Time to Let Mettā Go

Practice Off The Mat

Vol. 2 Issue 3

Finding a new path at the start of a new day.

Hey there friend, 

It’s been a minute. I’m sending you warm thoughts as you transition into Spring.

I took last month off from writing and recording for deep reflection. Out of that experience, arrived the need to make some changes. 

Probably the best way to do this is to just jump right in:

I’VE MADE THE DECISION TO CLOSE DOWN AND RETIRE METTĀ COMMUNITY YOGA

As with any change there are layers, and reasons a plenty. And for me, this comes from a place more rooted in intention rather than function. A desire to be in the present, to take care of the future.

I will still teach, write reflection essays, share practice activities, and record meditations. Accessibility is still core to my mission. And, I hope that you'll stick around and practice along with me. 

But the structure and name of Mettā will be retired and tucked away left to be a treasured memory. But a memory none the less. The foundation and intention need to change.

The time is right to let go.

A LI'L BIT O’ BACKGROUND

 You are reading this because at some point you took a class with the original Mettā Studios community. Or you saw one of Molly’s TikTok videos and signed up for an online course. Or you took a class with me online or at Scarborough Yoga, the beach, the park or just signed up to stay up on the reflection essays and guided meditations. Whenever you arrived, you are part of a large tapestry.

Carissa and Lindsay first opened the doors to Mettā Studios in 2017. I was lucky to land here at the beginning. The concept of Mettā Studios was a life force of its own. A place where inclusivity and accessibility were demonstrated by intentional action. I committed my whole self to it from my very first introduction.

The walls came tumbling down when the pandemic landed three years ago. Out of the turbulence of those days, Molly and I graciously accepted the opportunity to keep the Mettā legacy alive.

Those next 18 months were a master’s class in experimentation: outdoor socially distanced classes, online courses, online communities, video and audio production, live streaming, online content, social media hacks. It was rarely pretty. But it sure as hell was fun. And we learned so much.

Over that time, we uncovered our own unique calling. Two different paths to travel, but still connected and supported by our unconditional love and continual support of each other.

In January of 2022, I took it on solo*. Writing, recording, teaching my way through this past year while trying to figure out what came next. What is the purpose? Why am I doing this?

Heavy questions, requiring deep practice.

WHEN IT'S RIGHT, RIGHT NOW

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that to take care of the future, we must take care of the present moment. I realized I have been stuck on what is no longer here. It was holding me back from discovering new pathways forward for how I can be of service in a way that is fully and uniquely me. I can’t do that if I am constantly building a home in the people, places, and ideas of the past.

One question I’ve been asked “Was this difficult?”

The answer is surprisingly “no.” The decision felt instantly correct. When you feel your body, mind, heart, spirit and breath relax – that is a good indicator you’ve made a good choice in response to what you’re feeling.

Now, because a decision feels correct, doesn’t mean there’s no weight. Name an emotion and I can say unequivocally I am cycling through them all deeply: heartache, regret, disappointment, frustration, sadness, anger, guilt.

But amongst the heavy stones in my heart, are deeply rooted flowers of love, gratitude, and profound joy. I am thankful for the experience. You’d never know it with the swarms of folks slinging bullshit toxic positivity, but these things exist together. To be even more blunt: you can’t have one without the other. 

To feel joy, is to hold space for sadness. To experience sadness, is to know joy is also present. It is fundamental to being fully present in our lived experience.

That is what the practices teach us.  And that is where I arrived.

SO, WHAT’S NEXT

There is a long list of administrative tasks over the next 6-8 weeks to change things around. I will let you know what that will be when we get there.

To bridge the gap, I have a queue of reflection essays and meditations to send out over the next month or so – some further exploring the process of meditation and reflection that got me here. A prime example of putting the practices to work. 

You can still find me at Scarborough Yoga Sunday mornings and early morning Wednesday and Friday.  I’ve got some workshop series that will be dropping this spring and summer that you’ll be invited to.

Class schedule is here: https://www.mettamoves.me/schedule

And I probably shouldn’t let the cat out of the bag yet, but Maine Yoga Fest is not too, too far away and I know Molly & I can’t wait to 

Slow The Funk Down with you again in July

THANK YOU.

Without you Mettā, in whatever shape it took, would not have existed. You can have all the ideas, desires, hopes, dreams, and can do all the tasks to make those things possible. But without someone on the other end, it’s only an idea.

So thank you for showing up in whatever way you did over the past five years.

I hope you’ll stick around for what’s to come.

With love, kindness and deep gratitude,

Chris

*ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 I said I took this over solo, but that's not totally true. To keep this going would have been impossible without help and support.

To Andrea who welcomed me and the Mettā community into Scarborough Yoga without hesitating for a nanosecond. Offering a home to teach in, supporting my mission of service and accessibility, offering advice, and just being there as a friend with a shoulder to lean or a hug when it's been tough. Never underestimate the impact that a random call or text message of “thinking about you. How you doing?” can have.

To Molly, one of the few people who can distill my poorly formed ideas into something useful.  She constantly reminds me to come home to why I love teaching. The rest is just noise. It is a lifetime of coffee and snacks that I owe for the endless advice and counsel she provides.

My Sea Change Yoga teaching family that fills my heart up with the spirit of hope and the fire to lead with a heart of service. When I’m feeling lost, their presence and energy is my guiding star.

And of course, Noreen. For the past 5+ years she organized her life around my commitment to Mettā and teaching. She only says “Yes! Do it!” to every idea I’ve had. Hell, she even agreed to leave our home of almost 20 years in SoPo to move to Biddeford for this. No way I’m teaching without her.