Yoga

My most recent inspiration comes from the 300 hr Jivamukti teacher training.  Also regular August training in Woodstock, NY with Jivamukti founders (Sharon Gannon and David Life) replenish my thirst and raise the bar for my pursuit and growth along the path of Yoga.  Sharonji and Davidji are some of the most dynamic and inspiring people I have come in contact with.  They are a real spirit of devotion and dedication to yoga (union with the divine) and to passing their insights and teachings to all their students.

I have been trained in Hatha and Power yoga, completing a 200 hour yoga teachers training course with Rhonda Fogul and Grant Couture with the Wandering Yogi Studio in 2003. Also completing a yoga teachers training in 2004 with Trinity Yoga.  Trinity yoga focuses on a dynamic/Ashtanga style of yoga and much self-development work founded by Mary-Jo Fetterly and Jennifer Steed.

Sharon Gannon and David Life founded Jivamukti Yoga. Jivamukti yoga is a vigorous hatha yoga practice that is a path to enlightenment through compassion for all beings. This system weaves together asana (postures), meditations, chanting, and great music with an elevated intention and study of the ancient teachings. The Sanskrit term Jivan-mukti means an individual soul who has attained liberation while in the human form.

Hatha yoga is better known in the West because of its earlier introduction. This yoga system involves thousands of postures enabling many positive changes in the body and subsequently in the mind. In each class, the instructor may choose a variety of postures or have a theme of postures that focus on certain areas of the body. Traditionally Hatha yoga is the most physically challenging yoga, in the west it has been changed to a very soft, relaxing style of yoga.

The Ashtanga yoga system has been derived from the teachings of Sri K. Pattabhhi Jois. This yoga has a set sequence of postures and successive levels.  This system is brilliant in creating balance in the body and very beneficial for those that  are very active. The Ashtanga method utilizes every muscle and joint of the body in a safe and effective manner.

Yoga techniques have many benefits. They increase the circulation of the blood and lymphatic systems and promote relaxation and well-being. The practice of yoga releases toxins from the skin and muscles. It also strengthens and tones the body while increasing flexibility. The greatest gifts may be emotional and mental clarity and poise.

What does Yoga mean to Me?

Yoga is a life style expanding my truth, unfolding my innocence and innate purity. It is a tool to release my judgments of others and myself encouraging compassion and love. It is the embodyment of softening my gaze, unclenching my fists and trusting that I am safe, that I am not alone, that I don't have to defend the fact that I am alive.

Yoga is allowing a space for nurturing and safety from my separated intellect (Ahimsa: non violence to other and oneself). It means inspiration tickling my intellect, softening my heart and clearing my vessel.

It is the equality of me and you, rich and poor, black and white, all the
same source looking and searching for the same goal. It is the bridge between all things that pertain in my life. My hope is yoga will be my intoxication, my high and my drunkenness.

Natasha
July 27, 2004