Monthly Archives: September 2013

RETREAT!!!

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis!!! Please enjoy and support the wonderful instructors that I have lined up to sub my classes while on retreat!!! I will be posting pictures of our retreat activities on the YFL facebook page, so watch for those!!! As always, we look forward to seeing you on the mat often.—Namaste’, Deb

RELAX, RENEW, AND RESTORE WEEK

HAPPY FALL YOGIS AND YOGINIS!!! This week we will emphasize restoration as we relax, renew, and restore with the Root Salutation, 7th Quigong Brocade, and a multitude of supported restorative asanas. The Sanskrit focus is SMRITI, which means “Mindfulness”, “To Recollect”, “To Remember”. This week’s mudra is MATANGI which strengthens the breath impulse in the solar plexus stimulating the kidneys, heart, stomach, spleen, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Leslie’s NEW Yoga Basics: Anusara Style begins tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. PLEASE NOTE that Leslie’s Power of Props workshop will be postponed. It will NOT be held this Saturday, 9-28-13. The new dates will be listed ASAP. Enjoy this beautiful Fall weather, and come on in for some restoration!!! We would love to see you on the mat this week!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Welcome Fall Equinox

Good morning Yogis and Yoginis!!!  Remember, you can’t have a Friday without a Monday!!!  This week we will usher in the Fall Equinox with a “Back to Basics” practice. We will practice in the Mandala formation with our mats, and do multiple Sun Salutations to honor the seasonal change.  Our mudra focus is Vajra for promoting good circulation, and our Sanskrit focus is Vastu=harmony with nature. We also have many special events coming up at YFL: 9/28: Power of Props w/ Leslie, 10/5: Pranayama workshop #2 w/ Sophie, 10/25: Yoga-Hike to Mt. Rubidoux w/ Deb, 11/2: Fall into Winter retreat w/Deb. Details may be found on the website, and you may register by phone or email, or of course at the studio. The NEW FALL SCHEDULE starts next Monday, 9/23, and will feature a new class offering with Leslie. It will be offered on Tuesdays from 10:30-11:45: Yoga Basics: Anusara Style. Come on in to YFL, and get your week started off the right way!!!—Namaste’,Deb

LET’S DO THE TWIST

GOOD MONDAY MORNING YOGIS AND YOGINIS!!! This week we will explore the importance of twisting through asana practice. Twists ignite the Vayu (life breath) in our belly, and activates prana and all the body’s systems. Twisting is particularly important in aiding good digestion. This week’s Sansrkit focus is Vayu, and our mudra is Pran: this mudra improves our vitality and vision, and reduces fatigue and nervousness. We will explore the 5th brocade of Quigong. Come on into YFL  and let’s twist together!!!—Namaste’, Deb

“OLD SCHOOL YOGA”

I began taking yoga in 2001, and immediately fell in love with the profound peace that the practice provided. I soon discovered that my mind and body craved this experience as often as possible, and that this wonderful adventure spilled over into my work, home, and relationships. People began to observe a transformation about me both physically and emotionally, and all in positive ways.

Originally, in the ‘good old days’ yoga was practiced without incense, music, or chic yoga togs. I practiced yoga with discipline, and then eventually began teaching yoga to share calm, tranquility, and peace. I was not into the yoga “scene”. I just relished the opportunity to be quiet and mindful, to slow down for an hour and half as often per week as possible. Classes emphasized moving slowly, mindful of each micromovement that made up each asana. We lingered in the poses, as we allowed our bodies to settle in to the point where we no longer were doing the pose, but being the pose. We came to practice even though the poses were sometimes challenging, we left feeling a little smoother, a little quieter, a little happier than when we arrived.

Soon yoga practice and yoga teaching began to evolve. It picked up the pace in order to fit into busy Western culture. Things sped up, we turned up the volume, we turned up the heat, we turned up the fashion quotient, and Savasana, once a 10-15 minute respite, was reduced to 5 minutes or less, an afterthought.

I am thrilled that yoga has gotten the widespread recognition that it deserves, but I want to preserve the simplicity of the ‘good old days’. I love presenting slow-paced classes with gentle music allowing practitioners to hear the sound of their collective breathing, amidst comfortable temperatures, dressed in clothes for comfort not style. For me, yoga is not about burning calories, sweating or getting my buttocks kicked!!! That already happens in life, as most of us are overstimulated, over committed, and overly distracted. For me, yoga practice and yoga teaching, are times to replenish and relax my edgy nervous system. Yes, I admit it, I teach from my own practice, and although I touch a much smaller population than the mainstream loud, fast, kick-buttocks style attracts, there are still many people who, like me, crave calm, quiet, non-competitive practice.

I teach old school yoga because that is the yoga that I love. It is my passion. My simple, slow-paced practice never fails to clear my mind and body, to make me feel calm, clean, energetic and easeful. It sets me up to meet my days with a deep core of peace and clarity. As for fast paced exercise, heat, and sweat, well, I get that with my walks and hikes, as well as the side benefit of being with nature!!!—Namaste’, Deb

9/3-9/7 The Practice

This week the practitioner has a voice in the direction that class will take!!! Each student will cast a vote for either a practice with hand weights, or a traditional yin style practice. A coin toss will break a tie!!! Deb will introduce yet another new mudra, and the fourth brocade of Quigong. Sophie’s first of five workshops on Pranayama begins this Saturday, 9/7, from 2-3:30 p.m., and the cost is just $15 for one session, or $65 prepaid for all five sessions. Enjoy the September YFL newsletter, and come join us on the mat, beat the heat, and rejuvenate!!! We look forward to seeing you very soon. My next post will be about why I teach Old School Yoga, so stay tuned.—Namaste’, Deb