1/19/08

Dear Student,

I hope that you are well.

As we begin the New Year I hope that you are well. I encourage you to take time daily to be with yourself in a way that helps you stay grounded and peaceful and gives you the inner support you need to achieve all that you wish.. The symbolic and real beginning represented by the New Year be a powerful catalyst for restoration, renewal and healing. Taking time to develop a personal plan and approach toward self care that can empower us to  attain our goals and remain and deepen our connection to self can lead us to make better choices and develop more meaningful life choices.  Re-committing to your practice of Yoga and mediation can bring new spirit to a time of year that can often overwhelming to mind body and spirit.

The Holiday series of classes is winding down and the Winter session is upon us. The new schedule is attached and available on my website at www.creativeedgeyoga.com .
Special offering over the next few months include:

-----The  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.
 
----A new 8 week session  of Yoga for Fitness Function and Fun"  will be held through Branford Adult Education. Call (203)488-5693 for more info and to register.

----Saturday morning “Posture and Pain” series: Yoga and Functional Movement for Posture, Pain Relief and Stress Management class continues at the Shoreline Center, running form 10:00-11:30AM.   This class is group class is inspired and informed by the classic wisdom and practices of Yoga and the powerful paradigm of posture alignment and health through functional movement developed by Pete Egoscue; The class is ongoing and you are welcome to come anytime.

----An introductory workshop to this special approach to posture alignment and pain relief. entitled "Align your Posture, Ease your Pain-----Posture alignment and Functional Fitness for Chronic Pain and Enhanced Living" , the workshop is designed to give you specific  experiential understanding  of how your body’s alignment and movement patterns may be generating bodily symptoms such as chronic discomfort and pain, degenerative musculo-skeletal conditions and other problems, and adversely impacting athletic performance as well and the overall quality of your life.  

----A special workshop to help you fight “cabin fever” and the re-invigorate to thrive throughout this Winter!  The wisdom of Yoga invites us to realize that it is not the season, but our approach to this and all experience that determines whether we are able to feel the fulfillment we seek. On February 9^th, 1:00-4:00PM I will offer a workshop/retreat: Yoga for the Core Self---------A Winter Yoga Mini Retreat" to help you dust off the cobwebs and enjoy the support  deep and relaxing immersion in Yoga can give to help you get the most out of this time of year.

Chrisina Sillari will sponsor Ana Brett and Ravi Singh for another wonderful workshop experience at Raven’s Wing Yoga! Circle March 29^th on your calendar! An and Ravi will be there form 1:00-4:00Pm and give a workshop entitled “A New Journey through the Chakras! The model of the chakras system offers a powerful approach to our growth, and Ana and Ravi are expert in offering an experience that all levels of student and enjoy and use in their life. More details will follow soon on my website.

Thanks so much to all those who attended the fall workshop Ravi and Ana gave in October 2007. Many of you came from long distances and we appreciate  that you are so much a part of the energy and success of these experiences.
Please keep me informed of any workshop experiences you would like to see come your way.  

Yoga Therapy:
Many of the benefits of our Yoga and meditation practice are quite clear, easily known by the practitioner and well documented in popular culture. Increased physical flexibility, tone, energetic re-vitalization, and stress release are just some of the benefits students routinely describe as the fruits of practice. In addition more specific therapeutic applications of Yoga, mediation and breathing are employed in many health care settings as adjunct of and compliment to medical treatment for numerous health issues.

One important, less obvious attribute of Yoga and Yoga therapy is that it addresses the essential connections between the body, mind and higher consciousness as a matter of course. In addition, whatever symptoms distress or sense of limitation draws us to practice often are often found to be the wakeup call to that invites us to transform in more fundamental and profound ways. All of this takes a good degree of fortitude and vision attributes that our practice can help us access and develop.

Change that leads to our growth often requires us to re-connect with a part of us that is not so heavily identified with all that we think we are in any moment. The article entitled The fear of Transformation wonderfully articulates this fundamental dilemma of transformation on any level. An often hidden, but in my opinion extremely important benefit of our practice, is the holistic manner that it teaches us to accept and embrace all our lives as continual change. In doing so we are better able to embrace the process of our own change. We are continually challenged and empowered to examine the need our “small’ self has to view our inner experience and outer circumstances as solid and permanent as we imagine or is truly healthy.

For many the practitioners, yoga and meditation practice evolves to become the way we develop a body strong enough to navigate the physical challenges of changing circumstances. and access the energy needed to initiate and follow through with our goals and overcome obstacles we may encounter. Cultivating higher awareness or witness consciousness provides the ground for perspective and wisdom that informs our growth and offers healthy vision and will that can helps us be less fearful and more creative on the face of our transformation. I believe the “essence of what the mystics call the faith experience” that the author above describes can comes from stronger, clearer and more compassionate understanding of the relationship between our personal and higher self. We may come to a better connection to the part of us that isn’t identified with our personal story or circumstance in any moment;. Therefore can see beyond our fears and limits into the realm of possibilities inherent within change.. As this unfolds the nature of experience as continual change can be accepted and seized as source of the joy that comes from our growth and transformation; 

Practice

Walking Meditation Practice
Below is a simple practice for the New Year that can help you integrate the experiences and insights of your yoga practice beyond the Yoga mat.

Mindfulness Exercise

Learning MINDFULNESS takes patience and commitment. Add power to your walking and feel peace growing in each step along the way.
Here is a simple walking meditation to support ongoing presence, stress reduction and heightened awareness. It can be done indoors or out.

A mindful walk. Find a quiet place where you can walk back and forth over about 30 feet. In each of the three parts of this exercise, simply note the sensations in your feet and legs as you lift and move each in turn. Whenever your mind wanders, bring it back to those sensations. Don’t strain your neck by looking at your feet; keep a relaxed gaze at a point in front of you. Take 20 minutes for the entire exercise.

First Walk:  Keep normal pace, noting mentally “left” as you move your left foot forward and “right” as you move your right foot forward. Stay tuned to the sensations that go along with those movements.

Second Walk:  Go a bit slower this time, and divide each step in your mind into “lifting” (leg goes up and forward) and “placing” (leg comes down). Finish one step completely before lifting the other foot.

Third Walk:  A much slower pace — be aware of a three-part motion to each step: “lifting”, “moving”, then “placing”, try a snail’s pace.

Over time resistances to slowing down in this way can be overcome. Just as in a sitting mediation practice, it is common as the habit of mindfulness is built you will to incorporate more restful and wakeful moments of silence in movement. The benefits of Yoga and the sitting practice are enhanced as these changes are integrated through practice.

Workshops:

With Alan Franzi

Saturday January 26th, 2008
1:00-3:30PM
$25.00 pre-registered, 30.00 at the door
At: The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health
       35 Boston ST
        Guilford, CT

“Align Your Posture--- Ease Your Pain
 Introducing Yoga, Meditation and The Egoscue Method of Postural Alignment for Healing and Pain Relief”

Make 2008 the year you join all those who have taken time to introduce themselves to a practice that supports the endeavor to do all that can be done to live the best, most active life possible
   Learn specific tests to discover just how and why posture mis-alignment is at the cause of so much muscular-skeletal pain and dysfunction Directly experience and insight into how your posture and musculo-skeletal function are impacting your health and well-being. Enjoy specific, positional movements, stretches, Yoga posture and other therapeutic exercises sequenced specifically according to the Egoscue inspired approach designed to restore postural alignment and function. As this happens you begin to address and resolve the actual cause of acute and chronic musculo-skeletal pain, repetitive stress and cumulative trauma disorders and other dysfunctional conditions thereby enjoy the unique possibility of pain relief and enhanced life performance.  Practice breath-work and meditation as additional tools to help rediscover lost comfort and joy in your body.  
    This experience provides an extraordinary opportunity to explore principles and practices of a tried and true non-medical intervention to empower ourselves to restore the body to it’s design posture and function  and change your mind forever about what it means to grow older!

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Saturday, February 9^th, 2008
1:00-4:00pm
$30.00 pre-registered, 35.00 drop-in 
At: The Shoreline Center for Wholistic Health
       35 Boston ST
        Guilford, CT

”Yoga for the Core Self---
     ---A Winter Yoga Mini Retreat

Yogis believe a powerful and energized core physical and energetic self is the ultimate source of personal power, healthy will, and focus that underwrites our health and happiness in life. Enjoy this workshop experience designed to cultivate a balance of physical tone and flexibility to deepen comfort and ease in your body as you move through the day. Utilize Classical Yoga postures along with powerful and subtle movement and flexibility techniques to support alignment and strength of the spine, hips and related bodily structures, often called the bodies "core".  Experience the benefits of Basic Yoga sequences, breath-work, imagery and meditation are designed to integrate these physical effects with the expansion of naval energy through the whole self.  Support yourself to help fight the fears that limit you as you cultivate a deeper sense of vitality, intuitive development and direction to accomplish life goals. Discover how this Yogic exploration of core energy can impel you toward even higher levels of healing, wellness and growth in your life.

Class is for all levels of experience to enjoy.
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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: 

I am available for private Yoga instruction, Yoga Therapy with a focus on Postural Alignment Therapy. In addition sessions are available that employ a meditative healing practice format to support deep inner shifts and transformation that can accelerate your personal growth an amazing ways. 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.  

Again, please let me know of any requests or suggestion that you have. 

I hope to see you soon.

Namaste & Sat nam,
Alan

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****This newsletter is intended to inspire and stimulate thought and insight according to the general concepts and practices of Yoga and Meditative arts. The use of these opinions and ideas and techniques  is no substitute for any and all professional services to suit your specific needs.

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