I began my vinyasa yoga teacher training last Saturday. My head’s been swimming with Sanskrit, ancient Hindu texts, and physiology. I had a moment, or rather many moments, of panic. Maybe I’m in over my head. Maybe this process was a very bad idea given the vertical learning curve I’m clearly on, with no end in sight. It was all a bit overwhelming until one of my instructors, Johanna, made a very simple statement that put the entire teacher training process in perspective for me. “As you are in the mat so you are in the world.” And for that matter, vice versa. Read more
There’s a new teacher training program in town. Om Factory, home of AcroYoga and Aerial Yoga, is launching its TT in six weeks. Holly Coles and Amanda Wentworth, two seriously experienced yogis, will lead it. (Holly is in the Tripsichore yoga/dance troupe, with the DVD so difficult that no one can do it, and Amanda has over one THOUSAND hours of certifications.)
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In Yoga Journal last month, there was an article about three Olympic athletes are use yoga as a serious component of their training: Chandra Crawford (cross-country skier), Emily Brydon (alpine skier), and Shannon Deanne Bahrke (freestyle skier). As someone who is considering how to build a love of yoga into a career, this is another reminder that there are so many ways this can play out.
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“For those just coming back from vacation, think carefully about what you are going to put your fresh, valuable mind to in your first few days. Value this resource highly. It may be your only chance to see the mountain you are on, to decide if you’re taking the right path up, or even if it’s the right mountain to be climbing at all.” ~ David Rock in Psychology Today
For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on clearing my mind more often during the day. The natural tendency for a busy mind is to work ever-harder to crack a problem or find an innovative solution. The yogic belief is that a clear, unburdened, relaxed mind is actually a more creative, efficient problem solver. And now that belief has a boost from hardcore science.
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A decade ago, a friend of mine noticed the toll that stress was taking on my life. I was in a new career and drowning. He threw me a lifeline and offered to give me private yoga lessons. Not realizing the tremendous offer that he put on the table, I told him I didn’t have time. Without batting an eye, he told me to make time because this work would be important. Then I told him I didn’t have any money for yoga, and he told me he’d teach me for free. The only payment he requested was that I pay forward the favor if I found yoga helpful. His offer changed my life because yoga allowed me to generate and hold peace in the palm of my hand.
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Yoga for NY
If you have even one ounce of energy tomorrow at 1pm, come out to the Yoga for NY meeting! They are doing insanely tireless, valuable work to get yoga exempted from the state’s extortion initiatives.
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
Yoga High
19 Clinton St
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“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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Strala is hiring yoga teachers and interns. Strala is a health focused style of yoga that builds strength, balance, and focus.
The Strala style of yoga works to create a clear, fit mind and body, along with the intuition to do what your body needs to be healthy. We all have already in us the intuition to find the right way to our own health, spirituality, and whatever else we need. By working on things like strength, balance, and awareness, yoga clears the way for us to find (and trust) our own abilities.
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Yoga Teacher App
A Twitter friend showed me her yoga app, and since I promptly spent the next half an hour playing with it, I thought I’d share.
Yoga Teacher, by Isabel Rumilla, lets you adjust misaligned yoga poses, as practice for teaching a class! Poses are presented in 3D, and you try to identify which major joint is misaligned (feet, knees, hips, back, shoulders, hands, or neck).
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Creating a small Kundalini studio, in the “Arthur Ave. Little Italy” section of the Bronx. The studio will be geared to Fordham students, along with offerings for the community, kids classes, mommie and me. If interested please contact us. Intention is to have the space up and running by Nov. 1st. Also looking for the right teacher to hold some administration responsibility. Sat Nam Shivanter Singh.
