Welcome, everyone. As we step onto our mats today, let’s take a moment to ground ourselves. Close your eyes, bring awareness to your breath, and settle into the present moment. The theme of today’s class is transformation—how life’s challenges shape us, strengthen us, and help us grow, just as yoga does. Let’s explore this together.”

The Anti-Aging Effects of Yoga (Warm-Up)
“Let me share a story. Tommy, a teenager practicing baseball in the park, always noticed an elderly man named Jose practicing yoga under a tree. While others his age fed pigeons on benches, Jose looked 20 years younger than them. One day, Tommy asked, ‘Why do you work so hard every day? Why aren’t you resting like the others?’ Jose laughed and said, ‘Here’s a paradox, son: we don’t stop doing yoga because we get old; we get old because we stop doing yoga.’

Yoga isn’t just about living a long life; it’s about living a full one. As Seneca, the Roman philosopher, said, ‘We must take care to live not merely a long life, but a full one.’ And science supports this: a study from the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found that higher flexibility levels are linked to increased longevity. So today, as we begin, let’s honor our practice as a gift to our bodies and our lives.”

Forging Character Through Challenges (Strength-Building Poses)
“Character isn’t something we’re born with; it’s something we forge through challenges. Like steel gaining its strength in a forge, we too are shaped and strengthened by adversity. Every challenge, whether on the mat or in life, is an opportunity to grow.

As Hemingway said, ‘The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.’ And remember, ‘Just as we develop our physical muscles through lifting weights, we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges.’ Let’s embrace this in our Warrior poses—standing tall, steady, and strong.”

The Dance of Control and Surrender (Balancing Poses)
“Yoga is a dance—a delicate balance between control and surrender. In each pose, we explore this dynamic: the effort to stretch further, and the wisdom to ease back. Life is the same. When we resist too much, we feel tension. When we let go too much, we lose focus. The key is finding harmony.

Think of flying a kite. If you pull too hard on the string, the kite crashes. If you let go completely, it drifts away. But when you find the right balance, the kite soars high and free. As we move into Tree Pose, let’s embrace this balance and find our flow.”

The Freedom of Letting Go (Releasing Tension)
“One of life’s great awakenings is realizing that not everyone will change—and that’s okay. Their path is theirs, just as your path is yours. Trying to fix someone else’s journey only distracts from your own growth.

Think of yourself as a gardener. You can water and nurture the soil, but you cannot force the seeds to sprout or the flowers to bloom. Growth happens in its own time. In Pigeon Pose, let’s practice letting go—of tension, expectations, or anything we can’t control.”

Quotes to Reflect On:

‘Let go of what you can’t control, and you’ll find freedom to focus on what you can.’ – Buddha
‘Love them, release them, and let them grow.’ – Unknown

The Gift of the Storm (Restorative Poses)
“Not all storms come to disrupt your life; some come to clear your path. Life’s challenges, like storms, may feel chaotic, but they also wash away what no longer serves us. Hitting rock bottom often feels like the end, but it’s the beginning of something transformative.

Imagine a forest after a storm. The winds may break branches and scatter debris, but they also clear space for sunlight to reach the forest floor, allowing new life to grow. As we move into Supported Bridge Pose, let’s reflect on the storms we’ve faced and the clarity they’ve brought.”

Quotes to Reflect On:

‘There is tremendous value in hitting rock bottom. We are healed from suffering only by experiencing it, in all of its fury.’ – David Scott
‘Sometimes when you’re in a dark place, you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.’ – Christine Caine

Closing: Bringing It All Together
“As we prepare for Savasana, let’s honor the lessons of today’s practice. Yoga teaches us to embrace life’s challenges with grace, balancing strength and surrender, effort and ease. Every storm, every challenge, is part of our transformation into a stronger, more vibrant self. Close your eyes, let go of tension, and simply be. The journey is yours—embrace it fully.”

Asanas to go with class theme:

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged King Pigeon Pose) Link to theme: Use the metaphor of surrendering into the pose while building strength, just like finding balance between control and letting go in life.

Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel Pose): Relate it to opening the heart to life’s storms and challenges, transforming struggle into strength.

Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana (One-Legged Wheel Pose)

Eka Hasta Urdhva Dhanurasana (One-Armed Wheel Pose)

Chakrasana on Forearms (Forearm Wheel Pose) to

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana (Forearm Wheel Pose)

“Your strongest self emerges not when things are easy but when they are challenging.”
“The heart is like a flower. It only blooms when we let go and open fully.”

Urdhva (ऊर्ध्व) translates to “upward” or “elevated”

Viparita is a Sanskrit term that can be translated as “reversed,” “inverted” or “opposite.”

Dwi (द्वि) translates to “two” or “double”

Mixed Bag

The Story of Thomas Edison

Building Character Through Persistence

When Thomas Edison was seeking to invent the electric light bulb, he had thousands of failures. He would record the results, make adjustments and try again. It took him approximately 10,000 experiments to invent the perfect set-up for the electric light bulb. Once an assistant asked him why he persisted after so many failures. Edison responded by saying he had not failed once. He had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work. There was no such thing as a failure in Edison’s mind.

“Your body is like the glass surrounding a lamp. Remember always, that you are not that lamp, but instead that flame burning bright inside.” – David Scott

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.” – R.J. Palacio, Wonder

“Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” – George S. Patton

At the end of life we will all ask ourselves, Did I live? Did I laugh? Did I love? Did I matter?

“When written in Chinese the word “crisis” is composed of two characters – one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” – John F. Kennedy

“There is nothing else in the world that can trouble you as much as your own thoughts. There is no greater wealth in this world than having peace of mind and health. Let go of the thoughts that don’t make you strong”

“One of life’s great awakenings, is when you finally realize that not everyone will change. And that is their journey and not yours to try to fix it for them.”

“There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path. You cannot travel on the path until you become the path itself.” – Buddha

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved” – Hellen Keller

“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” – Dalai Lama, Tibetan religious leader (1935- )

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein

When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves. William Arthur Ward

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” – Buddha

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. – Maya Angelou

“Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.” – Maya Angelou

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” – Hermann Hesse

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary

“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” – Confucius

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden

“Forgiving someone may cost you your pride, but in not forgiving them it will cost you your freedom.”

“Kindness is having the ability to speak with love, listen with patience, touch with gentle kindness and act with compassion.” David Scott

“A clay pot sitting in the sun will always remain just a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.” – Mildred W. Struven

“I’ve learned that making a ‘Living; is not the same as making a ‘Life'” – Maya Angelou

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, and the black, curious eyes of a child— our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

“Whatever you are physically…male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy–all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” – Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

“Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Focus on your character, not your reputation. Focus on your blessings, not your misfortunes.” -Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart