3/8/05 

Dear Student,

I hope you are well. As I write this we are winding down the Winter class schedule.  I hope you are enjoying the season and able to keep active through the weather’s ups and downs. The new schedule will begin in late March. Classes are ongoing so drop in anytime. 

This Saturday, March 12^th, I will be doing a Winter Mini Yoga Retreat to Relax, Revitalize and Restore at the Shoreline Center.This can a great way for all levels of student to immerse themselves Yoga and truly get “way form It all” for an afternoon. More details are below. 

Christina Sillari and I want to thank all those who made this latest Ravi Singh and Ana Brett workshop the most successful yet. The energy and spirit you brought was amazing!

We are sorry for those who we had to turn away and hope you will take advantage of the next event.

Speaking of which, Ravi and Ana will return on April 10^th to Raven’s Wing Yoga form 1-4PM. The workshop will be entitled “Kundalini Yoga, A Journey through the Chakras”. Come and experience the unique and amazing ways the practice of Kundalini Yoga can bring transformation and growth by activating and balancing the energy system of the Chakra.
More information is below. Pre-register if at all possible to assure a spot in the workshop. 

By popular request, I will be doing another “Posture Pain and Performance” workshop at the Shoreline Center on Saturday April 23^rd for 1-3:30pm at the Shoreline Center. Each of these workshops bring new insights and techniques to help with re issues and can help deepen your understanding of Yoga, The Egoscue Method and the role of posture alignment in sustaining active living throughout your life.

The second 5 week series of Yoga for Wellness and Stress Management at Branford Adult Education begins on Thursday, March 24th. This gentle experience can be a great way to experience Yoga for the first time or re-acquaint you with your body and Yoga practice. Call (203)488-5693 for more information or to register. 

Yoga Therapy
Yoga and mediation practices are incredibly effective and powerful tools to bring calm, peace and perspective to our lives. A pre-requisite for advancement and integration of the benefits of your Yoga practice is the willingness and courage to look inside in an engaged, active and responsive manner. To free ourselves from the grip of the imbalances and disturbances that robs us of physical health and peace of mind, change is often required. The Yogic approach affords us the opportunity to enter the process of change with authentic acceptance and grace. Over time the ego’s approach to change through struggle and drive is replaced with a greater self acceptance and a trust in our innate capacity for growth and wholeness. 

This battle is not easily waged or won, however. So often I see students sabotage their effort early into their process. The culprit is not some intrinsic flaw in their body or other defect that renders  them inappropriate for Yoga or mediation. So often we stumble over our own impatience and self judgments. The pain they cause as we begin to look inside doesn’t seem to be what they signed up for when they began the practice.  For some this happens when they first attempt move into a position they could do easily in their youth or have to confront the rolls of fat that have somehow appeared over the last few years. Others are dismayed and disheartened when they close their eyes and attempt to meditate. It can be a shock to   see the “monkey mind” hopping from thought to thought, or to experience feelings that we have been trying to subdue through force of will.  Whether it is your Imperfect body, physical pain or injury,  a “crazy” stress filled mind, painful transitions or loss, from the Yogic point of view healing begins with acceptance those all aspects of ourselves which we may have come to Yoga or Mediation practice to “get rid of’. 

Paradoxically, our movement beyond these stuck, unhealed places in ourselves begins as we face and own their present experience and impact in our lives.Therefore, I believe the first and last teaching of our practice is self forgiveness. Denial or self condemnation can be the ego’s (unhealthy) way to sustain the status quo and is I believe at the root of so many blocks to growth. Empathy, compassion and warmth are just a few of the qualities we can create toward ourselves and bring to others as we “indulge ourselves with self-forgiveness as the way to healing. 

Practices 

To continually cultivating the authentic patience that doesn’t wait for things to come but accepts all that is in the moment is both the starting point and the end of our journey toward wholeness.
However forgiveness, to truly “give as before” is a process and doesn’t come fully formed. To see our human selves and others form a greater more compassionate perspective  and to begin to contemplate the notion of forgiveness involves trust in the infinite space of the heart to contain and resolve our wounds.
Click on the following link to a sample forgiveness mediation form Stephen Levine. The practice is from the Buddhist “Insight Mediation” discipline. I have used it often in class and in private sessions to great effect.
Begin by working with more moderate experiences as grist for your practice until you build your “forgiveness muscles”. Forcing the issue by working with issues that overwhelm can further close the heart.
 I recommend you practice for a pre-determined period of time---40 days is an auspicious number according to Yoga. This commitment will be a help to create and sustain the effects of the practice.
Forgiveness Mediation: www.wellnessgoods.com/forgiveness.asp 

Workshops:

With Alan Franzi
At: The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health,
35 Boston St. Guilford Saturday, March 12^th, 1-4pm

Cost is $37.00, $32.00 if pre-registered       
(all levels of experience)

”Winter Mini Yoga Retreat to Relax, Revitalize and Restore”
Supercharge and strengthen your inner core of light and life for the winter season with this timely Yoga mini retreat.
Focus on fun, fitness, and freedom through this blend of Yoga Posture, movement, breath work, meditation and special healing experiences
artfully sequenced to support renewed physical strength, balance metabolism, restore the immune system, enhance mood, vitality and much more!
Rev up for the spring season and learn ways to cut free of the emotional and energetic effects of Winter inactivity to receive all the creative possibilities
that come from a strong sense of physical wellness, inner peace and balance.
Class is for all levels of experience to enjoy. 

At: The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health,
35 Boston St. Guilford 
Saturday, April 23^rd,  2004,
1:00-3:30PM
$28.00incl. tax pre-registered; $35.00 incl. tax at the door, Space is limited
  (all levels of experience) 

“Posture, Pain and Performance:
Yoga, Meditation and the Egoscue Method of Postural Alignment for Healing and Pain Relief” 

Our ability to move freely and without pain or limitation is at the root of a life lived fully.  The Egoscue Method of Postural Therapy is a non-medical therapy designed to restore the body to it’s design posture and function, providing the opportunity to mitigate and resolve chronic pain and other conditions that slowly rob of us health and joy.
Here we will re-discover the tools needed to empower yourself to resolve these issues and the limitations they create in life. Learn tests to discover just how and why posture alignment is at the cause of muscular-skeletal pain and dysfunction. Enjoy specific, gentle movement and therapeutic exercises sequences designed explore the principles and practices of postural alignment and experience direct pain relief on your way to enhanced overall life performance.  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! 

With Ravi Singh and Ana Brett
Sunday, April 10th, 1-4PM
At Raven’s Wing Yoga
869 West Main ST  
Branford, CT    
Fee: $50 pre-registered, $55.00  at the door.
Kundalini Yoga - A Journey Through the Chakras
Shine like the sun with Kundalini Yoga's powerful blend of breathing, stretching, movement, meditation, and more! Chakras represent the complete spectrum of the human experience. In this fascinating class you'll learn where your blocks are and how to dissolve them. We'll do exercises and meditations for each chakra to allow energy to flow freely in our lives and for a tangible experience of spirit. Knowledge of this model will enhance your yoga teaching or practice. Also included is deep relaxation to the transcendent sounds of live gong music.  Each of Ravi & Ana's classes is a unique event. This dynamic duo is Master Teachers who've been cited as a prime catalyst for yoga's current popularity.
This class, 80% physical and 20% meditative, is for all levels. Fees are $50 pre-registered $55.00 at the door.

Contact me at (203)488-1700 or Christina Sillari at (203)435-6110 for more information or to register. 

 Services

Private, semi private and small group Yoga Sessions, Meditation Instruction, Corporate Yoga Classes
And the Egoscue Method Postural Therapy for Chronic Pain Relief and Enhanced life performance. 

 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: 

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.  

As always I enjoy and look forward to your feedback and support to help me bring you what you need and want to enhance your life through Yoga. 

Sat Nam and Namaste,

Alan Franzi

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