The Joy of Less    By: Pico Iyer

"The beat of my heart has grown deeper, more active and yet more peaceful, and it is as if I were all the time storing up inner riches...My [life] is one long sequence of inner miracles."  The young Dutchwoman Etty Hillesum wrote that in a Nazi transit camp in 1943, on her way to her death at Auschwitz two months later.  Towards the end of his life, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen," though by then he had already lost his father when he was 7, his first wife when she was 20 and his first son, aged 5.

The Yoga Poster

theyogaposter.com

The Disciplined Pursuit of Less  By: Greg McKeown

It's all about being courageous -George Lois

Love & Prayers to the families of Newtown, CT and Planet Earth.  May there be more love, compassion and empathy in our communities.

YOGAWOMAN Theatrical Trailer

r.i.p. Ravi Shankar

The Fuzz Speech By: Gil Hedley

When you sleep at night the interfaces between your muscles grow "fuzz" which limits movement.  Stretching helps release the fuzz and allows for greater mobility and ease.

Madisyn Taylor is the co-founder and editor in chief of the inspirational Website Daily Om.  Sign-up for the Daily Om 

e-newsletter for bits of wisdom on health and spirit.

Brooklyn Yoga Collective

Brooklyn Yoga Collective Schedule

Are you looking for a yoga retreat ?

List of companies that organize yoga retreats around the world :

• Alchemy Tours

• The Travel Yogi

• Solyoga Trips

• Wanderlust Festival

• One Hundred Skies

Upcoming retreats in 2013:

Tulum, Mexico with Sarah & Ruth of Shambhala Yoga & Dance

Isla Mujeres, Mexico with Marisa & Barbu

Costa Rica with Alan Finger/ Sarah Platt Finger

Kula Yoga Project Retreats

Intentions of a Yoga Agent

Maria Popova  brings you..."Brain Pickings your LEGO treasure chest, full of pieces across art, design, science, technology, philosophy, history, politics, psychology, sociology, ecology, anthropology, you-name-itology.  Pieces that enrich your mental pool of resources and empower you to combine them into original concepts that are stronger, smarter, richer, deeper, and more impactful.  Please enjoy."   

Secrets of successful yoga studios, and tactics to examine ideas that suck -    by: Penelope Trunk

Annie Leonard: Story of Stuff Project

Annie Leonard is rocking it at The Story of Stuff Project !

Other stories to contemplate:

Story of Broke

Story of Citizens United

Story of Cosmetics

Story of Bottled Water

Story of Cap & Trade

Handmade Jewelry by Szilvia Gogh

As seen at the green in bklyn store on Myrtle Ave.

9 Yoga Retreats near NYC

9 Yoga Retreats near NYC by offMetro

Passion is not something you follow.  It's something that will follow you as you put in the hard work to become valuable to the world.

                                                       - cal newport

                                     

TED Talk w/ Yoga Instructor, Stephanie Snyder

Stephanie Snyder shares a personal story of a suicide attempt in her 20s and how yoga helped transform her life.

"What you hide from the world owns everything you do.  Your most successful existence will come from making friends with your broken places and being of service.  Know yourself and you will know what your life's work is meant to be."

my yoga online : 25 days of free classes this december

My Yoga Online is offering 25 days of free classes this December.  Sign up here! :)

good life project

Jonathan Fields sits down with author and meditation teacher, Susan Piver to discuss mindfulness, serendipity and the unplanned life.

My favorite quote from the interview :
The only possible spiritual path is your own experience.

heart opening 30 min flow w/ ekhart yoga - do it.

Bumper sticker reads : Namaste.  Love People. Cook them good food.

:)

matthew sanford

Matthew Sanford was paralyzed in a car accident from the chest down at the age of 13.  He has dedicated his life to teaching yoga to the disabled and pioneering for a new healthcare system that doesn't take years to reconnect mind and body.

savasana: corpse pose

Michael Stone looks at corpse pose - read the full article here.

Savasana is the art of practicing our death, little by little, every day.  "If student does not get up from savasana," says Pattabhi Jois, "or lifting student up (and he/she) is like a stiff board, savasana is correct."  The aim of yoga practice in daily life is to live vividly from moment to moment without being stuck in thinking or the idea of not-thinking.  Wood floor, open window, blanket, cushion, t-shirt, wool socks -- there is something profound just here.  We are not trying to create an experience; we are making room for experience to happen.  Experience, like the present moment, is always waiting for a place to happen.  The architecture of savasana requires us to continually let the ground we are lying down on, literally the ground of our thoughts and our bodies, to fall away, until the constructs that frame our experience pass on.  This is an act of both dying and being born.  Our imagination makes us very busy exploring the world of choices.  In the end, there will be no choice, just death.  So in the center of your bumbling human life, where you are always looking around for something better, notice how the present moment is just a small death away.  

interview w/ paula lynch

what if ?

what if religion was each other?

if our practice was our life?

if prayer was our words?

what if the temple was the earth?

if forests were our church?

if holy water - the rivers, lakes, and oceans?

what if meditation was our relationships?

if the teacher was life?

if wisdom was self-knowledge?

if love was the center of our being?

                                                         - a poem by ganga white

bus mates

I live in Brooklyn, NY and my family lives in Gaithersburg, MD.  For the past 10 years, I have taken the bus back n' forth between the two states countless times.  I'm a bus veteran.  Bus aficionada.  I know my buses well.  I have taken the dangerous Fung-Wa bus from Chinatown, Megabus to Baltimore, Vamoose Bus and Tripper Bus to Bethesda.  I've seen the amenities of bus offerings grow and evolve over the years.  I often joke with my friends about random encounters with strangers on the bus but secretly love it.  Bus diaries, I call it.  Sometimes, the solo ride to and fro will be filled with quiet gazing out the window with my ipod and books.  Other times, I find myself in a 4 hour conversation with my bus seat mate discussing the state of the world.  Travel in any capacity is amazing.  It momentarily makes you more present, vulnerable and open to being inspired by your surroundings.  Get to know your bus mates.

What's your Dosha?

In Ayurvedic Science it is believed that the mind/body physiology is made up of three doshas : pitta, kapha, and pitta.  Each person has a unique proportion of these three doshas.  Lissa Coffey has a simple quiz that helps you determine your dosha here!

Yoga Makaranda

or

Yoga Saram

(The Essence of Yoga)

First Part

Sri T. Krishnamacharya

Mysore Samasthan Acharya

by: mantraBand

hannah brencher : love letters to strangers

Hannah Brencher writes love letters to strangers.  She strongly believes in the power of pen and paper and started a global initiative that encourages strangers to exchange love letters. Poetic.

human anatomy

6 Experts weigh-in on antomy & yoga connection on YogaDork

7 chakras

7 Chakras for Beginners by: MindBodyGreen

1.  root:  feeling grounded/base of spine in tailbone area/survival

2.  sacral:  ability to accept others and new experiences/lower abdomen/sense of abundance, pleasure, sexuality

3.  solar plexus:  confidence and in-control of our lives/upper abdomen & stomach/self-worth, self-esteem

4.  heart: ability to love/center of chest above heart/love, joy, inner peace

5.  throat:  ability to communicate/throat/communication, self-expression of feelings, the truth

6.  third eye:  ability to focus and see the big picture/forehead between the eyes/intuition, imagination, wisdom

7.  crown: ability to be fully connected spiritually/top of head/inner & outer beauty, pure bliss

happy diwali ~

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

"just coloring inside the lines won't help you succeed.  more esoteric character strengths like optimism and zest are things that can be taught and are also predictive of success."

                                        ~ paul tough

     

yoga workshops in new york city by studio:

genny kapular

• anatomy workshop, tuesdays 5:30-7:00pm

jivamukti yoga studio

• november monthly inversion workshop 11.10 6-8:30pm
• headstand conditioning mini workshop  11.18 8-9:00pm
• december monthly inversion workshop 12.9  6-8:30pm

ishta yoga

• joythi: finding your joyful inner light w/michael bartelle 11.8 6:30-8:30pm
• restorative yoga nidra workshop to balance muladhara chakra w/mona anand 11.9 2-4:00pm
• depths of sa ham kriya with alan finger 11.10 9-11:00am
• world of medicinal grade essential oils, intro w/catherine garro  11.11 2-3:30pm
• yoga and the shoulder w/dr. loren fishman and cathy lilly 11.15 7:30-9:30pm
• master class : inversion clinic w/ marco rojas 11.18 9-11am
• essential oils : natural immune booster w/catherine garro 11.29 7:30-9:30pm

laughing lotus nyc

• 3 week beginners series  nov.10,17 & dec. 1   3-4:30pm
• 3 week lotus meditation series dec. 1, 8 & 15  3-4:30pm
• monthly inversion workshop 12.2 2:30-4:30pm
• ayurveda : vata immersion season 12.8 2:30-7:30pm
• holiday restorative relief & aromatherapy 12.9 2-4:30pm
• rodney lee & colleen saidman 12.19 6:30-8:30pm
• rasa restorative 1/25-1/27 fri-sun

the breathing project

• anatomy and breathing clinic, wednesday's 4:15-6:00pm  free*

iyengar nyc

dharma yoga center 

yoga works

• anatomy & movement w/paula lynch  11.10 1:30-5:30pm
• yin yoga journey series 11.11-12.9 2:15-3:45pm
• arm balances 12.1 1:30-4:30pm

sacred sound yoga

• detox & relax post thanksgiving workshop 11/24 3-5pm
• yoga immersion w/fergus higgins 12/2 1:45pm-5:15pm
• chaturanga: a workshop w/ sara nicole baxley 12/9 2-4:00pm

teaching this thurs. at cynergy spa in ft.greene ~

Yoga class this Thursday night 11/8 7-8:15pm at

Cynergy Spa

87 Ft. Greene Place

Brooklyn, NY 11217

Limited Space. RSVP to reserve a spot.

email: digyoga@gmail.com

November 2012 : Ujjayi Breathing

Hello Friends,

Get your vote on. ~

I hope this note finds you and your loved ones safe midst the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  St. Jacobi Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn is a hub for distribution of supplies and volunteers needed at this time.

November Focus:  Ujjayi Breathing

Yoga instructors often guide you to breathe in/out of your nose in class with your lips sealed.  Ujjayi or 'victorious breath' invigorates your practice.

Why?

• The nose/sinuses warms and filters the air as it enters your lungs
• Sinuses produce nitric oxide when air passes through them
• Nitric Oxide kills bacteria and stimulates tissue for better exchange of gases between blood/air
• Expands the nostrils, which are linked to emotions
• Ujjaji breathing expands your chest and stimulates confidence and communicates power (ie. sunken chest vs. lifted heart)

References

Yoga Anatomy, Leslie Kaminoff

Mid Walsh Blog, Dancing Crow Yoga

Respiration - 3D

Hurricane Sandy Relief

Hub for Supplies & Volunteers:
St.Jacobi Church
5406 4th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
Contact: 347-470-4192

stimulate your kidneys with this yoga practice -- by: ekhart yoga

what is therapeutic yoga?

by:  Cheri Clampett

(blend of restorative poses, gentle yoga & breathwork)

paul grilley : prana & breath

Paul Grilley discusses Prana and Breath in this clip. Part 1/7

-  Prana = life force/life energy
-  Prana makes you breathe and controls all of our physiology
-  Yoga exploits the relationship between prana & breath
-  We have voluntary control over our breath
-  We can influence our breath: stop it, change the rhythm
-  Breath is easy access to prana
-  Prana moves the muscles of body that draws air in
-  Prana makes us exhale
-  Prana beats the heart and acts on the digestive functions
-  Prana moves/flows the nerves and coordinates the activity of the chakras
-  Breath is an easy, obvious and traditional access to prana
-  Prana is the physical energy we are trying to manipulate through the breath
-  We are trying to feel prana in our bodies by manipulating our breath
-  Three Breathing Postures: Neutral, Expanded and Contracted
-  Natural elasticity in the rib-cage and abdominal section
-  We are looking to get to a neutral state -- calmness
-  If we can conserve prana, gather it, hold it to a chakra - it will change
-  Prana will change and transform to an astral awakening

October 2012: Inversions & Take Root

photo by:

taraedenyoga

Hello Friends,

We are entering into holiday season.  What are you gonna be this Halloween? Get festive!

I have a new yoga class in Cobble Hill at an absolute adorable studio (Take Root) that offers intimate yoga classes for small groups.  Come by!!

Take Root - Wed - 9:30-10:45am 

October Focus: Inversions

What are the benefits of inverting in yoga practice?

• Improves your circulation.  Allows your body to work with gravity to ease the circulation process.
• Calms the mind
• Strengthens your core
• Stimulates your lymphatic system which is responsible for waste removal, immune system response, and fluid balance.
• Stimulates pituitary gland

Inversions we will explore:

• Halasana (Plough pose)
• Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand)
• Viparita Karani (Legs up the Wall)
• Sirasana (Headstand)

genny kapuler

body pH

Marcus Felicetti shares thoughts on balancing body pH and all your bodily systems in this article!

Follow the wandering, the distraction, find out why the mind has wandered; pursue it, go into it fully.  When the distraction is completely understood, then that particular distraction is gone.  When another comes, pursue it also.

                                                                                                     -  Jiddu Krishnamurti

your brain waves on meditation

How Sound and Light Hack the Brain

 " The brain produces varying proportions of brain wave types, depending on its current levels of relaxation, focus, and other mental states.  Each type of wave has its own characteristic frequency range, which can be read by electroencephalography.  Many people's brain waves will synchronize to lights and sounds pulsing at brain wave frequencies, and this makes the brain change its state --- a process called "entrainment."  By playing sequences of pulses into your eyes and ears, you can program your brain to follow any brain wave experience your like."

                                                                                             - MAKE

the happy movie

learnvest : yoga at the workplace 

yoga sutras of patanjali - audio in sanskrit

gil hedley : exquisite lungs breathing

the following clip is graphic and includes images of human cadavers

amy matthews on bones vs. muscles

what is a breath centered practice? ~ leslie kaminoff

September 2012 : Origin of breath

September!

Septem in latin means seventh.  September was actually the seventh month in the Roman calendar until 46 BC - random fact for you all.  Thank you, Wikipedia!

Fall is almost here.  Yes, you still officially have until Sept. 22.  Another season change and timely opportunity for you to take stock, clean out and start anew.

September Focus :  Origin of Breath

In yoga class, you may find a heavy emphasis placed on the breath.  Why?

The breath helps link the body and mind, it helps center one into the present moment.

The yoga asanas or shapes that we move into within our practice allows an opportunity to explore sensations that arise.  The breath informs the body.

When you elongate the length of the inhale and exhale while in motion, the elasticity of muscles increases.

Most of us are shallow breathers, using only a small percentage of the lungs and depriving the body of oxygen and binding stagnant air in the lungs.

More on the breath this month.

great yin yoga class

organs in movement

Organs provide us with our sense of volume and organic authenticity.  They are the primary habitats for our emotions, aspirations, and memories of our inner reactions to our personal histories.

Whereas our external skeletal muscular system guides our external movement through space, organs occupy our inner space and therefore guide our internal movement.  The organs express our inner motivations; our skeletal muscular system provides the structure of their outward expression.  Our bones align and move us through the environment; our organs provide the internal integrity for that alignment.  Muscles provide the visible forces for the mobility of our bones; organs provide the internal patterning that contributes to the organization and patterning of muscular coordination.

                                                                                      ~ bonnie bainbridge cohen 

92 year-old Yoga Master, Porchon Lynch

August 2012 : Savasana

Hello Friends,

August is here.  The last lovely weeks of summer are upon us!  The city seems a bit quiet and I hope you are enjoying the peace.

I recently joined BYC (beautiful space) on Franklin Ave. in Brooklyn with 2 new classes..come by.

*  Tues  12:00pm

*  Thurs  6:30pm

This month we focus on Savasana

Yoga class can be seen as form of ritual.  Each class offers an opening sequence of asana (postures) and an ending with deep relaxation allowing the body to absorb and integrate the benefits of movement.

Yoga traditions describe savasana (corpse pose) as the most important posture of yoga.  It is suggested to stay in this relaxing pose for up to 20-30min, but is often cut short in class.

Michael Stone delves into Savasana here in this great read...Enjoy!

brooklyn yoga collective

About BYC

The Brooklyn Yoga Collective. We are a diverse group of yoga practitioners and educators with unique backgrounds and stylistic approaches to yoga.  Our collective focus includes classical Hatha, Iyengar, and Vinyasa flow traditions.  While our classes and teaching styles may vary considerably, BYC is tied together by our bold dedication to sharing the teachings and benefits of yoga in a way that is accessible to everyone.  We encourage you to explore all of our classes to find which works best for you.

7 Day BYC Schedule is LIVE... 

Join me :  

Tues 12pm

Thurs 4:30pm

shake the dust - anis mojgani

emotions & back pain

Leslie Kaminoff explains how suppressing emotions is an active process that we partake in within the body.

"We dampen the sensory spaces in our system where the emotions are experienced."

Suppressed breath = Suppressed emotions

Why yoga helps ?   Your mind, breath, and body are being asked to do the same-thing at the same time in a conscious integrated way.

July 2012: Shamatha Meditation

Hello Friends,

Hope you are enjoying the summer heat!

Students have been inquiring more and more about sitting meditation and where/how to practice.  You can incorporate meditation practice into your daily routine at home.  Sitting for 5, 10, 15 minutes daily can help relieve stress.  The key is discipline and consistency in practice.

Yoga asanas (postures) are a gateway to ease the body and help prepare for meditation.

This month we will incorporate sitting meditation into our practice.

Yoga Journal is offering a 28 day meditation revolution guided by Sally Kempton this month. Sign up here!

July Focus: Shamatha or Mindfulness Meditation

David Nichtern instructs you for simple meditation you can practice at home in this Huffington post article. 

Cliff notes..

1.  Take your seat - either on a cushion or a chair with your back in an upright position

2.  Bring attention to your breathing... inhale/exhale...follow the breath

3.  When a thought arises, label it thinking and bring awareness back to your breath 

the fuzz speech

"Over and over again, people come to me, and they tell me, You just don't know how strong I am.  They say "strength" and I want to hear "balance."  The strength idea has effort in it; this is not what I am looking for.  Strength that has effort in it is not what you need; you need the strength that is the result of ease.

                                                                                           - Ida Rolf

excerpt from 'soul of money' by lynne twist

We think we live in the world.  We think we live in a set of circumstances, but we don't.

We live in a conversation about the world and our conversation about the circumstances.

When we're in a conversation about fear and terror, about revenge and anger and retribution, jealousy and envy and comparison, then that is the world we inhabit.

If we're in a conversation about possibility, a conversation about gratitude and appreciation for the things in front of us, then that's the world we inhabit.  

I used to think that the words we say simply represent our inner thought expressed.  Experience has taught me that it is also true that the words we say create our thoughts and our experience, and even our world. 

The conversation we have with ourselves and with others -- the thoughts that grip our attention ---- has enormous power over how we feel, what we experience, and how we see the world in that moment.

what captures your attention controls your life

by: kare anderson

harvard business review

a new studio for BYC

 

a new community studio in brooklyn.  watch * join * support

anatomic pose viewer

View the yoga asana from the inside out in this Anatomic Pose Viewer courtesy of Bandha Yoga

Yoga Made Me A Better CEO 

by: Stanton Kawer

The meditative practice can strengthen a chief executive's--and an organization's--mind, body and spirit.

Forbes.com

headspace animation : mind

Andy Puddicombe's venture Get Some Headspace in the UK shares  method/ technique/science on meditation.  Here is a fun animated video on the mind. 

apanasana (knees to chest) - simple healing pose

Leslie Kaminoff shares how and why the very simple pose of Apanasana is advised to folks with a variety of health ailments at Krishnmacharya's yoga therapy center in India.

"Yoga therapy is 99% waste removal" -Desikachar

sunscreen speech

test your down dog

yoga breakdancing

good bits

How much is Enough ?  by : Elizabeth Lesser


The Story of Stuff Project


What grows between your muscles while you sleep?  Gil Hedley shows you fuzz on a human cadaver


Looking into Corpse pose (Savasana) with Michael Stone


Meryl Streep shares her wisdom to the class of 2010 at Barnard 


Ms. Porchon Lynch is a 92 year old yoga master


Love Astrology ? Check, the Cosmic Path


David Nichtern guides you in simple steps in Taking your Seat in Meditation


Bandha yoga shows you yoga asanas from the inside out in  the anatomic pose viewer


Sarah Miller shares a funny yoga teacher view in Annoying? Yoga? Surely not


Why is Downward Dog so good for you? AND Are you doing Down Dog correctly?


Synchronicity by Sura