11/10/06
Dear Student,
I hope you are doing well. The
Holiday Season of classes is poised
to begin I hope that you will continue to keep Yoga a part of your life
throughout the season.
There is one thing that I am always aware of, and can never
express enough to you all. I am so grateful for your ongoing support and
involvement in Yoga, past, present and, I hope, future. Without you, we teachers
cannot do what we do. I want to thank you very much for your energy and
enthusiasm for my classes that inspires me and allows me to go forward with my
work with you!
The session will begin on November 12th-the
schedule attached. As always, you can visit my website at
www.creativeedgeyoga.com for ongoing schedule, class info and other news and
events.
Here is my annual reminder that it is in the
times of stress and challenge such as the
Holidays that our practice serves
us most. It can often be in these times that we have the most
difficulty keeping up with the self care that
is essential to our healthy giving to others and
experiencing happier and more peaceful times
with our family and friends.
Special workshop: On December 2nd from1_3:30pm at the Shoreline
Center for Wholistic Health, I will be presenting:
"The
Light of the Season----A Holiday Yoga and Meditation Mini Retreat” I
hope you will come to enjoy this time of re-creation, respite and peace in the
midst of this holiday season.
Especially handy at this time of year are the
Holiday Season Stress Reducers. Have
fun planning new ways to enjoy this
season with your family and friends.
Our ongoing Kundalini yoga Class
continues on Wednesday evening at the
Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health in
Guilford, from 7:30-8:45Ppm
For a
change of pace in the workplace,
consider bringing Yoga, meditation and allied
experiences into your worksite. Many of us spend so much of our time
at work, and integrating this facet of your life with Yoga can be a daunting
task. Let’s work together to see just how you can offer
office in-services and workshops,
introductory and/or
ongoing classes and
special consultations geared toward
improving the quality of the work environment,
enhancing morale and helping create a
culture of greater wellness in the
work experience.
The ongoing
Yoga and Egoscue®: Functional Movement for Posture, Pain Relief and Stress
Management class continues on Saturdays from 10-11:30am at the
Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health. Let the insights and special Yoga and
therapeutic functional exercise work designed to bring the best out of your
body, help you attack the cause of chronic pain issues and re-create a body that
is a joy in which to live and move. This work can be is a wonderful compliment
to yoga, helping you overcome the frustrations we can experience in attempting
to perfect our Yoga poses, enhancing your performance in the games you play and
restoring joy to the life activities you love. The aim of this work is not
simply pain relief. It is ultimately about self-empowerment; taking
responsibility for your journey transforming unnecessary self limiting beliefs.
Contact me for more information and the best way to learn and experience this
blend of Egoscue and Yoga.
Thanks to Ana Brett and Ravi Singh
and
to all of you who attended their October 22nd
Kundalini Yoga workshop experience. It is always a
joy to see so many in the room to help
each other to “Keep Up” and be Kept Up”
in the practice, The energy and spirit you brought is so much a part of these
wonderful Yoga experiences. Ana and Ravi plan to be back in the
Winter so please keep an eye out of
the details.
Finally,
please consider the giving gift of yoga
this holiday season. Contact me for information about
gift certificates—for
Yoga classes, Yoga Therapy, Posture evaluations
and therapy sessions, meditation and healing experiences and more…..
Yoga Therapy
The
holidays are coming up soon! Whether this statement produces
anticipation or dread is more a matter of our choices and attitude than many
believe. Of course, there are seemingly endless obligations and duties, added
expenses and that dreaded “commercialization”
so many lament and allow to overtake lives. Indeed there is much extra
“stuff“ that seems endemic to this
time of year, both pleasant and unpleasant.
The momentum and inertia provided
by the unexamined
habits and obligations of our lives
can make us feel victims of, rather than architects of our lives. At no time is
this more apparent than during the holiday season. It is no accident a good
number of the
Holiday Season Stress Reducers
involve becoming aware of and receptive to adjusting the traditions of our lives
at this time of year to make them more relevant and meaningful.
From the view of Yoga, accessing the joy
within is essential to the outer
experience of joy and peace that we seek in our live at this and all
other times. The unmatched physical ease, mental and emotional clarity and calm
attained in yoga creates an ongoing inner environment that allows us to remain
open to this inner joy at other times of our lives; In the same way,
overstress, overwhelm, guilt and resentment
and other negative emotions can
obscure this inner experience as we lose sight of
healthy self care at this time of year. If unchecked, this can
lead us to be cynical and dismissive
of the possibilities for authentic
re-connection to family and friends and create meaningful experiences for our
loved ones and ourselves. In addition for many of us is a time of
reflection and can
reignite the longing we have for something more
long lasting and substantial upon which
to base our happiness and sense of well-bing However, simply
reviewing or reliving the past without an ongoing
context or framework of self-forgiveness,
transformation and growth may not provide the
baseline strength and peace to we need
to succeed in this journey. The patience and
compassion that comes from the
acceptance of what is with
ourselves and others is a challenge to maintain, and at the same time
is essential to our enjoying the times we spend with those closest to us. Our
responsibility for all the actions, feelings and attitudes we encounter are, of
course, ours alone. A life touched
consistently by the practice of disciplines such as Yoga and meditation
can help us transform our stressful times into
a life of balance and calm;
and this in turn allows us to enjoy the people and events in our live more
fully. The most important opportunity presented in challenging times in general,
and the holiday season in particular, may lie in skillfully and joyously using
the heightened consciousness
developed in our practice on and off the Yoga mat to allow all we encounter at
this time of year to become a part of our unfolding.
Practice:
Taking
time for ourselves in this season can take many forms. Certainly a consistent
approach, however simple and brief, can begin the process of toward helping us
move through the many moods and attitudes that obscure our experience of the
peace that is within. “Long Sat Nam”** is a very simple and potent practice from
the tradition of Kundalini Yoga
intended to help us neutralize fatigue and tension to bring deep and powerful
relaxation to our whole self. Our glandular system is at the root of our
emotional life and this special meditation can, according to Yoga, revitalize
your glands and bring balance throughout the system.
To practice Long Sat Nams:
·
Sit straight
in easy pose(cross legged) or any modify with another comfortable position with
the Spine comfortably erect and relaxed
·
Face both
palms up and cross the right hand over the left palm with the fingers extended
and joined to each other. Place the left thumb in the right hand
·
Bring the
forearms up and in until the crossed hands meet and rest on the chest at the
heart level.
·
The eyes are
9/10 closed, and as the meditation progresses they may close completely.
·
Inhale deeply
and exhale completely as you chant:
Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat Naam Continue for the
prescribed time you have chosen.
·
Ratio of "Sat"
to "Nam" is 35:1. Begin with 11 minutes and build to 31.
The mantra Sat means the
Truth;
Nam means to
call upon, name or identify with.
Sat Nam means Truth is my identity and I call
upon the eternal Truth that resides in all of us. Chanting this
mantra awakens the Soul, and more simply means "really".
Adapted from
"Relax and Renew" by
Gururattan
Kaur Khalsa Ph.D.--www.yogatech.com
Workshops
With Alan Franzi
On: Saturday, December 2nd, 2006, 1:00-3:30pm
At: The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health
35 Boston ST Guilford , CT
$25.00 pre-registered; $30.00 at the door
Call Alan @ 203.488.1700 or email @ ceyoga@att.net to register
“The Light of the Season---A Holiday Yoga and
Meditation Mini Retreat”
For all levels.
Enjoy this
special blend of the Yogic and meditative arts designed to reconnect you to the
spirit and possibilities of this time of year. Practice this unique integration
of Classical Yoga poses, breathwork, meditation and mindful movement flows help
de-stress and access deep healing as you rediscover balance of mind, body and
spirit. Special meditations and healing experiences enhance the blessing of
this brief time out, helping you re-vitalize the self and re-connect to source.
Our intention here is to cultivate insights and experiences that deepen the
sense of inner peace we need to more joyfully offer the best and receive with
gratitude and grace through this often busy and challenging time.
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:
