Note to Beginners

Welcome to the Yogic path. At Śānti Yoga & Wellness, we are committed to the whole-health and well-being of our students, and are here to support you on your journey.

Many of our classes are suitable for beginners, including: Hatha Yoga, Restore & Renew and B. Flow (all levels). We also offer a Beginner Benefit Package (click here for details). We welcome you, however, to try any of the classes that we offer, as we endeavor to personally attend to the needs of each student, to offer modifications, and to provide skillful, thoughtful, and above all, compassionate instruction. Please contact Chris directly (978-352-8787) with questions or concerns. Chris is also happy to meet with you prior to your first class to discuss your Yogic journey. Remember: If we wait until we’re thinner, or stronger, or more flexible, or have more time, or have more money, chances are very good that we will never begin. We all begin, just where we are, each and every time we come to the mat.

Our practice space is tranquil and serene, and is free from competiveness and judgment. Your practice is just that—yours—and while we are here to humbly guide and instruct, yoga is a practice, and is practiced by honoring your own body, your own mind and your own spirit. We suggest challenge, while yet seeking harmony, attending to the 'middle path,' the path on which we neither create extreme suffering through self-mortification and martyrdom, nor rest in complete sensual comfort, within that familiar zone of ease. Challenge without ego-centric striving or force—this is practice with Wise Effort. And Child's Pose is always available!

Each of the instructors at Śānti Yoga believe in and practice cultivation of the 'beginner's mind,' in the clear understanding that thinking of oneself as an 'expert' precludes us from growth and learning, prevents us from waking up to the dharma, and to our own true nature. As stated in the Tao te Ching,

"Not-knowing is true knowledge.
Presuming to know is a disease.
First you realize that you are sick;
then you can move toward health.
The Master is her own physician.
She has healed herself of all knowing.
Thus she is truly whole."
(71)

If you still feel confused about where to begin, please call or email at any time, and Chris will happily assist you in navigating among the different styles of practice and the different levels of intensity.

"(The) obstacles to self-knowledge disrupt and scatter the mind— they are disease, dullness, doubt, negligence, laziness, dissipation resulting from excess craving, delusion, lack of achieving the concentration necessary to achieve higher consciousness, and instability"
(I-30)

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Finally, if you've tried 'yoga' before, and found it 'not for you,' might we suggest that one of the following might perhaps be true:

1. You tried a class that was not challenging enough for you, and thus came to the conclusion that you were not getting 'a workout;'
2. You tried a class that was much too difficult for your level of physical ability at the time, and decided that 'yoga' was 'too hard;'
3. You were unable, at the time, to suspend judgment and labeling, and found yourself instead relying on long-held conditioned beliefs versus being open to the current experience.

If any of the above might apply, we encourage you to give 'yoga' another try, and we are more than happy to help you find the place to begin. Just arrive with an open heart, and an open mind, and see what happens...