Rhythm of the Seasons (November 2025 Newsletter)
Night falls softly
The leaves cascading all around hover midair and land ever so gently.
Their work is done
After a season of growing and nourishing.
We can surely take a lesson from nature. Let bygones go. Take on the winter with its own demands and offerings. Have you noticed that most produce has a sweetness and ripeness and a thicker taste that comforts the body, the digestion and in general is calming. Discover for yourself some new endeavor that keeps you growing inside and out.
A new direction that Yoga-Well-Being is taking is to offer students and non-students, i.e. anyone in the community, from children to seniors share their talents and skills with the participants. How can we do this? With your help. Spread the word, and YOU come with your interested friends and acquaintances and have a fun time together. ‘Sip and Dip’. Spend some time together with new and old friends. And teach some thing new and make some money.
Don’t underestimate your talents.
Re-imagining YWB (October 2025 Newsletter)
We are moving out of the church at 296 W. Fourth Ave. Moving out of the church fills us with nostalgia. However, one door closes to let the light shine in through another. It is a time also to rethink the intent and purpose of Yoga-Well-Being. Yoga as a practice is commonplace. Our intent is to remain current and progressive. Thinking always out of the box! So, while yoga classes will continue at the new studio, our new concept is entirely new. It is similar to the offerings at the event spaces, community spaces, coffee shops, and gyms, but is none of them.
We are moving to Relevate in Upper Arlington at 1490 Old Henderson Road starting October 1. The yoga class schedule will remain much the same. What the new YWB is, is that it is not a one-way street. You will not only have a chance to practice Yoga, but you can offer your own classes/events/discussions/workshops. Anyone from anywhere introduced to us through safe channels can organize, promote and set their own rates. spread the word and offer a class showing off your talents. Who knows, you might start your own business or become an Influencer.
Namasté,
sipra
Mind the Mind (September 2025 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
Our consciousness determines who we are and what we do. But what is consciousness? It could be described as those emotions that are sent to the mind/brain by how the body responds to its environment. Without realizing it, many of us follow what the mind finds appealing. It is consciousness that wills which unknown next step we take on our journey. It sometimes has little to do with the reason/rationality, buddhi (intellect), or the mind, manas/mana. The two words are commonly used interchangeably but there is a difference. Manas is the mind which is emotional and wants to always follow what is pleasing to oneself. An example of this would be when the manas says “I don’t feel like it” or “I’d love to” while the buddhi says “I have to do this”. When one’s practices and beliefs are based on the manas, the practice is known as Bhakti Yoga. In other practices, reason plays a strong role and is known as Jnana Yoga.
While focusing on Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga in this brief article, one must not forget the other major practices. Karma Yoga, the practice and focus or service, and Bhakti Yoga or devotional practice.
No practice is better or worse than another. Whatever appeals to the practitioner is the right one for them, so long as it is consistent, and practiced with purity and focus. It can be religious, agnostic or atheistic.
At the end of any practice you choose, remember to shake off your hands and feet, massage neck and shoulders, slap your face, and pull on your ears, it’ll make you feel like new again.
Namasté,
sipra
Wandering, Meandering (August 2025 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
August is a time to take your summer break like simply meandering downstream. We at Yoga-Well-Being are doing the same: leaving our upstairs studio and continuing with classes in the Fellowship Hall in the Fourth Avenue Church. When we use the Church space you’ll see a sign on their front door and the door will be unlocked. Do come and enjoy the calmness of the space.
Life is good, and life is where we put our personal emphasis. If we are embodied in our own body and spirit, life is meaningful, and when we don’t see ourselves as the centerpiece we are invisible to ourselves. We might as well not be! August represents the high and mighty. You are so in spirit. Remember also to be meek and humble.
Namasté,
sipra
Cool as a Cucumber (July 2025 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Sipra Pimputkar. These cucumbers are growing from seed in a pot on my deck. Twisting and turning to attach the vines somewhere, anywhere.
It’s a good idea to make cucumbers a primary ingredient in your diet during these hot days of summer. It maintains an internal temperature that is 20 degrees cooler than our body temperature and is a good resource to nourishment and fluids at the same time. All without sodium and sugars like most sodas. Diabetes? Keep those cukes handy at all times. They’ll also cleanse your liver at the same time and provide vitamins like B, K, at only 8 calories per half cup of fruit. They have been found to be antioxidant scavengers destroying free radicals that attack our immune system. Did you know that they have been found to be especially effective against women’s breast cancer? That they ease diverticulitis and reduce blood sugar? Want to lose weight? Try the cucumber everyday getting about 6 servings a day.
Cucumbers provide a model for our lives as well. They will grow in poor soil, if rich loam is not to be found. The tendrils want to grow upwards but will twist and turn every which way just to find a firm post to wrap its vines around when needed. Our own direction is based on our ultimate goal. Upward and onward, using whatever provides stability in the moment. The ultimate is always the fruit. It is the fruit that provides satisfaction because that was the long-term intent. So it is with our lives. To create the fruit as perfectly as we can, to share it with others and fulfill our destiny. Good fruit produces good seed. We must all be allowed the time to grow, learn, experiment, make mistakes and correct our ways. Sometimes we lose our way but learn from others and know within ourselves what we want and how to get there. Within ourselves the truth is already resident.
Yoga Sutra 1:12
Abhyasa-vairagyabhayam tan-nirodah
The restriction of the fluctuations of the mind is achieved through practice and dispassion.
One tends to lean towards what is already embedded in the mind or what one has inherited, been conditioned to, or discovered for themselves.
Namasté,
sipra
Changes (June 2025 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
A new space has a feel of invisibility until we enter it and fill it with our presence. It already carries within it an essence of the spirit and energy of those who have occupied it in the past or currently continue to be there. Knowing this, when we make a physical move either temporarily or permanently, the space becomes real and visible. The richness of the space is there to lend richness to our spirit. Willingly or unwillingly, it is a space already reserved for us without our even knowing it. We will enter fearlessly and fully in the present, and in our bodies. Let no other thoughts, conjectures, guesses and doubts enter your mind as you enter. Drop all thoughts of your mundane stresses as you enter for self care and self love. It is for the best.
So it is with our lives. Remember that change is essential for growth and life. It is a new life. Live your life in the present moment. We are grateful and appreciative of what we have.
We will be moving out of our current studio to a space on the second floor in the Fourth Avenue Christian Church at the beginning of July.
Namasté,
sipra
A Simple Summer (May 2025 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Sipra Pimputkar
Heading into summer we are excited about the experiences that it holds. In the thrill of the moment we spend time gathering those material goods that will make the experience spectacular. New outfits that may never see the light of day again, packaged foods, and the like. More is produced to cater to these passing needs, but then there's the next and the next, and industries are in competition to offer the best and the latest, all packaged in attractive plastic and other materials that add to the trash. Where will it go? What are we leaving the children? We forget that sometimes it becomes what Mahatma Gandhi called, “commerce without morality”. Do we really need all those things? After the trip or experience that item is of no use anymore, thus creating waste and more stuff that the earth has to absorb or recycle. Where will it go? Trash overflows everywhere. Gandhi astutely pointed out that not only are the white coats responsible for dealing with the junk we thoughtlessly create, and leave it for the scientists to clean up and find solutions. But the white coats need to follow well established scientific methods and work on new science keeping the good of all humanity in mind. It’s not just the white coats, but each of us must become scientists involved in creating an environment that is clean and safe for our own children and the children of the earth so that in Gandhi’s words, it is “science with humanity". Be humane, be compassionate and be a scientist protecting this earth and all it offers us plentifully and constantly. Summer is wonderful. Enjoy it naturally.
Namasté,
sipra
A Note about YWB’s Future
We will have more information for you later this month, but we wanted to update you about some upcoming changes for Yoga-Well-Being. Our current plan is move out of our current studio space starting June. We expect to still be holding in-person classes at the church, just in another location. We will have more details for you later this month.
Thank you to everyone for your well-wishes as sipra has recovered from her broken wrist, and your patience with our schedule changes. Her recovery is going well; she may be able to teach again next month.
April Showers Bring May Flowers (April 2025 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
April showers bring May flowers. Gentle showers can turn into deadly storms. However it turns out, the fresh flowers, the birds, new life in the animal world are all ready to burst into a season of joy and fulfillment but remember to make a personal commitment to forgo some of the fun times and create your own season of remembering those who have passed on, are suffering or lost. All around the world, there are traditions very similar to the Lenten period before Easter. Look into them and choose one that resonates with you. Here are some suggestions for you to try: give up a favorite recreation, favored food, rendezvous with friends or the like.
Happy spring from YWB!
Namasté,
sipra
A Note about sipra’s Classes
Studio founder Sipra Pimputkar fell and broke her wrist after class at the end of February while walking her dogs one night. She continues to recover, but it will take some time. While she recovers, sipra’s classes will be covered by other instructors as possible. This may be a good opportunity for you to experience an instructor you haven’t tried before.
We appreciate your patience as we deal with this situation, and we will keep you informed about sipra’s progress.
Welcome, Spring! (March 2025 Newsletter)
“When one flower blooms, spring awakens everywhere.” - John O'Donohue
Happy spirng from YWB!
Namasté,
sipra
Looking Forward (February 2025 Newsletter)
Image credit: Tai Pimputkar
The big news of the moment is the Buckeye championship at the NCAA football. Deservedly so. They worked hard for it.
Working hard is not seasonal. It is almost a 24/7 effort. It is every day, in all kinds of weather, situations and fields. Whether they are glad or sad, healthy or sick (except for contagious diseases,) they show up and complete the tasks set for them. Practice, practice, practice. Beyond that they practice on their own, maintaining a strict diet and honing their skills on their own.
Above and beyond all the many aspects of preparation and the game itself, there is an awareness of an energy that guides and protects. Whatever their faith or belief, you may have noticed the players, the fans, and the coaches and staff all turning to that divine element that we all recognize through their gestures. Nothing happens without THAT!
Namasté,
sipra