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Teacher Highlight: Emma Doyle

Posted on by Stefan

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I grew up coming to Cape Cod (Wellfleet) to visit a great aunt in the summertime. After she passed away, my family continued a yearly tradition of visiting every August. Each year I would count down the days with more fervor than I would count down to Christmas. I moved here 12 years ago after finishing school and earning a degree, continuing to come back to the Outer Cape like a homing pigeon. I love the community here for its stewardship of the land and ocean and our dedication to taking care of each other.

My journey into yoga began as a way to mitigate the stressors of an injury from collegiate sports. Unable to walk or run, I came to yoga by way of a friend and instantly fell in love with the practice for the way it soothed my scattered mind. The most profound effect yoga has had on me is the way I interact with the world. Through the practice, I’ve found more grace, more equanimity, more awareness of myself and others.

Everything I’ve done up to this point informs my teaching. From surfing to biomechanics, writing to neuropsychology, I find inspiration and points of study in every nook and cranny of my life. My original teachers are Don and Amba Stapleton, of Nosara Yoga Institute, who instilled a firm belief that we are multi-dimensional in every way possible. They allowed me to set a solid foundation of self-inquiry first, teaching second. I’ve continued my education with Ally Bogard, Elena Brower, Yogarupa Rod Stryker, and Nevine Michaan of Katonah Yoga. I like to see my style of teaching like a soup, each of my teachers providing a necessary ingredient, but the overall taste and consistency depends on how and when I add each piece.

My favorite kind of yoga to practice is the kind that I need to practice more often: a blend of pranayama, restorative, and mediation

I would like to share with the world my passion for helping others unlock creativity through breathwork, asana, and writing. I run workshops in the winter in Wellfleet called Chaos to Clarity that do just that, sometimes with creative writing, sometimes with more structured goal-oriented mind mapping. Beyond this, I’m a psych nerd, so anyway I can link the latest research on our Central Nervous System and the yoga practice? I’m there.

Learn more about Emma at her website www.emmadoyleyoga.com and follow her on IG @emmaj.doyle.

Walls are okay, but maybe put a door in.

Posted on by Stefan
I love interpersonal boundaries. They tell a story about our experiences. I can always sense when someone’s personal space is being encroached upon and will go to great lengths to maintain and restore that person’s confidence in their sense of security and safety. That’s my role as a yoga teacher. It has less to do with providing exercise than it does with providing my students an opportunity to explore their own boundaries, physical and mental.

Boundaries come in many forms. Some people don’t like to be touched. Some need a lot of alone time. Some don’t like to be addressed in certain ways. Some don’t like to be complimented. These are all valid boundaries that deserve to be respected.

I find myself, more often than not, having to turn around and grab the wrist of someone who has laid an uninvited hand upon me. People tend to mistake my amiable openness as a welcome to physical advances. This is more about that person’s lack of boundaries. And I’m happy to communicate where the boundaries are and aren’t.

Like geographical boundaries, interpersonal boundaries are largely invisible. What’s more, they are entirely fabricated because they usually derive from experiences we have in our lives in which our sense of safety or security are interrupted. I don’t like to call them walls because I don’t believe they are permanent structures. Boundaries are fluid and context is important.

However, the pressure is on each of us to both respect and communicate boundaries.

You don’t know what someone has been or is going through. Your words and actions toward them could potentially be triggering. Until you understand someone’s boundaries, you should respect the possibility that they exist on all levels. You should respect everyone’s space and time and body and feelings. If you knowingly stride past someone’s boundaries without their express permission, you are committing an act of violence.

This doesn’t mean walk on eggshells around people. It means be observant and use the best of your communication skills to inquire about someone’s needs. Not only does it save you from a dramatic incident, it shows that you truly care about another person. I find that the best relationships possess a sense of respect for each others’ boundaries and a sense of flexibility and forgiveness when they are unintentionally crossed.

Those of us with boundaries that we’re aware of also need to develop the skills to communicate our needs directly so that we feel safe and so that other people know how to address us. This doesn’t mean running around telling everyone you don’t like to be touched because you were sexually assaulted – you don’t owe that story to anyone. But it does mean forgiving others for their ignorance and gently educating them on the way you want to be treated. Honesty with others and with yourself is paramount.

Most of all, respect your own boundaries and be willing to be honest with yourself about them. This will help you to navigate the world in which we are constantly being tested. With patience and awareness, your own unhealthy boundaries will fall away and more opportunity for love and growth will come rushing in.

Stefan Piscitelli is the director of Outermost Yoga. When he’s not inspiring with his word, he’s bringing playful mindfulness to his classes, hitting the beach, and dodging tourists on his bicycle. Follow him on instagram and read more on his website.

WEEKLY ASANA: CROW

Posted on by Stefan

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The original name for Crow is Patient Crane – Baka Dhyanasana – a pose which strengthens confidence and heightens internal awareness. It is a grounding posture that requires balance of body and steadiness of mind.

In a state of concentration (dhyana) we reveal a courage within that empowers us to fly. It is the natural courage of all things to live purely, wholly, and freely. Doubt will bring us down, faith will lift us higher.

Believe in yourself. Om.

WEEKLY ASANA: SCORPION

Posted on by Stefan

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Outermost Yoga director + teacher Stefan Piscitelli celebrating his 33rd bday at Hatches Harbor, Provincetown. 

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Scorpion Pose – Vrischikasana – awakens the Ajna Chakra, or third-eye.

Ajna means “command” and it is the point through which in a meditative state the practitioner receives commands or guidance from the Guru, the higher self. It is the bridge or doorway between the mental and psychic dimensions.

When Ajna is awakened, the mind becomes steady and strong, qualities which this asana requires on the physical level.

Open your mind and allow strength to flow through you.

Om.

OM

Posted on by Stefan

OUTERMOST YOGA is dedicated to empowering mindful lifestyles by promoting and advancing yoga + wellness activities and practitioners in Provincetown and on the Outer Cape.

Our community offers a wide variety of yoga classes, workshops and retreats.

For more information about our programming, to host a workshop or event of your own, or to customize your own yoga + wellness holiday while visiting the beautiful Outer Cape, please write to us at outermostyoga@gmail.com.

The Power of Positive People

Posted on by Stefan

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Great and timely article in the Times about being mindful of the company you keep.

“Friends can exert a measurable and ongoing influence on your health behaviors in a way that a diet never can.”

Feeling unhealthy? Check your social life, not just your fridge. Spend less time with the friends who keep you rooted in unhealthy behaviors and cultivate the influence of people whose energy and optimism keep you moving in a brighter direction.

Could be as simple as going to a public yoga class a few times a week. 😉

(Provincetown yogis Tim and Stefan feeling bright on the water during the annual Blessing of the Fleet)

The Power of Forgiveness

Posted on by Stefan

I grew up in a world where forgiving others for their faults and failures was wrong. If someone hurt you in any way, you held it against them. You wished them harm. You withheld mercy and compassion because you wanted them to feel your pain. You believed in a “God of Retribution” and expected others to get theirs.

It has taken me 14 years to right this incorrect way of seeing the world. Once I turned 18, I left home to seek new worlds. It has taken every one of those 14 years – through university, moving to the West Coast, moving back to the East Coast, my parent’s divorce, the end of my one and only long-term relationship, my younger brother’s untimely death, and a series of starts and stops in my personal and professional lives, including no less than 30 separate jobs and 16 different addresses – to see the light.

Whether it’s having had your heart broken or a fight with someone you know, in order to truly forgive others for their trespasses, you must recognize three truths:

1. Nobody else can ever be responsible for your feelings. They should respect them, of course, as we all should respect each others’ feelings, but you ultimately are responsible for your own healing and any inner aftermath. What this requires is a set of practices that help you fend off negative energy that seeks to break into you and rob you of joy. This requires a deep self-love. Not narcissism, but self-respect and motivation and an adherence to a regimen of activities that keep your blood flowing, endorphins pumping, and life moving forward at your own pace and by your own rules. Yoga is an example of teaching the body-mind how to remain calm when faced with an intense situation, on and off the mat. Meditation is also a great tool. Enjoying the company of good people, enjoying the silent company of nature, having a creative outlet. When you have a practice that keeps you grounded in your self, then it is harder for others to break in and set off your alarms.

2. When you forgive someone, you relieve yourself of a burden and give it back to whomever caused you harm. If you truly committed no wrong or have already owned up to your own actions in the situation, then rest assured that the weight of the situation is no longer yours to bear. You have taken ownership of your own feelings and actions. The rest is up to the other person, but have no expectations that they will ever come around. Have faith in the best of all possible worlds, but don’t try to change someone else’s mind. Change your own – that is peace. Know that you have experienced the burden and that it no longer belongs to you. In most cases, people come around. And if not, then what goes around comes around anyway and we all have our lessons repeated to us until we learn them.

3. Why that person caused you harm is most likely not really about you but about that person’s own relationship to himself. Most people project their own issues onto others around them. There may have been a real reason from which the discord has sprung, but if that person has chosen to ostracize you instead of resolve the situation or is heavy-handedly playing the victim without revealing all the truth to their audience, then you have to understand that that is the way that person operates in his or her world and that that has pretty much nothing to do with you. You don’t need to fight against the grain of someone else’s behavioral patterns. Have patience, instead, because eventually the storm passes. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” Jesus said, as his belongings were ransacked. Most people are blind to their own behaviors, and blinder still to how they affect others. It may seem or feel personal, but it’s probably not. That person just needs attention. Don’t feed them with yours.

These three truths about forgiveness empower you to remain strong in the face of darkness, which always precedes dawn. A Course in Miracles teaches us that “only love is real” – so when you find yourself confronted by something that is not love, know that it has no power over you. Love saves the day. Love is courage. Love weathers the storm. The American bison does not flee or hide from a prairie storm – it turns and walks through it, head on, because it is the quickest way through it. Be the bison. Have a heart as big as a bison. True strength is within. Om.

Stefan Piscitelli is the creator of Outermost Yoga.

 

NEW CLASSES: ASHTANGA

Posted on by Stefan

We’re excited to be adding two ASHTANGA SERIES classes to our schedule!

Robert will be leading as you explore and practice THE foundations of what is commonly called vinyasa yoga. This is a great opportunity for beginners who aspire to step confidently into a typical flow class.

MONDAYS at 10a & FRIDAYS at 830a

$10 drop-in, cash only

Limited mats available, it’s always suggested to acquire your own

494 Commercial St above the Schoolhouse Gallery

TAROT BASICS WORKSHOP

Posted on by Stefan

www.captainsdaughters.com/events/2018/4/7/workshop-tarot-basics-major-arcana

Workshop: Tarot Basics – Major Arcana

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

6:00 PM 7:00 PM

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Have you been curious about Tarot but not sure where to begin? We are welcoming NOLA TAROT by JP for a very special three-part Tarot Basics Course.

In part one, NOLA TAROT will delve into the Major Arcana. The one hour workshop will include an overview of the symbolic, mythical and philosophical journey through the 22 Major Arcana tarot cards.

The Major Arcana cards hold specific energies and messages which can lead us to a deeper understanding of ourselves and our present situations.

No experience needed…Open your mind, draw a card, and have fun on your journey!

Bring a tarot deck (or purchase one in advance at The Captain’s Daughters) and journal to organize your thoughts.

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AND CLASS SIZE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED. REGISTER TO ATTEND HERE

Welcoming in a new season –

Posted on by Stefan

Hello friends –

OUTERMOST YOGA and its community of amazing yogis and wellness practitioners welcomes you back to the Outer Cape for another season!

We’ve all had some great adventures over the past few months. Some of us, like Tim, gave retreats in beautiful locations like Hawaii; others spent weeks meditating in silence. Stefan studied Thai Yoga Massage in an ashram with the founder of the Sunshine School and Network, Kam Thye Chow. Others went to Thailand to learn and eat. A few of us even completed our first ever teacher training. Some stayed put and deepened their practice.

Combined, our community has thousands of hours of experience ranging across many styles and backgrounds of holistic, healing practices. The best part is that we made all the effort to learn and grow so that we could be of service to you!

Please review our comprehensive Class Schedule, which includes all yoga and fitness classes from Ptown to Eastham. For recommendations on where to eat or get a massage, check out Our Places. Get to know some of us under Our People.

Please review our Retreat Schedule and let your friends and guests know that we are offering seven amazing, healing, restorative, energizing retreats in Provincetown between June and October.

We are offering a $10 drop-in class all season long at 494 Commercial Street, above the Schoolhouse Gallery – M/W/F 1230-130p and SAT 10-11a.

You can also find us on instagram: @outermostyoga

We are truly looking forward to being at your service.

May your season be beautiful, bountiful, and blessed.

OM

The Team at Outermost Yoga