It’s that time of year, when talk of New Year’s Resolutions fills the air. How many of us fall into this frenzy, only to turn back 8 weeks later and realize your resolution has all but dissolved? There’s a reason for that. Let’s talk about the power of Intentions vs Resolutions and how making this shift can create and support long term shifts, so we are actually living the lives we dream of!
Your health is our #1 priority, and we hope it’s yours too. Feeling under the weather? We encourage you to stay home and get well. Sometime for us that means a gentle home practice to manage stress. Here’s an easy self love sequence you can do at home.
Start in an Easy Seat- Palms face up on your thighs- take 5-6 deep breaths
Take a few slow half neck rolls (ear to shoulder, chin to chest, opposite ear to shoulder)
Interlace hands over head, palms face up- easy side stretch to L and R
Child’s Pose- take 5 deep breaths
Cat/Cow- 4-6 rounds
From table top, Thread the Needle- 4-6 breaths on each side
Standing Forward Fold with bent knees
Slow roll up to Stand, Mountain Pose
Interlace hands over head, palms face up, side stretch to L and R
Easy Forward Fold w bent knees
Table Top
Childs Pose - place a pillow under your belly- 6 breaths
Lay on your back
Reclined Pigeon- figure 4 your right ankle over your left thigh. Stay here, or, interlace your hands behind your left hamstring. 6 breaths. Then switch sides
Happy Baby or Wide Knee Childs Pose on your back
Water Fall- legs up the wall, Perhaps use a wall for extra support
Knees to chest-
Savasana
Namaste
When we opened Wild Heart Yoga, we wanted to give students an opportunity to step on the mat and feel for themselves what makes Wild Heart Yoga more than a yoga studio, and so we created 10 Days for $10.
New students, local to Austin, TX, can enjoy unlimited classes for 10 consecutive days for just $10! Our normal Drop In rate is $22, so whether you take 1 or 20 classes during you 10 days, this a stellar deal! The 10 day count down starts when you take your first class, so you can get the most out of your time on the mat on the wild side.
This introductory offer serves as a way for you to experience our variety of class offerings and teachers at Wild Heart Yoga and get to know our heart-centered community. From beginner friendly classes like Foundation and Slow Flow, to heated Vinyasa and Candlelit VinYin classes, there’s a place to power up and rest and restore based on your mind, body, soul needs each day. Our 2 indoor studio spaces allows us to offer both heated and non-heated classes, while our outdoor yoga deck sets the scene for Full Moon Yoga under the moonlight each month, and special sunrise and sunset classes surrounded by oak trees and Texas sky.
If you find that Wild Heart feels like home and you want to make things official, new students can grandfather in at a discounted membership rate of $100/month (normally $130/month) when you join during your initial 10 days. Members enjoy additional perks like 10% off of items in our bohemian boutique, discounts on workshops and events.
Visiting from out of town? We have a discounted special for you too! Visitors can purchase a 1 Week Unlimited Yoga Pass for $50, which allows you to hop on the mat as many times as you’d like for 7 consecutive days.
Our tribe of students and teachers are the heart beat of Wild Heart Yoga, and we can’t for you to be a part of it!
10 for $10 is only available to folks who live in Austin
Visitors are not eligible for 10 for $10
This is 10 consecutive days; not to be confused with 10 classes / 10 Class Pack
10 for $10 is only available for 1st time students and may only be used on your 1st visit
The 10 consecutive days may not be paused or negotiated
Day in and day out we give to our partners, kids, friends, jobs. Early mornings and late nights are often spent racing from one thing to the next, whether it be the multiple tabs on the computer, the dishes-laundry-cooking dinner, meetings with the boss, conference calls with the team, shuttling for your kids shuttling them from school to soccer practice to play dates (anyone else around here feels like an unpaid Uber driver?!)…. the list goes on. When’s the last time you’ve set aside time for you? Not bath time, but real time? Life is all about duality and the opposite of Give is to Receive. Yoga retreats give you the time to be on the receiving end.
Most folks seeking yoga retreats are looking for similar things- peace, connection, high vibes. So you’ll already have that in common! While some may travel with a friend or spouse, many go alone, so you’ll have the opportunity to cultivate new friendships, see new perspectives, and broaden your human connection.
In this fast paced world of noise, concrete, steel, and clunkiness, we often feel like a Pin Ball in an arcade game, getting jostled all over the place. We’ve become so used to to the banging back and forth, we’ve accepted High Stress and Anxiety as the the norm. Get your feet in dirt. Nature, it’s a lot cheaper than therapy and prescription drugs. There is absolutely a place for both of these things in our world, but let’s not forget the healing power of Mother Nature! Research shows that bring in nature reduces anxiety, fear and stress and increase feelings of peace and happiness. Not only does nature effect our emotions, it’s been shown that it can lower blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. Some research shows it may even help us to live a longer healthier life!
Yoga Retreats are curated around creating positive vibes! Mama Nature is already there to give off her healing energy. Couple that with the positive vibration from teachers and students, you’ll be enveloped in heart-centered positive energy. It’s a welcomed detour from the stressful (though important) family vacations to amusement parks and Thanksgiving with the entire fam.
One of the main reasons yogis seek yoga retreats is to dive deeper into their practice. But yoga retreats can even be reprieve for those brand new to yoga! There are many All-Level yoga retreats, which means they are safe for all- those brand new to yoga and seasoned practitioners. Reach out to a retreat teacher and ask if their retreat is All-Levels. My guess is it is. Yoga is about so much for than the poses! Being in an intimate setting with students and teachers can give the opportunity for a customized experience with more attention to detail, space to ask questions and self inquiry. Private lessons are often available during retreat as well.
Most retreats include workshops, excursions, volunteer opportunties for a unique experience! Workshops can have a vast range of so many topics: on the science of gratitude, forgiveness, healing past wounds, intention setting, chakras, crystals…there are so many! Depending on where on this beautiful Earth you you’re retreating, you may find yourself hiking in the mountains, surfing in the ocean, sunset sailing, hugging a tree in the Redwoods, volunteering at animal sanctuaries or in a community or village helping with basic needs.
Yoga Retreats are a great time to get still and question what it is you want with this wildly beautiful life of yours. What are the things pulling at your heart? How could you take steps to living your life with intention? Learn how to switch the auto-pilot light off and to choose each day what you want your life to look, feel, and be like. Surrounding yourself with new people, nature, positive energy, diving into the wellness practice of yoga and meditation, and opening your heart to new experiences all work on the path to support your connection with the one person you get to spend every second of your life with - YOU.
Stay Wild,
Marybeth
I can remember being ‘in it’ during a Vinyasa class. You know those times when you’re absolutely in the zone, riding that yogi high? In that space my mind drifted to, “could I sequence a class?….no way….well, maybe…it would be so refreshing to have a creative outlet again…could I?” Those thoughts came in different forms in sporadic moments of inspiration that came from a creative transition, a thought provoking question from the teacher, an a-ha moment in a pose…and then I heard that voice off of my mat washing dishes, in bed at night, in my car when the perfect Savasana song came on. Let me be clear, I always shushed it. For years I turned the volume down, drowned out the whisper. I was a mom, a wife, worked a full-time job that I had to travel for, and my life was pretty much scheduled from the time the alarm went off until I laid my head down at night. Who was I kidding that I even had time for such silly dream? Then the Universe threw me one, then two giant curve balls and my world came crashing down.
After suffering the unimaginable loss of a child followed by another shocking swift kick to the bum, a divorce, I found myself crying on my yoga mat in despair. That was me, the weird inconsolable lady in the back of class ugly crying and sobbing from start to finish of class. This was not a one time class y’all. This became my regular yoga practice. (Thank you to all of the yogis and teachers who held space for me to fall apart on the daily.) It was in THIS moment that I knew I HAD to go through teacher training. And I had to do it NOW. To be honest, that nagging voice tried to knock my door down, “Are you insane? Now you’re a single mom with depression and anxiety, still working full time with travel, barely making ends meet…” I slammed the door on that voice as hard as I could. I just finally had enough of giving and doing for everyone else and thought, “I don’t know how in the hell I’m going to pull this off, but dammit I’m gonna find a way.”
Step 1- I got the words out my head and said them out loud. (#manifestation) “I want to do yoga teacher training”. These words were shared first with friends, then family, then strangers. The amount of support that poured out to me was overwhelming! Just thinking back to all of my family,friends, acquaintances who offered help… I’m about to start ugly crying right now. At first I thought folks were just being nice, but this TRIBE circled around me and my son supported my dream! My family came in on the weekends to help me, friends made dinner, and I became a freaking master at time management!
Step 2- Organization and time management are key. Teacher Training is a serious time commitment. 200 hours of asana, philosophy, anatomy, learning how to sequence….it’s a lot! But I had never been more excited and hungry for knowledge so making time for this venture was easier than expected. I woke up earlier. After work, dinner, and bath time I dedicated those hours to studying or getting ahead on other life things. See ya later Netflix binge watching and late night social media scrolls. We can look at time through 2 lenses. It’s either never a good time or always a good time. We are busy beings! There will never be a time when we have 10 or 20 weekends open and free. But we can choose to prioritize our time and spend our time more wisely. I was shocked at how much time I was wasting scrolling on my phone, watching TV, etc. This little life lesson goes beyond making time for YTT. But since we’re here to chat about teacher training, Wild Heart Yoga re-formatted our trainings to give students more space for all life brings us. Our Fall training meets every other weekend (most weekends) to provide a better balance.
Step 3- Money. Let’s not ignore the Ganesha in the room. YTT is expensive. It’s also an investment in yourself. I can think of no better thing to invest in than personal transformation and growth. I had a few months to come up with the cost of tuition, so cut back as much as I could on things like the movies and going out to eat. Luckily we live in a city that always has free family fun going on! From Pecan Street Festival, watching the bats, a day at Zilker, hiking the Green Belt, to movies on the lawn, Austin has it going on when it comes to free fun! I was able to combine money from my tax return with a quarterly bonus and my recent savings to make it work. Most studios have an Early Bird Special, and I was able to take advantage of that and save $300. Some studios are open to partial trade as well so if you have a skill like photography, videography, graphic design, even cleaning, speak up and ask! I NEVER want money to be the reason why someone doesn’t move forward with teacher training. I’m super proud to share that we are officially the 1st yoga studio in Austin, TX to offer financing for teacher training! Students can now make low monthly payments, and I’m not talking about a $500 car payment a month, but a real true affordable monthly payments.
Step 4- I learned to believe in myself. It had been a long time since I dove into something I was passionate about. Taking the leap, scary as it was, was the best thing I’ve ever done for ME! Investing my time and money for YTT wasn’t selfish, it was necessary. I learned more about myself in those 10 weekends than I had in 29 years! Teacher training taught me how to sequence a class, anatomy, methodology, yogic philosophy. And through these teachingsI pushed outside of comfortable boundaries and limiting beliefs and blew the lock off of the cage around my heart. It was there that I realized I’d been cramming myself, heart and soul, into this tiny box that society sold me with a bow. I felt my wild heart go free. And so here we are years later, at Wild Heart Yoga, offering yoga teacher training to share the gift that was given to me, that’s been given to so many others. Walk through the door. You got this.
Stay Wild,
Marybeth Brady
