ADDENDUM: To new schedule post

I failed to specify when Kat will be teaching the 7:00 am- and that's on MONDAYS.  I will continue to teach the 7:00 am wednesday class.  My complete schedule is below.

Lots of love,

P 

New Schedule

Fall is starting on Saturday, and with that, come all new classes!

Go Yoga has amazing new teachers and two new express classes.

Quick Fitness' beloved yoga teacher Cass Ghiorse (a student of one of my favorite teachers, Elena Brower) is going on maternity leave and I will be taking over her alignment based classes on Thursday at 9:00 am.  Katherine Colla, a dear friend, is now teaching the 7:00 am vinyasa yoga at Quick Fitness, Moriah Ray starts teaching restorative yoga on Sunday nights, and Hannah Gruber takes over the Wednesday and Saturday classes.

Get on it!  Because practicing yoga is better than _________.

Love,

P 

Yamas and Niyamas, continued

Aparigraha (non attachment)

Whether you just started your practice or you're a long term yogi/yogini, Aparigraha, or non-attachment, is another one of the Yamas (the last of the 5, per Master Patanjali) that is commonly used and heard around classes, blogs and yoga-related articles. 

Non-attachment on the mat starts from the beginning of your practice.  The moment you sit down and close your eyes,  in order to embrace your practice, you must separate yourself from the residues of your day.  We carry around the emotions and responses of our day, whether we know it or not (snappy, anyone?).  Sitting down on your mat before your practice and setting an intention to "let go" is the first step to begin a peaceful and refreshing practice. 

Secondly, non-attachment should be practiced in every pose in two different ways, firstly, removing the need to attach yourself to a result of the pose ("I really want to do that pose the student did") and as result, accepting your body and where it is at this present time.  Competition is part of the human condition, and seeing a room full of yogis, it is hard not to compare or watch those around you and see how they practice.  However, we are all different.  What you may be able to do is not what your neighbor may be able to do, and vice-versa.  Let go of what those around you are doing, and concentrate on your practice. As you do this, you will see that every step of the asana becomes important, rather than the end result. 

To practice Aparigraha outside of the mat is a lifetime goal.  There are monks that meditate on the practice of letting go for hours at a time.  After all, we are almost programmed to use our memories as a puzzle and attach everything in our lives to our experience.  Non-attachment is HARD!  I am sure that you can think of many things you are currently overly attached to (shoes?  that restaurant?  Your boyfriend?)  Non-attachment takes constant practice and effort.  Paying attention to the present is an easy antidote to being overly attached.  Also, being generous to others helps remove that selfishness. 

Lastly, to practice Non-attachment you don't have to give away all your material things and let go of everything, it simply means that if those items were to be taken from you, you'd be accepting of your present.  

With love,

P

P.S. I am super excited to be teaching the 9:00 am Thursday class at Quick Fitness!  If you are local to the Williamsburg/Greenpoint neighborhoods, the yoga community in this gym is a gem, and very hard to find in other gyms.  If you're interested in passing by, please let me know.

Satya

SATYA, or Truth

As mentioned last week, every Thursday at Go Yoga, we will discuss and apply to the asana practice the Yamas and Niyamas, or the "11 commandments of Yoga," as taught by Master Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.  This week, we will discuss Satya, or truth, and how it applies to our practice. 

In our every day practice, being truthful comes in numerous levels.  

Firstly, not lying.  Very simple.  Even JC taught us this.  If you do not lie, your mind is calm. Period.  Try telling a lie and having to keep up the lie.  It's exhausting.... 

Secondly, being true to oneself.  How does one achieve that?  By being truthful in our every day actions, so that all that comes from within us is true.  Having a good intention, being honest to oneself when it comes to our actions. Not lying to yourself....

For example, are you giving that gift to someone because you mean it, or because you would like somehting in return?  Is your smile real?  If you've taken a yoga class, most likely you have heard teachers say that everything should come from a place of love, or the heart. This is Satya, folks.  When you love, you do good deeds for those you love.  Your life is truthful.  

Applying truth to your intentions and every day deeds, one becomes clear about where one is coming from, finding full integrity within oneself.  One does not have to worry about anything, for in your conscience, you know you've done well....  

Lastly, in our asana practice, Satya can be applied in so many different ways.  I would like to think that satya should be approached in the mat by maintaining a peaceful practice.  Surrendering to how you feel, surrendering to your body and how it is at that moment, allowing the dialogue in your head to conclude to that- PEACE....   Being ok..  

Truthfully accepting where you are at the moment. 

I discuss the last part in my classes a lot for it took me years to have that "whatever" attitude.  It's not an easy attitude to get... And if you have a major injury or a major crisis going on in life, this latter manner of practicing truth is almost impossible.  Your mind barely cooperates...   

I once practiced yoga right after a break up.  I was on the verge of tears the entire time and felt crappy about "wasting" a yoga class.  Should I have surrendered, and cried, I probably would have enjoyed the yoga class.   Should I have been ok with the fact that I was sad, giving my emotion a label, so I can accept it, would have been the key.  Instead, I was like "ok, I'll take the class, I'm fine."  I was avoiding how I was feeling.  Denying myself of that truth...  

In conclusion, the first two ways to practice Satya are easy, they just need to be watched and approached as a practice, in literal meaning.   The last one- surrendering where we are, in the mat or off, is much harder.  But if we have been honest and loving in our everyday life, at least we have that part of us which we can surrender to and we know it's a good place.   Surrendering to the moment, becomes a little easier.  

With lots of love,

P  

Introducing AHIMSA

Ahimsa, or non-violence, in Sanskrit

In the Yoga Sutras by Master Patanjali, Master Patanjali describes the Yamas (social disciplines) and Niyamas (self disciplines)  or what I like to call  the 11 Commandments of Yoga.  Ahimsa, or non violence, is the first of the Yamas.

Ahimsa is a multi layered term.  It means to be non violent in thoughts, actions and words.  It is a constant practice that involves how you interact with others and yourself.

Most people that are familiar with this term have heard it from teachers and styles of yoga that suggest adopting a vegetarian lifestyle as part of being a yogi.   Lots of yogis and yoginis take on being a vegetarian to avoid eating "violently" and as a manner to practice non-violence in their everyday life.

That form of practicing ahimsa did not work for me.  I drooled at the sight of a steak, and I felt weak and hungry all the time during my time as a vegetarian. So I went back to eating meat and have since done so.  

My real practice for Ahimsa started during my asana practice.  I would set an intentions at the beginning of class to listen to my body and mind, and to ensure that every pose I did was a gesture of non-violence.  In other words, to forget that crazy twist that left me gasping for air, to stop staring at others, to stop judging my body. It was a rewarding and nurturing way to practice.  And it worked.

Outside of the mat, Ahimsa proved much more challenging.  During a recent difficult period in my life, my friend and life coach Monica Park told me that I needed to speak to myself as if I was speaking to a vulnerable and sensitive friend, which at that moment, it's how I felt. Monica said that I should listen to myself, and write down how many times I was saying mean things to myself.  After doing this exercise,  I found that I was constantly telling myself the most HORRID things!  Some of the many are as follows:

- My last class sucked.
- That playlist sucked.
-  I look terrible in (insert item of clothing)
- I am a mean friend.
- I am weak and sensitive
- I am whiny
- I hate being sad.

During this difficult time of my life, and always, I was being violent with myself.

Monica helped me work on those issues.  "How can you be good to yourself today" she would tell me.

So I started by reassuring myself that I am loved, that I am a good teacher, friend, and girlfriend, roommate, etc etc. As corny as it sounds, telling yourself these words do make a difference.  I was constantly reminding myself of my goodness and I started to believe what I was saying.  I was being so nice to ME.  Ahimsa, my friends... Ahimsa.

This week we will practice Ahimsa on the mat.  Hopefully you will be able to find a way to practice Ahimsa off the mat, just the way that I did.

With love,

P



  

Summer reading list

When on the beach!

- Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff (for studying)

- In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (leisure and suspense)

- Anything by his Holiness the Dalai Lama. I'm reading "Healing Anger." You should know some basics of Buddhism to read this.

- Let the Right One In (vampire tale for adults)

- Daily Readings from Everyday a Friday by Joel Osteen. although Osteen appeals to a mostly Christian audience, he is amazing at pointing out the basics of being a good person in an universal language. Those of us that know that God has many names and forms will appreciate this book. It touches on the basics of living your life in a manner that will make you and those around you happy. Surprise nice read.

What are You reading?

With love,

P

This week

I will be on vacation this week, this year my family and I are going to Mexico! Thus all my classes are subbed at Quick Fitness and at Go Yoga.

Happy Summer!

Love,

P