Moving into Stillness

by Erin Ipjian

One of the greatest gifts a dedicated yoga practice offers us is greater skill in moving towards stillness. Like a tumultuous body of water, swirling with sand and sediment, the mind has the inclination to become clouded by thoughts. Many of us are rarely fully present in our lives: the body is in one place, while the mind is someplace else entirely. According to the yogis, this creates suffering.

While yoga is constantly evolving, some things never change. For thousands of years, yogis have been exploring practical and effective ways to still the mind, allowing us to become full participants in all of the beauty life has to offer. 

There are many tools in yoga's toolbox that can take us to this place. You'll see the breadth of those in our offerings here on our schedule at Evolution Yoga. Our wish is that, through the practices of movement, breath, and meditation, you'll regularly touch this place of stillness and clarity and watch as it disperses throughout your life off the mat.

In addition to our weekly classes, we have some wonderful offerings coming up, including:  Yoga Nidra Systematic Relaxation , beginning this Thursday 2/7, Family Yoga this Saturday 2/9, Restorative Yoga  this Sunday 2/10,  and the  Moving into Stillness Workshop later this month on 2/24. And remember that we offer Yin Yoga twice a week at Evolution. This is a practice that you can enjoy on an ongoing basis that promotes self-realization, relaxation, and a chance to experience meditation while practicing asana.

Intentions for the New Year

by Erin Ipjian

Happy New Year, yogis! It’s that time of year when so many of us set out to approach our lives anew and set the elusive new year’s resolution.

This year, how about approaching 2019 with yoga’s version of the new year’s resolution - an Intention.

Resolutions involve control, sheer will-power, and often fail. Just as force does not work well in asana practice, this rigidity in the mind often fails to deliver effective change in our lives.

Yoga practice, on the other hand, invites us to get quiet and listen deeply on the mat, on the meditation cushion, and throughout our lives so that we can begin to notice the impact of our habits and align with those daily practices that serve us and those around us best. Setting your intention for the year ahead (or for a shorter period of time) from this place of awareness is an effective tool from our yoga practice to guide us along the course of life.

This weekend, we invite you to join us for Debbie W’s New Year Restorative Yoga, in which you will enjoy an extended restorative practice, intention setting for the new year, and optional reiki.

Between weekly classes and upcoming special events, we have lots of opportunities to stay connected to your intention in 2019. Check out evolutionyogaglenview.com for our full schedule. Looking forward to practicing with you in 2019, Evolution yogis!

Yoga for Connection

by Erin Ipjian

We are entering the holiday season, a time of celebrating and connecting with those around us. Although yoga may, at first glance, appear to be a way of escaping the stressors of our lives (and there are more of those this time of year!), it is truly a practice of connection, both within ourselves and, much like the intention of the holidays, with each other.

At its most fundamental level, yoga guides us to identify less with what separates us and see more clearly what connects us. We express that sentiment at the end of class with a “namaste,” and we strive to carry it with us, seeing and appreciating the world and people around us throughout the holiday season and beyond.

In addition to our weekly yoga class schedule, we have loads of special events and workshops, suitable for all levels of practitioners and yoga teachers coming up this winter. Check it out at evolutionyogaglenview.com. Thanks for connecting with us on your mat this holiday season!

Yoga & the Holidays

by Erin Ipjian

The holidays are drawing near, and I’m going out on a limb here guessing that I’m not the only one experiencing a palpable increase in the chatter of the mind. Longer to-do lists, hopes of fulfilling expectations around the holidays, and the complications of family relationships are just the kind of fuel the monkey mind loves.

Thankfully, we have yoga. As the outside world becomes more frenetic, we find our time on the mat to be even more precious. With patience and curiosity, we mine the body and mind, shining a light on the habits, thoughts, and patterns that unconsciously shape the way we move, think, speak, and act in the world. And we empower ourselves with a greater awareness that allows us to do better. With this clarity, yoga begins to expand beyond the four corners of our mat, to the holiday dinner table, and into the rest of our lives.

So, here’s to a holiday season grounded in greater awareness, understanding, and compassion. If you’d like to practice with me, you can find me at my weekly yoga offerings all at my studio @evolutionyogaglenview 

Tuesday’s 9:30-10:45am all levels
Thursday’s 9:30-10:45am all levels
Sunday’s 12:00-1:00pm intro to yoga/gentle

Thanksgiving morning, my Thursday 9:30am class will be a donation class benefiting the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Sign up online or join us in the studio. Use your class package, membership, or drop in and we’ll donate the proceeds.

Yoga for Life

by Erin Ipjian

We often think of yoga as being poses on the mat, but the best part of the practice truly happens outside of the studio.
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I took this photo when my then 4 year old daughter and I were returning from half day preschool. While I wanted to rush her inside the house to get on with my to do list, she wanted to play a game of jumping over the sidewalk cracks with me. My immediate reaction was, “no, we don’t have time.” But, here’s where the yoga training comes in...
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Yoga and meditation hone our ability to pause, hold our thoughts and emotions up to the light of discernment, and meet each moment with greater awareness.
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While I have missed the mark in many moments in my life, in this particular one, I was able to catch myself. I could clearly see my impulse to get inside the house for what it was. The truth was I did have time. My work was under control. And while there are always more items I can check off my to do list, if I fail to see the moments in which I can connect with people around me, especially those I love, I am truly missing out on life.
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I don’t practice yoga to attain enlightenment and float off into the ether. I practice yoga to become more fully grounded and present in my life. In this particular moment, my yoga practice allowed me to see past the busyness of my mind and connect with my daughter. That’s something worth practicing for.

Yoga: Self-Care Practice or Something More?

by Erin Ipjian

Yoga is often presented as a self-care practice. We are told that if we practice yoga, we will feel better, get stronger, reduce stress, etc. And while those things are true, to me, this view of yoga is incomplete.

While our initial experiences of yoga may be centered on the impact it has on ourselves as practitioners, with time we begin to see that its potential reach runs much deeper.

Through yoga, we become more attentive to the breath, the sensations in the body, and the inner workings of the mind. Our practice develops into a moving meditation in which we are gently guided towards identifying less with the persona we present to the world. We become more fully connected with what remains - what yogis call the Authentic Self.

When we practice with dedication and an open heart, we experience a sense of union within and without. And at the end of a practice, when it’s time to step back out into the world, we never forget the truth that we see while on our mat — that we are whole, that this world is beautiful, and that we are connected to everyone and everything around us.

Yoga as a Path to Stability

by Erin Ipjian

I’ve never been a positive vibes only/rainbows and unicorns yoga student or teacher. 

In my mind, yoga acknowledges and embraces the full range of human emotion. It asks us to bear witness to both the light and dark within ourselves. And its accompanying practices gently, over time, direct us towards the place within each of us that is capable of observing our passing thoughts and emotions.

The true gift of yoga - far better than any fleeting “vibe” - is that with time and dedication, we become steadier and more focused. It’s not that we stop having emotions. Rather, we are training the mind so that we find ourselves being swept up and carried away by thoughts and emotions with less frequency and intensity.

All that we are asked to do is continually revisit the practices with dedication and an open heart.

My current teaching schedule at Evolution:
Tuesday’s 9:30-10:45am mixed levels yoga
Thursday’s 9:30-10:45am mixed levels yoga
Sunday’s 12:00-1:00pm intro to yoga/gentle