Ancient and modern cultures, from Asia, to Africa, to Europe, and the Americas, celebrated and still celebrate some form of Thanksgiving during the months of September, October, and November. Humans all over the world do this to express gratitude for abundant harvests and to acknowledge the change in seasons from warm to cold or from rainy to dry which directly affects our everyday lives from our circadian rhythms, and our mood, to the clothes we wear and the food we eat and crave.
Many scientific studies, including ones recently done at Harvard and Berkeley, found that gratitude is one of the main remedies for depression and anxiety. Ancient cultures understood this intuitively. Their thanksgiving celebrations were full of rituals, prayer, and offerings that made gratitude into a conscious practice and prompted a shift in perspective.
This season, Mind the Mat is offering an array of thoughtful workshops led by much loved instructors to provide occasions for we, as a community, to come together and pause, connect, reflect, and give thanks for the abundance in our lives, which, above all, includes each other.
Yoga Nidra on Friday, 11/8, 7:30 – 8:30pm, with Debora Jackson
Candlelight Yin on Sunday, 11/24, 4:00 – 5:30pm, with Maria Miglioretti
The Amplitude of Your Thanks: Hot Power Flow Yoga 7:00 – 8:30am, with Julie Wieland
Take A Deep Breath: Thanksgiving Power Vinyasa Flow 9:00 – 10:30am, with David Nguyen (in Arlington)
Gratitude Flow & Restore 9:30 – 11:00am, with Allie Menchel
Butts & Guts on Friday, 11/29, 4 – 5:15pm, with Megan Brown, PT, DPT
For Stylebook readers: receive 15 percent off all workshops above by using the code THANKS when you enroll online at http://www.mindthemat.com
Stay tuned for Mind the Mat’s Member Appreciation Month that starts on Black Friday! Open house, giveaways, surprises and more to come!
We are grateful for you!
Mind the Mat Pilates & Yoga was founded in 2008 by Megan Brown, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Polestar Certified Practitioner of Pilates for Rehabilitation and Sara VanderGoot, Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and Registered Yoga Teacher (e-RYT 200, RYT 500). In their private practices as physical therapist and massage therapist respectively Megan and Sara observed that many of their clients were coming in with similar needs: relief for neck and shoulder tension and low back pain as well as a desire for more flexibility in hips and legs, stability in joints, and core strength.
Together Megan and Sara carefully crafted a curriculum of Pilates and yoga classes to address needs for clients who are pregnant, postpartum, have injuries or limitations, who are new to Pilates and yoga, and for those who are advanced students and are looking for an extra challenge.
2214 Mount Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301
703.683.2228