Shanta Yoga Blog
Yoga Nidra Workshop
Saturday evening, February 25th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, we will be holding our first Yoga Nidra workshop. During our monthly sessions there simply is not enough time to explain the inner workings of this meditative practice. This workshop will allow time to explain the structure and process of Yoga Nidra and how it all works, including the different brainwaves and what happens during each state and why Yoga Nidra helps.
We will also help you craft an intention. An intention is like a mission statement for your life, something that guides you and keeps you on course. An intention is a way to mentally organize and align what you say, what you think, and what you do, helping you recognize and shift away from your unhelpful habits.
The Yoga Nidra workshop will last 2 hours and will include a guided Yoga Nidra session where you can begin using your new intention. After the session, there will be a period of time for journaling as well as question and answers.
We will be limiting the workshop to 10 participants, enabling us to give personal attention to everyone while forming intentions. As such, we are asking you to sign up and remit your payment in advance. To encourage this, we are offering the workshop at a reduced price for those who pay in advance. The cost is $25 if you pay by February 20th, after which the price will increase to $35 and will be $40 the day of the workshop if there is space left. Upon payment, you will receive a list of items to bring and a series of questions to answer in advance to assist in forming your intention.
We hope you will join us! Jai Bhagwan.
Beginners Workshop
Would you like to start practicing yoga but are intimidated by attending classes? Perhaps you haven’t practiced in a while and would like to renew your practice at a more relaxed pace? Do you need a little help with alignment or need to review yoga basics? The Beginners Workshop is just what you need!
This Saturday, January 14, from 9 – 11 a.m., we will be holding our Beginners Workshop again. During this workshop we’ll give you an overview of what yoga is as well as teach you the fundamentals needed for any effective yoga practice. We’ll teach the basics of yoga postures and how to work with, rather than against, your body while showing you how to modify postures to work best for you. Basic breathing techniques are also demonstrated and taught.
Questions are always encouraged but especially so in the Beginners Workshop. This is the perfect time to ask those questions that arise during regular classes but that you don’t ask because you don’t want to disrupt the flow of class. This workshop is open to everyone and is accessible to anyone regardless of your experience, strength or flexibility.
This workshop is free, so bring some friends and enjoy a pleasant morning with us at the studio. See you there!
Jai Bhagwan!
Yoga Nidra Schedule
For those of you who have attended a Yoga Nidra session, you know how relaxing and refreshing it can be. The only negative feedback we get is that some students cannot attend! We hope to create more ease for students to attend so are changing our scheduling a bit for our Yoga Nidra sessions.
Beginning this month, we will be offering Yoga Nidra throughout the week instead of solely on Saturday evenings, as we have previously done. Now, this will require a bit of effort on your part to check the studio calendar for the date and time of the next session. We will be moving the dates and times around and will be periodically holding them in place of regular asana classes, so please remember to check the online calendar as well as the notice board in the studio (the silver one by the door). As a session approaches we will remind you during classes as well as posting it on the Facebook page and the front page of our website, so please remember to check often.
New Year’s Resolutions 2012
It’s a New Year and that means staying up late to say goodbye to the old year, to ring in the new one and to set resolutions. Most people set resolutions and most people include health goals as part of their resolutions and by February, most people have given up on their resolutions.
It is quite likely that you have already made some resolutions and that improving your health is, in one way or another, one of your resolutions. We would like to help you not be like most people this year. We offer five fantastic kinds of classes that will help you keep your resolutions this year:
Yoga Simplified
This 60 minute class is, as the name suggests, a wonderful place to begin your practice of yoga. If you are a long time practitioner, this is a great class to refresh your practice.
Yoga Modified
This 60 minute class is a shortened version of the Amrit Yoga posture sequence for the student who is familiar with the basic postures and breathing exercises. This class will help you explore how yoga can follow you off your mat into your everyday life.
Yoga Regular
This 85 minute class is based on the full Amrit Yoga posture sequence along with time for meditation. If you are familiar with the postures and want to add more meditation to your practice, this class is perfect for you!
Restful Yoga
A 60 minute class that is exactly what the name says: Restful. Class focuses on gentle stretching of large muscle groups to help ease the body into a warm and relaxed state. As the body relaxes, the mind begins to relax as well. This class truly does rest the body and the mind.
Yoga Nidra
This occasional class—check the studio calendar for the next scheduled class—uses guided meditation to create a state of conscious deep sleep that releases deep tensions, eases away stress and allows the body and mind to be completely at ease and peace.
Workshops
In addition, we offer workshops to strengthen and enhance your yoga practice. This month’s workshop is our Beginners Workshop Saturday, January 14, 2012 9-11 am. This is a free workshop and will give you an overview of what yoga is as well as teach you the fundamentals needed for any effective yoga practice.
Jai Bhagwan,
Ramdas & Dhruti
Mat Spray
It’s not uncommon to receive a question or two at the conclusion of one of our classes, but admittedly, we never could have guessed one of the most popular questions would be, “Hey, what’s in the mat cleaner?”
Yes, we make it ourselves. No, there is no soap or detergent in it. Yes, you are correct, it does smell rather wonderful and of course we’ll tell you how to make it!
We thought it would be nice to have it posted here permanently. Feel free to share this with others!
For each cup of distilled water, add 3 drops tea tree essential oil, 2 drops peppermint essential oil, and 2 drops lavender essential oil to a clean spray bottle and shake it up. That’s all there is to it. These particular oils are antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, and just plain smell good together. As a side note, it is useful for much more than cleaning your yoga mat: Spray it on door knobs, in lunch boxes, on mattresses, in garbage cans, even freshen up your automobile! It really is that awesome and we hope you find it as useful as we do.
Jai Bhagwan
Introducing: Restful Yoga
Many approach a yoga class for the physical benefits, while others may seek a more spiritual or meditative practice. However, seeking any of these can often be unavailable to some people due to various limitations. Someone may seek yoga as a means to loose weight, but this same individual may feel they are not physically strong enough and have low self esteem and therefore will never go to a class for fear of not “being in shape.” Or, another might have a physical limitation due to prolonged illness and not have the stamina or strength to perform posture after posture. However, these individuals are still in need and could benefit greatly from a yoga practice. A yoga class must offer us something we need, even if we don’t readily recognize that need.
Why Restful Yoga? This class will offer the tools needed to learn to be at ease with the body you have regardless of its current condition. Restful Yoga is a gentler physical version than a typical yoga class. A prolonged warm-up is followed by gentle stretching and meditative awareness of the body. The class then flows into a modified version of postures, or asanas, different than those in our other asana classes. Class will conclude with a peaceful meditation and inward focus while either seated or lying down.
The Restful Yoga class is perfect for those who suffer from chronic health conditions and physical limitations, or even for those who would like to approach yoga at a slower pace. This class offers a fulfilling yet manageable way for anyone to participate in a yoga class. If you can walk down our stairs to get into the studio, then you are qualified for this class.* Restful Yoga will be offered once a week on Thursday evenings from 7-8 p.m. and is one of our pay by donation classes.
*If you are interested in this class yet stairs are not accessible to you, please contact us so we might bring yoga to you. We truly are here to help.
Jai Bhagwan!
Yoga in the Park
Last month, it was my privilege to attend Yoga in the Park in Jacksonville,Florida; an event which raised funds and awareness for cancer patients and survivors. Now, some might think that Florida is a long way to go for Yoga in the Park, but what it really was, for me, was an opportunity to not only learn, but to be with a very dear friend. My friend, Linda, is a breast cancer survivor and we both attended yoga teacher training together at the Amrit Yoga Institute. Also, I lost my own dear mother to breast cancer five year ago. This was just something I needed to do.
Now, I do not know the final numbers for how many were in attendance, but my best estimate was approximately 500 people showed up for the posture segment, and perhaps half of those remaining for the exceptional speeches thereafter. My beloved teacher, Gurudev, Yogi Amrit Desai, spoke of the traditional aspects of yoga, something I’m certain you’ve heard Ramdas or I speak of if you’ve ever attended a class at Shanta Yoga.
It was amazing for me to watch and feel the response of others, those who have never been exposed to yoga, traditional or otherwise. Gurudev spoke of both the inner and outer dimensions of yoga, but my favorite part of his speech was when he spoke of what yoga truly is and the affects it can have. To paraphrase his words, he spoke of what we, as a society, believe yoga to be and why it is generally practiced; that is, postures on a mat or the physical aspects of yoga. While the physical benefits are indeed enormous and are practiced all over the world, it still does not matter how flexible you become or how much weight you loose, you will never reach what is causing you stress without being guided by some sort of consciousness. “You cannot force yourself into health.”
This is such a simple yet profound statement. We need truly be aware of what is happening to our bodies. Traditional yoga provides us with such powerful tools for learning about ourselves and what keeps us from our full potential.
This trip, for me, has had a lasting affect, which in turn has inspired a new class at the Shanta Yoga studio, which will begin Thursday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. Please check back here on Friday for a full description of that class and what it is all about.
Jai Bhagwan!
Exploring Yoga: Asana
Asana is the Sanskrit word for posture. It is easy enough to know what a posture is, they can be found in yoga classes and in popular advertising. Have you ever wondered, however, what their purpose is?
Every person starts practicing yoga for a different reason. For one person it might be to improve their strength or flexibility and for another it might be to gain better balance or to be relaxed. It is very easy to see how yoga postures can build up strength, flexibility and balance. Most people, after attending even one class, can also see how yoga postures can relax a person. Are these, however, the real purposes of postures? At a very basic level, yes, they are and large numbers of people have used this basic application of yoga postures to develop strong, flexible, balanced bodies. It is largely because of this success that when most people think of yoga, they automatically think of yoga postures.
More Than Just A Pretty Pose
There is, however, much more to the postures than simply creating a healthy body that is pleasing to the eye. Postures are a place to experience and explore who we are and to break reactive habits. The benefits of a healthy body and calm mind are immediately obvious but the benefits of experiencing who we are and breaking reactive habits may not be quite so obvious.
We all have buttons and we have all had our buttons pushed. When someone pushes our buttons, more often than not, our unconscious habits immediately jump up and start pushing us around and we start pushing the button pushers away. No one likes having their buttons pushed because no one likes being pushed around but if we just push the button pusher away, the button remains and waits to be pushed again. Postures put us into many different shaped boxes, some are shaped like Warrior II or Camel or even Corpse Pose and those boxes will push buttons.
Our buttons might show up as fidgeting or the mind trying to be anywhere but in that pose or “Not this pose, I hate this pose!” or “I should be able to do that!” One way or another, a level of discomfort arises and the question is, do we simply let habit take over or do we consciously recognize our discomfort and let it go. If I can let go of the discomfort that comes from falling out of Tree Pose for the third time; I recognize I can probably let go of the discomfort that comes from that annoying dental receptionist telling me about her cats for the 12th time.
Jai Bhagwan.
New Site!
Welcome to the new site! We are so excited about the new design and the new schedule! You will notice that we have also added workshops to the schedule.
Please, explore the new site and tell us what you think!
July Schedule
A quick note today to update you all on the new schedule for July!
Morning Classes:
Tuesday & Thursday 7:00-8:00 am
Saturday Yoga in the Park 9:00-10:00 am
Evening Classes:
Monday & Wednesday 7:00-8:30 pm (No class Monday July 4th)
Tuesday & Thursday Beginners Series 7:00-8:00 pm
Tuesday & Thursday 8:15-9:15 pm
Morning classes are offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7-8 am. These classes are very gentle and are a great way to start your day relaxed. If you have yet to attend a morning class, we invite you to find out just how wonderful your day can be when you start with a yoga practice.
It is our evening classes that take on the twist (pun intended) this month. Monday and Wednesday classes are held from 7-8:30 pm and are appropriate for any skill level, but the classes run longer and you will get a more intensified practice. The Beginners Series moves to our evening line-up this month and will begin Tuesday, July 5 and will run each Tuesday and Thursday from 7-8 pm ending on July 28. The Beginners Series is a series of 8 classes meant to be attended in a sequence, so we encourage you to attend all 8 sessions (click here to read our previous post concerning this series). Our Everyday Yoga classes will still be offered on Tuesday and Thursday, but will run from 8:15-9:15 pm.
Also, don’t forget about Yoga in the Park every Saturday morning at 9 am. You can find us at the south end of Discovery Park in Pleasant Grove. We hope to see you at one or all of these wonderful classes!
Jai Bhagwan!
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