A fifth grader practices yoga at a Men’s Night Shelter

Katie Bashor, Humanitarian, Director of Central Night Shelter (CNS), PE Teacher at Fernbank Elementary, and a Yogi told our yoga club all about the yoga program at the shelter. She told the children that the men are so much fun~they laugh and moan and sweat and laugh and LOVE partner poses. We explained that our dream is to make the yoga class a community event where everyone can practice together.

My Experience at the CNS by Isabelle

Last Sunday, I went to the CNS and took part in their Yoga night. It takes place every Sunday from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. It was started by Katie Bashor and Cheryl Crawford and is open to everyone. It is a nice way to start off your week and is a fun and challenging alternatative to sitting on your couch and watching TV. It brings homeless men and women together and also pulls in members of the community. When I simply walked into the room, I could feel an aura of serenity between people. Our place in the community didn’t matter, we were all there for one reason: to do yoga. To me that was just so great, just a couple of handfuls of people there to do yoga. I think that this is an amazing thing, I hope you share my opinion. ” Isabelle

Atlanta! Come practice yoga with this amazing, supportive, fun-loving community.The teachers are stellar.

Research & Anecdotes
Namaste
Said my young friend who wants a connection:
“I wave. I shake hands, with no objection.
No pain, no remorse, no one intervening
a choice I make without much thought or meaning~”
“…Is there a gesture that honors each other?
That celebrates greeting sisters and brothers?
Can you show me HOW to express happiness
with social and spiritual significance?”
YES, my dear friend, I can show you a mudra~
a gesture of sorts, for kings, friends and sudras.
Place hands together from fingers to wrists~
like a knife, cut through difference that may exist.
This immediately gets you to the shared ground~
of ALL people, of all cultures, of all sound.
It’s a recognition, a united force~
that honors equality of all from the Source.
Close your eyes and tune into your own inner light;
your divine spark that forever burns bright.
That’s the key, my dear friend, you must see your OWN
in order to recognize others’ light shown.
BLEND your five fingers of action on the left~
with five fingers of knowledge on the right~
to achieve the symbol of perfection
the union of opposites; interconnection.
FInd the Connection of your brain and your heart;
your sun and your moon; your stop and your start.
Marry together reason and emotion~
unite thoughts and feelings, stillness and motion.
Join positive and negative; hot and cold~
theory with practice, silver with gold~
Wisdom with Method, intellect with instinct~
talent with genius, and feelings with think!
Exhalation and inhalation, ,brain and heart~
Align in harmony, right from the start!
There is indeed no sphere of our existence
untouched by the symbolic significance~
of Namaste~
Namaste
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Research & Anecdotes
Grounded? Yes! Restricted? No!
For many of us, a new year represents a blank slate, a Tabula Rasa. Imagine being able to “refresh” any or all areas of your life. Now visualize this table with two columns, Yes and No. You create your truest life by thoughtfully choosing what goes in the No column and what is a Yes. Everything you say YES to and everything you say NO to matters. What if your yes’s and no’s were tabulated and at the end of a day, week, year, lifetime, you could see how the data, otherwise known as your life, balanced out?
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Research & Anecdotes
Little Miss Muffett
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Practices & Philosophy
Grounded is a Virtue – How Kids Yoga Builds Confidence & Calm
One of our most popular tools is our Yoga Pose Cards, part of our 84-pose system designed to teach kids how to shift energy, stabilize attention, and feel empowered. This is a practical method for educators wondering how to teach kids confidence through yoga — it meets children where they are and helps them rise….
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Research & Anecdotes
How to Bliss Bomb the World
So you finish your practice~
You feel loving and calm.
There is nothing you dismiss~
You are full of BLISS bombs.
You rejoin your family~’
And what do you hear?
Shouts of anxieties~
Blames, Shames, doubts and fears!
Does loving-kindness deflate
As you join the contention?
Or will your blissed state
Transmit without tension?
Each time you experience
The delight of {I AM}
Your bliss will flow forth~
Like a hydraulic ram.
Embody the KNOWING~
Of your inner LOVE state.
So you can keep it safe~
And INTERRELATE.
YOGA says your relationship
between you and your SELF~
can not be diminished,
or put upon a shelf.
You take your SELF
everywhere you GO!
Then everything is spiritual
from Grumps to Sloppy Joes!
Lokanandah Samadhi-Sukham
Shiva Sutra One.Eighteen~
Your inner bliss continues
Like you won the slot machines.
So how do we GROW
In our capacity for such LOVE?
Without mermaids and unicorns~
Blue moons and white doves?
We create an INNER space
Direct love toward KNOWERSHIP~
Call forth our virtues,
Our patience, our grit.
We bridge the gap of difference
SERVE in a profound way~
Not cold duty or bargain~
LOVE is the order of each day.
Become capable with powers
Of WILL, KNOWING, and ACTING
By practicing {I AM}
Without useless distracting.
Place your hand over your HEART~
Feel right beneath your palm~
Towards your back body~
Where this is endless peace and calm.
Allow your attention
To be with your BREATH~
To flow in and flow out
Softly in your chest.
Welcome the BREATH~
Right into your HEART.
Feel a soft golden sun
That is bright, warm and smart.
With each breath IN~
make that SUN glow.
With Each breath OUT~
Expand the warmth to and fro.
As you welcome the breath in
To the vast INNER world~
Invite the HEART to reveal
It’s largeness, depth, and swirl.
Flow in with the thought {I AM}
The mantra of the inner self~
(Not I am Sam~
Or I am a silly elf)
The heart receives the breath
With the recognition {I AM}
The exhalation feels space,
The experience of BLISS BAM.
Practice with eyes open
Practice with eyes closed
Practice often
And LOVE will be exposed.
As you greet those outside~
Amongst the chaotic and mundane~
Stay tuned into your heart
And send LOVE to their pain.
You’ll get glimpses of KNOWING
Your yoga is working~
When outer frustrations
Are shirking, not lurking.
Read More How to Bliss Bomb the World
Research & Anecdotes
Kale Me Crazy

Yesterday, I was with my friend Autumn, and she wanted to go to Taco Bell, which is her favorite restaurant. The only way my mom was willing to take us is if we went to a place called “Kale Me Crazy”. Basically, we were bribed. I’m not a huge kale person, so I never even though about going there.
A couple months ago, my mom had gone in there and gave the owner her recipe for almond milk. He turned it into a smoothie, naming it Grounded after my mom’s company. Of course, my mom ordered that one for us. It resembled the concoctions that my mom normally would make. It was a brown, grainy, mixture that literally looked like it came from the ground. I guess it lived up to its name.
Unenthusiastically, Autumn and I tried it. And we were surprised. It tasted like a healthy version of a chocolate milkshake. We couldn’t stop drinking it. Being the nice person that I am, I let Autumn have it so I could “enjoy” my kale smoothie, which was really disappointing compared to Grounded. I guess you never know what to expect.
To try this smoothie, I would recommend going to Kale Me Crazy or, you can even make the smoothie at home by blending these ingredients.

Recipe:
Handful of raw almonds (soaked)
3 tablespoons of raw cacao
1 banana
1 tablespoon of hemp seeds
1 teaspoon of hemp protein
Handful of raw Brazil nuts (soaked)
3 dates
11/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of raw honey
2 scoops of ice
2 cups of water

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