“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values” ~ The Dalai LamaDear friends,

What a spirited, barefooted journey we have shared over nearly 2 years at Thrive and with many of you, long before Thrive. It has been a such blessing to contribute to your yoga practice and to witness its evolution. !As many of you know, I have sold my share of ownership of Thrive and will no longer be associated with the studio. The decision was difficult, but ultimately, came down to a conscious choice to preserve the peace among the community and maintain the integ-rity of my vision. As Founder of Thrive Yoga, I personally thank you for supporting a community that was born from a passion for yoga and a dream to build a sacred space where great yoga and great people could grow.

My deepest gratitude to all of you who have offered words of kindness, support and love throughout my transition with Thrive. To the renegade yogis who joined me for class at Lakewood Country Club (what I am now dubbing, “The Lakewood Experiment”)--thank you for sharing your generous donations, positive energy and glowing spirit!!My dream continues and I have an ever-widening circle of friends, colleaguesand yogis who are supporting its vision: to cultivate a vibrant yoga community of yoga practitioners and teachers through flow yoga that enlightens spirit, heightens aware-ness, and ultimately guides us towards deeper levels of truth. !As I work towards this vision, it is my intention to support your yoga practice the best way I know how-teaching! My teaching schedule is on page 2. My most recent project, the Spirit Flow Newsletter, will continue to evolve into a resource for practitioners. !

Practicing and teaching yoga is a privilege. Each time we gather as a group to flow with breath and intention, not only is our personal journey deepened, but the spirit of our community is heightened. Making the choice to care for our own body, mind & spirit, is a powerful commitment: our world becomes a more peaceful and loving place through our own individual efforts. I look forward to continue taking this journey with you.

Namaste and Aloha,Kim Groark

M a r c h 1 , 2 0 0 7

S p i r i t f l o w n e w s l e t t e r * 9 7 2 3 H o l m h u r s t r o a d , b e t h e s d a , m d 2 0 8 1 7 c o n t a c t K i m a t 3 0 1 . 7 8 5 . 7 9 6 7 o r k v g r o a r k @ v e r i z o n . n e t

YOGA & SKI RETREAT Mar.29-April 1, 2007 Aspen, Coloradoa weekend of exhilarating yoga and skiing with Simon Park, Jack Forgosh, Tom & Daphne Larkin and Kim Groark. www.sanctuaryforyoga.com

Flow with Kim at American Dance Institute March 6-May 31!See page 2 for details.

SPIRIT FLOW YOGA r i d e t h e w a v e

N e w s l e t t e rSpirit Flow Classes

~Kim’s current teaching

schedule

~About Kim and her

classes

Page 2

Spirit Evolution

~Tips for starting a home

yoga practice.

~ Dvd Picks

~What is flow?

Page 3

Spirit Fun

~Make Tea & Meditate: a

recipe for yogi tea & light-

hearted meditation.

Page 4

Seva-How can I serve

you?

~Workshop survey

~Teacher Spotlight

Page 5

M a r c h 1 , 2 0 0 7

SPIRIT FLOW CLASSESThe pearl is in the oyster.

An the oyster is at the bottom of the sea. Dive deep.

~Kabir

Spring ScheduleMarch-May

effective march 6-may 31

Tuesday! 10:00-11:30 am! All levels! American Dance Institute! ! 6:00- 7:20 pm! All levels! Try Yoga

Thursday! 6:00-7:30 pm! All levels! American Dance Institute! ! *no class 3/29

Sunday! 10:45-12:15 pm! Level 2/3! American Dance Institute! ! *no class 4/29 & 5/20

American Dance Institute (Rockville)1570 East Jefferson Streetwww.americandance.org*$15 per class/pay by check or cash at time of class. *bring your own yoga mat

Try Yoga(Bethesda)4609 Willow Lanewww.hotyogausa.comSee website for pricing in-formation

Kim’s classes flow to eclectic music, ranging from ambient grooves and tribal beats to traditional chants. Her knowledge of anatomy and spontaneous approach guides students to embrace their own flow safely and freely, as they move through

the sound structure of postures. Informative, unique, and playful, Kim’s style of teaching encourages students to practice from a place of authenticity and joy.

MEET KIMKim Groark has been a devoted student and teacher of yoga for over a decade. She teaches yoga as a system for healing,transformation & vibrant living. As teacher, Kim is known for her compassion-ate spirit, unique sequencing, and ability to hold sacred space. Her creative approach empowers students to discover their own flow between flexibility and strength, stillness and spontaneity, in-tuition and alignment. Kim’s classes will challenge you as they simultaneously guide you to prac-tice from a place of honest exploration, acceptance, and personal freedom. The ever-evolving style

of her teaching, Spirit Flow Yoga, is rooted in the tradition of Vinyasa Flow Yoga and enlivened by Kundalini yoga, Anusara yoga, Tantric Shavanism, and the great source, life itself! She is grateful for her teachers-Shiva Rea, Hala Khouri, Max Strom, Naime Jezzeny, and John Friend, who continue to inspire her path. Above all, Kim is a wife and a mother to 20-month old Sophie, who teaches her daily the art of living fully and authentically.

Going Solo...but HOW?Practicing outside of the group class environment can be a challenging en-

deavor, but surprisingly rewarding. Here are some tips to help you get started:* Stop thinking about what you will be missing by not going to class. *Your practice at home WILL be different. Different does not mean worse

or better. Lose the judgment.*Check in with your breath. Let this be your starting point. Some days,

you’ll start moving through sun salutes, other days, you’ll just sit for awhile. Whatever you are doing, breathe mindfully and allow the breath to guide your movement. Track the breath into specific body parts and let those parts move.

*Listen to your body. Let the body tell you how to move-in other words, don’t think about what postures you should do, feel what postures you are drawn to.

*Cultivate and practice random, sponaneous movement. There’s no one around, so really go for it-I find this typically helps me rdive into the posture sequences that serve me.

*Practice without a clock! This will actually help you get in touch with your body’s natural rhythm and flow, as you are no longer dictating when and for how long you are supposed to remain in certain postures.

* Be willing to change mid-stream. You might start out meditating and then discover that what you really want to do is dance. Or vice versa.

*Lose the Agenda. Most things that are healthy for the soul have nothing to do with our plans and more to do with play. Get back to child’s mind.

*Get creative. Use whatever it takes to get you in the spirit of practice.I have a friend who does the dishes as her warm up to asana practice because it calms her!

*Using Dvds/Cds can be helpfull..but like using yoga props, can easily turninto a crutch. Be inspired by the moment, rather than a habit.

M a r c h 1 , 2 0 0 7

DVDS FOR FLOW PRACTICE

Shiva Rea’s Fluid Power & Yoga Shakti

Sri Dharma Mittra’s Maha Sadhana(1&

2)

Seane Corne’s Vinyasa Flow Yoga,

Uniting Movement & Breath (Session 1)

& Vinyasa Flow Yoga, The Body & Be-

yond (Session2)

Max Strom’s Strength, Grace & Healing

Duncan Wong’s, Source Power

What is VInyasa Flow or Flow yoga?

• Flow yoga is a practice in which the movements link fluidly together with meditative awareness and attention to breath-ing.

• Continuous movement is balanced with postures held for longer periods of time. What keeps us flowing is the breath that continues uninterrupted during the periods of stillness and movement.

• Sequences of postures intelligently build towards a peak. We start with the simple and build towards the more complex.

• Specific themes/intentions can inform the structure of class,such as strength building, endurance, relaxation, a focus on specific areas of the body, fun, philosophical inquiry, balance...the options are limitless.

• Flow yoga always incorporates sound body mechanics, alignment principles, connection with breath, sustained atten-tion, and the development of a balance between strength, flexibility and endurance.

• Flow yoga teaches us how to get into the flow of what is appropriate for our own body in every moment.

• The intention of a flow class, regardless of its theme, is to stay present with and connected to the moment and therefore teaches us how to flow through the fluid nature of our practice and our lives with grace and ease.

• Flow yoga incorporates all classes of asanas: moving series (ie sun salutations), standing postures, balancing postures, in-versions, twists, backbends, and forward bends. How these postures are sequenced can vary.

SPIRIT EVOLUTION

M a r c h 1 , 2 0 0 7

Yogi Tea Recipe

Ingredients:

20 whole cloves20 whole green carda-mom pods(open them up)20 whole black pepper-corns5 sticks of cinnamon1/4 tsp. of ANY black tea(pick one you love-use loose tea,not the bags)6 cups cold milk (2% or whole milk works best-you can also use soy milk-try vanilla soy for extra sweetness)

“Either we are here in the universe to inhabit the lovely eternity of our souls and grow real, or we might as well dedi-cate our days to shop-ping and kill time watch-ing talk shows.” ~ John O’Donohue,Eternal Echoes

I got hooked to Yogi Tea when I was living in California and practicing at a studio called The Center for Yoga. The tea would be served out of those big steel urns, polished to the point where I could enjoy the reflection of my goofy, post savasana grin as I poured myself a cup after class.

Today, the Center for Yoga is no longer the Center for Yoga (it has now become Yoga Works), but my memories of that studio, including the yogi tea, has stuck around. I have made this recipe many times over the years, and the tea is always delicious, but never exactly the same--this phenomenon, I have ob-

served, is also prevalent in my personal yoga practice, and is a reminder that if we pay attention, our life can never be experienced the same way.

There is something very healing about making something from scratch. It gets the creative juices flowing while at the same time is deeply relaxing. It is a great natural medita-tion, if you allow it to be.

If you’re with me so far, you’ll begin. Gather all your in-gredients. You’ll be cooking and meditating for the next

25-30 minutes, so take a few deep breaths as you settle into this intention. Remind yourself, with your next inhale, that you’re making tea for the sheer pleasure of it. With your next exhale, let go of any ideas of what

you think your tea should taste like or look like. Inhale deep, and exhale slow. Ground yourself in your kitchen. There’s no one to impress here and nothing to worry about. Take one more very deep inhale and on your next exhale, let out the sound “tea”..did you notice how the word itself brings your mouth towards the shape of a smile? If not, smile and say it again. In the words of the great Yogi Bhajan:

“Fake it and you will make it.”

Begin by boiling 3 quarts(12 cups) of water. Watch the water boil. This is drishti, folks. Only you’re not

gazing at a candle flame, you’re gazing at still water in a pot. Cultivate that focus. If you’re human, you will notice, very shortly perhaps, that you are watching the water and secretly wishing it would hurry up. If that’s happening, close your eyes, re-focus the gaze on your breath. Then open your eyes and try

again. Do this as many times as you need in order to make peace with the water boiling. If you are really struggling, meaning, you’re getting all worked up because you’ve been asked to watch water boil, remind yourself that a)no one forced you to b)you can walk away c)you can laugh at yourself and come back to your breath. The choice is always yours. Practice Radical acceptance and make it yours.

As the water starts to boil, notice what that creates-a sense of anticipation? relief ? happiness because now you get to DO something? Once the water has come to a boil, add the first four ingredients of the

recipe. Do this as if you have all the time in the world. Continue boiling for 15-20 minutes. You can give the ingredients a gentle stir...take time to pause in your stirring...notice if your stirring is an act of moving away from stillness or a sincere desire to stir. Breathe. Close your eyes, stop stirring, and take a

really deep inhale. Can you identify each individual spice on its own? Is it different than if you try to smell the spices as a whole? Does one smell reign supreme? There is no right or wrong answer. Just stay present. Notice how your breath changes in response to a particular scent...if you’re bored at this point, you’re human...stay with your breath and your brew.

HEALTH FACTS:Black pepper is a blood purifier,Cardamom is for the colon,

Cinnamon is for your bones and Cloves is a tonic for the nervous sys-tem... Black tea acts as an alloy for

all of these ingredients creating a chemical structure for good health!

SPIRIT FUN

(tea meditation cont’d)Continue to breathe deeply and naturally. Hear the sound of the water boiling. Smell the spices as they unfold and swirl. Do certain

images come up in response to what you smell? A memory? A Color? A particular sensation in your body? Notice these things and allow them to pass through you. If you’ve gotten this far, you’re doing great...if you’ve already went into the other room, no judgment, just kindly walk yourself back to the kitchen.

Once you’ve boiled for 15-20minutes, add the loose tea leaves. Stir and smell, smell and stir, for about one to two minutes. Notice the beautiful change in the color of your brew. Next, add the milk . You’ll want to add a 1/2 cup of milk for every one cup of liquid re-maining in the pot. Don’t worry about this being exact!. For you perfectionists, there is a great lesson or a major frustration here.

Again, choice is yours. Can you trust what you see and taste? Even if you’ve never made tea before, you certainly know what tastes good. Usually, about 6 cups of milk works well- but again, this isn’t a rule. Let the brew return to a boiling point, then remove it im-mediately from the heat. Be extra mindful here so it doesn’t boil over. Now you’re ready to strain and serve. The meditation is still

happening. DO NOT START TO CLEAN THE KITCHEN! (this is a different meditation for another time.)

Stay present as you choose a mug and fill it with tea,.. Adorn it with a favorite condiment, perhaps a dollop of honey or a fresh slice of

ginger root. Snuggle down into a comfy chair, and enjoy the aroma and steam as it rises from your mug of tea...as you take your first precious sip, savor it. When we savor things, we need less amounts of things. Once you realize this, you may be ready to let go. Take that fresh pot of tea-a literal manifestation of your time & energy & focus- and just give it away....a friend, a neighbor, the mailman, doesn’t matter who....just give it away, let go, and feel amazing. Peace can be as simple as that.

M a r c h 1 , 2 0 0 7

I would love to teach workshops that serve you. Below are 4 workshop topics/themes. Please let me know which, if any,

appeals to you. If you have any other suggestions, specific or general, please let me know.

1.)Yoga Alchemy: a deep extended practice incorporating the ele-ments of vinyasa flow, guided kundalini, free-form/spontaneous dance, pranayama, poetry and creative journaling.

2.)Slow Flow Yoga: a practice that will move you through the entire body gently, slowly and sweetly. We will take our time entering, exit-ing and maintaining each posture. Don’t be fooled, this class will be very challenging.

3.)Renegade Yoga: Off the hook, crank up the volume, blows away any stereotypical and conventional yoga class. For those of you who have wanted to burst out and sing while in class, this is for you. For those of you who think you know what yoga is, this class is even MORE for you. Don’t just step out of the box....lose it completely!

4.) Journey through the Chakras: Explore and understand the Chak-ras and their archetypes. A flow practice that will be enlivened by trance dance, visualization, meditation and spontaneous journaling.

Send your response to kvgroark@verizon.net

Om Shanti Anya Gordon is a bright light in our vinyasa teacher tribe and I know many of us will miss her classes, her spirit and her smile. The Oregon yoga community has just gained a gem! This photo was taken in January 2007, in preparation for our partner yoga workshop..it captures for me the essence of what made her a great teacher....grace. Her presence was one which allowed others to be themselves. You can stay in touch with Anya by contacting her at onion@hotmail.com.

SEVA � � � � � T A L K T O M E !