9/8/07
Dear Student,
I hope you are enjoying this
summer and getting ready for a new season of great Yoga! There is a lot to look
forward to this fall in ongoing classes and special events.
The beginning of the fall
teaching cycle is for me the beginning of my
“teaching year”. As summer ends there is a natural tendency for many,
conditioned by the school year cycles we grew up with or continue to
participate, to consider their commitments
and priorities. I hope you will continue to see Yoga as a foundation
to your personal wellness and happiness
and an ongoing support to you meet
the demands of your lives.
This is my 20th year of my teaching Yoga and Meditation, my sixth
year of full time teaching practice. I am so grateful to all of you who
continue to be my teachers I am humbled your commitment and courage to venture
into the challenges Yoga presents. I am always inspired to see the impact Yoga
makes in your lives. This continues to impel me to seek my own challenges to
grow as a teacher and practitioner in your service. Thank you for your ongoing
support.
The fall class schedule
begins on Sunday 9/9/07 at with morning Yoga class at Raven’s Wing Yoga in
Branford. The new schedule is
attached; Class times are the same, with the exception of returning to the
6:15Pm and 7:30PM class time at the JCC. More detailed description and class
info is available on my website:
www.creativeedgeyoga.com.
Please let me know of suggestions and feedback about these offerings and what
you would like to see in the future.
Christina Sillari
and I are again sponsoring another in a series of
Kundalini Yoga Workshops with master teachers,
Ravi Singh and Ana Brett. Ana and Ravi are adept in presenting
consistently powerful and absorbing Yoga experiences. This latest entry is
entitled:
Move
your Energy - Move Your Life!------Kundalini Yoga With Ana Brett and Ravi
Singh! and will be held on
Saturday, October 13th
form 1:00-4:00Pm at Raven’s Wing Yoga
in Branford. Again, it is your participation that has made these workshops so
special over the years and continue to allow us the privilege of hosting these
extraordinary teachers.
This is a
reminder that there is an ongoing Kundalini
class at the Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health on Wednesdays at
7:30pm. I hope you will tale some time to try this unique and powerful
practice.
The Branford Adult Education Class begins on Thursday, September 27th at 7:15PM.
there are two five week series:
Yoga for Fitness, Function and Fun (B-503) 5 9/27-10/25/7 Th. 7:15-8:30PM
and
Yoga for Fitness, Function and Fun (B-504) 5 11/15 Th. 7:15-8:30PM
Please keep me
informed of any workshop experiences you would like to see come your way.
Eperience the impact of
posture alignment on pain, and athletic performance; as well as day to day
increased comfort, energy and ease in your body, is through a group class.
Inspired and informed by the classic wisdom and practices of Yoga and the
powerful paradigm developed by Pete Egoscue; the
Saturday Workshop intensive series:
Yoga and Functional Movement for Posture, Pain Relief and Stress Management
class continues at the Shoreline Center.
The time is 10:00-11:30 am and you can
drop-in or join the series anytime!
Special note: For
over 12 years I have been a part of the community of wellness providers at the
Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health.
Those who have come to class there can attest to the pleasant and comfortable
atmosphere and the variety and skill of the practitioners at the Center. For
those who may be interested, there are rooms available to rent in part time or
full time contexts. Contact
Dianne Berg at (203)453-5520 for more information.
Yoga Therapy
“Compassion
is the finest weapon and best defense. If you would establish harmony,
Compassion must surround you like a fortress.”.
from verse 68 of the
Tao te Ching,
the Chinese canon of aphorisms written in 2500BC,
In the summer of 2001, I made decision to leave my full time employment
situation to bring my energy wholly to the practice Yoga instruction and Yoga
therapy. The very first new class of my Yoga teaching schedule was Tuesday,
9/11/01 at 9:30am. As I walked into class I heard that a
plane had crashed in the World trade center. There was no other
information available at that time, and I had no way of knowing how much our
world would change from that point. As class ended and the details of what had
happened became clear, any uncertainty or doubt my
I may have had about my new life fell
into the background. It is not the place of this space to comment on the events
of that day in its political meaning or impact. For me, the imperative as
someone involved the healing arts had been to somehow find a role in
supporting and facilitating the inner healing
of those who came to me with that intention.
The wounds of the events surrounding 9/11/01 for those directly and indirectly
involved are real. The journey toward healing the losses suffered and attaining
some semblance of restoration is a personal one.
The
disruption and turmoil to the world that has
followed is real as well. Catastrophes such as these inevitably shake
the foundation of the world in
which they occur and leave their imprint on
future generations. It was immediately apparent to me in the days
surrounding 9/11, that the healing of the
individual and our society as a whole are often intertwined. I have
seen and experienced how disciplines and practices of
Yoga and meditation offer the
individual a way out of the cycle of
unconscious reactivity to personal trauma
that allows the unhealed pain to echo
destructively throughout their lifetime and into future generations.
On that day I was thrust into the realization I had a role and responsibility
to offer the practice of Yoga and mediation in a
broader light.
The meaning of
horrific historical times and experiences on those who live through them depends
on how these experiences come to be understood in the days, weeks and years long
after their occurrence. No one has fully answered the question how one ought to
get through these experiences and I am sure there is no one right way, However,
I believed then and continue to believe now, that
integrating an inner journey toward healing
to our lives may help many to create a
therapeutic space surrounding the wounds we suffer. Within that space
of heightened wisdom and compassion the
mystery of healing may
unfold.
The
most profound impact of our Yoga and meditation practice can be to create the
physical, mental and energetic ground
in which this compassion can flourish despite the most intense challenges life
presents. As the individual
evolves our Yoga practice can become Yoga Therapy on a grand scale. The changes
in the lives of the individual impact the community at large, rebuilding our
communities and the world community through a
heart centered perspective and intuitive understanding.
Practice:
A
powerful complement to the active
physical and energetic techniques that we employ in Yoga and meditation is the
practice of contemplation. Taking time to reflect deeply on the often
counter-rational and paradoxical insights we gain when we temporarily suspend
our normal ego's judgments and conditional thinking can support the
integration of the fruits of our practice into our lives. The greatest of the
sages and seers throughout all traditions endure in our hearts and minds because
they have been able to offer insight into how the personal evolution of the Self
can inform the evolution of our society and the world at large.
In this spirit I invite you to consider the above quotation from the
Tao te Ching, which views compassion
as the core component of authentic strength.
In addition you may reflect upon
it in relation to the
verse (67) that precedes it in the light of the events of our
world and the challenges we face. It is considered by many to be the most
important and beautiful aphorism in the book, and
expresses the core truths from which the author’s conclusions about
compassion flow.
In this contemplation exercise:
Take time to quiet the mind, relax the body and slow the pace and
rhythm of breathing.
Read and consider the following verses, avoiding the tendency to view these
aphorisms as rules or edicts
Instead, experience in quiet receptivity the impact of the words on
your deeper felt sense.
In this way you can know without reactivity, just how they may challenge
your existing sensibilities; and allow them stir up some deeper intuitive
knowing with which we may have become disconnected.
" All the world says,
"I am important;
I am separate from all the world.
I am important because I am separate,
Were I the same, I could never be important.
"Yet here are three treasures
That I cherish and commend to you:
The first is compassion,
By which one finds courage.
The second is restraint,
By which one finds strength.
And the third is unimportance,
By which one finds influence.
Those who are fearless, but without compassion,
Powerful, but without restraint,
Or influential, yet important,
Cannot endure."
(And again:
)
“Compassion
is the finest weapon and best defense.
If you would establish harmony, Compassion must surround you like a fortress.”.
Workshop:
MOVE YOUR ENERGY -MOVE YOUR LIFE!
Kundalini Yoga With Ana Brett and Ravi Singh
Saturday October 13th, 2007 1:00-4:00PM
at: Raven’s Wing Yoga
869 West Main ST Branford, CT 06405
Fee: 50.00 pre-registered, $55.00 at the door
Shine like the sun with Kundalini Yoga's special blend of breathing, posture,
movement, stretching, strengthening, meditation, and the science of sequence.
Kundalini Yoga is traditionally known as the jewel in the crown of yoga systems.
Ana and Ravi's comprehensive yoga combines energy work with form and alignment,
core strengthening, and heart opening to give your life a total boost!
In this inspiring class, Ravi & Ana will lead you into a deeper experience of
yoga. They will start with the premise: move your energy, move your life, in
new and unprecedented ways. Break through inertia and jump-start your
relationships, career, and inner life. According to yoga, when your energy is
co-opted by holdings patterns then your resources remain limited. Conversely,
when your energy is flowing in an optimum manner, opportunities multiply and the
Universe
underwrites your efforts..
Featured will be a whole body workout and new techniques from Ana and Ravi's
immense Kundalini Yoga repertoire. You will also experience a sonic healing to
the transcendent sounds of live gong music.
In an Ana & Ravi class or workshop you will: Get a full body workout. Learn the
purpose of each exercise on every level: body, mind and spirit. Share in Ana &
Ravi’s in-depth knowledge of physical anatomy and its metaphysical counterparts.
Learn how to modify an exercise to minimize physical discomfort, maximize
results. Be assured of Ana & Ravi’s personal concern for your well being.
Receive modifications for each exercise so you can always participate.
Experience a sonic healing to the transcendent sounds of live gong music.
Participate in uplifting chants and group meditations. For All levels.
*************************************************
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:
