Special Guests

Here on this new page, I am proud to introduce my first guest, Sherry Gardner. I have had the pleasure of knowing Sherry since my childhood through the community of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Duxbury, MA. There were a handful of women who were part of that church that have left a fine impression on me, Sherry included. I have clear memories of her kindness and of a certain inner strength that she always seemed to keep with her while raising her 3 children.I was so thrilled to find her again in my yoga classes several years later and to have an opportunity to give back to her. She brings that kindness and beauty to her mat and into my life practically every morning when we meet early for practice. She is always there with a smile to offer, or a bit of insight or an offering of gratitude. But what really strikes me is Sherry's courage and determination to be in her practice on all levels amidst the challenges that MS has posed for her. She is committed and dedicated to her practice and to loving and honoring herself just as she is. She blows my mind with her strength and her resolve. We share the love of Bhakti yoga  (devotional music and chanting) and are often swept off together for a few moments in class by waves of sweet, peaceful music, our hearts opening to the blessings bestowed upon us. This is a picture of her in Hawaii in 2010. Her awesome studentship kept her true to her yoga practice while vacation. And just look at her greeting the day with such gratitude!

Introducing
~Sherry Gardner~

In Sherry's Words...

When I had young children, I practiced yoga for a few years.  I loved focusing on asanas and the positive energy yoga produced on a physical level.   That was 30 years ago, and now, I've come back to yoga, and my life has been transformed in ways which I could have never predicted all those years ago.

 Before I came back to yoga, my MS was gradually zapping me of my balance, muscle strength, and physical and emotional energy--I was in a battle with my MS.  But because of yoga, instead of battling MS, I have come to actually embrace it as a gift. Now when I come face to face with my body’s limitation in an asana, I am learning how to reach a level of emotional and physical surrender that I never would have been forced to reach 30 years ago without this challenge of MS.  That is not to say that I don't have moments in every practice when I'm furious at my body's refusal to be in even the simplest of asanas.  But yoga has me breathing through my negative thoughts about my limitations, and it forces me to listen to my body-- sometimes with some success, sometimes not. And for sure, I still have issues with balance and muscle strength. But in the end, my yoga practice still emerges as a surprising portal to the wisdom of surrender. This only happens when I am able to breathe out and relax and back off of a rigid expectation.

What an incredible tool yoga has become for me to get through life with hope. And what a joy it is, to know that no matter what physical, emotional, or mental limitations life may bring, I will always have some form of yoga to allow me to be one with my breath, one with stillness. It's magic.