Community

Treat Your Mind Like An Infant

Meditation can be a really tough practice. One of the big challenges is the unrelenting judgment of your critical mind. It can feel disheartening when you lose concentration or get distracted by the discomfort of being still. You might overly criticize yourself to the point where you want to quit.

Here is a helpful tip: try treating your mind like an infant learning to walk. Your mind can be wobbly and fragile just like a baby trying to take their first steps. Patience and loving encouragement are absolutely necessary.

Be kind to yourself, especially when you are learning a new skill. You would not get angry at a baby if they lose their balance when walking. In the same way, it is not helpful to get upset when your mind loses concentration in your meditation.

This compassionate approach to your mind applies to more than just your meditation practice. Observing and treating yourself with great care creates a life with more compassion and limits the propensity to cause harm.

Let go of self-judgement and acknowledge your intrinsic value. Your input affects your output. If you are inputting love and care for yourself, you will have a greater capacity to share this with others.

Practice loving attention in your meditation and then notice how you treat yourself and others throughout the rest of your day. It can change the entire landscape on how you view the world.

Michael Fong

Fear and Kindness

Dear friends,

A few weeks ago, my teacher asked me to do something. If it had been for her, I would have said yes, of course, anything. But no, this was for me. And I immediately said no. But then I stewed on her words and much to my chagrin, she has never asked me to do anything that did not cause fear and end in personal growth. And everytime she has asked, I have immediately said, no thank you and then went through the process.

Ok, this is minor. But what it brought up was how fear and the anxiety around that fear can cause us to retreat, to shy away, and to get that sick feeling at the pit of our stomachs. And I think in these unknown and untried times, we are all experiencing a fear of sorts on different levels. So we go through the what if’s, and we worry about the unknown outcomes that may or may not happen. And we all do it, it is natural.

Recognizing fear. Where do we feel it? How do we internalize it? How do we name it? Or is it too big and murky to be named? Fear is real; don’t dismiss or discount its importance to you. Others can say it is irrational, but that doesn’t make it less important to you.

Looking inside. As we dig a little deeper, you may find this unease living inside perhaps causing disquiet, sleeplessness and even pain. Consider meeting these feelings with kindness. And if that doesn’t help, be kinder. Nurture, console, and delve more deeply into those feelings. There are many ways you can do this: long walks, meditation or meditative activities, getting out in nature, talking with a friend or, perhaps, a little yin yoga.

Why yin? Yin is deep, dark, centered, rich, earthy and ultimately healing. I have been struck now, more than ever, that this is the practice for these times around us. When the panic sets in, when the unrest and unease are pervasive, how do we find healing. How do we nourish and nurture ourselves so that we can bring a bit more peace to others in a world where people are seeking ease. It is now that we need to slow, we need to feel more fully, we need to spend more time healing from the inside. So that when we emerge from our practice, we are a bit more settled and comforted; a bit more nurtured. Does the pain leave? No, but the suffering is less and is slowly replaced bit by bit with kindness, tenderness and grace.

Please join me on the mat as we face our fears hand in hand, with kindness, comfort and open hearts.

Love,

Molly

Leap, Yoga, Grief and Love

At Leap we believe in the power of community and that yoga has the power to heal. Practicing yoga in community can enhance the power of intention exponentially. Our practice gives us the ability to come back to ourselves over and over again. When we become still we can align with the place inside that is intelligent, wise, and centered. We can correctly identify what we are feeling and use our wisdom to determine the next right step. There is great power in this process. There is great power in love.

I recommend this short read from LightOmega. For me it’s spot on. This helped me to identify that the feeling underneath the confusion, anger, sadness and frustration is grief. Understanding this has been helpful to me and maybe this article will feel helpful to you in determining what your next right steps might be.

“Dr. King understood this principle. He understood how grief can be linked with love whereas violent retribution cannot. It can only be linked with further violence. He understood that grief, if it involved only a feeling of helplessness, was not enough. But grief connected with a burning desire to prevent suffering and to create change, grief in the presence of love could change the world.”

LightOmega Article: https://lightomega.org/…/death-george-floyd-and-healing-po…/

We want you to know that we are here for you. We continue to teach yoga as a service because these timeless practices help us to evolve and have blessed humanity for thousands of years.

We invite you to continue practicing with us as often as possible as we continue to offer Leap Live VIRTUAL classes led by your dedicated Leap teachers. Our classes are rooted in tradition and are designed to help you tune into your own intelligence for answers, cultivate inner strength, grace, and compassion.

Om namo Bhagavate. Om namo namah. May the Supreme One that we are all part of ignite this fire of love and commitment within us.

Namaste,

Stacy, Butch, Michēal, Cindi and Marco

Leap 30 for $39 Unlimited VIRTUAL Yoga for Newbies

Are you new to Leap or do you have a friend, relative or neighbor that could benefit from the Leap VIRTUAL Yoga Experience?

If yes, sign up for our 30 consecutive days of Yoga for $39 and gain full access of our Leap VIRTUAL live yoga classes and Leap VIRTUAL yoga Library. With over 60 classes of different types of yoga available to view at your convenience stored on demand, access to purchase Leap Workshops and multiple daily live classes held on interactive Zoom, what are you waiting for? Join our AMAZING Leap community and experience some of the best teachers around, practicing a variety of different Yoga, in a professional, quality way to maximize you home practice.

Simply click on the photo below:

leapyoga.net becomes friendlier

After much discussion and customer feedback, it was time for a change! Nothing drastic but much needed.

Websites are always a difficult animal to develop, not technically, but because clients become familiar with the layout and without malice, become resistant to change.

The last 2 months have been hectic to say the least. VIRTUAL was certainly a learning experience with on demand Leap Live being added and the creation of a Leap Library, utilizing our existing provider platform. The funny thing is we had been talking, and signed off on the offering of a VIRTUAL experience about 6 months ago, but obviously COVID sealed the deal! This along with the creation of a completely new website, but current events took over.

Leap Library is still being developed and categorization will follow to replace our current listing ordered alphabetically by Yoga type, then by teacher, followed by date. Our provider also has developed and rushed their VIRTUAL booking platform in order to keep up, as an interim, while their refined version is still to be launched. This should be out shortly and can’t come soon enough. Our thinking of not utilizing multiple, perhaps more advanced, platforms was for web stability and seamless transfer. This has temporarily not allowed us to post previews and thumbnails in our library, but that will come.

So while Leap – our studio – is currently undergoing major refurbishment and rejuvenation, so is Leap on line. Major category changes have been made, with VIRTUAL SCHEDULE now containing our full range of offerings in a drop down menu. Our menu has been simplified to reflect Yoga as currently provided. This should be much simpler to navigate, while still maintaining an air of familiarity.

When changes are made, websites rebel and drop links, so please be a little forgiving until all is repaired, should we have missed something. All changes have been made while live, as we did not want to disrupt things more than necessary.

Further changes will be made and eventually a second in STUDIO offering will be added when we are given the thumbs up to open.

The Leap VIRTUAL schedule drop down menu now provides you with a full listing of what we have coming including Workshops and Teacher Trainings. It also shows technical pointers on how to get set up.

We have added new sections if you are NEW TO LEAP and expanded the information under ABOUT US drop down menu, as well as adding a link to help you log in under MY ACCOUNT. Sliding banners have been renamed and are fewer, hopefully more relevant, adding to the navigation experience.

We have also tried to simplify things when the site is viewed on different devices, including cell phones and tablets. Though the best experience is undoubtedly on your computer, especially during these VIRTUAL times.

We sincerely hope that once you have become accustomed to the changes, you find the revisions a marked improvement to assist you in maximizing you enjoyment of Leap VIRTUAL and the Leap experience.

Leap is gearing up to have you back!

So we are both excited, but also a little sad.

Excited because we can’t wait to see your friendly faces come through our doors. The smiles, the chatting, hearing how you have all been doing during the past 2 or so months. The vibe, the love, the caring as we share our love for yoga, wellness, community and peace. It has been difficult for us all to give up our vital interaction.

A little sad as we still can’t definitively say when our opening will be. We realize it will come, but await directives from the State as to when this might be, The fact that other businesses are opening gives us joy, but being a Yoga studio, we have been deemed a category 3 business, which makes us a little apprehensive as to when we will have our new normalcy begin, and we can all reunite.

However enough musing. In the interim we certainly have not been idle in the pursuit of providing Leapers the best experience ever. New classes, new schedules, new VIRTUAL classes, new offerings, new website and a completely refurbished Leap environment for you all to enjoy. But more of that to come!

In the meantime, we thought it would be fun to post a few images of what has been going on behind the scenes over the past few weeks. A true labour of love.

In the meantime, we need all the support we can get. We will continue to have a complete VIRTUAL offering as we simply can’t let all this amazing work not complement our in studio offer. So if you know of anyone near or far, that could benefit from the Yoga experience at Leap, please refer them. Drop us a line that you have done so either via messenger, or email to cindi@leapyoga.net and when they sign up for a 30 for $39, will give you a little something to show our appreciation. With much thanks and love, Namaste.

Simply click on the photo below:

Leap Gift Cards

Last minute shopping……….give the gift of yoga!

Treat yourself or share your love of yoga with others this holiday with a limited-time only discounted LEAP gift card. Gift cards can be used for class passes, in-studio retail, an Intro Month, there are many ways to get flowing this season.

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY receive 10% OFF GIFT CARDS.

USE CODE: GIFTLEAP10 to purchase when ordering online: Just click on this link or come in to the studio to purchase a card

Give one or use it yourself!*

Start the New Year right and get flowing.

Not a member? Gift cards can be used for Intro Membership, Class Passes and for a limited time only your first month payment if you join as a Leap Unlimited Member. Let us know if you want to apply a gift card towards your first month of Leap Premier Unlimited Membership and explore all that it has to offer!

*Note – gift cards cannot be used towards existing membership payments.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Dear Leap Community,

We miss you all so very much and are looking forward to the day we can be together again! We have definitely learned a lot about technology and are so glad it has enabled us to stay connected with most of you virtually.

“We will either find a way or make one.”-Hannibal (247-182 BC), Carthaginian General

The above quote resonates with us because we truly feel we have been building new roads as we navigate our way through these unprecedented times. We have adapted each day to new challenges and opportunities. We will continue to make our way through this in collaboration with you all.

Our hope was to reopen with Phase 2, however, yoga studios have been included in with “Big Box Gyms” who are in phase 3. We joined a coalition of local studios and fitness facilities and approached our local government officials in an effort to make our case that we are different and able to maintain social distancing with a few procedural changes, however, it looks like we are going to have to go to the state level with this request. While some studios opened with a limited number of students in each class, the state announced on May 21st that they would have to close. We feel it is most important to be on the side of caution following the guidance of our local and state officials to ensure the safety of the Leap Community.

In the meantime, we are “freshening up the studio” and working behind the scenes to make sure your yoga studio is beautiful and sanitized when you walk back through the doors. We are following updates closely and developing a plan so that when it is safe to reopen we will be positioned to deliver you the yoga you love in a safe and welcoming environment.

Our immediate plan is to continue to offer a variety of virtual live and recorded classes/workshops to keep you connected to your practice and to your Leap teachers. We are still fine-tuning things based on the changing landscape but here are some of the procedures/policies we plan to implement allowing us to maintain the health and safety of this community:

IF YOU ARE SICK: First, if you, or an immediate family member is sick, running a fever, showing signs of COVID-19 or other illness please do NOT come to the studio. If you have traveled on an airplane within two weeks, you may be asked to practice from home. We are asking the same of our staff

CHECK-IN SYSTEM: We will require students to register for classes online (as you have been doing for our virtual classes). We will be installing a sneeze guard at the front desk for added protection and will have a new check-in procedure that requires students to enter and exit the studio in a strategic manner, avoiding large groups of people from gathering.

EFFICIENCY: Staff members will be available at each class to support the check in process to get you on your mat safely.

FACE MASKS: Our front desk/check in staff will be wearing face masks. Depending on what the next phase presents, we will know if face masks need to be worn during practice. We are still assessing this with our priority ensuring we are maintaining the highest level of safety for everyone.

CLEAN HANDS: We will have hand sanitizer stations in many different locations in the studio with a requirement you sanitize hands when you come in and again when you leave your mat.

RESTROOMS/SHOWERS: We ask that you use our restrooms on a limited basis. As before we will provide hand sanitizer, soap and paper towels in our restrooms. Showers will be closed temporarily.

MATS & PROPS: There will be no rentals or shared props at this time. We will send out information on how you can purchase your yoga gear at a discounted rate so you are ready to practice. We will have new and used mats, yogitoes, sweat towels, blocks, straps, bolsters and blankets for sale.

6 FEET DISTANCE: We have Leap stickers on the floor that you will place at the top center of your mat so you will maintain at least 6 feet distance from each other.

EXIT FLOW: We will ask that you get to your mat quickly and when class finishes exit through the side doors closest to Ganesha…maintaining 6 feet distancing.

BETWEEN CLASS TIMES: Upon reopening we will allow ample time between classes to maintain our exceptional cleaning procedures that we implemented pre-Covid.

LATE CANCELLATION FEES: There will be a no show and late cancellation policy due to the limited class sizes.

CASHLESS: We will become a cashless studio during this time to prevent the handling of money with our staff. Credit cards and debit cards only. We highly recommend you put your card on file now. Please email (cindi@leapyoga.net) if you want to discuss putting your card on file or adding a credit to your account to make purchases without cash in studio.

ONLINE CLASSES: We plan to continue indefinitely with online classes in conjunction with the opening of the studio. You will have more opportunities to practice and stay well more than ever before Covid-19 (a silver lining).

Thank you for your patience through this process. We will update you as soon as we know more. Watch all communication outlets (email, Leap website, Instagram & Facebook) to stay in the know, as things change so quickly.

In the meantime, we hope you and your loved ones are healthy and happy! We want to hear from you. Outside of what is listed above, what else would make you feel safe and comfortable to practice at Leap? How many of you want to continue to practice from home for a while? We have put together a 3 minute survey to get your feedback.

Click the button below to complete the survey:

RE-OPENING SURVEY

Again, we thank you for your commitment to the Leap community and adaptability to staying connected through our virtual classes. It is because of you all that we can come out the other side of this as a thriving, loving community. We are committed to offering rich experiences and opportunities to nourish your mind, body, and spirit through yoga. We will Leap into the future together!

Love,

Stacy, Cindi, Michēal, Butch and Marco

Leap’s 100 Club 2025 with Amy Zilkie

Happy Holidays Leapers! Empower yourself this year with Leap’s 2025 100 club. It is easy to lose sight of your goals and let dedication to your yoga practice slip a little from time to time. A helping hand from friends can make all the difference.

Come join Leap’s 100 club and stay motivated to practice 100 classes in 2025. Together we will support, encourage, and stay connected to our intentions throughout the year.

The Rules

Sign up for Leap’s 100 club by February 15th
Practice 100 classes in 2025 (vinyasa/yin/kaiut/ kundalini/workshops)
All classes must be completed at Leap to qualify.

Join Leap’s 100 Club and stay motivated to practice in 100 (or more) classes. You choose your personal goal to attend 100+ classes in 2025. Together we will support, encourage, and stay connected to our intentions throughout the year. Sign up and you will receive an email from Amy asking you to fill out a commitment card. This card is your chance to set your yoga intention for the year. You are invited to set your goal of 100 (or more classes). Make your goal and you will receive 2 Leap class passes & Leap’s coveted 100 club t-shirt at the end of the year.

Investment: $35

Registration Deadline: February 15th

Community

Treat Your Mind Like An Infant

Treat Your Mind Like An Infant

Fear and Kindness

Fear and Kindness

Leap, Yoga, Grief and Love

Leap, Yoga, Grief and Love

Leap’s 30 for $39 VIRTUAL Yoga

Leap 30 for $39 Unlimited VIRTUAL Yoga for Newbies

leapyoga.net becomes friendlier

leapyoga.net becomes friendlier

Leap is gearing up to have you back!

Leap is gearing up to have you back!

Give the gift of LEAP

Leap Gift Cards

Leap Re-Opening

Leap’s 100 Club 2025 with Amy Zilkie

Leap’s 100 Club 2025 with Amy Zilkie

Sign Up

Thanksgiving Sale

Welcome to our amazing holiday sale: