Vayus/Our Inner Winds Breath Work Yoga Study Circle at Birchwood Center, Nyack, NY

   If you find pranayama, mudra and chakra yoga studies interesting you will enjoy the next Yoga Study Circle I will be leading at Birchwood Center for Yoga and Massage in Nyack, New York Friday October 20th 7-8:30pm.

   This special class will focus on the Vayus-Our Inner Winds. Here we will examine the 5 Vayus with easy to follow seated and on the back exercises. We will also discuss the many benefits of directing your prana/life force into different areas of your being while on and off the yoga mat.

   Please wear comfortable clothes and visit www.birchwoodcenter.com to register for this special class.

7 Wheels of Light Artspiration-Chakra Study at Ramapo College of NJ

   Friday Oct. 6th 6-9pm at Ramapo College of New Jersey in the Krame Center I'm leading a very special Chakra Study class. This class is part of Ramapo College's 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training and is open to drop in students. In preparation for this event I created some chakra art to inspire along with some notes to ease one's understanding of our chakra energy body. My suggestion in digesting this post is observing the artwork and reading each chakra's notes and feeling what comes up without over analyzing it. If you over think it you just may miss feeling your chakra body.

   Let's start with an easy chakra description: Chakras are 7 wheels of light that spin and shine bright within our energetic body. Life's stresses and struggles can shut them down yet we can break open our 7 seals of chakra light with breath work, yoga and meditation practice. The gift that comes from blooming your light body open like a lotus flower is your truth is revealed and from there the magic you've been waiting for appears.


   Above is an image of the the seventh chakra, Sahasrara Chakra. It's a pure white light that's shining down on your crown. Its mantra is OM and the element is space. When this chakra is balanced it is a thousand petal lotus that has bloomed wide open and unites you with your highest self.

   Healing Affirmations: "I am fully connected. I am limitless. I am blissful. I am love. I am understanding."

   

   The sixth chakra is Ajna Chakra. It shines within the third eye which is in between your eyebrows. It is the color of the twilight sky. This blue/purple energy center's element is space and its bija mantra is OM. When you clear this center, your mind is quiet and you see clearly.


   Healing Affirmations: "I see the big picture and I accept my path."

   The fifth chakra is Visshudha Chakra. It sits in the throat and represents communication. Its color is blue like the sky, the mantra is HAM and the element is space. When this energy center is balanced your words are pure.


   Healing Affirmation: "I listen. I have clear and compelling words. I lovingly speak my truth."

   The fourth chakra is Anahata Chakra. It rests in the heart center, in the center of the chest and its key is the breath. YAM is its mantra, air is the element and green is the color which opens you to love and eliminates fear.

   Healing Affirmation: "I am love. I give. I receive in gratitude. I forgive."

   The third chakra is Manipura Chakra. It sits in between the navel and solar plexus. The mantra is RAM, the color is yellow and the element is fire which shines as bright as the sun. This golden flame fuels your digestion and houses your truth and ego.

   Healing Affirmations: "I manifest my dreams as I connect to the universe."

   The second chakra is Svadhisthana Chakra. It sits in the center of the hips and rules relationships. The color is orange and the mantra is VAM. Water is the element which makes it move.

   Healing Affirmations: "I like. I dislike. I create. I am worthy of pleasure and love."

   The first chakra, Muladhara Chakra's bija mantra is LAM, the color is red and its element is earth. This chakra is found in the base of your pelvis. It is your survival center which governs your home, family, money and holds your space in being a part of supporting the whole universe. 

   Healing Affirmations- "I am strong. I am safe. I am grounded."

7 Wheels of Light-Chakra Study at Ramapo College of NJ

Muladhara Chakra/the Root Chakra is the 1st wheel of light. It is found at the base of the spine and is the grounding chakra energy center. The bija mantra/sound is LAM and its color is red.

   I will be leading a very special class called 7 Wheels of Light-Chakra Study Friday October 6th 6-9pm at Ramapo College of New Jersey within the Krame Center. This class is part of Ramapo College's 200hour Yoga Teacher Training. Drop in students are welcome to join us.

   This class is half lecture and half meditation mixed with easy to follow yoga flow postures. Please wear comfortable clothes to move, relax and heal in.

   Please visit www.ramapo.edu for more details.

   Coming soon I'll post 7 Wheels of Light-Chakra Study art and notes to further ease and expand your understanding about the chakras.

What's next for your Yoga Studies? 300hr Advanced Yoga Teacher Training at Birchwood Center Nyack, NY

 

    There's a fantastic 300hr Advanced Yoga Teacher Training starting September 6th at Birchwood Center of Yoga and Massage in Nyack, New York. I will be teaching along with several professional teachers from Birchwood Center's enthusiastic and excellent faculty.

    This 300hr training is designed for 200hr certified yoga instructors to complete their 500hr Yoga Teacher Certification. What I love about this training is it includes everything I intuitively sought out after I completed my 200hr yoga teacher training. When I graduated 300hr trainings did not exist. I had to travel on planes, trains and automobiles for over a decade to find the teachers who taught the topics I craved to understand after my 200hr yoga teacher training. Fortunately Birchwood Center's 300hr offering takes place in one location-85 S. Broadway Nyack, NY starting September 6th through April 28th.


Here's an overview of what the 300hr training includes:


Asana

   Advanced Asana Techniques

   Applying Asana Techniques to All Levels

   Alignment Clinics- For foundational through advanced postures

   Class Structure and Sequencing- Planning for all levels

   Case Studies- Teaching one-on-one and special needs

   Vinyasa- Finding the thread of flow in transitions



Pranayama Techniques

    Pranayama and Shat Kriyas for Health and Healing

    Pranayama for Meditation and Inner Awareness

    Pranayama to Sustain and Enrich Asana

    Pranayama and Movement



Mantra Chanting, Mudra and Meditation


    
Practical Yoga Philosophy

     Vital Concepts

     Yoga Sutras

     Bhagavad-Gita

     Hatha Yoga Pradipika

     Ayurveda



Power of Word

     Developing Clarity in Communication



Anatomy

     Posture Anatomy

     Anatomy for Injury and Special Needs

     Anatomy of the Energy Body



Specialization Project

     Development of an independent project based on a chosen teaching specialization



Please visit www.birchwoodcenter.com to learn more and to register.

Touching the Earth with Gratitude and Forgiveness: Lammas

     The sun is in Leo and nature is at its peak. You can feel, see and even taste what has ripened on the vine for you. Today August 1st, the harvest celebrations begin. The ancients call this time Lammas, the first of three harvest celebrations. It is a time of gratitude where we appreciate the fruits of our labors. When we slow down and notice all we have created, nurtured and protected.

      This time is also about forgiving what we have worked for and lost since the new year. The time and efforts spent in foreseeing, planting, taking care of and protecting our creations makes it easy to be attached to what could have been. Letting go and doing so with love keeps our heart soft so new seeds can take shape for the next cycle.

      During these first days of August make some time to touch the earth. You can touch the dirt, grass or sand. Touch it and reflect on gratitude and forgiveness for all you have grown this year be it big or small. Seeing with thankful rather than resentful eyes is a pure and deep emotional state. One that is free from ego. These are the eyes that can witness when the harvest's magic appears.

      On a personal note I find August 1st's ancient Lammas sentiment of reflecting on gratitude and forgiveness to be perfectly synchronistic with the birthday wishes of my Father in Law's Guru, Dada J. P. Vaswani from the Sadhu Vaswani Mission in Pune, India. Dada is celebrating 99 years of life on August 2nd. His birthday wish is at 2 pm wherever you are to take 2 minutes to forgive and experience the calmness within. To read more about A Moment of Calm please visit www.momentofcalm.org


"Hearts at peace will create world peace."  -J. P. Vaswani

A Post Summer Solstice Ritual

    Every year I miss out on writing about the Summer Solstice for the same reason, there's so much of everything going on. Between school endings and new summer beginnings for my boys and work schedule, parties, playtime at the pool, park or beach, there's an overload of what to experience and be all at once.

    Handling an overabundance of what's fun to do as the sun shines brightly while doing what has to be done everyday can't always be handled with ease. Feelings of frustration and exhaustion have been a part of my summer vibe so far and this makes me wonder what's got to go for a simpler and well balanced life.

    What's comforting to realize is both Yoga and Ayurveda's wisdom suggests the elements of nature- fire, water, air and earth are found within us. During these sun filled days as nature is brightly buzzing, chirping and growing in full speed around us, it is also doing the same within us.

    The ancients, our ancestors were so in synch with the universe's rhythm and saw this period of peak light as sacred. It was and still is a time to seek refuge and ritual to remedy any dis ease that comes from an overload of energy. It is a time of assessments. A time to recognize what you're truly passionate about. A period of the year to decide where you wish to throw your ball of energy towards and/or let go of for the second half of the year.

    If any of this resonates with you, take the time to sit with yourself and notice what you're now wishing to grow within and around you. Practicing a post Summer Solstice self reflection ritual can assist in balancing what was mayhem into embracing the sweet fullness of summer life.

Happy Fourth of July! Class Schedule

Happy Fourth of July!


I'll be back on the mat and leading two classes Wednesday July 5th:  


9:30am   1hr 30min   Level 2/3   at www.birchwoodcenter.com   in Nyack, New York


11:45am   11:45am   1hr 15min   Gentle Plus   at www.birchwoodcenter.com   in Nyack,  New York