Yogafly2

Open Your Heart Anusara-Style in Austin, Texas

We're hosting this at Yoga and Talk in Austin, Texas.  Stay tuned for the dates.

Open Your Heart with Anusara-Style Yoga
4 week event (1 hour and 45 minute sessions)
$80 for all 4
$25 for each
Yoga and Talk
Limit 10

Hey - it's a bit like the Urban Yoga Retreat we are having in New York City, but you can have it in Austin and it's less expensive because the rents aren't some of the most expensive in the world down in Texas.

1st Session:
Connect to the entire physical body
In this two-hour Anusara-inspired Vinyasa session - participants will
dive into connecting to the entire body - by understanding what the
"inner body" is made of and the energy that moves from your core to
the outermost tips of your fingers and toes.
This Vinyasa practice will integrate Anusara principles of alignment
seamlessly into the flow. Dive deep into your whole body in a
supportive and creative environment.

2nd Session:
Twist and Back Bend into Detox Bliss
Twists and back bends work deep into the nervous system - cleansing
and rejuvenating the entire spine and inner body. In this 2-hour
retreat - we will work with both active and restorative back bends to
help you re-energize your internal organs and viscera. We'll wash out
the "old" and bring in some light, new energy into your practice.

3rd Session:
Inversions and Arm Balance Immersion
Upside down and steady - is what we will practice throughout this 2
hour retreat into connecting the upper body dynamics with the lower
body, belly and core. Learn how to safely position yourself in
handstands, headstands, forearm stand, crow and other inversions and
arm balances using Anusara yoga principles handed down by John Friend
and the Anusara kula. Partner work will help you see more clearly into
your own body and support you in these powerful asanas.

4th Session:
Hip and Heart Openers
Soften into the heart, open up the hip muscles, pelvis and get to know
your own sweet hip and heart anatomies.  We will warm up the entire
shoulder and hip area so that you can get a more profound experience
of these parts of the body and how they serve you and all of your
relationships.  At the end of the 4th session, we'll integrate
everything we've learned from all 4 sessions into a home practice for
each student.

Letters to a Young Poet, Rainier Maria Rilke

Nirmala Devi, or Norma Berrios, sends a Daily Inspiration through e-mail. This is one of those that I've printed and check in with - when the doubts come up. Rainier Maria Rilke just knows how to explain the inexplicable:

There is probably no point in my going into your questions now; for what I could say about your tendency to doubt or about your inability to bring your outer and inner lives into harmony or about all the other things that oppress you - : is just what I have already said: just the wish that you may find in yourself enough patience to endure and enough simplicity to have faith; that you may gain more and more confidence in what is difficult and in your solitude among other people. And as for the rest, let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always.

And about feelings. All feelings that concentrate you and lift you up are pure; only that feeling is impure which grasps just one side of your being and distorts you. Everything you can think of as you face your childhood, is good. Everything that makes more of you than you have ever been, even in your best hours, is right. Every intensification is good, if it is in your entire blood, if it isn't intoxication or muddiness, but joy which you can see into, clear to the bottom. Do you understand what I mean?

And your doubt can become a good quality if you train it. It must become knowing, it must become criticism. Ask it, whenever it wants to spoil something for you, why something is ugly, demand proofs from it, test it, and you will find it perhaps bewildered and embarrassed, perhaps also protesting. But don't give in, insist on arguments, and act in this way, attentive and persistent, every single time, and the day will come when instead of being a destroyer, it will become one of your best workers - perhaps the most intelligent of all the ones that are building up your life.

Satsanga, The Community of Hearts, The Kula

From Pathways to Peace by Sri Swami Satchidananda - founder of Integral Yoga (www.iyiny.com):

How to Liberate Yourself

We all want liberation. How can we achieve it? You don't even need to do anything; just keep in the company of the right people. Live in the proper association. Satsang, as it is called in Sanskrit. "How can Satsang liberate me?" The great saint, Shankara, clearly says; If you have Satsanga (the proper company), you will be out of asatsanga (the bad company); Get out of the bad company, you will be freed from botherations; Get freed from botherations, your mind will be steady; when the the mind is steady, yu are liberated."

If you are in Satsang, automatically you can't be at the cinema. Simple. You can't be in both places simultaneously. So when you have Satsang, the bad company, or a-satsanga, is not there. When the bad company is gone, you won't get into difficulties. Then what will happen? You will be peaceful, calm, happy; you won't worry about anything. You will find peace. If you could keep yourself steady in that peace, you are liberated.

You cannot always have the good company physically. But whenever you have it, to benefit at other times, keep the teachings. Spend time remembering them. And not only are people your company - books and memories of great moments are also your company. And the people who seek on the same path are your comapny. That's why there are ashrams, satsangs, Yoga groups, so that each can help the others.

The scriptures say that it is very, very difficult to get a human birth. We see millions of various species of life, but to be born as a human being is very rare. A human birht is the only birth in which we can get liberated from the ocean of samsara, or the constant ups and downs of life. This is our chance. This is the earning and the learning place.

Bondage and liberation are within you. You bind yourself and you have to liberate yourself. Get out of this whirlpool while there is still time and energy. Become great servants of humanity. Renounce all the selfish shells. Be liberated. Walk on the earth like liberated gods, representations of God, the true children of God. Shed the light of God wherever you go. Let people see the light in you and see their light with the help of your light.

Yoga for Scoliosis

For the distinctly non-linear spines and backs out there, for those of you who have scoliosis - my own spine twists and turns and forms an "S" which provides me with some very creative kundalini shakti energy - Anusara yoga is a very positive and extremely supportive form of yoga.

Before yoga - my experience dealing with scoliosis was with orthopedic surgeons, massage and physical therapists - one orthopedic surgeon whom I will never forget - tracked the progression of the curve of the spine from 8 to 12 years old. Close after my 12th birthday, he told me that the curvature and its degrees were not deep enough to warrant a brace, that I should do some funny exercises where I swung my body right to left, that I should continue gymnastics and that I shouldn't worry about it because I would be fine and shouldn't have any trouble having babies.

Even at 12 years old, I wondered about the old crazy man. I mean, what did I care at 12 years old about having babies? I wanted a "normal" spine, not the ability to have babies. At the time I think I just hit puberty a few days earlier.

So by the time I was 17 years old - I had suffered a number of bodily injuries, dislocated knee, scrapes, scratches, bruises, banged up shins - due to my overt love of endorphins coursing through the body while I pursued athleticism in the forms of gymnastics, running & soccer. Thankfully I discovered yoga by 22 and by 24 - I had met Amy Ippoliti who introduced me to Anusara yoga.

And I've found through practicing and teaching Anusara yoga, that Anusara yoga founder John Friend is a genius with a big heart. Through Anusara yoga principles of alignment and Rajanaka Tantra philosophy, I have become a great big factor in my own healing and understanding of the innate health in this body.

Anusara yoga has taught me to gracefully lean into and breathe space and vibrancy into parts of the body that have been compressed by the scoliosis. As a result of years of practice, patience and grace, the body is moving beautifully towards an "optimal blueprint" and center.

I understand this centering and Anusara alignment practice with its spirals and loops to be a life-long journey. And I'm just so grateful to have this practice. I look forward to working with more and more students like myself who are working with their own brand of scoliosis.

When I don't want to do the work on my own, or in a yoga class or if I'm just plain down and out - for scoliosis and for general bodily upkeep - I get one or 2 massages a week. And my favorite massage therapist is Jenny Amazing Delight (named by Heather Osterman) - who practices on 4th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. She is one powerful woman - and she kneads and churns all the right spots. Like a very astute body knot sleuth, Ms. Jenny helps to release all that lactic acid build-up in the body.

Outside of Anusara yoga, the most effective form of bodywork for scoliosis that I've found is ROLF structural integration. In New York City, I highly recommend working with Michael Bulger. His Web site is http://www.structuralevolution.com. He is a healer. And I don't just use that term lightly. There are many people out there who can help you, who can provide some guidance, and there are those who can heal. I believe Michael is one of those rare healer types. Call him for a ten-series of Rolfing. Michael Bulger - 917.674.1611.

Undo by Bjork

I love Bjork. She's a yoga teacher.

Undo
by Bjork
from Vespertine

It's not meant to be a strife
It's not meant to be a struggle uphill
You're trying too hard
Surrender
Give yourself AIR.
You're trying too hard
You're trying too hard

Sweetly to enjoy
It's warmer now
Lean into it
In a generous way

Surrender
It's not meant to be a strife
Undo

I'm praying to be in a generous mood
the kindness kind
to share

Undo
If you're bleeding
Undo
If you're sweating
Undo
If you're crying
Undo
Undo

Pincha Mayurasana - The Feathered Peacock

This asana has been beckoning me to practice her everyday. It has been restructuring my whole neck, shoulderblade and upper body. Pincha Mayurasana (Feathered Peacock) is the famous forearm stand. And it's best practiced with a block. For those of you who are beginning inversion practice, please practice with a teacher or at the wall.

Pincha Mayurasana Breakdown
Step 1 - Breathe

Step 2 - Open to Grace

Step 3 - Place block on the floor - at its shortest height

Step 4 - Hand Placement with block in one of the following ways
a) This one is my favorite lately - clasp the 2 front sides of the block with both hands, thumbs rest on top of the block
b) Place palms down on sticky mat on either side of the block - thumbs and pointer fingers in "L" shape - Left hand = "L" right hand - backwards "L"
c) Place palms face up - pinky fingers pressing in on the block, thumbs pressing down on sticky mat

Step 5 - Hug the block with the hands and arms - firmly but with a sense of softness

Step 6 - Gaze down at your block

Step 7 - Melt the Heart or soften the shoulderblades toward one another in the upper back - plugging the heads of the armbones into the arm sockets.

Step 8 - "Puff the Kidneys" - put energy into your lower back - while keeping the upper back integrated - power up the lower back muscles towards the ceiling

Step 9 - Lift the hips up - you are in forearm downward dog

Step 10 - Kick up until your heels touch the wall - if you don't have the wall behind you - this is where puffing the kidneys is so important - so that you don't flip over

Step 11 - press up through the heels and the big toe and little toe corners of the feet - find the center

Step 12 - Gaze at your block, smile and breathe

Step 13 - Coming down is just as sweet as going up - step down from the inversion and viva sweet love

Kirtan and Nadam

Kirtan - I've been so immersed in this practice for some time now and I've found it to be such a source of tremendous wealth. Kirtan was made most famous in the West by Krishna Das, but it has been going on for centuries in India and in the East. Hundreds and thousands of people chanting these names - some of which are so rooted in mysticism that the exact translations and originations are uknown.

One of the most amazing things about kirtan is its accessibility. We chant names of God or the divine in as simple a way as possible so that everyone can participate. Sita-Ram, Sita-Ram, Sita-Ram for instance, signifying the marriage of male and female, sun and moon, dark and light, every two poles of opposites coming together into oneness.

This past year I've been chanting quite a bit with devi, Kamaniya, whom I met on my first visit to Ananda Ashram in 2001. Since then we've become such bhakti (those on the yogic path of devotion) sisters. Kamaniya has a voice that is laden with such depth and sweetness. It's clarity is so wonderful to sing and harmonize with. And when she sings the names of the divine in English, Sanskrit, Hindi, we all stop and listen and join in. My own singing has grown tremendously with the practice of kirtan - and there's much more of clear freedom in it.

And in kirtan we also chant mantras - sound vibrations in Sanskrit. And can I tell you that once I heard the Nadam ringing in my ears - this happened during my first visit to Ananda Ashram in 2001 - I couldn't stop crying. I ran to Guruji's (Shri Brahmananda Saraswati) temple and wow - how the universe sang in there! unforgettable. How blessed to hear the sound of the universe ringing with such an immense joy - inside me and all around us.

When I meditate or lie down in my room to be held by the teachings of yoga, to be held by the great beings that have come before me, there it is again, Nadam, this wonderful glowing buzz of energy. This sweet golden silence that permeates even the loudest sounds. May the grace of kirtan and mantra chanting awaken you to the sound of Nadam - ringing sweetly in your ears.

Winter Solstice Kirtan at Integral Yoga

This one will be such a BLAST - and so many many gifts to celebrate. This is my dear friend Kamaniya's wonderful idea that myself and Integral Yoga are so happy to facilitate. As Kamaniya knows my involvement with the admirable Reciprocity Foundation and The Appreciate Networks - sister organizations that empower homeless youth throughout the U.S. through mentorship - she raised the idea of hosting a Benefit Kirtan for them. And voila! The following is the result. We would love your participation. Stay tuned for more raffle info!

Winter Solstice Defined: The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year: when the length of time between sunrise and sunset is a minimum for the year.

WINTER SOLSTICE KIRTAN

A fundraiser benefiting homeless youth

Wednesday, December 21st, 8 - 10:30 pm = Integral Yoga NYC Downtown (www.iyiny.com)

"Moving Toward the Light" - A Celebration

with Kamaniya & Damaru

$20 donation - Preregistration/ $25 Door

All Proceeds will be given to the Reciprocity Foundation (www.reciprocityfoundation.org)

Please pre-register as space is limited and we want everyone to be comfortable & warm & happy at this celebration: 212-929-0586

A joyful evening of call-and-response devotional chants from different traditions. Honoring the birthday of IYI Founder H.H. Sri Swami Satchidananda and his significant contribution to yoga in the
West.
* Birthday cake and refreshments served. (It's also Kamaniya's birthday!)

* Fundraising raffle. Prizes include gifts from IYI Bookstore, IY Natural Foods and IY Natural Apothecary; an IYI 5-class card; a weekend stay for 2 at idyllic Ananda Ashram, Monroe, NY; socially responsible gift baskets from the Appreciate Network; 1 hour Private Anusara-style Yoga with Yogafly (Kristina Lanuza), wellness treatments; CDs and more!

We will provide more information on this incredible raffle -

Presented by Yogafly & Integral Yoga

Urban Yoga Retreat New Year's Deluxe

I'm so excited to be presenting a RETREAT in Manhattan. And in the HEART of Manhattan. The beauty of this city is in the incredible work of architects that design the INTERIORS - again it's the INSIDE that counts in New York City. The outside, yes, the skyscrapers, and the pollution, and the noise and the subways are beautiful too, but people like the architect - Fara Marz - who owns OM FACTORY NYC where this retreat will be held - are the ones who make a difference in how we feel when we enter a space.

One of my bestest friends from time immemorial - Amy Jordan Jones - will be heading up a psychotherapy and yoga practice at OM FACTORY and is one of the 3 founders along with Allyson Pimentel. Amy Jones has done some pretty profound and powerful work with clients here in NYC and in Boston - where she graduated from a famous ivory tower that starts with an "H" and has an even higher degree from Smith. She never ceases to amaze me that Mrs. Jones.

Here's the link on my Web site -
http://www.yogafly.com/yogafly_workshops.html

And here are the details:
etreat: Urban Yoga Retreat New Year's Deluxe
Date: January 14th – January 16th
(Friday-Sunday)
Location: At the beautiful, brand new OM FACTORY
New York, New York
Retreat Investment: $275 - All-inclusive weekend
2 lunches provided and an evening kirtan.

Pre-registration is highly recommended as space is LIMITED. All levels welcome.

Start off 2006 with an NYC urban yoga retreat that
will seal in your practice and deepen your resolve for a healthy body-mind throughout the year. In this retreat, we will dive into Anusara-style Vinyasa yoga for the body, mantras and meditation for the heart and mind, and eat healthy vegetarian food to strengthen nutrition and healing. Come for the whole weekend or for parts of the retreat.

SCHEDULE
Friday night: 7:30 – 9:30, $45
Awaken the inner resolutions and get fired up for the practice. In this weekend introduction, Kristina will start off the class with the practice of making heart-opening resolutions for the New Year - meant for true expansion into your own self rather than trying to meet up to expectations that can be more limiting than liberating. Through and invigorating Hatha Yoga practice, she will introduce Anusara alignment principles into your asanas. A perfect evening to start off a new year with resolute, joyous yoga practice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday
10:00 am - 12:00 $45
Connect to the entire physical body
In this two-hour Vinyasa session - participants will dive into connecting to the entire body - by understanding what the "inner body" is made of and the energy that moves from your core to the outermost tips of your fingers and toes.

This Vinyasa practice will integrate Anusara principles of alignment seamlessly into the flow. Dive deep into your whole body in a supportive and creative environment.

12:00 - 3:00, $25
Lunch and Entertainment
Light, lovely vegetarian lunch will be served with greens and fresh ingredients by OM Factory's own holistic health counselors. Certifiably beyond organic and oh so good for you. Sit back and enjoy an inspiring yoga movie in the beautiful Om Factory space or rest in one of the treatment rooms and read or nap!

3:00 - 5:00, $45
Twist and Back Bend into Detox Bliss
Twists and back bends work deep into the nervous system - cleansing and rejuvenating the entire spine and inner body. In this 2-hour retreat - we will work with both active and restorative back bends to help you re-energize your internal organs and viscera. We'll wash out the "old" and bring in some light, new energy into your practice.

7:30 - 9:30, $25
Kirtan and Refreshments
Kirtan with Kamaniya and Damaru & the Kirtan Tribe
A positive and completely participatory way of sharing the divine in all - kirtan is call and response chanting and singing. A noted kirtan leader in the New York area, Kamaniya - a long-time staff member and supporter of our beloved Ananda Ashram in upstate New York - leads a heart-opening and sweetly rejuvenating kirtan with bhakti Damaru and the kirtan tribe of musicians. Traditional chants from India and interfaith devotional songs will be played throughout the evening. Share in lighting the inner fire.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday
10:00 - 12:00, $45
Inversions and Arm Balance Immersion
Upside down and steady - is what we will practice throughout this 2 hour retreat into connecting the upper body dynamics with the lower body, belly and core. Learn how to safely position yourself in handstands, headstands, forearm stand, crow and other inversions and arm balances using Anusara yoga principles handed down by John Friend and the Anusara kula. Partner work will help you see more clearly into your own body and support you in these powerful asanas.

12:00 - 3:00, $25
Lunch and Love
Entertainment and games with our healthy, delicious and light lunch provided by OM Factory's holistic health counselors. There's space to rest, chat and get to know each other "off the mat."

3:00 - 5:00, $45
Pulling it all Together
Integrate everything we've learned throughout the weekend. This is a Vinyasa class that will blend the refinements of the twists, back-bends, arm-balances and inversions we've done in the Retreat. We will take Anusara principles learned throughout the weekend and set a more open and honest relationship to the body for 2006. Mantra and meditation will close the weekend and enable you to step fully into the grace of your New Year's resolutions.

Please register by e-mailing me at yogafly@yahoo.com or call 212.616.8662.

Moving to the Yoga of Sound

Recently, I took a weekend retreat with Amy Ippoliti (Anusara instructor) and Manorama (Sanskrit teacher) called "Fall in Love" at Ananda Ashram. The two teachers and what they have given me are so instrumental in my practice and what I share in my own teachings - that I've created a 3-hour retreat that combines the beauty of Sanskrit mantras with Anusara yoga principles of alignment called "Moving to the Yoga of Sound."

This workshop will be introduced at the lovely Yoga Yoga North in Austin, Texas - on Sunday, February 5th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The investment is $30 and you can register by calling 512-380-9800.

In the 3-hour retreat, we will begin chanting bija mantras or seed sounds - and feeling the effects of the mantras as we sit and chant. The bija mantras relate to the seven chakras or seven major energy fields in the body. Manorama explained that chanting them is like planting seeds in each chakra -which then open and blossom for each practitioner in his/her own way. Divine seeds.

These seed sounds include:
OM
AIM
HRIM
KLIM
DUM
GAM
PHAT
SWAHA

Each one represents a diety, goddess or god. We will explore the deeper meanings behind each of the dieties - and how each one can become a friend that represents all of the energies that make up the body/mind/spirit.

In the asana portion of the class, we will introduce the 5 main Anusara principles of alignment - 1) Open to Grace 2) Muscular Energy 3) Inward Spiral 4) Outward Spiral 5) Organic energy into your favorite asanas as further refinement to your practice.

And to integrate the chanting and asana - we will find what it's like to be most superbly aligned for your individual body, chant the seed sounds and feel the effects of the vibrations created.

Please Register by calling 512-380-9800 and registering for Move to the Yoga of Sound on February 5, 2006.

"Yoga is the state where you are missing nothing."
- Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, Founder Ananda Ashram

I love this quote - this teaching. As it is a great one to aspire to. Manorama, Sanskrit teacher goddess, quoted this at our recent retreat at Ananda Ashram, and it really struck me. I practice this deep meditation and yoga everyday - many years now - and it's incredible to cut through the thoughts - the self-limiting ones that say, "you need more more more", "the present moment is not enough," "if only I had a billion dollars..." I'm always missing something - or another - aren't we all?

So that's why I practice - this yoga - this meditation, Anusara yoga - why I keep the teachings in my heart through chanting, why I study with my teachers, why it's such a delight to be with the community - the kula - so I can get to the state where I am missing nothing.

"The lover or God (the yogi) is like the daughter or son of an infinitely powerful king. The royal prince or princess is always relaxed and confident under every circumstance. The Bhagavad Gita describes this person succinctly as 'one who remains spontaneously content with whatever comes.'"
- Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886)

Words to live up to.

Because I'm not so spontaneously content - yet. I'm still asking "but, why?" I'm still missing about a thousand things - and asking St. Anthony, patron saint of finding things, to help me find the 3-4-5 cell phones I've lost. I'm still waiting for my billion dollars.

I'll have to say this, though, through the practice of yoga, I've learned and continue to learn how to be more patient, more understanding, how not to give in to anger or jealousy, how to see others as divine, one person at a time, how not to encourage further unhappiness and stuckness in the world.

And when I let go of all the whys - ah - gradual, if not quite spontaneous, contentment settles in.