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Greetings!
"A year from now you may wish you had started today." ~ Karen Lamb
So, let's turn that around: may today be the day you start what you wish, and at the end of the year—and every day between — may you be glad!
And if what you start has anything to do with Svaroopa® yoga or your own Divine Essence, know that you have something going for you: it's Grace. Swami Nirmalananda says Svaroopa® is the yoga of Grace. Whatever you start or do, even the smallest step you take, is met with a greater force carrying you forward. That force is Grace. Or as Swami says, your effort "is like a bird extending its wings to soar in the skies; Grace is the wind lifting it higher and higher."
I have received plenty of emails lately from organizations announcing fundraiser drives where your contribution will be matched, sometimes fivefold, by an unidentified donor. That unidentified donor is God, or you can say it's Divine Will or the grace of the Guru.
The grace of the Guru has made me very glad this year (and it has for many years now). This year I had the opportunity to be with my Guru Swami Nirmalananda for two amazing retreats and a meditation teacher training. Each time, I drove about 300 miles to get there and back, but each time I returned home with 300 million blessings.
The blessing from the meditation teacher training is that I can teach a new course: Deepen Your Meditation. The first offering will start later this month. You can read more about the course below.
And Nancy and I are both especially grateful for the blessing of having you as part of our spiritual family. We honor you for the steps you have taken to attend classes and special events this past year. This year, as always, we welcome you back again with a great big open heart. Classes will start Monday, Janaury 9th. The floor is also eager to greet you warmly.
All our love, from the Wholeness of our Divine Essence to the Wholeness of yours!
Happy New Year
Nancy (Nalini) and Phil (Krishna)
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- Focus Activity for this month
- Announcements & Reminders
- Deepen Your Meditation
- Honoring Those Who Serve
- This Month's Fundraiser
- Class Schedule & Fees
- Testimonials
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- Health Precautions
- Birthdays
- Deepen Your Meditation
- Freebies and Other Offerings from the Ashram
- Wisdom to Live By
- Video of the Month
- Enlighten Up
- Problems Receiving Newsletters?
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Focus Practice of the Month: | |
Make Your Bedtime Consistent — and Early
One of the first steps to good health and being more You is getting to bed at the same time every night — the earlier the better.
I have always tended to be a late night person. But whenever I do hit the sack early, I wake up feeling fresher and my day goes better. I feel much better and am more productive. Always. So my New Year's resolution is to get to bed earlier and consistently so.
Will you join me in this endeavor?
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Announcements and Reminders | |
- Yoga + Meditation class returns to Tuesdays 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
- However, beginning January 23 through February 27, the class is superseded by the Deepen Your Meditation course.
- Deepen Your Meditation course is for those of you who have learned Svaroopa Vidya meditation (see below).
- Thursday 9:00 am classes are now on-site only - no Zoom.
- We now have more blocks available for sale, including the giant blocks. Regular size blocks are $20 per pair; giant blocks are $35 each.
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Deepen Your Meditation
Five-session course Tuesdays 6:30 to 8:30 pm
January 23, 30 February 6, 13, 27
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This course is for those who have learned Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation and...
- Still have "busy mind syndrome"
- Want a deeper experience of peace and bliss
- Want help establishing a consistent practice
- Want to meditate with others dedicated to learning and growing spiritually
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Offered both onsite and online (Zoom)
Taught by Phil
Certified Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation Teacher
Fee: $135 ($125 if paid by January 12)
FlyerPDF
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Honoring Those Who Serve
Bill is Jen Hodgdon's rescue dog. Bill was a lab research animal for four years. Then he enlisted in the Holyoke Community College to be trained by veterinarian technicians to be a service dog.
Bill joins Jen where she teaches in Northampton. Her students (6th graders) very much appreciate Bill's presence. Bill brightens their day. He helps their stress levels drop. They feel more comfortable at school. They are able to focus and learn more easily.
We are giving Bill a free class for his service: in Jen's car outside the studio when the weather's not too cold or hot. (We don't have credentials for teaching dogs in the studio - yet. By the way, Bill does a great upward facing dog and downward facing dog. A natural yogi.
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Americares Foundation is a top-rated health-focused relief and development organization that is currently responding to the Gaza/Israel crisis as well as Ukraine. Americares provides medical aid, disaster relief and recovery. Americares delivers medicines and critical care to those who need it most.
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Ongoing: W. Brookfield Sharing Cupboard Food Pantry | |
 |  | Special note: Lately, more people have been showing up in need of food. This trend will probably continue through the winter. So donations are of paramount importance now. There are many hungry and destitute people living around us. They are very appreciative of the service the pantry provides. Volunteers are always welcome.We continue collecting donations of money, food and other items weekly for the West Brookfield Sharing Cupboard Food Pantry. Top priority includes non-perishable food such as regular sized (not large) canned proteins (meats or beans), dried beans, grains, peanut butter or other nut butters, powdered milk and cheese that does not have to be refrigerated, cookies, crackers, coffee, condiments (mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, etc.), canned or packaged soups. Organic is appreciated by many. Also, toilet paper and paper towels. You can also bring cleaning supplies, hand cleaners, and can openers. There is a box in our mudroom where you can drop off your contributions. Thank you in advance!
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Class Schedule: Onsite and Online | All classes are offered onsite and online except Thursday mornings, which are onsite only. You can join the Experienced class Friday mornings if you know the basic poses and need little assistance. If you are new or need assistance, start with Thursday or Saturday mornings if you can , or sign up for a private session. | |
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Mondays
5:30 to 7 pm Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
Tuesdays
9:00 to 10:30 am Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
6:30 to 8:30 pm Svaroopa® Yoga+Meditation (except Deepen Your Meditation takes over Jan 23, 30, Feb 6, 13 & 27; no class on Feb 20)
Wednesdays
5:00 to 6:30 pm Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
Thursdays (On-site only)
9 to 10:30 am Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
Fridays
10:00 to 11:30 am Experienced Svaroopa® Yoga
Saturdays
10:00 to 11:30 am Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
To ensure a space in the studio or to obtain Zoom join information, please contact us.
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Class Fees
For in-studio and online class fees, visit our website. Pay by cash, check, Venmo (@PhilMilgrom-TCP), Zelle ([email protected]) or PayPal (paypal.me/TheCenteredPlace).
Discounts are available for retired seniors. Scholarships are available for students with financial need.
Gift certificates are available. Give a loved one ta gift that keeps giving.
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Testimonials
"Nancy and Phil, thank you for all the calm your classes bring to my life." ~ Rita, North Brookfield, MA
"So many ways I have learned and both of you are an important part of my journey.
Mantra is part of the steps of my daily walk. When sadness arrives, or most especially anxiety, following my breath soothes me." ~ Marie, Holland MA
"Thank you for a year full of peace." ~ Carol, W. Brookfield, MA
More Testimonials
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Masks Are Optional and Available at the Studio
COVID is still around. Masks are welcomed. We will wear ours. Class sizes will continue to be limited to assure social distancing in the studio. We also have plenty of air circulation and air filters.
If you feel ill, have a cough or runny nose, or might have been exposed to someone who tested positive, please do not come to the studio, even if you tested negative. Feel free to join classes via Zoom until you are symptom free.
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Scent-Free Studio
Help us accommodate those who are chemically sensitive to fragrances and other scented products. Thank you!
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We wish the following students and friends a very happy birthday. Those whose names are in bold are students who are currently attending classes. Wish we could embolden the rest of you!
"There are two great days in a person's life: the day we are born and the day we discover why." ~ William Barclay
Here is a list of those celebrating their birthday this month:
Gail Noonan (1st), Leo Gauthier (2nd), Tracy Crane (8th), Louise Douglas (11th), Kara Legault (16th), Kathy Duncan (19th), Kim Kvaracein (20th), Gisela Kaupp (21st), Stephanie Bauer (24th), Pat Mallory (25th), Paul Regan (26th), Phil Sullivan, Jim Baron & Breanna Lamoureux (27th), Faye Allen, Julia Birch and Dave Bennett (28th), Kathy Cody (31st)
"Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most birthdays live the longest."
~ Larry Lorenzon
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Freebies and Other Offerings from Swami Nirmalananda and the Ashram | |
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Free audio recordings of Swami Nirmalananda discourses are available online. Listen from home or during your travels. Listen
from your cell phone or PC at https://svaroopa.org/audio-recording
You can also join Swami Nirmalananda online in meditation every morning, by subscription.
New! Swami has a new book titled Living Mysticism 2024, A Calendar Journal. There's a page for each day of the year, each with a unique inspiring quote on the top. The rest of the page is blank for you to write or draw about your meditations or your life, or both. Or you can use the daily quote as a jumping off point, to contemplate the teaching more deeply.
Another recently published book is Yoga: Embodied Spirituality, subtitled Navigating the Inner Quest for Wholeness. We have several signed copies for sale in the studio.
For more information, see https://svaroopa.org/books
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From Swami Nirmalananda
"You must keep your heart open. You must shine your light into the world... The light is inside your Self... Finding that light is not just a survival tool for the holidays, it is a life skill that will be needed in the New Year and every day...[You must] find the inner light that is your essence and being. You must know your Self."
"Light is important because your inherent nature is light. You are the light of consciousness, in a unique and individualized form. That light shines through your eyes, fills your heart and sparks your greatest ideas. The light of your own being arises from its inner source, spills into your life and fills your relationships with light and love and joy..."
"Svaroopa® yoga is a tantric yoga, the yoga of Grace. Grace is like the wind which blows away the clouds, thus revealing the sun that had been blazing all the time. In this analogy, the sun is your own Self, shining from within, the source of the bliss arising within."
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"Light and darkness cannot exist at the same time. When you bring in the light, darkness must fly; no matter what darkness it is, it must fly. So that is the power of light." ~ Chidananda
"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of even one small candle." ~ Robert Alden
"See the light in others, and treat them as if that is all you see." ~ Wayne Dwyer
"I think it would be a far greater world if people were kinder and more respectful to each other." ~ Aretha Franklin, Singer, Songwriter and Pianist - "The Queen of Soul"
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If you need a laugh, or your abs need a workout and you don't feel like doing yoga sit-ups, watch this. Stay with it: it gets better as you get into it, or as you get into it, you can laugh more easily. Not sure which. Skip the ad(s). | |
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Prelude for Inspiration
"The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed."
~ Sebastien Chamfort
"We don't stop laughing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop laughing." ~ Anonymous
"Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods." ~ Japanese saying
So make your day! Grow younger. Enjoy the company of the gods!
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Exercise Insights
- My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 now, and we don't know where on earth she is.
- If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.
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What did Adam say to Eve on December 31?
It's New Year's, Eve
What do farmers give their wives at midnight on New Year’s Eve?
Hogs and kisses
Where can you go to practice math on New Year's Eve?
Times Square
How do you find your way to the New Year's Eve party?
Follow the "Auld Lang Signs"
When the countdown begins neare midnight on New Year's EVe, why should you stand on your left foot?
So you can start the New Year on the right foot
What happened to the man who stole a calendar on New Year's Day?
He got 12 months
My New Year's revolution is not to use autocorrect all year.
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Waiting for Heaven
When Sara was 6, her new puppy became seriously ill, and the vet didn't know if he could save it.
I felt very bad for Sara, because this was her first pet and it had been a Christmas gift, so I said to her, "Don't worry, Honey. Just remember, if Fluffy dies, we'll see her in heaven."
Sara looked at me as if I were simple-minded and said, "Well, yes, Daddy, but heaven's a long way off for me. I'm only six."
| I once dated a girl who was a twin. People always asked me how I could tell them apart. It was simple. Karen painted her nails red, and Kevin had a beard. | Thanks to Phil Sullivan and Purna Chang, who both sent me this photo and others like it. More next time! Let this sign be a reminder though: stick to your resolution. If it's not working for you, and you were working for it, then let it go. Make another resolution. You don't have to wait a year to start. | |
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Based in your Self, Bliss is Ever Arising! Enjoy your Self!
Much light and love,
Phil and Nancy
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