Yay! The Blog

By Terry Tresco

December is month when so much around us is saying to be merry and bright. Often times, however, we or someone we know is anything but that. The cold wakes some of us up and causes others to seek their caves and hibernate for the winter. Seasonal changes for many of us in the northeast can cause seasonal depression. Studies have shown that exercise of all types helps us combat depression, but it goes beyond that; connection with community is an unexpected bonus that comes with many forms of exercise.

I took my first yoga class in an outdoor garden with friends after work in 2000. Those evenings were the best part of a stressful time: I was recently engaged to be married, planning a wedding, and looking for somewhere to live.

Looking back over the past 20 years, I see that yoga has helped me to feel steady as difficult situations keep coming, as Rudy says: “life is relentless”. A yoga class is one of my favorite places to be (in addition to college campuses and airports). I always feel better at the end of a yoga class.

Yoga has been a saving grace in my life. This ancient practice has served as an anchor through many challenges over the years. It has enabled me to develop a deep relationship with my body, mind and spirit. It is from this place that I teach.
I first began exploring yoga when I was 17. It touched me at a tender time through a small book on yoga my mother gave me shortly before she passed away at that time. I followed the guidelines given and started to feel soft shifts within. I practiced mostly on my own through college, then started with a few teachers.

When I think about how Yoga has profoundly influenced every aspect of my life, I am grateful for it – and for kind teachers like Rudy and Joyce. I have dedicated my life’s work to sharing this transformative practice with others. Before I found yoga, I did not feel fully alive due to years of numbing any real emotion. I was scared to allow myself to feel and to truly connect to others.

Here is the final clip in this video series for our Countdown to One Year. Jenny Leopold has been a regular in our practice community and shares what she appreciates about Rudy’s gentle approach to yoga.  She has studied Dynamic Gentle Yoga with Rudy in the advanced teacher training program

As part of our Countdown to One Year, here is another short video clip from recent interviews of a few members of the Gentle Yogis community.  Mary-Margaret Kerns has been a pillar in our daily breath practice community, also frequenting the Tuesday and Thursday afternoon community-supported classes. She has enjoyed the