Sangha Yoga Shala, the new-ish “Community House” in Williamsburg, is offering a free class with founder Alana Kessler!

On Tuesday, Sangha Yoga Shala will make sure that finding yourself in an awkward position leaves you more centered than bent out of shape. As part of its “free yoga Tuesdays,” the studio offers a basic vinyasa class with a professional instructor.

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Thank you Brokelyn! The awesome blog about “living big on small change” researched a list of massages under $50. There’s one five blocks from my house! Check it out here:

http://www.brokelyn.com/massages-for-50-and-under-in-brooklyn/

“Be the Change You Wish To See In The World”

These are the words of Gandhi, a man whose life was defined by selflessness, nonviolence and whose legacy ignited a spiritual revolution. It is true that humans must expand their own individual consciousness and integrate that awareness in themselves before one is able to offer that truth unto the world, but the real transformative power lies in the collective. Only in community can we transcend and truly make a positive impact on the world.

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Brooklyn adventurers, have some fun tomorrow:

To share some holiday spirit, Resurgent Fitness offers a full day of excellent free classes, including abs at 11:15, capoeira at noon, Muay Thai at 1:15, bellydance at 2:30, Congolese dance at 4pm, yoga at 5:15, and Djimbe dance and drum at 6:30. Call for a full schedule.

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Just found out about this great program: CityParks is offering six-week fitness classes to seniors, for free. The fall session started September 21. Yoga offerings are located at the following parks:

QUEENS

Roy Wilkins Park: Yoga W/F 11 AM, Tennis Courts Baisley Blvd & 177th St

Flushing Meadows Corona Park: Yoga M/W 9 AM, Park Tennis Courts Meridian Rd

BRONX

Van Cortlandt Park / Woodlawn: Yoga M/W 9 AM, Woodlawn Courts Jerome Ave & E 233 St

Pelham Bay Park: Yoga M/W 9 AM, Middleton Road & Stadium Ave

MANHATTAN

Inwood Hill Park: Yoga T/TH 9 AM, Tennis Courts W 207 St & Seaman Ave

BROOKLYN

Marine Park: Yoga M/W 9 AM, Nature Center Ave U & E 32 St

Red Hook Park: Yoga M/W 9 AM, Recreation Center 155 Bay St

STATEN ISLAND

Greenbelt Park: Yoga M/W 9 AM,  again at 10 AM, 501 Brielle Ave

Thanks to CharityFocus Blog for the tip. (Click the link to read about her experiences teaching the classes.)

Free Week of Yoga

Yoga Month is almost over, but you have six days left to register and get a free week of yoga at participating studios. You must be a new student at the studio.

In New York City, that includes:

• YogaWorks (any branch)
• Sonic Yoga
• Reflections Yoga (aka Levitate Yoga)
• Pure Yoga (either branch)
• Yamuna
• Dhoonya Dance
• Bikram Yoga East Harlem
• Namaste Yoga Center
• Trimurti Yoga & Wellness
• Undivided Self (private classes)
• Shanti Baby
• Yogashakti (Queens)
• Om Factory

That’s a really nice deal! You can’t even BUY single classes at Pure, it’s membership only. Don’t miss out…

Yoga People (Brooklyn Heights) is holding an audition for experienced, energetic, hands-on teachers. We are looking for certified teachers in Vinyasa, Anusara, Jivamukti, and Ashtanga.

Please send resume and a headshot in the body of an email, and include a phone number you can be reached at. Auditions are by invite only.

Lara Brunn

Last night I treated myself to a drop-in class at the Iyengar studio nearby. I’ve been feeling a little wonky and uneven in my poses lately, and haven’t been able to figure out why. Time for the Lion’s Roar.

(Kung Fu Hustle style! Watch 9:02 on. Or the whole hilarious thing.)

Iyengar yoga is famously strict. Iyengar himself is called “the Lion of Pune.” The furrow between his brows never seems to depart. His students inherit it. They range from friendly and normal, to straight up mean. If you don’t like to be yelled at, you might want to check a teacher’s reputation. Or your baggage.

But I’ve acquired an occasional taste for teachers who yell at me — it expresses a certain concern for my well-being. Even if they’re in mid-sentence, leading the class, adjusting someone across the room, they still have the presence of mind to see (and communicate) that it would be good to stop that particular habit RIGHT NOW. And if they have the chutzpah to yell, they (hopefully) know their stuff.

Iyengar is the most detail-oriented practice I know. If you want to know how to align every single joint in each pose, go for it. The teacher training is two years instead of the standard six months, and extremely anatomy-focused. Most other schools base their alignment instructions on Iyengar’s. I’ve heard “you can always spot an Iyengar student — they’re the ones with a beautiful practice who look like they’re not having any fun.” It’s also nicknamed “furniture yoga” since it uses so many props: belts, blocks, bolsters, boards, multiple blankets, even rope walls. Mr. Iyengar wanted every body, no matter what condition, to be able to experience each pose.

So what do you get out of all this? A spiral through the hips that begins in the outer edge of your foot. A release in the belly that spreads up the whole ribcage. An outward rotation in the upper arms that brings your head back over your shoulders, centered.

I couldn’t have taken it five years ago. Perfectionism goes CRAZY with the myriad details. You’ll never get them all right. You’ll freeze up and stop breathing.

But now, slowing down, I find it fascinating and absorbing. The energy isn’t geared to moving forward or around; you’re arranging the systems inside the skin. It’s incredibly intense, and burning, as you lift lift lift and hold the pose. That’s true of many classes, but here there are ten more directions engaging ten more layers of mind/body. You can feel the muscles wrapping around each other, weak and strong. You can feel the transfer of weight upward, backward, or in spirals. You can feel the connection of each distant limb to the floor, through new pathways (superficial or deep). There are enough sensations that you’re not bored, and so you work even harder and breathe. And later relax.

Here’s an interview with John Schumacher describing a similar feeling.

Or maybe it’s just the teacher, Lara Brunn. She narrates nonstop (with only occasional yelling). She can demonstrate the wrapping of a muscle down to its root. She’s high energy, but with passion/compassion, as if she just can’t stand for you not to know all the things she knows, she just wants to get them across as directly as she can.

I walked out of class with new posture. (And a crazy openness in my belly that left me loopy.) I literally felt like I was inhabiting someone else’s skeleton.

Yoga changes how we interact with the world. Literally, in our physical forms and the way they take up space, and conceptually, in our mental constructs and the way we direct our attention through the cloud of stimulation. But it’s rare to have a flashbulb moment and see these changes. I was reinvigorated with possibility. I’m grateful for the reminder.

To the Prison Ship Martyr

If it ever stops raining, and you have a Tuesday free, go to free yoga in Fort Greene Park!

I love practicing outdoors, it is a totally different feeling than a studio practice. And Fort Greene Park is one of the cutest parks in Brooklyn.

Free Yoga with Lindsay Sage
Tuesdays, all summer
7:00 – 8:00 pm
Fort Greene Park, near the Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument
Weather permitting

Thanks to Clinton Hill Blog for the info. Don’t forget your mat!

This sounds super fun:

PURE BLISS: Brunch & Yoga w/ The Discerning Brute & Barefoot Tiger
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
10:30am Yoga
12:00pm Brunch

What could be better than mixing a spring Saturday, a yummy vinyasa flow yoga class with Kendra of Barefoot Tiger, and a scrumptious vegan brunch by the Discerning Brute himself, Joshua Katcher? You won’t want to miss this event! If it’s your first time trying vegan food, you’ll be blown away – you’ve never tasted vegan deliciousness like this before!

I am a big fan of the Yoga Brunch at Om Factory, maybe I need to pursue this hobby further. I’m not familiar with Kendra Coppey, but I do like the Discerning Brute blog (simple, creative veggie recipes and more). Plus, it’s right here in Williamsburg, so I could start my day without the MTA…