My trip is now just about a month away, and I am getting excited with thoughts of foreign travel and experiments with supreme health and daily ritual. Yay!!! Check out the training I will be attending:
First Year Training: Level 1: The Living Art of Personal Practice and Teaching
Our philosophy on "teacher training:" In order to be an authentic teacher of Ashtanga Yoga, you must first cultivate your own internal power and perception through your own personal practice, otherwise you are merely passing on techniques and methods that are just information-oriented and lifeless. If they are not your own embodied experience, you won't be able to fully communicate it to others, but simply repeating what you heard or read. This 3-4 year training will help facilitate a deeper understanding of the core principles of Ashtanga Yoga, along with the supplementary studies of Ayurveda and Tantra. This course will be individually paced, similar to the "Mysore" method of progressing. We'll pace the material according to your level of comprehension. This will empower you to dive deeper into your own practice and life. In doing this you'll be fully living what you're teaching. You will also get a thorough understanding of Ayurveda and Tantra. We will go over in detail the principles and practices of these living arts. In these teachings of Ayurveda and Tantra we'll focus on how to choose the best foods, herbs, asana practice, relationships, etc. for you. You will learn how to master your sexual energy and will be able to determine what lifestyle practices serve you best. Heather and I have a combined 50 years of practice and teaching of these methods. We both have studied directly with the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, of Mysore, India. I have studied for over 30 years, and Heather has 20 years, and we are still discovering everyday something new about our practice and life! We both have extensive studies in many healing arts. I also studied with the renown Ayurvedic Doctor Vasant Lad for over 3 years. I completed the full course of Ayurvedic studies along with clinical practices which makes me a certified Practitioner of this Science of Life and Living. For further info, check our Bio Page.
Learning the system of Ashtanga Yoga takes years of dedication and consistent study (Samadhi Pada/Sutra 14). You can't get this in a one month or even in a 200-500 hour "Yoga Alliance" training! It must be transmitted teacher to student over a long period of time. We need to get to know you, your practice and your lifestyle. We will only give our recommendation for teaching to those students/teachers who we feel are completely ready. You will feel confident in your knowing and ability to teach others this method at the end of the course. You will walk away from this fully empowered and vibrantly healthy. If for some reason you feel this is not for you to continue on with the 2nd Year, it will still be a rewarding experience. If you do decide you want to carry on with the training and we feel you are ready, you can join us for the 2nd Year of the Teacher Training. You will have us as a life-long support in your journey teaching. We'll continue to cultivate these living arts together. We want to nurture those who have a sincere desire to carry on these life-long traditions.
*Required interview and references........limited to 26 students.
Our intention is to build a global community of fully Conscious Human Beings who want to celebrate their lives together and share the arts of Ashtanga Yoga, Ayurveda and Tantra.
Class topics will include:
The Principles of Ashtanga Yoga: Breath: essential bridge for vitality, longevity and beyond... Bandha: the Master Key...the physical and energetic missing link Internal Explorations: Gravity/Alignment for unleashing your vertical energy etc...
Ayurveda in-depth: Principles and practices of this science of life and living will include: Nutrition/Lifestyle/Yoga Therapy etc...
Yoga Therapy: How to individualize a person's practice, to help them gain the most out of it, the art of modification for Yoga Therapy
Adjustments: How to safely and correctly adjust an individual, within the system of Ashtanga Yoga to increase energy and awareness
Injuries: Learning rehabilitation techniques within the practice, as well as how to avoid them!
Patanjali's Yoga sutras: The eight limbs and how they apply to your life and living
Pranayama and Meditation: How to develop these within your Ashtanga practice
Esoteric Anatomy: How to understand the body in practice physically and teaching from an energetic standpoint
Wholistic Living Classes: Cooking and how food relates to practice; fasting/cleansing; lifestyle practices etc...
Tantric meditations for channeling all the vital juicy energy from your Ashtanga asana practice along with
How to enjoy your sexual energy (Men: the ability to have orgasm without ejaculating...Women: how to feel even more orgasmic)
Both sexes will develop the ability to feel more in every arena of life and living!
More topics TBA...
Schedule for training, March 1st-26th, 2010
Level 1: First month of a 3-4 year program includes Mysore classes everyday except Saturday, new moon (15th) and full moon (30th)
The Vedas tell us that our tissues remember their preordained functions, just as the food we eat remembers its structure and purpose and conveys that information to our bodies. Cosmic memory is held and refined by the genetic code, the DNA, or molecular structure of all life forms. We call our own genetic memories into consciousness and honor them by the foods we choose and how we prepare them, how we treat the land, how we breathe, and how we listen to ourselves and the living universe around us. The key to healing our physical, psychological, and spiritual maladies is through the evocation of these genetic or ancestral memories that are imprinted into our individual body-mind and spirit.
I am very excited to be offering Private Lessons in
How to Therapeutically Massage your Partner
Learn Simple Techniques and a full body massage routine based On Swedish Massage, Lomi-Lomi, Trigger Point Therapy, Structural Integration and Shiatsu. Learn to give and receive nurturing, intentional touch with your partner in this 90 Minute to 2 hour private class at my studio. $250/per couple, includes instruction guide and all supplies.
Check it! I will be spending the month of March on the splendid Island of Bali. I will be staying in the Ubud Area and spending time studying with two of my teachers: Prem and Heather, http://www.ashtangaworld.com I will be available for sessions a few days per week too. I am looking for accommodations now, if you know of any place, please pass on the info!
"I was somewhat desperate when I made my decision to be Rolfed. I had a lot of problems with spasms in my back and neck. I'd tried all kinds of things over the years to alleviate the problem and the pain I was suffering. I'm in the real estate business and that causes a lot of tension. Some people handle it better than others, and I guess I'm not real good at handling stress. We all have spots where tension goes. Mine goes right to my upper back and neck.
It took me sometime to figure that out, but now I know what to look for and can see where it's coming from. I probably had one or two more Rolfing sessions than the norm, because the muscles were so tight in my back and neck and Biah had more difficult time.
Throughout the entire period of the Rolfing Process, I was looking more for relief from the physical pain I was suffering rather than from the emotional stress. I mean, there us a mental process that relates to the physical process.
I didn't come to the session looking for that. Yet it's a real part of Rolfing because there's no question there is a physical and mental relationship. I should have figures it out because it was obviously the mental stress that brought on the physical pain. But as you go through Rolfing a lot of things seem to open up. It's almost like a cleansing taking place. Your mind becomes clearer; you're able to think better. My neck pains didn't go away until we had been finished for several weeks although my upper back pain went away much sooner.
There are still times when my neck bothers me. I had this pain for about five years and had become accustomed to it. Now, I literally have no pain, and that's an incredible change for me. Consequently, it's helped me in every other facet of my life- my relationships, my business and my ability to cope with problems."
New Moon in Cancer Tuesday, July 21, 2009 7:35pm PDT 29° 27’ Total Solar Eclipse
With this new moon, I find myself rededicated to my yoga practice, beginning a liver cleaning and nourishing program, opening my heart - loosing the noose around the heart, and loving life! The rivers are parting and the water is deep - I am most comfortable going with the flow. I surrender to the Sun and the Moon and to the Creator the One. Blessings Dear Ones, Love and Grattitude, Ali
This is a passage taken from Lisa Dale Miller's New Moon Message which I enjoy sinking my teeth into each month: http://www.astrowisdom.com/
This second New Moon in Cancer will be a whopper, with a total solar eclipse, which sadly will not be visible from North America. To get more information, visit NASA’s Eclipse Homepage.
So this year we get a second chance at diving deep into the compassionate heart within and without. The eclipse follows a pathway over India and crosses through Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and China. How interesting that this eclipse is seen in the skies above nations that have wrought destruction and tyranny upon a populace that practices the bodhidharma, the ultimate path to cultivating a compassionate heart. This eclipse demands that the governments of China and Burma stop their violent repression of the peoples of Tibet and Burma, who have suffered and lost so much. This eclipse demands the rest of the world to do everything it can to free the people of Tibet and Burma from these repressive regimes that lord over them with such hatred. The Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Aquarius is now inconjunct Sun and Moon in Cancer. This represents the pain and suffering caused by withholding the heart, making change almost impossible. On this New Moon of love, we must accept the responsibility to cultivate the intention for living each day as a loving, heartful, mindfully, compassionate being. Recognizing the sources of suffering is a compassionate act in itself. Clear seeing of the causes of suffering leads to the desire to end all forms of our own suffering and the suffering of others. On this New Moon, we can go one step further and take action to make reduction of suffering a reality.
This total eclipse resonates with the energy of this excerpt from “The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva” by the 13th century Tibetan monk and scholar Gyalse Togme.
"In short, whatever I may do through my activities I ask, “What is my mind doing?”
Thus, it is the practice of bodhisattvas to accomplish the benefit of others With continuous mindfulness and conscientious
Please read the New Moon in Cancer from June for more in-depth information about how you can use this New Moon in a personal way.
Today, Crystal 1, May 30th, 2009 is Blue Crystal Hand. On December 21, 2012, the completion of the 5,125 year cycle of the Ancient Maya, it will also be Blue Crystal Hand.
On the Buddhist calendar, today also marks Buddha Shakyamuni's Birthday.
I wanted to send a very quick note out to invite you all to be aware of this and to use today to imprint the most positive energy and vision possible, for right NOW and for the continued unfolding of our nows as we keep spiralling together through the shifting of World Ages...
Tomorrow, Crystal 2, May 31, Yellow Cosmic Star, will mark exactly 1300 days left as we collectively journey through The "Closing of the Cycle."
I send unspeakable love to you all, from the heart of my heart. Thank you, deeply, for the work you are all doing in your inner and outer lives to refine and purify yourself as together we keep growing into the shining light of our Truest Nature. May we all keep looking to our heart as our deepest source of guidance of how to navigate these days and these moments...
And of course, as of today, we have entered the CRYSTAL MOON OF COOPERATION. MOON 12 always correlates to May 30 - June 26.
This 28-day cycle is also encoded with the focus of: DEDICATION and UNIVERSALIZING. Now that we have liberated and released in the previous 28-day Spectal Moon which we just completed, it is now time to allow everything to come together into a HIGHER ORDER!
In this process, let us learn in a whole new way what it means to cooperate, not only with each other and the many elements of our lives, but also with our own higher selves so that as much as possible, inside ourselves, we can know we are working to come into our highest alignment.
The more things come into a higher order, the more "shareable" they are. This Crystal Moon also embodies the power of the CIRCLE in which all kin hold equal place and power. This is why people in 90 countries have "Crystal Day Round-tables" every 13 days when this tone comes around. It's also because Tone 12, Crystal, is also about reviewing the past and taking stock of where we are at and where we are going. And of course, last but not least, let us contemplate the code "CRYSTAL" and see what insights and clues that may have for us...
And of course, today, Blue Crystal Hand is called a "Magic turtle day" because the tone of the day and the tone of the month match - it is a DOUBLE CRYSTAL DAY!
I'll see you in the one heart as we keep unfolding and flowering together!
In Lak'ech - I am Another Yourself, Eden Sky, Red Self-Existing Skywalker http://www.13moon.com/ TIME IS ART!
27’
