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The Yoga of Connection and Can Yoga Really Change My Life?

The 2005 and 2006 year-long email classes are now over, but you can register to receive access to the archives at anytime, and participate by following the practice suggestions and homework at your own pace. Anyone who makes a donation of any size to support Open Mind Open Body will receive instructions for accessing these materials. 

52 Weeks of Practice & Philosophy  

with Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.  

The theme of our 2006 online/email class is the Yoga of Connection. The most powerful source of healing is a sense of connection - to community, to purpose, to spirit. This sense of connection inspires action. It allows us to be compassionate with ourselves and others. It encourages us to pursue our life's work with passion. It gives us the strength to face uncertainty. It infuses every moment with meaning. It is the essence of fully-engaged, fearless living.

This year's class will focus on how we create barriers to connection, and how to dissolve the sense of separation that creates so much suffering. We will cultivate connection through formal yoga practices (such as meditation, breathing, and asana), self-study, and everyday action.

You will receive one email a week. Each email is designed to inspire both reflection and action. You may be given a story, quote, idea, or question. To help you take action, each email also includes instructions for a meditation, breathing exercise, or yoga practice that relates to the week's theme, or suggestions for applying the idea to your everyday life.

You can share your experiences and reflection online, on the class bulletin board.

Your email address is never shared. You will only receive emails for this class. You may also opt to receive no weekly emails, and simply view the class material on the password-protected class web site.

I have decided to run the class by donation this year. There is no minimum donation. 

To register for this course, simply make a donation online. Be sure to include your email address and the words "email class" in the optional note. If you cannot donate online or would like to pay by check, email me for instructions. 

You can join this class at any time. All weekly emails are archived on the class website, so you can access all material from the class no matter when you join.

"Rather than saying 'yoga has changed my life', I would prefer to state that participating in this unique form of human interaction has changed my life. The constancy of the weekly class has helped to ground me back to my true natural center. It is like the dawn of each day...constant but riddled with small surprises."

"This class has provided exactly what I was looking for in my practice and now in my teaching. It's refreshing to have mirrored back so eloquently, the beauty of Yoga and how it is truly transformative beyond having the perfect asana."

"I have so enjoyed your class! I have learned a lot about myself and what it means to have a yoga practice. Thank you for your work, it really has made a difference and from thousands of miles away. Phenomenal idea you have put into motion."

"What yoga has taught me this year, through the medium you have offered us and in a million different ways, is support.  I learned earlier this year that the root of the word "dharma" is same root as the Sanskrit word for support.  I am acutely aware of the people like me, reading your emails, drinking in the words, being prickled, challenged or humbled by them.  By the many people in their private spaces, practicing, chanting, meditating, praying.  For the first time, at 46, I am in a community of people whose faults, foibles, hopes and fears are similar to mine and whose method for possible transcendence is the same.  Thank you."

Please join us - all are welcome. Take care, and best wishes for your journey. Kelly