Yoga
Get flash to fully experience Pearltrees
There have been so many articles of late highlighting the benefits of music in the yoga class and different playlist for different flows , moods and themes of classes . Heck, in some YTT programs, how to build a playlist is something that is being taught to aspiring teachers. I am lending a different perspective. I want to say a fresh perspective, but in the sense of the yogic tradition, this view is very old school—don’t play music or at the very least, take the attention off the music and put it back where it should be, our students, our teaching, and the practice. I know I am not going to be making any friends by saying this and in general am going against the grain of modern yoga in America, but I think something must be said for the simple connection to breath that is the internal soundtrack of any yoga practice.
The Yoga Playlist Predicament: 3 Reasons to Turn the Tracks Off
The South Bay Rocks! Operation Shanti 2013
Contact Garth Hewitt Los Angeles Rocks! Operation Shanti mail@garthhewittyoga.com 310-800-8614 Yoga Class Event for Charity! We are Building an Orphanage! What: Team led yoga class with live music by Daniel Stewart & Friends, followed by an after party!
April welcomes you with longer days and warmer nights. There are lots of daylight hours to recommit to your mat, try a new class, take a workshop—and even explore your own approaches to yoga during Tuesday/Thursday morning Open Practice time with Deborah Crooks . If you're just getting back to practice, our newest ongoing class, Yoga for Curvy Girls & Big Guys, with Elina Zimmerman, Tuesdays from 6:15 to 7:15pm, gives a body-friendly reintroduction to yoga poses.
AYS April 2013 newsletter
There's really no manual for facing the death of a parent. My dad's illness and eventual passing was the first such experience of my adult life. It was a big blessing to me to have been introduced to Ashtanga practice before his health seriously declined. During that time, showing up for 7am practice not only felt revelatory, but like lifeblood. You can't help become aware of your conditioning — both outer and inner — while going through the sequence of asana each day. Could I accept the moment as it was —including where I was in learning the series — and learn to breath in each posture, finding a larger context within which to experience the moment?
A Practice Trajectory: Ordinary, Extraordinary, Everyday Ashtanga Yoga Pt. 4
Practice Trajectory: Ordinary, Extraordinary, Everyday Ashtanga Pt. 3
"This wall divides us, we're on two different sides But this wall is not real; how can it be real? It's only made of concrete and barbed wire Concrete and barbed wire, concrete and barbed wire It's only made of concrete and barbed wire" It would still take a good year after moving to Mill Valley before I walked into the 7am Mysore class at Yoga Studio. And that was only because a new job required I work regular hours.
How to practice when hell’s freezing over : AY:A2
Yesterday, a wave of sadness crushed me to the rocky ocean floor and held me under for an hour. You can read my personal thoughts about that, or just jump to the numbered list below for the practical stuff. I came in from an appointment, closed the curtains, sat on the sofa and cried. When the chemical-emotional wave ended, some part of my nervous system refused to let it go. So, without realizing what was happening or why, I started thinking sad thoughts.
Medicine Women: Ana Forrest & Dr. Sara Gottfried in Berkeley
I ordered yoga teacher extraordinaire Ana Forrest 's book "Fierce Medicine: Breakthrough Practices to Heal the Body and Ignite the Spirit" when it came out a little more than a year ago. While I've looked to Ashtanga Yoga practice as my go-to healer/igniter of mind/body/spirit for more than a decade, I was intrigued by Forrest's story and approach to yoga. Part memoir, part guidebook to the basics of her own Forrest Yoga system, the book details a heroine's journey, telling brutally honest tales about overcoming horrific childhood abuse, epilepsy and a paralyzing accident through yoga practice, Native American Medicine Wheel and sheer determination. It's quite an inspiring tale. So I was excited when fellow Ashtangi and local teacher Mary Beth Ray announced that Fierce Medicine would be the book of the month for her Lit on Yoga Book Discussion Series at Berkeley Yoga Center and that the very same day, Ana Forrest herself happened to be speaking at Yoga Kula in Berkeley.
Happy New Year! We at AYS hope you had a wonderful holiday and look forward to seeing you back on the mat in January. Our first practice of the year will be Erica Grevemeyer's meditation and yoga workshop on Tuesday, January 1 (details below) and our regular class schedule resumes Wednesday, January 2, including some new offerings. The beginning of the year is a traditional time to make resolutions, big and small, and we invite you to renew your commitment to your continued health and well-being through a regular practice. We have some exciting workshops coming up that we've listed below, as well as a new Pre-Natal evening class on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:00pm with Beth Z , scheduled with working moms in mind. Beth is taking over Jon Morgan's Thursday evening slot.
AYS January 2013 newsletter
While I've been busy moving, two friends have debuted fun educational apps just for kids (and adults will likely get a kick out of them as well) over the past several weeks. Check them out! AzawhistleKids Yogini, writer and all-round ace person Leslie Hendry developed Azawhistle to encourage "clean living in our homes, hearts, backyards, and around the world." The AzawhisltleKids App 'Tejas and Lollipop's Great Clean Up: Everything Has A Home ' " uses yoga, meditation and simple acts of cleanliness to teach and inspire children to be organized, responsible, and conscious of their impact on their personal environment." With extra cool illustrations by Boonchu Tanti.
Apps for Kids: AzaWhistle & Alphabet Rockers
alameda.patch
Founded in 1995 by owners and teachers Sandy Blaine and Betsy Weiss, Alameda Yoga Station is Alameda's premier yoga studio. Alameda Yoga Station is dedicated to the teaching of hatha yoga, emphasizing proper body alignment to increase body awareness, flexibility, strength, coordination and a general sense of well-being. Teachers are trained in the Iyengar tradition, though many incorporate other teaching styles into their classes as well. Yoga classes are plentiful and offered at all levels, serving beginners to advanced practitoners and accommodating both daytime and evening practices. Aside from regular yoga classes, the Alameda Yoga Station also offers Feldenkrais, pre-natal, post-natal, kids yoga, yoga for atheletes and the incredibly popular Intro to Yoga class. Workshops change every season, and might include a meditation class, mother/daughter series or yoga for better sleep.
I’ve been fortunate to travel to India several times to study Ashtanga yoga at its source. Whether we know it or not, the West owes much, if not all, of its various yoga traditions to India. The wildly diverse, spiritually deep and culturally rich country also suffers from widespread poverty. Yoga Gives Back is a global effort to return a bit on the huge favor India has given the West. On September 29, yoga studios all over the world will be hosting benefits for India. I’m leading a benefit Ashtanga Yoga Workshop to do my part.
Yoga Gives Back in Alameda 9/29
Remembering
It's impossible not to think back to this day 11 years ago when most of us got a huge wake up call in impermanence. I thought then, walking around NYC , never again will I take anything for granted, pinching myself to remind myself I was alive despite the chaos. I wish I could say that I succeeded with my intention 100% amid all of these 11 years. But today I'm reminded. Reminded that survival is always liberating in the moment, pumped with adrenaline, agape at the fact that somehow, through some grace, you got another day. The challenging part is to be grateful, in every moment, boring, challenging, thrilling or otherwise.Get ONE WEEK FREE YOGA during National Yoga Month September
Click here to request the Yoga Month Card for One Week Free Yoga at a participating yoga studio near you. New Students Only! Give your family and friends the gift of ONE WEEK FREE YOGA. Choose from these 3 options:The Obsessing Ashtangi « Ashtanga and Other Things – Paul Gold's Blog
I am very pleased that my previous post, The Despairing Ashtangi , was so well received. I appreciate everyone’s feedback and am glad that people found the post inspiring and supportive. The prevailing theme of the comments was “I’ve sure been there.” A quick recap if you’re just joining the discussion… In the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, we have to proceed through series of growth spurts and plateaux.on May 9, 2012 She’s a very cool lady. Something so poignant occurred—she thanked me.
A Meeting In Central Park With The Oldest Living Yoga Teacher In The World. ~ Photographed by Robert Sturman
yoga publications
DCrooks Yoga Writing