community support – Page 3 – Amber Joy Young

It’s Up To You

23rd February 2022Amber_Young

Remove the obstacle of what you think you know about yourself and give yourself permission to discover who you really are, now, in this breath, in this chapter of your life.

I feel these last weeks of winter are urging us to embrace the quiet moments of reflection before we transition into Spring. Slowly, well for us here in Ontario, winters ice will begin to break up – the week we’re moving through is definitely requiring a slower rhythm with ice covered roads and snow once again falling outside my window.

As we prepare for this transitional time, I wonder if you’re able to consider where your energy may be blocked, what patterns keep coming up and what can and will you do about them.

You see the good thing about blockages, stress and stagnation is that they have the ability and potential to move through us – the hard part – is the responsibility to invoke change lays in your hands – noone can do that for you.

Did you know that by simply taking a big deep breath you’re already moving things through you, encouraging inner nourishment, space and movement – by a simple full deep breath.

Think about the ways YOU move YOUR energy. Now, go one step further – write them down, and even one step further – pick one and do it – right now ! You are capable of so much more than you think, and your body is here to help you find equilibrium and if properly supported bring you to homeostasis.

Sometimes it may not feel that way, but if we give ourselves opportunities to thrive we actually do. The opportunities I’m talking about here start with the simple ones really, but often the first we neglect – you know daily doses of enough hydration, proper oxygenation (through supportive breath rhythms), sunshine, walking through supportive doors, and the most important – love.

So what are you going to do today? The choice is up to you.

With so much love, and support on your journey

Amber

Do you want to practice together? You can see my schedule (and find our more details) here.

Learn more about Because You Matter, a beautiful 6 week journey into your breast health and whole body wellness. Click here for more information. My next offering starts in March of this year.

Soul Wisdom Self Reflection cards, a little extra support on your journey.

Karma Class For Interval House

6th December 2021Amber_Young

For the past 3 years, since I started Surya Daya, we’ve held a karma class for Interval House the week leading up to the holidays. I can’t imagine this year going by without holding that safe container to help support a very needed resource in our community – as well to offer you a peaceful practice of self care to nurture YOU during the holiday season.

I know this year continues to be a different year in so many ways, and I sense we all need a little extra support. The strength within our community has only grown, and the realization of how important it is to reach out when help is needed.

This year I’ll be offering 2 special classes for Interval House.

The first class is an in-person gentle yoga class planned for Monday, December 20th from 6:30 – 7:30 pm at the Old Town Hall, in Almonte. This special class will also draw on the energy of solstice to support us for this nurturing hour of intentional time on our mats.

I’ll be offering a second class this year as a gift in honour of Interval House which will arrive as a virtual recording. You’ll have access to the video through to January 5th. All registrants will receive an email with a link for the video on Friday, December 24th at 12:00pm, a practice you can access anytime between the 24th and January 5th, to help support you over the holidays, in the comfort of your own home. I hope you’ll join me as we’ll move through a nourishing restorative flow of movements and breathwork.

The cost to register is free, but I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the importance of Interval House in our community. In years past we have collected items for Interval House, but this year we’ll be holding this sacred space inviting you to hold the women and children, and all the supports and services at Interval House in your heart. These special classes will also give you the space to compassionately take some time in silence, to hold in your heart, all the people in your own circle of care that perhaps need a little extra support this year (that may include you).

If you’re able I encourage you to consider making a donation, suggested amount is $10. How can you do that? You can bring cash to the live class on December 20th, you can donate directly to Interval House, or you can send an e-transfer to info@suryadaya.ca with Interval House in the message. Once all donations are in we’ll get it to them to help support their work and the people they offer respite to.

Sadly, this year domestic violence numbers have increased and funding for these needed resources in our community have decreased. After rent is accounted for, 100% of all proceeds will go directly to Interval House. We hope you’ll carve out this time to receive the nourishment of our practice together, taking time to be still and connect with the peace within your heart.

To register for the Monday night in person class, December 20th, at the Old Town Hall in Almonte, click here (preregistration is required, and COVID protocols based on current regulations will be in place) .

To register to receive the link for the recorded class on Friday afternoon, December 24th, click here.

Remember, we’re all in this together,

With so much love, and gratitude,

Amber

Honouring The Men In Your Life – Yoga For A Cause

15th November 202124th November 2021Amber_Young

I started holding karma classes when I ran a yoga studio, many moons ago.

What is a karma class you may wonder, they are heart guided and soulful yoga and movement classes held for a cause.

The teacher donates their time and their teaching, and the cost of the class is by donation. After rent is accounted for, all the remaining proceeds raised go directly to the organization or the family in need. Karma classes are fueled by love, and a genuine desire to help, to do our part in service.

These classes are also a beautiful way to help make yoga more accessible for folks, as they are by donation. The suggested amount is $10, but no donation is too small.

Join me for an hour of soothing yoga on Monday, November 29th, from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, at the Old Town Hall – in support of Movember, honouring all the men in your life.

Covid protocols will be in place, and registration is necessary as in person spots are limited to ensure everyone feels safe and supported.

This felt like an important month to start offering karma classes again. November is a month you may notice more folks are growing their moustaches out, and you may already be familiar with Movember, or perhaps this is new for you. Movember is a global initiative to help increase awareness and support mens health – mentally and physically. As a fiercely protective mother of 2 very young boys, personally growing up with a father who struggled and continues to struggle, and surrounded by so many amazing men in my own life; this care and concern runs deep.

Men are dying on average 5 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons. A growing number of men – around 10.8 million globally – are facing life with a prostate cancer diagnosis. Globally, testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men. And across the world, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 69% of all suicides.

Movember addresses this crisis on a global scale by funding ground-breaking projects all over the world, engaging men where they are to understand what works best and accelerate change. Movember unites experts from around the world to collaborate on projects that will fundamentally change the way men in need are treated and supported. To ensure the impact is significant, far-reaching and long-lasting, Movember prioritizes funding for the three biggest health issues facing men: mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

The inspiration of Movember, and holding classes like these, create a ripple effect with the intention to increase awareness, and for everybody to receive the support they need to thrive, no-one should get left behind.

Jay Young (my sweet husband, and 5-year Movember Fundraiser)

As a father of two young boys, this cause is close to my heart. I have raised funds with my boys as my motivation, who inspire me to consider the future of male health; my brothers and friends, who have suffered some of the challenges that Movember is working to address; and my father, who died prematurely from cancer.
Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men’s health and this Movember, as in Movembers past, I’m joining them. Join me to improve the mental and physical health of all young boys and men into the future. Together we can make a difference for men’s health – in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. Help me stop men dying too young. Thank you for your support.

We hope you’ll come out and help us support this incredible organization and the work they’re doing.

Our class will be held on Monday, November 29th, from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Amber and Jay Young will be leading this class together. We’ll have some time for a brief discussion to start our class, as Amber slowly guides you into an accessible gentle yoga class suitable for beginners and experienced yoga practitioners, and we’ll end with an extended relaxation. This class is for everyone, remember we’re all in this together.

To reserve your spot you can click here or send me an email at amber@suryadaya.ca. Details and Covid protocols will be emailed to you after you register.

Jay is growing his annual Movember mustache. Please check out his link below, or come out on the 29th. This class is by donation,and no donation is to small – perhaps your donation is simply coming out and dedicating your practice to someone in your life who needs a little extra support.

Jay’s Movember link

You can learn more about Movember here

Mark your calendars for the following upcoming monthly karma classes at the Old Town Hall in Almonte, led by Amber:

Monday, December 20th, 6:30 – 7:30 for Interval House

Monday, January 27th, 6:30 – 7:30 pm for The Lanark County Food Bank

Inclusivity In A Confusing Time

6th October 20215th October 2021Amber_Young

“I am here to keep becoming truer, more beautiful versions of myself again and again forever. To be alive is to be in a perpetual state of revolution. Whether I Like it or not, pain is the fuel of revolution. Everything I need to become the woman (human) I’m meant to be next is inside my feelings now. Life is alchemy, and emotions are the fire that turns me to gold. I will continue to become only if I resist extinguishing myself a million times a day. If I can sit in the fire of my own feelings, I will keep becoming.”
Glennon Doyle

Becoming a more truer version of ourselves, perhaps that is the biggest learning of this pandemic. I have never questioned my values, my relationships, my integrity, my responsibilities, and the people and things that I love and care about, so much as during the past year.

My whole life has pivoted, in ways that were necessary both professionally and personally.

I listened to a video the other day, with Simon Sinek, which seemed to encapsulate exactly what I was feeling. We can’t go back to the way things were, that is the nature of change. Many people talk about when things go back to normal, when things are stable again – but you know the truth is, life isn’t stable. And I wonder what the heck is normal? In the history of my life, I don’t think I could ever describe my life as “normal”, nor would I truthfully want to.

We are constantly changing, and resisting that change only limits our growth. Can we be creative in how we move with the flow of life, especially when the waters are a little extra choppy. I urge you to look at how you respond in times of crisis in your own life, be honest with yourself here.

Then I urge you to look at the ways you keep yourself resourced? On a daily basis. How do you fill yourself back up?

People are feeling a lot of different emotions, and if you’re anything like me you are feeling not only your own often intense waves, but also the ripple effects of those around you. My anchors keep reminding me to be a little extra gentle right now, and I want to remind you to do the same.

One of the saddest things I am attuning to these days is all of the division. What makes your decisions more right than anybody else? For you, absolutely, but for them? For them, the only person that knows their whole story and understands their reasoning – is them. So please, maybe ask more questions, and be a little extra gentle right now.

As I make decisions in my own life with the ways I am in service, I am really sitting with it all. I feel we should all have the space to speak our truth, and to not face judgement for that truth – is that not how we grow stronger in ourselves, and as a community? As humans it is my hopes we would have empathy for one another, especially during times of crises.

I was vaccinated so I could see my mom who lives in a different city from me, probably for the last time. I was told I would not have been able to have touched her had I not made that choice, and potentially not even be able to be with her – I knew that was how I could best reach her. I have an autoimmune disorder which added to this picture, and made all these decisions a little more complex, none of this has been easy.

To the best of my ability I sit with all sides of this story we’re moving through globally, I certainly don’t have clarity and am not afraid to admit I don’t know what the best thing to do is, I am confused – I sense like many.

I often sit long and quietly with all of this.

I have had conversations around holding in person classes again, and I started to cry as I imagined myself on one side of the fence, and people I have held safe space for over the years, people dear to my heart – on the other side of the fence because they made a different choice in alignment with who they are and what they need.

I have decided to continue with my online classes as we move through the fall and winter, a safe neutral space where people can just be held.

I don’t want to exclude anyone, or add to the division, especially holding classes responsibly with the intention to help us all to heal and to find our way again. For me, I need to sit with this all a little longer, so I can move with integrity, honouring the deep respect I feel in my soul for all of you, and staying anchored with compassion regardless of what and who shows up.

These decisions are complicated, especially when we’re faced with hurt hearts because people, it seems these days, often don’t even want to take the time to really listen to your story. Many are also scared to be honest and talk about being confused or decisions made – for fear of rejection.

We all have our stories, and can we try to hear eachother, especially when it’s not comfortable – it’s when we need it most.

Sending you so much love on your journey,

With a gentle heart

Amber

If you’d like to join me online for a class you can register by clicking on the days you’d like to join, and you can purchase class passes here.

I will continue to hold some outdoor forest classes, private sessions, and move with fluidity through these changing times – the changing times of an entire life lived. I will eventually return to in person classes, but I need more time to sit with this all.

Supporting you with some soul nourishment and self-reflection, Jessica and I created our soul wisdom cards, made with love from our hearts to yours. Find out more here.

A Time Of Balance Between Shadow and Light

22nd September 202114th October 2021Amber_Young

As we move into the fall equinox, welcoming Autumn, we are once again given the opportunity to reflect. As our natural world embraces this time of equality between light and dark, I wonder if we can find that same honouring in our own lives.

A time of harvest and celebration as the air cools and the trees start to change colour and gradually shed their leaves.

During this season of change we take stock of how balanced we are in our own lives – does the amount you give away outweigh the amount of nourishment you take in? During this turn of the ancient wheel of the year, we can take that insight and start to prepare ourselves for the cocooning that lays ahead, as the steps we take now inform the months to come.

This is an important anchor point to feel deep gratitude for the abundance of your own life, but also to consider the parts that you are ready to shed.

I find the autumn and spring equinox very grounding, they offer us this space of transition where there is no dominance. Permission to pause and reflect on all of our amazing beautiful bits, but also to gently ponder what lays in the undergrowth. You see if you dig a little deeper over the coming months, and uncover what lives there, it often paves the way for deeper healing, deeper self understanding and in time a whole lot more of the beautiful bits to surface.

The equinox is a perfect point of integration and acknowledgement, if we are able to give ourselves permission to rest here for a while. This place of being and becoming, of longing and belonging, of light and dark, of stillness in between ……

The transition into Autumn is a time to both honour our wholeness and at the same time shed layers that inhibit our continual growth, without urgency but an innate understanding of what needs to go, honouring the mystery and the stages of transformation.

“In this stillness, I am the trees alive with singing. I am the sky everywhere at once. I am the snow and the wind bearing stories across geographies and generations. I am the light everywhere descending. I am my heart evoking drum song……. and I am time captured fully in this now. I am a traveller on a sacred journey through this one shining day.”
Richard Wagamese from his beautiful gift to all of us: Embers

Living in harmony with the natural rhythms around you, creates a profound shift in the way we approach our lives and our reciprocal relationship with the precious earth we are all a part of.

Wishing you an easeful Autumn equinox, with joy in your heart at all the abundance around you, the courage to acknowledge what can be put down, and the reverence to hold it all as sacred.

With so much love, and respect,

Amber

Click here to find out more details about our Soul Wisdom Cards (including where to get yours). Each deck is personally bundled and filled with a special blessing for you.

I’m just preparing my fall and winter teaching schedule, starting the week after Thanksgiving, stay tuned for more information! Plus I’m super excited to launch my Self Reflective Breast Health Program, Because You Matter, later this October.

Bringing Our Hands Together At Our Heart

21st July 202119th July 2021Amber_Young

How are you doing? Take a moment and listen to what arises for you today – honour the truth of how you are, in this moment, in this breath. I don’t want a patterned answer, or one you might think I want to hear, I want to know how you truly are in this moment – on all ends of the spectrum.

Last week I was guided to explore Anjali Mudra a little deeper by one of my own teachers, Barrie Risman. We’ve been exploring this practice in my community classes as well.

Anjali means “reverence” and refers to the honouring of the divinity within ourselves and all beings. When we come into Anjali mudra we are balancing all of our polarities – within and without. Joseph and Lilian Le Page remind us that this gesture directs breath, awareness and energy into the center of the chest, supporting us to turn inwards toward our authentic being and understanding on a subconscious level that we are all connected.

Anjali mudra calms the mind, reducing our stress and potentially lowering the blood pressure. This posture helps to release tension through the shoulder blades, and supports the health of your immune system.

As we consciously bring our action oriented hands to meet at our heart center, we honour the guidance found within. When we meet ourselves here, the answers often flow clearly through us – not always easy, but the answers we seek become clear. This reminder supports us in making decisions and traveling our path with compassion and integrity.

As my hands came together this morning, I was filled with a memory. Many moons ago I studied various massage and cancer trainings with Tracy Walton, she invited us to massage as if it was the last time the person you were working with was going to be touched – or perhaps the last time you were ever going to touch someone. She asked us to really show up and be present to not only our time massaging – but to our whole life experience – to live as if it was equally the first time and the last time you were here experiencing this moment. Arriving with curiosity and departing with reverence. The sacredness that ripples into our life experience with this perspective is beautiful. I extend this invitation to you, to be present in every moment; from exploring Anjali mudra as your hands make contact, to holding a hand, to sipping your tea, to yes, even doing the dishes.

Sometimes I think about how my life would be without these practices, and then I return to my mat.

Please join your hands in front of your heart with your palms facing together, fingers directed up towards the sky.
Press your finger pads, the base of your fingers, and the inner and outer edges of your hands gently together
Allow a slight openness at the center of your palms.
Fanning your fingers apart from one another – honouring the space around your heart.
The outer borders of your thumbs coming into contact with your sternum ( breastbone).
Relax your shoulders back and down, with your elbows held slightly away from the body and the spine naturally aligned.
Bring a slight nod to your head, and follow the gentle journey of your breath

I bring my hands together at my heart center, and I bow to you.

With much Love, Amber

If you’d like to practice together, I offer live in person and online zoom classes, (which will be taking a break through the month of August and resuming in September) and as an additional support for you to practice on your own schedule, but together, I’ve created a video library and a monthly video subscription

Click here to find out more details about our Soul Wisdom Cards.

Your Whole Self

15th July 2021Amber_Young

I find so many things swimming around in my thoughts these days, I think perhaps it’s safe to say this may be the case for many of us.

As we’ve moved through this past year and a half, we’ve been given so much to reflect on, and this continues. Identifying priorities in our lives as we understand our own truth a little more, and maybe finding the courage within ourselves to speak that truth with a little more strength.

I think it’s important to also take some time for yourself to acknowledge the collective experience of grief this period in our lives has brought each of us – for lives lost, for moments missed, for forced separation from those we love. I’m really feeling that collective experience right now. This is going to look differently for each of us, but it is felt in some way by all of us. I strongly believe we need to carve out some intentional time to integrate, find out the deeper meaning for you, honour whatever emotions arise and take time to be honest with yourself with how you’re doing – deep down inside. As we transition to this next chapter of our lives, really savour heartfelt hugs, embrace your connections and nurture those relationships where you find unconditional love and reciprocity.

Time on our mats can be a profound place to reflect and to support this integration – in our bodies and through our breath.

It’s easy to get carried along with those around you if you don’t take this time, swimming in all the thoughts. For your own mental, emotional and spiritual health – take some time to ground yourself in how you’re doing now, in this moment.

This morning as I sat in meditation on one of my favorite moss covered rocks I was given the honour of listening in on 2 owls as they had an early morning conversation from the treetops. These moments are magic, and they seem to bring me back to my center without trying to get anywhere. I just seem to arrive.

The sun was rising, the mosquitoes were making themselves known, and these 2 wise beings connecting overhead. I felt like I was listening in on the most sacred of conversations. When I wended my way back down the path to my home, I came across a brilliant quote (certainly not by accident) which I kind of think we all need to hear right now, and perhaps what the owls were sharing with me this morning.

“We don’t have to compromise, ever, and settle for an almost version of who we are. We do not have to conform to some external truth, some version of what someone else is telling us is better, or more right, or more holy, more human. We don’t have to fit in. Isn’t that the most blessed thing we could ever be told, or could remember? We don’t have to fit in. We don’t have to contort who we are in order to fit a mold that was never meant for us”
Meggan Watterson

Don’t be afraid to have different opinions, or make different choices, especially right now – honour you, there’s only one of you, so if you’re busy being like everyone else then we lose the gift of what only you can bring into this world.

It’s also okay to take your time with your reemergence, as we begin again. Think things through for yourself right now, and lead with compassion (starting with yourself). Try to refrain from judging others for seeing the world differently than you, instead learn from one another – and lead by letting your whole self be seen.

Our world can change in the blink of an eye – so what are you waiting for?

With so much love, Amber

I just want to acknowledge the owl picture above was taken by my dear friend (and soul wisdom cards co-creator) Jessica Hibberd. The owls this morning didn’t let me see them, this was taken a few months ago.

If you’d like to practice together, I offer live online zoom classes, and as an additional support for you to practice on your own schedule, but together, I’ve created a video library and a monthly video subscription

I do want to share that I will be taking a teaching break through the month of August – time for me to integrate and renew before the autumn is upon us! My Patreon videos will continue, but apart from my Monday afternoon Carebridge classes – I will be taking a break from live online classes and resuming (online and in person) classes in September.

Click here to find out more details about our Soul Wisdom Cards.

Love Is An Action

2nd July 20212nd July 2021Amber_Young

Today feels like a good day for a little deeper reflection. I don’t know about you, but it’s been quite a week! Take a moment and check in with yourself.

What does this breath feel like? How does your body maybe need a little extra support today? This is where we start from.

It is my hopes that within the window of Canada Day yesterday, that perhaps there was a moment of reflection for you. Maybe not the celebration of days gone by, but perhaps some time to reflect on the trauma that the Indigenous people of this land have experienced and the pain that continues. Holding so many in my heart these days, often it feels overwhelming, but then we take a deep breath and know just how important this safe holding is right now.

I know through my own personal commitment that supporting yourself to show up for yourself on a daily basis and doing what you know you need to support yourself in body, mind and spirit; provides stability, gives you strength, and can help build your own resilience and internal resources.

If we can’t even take care of ourselves, how then can we support others?

I know that being called to be an active support for the injustices in our world asks this of us. It takes strength, courage and determination to break patterns. My friend Anna Karuna Egan reminded me in an email this morning that living with wisdom and compassion is possible, her teacher taught her that Love is an Action, I think I needed this reminder today. Thank you Anna for inspiring me to share my own thoughts today.

We can act differently as we move forward, being led by love. Don’t underestimate YOUR actions, and the ripples that happen, often with the simplest and smallest of steps forward. The more we attune to love, the more easefully it shows up in our lives as a constant, and the more we support not only ourselves, but others to heal..

It’s important to have uncomfortable conversations and to listen to peoples stories. It’s also important to know in your heart of hearts, that you can make very different choices for yourself going forward.

With so much love,

Amber

Click here to find out more details about our Soul Wisdom Cards.

Strength Arising In Archer – Wellness Reflection

5th May 20215th May 2021Amber_Young

So grateful to share this window of time with you.

This week we’ll be diving deeper into our yoga exploration and I offer you a gentle reminder to tend to YOUR self care (even just for 5 minutes of deep mindful breathing).

When I sat down for this reflection, it kept coming up to explore a posture we know as archer. Archer is a fabulous practice for when we’re feeling lost, or untethered. It connects us back to our roots, to our centre of strength, and our focused clear mind as we make decisions moving forward in our lives. We practiced a supportive variation of this last week with our online Carebridge class, and it keeps coming up to dive a little deeper.

Through archer, you are invited to stand strong and grounded, standing up for what you believe in, while maintaining the connection with your compassionate heart.

If you’re working with a journal I invite you to ponder a few reflective practices today, it’s also very powerful to reflect while moving through archer as a physical practice.

Are you able to stand steady at that moment when your bow is taut and the arrow (emotional message) is about to release – can you pause before that release – steady in yourself?

Are you able to cultivate presence and maintain one pointed focused attention (in your practice, for a specific task, when you’re listening to others)

When you’re being challenged do you falter, or do you breathe a little deeper into your own center of strength?

Can you maintain an open heart and allow compassion to be your guide when you’re being faced with adversity? Strong and KIND

As you move through archer (in your body or as a visualization), tap into your centre, notice what’s arising for you.

Physically this is an amazing practice for so many aspects of your body! It’s a wonderful practice to open your hip flexors, find balance on your feet, cultivate full body strength, and open through the chest while initiating your postural muscles between your shoulder blades. Try to stay soft in your jaw, soft in your shoulders, and strong in your foundation.

If this is a new practice for you (or perhaps if you’d just like a little more support and guidance), I offer you a little video to help support you in your exploration.

This video was created for a 30 day yoga challenge I offered last fall, just to give you a little more insight on the creation story of this offering. Stay with me, and we’ll move into the posture.

To view the practice support click here

Thank you for joining me, make sure to take some time to integrate, and know I’m holding you in my heart.

Sending you love today,

Amber

30 Days Of Yoga – Wednesday Wellness Reflection

14th April 202120th April 2021Amber_Young

Sat Naam and Namaste, welcome to the beginning of a 30 day yoga challenge – Revisited

Today we embark on 30 days of yoga together. A year ago I put together a 30 day yoga challenge which started April 1st, 2020, I thought it was important to repost that challenge, today April 14th and running through the next 30 days. I first posted this offering at the beginning of COVID, and now we find ourselves in yet another 4 week stay at home order, with so much uncertain. I am hopeful this somehow helps you through this time. I invite you to rejoin me for the full 30 days, as a commitment to your own self care – or pop in for a day here or there.

I love looking back at our old studio, and my families old home when we lived in town, precious memories of a chapter in my own life. Also the first videos I ever made, yes, it’s important to laugh with ourselves, and to find the sweetness in just showing up because you know it’s important, regardless of what IT looks like.

The intention for these mini yoga videos is to help support you. We find ourselves in the midst of a confusing time (still a year later), and I think I can safely say, from day to day, our emotions are all over the place – this is normal and understandable given our current situation, please be gentle with yourself. Globally, we are all affected and I think there are times we feel the collective levels of anxiety, fear, hurt, grief and sadness. We are living in a world, and a time, of so many unknowns where each of us have been affected in our day to day rhythms.

Embrace the moments where you do feel peace, where you experience the joy and miracle of life, the moments when you feel inspired at next steps in your own life, where you feel steady and filled with hope for what is on the other side.

Yoga may not be something you are leaning into right now, and if this period in the history of your life is calling for a break from your practice than you need to honour that. You also need to honour whatever it is that is helping to hold you and bring you back to your center.

A year ago I decided to commit to 30 days of providing you with little 5 – 20 minute practices, my personal commitment is what’s kept me okay during this time. The practices I offer you here area all accessible yoga, movement, focused postures, pranayama and meditations – each chosen to help to build your resilience, to help ground you, bring you back to your center, nurture your nervous system, and to support you to invite daily movement into your body, and to remind you you’re not alone. This yoga challenge is my way of extending my support out to you in your homes during this time of social distancing and self isolation.

Please join me for the next 30 days (or every couple of days), I’m going to be practicing right alongside you, revisiting this support, made a year ago.

These videos were created April – 2020: (Please be kind, this were my FIRST ever yoga videos, all these videos were recorded at our old place in Almonte, in the forest and in the old studio space. As I too dive into this 30 day commitment, I am in awe as my sons look so young – amazing so much change in a year and all the places those changes are reflected)

View Day Thirteen Here

View Day Fourteen Here

View Day Fifteen Here

View Day Sixteen Here

View Day Seventeen Here

View Day Eighteen Here

View Day Nineteen Here

View Day Twenty Here

View Day Twenty One Here

View Day Twenty Two Here

View Day Twenty Three Here

View Day Twenty Four Here

View Day Twenty Five Here

View Day Twenty Six Here

View Day Twenty Seven Here

View Day Twenty Eight Here

View Day Twenty Nine Here

View Day Thirty Here

There are many health and wellness guardians here in Almonte (and all over the globe for that matter), I am so grateful for the work everyone is doing to help support one another. Taking this time to really accept all the changes and Keep moving forward.

As a result of all the changes this pandemic has brought, including our Heritage Court doors closing and our collective of teachers doing what they needed to personally to do move through this time, Surya Daya has definitely seen some transitions. I’m now offering an online yoga studio, video subscriptions, a hub for my upcoming breast health offerings, a supportive blog, personal one – on – one yoga therapy sessions, outdoor and nature based yoga, work with hospice and Carebridge, I’ve recommitted to my massage practice, and working on a few projects – all around having my boys home. Thank you for being on this journey with me, I am excited to see how we continue to evolve over time, and grow together as a community.

One day I dream of us finding a community space again, a healing safe hub, I keep that vision alive in my heart.

Yours in health and happiness, with so much love and gratitude,

Amber

If you’d like to practice with me I teach weekly live online zoom classes , and as an additional support for you to practice on your own schedule I’ve created a video library and a monthly video subscription

Don’t ever hesitate to reach out, my support is here holding you in my heart.