Vol
1, #5
From 7/31/04
Dear Students,
I hope you are enjoying this (mostly)terrific summer weather. Classes have been ongoing through the Summer with special workshops coming up at the end of August. I hope you’ll find the time to come in to keep or rebuild your connection to Yoga.
Thanks to all who participated in the June “Align Your Posture = Ease Your Pain” workshops introducing the principles and practices of joining Yoga and The Egoscue Method for Posture Alignment for Pain Relief. Feedback on the impact of the work individuals with all sorts of pain and conditions is amazing and gratifying to me. See below for information on the workshop to be held at the Shoreline Center on August 31st. It will serve as a compliment to the first workshop to serve “veterans” and newcomers alike.
For further information about this work please check the website for information about this work and how it may serve you! Contact me if you work like to offer a work in-service or other private group into to this unique therapeutic practice as a way to address the growing syndrome of chronic pain and Repetitive stress injuries as well as enhancing life performance and efficiency.
In response to popular request I will also hold a Kundalini Yoga workshop on Wednesday, September 1st. Again, see below for details.
As a reminder, the studio class schedule and additional information about classes and private work can be found at www.creativeedgeyoga.com. Call me at (203)488-1700 for more detailed help in determining which program or class may be best for you.
The fall schedule is set to begin on September 11th. The schedule is being developed but at this time most of the classes will remain as they are. Please contact me with any feedback, questions or suggestions of workshop you would like to see in the Fall and Winter months.
Ravi Singh and Ana Brett return! Mark your calendars for the weekend of October 2nd and 3rd. This fall we hope you’ll double your pleasure and immersion in the experience of Kundalini Yoga taught by masters. Ravi and Ana will offer two workshops: one will be held Saturday, Oct 2nd, 1-4pm at “Powerflow Pilates” in New Haven and a second at “Riverdog Yoga” in Old Saybrook.
You can register for either one or receive the discount for attending both workshops.
Space is limited so please let me know if you are interested.
For
full course descriptions download the .pdf flyer at http://www.creativeedgeyoga.com/ctwokshops.pdf
. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read the file. You can get it for
free at www.adobe.com.)
Yoga
Therapy
The role of “Choicelessnes”, Witness consciousness and creativity in Yoga practice.
One of the first concepts student’s receive as they begin Yoga practice is to cultivate the faculty of “choiceless awareness, self-acceptance and non-competitiveness with self and others as we work with the body and mind. Only in this way can the individual truly experience the moment and the starting point of the work in it’s entirety. The invitation in our practice is ultimately to receive all aspect of the self, the light and shadow, with equanimity and peace. As enchanting and refreshing as this notion can be it can to some deeper part of us, it often seems to fly in the face of how we’re conditioned to live our lives. Indeed, I have found that often those under the most inner stress have the hardest time letting go into this experience even for a moment within the safe confines of the Yoga Class. After all, In work and play it seems that most often we “succeed” or “win” by gaining advantages over adversaries and colleagues alike. The individual self(ego), in opposition to some “other entity” is always working hard to protect itself from loss, defeat, and most significantly, it’s own demise. So often the tools of this trade are the struggle, resistance, aggression and ongoing stress that are at the core of the human condition. Yogis recognize these realities and see them as stemming from a mistaken notion that the smaller, personal self is all there is. When we are in our usual frame of mind our deeply ingrained habits and normal self-centered perspective permits us to see only limited options and outcomes. The stronger our identification with our present state of being is, the more intense our fears of loss becomes and the more limited our experience of life remains. Our consciousness narrows and options for living seem limited, unsatisfying and ultimately, painful
Yogis utilize the physical and meditative practices not only for their palpable impact on the body and the mind, but also for the insights gained when each moment in practice is experienced in “choiceless awareness”, embraced without judgment and fear. Acknowledging and adjusting negative reactive behaviors, learning and enhancing positive choices as the body and mind are challenged in the crucible of practice offers the opportunity to bring new ways of living to personal and professional lives. Habits, old attitudes and behaviors can be seen as helpful or not, challenged and adjusted accordingly. As we achieve benefit and growth paradoxically by releasing struggle and competition with the alternative of living with greater tolerance and acceptance in each moment it can become a natural, consequence to implement this approach in our “real lives”.
Yoga practice can be a catalyst for allowing our lives to be more and more informed by transformed vision of acceptance and trust in self(and others), greater conscious relaxation in activity and other higher insights gained over the course of lifetime practice. In this way conscious Yoga practice is a personal laboratory to experiment with living life. The possibility for creative approaches to day to day living and crisis alike inform our dealing with ourselves and those in our lives.
Practice
This very simple practice can be utilized often during the day to come into the moment and thereby transform stress into insight and growth.
The Art of Being
Find a quiet place, sit in a comfortable posture with eyes closed, relax to the rhythm and feeling of breath. With clear and open awareness release identification with what is happening in your mind and simply:
Feel: Reconnect with the energy in motion through attention to Inhalation and exhalation.
Breathe: Soften muscles, release tension around mental activity, open around the energy as it moves through blocks in the body/mind.
Relax: Focus awareness on detail in sensations. Feelings, memories and even mental activity wash through the body/mind.
Watch: Engage the witness in observing with compassion and acceptance as the energy experience moves through you
Allow: Keep focus on energy in motion instead of trying to understand what is happening. Trust that the energy will integrate back into the body/mind on its own. insights, understanding, and shifts in consciousness will be revealed on their own.
© Kripalu Center 1994
As you grow in comfort and confidence with this practice you can be creative in its application to utilize the approach in your day to day life.
Special Events and opportunities:
Workshop Series- Please contact me to pre-register at (203)488-1700
With Alan Franzi
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At:
The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health,
35
Boston St.
Guilford
Tuesday, August 31st, 2004
6:30-8:30pm
$26.00 incl. tax pre-registered; $32.00 incl. tax at the door—Space is
limited (all
levels of experience)
Posture, Pain Relief and Life Performance
Yoga, Meditation and the Egoscue Method of Postural Alignment for Healing and Pain Relief
Learn and practice the “3 R’s” of authentic Wellness as you learn the tools needed to resolve Chronic pain, and the limitations it creates in life. These are to: Rediscover the design of the body; Restore lost function Restore muscular-skeletal health.
In this workshop we will employ functional exercise that test and reveal the causal role of posture misalignment and muscular-skeletal imbalance in the cause of pain and imbalance. Joint pain, back pain, tendonitis, bursitis, repetitive stress injuries; even conditions such a vertigo and TMJ can often be linked to musculoskeletal dysfunctions that may be addressed simply, and efficiently. The movement sequences are designed to have you explore the principles and practices of the Egoscue Method of Postural Alignment to experience direct pain relief and enhanced life performance. Based on the premise that any effective therapy treats the body as a unit; The Egoscue Method blends specific sequences or “menus” of Yoga posture, therapeutic movement and basic functional exercises intended to realign posture and remove imbalances throughout the whole body. Practice breath-work and meditation as additional tools to help rediscover lost comfort and joy in your body. Take time to introduce yourself to a practice that supports all you are doing in your quest to live the best, most active life you can!
At:
The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health,
35
Boston St.
Guilford
Wednesday, September 1st, 2004,
6:30-8:30pm
$26.00 incl. tax pre-registered; $32incl. tax at the door, Space is limited
(all levels of experience)
“Kundalini Yoga for a Diamond Body and Lustrous mind” with Alan Franzi
Yoga teaches us that we all can shine in ways beyond our deepest imagination. Yoga practitioners of all levels can supercharge your Yoga practice in this workshop series designed to explore the transformational possibilities of Kundalini Yoga. Develop resilience, tone and balanced flexibility in your body. Cultivate mental strength and clarity of mind. Enhance radiance and expansion of energy to brighten your life. Kundalini Yoga is a scientific sequencing and artful integration of basic and advanced breath, movement, Yoga posture, sound and meditation practices intended to intended to create deep impact on mind body and spirit. Facilitate the release and healing of inner tension and stress as you enjoy the beneficial impact of this energizing and calming Yoga practice on body, mind and consciousness.
Anyone can practice Kundalini Yoga All seekers are welcome.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Private, semi private and small group Yoga Sessions
Over the past several years I have worked with several students in private sessions in both brief and longer term scenarios. The sessions have served different purposes for each individual depending on specific needs and intentions. Students have utilized this time to:
Evaluate
and modify postural issues and imbalances that may be at the root of injury as
well as more chronic discomfort and painEnhance skill, comfort and
commitment to Yoga practice in class and at home
Explore higher breath work and meditation practices to further grow in
yoga
Support transitions to create healthier, more self supportive lifestyles.
Discover and utilize healing principles and practices designed to support your
ongoing wellness and personal growth
Serve as a powerful compliment to other recovery and healing
practices…and more!
I am available for private Yoga instruction, Yoga Therapy, postural and alignment evaluation, and meditative healing sessions format consisting of an experience of Yogic balancing and healing techniques. Sessions can be held in your home or at my teaching studio locations. For details and to answer questions about how you may benefit from one of these modalities please contact me at (203)488-1700.
Please
let me know your suggestions, feedback and questions.
I deeply appreciate your ongoing support and I hope to see you soon.
Sat
Nam and Namaste!
Alan
To be placed on this mailing list please email at alan@creativeedgeyoga.com.