Debbie is not feeling well and there have been no enrollments for the Candellight Vinyasa and Burning of the Greens that had been scheduled for this evening, Wednesday, January 30th at 6:00pm, so it has been canceled. Debbie is going to rest and get back to teaching tomorrow! Keep an eye out for future events like this, as they are scheduled throughout the year.

Due to the continuing snow, the Tuesday 6:00pm Hatha class and 7:30pm Shamanic Flow series class in Schroon Lake are canceled today, January 29th.

We plan to be open Wednesday following the regular schedule, unless the storm continues longer than expected. If Schroon Lake Central School is closed on Wednesday, we will follow by canceling the morning class and we will update our announcements at that time. Stay warm, stay safe, and stay peaceful!

Due to the incoming winter storm and the big pile of snow we are expecting, Sunday’s 9:00am Mindfulness Meditation session and 10:00am Community Yoga class in Keene Valley are cancelled January 20th.

We are planning to be open Monday following our regular class schedule, but if the storm lingers or the roads are not clear we may have to reevaluate. Please check here, your email, or our Facebook page before venturing out if you are not sure.

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay peaceful!

Here we are, at the beginning of December, and we’ve already had some winter weather cancellations, but we also have some perfect holiday snow. We are blessed that our beloved Adirondack home offers so many opportunities to enjoy the blanket of white. The ski areas are open, folks are out breaking trail for cross-country skiing and snow shoeing, and the sledding hills are ready for sliding.

Of course, the weather sends us indoors sometimes and returning to an activity after three seasons can be physically challenging. We’ve got you covered with yoga classes and workshops whether you need to warm up or rest. Check out the upcoming Sun Salutation workshop with Jen V. to build core strength and heat!

The approaching Winter Solstice also invites a turning inward, ushering a time of contemplation and introspection. Our inner adventure centers are open with offerings such as mindfulness meditation, restorative yoga, and Yoga Trance Dance to support your internal exploration. At the Solstice, join Debbie for a special vinyasa flow and shamanic journey to usher in the new season.

Spending the holiday week in the Adirondacks? Both studios will be closed Monday, December 24th for Christmas Eve and Tuesday, December 25th, Christmas Day. We will be open on Wednesday following our regular class schedule.

Visit our class schedule page for ongoing weekly classes, and scroll down our home page for all of the upcoming workshops and community events happening this month at True North Yoga.

Due to the continuing snow and poor driving conditions, Tuesday’s 9:00am Keep Strong class in Keene Valley is cancelled today, November 27th.

As of now, we expect to be open for classes in Schroon Lake this evening. We will send an update if that changes.

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay peaceful!

Due to the incoming winter storm, we are postponing the start of Debbie’s Shamanic Flow series in Keene Valley. The three week series will begin next Monday, December 3rd and conclude on December 17th.

We will make an announcement about Tuesday classes in the morning. As always, if Keene Valley Central School closes (or has a delay in the case of morning classes) the studio will be closed.

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay peaceful!

The Schroon Lake and Keene Valley yoga studios are closed Friday, November 16th. The significant snowfall closed both Schroon Lake Central and Keene Central School Districts, and it is our policy to follow their lead. Besides, there’s a big pile of snow out there to shovel!

We plan to be open for our regular weekend schedule including the Chakra Groove workshop in Keene Valley on Saturday.

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay peaceful!

What is gratitude? The dictionary defines gratitude as the quality of being thankful, or a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Our True North Yoga teachers recognize the kindness and support you show us when you come take yoga classes with us, attend workshops or community events, and when you tell other people about our studios and invite your family and friends to join you. We know how yoga and other holistic practices contribute to our wellbeing and we want everyone to experience the benefits. You are helping us carry out our mission and live our dreams. Thank you. We are grateful for you.

To return the kindness, Debbie is offering you a break from holiday preparations. Join her in Keene Valley on Wednesday, November 21st at 6:00pm or in Schroon Lake on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd at 8:00am for a complementary, gratitude-focused yoga and meditation practice. You’ll find more details in the events listing on our home page.

Following Keene Valley Central School’s lead in cancelling after-school activities today, Wednesday, March 7th, we are cancelling the 3:30pm Little Kids Yoga class and the 5:30pm Gentle Yoga Sampler class in our Keene Valley studio today. The Little Kids Yoga session will be extended by one week to make up the missed class.

We are waiting to see what conditions are like in the morning in Schroon Lake and Keene Valley (and what the schools do) before announcing any cancellations for our Thursday classes. Please check back in the morning before venturing out for a class.

Guest post by Debbie Philp

My long-time yoga teacher, Tracey Ulshafer of One Yoga and Wellness Center in Hightstown, New Jersey, often told us that breakthroughs in her yoga practice happened when she was too tired to tell herself she couldn’t. After having plenty of my own exhaustion-inspired breakthroughs, I’ve taken that to heart and shared it. My first lift-off into Bakasana came at the end of a long vinyasa workshop that followed a sleepless night of riding trains to New York City and back. (Don’t ask.)

Like pushing through the “wall” when running, at some point during a physically demanding yoga practice your body decides thinking is using too many precious resources, and redirects them to your muscles. Your brain still works, it’s just gone on autopilot. And you don’t have the energy to say “I can’t.”

Moving through exhaustion

There was a time not too long ago when I’d been exhausted for months thanks to an inner ear issue, and I hadn’t been asking much of my body. For weeks I’d been relegated to supine, non-dizzy-making poses. And, since it was still pretty cold here in the North Country, most of those supine poses had been practiced under my fluffy quilt…which is on my bed.

Anyway, one day I did something a fiesty friend told me to do – I took a “f*ck it all pill” and had myself a real, physical, sweat-producing yoga practice. I practiced Surya Namaskar with no dizziness, no nausea, no ear pain. Woohoo! Then I took advantage of my recovering equilibrium to play with a home practice sequence I had torn out of Yoga Journal months before.

I was enjoying myself, thinking of ways I could adapt the sequence for my varying levels of flow classes until I wore myself out too much to think. When the paper said Bakasana (crow pose), I flew. Then I read the next step. (Yes, while balancing on my hands I was reading from the magazine page. Yoga does have its perks.) It said to draw my chest forward and float my feet back into Chaturanga Dandasana. Countless times before, when a yoga teacher said “jump back from crow,” I had quietly put my feet down and stepped back into plank.

But that day I had taken a “f*ck it all pill” and I had made myself too tired to say “I can’t.” So I did what it said. And it worked…almost. I went a bit sideways and only one foot found my mat. But the second time it worked just fine. And the third, and the fourth. Then my brain woke up and sent me into Balasana.

When my forehead hit the floor in that child pose, a big chunk of something (use your imagination) slid down the side of my throat. I swallowed before I realized what I was doing. Gross. But when I swallowed, my ear didn’t make the crunching sound I’d gotten used to hearing. So I swallowed again, just to be sure. I’m not positive it opened completely, but something definitely changed in my ear.

Yoga fairy dust

At the Colorado Yoga Journal Conference in 2008, the great Ashtanga teacher David Swenson told us that we would, at times, be visited by the yoga fairies who would sprinkle us with fairy dust and we would suddenly be able to do whatever asana had been eluding us. He also pointed out that the yoga fairies had a sick sense of humor, so after achieving that challenging asana, we’d probably not be able to do it again the next day. So I wasn’t surprised when I woke up the next day and my ear was cracking and I couldn’t jump back from crow to low plank.

But that day, when I was too tired to say “I can’t,” I had it.

Check out our  yoga class schedule to find a class that will give you those “too tired to say I can’t” moments and contact us if you have any questions.

Debbie Philp, the founder of True North Yoga, sees the pursuit of wellness as a sacred journey that reveals the healer within. She offers yoga and shamanic healing practices to help you discover your innate power, your inner wisdom, and your ability to nurture yourself and others. Debbie is a E-RYT500 yoga teacher and a Shamanic Reiki Master Teacher. She teaches yoga classes, leads yoga teacher training, instructs Shamanic Reiki Levels 1 and 2, and offers individual healing sessions. Visit her website: www.DebbiePhilp.com