Featured Teacher: Nicole Schrage

Practicing of Vulnerability

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New York is one of the toughest cities in the world. It has a hard exterior where we only find pockets of softness. Maybe they’re in the park, a (hopefully quiet) museum, or our favorite yoga studio. The NYC mentality conditions us to buck up, thicken our skin and move on. Naturally, when we come to our yoga mats within this environment, if we are without intention, the same hardness is going to seep into our practice.

Our yoga mat may be our only place to get personal and explore our current situation. Let it be a safe space us for to be vulnerable. Vulnerability can scary so we often shy away from it, but what safer place to explore the shadows than on our mats, with our teachers and our friends closeby?

As I teacher, my highest aim is to open up space to allow students to expand. In order to expand to our greatest capacity, we must get personal with ourselves, and to do so, we must let go of the idea of perfection. With safety and alignment still at the highest concern, allow yourself the space to come into an arm balance even when it’s wobbly or imperfect, explore what lies within limiting thoughts that present themselves as obstacles, and lay into the fear that sits next to imperfection to see what is on the other side of letting go.

I will be on my mat Tuesday mornings at 7:30am, Thursday evenings at 6:30pm and Wednesday afternoons at 12:30pm, teaching and exploring vulnerability alongside you. See you there.

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