide my perspective on yoga and be a resource to those who are curious to learn more. I plan to share my experiences on and off the mat, whether that be lessons learned by simply living life, areas of the yogic philosophy I am particularly drawn to at the given moment of time, yoga postures and breathing techniques I’m finding healing, etc.
I first started practicing yoga in 2013 while my husband and I lived in North Carolina where he was stationed at Pope Army Airfield at Ft. Bragg with the United States Air Force. A wonderful few years away from Iowa also brought me a lot of anxiety living so far away from where I called home for all of my life plus the unknown of the military lifestyle. I had never tried yoga, but I kept running into the owner of the small studio in town and she encouraged me to give it a try. What started out as a PiYo practice ended up taking me on a spiritual and healing journey of wounds I never knew I had.
Here I am over seven years later with a 200-Hour training accreditation and a small community-based business based out of Indianola, Iowa. My goal is to be a resource for those who want to feel and heal from their yoga practice, just like I have. My yoga classes are very much focused on the breath and allow every body to feel their own version of a yoga posture with different cues and variations. Someday I will write a blog solely about the name and brand of Begin Again Yoga, which you can already find sprinkled around the website. The combination of my marketing background and yogic lifestyle has left me completely satisfied after this project.
I am excited to be part of the Indianola community and bring yoga to places that may have never offered it. Check out my class schedule to see where I’ll be the next few months, or schedule a private lesson to have yoga crafted just for you!
I want to hear from you, so please reach out if there is something you would like to learn more about.
Be well during this Earthly reset we are all experiencing. Namaste.