Yogafly2

Titillating Yoga, Drenched in Sweat and Breath

"Spring in nature is the same as Spring in Man," as e.e. cummings so magnificently reminds us in his poems.  It seems that the yoga community at large is reflecting much of this Spring fever.    Tribeca's Kula Yoga sent out a lovely e-newlsetter yesterday that starts with the words "naughty.  good. naughty.  good," and invites its community of yogis for a hedonistic pleasure-filled retreat down in Florida.  Looks very tempting, and many people I know who have indulged with Kula Yoga down in Miami have nothing but rave reviews to report.  Here's a pic of their version of "Ardha Chandrasana" in the pool to prove it.

Then I opened up Rodale News' Yoga Lifeline e-newsletter with its provocative title "Downward Doggie Style," and its 3 articles on how Yoga can majorly improve your sex life.   And note their pic on the right of 2 "yogis" in bed.  Hmmmm. As a biologist, I studied reproduction and nature's romping, rollicking, orgasmic love of perpetuating itself for many years.  Biology and nature are all about sex and survival. 

And I will have to note that Spring is indeed in the AIR.  But it's always a tremendously great to remember that we are both civilized beings, capable of evolution, as well as creatures of nature.  So the higher truths must permeate all this consciously drunken frolics into the celebration of the body and sharing it with someone else. 

As an advertiser, I know that sex sells.  So it's important to discern truth from hyperbole.  Ah - another plug for the power of meditation...Ananda Ashram...true meditation...where one learns discernment between truth and hype.

But by all means, enjoy, the process of consciously exploring the bod.

Floracopeia

Andre, from Ananda Ashram, introduced me to this essential oil company that I love.  I bought Clary Sage, Rose and Fir oils from them.  The scents are subtle, natural and not at all overwhelming.  It's nice to have a little vial in my purse as I walk through Manhattan with its onslaught of strange scents above ground and in the subway.   I just reach into my purse, grab my Floracopeia essential oil, hold the scent up to my nose and New York's sharp environment is immediately transformed into a rose garden.

I will explore Floracopeia's Attars soon.  Attars are a traditional way of making perfume in India using sandalwood.  I just learned from Bharati at Ananda Ashram of the cleansing and purifying properties of sandalwood - for the atmosphere. 

Equally impressive are Floracopeia's classes on aromatherapy and its mission to preserve old ways of creating scents while ensuring that the natural world is preserved. 

Here is their mission statement from their Web site, http://www.floracopeia.com:

To economically support and uplift ecological farmers around the world by purchasing their high-quality aromatic products.

To support preservation of rainforests by purchasing aromatic products from sustainable agroforestry projects.

To lower the cost of top-grade essential oils, attars, hydrosols, and natural perfume ingredients by bringing them directly from distillers to retail customers.

To provide education about the medicinal, ecological, economic, and spiritual benefits of medicinal and aromatic plants, in the form of workshops, multi-media events, meditation retreats, and publications.

To help preserve and promote traditional and indigenous ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal and aromatic plants and their uses.

Ecoist Discount from Diary of a Labellover Blog

This company has certainly made recycling pretty durn hip: www.ecoist.com. 

I learned about them through A. Fashionista's blog, Diary of a Labellover.  See link below.

The great thing is that when you click into her blog, you'll get 15% off Ecoist's line of handbags, jewelry and gifts. 

It's a great place to shop - as A. Fashionista reminds us all - Mother's Day is coming up.

http://diaryofalabellover.typepad.com/cheese_sandwich_diaries/2008/04/celebrate-earth.html

Elias Lopez at Ananda Ashram this Weekend

I love teaching yoga with Elias.  He is such a bundle of love, joy and energy.   He is bringing a group again to Ananda Ashram this weekend.  On Labor Day weekend this year, he and I will co-host a group at the Ashram.  It will definitely still be beautiful outside so we encourage campers and people who love the great outdoors to come on out and Yoga with us.

Here are some pictures from the last retreat we co-hosted together at Ananda Ashram.  It was a blast!

   

Shopping for the Perfect Hybrid Car

I haven't owned a car since I moved to New York from Texas in 2002.  That's six years without owning a vehicle and six years of relying  on public transportation and my own two feet to get me from Point A to B.  And while I still honor public transportation as my number one mode of getting around for umpteen million reasons such as-- 1.  I can read while I am being transported from one destination to another 2.  I don't have to concentrate on the road and other drivers 3.  I don't have to constantly check my speed 4.  I can shut my eyes as I am transported, sleep if I want to.  If only I could drive a car with my eyes closed.... 5.  Who really wants to own a car in NYC?  --

BUT I do need a car in upstate New York - to get to and from Ananda Ashram and my favorite store - Home Depot :-) - and driving in the tri-state area and into Connecticut - Connecticut, a state I now know very well (well sort of, kind of, not really) as I drive through it 80 miles per hour at a time.

  So, in honor of everyday is earth day ---- Yes, everyday is earth day, without MOTHER, where would we all be?  Disembodied spirits, floating as tiny specks of dust in the universe somewhere.  In honor of everyday is earth day, I'm looking into buying a Prius.  I like the Prius.  It seems to be the most fuel-efficient of the hybrids- 45-48 miles per gallon - has a great exterior and is roomy enough for all my accoutrements.

In New York City, I have a Zipcar.com membership.  Zipcar is the perfect car solution for the Manhattanite who doesn't want to pay the typical $300.00-$500.00 a month for a parking space that owning a car entails.  Or the "can I be any busier New Yorker" who really doesn't want to move her car around from one spot to the other according to street sweeper schedule while coordinating her daily dog-walking routine.   But Zipcar doesn't really work for upstate New York because there are no  drop off sites in Monroe, Harriman, Central Valley nor anywhere upstate.  One of the many perks of having a Zipcar membership is that you can try out all sorts of different cars - Volvos, Volkswagons, BMWs, Hondas, Mazdas, Mini-Coops and more.  Last night, I drove a BMW to Hartford, Connecticut.   Surprisingly enough, the BMW is not a gas-guzzler.  So just like any conscious consumer who likes to split her time between different parts of the tri-state area, I think the best solution is to keep my Zipcar membership when I am going to and from New York City and drive a hybrid while I am upstate. 

The other solution is to never move from one spot, never travel, never go anywhere that uses fossil fuels.  Everything exists in stillness, standing still, being still :-)  Ha ha.  I've tried to not move from one spot - and it lasts, at most, an hour.  Like I said to my boss after an hour long meeting yesterday of sitting, "I get antsy."   The other day as I went running upstate, I kept hearing this voice telling me to consider the whole earth my home, to see the whole world as my home.  So movement and change are inevitable - and I've realized that the stillness of meditation must be the greater experience no matter how fast I am moving in time and space.

Time to buy a hybrid.

Another reason for Meditation

I love this quote from Carl Jung, from Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology for Leos:  "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."

How do we make the "unconscious, conscious?"  Hmmm.  Well...Let's see...Meditation.

Meditation is simply watching the mind and all of its layers to see what motivates your every step and move.

Here is the full horoscope:

From www.freewillastrology.com -

Leo Horoscope for Week of April 24:

Is there really such a thing as free will, or are our destinies shaped by forces beyond our control? Here's one way to think about that question: Maybe some people actually have more free will than others. Not because they have more money. (Many rich folks are under the spell of their instincts, after all.) Not because they have a high-status position. (A boss may have power over others but little power over himself.) Rather, those with a lot of free will have earned that privilege by taking strong measures to dissolve the conditioning they absorbed while growing up. They've acted on the advice of psychologist Carl Jung: "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." As you enter the phase of your astrological cycle when more free will is yours for the taking, Leo, meditate on these thoughts.

Sue Stovall Subway Watercolors

My dear friend Sue, artist, co-meditator, Reiki practitioner, New York-Georgian belle just launched her new Web site displaying her watercolors.  Sue has always been such a dear inspirational friend and fellow artist.  Our free spirits just love to flow and dance together as we walk through the streets of New York - as we often meet for breakfast.  For instance after our last breakfast, we ended up in a little art store buying me washable markers and sketch pads.  On the subway, she taught me a chant and I gave her a melody.  Lots of energy swirls, colors and spirals around us when we get together.  Sue even has pictures of us with the Dalai Lama - and throughout her pictures are these beams of red and pink hues.  It's always good to be with friends who bring out the endless, child-like spirit in us.  Sue Stovall is one of these spirits in my life.  Visit her Web site here: http://eeowen.com/suestovall/

The Power and Beauty of Relaxation

We're a pretty tense society - working in New York City and looking around at people - running around after so much external stimuli, I realize how tight and inflexible many people are in their bodies.  The yogis are constantly telling us that when we keep going outward, constantly looking outside of ourselves, we miss the point:  beauty lies within.    When I consciously release tension by  totally, fully, consciously and absolutely relaxing, wow, everything is so much more magical and present.  When I am relaxed, I am fully in the NOW, and there are no desires. 

But relaxation can be difficult - for a culture accustomed to tension and constantly running around, stopping to relax and dropping everything can be frightening or pointless.  The mind, fearing the end of its extroversion , will thwart you from pursuing this "nothingness" and "emptiness." 

So the yogis developed techniques for relaxation such as "Yoga Nidra."  Pictured is Swami J's Yoga Nidra CD - which you can buy at Amazon.  I met Swami at Ananda Ashram last year and his clear explanations of the differences between the mind, ego, "buddhi,"  "ahamkara," consciousness have really affected my ways of discerning between different aspects of my own and others' behavior.  Why is it good to know one's behavioral patterns?  Because awareness of each layer of our being helps us move through old patterns that keep us from moving forward, transforming and evolving. 

Soon, I will create a Yoga Nidra CD as well - to help people relax so completely that you will feel that you are one with the earth, the sky, the sun, moon and the stars.  It's nice not just to "know" something but to really "feel" this oneness.  You can purchase Swami J's Yoga Nidra CD here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972471901/ref=ase_yogameditatio-20/102-9602437-0912130?s=books&v=glance&n=283155&tagActionCode=yogameditatio-20

Why So Many Souls by Meister Eckhart

from Love Poems from God, translated by Daniel Ladinsky

When were you last really happy?

Let that experience ferment,

bring it to the mind once

in a while.

Surely in the genesis of that past moment, when you danced, you would not have wanted a constable to have knoced on your door,

or have said, "You just entered a restricted ground."

Why are there so many stars and souls with no end in sight for them?

Because nothing can interrupt God when He is having fun,

creating!

I love the Global Mala project and what it represents - "God, having fun, creating!"

Music Learning & Discovery Course w/ Acharya Roop Verma on July 5-July 12

Put this on your calendars.  Not to be missed at Ananda Ashram :  www.anandaashram.org.  I've taken this course and have gained a lot from our exploration of compositions, Nada Yoga, sound, meditation and mutual creativity.
Sign up by calling 845-782-5575.

From the Ananda Ashram Web site description -

10:00AM-12:30PM & 3:30-5:30PM (Sat 3:00-5:00PM)
Tuition to be announced.

Acharya Roop Verma shares a concise system of musical training which he has applied successfully at music schools and universities around the world. Students will learn principles and techniques of Indian classical music, experiencing basic sounds and rhythms and exploring the evolution of notes, scales, ragas, compositions and improvisation.

This course is designed to impart new techniques for developing vocal and instrumental proficiency, skill and control and to discover one's unlimited spiritual potential. Acharya Roop Verma teaches the traditional and authentic aspects of music-making in unique ways that can be applied to any Eastern or Western form of music. A Certificate of Completion will be awarded on successful course participation.

Note: Special discount for participants in our educational (ISEWU) courses: 15% off Ashram overnight guest rate. When contributing 1 hr of work per day: 25% reduction on guest rate.

http://www.anandaashram.org/eventDescription_id_100998.htm

Kirtan with Kamaniya, Tommy Be, Terrence Pompey and Damaru Tonight

Saturday 19th April 7:30-10pm*
Earth Day Kirtan Celebration
At  Integral Yoga Institute, NYC
$15 (Children under 12 free)
Details  |  *doors close 8:30pm

 

 

KAMANIYA :: lead vocals, harmonium  |  TOMMY BE :: bass, kanjira drum, acoustic guitar  |  TERRENCE POMPEY :: dholak drum  |  DAMARU :: vocals, percussion

Self-empowerment

Thematically, this idea of mutual empowerment comes through over and over again in my life.  Through meditation, I have been able to watch the "Victim" archetype when it likes to come through.  The "Victim" likes to see herself as a wounded, disempowered part of society that just can't get any breaks.   The "Victim" tells me that "other" people are responsible for why my life is not the way I wish it to be.  And through meditation and studying with Caroline Myss, I realize that the "Victim" can actually be flipped to become my biggest friend.  Rather than spreading the news that yet, another person, situation, something I watched on TV is responsible for my misery, I can see that I can use this feeling to push myself to go beyond it.

My buddy, Bjork, pictured, (no, I don't know her personally) but I do know her musically - which may be a more multi-dimensional way to know someone, has a wonderful song that always pulls me out of my pity party.  And I tend to give the songs to friends who like to use up my cell phone minutes, my valuable time to "complain" about how miserable they are.  Seriously, who has time to listen to whining?  Here are her words: 

"Army Of Me"

stand up
you've got to manage
i won't sympathize
anymore

and if you complain once more
you'll meet an army of me

you're allright
there's nothing wrong
self-sufficience please!
and get to work

and if you complain once more
you'll meet an army of me

you're on your own now
we won't save you
your rescue-squad
is too exhausted

and if you complain once more
you'll meet an army of me

Watch it on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1tVQ7L_cs0

Dalai Lama Live Webcast - April 19 & 20

From the Jewel Heart (www.jewelheart.org) newsletter:

Although the "Engaging Compassion and Wisdom" teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama are sold out, you still have the opportunity to join us virtually via webcast streaming with the following options.

Jewel Heart will offer webcast streaming live at: 

http://umtv-live.rs.itd.umich.edu/pres/dalailama.asx 

Please note: the link above will not be live until 30 minutes prior to the events.

The Ann Arbor News and Mlive.com will also be streaming a live webcast. Log onto their Web site at www.mlive.com/annarbornews. More info at:

http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/04/watch_dalai_lama_visit_live_on.html

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be available to the press at 3pm today and that will also be streamed live on the Ann Arbor News/MLive website.

The live-streaming teaching videos will disappear from M-Live once the talks are over, but full-length videos from each of the events will be available again starting Monday at blog.mlive.com/annarbornews_multimedia

The Peter M Wege lecture at 2pm on Sunday can also be viewed locally in Ann Arbor area on the U of M Comcast cable channel 22.

Devi-Mahatymam - Navaratri at Ananda Ashram

Last weekend, I participated in the Sanskrit chanting to the Devi - Durga (pictured) from the Devi-Mahatmyam, shlokas that illustrate the battle between good and evil.  During this time we honor the goddess energy - the wisdom of the divine feminine.

Transformative on multiple levels, the Devi-Mahatmyam empowers the meditator to see that every obstacle in the world is a gateway towards becoming more and more in alignment with the divine.  I will caveat this with an "if" - and that big "if" is - every obstacle in the world is a gateway to the divine IF we meditate.  This is an incredible thing I've learned through the practice of meditation.  By clearing the mind, dropping all nonsense, dropping all thoughts, watching everything, the play of the world from the standpoint of the witness, every challenge - from disease, to greed, to lies, to people desiring control - is not really much of anything.  Through meditation on the bliss of the Goddess, I can see that there is so much more joy and power in the world than there is madness.

For instance, when I drop the idea that I can't read Sanskrit, all of a sudden, I'm reading Sanksrit.  When I drop the idea that I am not supremely guided, all of a sudden, I feel a supreme guidance. 
Intriguingly enough, this "dropping" of ideas can only happen through the practice of meditation.  It's an indelible and delicate thing, yet so precise and perfect. 

At Ananda Ashram we celebrate the Navaratri twice a year and chant the Devi - Mahatmyam with Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati leading the way for nine days.  It is a cosmic time of transformation.  Feel it for yourself by coming out to this mystical and magical place:  http://www.anandaashram.org.

Yoga Soundscape Journey at Atmananda Yoga Studio on Friday

Join Aarona (pictured)  and friends for an evening of delectably yoga and music, taken from her Yoga of Nourishment e-newsletter:

when: FRIDAY ~ APRIL 18, 2008 ~ 8-11PM
(8-10pm = yoga / 10-11pm = dance, fruit & tea)
* Arrive early to insure your spot!

where:Atmananda Yoga Studio
324 Lafayette, 7th floor (Bleecker & Houston)
* Call:  212-625-1511 to register *

investment: $20 - for an epic yoga-sound-spirit filled experience

It's Spring, and it's time to fly. Journey into the many layers of your body & expose your exquisite self.  This month's 'Yoga Soundscape' will be blessed with the talent & magic of  Nyxyss - a creative collaboration between New York's ubiquitous underground DJ Haj (Sub Swara, Freek Factory) & violinist extraordinaire, Hannah Thiem (Copal, Village Underground). Their sounds are lush & compelling, exploring the more melodic aspects of dub step, idm & leftfield hip hop. Their sets are deftly crafted with an expansive sense of journey. Combined with Aarona's guidance, you will experience a breath-filled yoga class rich with aligning freedom & sweaty creative flows offering a sacred space for intention & courage to be wed. Expect a deep, infectious & evocative movement sound meditation. Stick around afterwards for some dancing, tea & fruit. And invite the curious!

Joy by Kristina, produced by Maor

CLICK here:  http//www.myspace.com/maorspitzer

Joy -

Shri Shiva Om Shiva                           

Om Shiva Jaya Jai

Shiva Om Shiva

Shri Shiva Jaya Jai

Om Kali

Shri Kali

Om Kali Durga Ma

Durga Shri Durga

Om Kali Durga Ma

Shri Shiva Om Durga

Om Durga Mayi Ma

Durga Om Durga

Om Durga Jaya Jai

I wonder

all the time

why all this suffering

tell me

Shri Durga

why all this suffering?

I don't know

I see more

than all this suffering

Beauty

Oh Tell me

Oh dance for me

Shri Laxsmi Ji eeee

Om Shantih

Om Shantih

Oh help me Guruji

Guru

Om Guru

Om Jai Shri Guruji

I don't know

why we go

to those places inside

where we feel so

lonely and depressed

I don't neeed

all this pain

I want to be who I am

who I am

Just freedom in this life

I'm freedom in this life

Why do I forget

I cry and I suffer

But there's no need

foooooooor that

Don't stay there

There's so much

out there

that really cares

Please let

Please let the JOY inside

Please free the Joy inside

You are the JOY inside

I AM the JOY inside

We are the JOY inside

There's nothing to hide

Please let the joy inside

We are the JOY inside

There's nothing left to hide

We are the JOY inside

Let's dance the JOY inside

There's nothing to hide

http://www.yogafly.com
yogafly@yahoo.com

Tibetans' Peaceful Protest in New York City

Tibet holds a dear place in my heart - the land where meditation and compassion are the highest aspirations in life.  During our lunch break on Monday, Alexis (co-worker and Diary of a Label Lover Blog writer), and I looked up from our Hale & Hearty meals to see lines and lines of Tibetans marching down Third Avenue protesting the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the upcoming Olympics that will be held in China.  It was beautiful and disturbing to see  many shaven head Tibetans led by lamas (the monks of Tibet in their burgundy and saffron robes) chanting and carrying would-be coffins.  Graphic images of tortured Tibetans  depicted on some of the coffins.  I wonder at the violence in the world - why it is that humans are capable of the highest beauty and the most cruel acts.

I can hear Thich Nhat Hahn - the Buddhist master from Vietnam - explaining that first we must take all violence out of our individual hearts and minds, then we can end violence in the world. 

Greed is such a powerful force - the Chinese government's greed and desire for control over others is quite alarming to behold and is most evident in what they have done to many Tibetans.  It is a good idea to stop buying products made in China - for so many reasons:  the low wages paid to Chinese workers, the low-quality materials, the unmonitored pollution from all of the factories, but I do realize that this can be difficult as so many things are made in China!  But we can stop and see what the Chinese government has done and continue to do to those with spiritual and religious practices.  Many of you know the old adage from communism that spirituality/religion is the "opium of the masses."  Even if one believed this, does it mean that people who meditate and practice compassion should be tortured and beaten?  As a meditator, I've realized that meditation is the greatest anti-opium, anti-drug, anti-anything artificially induced wonder treatment for healing that exists in the world.  With meditation, I have more energy, peace, euphoria and love - without needing any outside stimulus to induce my bliss.   

Many of the highest lamas from Tibetan have been imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese government.  I read an interview with an older lama once who was asked about the tortures he underwent in the Chinese prison.  The lama explained, yes, indeed he was in danger, in danger of harboring anger in his heart towards the Chinese.  He explained that it was a beautiful time to practice compassion so that he could really move away from anger, which leads to hatred, which leads to violence, which leads to suffering.  A remarkable testament to the ground of beingness and love that Tibetan Buddhism represents.  Let's continue our work to help free Tibet from Chinese oppression by doing the greatest thing in the world - meditation.  May all beings be happy and free.  May all beings know the joy that is totally free from sorrow.

Functional Medicine

Michelle Barge, yoga diva, introduced me to Dr. Vincent Pedre: http://www.pedremd.com who is one of the few integrative medical practitioners in New York City - pictured. Dr. Pedre introduced me to "functional medicine" - and its core principles resonate with how I view the healing arts and medicine, from the Institute for Functional Medicine Web site, www.functionalmedicine.org:

Functional medicine is personalized medicine that deals with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of symptoms for serious chronic disease. It is a science-based field of health care that is grounded in the following principles:

• Biochemical individuality describes the importance of individual variations in metabolic function that derive from genetic and environmental differences among individuals.
• Patient-centered medicine emphasizes "patient care" rather than "disease care," following Sir William Osler’s admonition that "It is more important to know what patient has the disease than to know what disease the patient has."
• Dynamic balance of internal and external factors.
• Web-like interconnections of physiological factors – an abundance of research now supports the view that the human body functions as an orchestrated network of interconnected systems, rather than individual systems functioning autonomously and without effect on each other. For example, we now know that immunological dysfunctions can promote cardiovascular disease, that dietary imbalances can cause hormonal disturbances, and that environmental exposures can precipitate neurologic syndromes such as Parkinson’s disease.
• Health as a positive vitality – not merely the absence of disease.
• Promotion of organ reserve as the means to enhance health span.

Functional medicine is anchored by an examination of the core clinical imbalances that underlie various disease conditions. Those imbalances arise as environmental inputs such as diet, nutrients (including air and water), exercise, and trauma are processed by one’s body, mind, and spirit through a unique set of genetic predispositions, attitudes, and beliefs. The fundamental physiological processes include communication, both outside and inside the cell; bioenergetics, or the transformation of food into energy; replication, repair, and maintenance of structural integrity, from the cellular to the whole body level; elimination of waste; protection and defense; and transport and circulation. The core clinical imbalances that arise from malfunctions within this complex system include:

• Hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances
  from cellular membrane function to the musculoskeletal system
• Oxidation-reduction imbalances and mitochondropathy
• Detoxification and biotransformational imbalances
• Immune imbalances
• Inflammatory imbalances
• Digestive, absorptive, and microbiological imbalances
• Structural imbalances

Imbalances such as these are the precursors to the signs and symptoms by which we detect and label (diagnose) organ system disease. Improving balance – in the patient’s environmental inputs and in the body’s fundamental physiological processes – is the precursor to restoring health and it involves much more than treating the symptoms. Functional medicine is dedicated to improving the management of complex, chronic disease by intervening at multiple levels to address these core clinical imbalances and to restore each patient’s functionality and health. Functional medicine is not a unique and separate body of knowledge. It is grounded in scientific principles and information widely available in medicine today, combining research from various disciplines into highly detailed yet clinically relevant models of disease pathogenesis and effective clinical management.

Functional medicine emphasizes a definable and teachable process of integrating multiple knowledge bases within a pragmatic intellectual matrix that focuses on functionality at many levels, rather than a single treatment for a single diagnosis. Functional medicine uses the patient’s story as a key tool for integrating diagnosis, signs and symptoms, and evidence of clinical imbalances into a comprehensive approach to improve both the patient’s environmental inputs and his or her physiological function. It is a clinician’s discipline, and it directly addresses the need to transform the practice of primary care.

Krishna Das this Weekend at Ananda Ashram

Dear Friends,

If you are interested in attending Saturday's performance with Krishna Das please call the office ASAP to reserve your ticket. It looks like it will be a sold out concert at the Sapphire Elementary School. But space is still available. See below for details. We will not be selling tickets at the door.

We are pleased to announce that more tickets have been made available for Saturday, April 12th evening kirtan with Krishna Das in Monroe, NY. Hosted by Ananda Ashram, the event has been moved to a larger location across the road, a short walk from the Ashram.

Admission is limited & is by pre-registration ONLY!!

Saturday April 12th, 8:30pm*

KIRTAN with KRISHNA DAS

At: Sapphire Elementary School on Harriman Heights Road

* Preceded by Meditation & Readings with Joan Suval at 7:00pm
* Doors open 6:30pm. Bring a cushion for your comfort.

Call the Ashram office at (845) 782-5575 to register, admission is $25. Office hours are from 11:00am-5:30pm daily, and until 8:30pm this Saturday. Due to the large volume of calls for this event, if you recei ve the voicemail, please leave a message and someone will return your call. Payment is due at time of ticket reservation, payable by VISA or MasterCard. No refunds will be given.

Sapphire Elementary School is at the top of Harriman Heights Road hill on the right side, opposite Sapphire Road. There is ample parking behind the school.

Scroll down for available overnight accommodation for this event. Registration for the entire retreat or for single days is available for those who would like to commute. Call the Ashram office at (845) 782-5575 to register. Commuter rates are as follows:

Day Rates: all programs & meals (include evening Kirtans & yoga classes with Shri Dharma Mittra)
Fri-Sun $300, Sat-Sun $265,
Fri only $37, Sat only $155, Sun only $110

On-site accommodation available:

Two male dorm beds may still be available for the full weekend at an all-inclusive rate of $385, Members $370.

A few camping spots may still be available (bring your own tent & bedding), inquire for pricing.

Call the Ashram office at (845) 782-5575.

Off-site accommodation:

Caren House Bed & Breakfast is about a mile or so away from the Ashram and may have a few beds available for Saturday night. Call them at (845) 782-0377. Visit www.carenhousebb.com.

American Budget Inn is about a 10 min. drive from the Ashram at 35 Melody Ln, Harriman, NY. They currently have several rooms available, call (845) 783-3211

Yoga and Running

I took a very long hiatus from running - about an eight year hiatus.  And just last year - after moving upstate, I started running again.  Two factors stopped me running -a creaky knee from a soccer injury and Manhattan pavements.  In upstate New York, we have trails, gorgeous, untouched trails - where we only see deer, birds and, yes, just once, a snake on the trail - a charming, harmless snake.  And on these trails, in nature, I can run for miles without a thought.  Much of this recent inspiration to run comes from Karmananda (Jeff Gottlieb) - pictured .  He was the recent president of the Yoga Society of New York - Ananda Ashram and began service to our Guru, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati - many years ago, when he was 19 years old. 

A couple of years ago, Karmananda, now 60, broke his back doing construction.  He told me the story of lying on the hospital bed and wanting to give up on life.  But because of his family's love and inspiration from Lance Armstrong's book on his own recovery (yay Lance Armstrong!) - Karmananda explained in the beautiful, unique way of his - he decided to live.  And ever since the day he decided not to die, he has focused on challenging himself to stay as physically fit as possible - through running, biking and swimming - triathlons.  His drive is very impressive and inspirational to me - so inspiring that we decided to put together a Yoga & Running Weekend at Ananda Ashram (http://www.anandaashram.org) from June 13-15, 2008.

His son, Dave Gottlieb, was also a big part of the healing equation for Karmananda.  It was Dave who first became interested in triathlons and encouraged his father to join him.  The father and son team are leading the way on our runs through the beautiful trails near Ananda Ashram. 

As a yoga teacher over the past eleven years, I've found myself motivating people to move their bodies with love and awareness.  As a young girl, I enjoyed the endorphin rush that came from gymnastics and certain sports - soccer, a couple of 50-mile bike-a-thons, running and dance.  I often wondered why others couldn't get it - that with a little bit of discomfort (exercise) - there's a huge payoff of feeling so utterly good in the body.  But I realized, through studying with Caroline Myss, that I have an archetype - called the Athlete.  And part of my individual bliss is to make sure that the Athlete in me is satisfied through some form of exercise in a regular way. 

But here's the beauty - we all have the Athlete archetype - perhaps not in the same dominant way that that I have it.  But part of having a body means that you must exercise it in some way or form so that it doesn't just atrophy.   And this is why I teach yoga at different levels -  gentle, medium, challenging - for the different times of the day, for the different types of bodies, archetypes, yoga students and people out there who find their bliss in the infinite forms the heavens gave us to express happiness.

Yoga and Medicine

As I write personal statement after another about why it is that I feel the universe is pushing me towards going to medical school, I find myself wondering how to integrate Western and Eastern thought, science and spirituality, medicine and art together into an essay that articulates this BALANCE I feel more and more everyday.

On a certain level, I see that everything is ONE - that we can't have the right brain without the left brain, yet I feel that there are too many in the world - and this is really where the art of communication comes in - who only like to see things through one end of the "looking glass."  When I sit still and become the one-pointed stillness inside, then my perspective of the universe and everything around becomes like a "hologram" - not  a tunnel created by the mind behind my eyes.  And I can't even see a human being as just a body any more without scanning the chakras, energy fields, thought-patterns that they project out of their systems.  And I watch my own reactions to this in others and myself.

Perhaps my entering medical school is not really all about the other - that I have any capacity to provide any "healing" for another human being - is sheer arrogance.  Perhaps entering medical school is really about myself in relation to the "other."  "Physician, heal thyself," is such an old adage - one that rings through these ears.  And I may not know what it's like to be completely "healed," pain shoots through my right leg still even through years and years of therapy for a dislocated knee.  But this pain doesn't stop me from running, jumping and dancing.  As a doctor, would I have more of a voice in helping people through their ailments to seeing who each and everyone of us really are?  Do I have more of a voice as a yoga teacher?  And what is this voice?  So much to explore in all of this.  None of the answers that come satisfy me in the least bit.  And yet, I am divinely content even within the discontentment.

Sun Yantra above courtesy of http://www.sanatansociety.com

The Hottest Yoga Celebs Contest

These are the hottest, most inspiring yoga celebrities to me:  the ageless, deathless, timeless  sages and saints with wisdom and vision that transcend any fashion accessory and latest pop icon's trials and tribulations with drugs and alcohol.  A sweet reader of my blog sent me a link to a YouTube video of his idea of the hottest yoga celebrities -- see below.   It's fascinating to note that the people, current "celebrities," featured all do some type of yoga.  I can only hope that they all meditate and help to increase the positive vibrations in our atmosphere.  Everyone's idea of "hot" varies.  I'm not one for remembering who the latest super star is - but I'd love to be able to share a story or 2 from Shri Ramakrishna, Shri Ramana Maharshi (pictured) , Nityananda, Ananda Mayi Ma, Ammachi, Gehlek Rimpoche, Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati and teachers like these here on this blog and wherever I teach.   Then, I know I've succeeded in my P.R. efforts for the greatest beings who have walked on this planet.  They remind me and you again and again of who we truly are.   

Vote below until April 20th in "The Hottest Yoga Celeb Contest."  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi-jNKt45x0

I vote for the divine within you and me.  I vote for all of you "hotties" out there who spend even one second of the day meditating on the absolute I-AM.

Buddhism and Art with Jewel Heart in Ann Arbor, Michigan

As a prelude to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's weekend teaching Engaging Compassion and Wisdom at Crisler Arena April 19-20, Jewel Heart invites you to join us for this very special evening presentation.

BUDDHISM AND ART

An evening with

Tibetan Master Gelek Rimpoche www.jewelheart.org/general_pages/rimpoche.html 

Musician and Composer Philip Glass www.philipglass.com

Actor/Activist Richard Gere www.gerefoundation.org

Friday, April 18^th 7:30 pm 

at Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI

Tickets: $5 Available through Michigan Union Ticket Office at 734.763.TKTS and Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com

Gelek Rimpoche was trained in Tibet prior to the 1959 Communist Chinese take-over.  As a refugee in India, Rimpoche was among a small group of young lamas who were asked by their teachers (the junior and senior tutors of His Holiness the Dalai Lama) to teach Buddhism in the west. Included were the late Chögyam Trungpa Rimpoche (founder of Naropa Institute and author of numerous books, such as Shambhala: Path of the Sacred Warrior and Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism) and Sögyal Rimpoche (founder of Rigpa and author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying). Gelek Rimpoche is the founder of Jewel Heart, an international Tibetan Buddhist organization, and the author of the bestselling Good Life, Good Death and The Tara Box: Rituals of Protection and Healing from the Female Buddha.

Philip Glass and Richard Gere are both dedicated practitioners and supporters of Tibetan Buddhism.

Philip Glass is a long-time friend of Gelek Rimpoche and chairman of the Jewel Heart Board.  Along with Rimpoche's dear friend, the late Allen Ginsberg, Glass organized and participated in benefits for Jewel Heart. He is a founding member of numerous Tibetan Buddhist organizations. Within the arts, he has collaborated with Tibetan musicians through frequent benefits as well as the movie Kundun and has set ancient Tibetan Buddhist texts to music, as in the Songs of Milarepa.

Through his private foundation, Richard Gere has served as a long time advocate of human rights and charitable causes. He has been awarded honors by amfAR, Amnesty International, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Harvard AIDS Institute. He is also the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award and the prestigious Marian Anderson Award.

Creativity - "Unleashing the Forces Within" by Osho

On one of the last days of teacher training, the teacher trainees and I wanted to get just a little creative.  And here we go - flying with each other's help.  That's me and Jennifer Schmid and the next is Michelle Dawson and Nicki BenDavid.  It is a remarkable wisdom to know that every moment, every second, every tiny breath we breathe - is truly new and beautiful. It is only the mind that gets stuck on patterns of the old, patterns of fear and resistance to change.  Yoga is such a tremendous path for cutting through all the garbage.  And one of the greatest methods in yoga is meditation - the simple silence of the mind.  Quiet everything down into the vast expanse of no - "thing" - ness.

As Osho says in his book Creativity - Unleashing the Forces Within, "You need not go to school to learn creativity.  All that you need is to go withinward and help the ego dissolve.  Don't support it, don't go on strengthening and nourishing it.  And whenever the ego is not, all is truth, all is beautiful.  And then whatsoever happens is good.

"I am not saying that you all will become Picassos or Shakespeares, I am not saying that.  A few of you will become painters, a few of you will become singers, a few of you will become musicians, a few of you dancers -- but that is not the point.  Each of you will become creative in your own way.  You may be a cook, but there will be creativity.  Or you may be a street cleaner, but there will be creativity.

"There will be no boredom.  You will become inventive in small things.  Even in cleaning there will be a kind of worship, a prayer, so whatsoever you do then will have a taste of creativity.  And we don't need many painters -- if all turn out to be painters, life will become very difficult!  We don't need many poets;  we need gardeners too, we need farmers too, and we need all kinds of people.  But each person can be creative.  If he is meditative and egoless, then God starts flowing through him.  According to his capacities, according to his potential, God starts taking forms - then all is good.

"You need not become famous.  A really creative person does not care a bit about becoming famous;  there is no need.  He is so tremendously fulfilled in whatsoever he is doing, he is so content with whatsoever he is and wherever he is, that there is not question of desire.  When you are creative, desires disappear.  When you are creative, ambitions disappear.  When you are creative, you are already that which you always wanted to be."

Jai Shri Osho ki Jai!!!!!!

Stand with Tibet - Sign the petition at Avaaz.org

Please help end violence by following the link below and signing the petition.

Om shantih.  Om Mani Padme Hum.  Om Mani Padme Hum.  Om Mani Padme Hum.

In my darkest hours, I feel the Dalai Lama and the mantra above lift me out of any sorrow.

Hi,

I just signed an urgent petition calling on the Chinese government to respect human rights in Tibet and  dialogue with the Dalai Lama. This is really important, and I thought you might want to take action:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK
    
After decades of repression, the Tibetans are sending out a global cry for change. Unrest is spreading across Tibet and neighbouring regions, and the Chinese regime is right now making a crucial choice between escalating repression or dialogue.

President Hu Jintao needs to hear that "Made in China" exports and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will have the support of the world's people only if he chooses dialogue. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention.  Click below to sign the petition--in just 7 days, the campaign is over half way to the goal of 2 million signatures!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK      
                
Thank you so much for your help - forward this email to friends!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/

Silent Retreat with Joan Suval at Ananda Ashram

Register now by calling Ananda Ashram at 845-782-5575 as this will sell out:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Ann Arbor - April 19&20

NAMASTA Health Insurance for Preventive Care

I received the following e-mail from Namasta regarding my post about Health Insurance for yoga teachers.  I'm impressed by their low fees and large coverage base.  See attached PDF.

Om shantih! --->

Download NAMASTA_Elite_Health_Plan.pdf

Dear Kristina,

Thank you very much for mentioning us on your blog Yogafly.  We 
monitor the web and whenever a website writes about us or mentions us 
we receive a notice.  Therefore, through the power of technology - we 
read what you wrote regarding health insurance for yoga teachers!

We actually have worked very hard with insurers to put together an 
affordable health insurance plan for yoga teachers and other mind-body 
professionals.  We launched it in January of 2007 and it is has been 
well received.  This health plan offering was a result of a survey we 
conducted in 2005 that found that many mind-body professionals do not 
carry health insurance, and that it is obviously a major concern.

The NAMASTA Elite Health Plan is designed to encourage preventive 
care, as well as provide defined reimbursement in the event of a 
serious injury or illness.  I have attached a summary of the plan for 
your review.

It is also very true about the alternate health care that is usually 
not covered by most health plans.

Through NAMASTA membership, we provide free access to an alternative 
and complementary care network of over 20,000 Complementary & 
Alternative Medicine practitioners that includes qualified 
acupuncturists, herbalists, massage therapists, nutritionists, with 
savings of 10 to 30% off of their usual fees.  This is not insurance, 
but rather a discount plan and it can help.

If you have other ideas you would like to share with us, it would be 
much appreciated.

Here is a link to more information on our health plan:

http://www.namasta.com/health_insurance_plan.php

If you are able to post a follow-up with this information on your 
blog, that would be very much appreciated and would help get the word 
out to more yoga teachers!

Thank you again for writing such a thoughtful post.

Best regards,

Margaret