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Did you miss our practice last week with Embody team teacher Melissa Vannette? Do this practice now:  A Note from Dana:Beloved tribe, Entering a new year, bringing inspiration, hope, and light is usually my jam; I have and will continue to do so. However, these first two weeks have created a new lens to bring 2021 into sharp focus. ‘21 told us immediately that we cannot and must not go back to sleep. Just because we survived 2020, a change in the calendar won’t shift the reality in which we live. We, as humans, tend to have limited tolerance and short memory when we don’t want to deal with a seemingly endless, difficult situation. The most common responses are, “I’m over it, I’m checking out, it’s too much, I need to turn off the news and focus on me….” You know and I know because we all do it; overwhelm & burnout are real. Yet, this is not going away friends; covid, racism, and inequality are up close and personal, while continuing to gain momentum. When the Tests ComeThis past week we have been tested once again. We have seen the best and the worst of what is the culmination of who we have become as a nation. On January 5, Stacy Abrahms' unifying leadership, powerfully and skillfully, led Georgia voters safely to the polls in record numbers for the Senate runoff election to have their voices heard. At the same time, our nation lost its soul, for the world to witness, on January 6 at our nation’s Capitol. People suffered bodily harm and personal trauma protecting our nation, while others created chaos, fear, and division. We cannot take credit only for the good; we must accept responsibility for the whole. Though we cannot fix it all individually or even as a committed community, we can and we do take small steps each day to make our world more fair, just, and peaceful. A Story of CourageLet me share with you a relevant story in the news about a man named Jamie Raskin. Jamie is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Maryland's 8th congressional district since 2017. His 25 year old son, Tommy Raskin, died by suicide on New Year’s Eve, was buried on January 5, and yet Jamie still he went to work on January 6 with his youngest daughter, Tabitha, who urged her dad not to go.  Jamie Raskin had every reason to stay home yet he said to this daughter, “This is an essential constitutional moment.” Luckily they survived the rampage on our nation’s Capitol, Jamie did his duty on the house floor, and then immediately set to work preparing articles of impeachment against the president of the United States. All of that in one week, all the while ‘running on fumes & living off skittles & Cheez-It’s’ to uphold his duty to defend our democracy and honor the life of his son. (Read the full article in the Atlantic: Jamie Raskin Lost His Son. Then He Fled a Mob.) Also, I encourage you to read about the life of Jamie & Sarah Raskin’s son Tommy. It’s a beautifully, tragic piece featuring their precious son and the lessons his life has taught them. Statement of Congressman Jamie Raskin and Sarah Bloom Raskin on the Remarkable Life of Tommy Raskin You Are Not AloneI know this story and topic may bring up a lot. If you want to connect, email me: dana@feelbetterdogood.org. Always glad to hear from you. Help is always available and we care about our Embody tribe. Another resources is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK). Feel free to share this number and resource widely. To learn more about how the lifeline works, you can also find more information here: Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Tommy and Jamie’s stories are almost too much to hear let alone withstand, yet they can offer us all hope. Their lives and stories serve as inspiration, illuminating the resiliency of the human spirit! We can do hard things. We can overcome insurmountable odds. Though we all have different narratives that define our days, essentially we are more alike than different. Jamie did and continues to do what needs to be done; so can we. Come back to the well again and again. Chop wood, carry water. Fall off the bike; dust yourself off & get back up. How We Move On from HereIt is our duty not only as citizens of a great nation but as humans on this planet, to anchor firmly in our values. Together we can steward our earth, uphold our democracy, and be an example to our children that as American citizens we are more united than divided; we are the ones who work to make it so. Let’s all breathe, anchor and gain perspective. Self- care is critical, yet it is only part of what we can and should do at this time. All of us are called to be part of the solution of healing our nation, for we are all tied to what happened in America on January 6. If Jamie Raskin can pull himself out of the unthinkable and act for the betterment of our country, I know each of us in our own way can too. My heart is full of grief and gratitude for Congressman Raskin and his family. My heart is full of grief and gratitude for our nation and world. My heart is guided by hope knowing as a community we continue to do our sacred duty each and every day to heal our hurting hearts & broken world, knitting the pieces back together with compassion, love and peace. May it be so, Dana Christian Lee Practice Yoga with Us - Free!
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Practice to close out 2020
Did you miss our practice for this week? There is still time to bring in the new year with mindfulness and intention. Join Dana for this practice here:
2021 Yoga Challenge!
If you have been following my journey for a while, you may have seen my focus words for each of the last 6 years. It all started in 2015 with the "Year of the Handstand." Over the years I have focused on Peace, Transformation, Inspiration, and Gratitude. 2020 was the Year of Grace. We ended up needing more grace this year than any of us expected. 2021 I have decided is the "Year of the Warrior" and I want to not only create this practice for myself, but to invite all of you along with me. How YOU can get involved
Happy New Year y'all. May 2021 be the year for all of us to accept radical responsibility while we reclaim our health, wellbeing, power, and purpose. Together we will take action to help create healthier, happier people in a just world that is guided by love, peace, and sustainability. Yours in the way of the warrior, Xo Dana Upcoming Practice
No Embody – Winter Sabbatical
December 30 & January 6 New Year Kick Off Wednesday, January 13, 2020 3:30pm PT | 6:30pm ET
Make some time for you this week. If you were not able to attend live (or if you want to continue your practice daily), here is a recording of our yoga together from last week. Enjoy, share with your people and come back to it anytime! Embody is here for YOU.
Dearest tribe, As I write this last newsletter of 2020, I can't help but reflect upon the massive year we have had in absolute astonishment. Not hashing out negative details or restating the obvious struggles; I am seeking & revealing the good. What were your wins? What are the bright spots, powerful lessons & take-aways? Feel better, DO good, xo dana Upcoming EventsWinter Solstice Celebration with Dana Wednesday, December 23, 2020 3:30pm PT | 6:30pm ET No Embody – Winter Sabbatical December 30 & January 6 New Year Kick Off Wednesday, January 13, 2020 3:30pm PT | 6:30pm ET
Did you miss joining us live last week? Start with this practice right now!
This Week's Letter from Dana:
Hello beloved ones,
Happy December! One more month before we call 2020 a wrap- WOW! How do you want to complete your year? What are you most hopeful for these last 31 days of the year? As we enter the season of darkness and stillness, it is the perfect time to do what many don't often choose to do- get quiet and go within. Nature, right now, is giving us permission to slow the pace of life, hunker down, and embrace the gifts the darkness brings. Though this holiday season will likely not hold many of the people and traditions we count as most dear, my hope for each of us is to replace the normal hectic, long holiday to do lists, crazy busy shopping & ugly sweater parties with permission to rest and simply be. I invite you to join me in making a "Holiday to BE List" this year. Get out a journal and write this question: 'How do I want to be this holiday season?' I implore you to choose life affirming ways of being; joyful, grateful, jolly, generous, loving, thoughtful- the list is long. Set your mind and heart to that way of being and know that is enough; that you are enough. It's not our doing or buying, cooking, decorating, or entertaining that makes us or the season special, it's our essential nature. Your precious essence needs tending and restoration; body, mind and spirit. So go easy with your precious self this holiday and what you might think it should be. Let us take a page from Mother Nature's playbook this winter. She takes time to rest and we are called to follow her lead into quietude and reflection. Winter, darkness, this global pandemic, can feel like endless, almost like ground hog's day. Yet all things do eventually end and this will too. Let us use this time to shore up our inner resources, plant the seeds for 2021, and simply let go, awaiting spring's new growth. A Buddhist teacher, Stephanie Noble, speaks to the power of the darkness in a way that I find beautiful & provocative. “Dark is the rich fertile earth that cradles the seed, nourishing growth. Dark is the soft night that cradles us to rest. Only in darkness can stars shine across the vastness of space... There is mystery woven in the dark quiet hours. There is magic in the darkness... We are born of this magic.” Let us use these days of darkness to unleash our magic! You are loved, dana Join our Live Practice!
Remember, you can join Dana LIVE every Wednesday at 3:30pm PT/6:30pm EST to virtually connect and unwind. We love when people are able to join live and interact and share.
“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T.S.Eliot
 Hello beloved ones, Happy December! One more month before we call 2020 a wrap- WOW! How do you want to complete your year? What are you most hopeful for these last 31 days of the year? How can you turn 2020 around, even just a little? Though it's been a rough year, we can all acknowledge that, and then flip the script to a more positive mindset. It's the only thing we have control over really anyhow. Recently, I was listening to a podcast where the speaker told a story of her repeatedly hearing the phrase 'don't get your hopes up' her entire life. That was the mantra she lived by for a long time, until realization struck. “Don’t get your hopes up” is one of the worst sentences in the English language. Not only is it just rude, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don’t get your hopes up, if all you focus on is feeling negative, then you’re going to have a bad time. So, we implore you: get your hopes WAY up, dream like it’s going out of style, & make tomorrow exactly what you want it to be." ~Lori Harder So I'm ALL about that. Who's with me? Let's anchor into hope, elevate our positive energy and activate our lives. Let's bring it all to the mat this week and every week until the end of the year. Then it's limitless. To infinity & beyond, dana  This Week's Practice
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“The EmbodyGR community embraces and supports, says ‘yes you can’ when the noisy inner voice says, ‘no you can’t’ – Kari Wilson, Community Member Archives
January 2021
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