Monthly Archives: September 2013

Osaka Workshops: Ashtanga Foundations & Flow / Inner Dance: Doing, Being, Seeing

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It’s been an amazing month and a half here in Osaka. I would like to think I have given my lion’s share, but I know the truth is I have, once again, received more than I have been able to give. The blessings abound. So the next three weeks is a sort of no-holds barred kind of sharing. In the mysore room at least, it feels like we’re past the getting-to-know-you phase. And it’s all about getting into the nooks and crannies of practice. Getting into the details. Refining.

I’m also really excited to be able to share in a workshop setting the two processes which I hold dear, and which I think compliment each other so seamlessly. It will be an opportunity to dive into the rich experience of ashtanga and inner dance. They can be taken separately or as a pair. The lessons will weave nicely between the foundations of yoga and the fluidity of surrender more easily accessed through inner dance.

① Ashtanga Foundations & Flow

Ttristana, the 3-principles of breath, posture and drishti, create a steady foundation in practice and allow us to flow with power and grace.

With the support of yoga masters Patanjali and Krishna, we will look in to the philosophy behind these principles. And we will explore these principles in both basic and some more intermediate postures, discovering how stability creates flow in practice.

② Inner dance ~ A process of Doing, Seeing, Being ~

Moving meditation, connecting with one’s highest purpose, removing energetic blockages in the body.

As we playfully explore this healing modality from the Philippines, we will experience the magic and mystery of shakti or energy in the body, and how we all have the intuitive ability to dance with this energy and use it to feel free and fluid in our lives.

● ScheduleDate:
① September 28th Sat. 10:00 ~ 12:30 @ Spirit Yoga 5F
② October 5th Sat. 15:00 ~ 17:30 @ Spirit Yoga 6F

● Reservation:Please reserve before the dates below.
Ashtanga:. Sep 22nd Sun.
Inner Dance: Sep 29th Sun.

● Cost:For 1 class JPY4, 500 (Drop-in JPY5, 500)
For 2 classes JPY8, 000 (Spirit Yoga Members Only)

http://spirityogastudio.com/event/workshop/ashtanga-ws-kaz.html

Sunday sadhana

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Sunday sadhana

“The power of a movement lies in the fact that it can indeed change the habits of people. This change is not the result of force but of dedication, of moral persuasion.”

-Stephen Biko
South African Political Leader

Storm signals were up this morning, yet students still filled the room. Practice is always best when performed with love and dedication. So grateful to be in such dedicated company.

Inner Dance Aum Exploration

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A couple of hours after the inner dance at Spirit Yoga, I found myself looking up at this “OMM” building. Perfection.

 
Today’s inner dance key vibratory statement was “Aum,” wholeness, that which is complete. We started with Aum and ended with Aum–and the dance was everything in between.

It’s true what they say about how teaching is a co-creation between the teacher and the student, that lessons flow according to need and readiness of those receiving it, of those willing enough to surrender to the mystery of it. As I continue to offer the ID (Inner Dance) process to yoga practitioners, the process reveals itself more and more in the language of yoga. And in Japan, it takes on a subtle energy, soft waves of healing energy and light. There is a lightness to the dance I’ve been witnessing here. A willingness that encourages energy to move. The experience is there, if not entirely the highest observation of it. 

One returning student described attending ID as her “therapy”, which tells me that the dance is working its magic. 

I will continue to offer ID every Saturday at 2:30pm at Spirit Yoga Osaka until the end of September. October 5, we will have a special ID workshop, where students will experience how to co-facilitate with each other. 

For workshop details, click here. 

The importance of taking rest

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The importance of taking rest

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives bountiful crop” –Ovid

Do we not sleep after a day of activity? Resting after practice is vital to finding balance for the rest of the day. Always give yourself a good rest after yogasana practice. Students here in Osaka take a well-deserved rest, allowing for the body to fully integrate after Friday morning led class.

Full Moon Day Special, Satsang at Spirit

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It’s nearly half moon this evening, I noticed, as I stepped out on the rooftop of my Osaka share house. It’s quite shocking how swiftly the time here has sped by. Five and a half weeks down, and now with less than a month of teaching to go. But with extra classes, ashtanga and inner dance workshops at the end of the month and moon day satang-s, it will be a full and fulfilling month.

A latest addition to the schedule for the month is Moon Day classes, which Mo, the former ashtanga teacher/space holder held regularly. And it’s back by popular demand!

Usually a day to rest the body, to observe the pull of the moon, and to honor the effects on the moon on our moods and actions, new moon and full moon days are sacred. In keeping with the ashtanga system, there will be no yogasana practice. Instead, there is a chill Moon Day Satsang, where chanting, meditation and yoga philosophy discussions will be on the floor (literally so, where we will be sitting in a circle).

Last new moon, we reviewed the Sanskrit alphabet, as well as chanted asana names and counting. Around the circle, each person shared a word or sentence to describe yoga. It was a special time to share for so many who come in to practice and speed off to work.

We then discussed Patanjai’s yamas and how we can use the yamas (ahimsa/non-harming, satya/truthfulness, asteya/non-stealing, brahmacharya/putting one’s energy to the highest use, and aparigrapha/non-grasping) as a foundation for practice.

For many the ashtanga practice is a visceral experience that has been etched into the body with breath and movement. We know the experience instinctively but sometimes hardly have the words to express it. By exploring the yoga philosophy that powers the practice, we add to the depth of our understanding and experience.

Full Moon will be on 19 September. And Full Moon Satsang will start at 6:30-8:00, 6th Floor, Spirit Yoga Osaka. I will surely feel like howling so there will certainly be chanting and singing to Krishna, as the theme will be “The Yogic Warrior,” inspired by the Bhagavad Gita.

http://www.spirityogastudio.com/