Angel

"Don't think so much about reforming others: reform yourself first.  The greatest field of victory is your own home.  If you are an angel at home, you can be an angel everywhere.  The sweetness of your voice, the peace of your behavior, is needed in your own household more than anywhere else."

- Paramahansa Yogananda



Dearest Yogis,

I will be heading out of town to spend Christmas with my family on the East Coast from December 21st - December 27th.  I do have some good subs lined up for you. 

Students of the Council on Recovery (and all others!) are invited to attend Winter Solstice Yoga Mass by Candlelight in the Council's auditorium on Thursday, December 21st from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm, instead of our regularly scheduled Thursday night yoga class at the Council.  For more info please visit: http://www.yogamass.com/.

Also, I will be teaching a special New Year's Day Yoga Class at the Weekley Family YMCA at 10:30 am, January 1st.  Please join me to start our year off on an enlightened note!

I wish you the happiest of holidays :)

Namaste,
Dominique

Good and Evil

"If only it were so simple.  If only there were evil people somewhere committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.  But the division line between good and evil cuts through every human heart, and who among us is willing to destroy a piece of our own heart?’

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn


Dear Yogis,

I will be heading out of town to spend Christmas with my family on the East Coast from December 21st - December 27th.  I do have some good subs lined up for you ;) 

Students of the Council on Recovery (and all others!) are invited to attend Winter Solstice Yoga Mass by Candlelight in the Council's auditorium on Thursday, December 21st from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm, instead of our regularly scheduled Thursday night yoga class at the Council.  For more info please visit: http://www.yogamass.com/

I wish you the happiest of holidays!

Namaste,
Dominique

Empathy

"Empathy enables us to reach across differences and connect as equals.  It does so by cutting straight through the walls that we build up around us and allowing us to touch the core of our equality: the ability to experience pain and joy."

- 17th Karmapa

Please note: 

Thursday, December 21st:  Winter Solstice Yoga Mass by Candlelight at the Council on Recovery, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Students of the Council (and all others!) are invited to attend this Thursday night practice in place of my regularly scheduled Thursday night yoga class at the Council on this date, since I will be out of town for the holidays at that time. For more info please see: http://www.yogamass.com/

Namaste,
Dominique

Love

“Love is what we are; we don’t get it from somebody, we can’t give it to anybody, we can’t fall in it or fall out of it.  Love is our true being.”

- Krishna Das

Here are a few quick announcements: 

Thursday, November 9th:  Yoga and a Movie at the Council on Recovery

You are invited to enjoy Yoga and a Movie on Thursday evening, November 9th at the Council on Recovery (303 Jackson Hill St,). We will have a Beginner Level Hatha Yoga Class from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm in the Courtyard (weather permitting - bring warm clothes just in case), followed by a viewing of the documentary film about Krishna Das, One Track Heart, in Room A115 from 7:40 pm - 9:00 pm.  Here is the movie trailer: http://www.onetrackheartmovie.com/.

This is a simple donation-based offering to support the good work of the Council. If you are willing and able to bring some snacks or drinks to share, that would be wonderful!  I hope you will join us for this uplifting evening.

Thursday, November 23rd:  Thanksgiving Yoga & Meditation Class at the Council on Recovery, 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

Please come and enjoy a “ happy, joyous and free” evening of yoga and meditation - donations are welcomed.

The month of November at Weekley Family YMCA

This will be my final month teaching our wonderful Saturday afternoon yoga class from 1:35 pm - 3:00 pm at The Weekley Family YMCA.  I hope you will join me for some special yoga classes this month before a new teacher takes over the class starting at the beginning of December.

Self-Knowledge

"You do not consist of the elements - earth, water, fire, air or even ether.  To be liberated, know yourself as consisting of consciousness, the witness of these."

- Ashtavakra Gita


Dear Yogis,

Please join us for Yoga and a Movie on Thursday evening, November 9th at the Council on Recovery (303 Jackson Hill St,). We will have a Beginner Level Hatha Yoga Class from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm in the Courtyard (weather permitting), followed by a viewing of the documentary film One Track Heart  in Room A115 from 7:40 pm - 9:00 pm.

This is an inspirational film about Krishna Das.  You have heard him sing in the music I play in our yoga classes together, and you have heard his wisdom through my teachings, as he is one of my teachers.  Here is the movie trailer: http://www.onetrackheartmovie.com/

This is a simple donation-based offering to support the work of the Council.  If you can give, please do; if you can’t, you are still most welcome!   I hope you will join us for this uplifting evening.

Namaste,
Dominique

By-products

"Most of the hurts we experience are not meant for us. They are by-products of the suffering others are feeling. The truth is that most of the pain and suffering we feel isn’t directed at us at all."

- Rami Shapiro

Dear Yogis,

I would like to invite you to enjoy yoga and a movie on Thursday evening, November 9th at the Council on Recovery (303 Jackson Hill St,). We will have a Beginner Level Hatha Yoga Class from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm in the Courtyard (weather permitting), followed by a viewing of the documentary film One Track Heart in Room A115 from 7:40 pm - 9:00 pm.

This is an inspirational film about someone you know!  You have heard Krishna Das sing in the music I play in our yoga classes together, and you have heard his wisdom through my teachings, as he is one of my teachers.  Here is the movie trailer: http://www.onetrackheartmovie.com/

This is a simple donation-based offering to support the work of the Council. If you can give, please do; if you can’t, you are still most welcome!  I hope you will join us for this uplifting evening.

Namaste,
Dominique

Rare

"There is a beautiful Buddhist precept that asks us to be mindful of how rare it is to find ourselves in human form on Earth.   It asks us to look about at the ant and antelope, at the butterfly and the hundred-year-old oak.  It asks us to recognize that of all the endless species of plants, animals and minerals that make up the Earth, a very small portion of life has the wakefulness of spirit that we call being human."

- The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have

 by Mark Nepo

Changing Habits

"In your life, first you create habits, then habits create you.  And today is a day when you can create a habit of meditation.  Then meditation will make you intuitive, and intuition will solve your problems."

- Yogi Bhajan


Important note:
The Monday and Wednesday night yoga classes at the Foster YMCA have moved to 7:00 pm - 7:55 pm as of September 5th.   I hope you are well, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Namaste,
Dominique

Our Future

"When we see people living mindfully, smiling and behaving in a loving manner, we gain confidence in our future."

 - Thich Nhat Hahn


Important note: 

The Monday and Wednesday night yoga classes at the Foster YMCA have moved to 7:00 pm - 7:55 pm as of September 5th.

I hope you are well, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Beauty

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."

- John Muir


Important note:  Due to Huricane Harvey, the following classes are cancelled (stay safe!):

Saturday 08/26, 10:30am-11:30am - Slow Stretch Yoga at the Council on Recovery

Saturday 08/26, 1:35pm-3:00pm - Yoga (Intermediate Level Hatha Yoga) at Weekley Family YMCA

Monday 08/28, 10:30am-11:30am - Beginner Yoga (Beginner Level Hatha Yoga) at Weekley Family YMCA

Monday 08/28, 6:30pm-7:30pm - Yoga I - Holistic (Beginner Level Hatha Yoga) at Foster YMCA

Tuesday 08/29, 12:00pm-1:15pm - Beginner Yoga and Meditation at the Council on Recovery

As of 08/28 -  "All YMCAs of Greater Houston will be closed until further notice" - sorry folks!

Also, the Monday and Wednesday night yoga classes at the Harriet and Joe Foster YMCA will be moving to 7:00 pm - 7:55 pm starting September 6th.  I hope you will continue to join us!

Something new

"One of the great delights of this world consists in never getting too used to anything, so that we can always find something new, inspiring, and thrilling about our life."

- Daya Mata

Every Day

"Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to have woken up.  I am alive and have a precious human life.  I am not going to waste it.  I am going to use all my energies to develop myself to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.  I am going to have kind thoughts towards others.  I am not going to get angry or think badly about others.  I am going to benefit others as much as I can."

- H.H. The Dalai Lama

Courage

"One of the key practices of any great spiritual tradition is the ability to let go - particularly the 'let go'  of your strong gripping self.  The interesting thing about self-centeredness is that the impulse behind self-centeredness is fear.  You're so terrified that maybe somehow to not control and fix it, that terrible things are going to happen, that everything is going to fall apart.  And you need courage to be able to just trust the process and also let go."

- Thupten Jinpa


See you back in class on Thursday, July 6th!

Teachings

"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know."

- Pena Chodron

Happy summer yogis!

I will be going on my summer vacation to visit family in the North East starting June 21st, and will be back teaching classes on July 6th.  I have a lovely group of yoga teachers lined up to substitute for me over this period; except for my two Wednesday 6:30 pm classes at Foster YMCA on 06/21 & 07/05.  Please call the Foster Y before heading out to these classes to see if they found a substitute?!
I hope you will continue with your Sadhana, and I look forward to seeing you when I return!  😊

Take care,

Dominique

The River

“For a river--right at its source--there’s a sense of the essence; of the new beginning; and the innocence of hope in the undertaking.  Every river’s goal is the ocean... every river is destined to this outcome, no matter how many turns and twists it takes to get there.  Remember, the river is always at its source, and also at its goal, even in the chaos of the particles in the turbulence of the middle.

When you stand in this turbulence of your life... can't you also be the entire river of your life?  When you’re a particle, with all the challenges of twisting and turning, the journey seems long and at times perhaps impossible.  But when you’re aware that you’re the entire river--you’re at the source, the presence, and the ocean all at once--this is when you realize there’s no need to be concerned in chaotic challenges... you’re destined to reach your goal... you are, in fact, already there.”

- Guru Singh


Happy summer Yogis!

I will be going on my summer vacation to visit family in the North East starting June 21st, and will be back teaching classes on July 6th.  I have a lovely group of yoga teachers lined up to substitute for me over this period.  I hope you will continue with your Sadhana, your spiritual practice.  And I'll miss you!  😊

Take care,
Dominique

In Command

“Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along.”

- Paramahansa Yogananda

Thank you to all who attended the exquisite Kirtan concert with Deva Premal, Miten and Manose on Thursday, May 18th.  I have shared a few photos on the "Past Events" tab.  I hope you enjoyed the experience, and were as moved as I was!

Please Note:  There will be no Group Exercise Classes, including Yoga, at either the Weekley YMCA or the Foster YMCA on Memorial Day, May 29th.   Have a great holiday weekend!

Slowing Down

"To become enlightened you stop running all the time and begin to walk.  Once you're walking, you slow down and stop.  Once you stop, you see who you really are."

- Deepak Chopra

Quiet Mind

"In the clarity of a quiet mind, there is room for all that is actually happening and whatever else might also be possible.

As we've discovered, it is possible to notice a single thought, sensation, or situation arise, but not get totally lost in identifying with it.  We observe the cloud but remain focused on the sky,  see the leaf but hold in vision the river.  We are that which is aware of the totality.  And our skills develop with practice.”

- Ram Dass


Hi Yogis,

Would you like to go on a Yoga Class Field Trip?  Some of the world's best Kirtan (Mantra) Singers, Deva Premal & Mitten with Manose, will be performing at Unity Church on Thursday, May 18th at 7:30 pm.  This is a form of Bhakti Yoga, one of the four yogic paths to enlightenment.  If you have never attended a Kirtan, I can tell you it is a profound and moving experience, and I hightly recommend it!

If you would like to join us, please purchase the $35 tickets in "Section H - Lavender Balcony" on the Left side facing the stage.  This is a small venue, and these affordable seats will give you an excellent view of the stage.  We will meet at 7:00 pm in front of the main entrance of Unity Church (look for me!), so we can all take our seats together.  Please click on the link below to get more info about the artists and the concert, and to buy your ticket.  I hope to see you there!

Deva Premal & Mitten with Manose Concert

Namaste,
Dominique

Planting Seeds

"When you plant seeds in the garden, you don't dig them up everyday to see if they have sprouted yet.  You simply water them, and clear away the weeds; you know that the seeds will grow in time.

Similarly, just do your daily practice and cultivate a kind heart.  Abandon impatience and instead be content creating the causes for goodness; the results will come when they're ready."

- Thubten Chodron


Thank you all so much for making the Sacred Space Yoga Retreat such a wonderful experience for myself and everyone there!  You can see some photos of this exquisite day in the "Past Events" tab on the website.  Thank you again!

Namaste,
Dominique

Time

“Time is infinite; it's so expansive we can't even conceive of it.  Infinity is the great void.  When you chant “OM” you add pressure and tension and nothing becomes something.  Prana – life energy is created.  Time is created.  Sensation is added to the moment, and life experiences time.  Whether you're a lizard or a human being; we all experience the future coming towards us, and passing into the past.  The trick is to rest in the present moment."

- Notes from a class with Guru Singh


Scheduling Note:  We will not have our regular Slow Stretch Yoga for Recovery Class on Saturday, April 8th at 10:30 am at the Council on Recovery due to our wonderful Sacred Space Yoga Retreat which will be taking place at that time in the auditorium.  I look forward to seeing you all there!

Signs of the Sacred

- “To live a contemplative life means to consciously put aside the thousand demands of the world and offer ourselves the gift of being in the present moment, alert to the signs of the sacred that are breaking through everywhere, always.”

- Mirabai Starr

Shifting Consciousness

- “'There is a way of shifting consciousness so that you see that we are all one in the form of many... You see that a starving person or a dying person or a frightened person is you.  Then the whole trip of,  'What's good for me?  What do I want?  What do I need?'  just becomes less interesting.  And that's where the power is that changes the universe.'”

- Ram Dass


Please join us for our  Sacred Space Yoga Retreat  Saturday, April 8th at the Council on Recovery!
For more information, please see the flyer below.  And to register, please click here: https://28052.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-pages/sacred-space-yoga-retreat---april-2017.

  

Kindness

“Perhaps the most spiritual thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness.”

- Jon Kabat Zin

Dearest Yogis,

I would like to personally invite you to our Sacred Space Yoga Retreat Saturday, April 8th at the Council on Recovery. This  sublime one-day retreat will incorporate a variety of yoga and meditation practices specifically designed to heal, restore and rejuvenate us.  I have a fantastic guest teacher, Satmitar Khalsa, who will be guiding us through an ancient healing practice of Kundalini Yoga, as well as treating us to a live "Gong Bath" - immersing us in the powerful vibration of the Gong!

For more information, please see the flyer below.  And to register, please click here: https://28052.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-pages/sacred-space-yoga-retreat---april-2017.   I hope you will join us this spring for this wonderful experiential retreat!

Sincerely,

Dominique Sieglaff

Liberate

"I am not really impressed by someone who can turn the floor into the ceiling or fire into water.  A real miracle is if someone can liberate just one negative emotion."

- Lerab Lingpa Terton Sogyal


Dearest Yogis,

I would like to personally invite you to our Sacred Space Yoga Retreat Saturday, April 8th at the Council on Recovery. This  sublime one-day retreat will incorporate a variety of yoga and meditation practices specifically designed to heal, restore and rejuvenate us.  I have a fantastic guest teacher, Satmitar Khalsa, who will be guiding us through an ancient healing practice of Kundalini Yoga, as well as treating us to a live "Gong Bath" - immersing us in the powerful vibration of the Gong!

For more information, please see the flyer below.  And to register, please click here: https://28052.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-pages/sacred-space-yoga-retreat---april-2017 .
I hope you will join us this spring for this wonderful experiential retreat!

Sincerely,
Dominique Sieglaff

Connected

"Feeling good is not the point, it's about being connected so that the highs and lows don't matter."

- Krishna Das