Yes, Virginia, There Is Yoga on Christmas!

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(…and Christmas Eve…and New Year’s Eve….and on New Year’s Day, too!!!)

But before I get to that, there are some schedule updates I should mention. I’ll be on a great adventure from November 9th through 18th. Here’s how it will affect classes:

California Yoga Center/Palo Alto

  • Friday November 9th – the 9:00 AM class will meet as scheduled
  • Monday November 21th – 7:30 PM YIN CLASS IS CANCELED THIS EVENING
  • Tuesday November 13th – the 9:00 AM class will meet as scheduled. Bethany will be subbing.
  • Friday November 16th – the 9:00 AM class will meet as scheduled. Bethany will be subbing.

Prajna Yoga Center/Belmont

  • Wednesday November 14th – the 6:00 PM class will meet as scheduled. There will be a sub.
  • Wednesday November 21st – the 6:00 PM class will meet as scheduled. There will be a sub.

Avenidas Center/Palo Alto

  • The Monday and Friday yoga classes are canceled on November 12, 16, 19 and 23. We will have make-up classes on Monday November 26th at 1:00 and Friday November 30th at 10:30.

And now, for the good news…

Yes, we’ll have our regular Friday 9:00 AM class on November 23rd at California Yoga Center/Palo Alto, the day after Thanksgiving. And, yes, I will keep in mind that you’ll still be digesting….

…and the even better news…

Yin Classes will meet on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve

at the special time of 7:00 – 8:30 at California Yoga Center/Palo Alto

If your idea of a silent and holy night is 90-minutes of contemplative and candlelit Yin, then join me on Christmas Eve, December 24th and New Year’s Eve, December 31st for two very special practices.  

Please note on your calendars that class begins early.

Donation based.

Hatha Classes will meet on

Christmas Day and New Year’s Day from 9:00 to 10:00’ish.

Let’s give ourselves the gift of Christmas Morning Yoga. And then, seven days later, let’s usher in the brand new year. This soft, flowing practice will include an opening meditation and extended Savasana.

Drop-in just $15.00

…and how will I be starting my new year???

Samyama Yoga Center in midtown Palo Alto will open (for real) the first week of January. I’ll be teaching Hatha Flow on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7:00 AM and an afternoon Yin class at a time yet to be determined.

As we wind down this year and begin to build our hopes and dreams for the one just around the corner, may our thoughts be clear, our words be kind and our hearts filled with compassion.

Thank you all for being a part of my life this year.

Two Friends, a Promise and Arbitrary Kindnes

I’m drawn to the odd duck. Maybe it’s because, as much as I’d like to believe the opposite is true, I am one.

My friend Forrest is a bit of an odd duck. An odd duck who squeezes as much life out of every single second of existence as he can. It’s as if he’s trying to live as many lifetimes as possible in this one go-around.

Forrest is a green contractor. And he’s just opened a new store, Inhabiture, which features home furnishings created from re-claimed materials. You can visit his website here. But that’s not why I wanted to write about him.

When he was a kid Forrest and his best friend promised to meet each week to discuss their intentions for the following seven days. How they planned to travel through the world. What they needed to see happen in order to move their lives forward. They didn’t always achieve their goals – life has a way of interrupting even the best of intentions – but they kept their promise and continued to touch base every seven days. They remained accountable to one another. And when one found success, they both celebrated. If one hit a patch of rough, they knew where to find support.

And along the way, they came up with an idea – the People’s Revolution for Arbitrary Kindness. As the small print at the bottom of the flier says, “The People’s Revolution for Arbitrary Kindness is a rag-tag band of folks who want to do good for people in need directly, without trying to convert people to any belief. We are all volunteers and have no overhead expenses.”

For several years they’ve collected clothes and blankets, distributing them to the needy on San Francisco’s streets. This year for the first time, cash donations are being accepted and are tax-deductible. Also, for the first time, People’s Revolution are assembling toiletry kits for distribution.

If you want to donate, or would like to volunteer, here’s what you need to know:

  1. Monetary Donations: $100 can provide more than 15 people in need with a toiletry bag of essential goods. Please make checks out to Woodside/Portola Valley Rotary Foundation and mail to Ian Schmidt at Trimergence, 71 Stevenson Place, Suite 1430, San Francisco, California 94105
  2. Slightly Used Clothes and Blankets: Donations should be delivered by November 2nd to Trimergence in San Francisco or Inhabiture Home, 248 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California
  3. Your Time: Volunteers are needed to assemble toiletry kits and to distribute clothes and kits at 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 3rd. If you’re interested in volunteering you can email Forrest at forrest@inhabiture.com.

Isn’t it amazing what two friends and a simple promise can bring to the world?

Samyama

 

The term samyama refers to the combined practice of dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (union). It is a technique we can utilize to cultivate deeper understanding of the qualities of an object or a person or a concept. It’s said that the yogi who successfully practices samyama will experience the lightness of being freed from the mental constructs – the kleshas – that bind us to the ‘real world’. In other words, samyama liberates us from obstacles, hindrances, troubles and suffering.

Samyama is also the name of the new yoga studio opening in Midtown, Palo Alto in October (just in time for Diwali).

Samyama isn’t your ordinary yoga studio. It’s one man’s vision manifested. To read the history of how Samyama began, click here.

Two months ago John Berg and I met for coffee at Philz – John’s office until the new one is built. The following week he invited me to teach at Samyama. I’ll be joining local yoga master Anirudh Shastri plus Louis Jackson, Annika Williams, Hillary Easom and Bethany Sala. One or two others have yet to be confirmed but the truth is John is keeping the teaching staff small for a reason – he’s not creating a yoga mini-mart with 48 available flavors . He’s creating a yoga home.

And I can’t wait to move in.

 

Core Balance for the Lumbar Spine: A Workshop with Narelle Carter-Quinlan

In anatomy, lumbar is an adjective that means ...

California Yoga Center offers fine workshops throughout the year but I am particularly excited about this one.

I met Narelle, who’s from Australia, two years ago when we attended Gil Hedley’s Anatomy Workshop in San Francisco.  Her soft-spoken nature belies an intense devotion to her work.

This workshop is going to be of interest to anyone with a fragile lumbar spine, but should be of special interest to yoga and body movement teachers.  It will be of tremendous benefit to new teachers who would like to improve their understanding of the structure of the spine.

I highly recommend it!  You can register online by clicking here.

Core Balance: Stabilizing Lumbar Spine & Sacrum with Narelle Carter-Quinlan

Sunday, August 5 from 1:30-4:30 pm in Mountain View

Through a clear and richly detailed slide presentation illuminating the contribution of deep postural muscles and application of this information to asana practice, Narelle Carter-Quinlan will help us come to an embodied and functional understanding of lumbar spine and sacrum stability.

This workshop is open to anyone with at least one year of yoga experience. The material is of particular relevance to those working with, or supporting, students with general low back pain.

Narelle Carter-Quinlan has been passionately engaged with yoga, dance and embodied movement practices for over 45 years.  Since 2007. Narelle has presented her scholarly and movement research in Yoga and Scoliosis International Conferences, including the World Congress for Low Back and Pelvic pain in Los Angeles, November 2010. For more on Narelle, go to her web site.

Fee is $65 in advance and $75 on the day of the event.

Journeys

This week’s theme is inspired by this quote from Meher Baba:

“The experiences are so innumerable and varied that the journey appears to be interminable and the Destination is ever out of sight.  But the wonder of it is, when at last you reach your destination you find that you had never traveled at all! It was a journey from here to Here.”

Speaking of traveling, I see some Flying Dragons in our future.

And, because I’ll be traveling* at the end of the month, there are a few schedule changes students should be aware of:

Wednesday 25 July: 

Yiwen will be teaching my 6:15 PM class at Prajna in Belmont.

Friday 27 July: 

Terry Lesser will be teaching my 9:00 AM class at California Yoga Center.

My 10:30 class at Avenidas is cancelled.  We’ll have a make-up for the missed class in August.

Monday 30 July:

My 1:00 class at Avenidas is cancelled.  We’ll have a make-up for the missed class in August.

Monday Night Yin at California Yoga Center will not meet.

Tuesday 31 July:

Lisa Brill Robinson will be teaching my 9:00 AM class at California Yoga Center.

*I’m totally psyched!  I’m visiting Hawaii for the very first time where I’ll be teaching four mornings of yoga at a private event.

Weekly Inspiration and Class Schedule

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“Do you know what it means to learn?  When you are really learning you are learning throughout your life and there is no one special teacher to learn from.  Then everything teaches you:  a dead leaf, a bird in flight, a smell, a tear, the rich and the poor, those who are crying, the smile of a woman, the haughtiness of a man.  You learn from everything, therefore there is no guide, no philosopher, no guru.  Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning.”

– Krishnamurti

Let life be your teacher.

 

 

 

Here’s my schedule of drop-in classes for the week:

  • Yin Yoga – Monday Night @7:30, California Yoga Center on Cowper in Palo Alto.
  • Slow Flow – Tuesday or Friday Morning @9:00, California Yoga Center in Palo Alto
  • Hatha for All Levels – Wednesday Night @6:15, Prajna, El Camino Real, Belmont

And for those of a certain demographic:

Take a look at the website for details on all these classes and more.

It’s Possible I’m a Fuddy-Duddy with No Sense of Humor…or Not

I am not the Poster Child for Perfection.  I have laughed at others’ misfortunes.  I have walked past the legless man begging for a bit of change (although, in fairness, today I bought him a chicken salad sandwich).  I have walked a block out of my way to avoid the Greenpeace kids in front of Whole Foods beseeching me to protect the environment.

Perfect? Me?  Not even close.

At times I am thoughtless and sometimes I speak before I’ve considered how my words might sound to another. In other words, I’m human.  I’m no more caring, compassionate or spiritual than my neighbor.  But, like my neighbor, I’m trying.  I’m trying to reflect on how my choices, my words and my actions impact the lives of those they reach.

And that’s why it has occurred to me that we might want to sit back and take a moment to contemplate how we use social media.

A well-intentioned friend who thought I would find it funny first delivered the joke to my inbox about a year ago.  About six months later, a new version of the same bad joke showed up, this time sent by a student.  And then, just a few days ago, a yoga teacher and friend whom I admire decided to post the joke on his Faeebook wall.

And that’s why I wish I’d spoken twelve months earlier.

I guess you’d consider the joke a sight gag.  On one side there are a series of photographs taken of yoga practitioners in various postures looking beautiful and calm and aligned.  These are juxtaposed by stolen images (I say stolen because it’s obvious the subjects did not know they were being photographed) of men who appear to be living rough. They may be drunk or on drugs.  They are all either sleeping or unconscious and their bodies have fallen in a way that mimics the postures being demonstrated by the yogis.  I don’t want to post a link.  If you’re curious Google “drunk yoga”.

My family was touched by alcoholism and drug dependency and maybe that’s why I can’t laugh.  I can’t laugh at something so cruel and heartless.  Something that demonstrates an unbelievable lack of compassion.

Then again, it could be that with all my imperfections I’m also a fuddy-duddy with no sense of humor.

Either way, maybe we should sit back and consider what we pass around on Facebook. How often have we reflexively shared a post, an image or a joke?  Do our posts speak to who we are?  Are they a reflection of how we relate to the world and to one another?  Do they add something to the dialogue or are they cheap shots?

Give a Little

“Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.”

–Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter 3, Text 13

 

 

 

How Do We Live Our Yoga?

In the beginning, most of us are one quick namaste’ from the daily grind.  When class ends we roll up our mat, stack the studio bolsters and on our way out the door hope the parking meter has enough time remaining for a quick run to Starbucks before we head back to work.  There’s no time to embrace the yoga that is more than skin deep.  Forget the philosophy – we’re in it for the workout.  We want a toned body. Yoga Class is Tuesday from nine to ten in the morning. Everything else is life.

With dedicated practice, however, a subtle shift occurs. The edge between our yoga practice and “real” life blurs.  Yoga begins to follow us home.  We move deeper into our practice and yoga becomes a part of who we are.  When we embrace the notion that yoga has not only strengthened our bodies but has also strengthened our spirit then it’s time to ask again:

How do we live our yoga?

Step Off the Mat

In 2007 Seane Corne decided to move her yoga beyond the mat and confines of the studio walls when, along with Hala Khouri and Suzanne Sterling, she founded Off the Mat and Into the World. This inspiring organization embraces the philosophy of seva.  Selfless service.

According to their website Off the Mat’s mission is “to use the power of yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism and ignite grassroots social change.” Today, Off the Mat and Into the World has international scope.  It supports humanitarian efforts in Haiti with the Global Seva Challenge.  Off the Mat’s Empowered Youth Initiative believes a commitment to the next generation has a profound impact on social justice and environmental issues.  This year the initiative has programs focused on assisting urban youth in Los Angeles.  They also support community initiatives working for disadvantaged populations.

Think Creatively

One such community initiative is The Art of Yoga Project, located an hour south of San Francisco in leafy Palo Alto, California. Art of Yoga’s mission is “to lead teen girls in the California juvenile justice system toward accountability to self, others and community by providing practical tools to affect behavioral change.”

The Art of Yoga Project improves the lives of disadvantaged and incarcerated young women by nurturing their creativity while encouraging a daily yoga and mindfulness practice.

Transform Your Practice

The practice of yoga is a transformative experience.  But how many of us allow that transformation to move beyond our inner spirit?  What happens when we stop clinging to the yoga experience we love and allow it to touch the lives of those around us?  Supporting others’ lives through yoga will transform your own.  Mary Lynn Fitton, founder of The Art of Yoga Project, knows first hand the profound effect of selfless service. “Since starting The Art of Yoga Project my personal practice has deepened considerably,” she said. “Teaching the principles of yoga to incarcerated teen girls, who have had very difficult life experiences, has called all of us at the project to a higher standard. For example, since we are teaching the girls about satya, we are looking closer at how we’re living in our own truths, watching our speech, avoiding gossip.  Teaching the girls yoga principles keeps them alive and fresh in my mind so I have daily reminders of how I want to be in this world. I am thankful to the girls for that. They are such heroes to me as they shine through their tragic pasts. They inspire me to be ever grateful of my circumstances and to do as much as I can to relieve suffering. 

The Small Gestures Count

Founded in 1978 by Dr. Larry Brilliant in Berkeley, California, The Seva Foundation has restored eyesight to millions of people in Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Africa.  In the process they have reduced the cost of cataract surgery to just $50.00.  As individuals, our small gestures may never match the scope of Off the Mat Into the World or The Art of Yoga Project, but we can still hold in our hearts this simple idea from the Seva Foundation:  To become fully human we must translate our compassion and concern into useful service.

What is useful service?  For most it does not entail forming a non-profit.  Most of us will not have the opportunity to restore sight to the blind or teach yoga to groups of incarcerated young women.  But in our daily lives we can still bear witness to the power of selfless contribution.  Mary Lynn Fitton says,

“I am blessed by this work. I wish everyone could experience the joy, connection and fulfillment that comes to you through being a part of positive social change. And you don’t need to start a non-profit to make a difference; but do take the time to discover what really matters to you and carve out space in your life to contribute to that somehow. Start with having conversations that matter. Then set your intention to serve. The rest will come.”

So how do I want to live my yoga?  In service.  One breath at a time.

This article originally appeared in Yoga Living Magazine.

This Week: Opening the Heart

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“We are all here for a single purpose:  to grow in wisdom and to learn to love better.  We can do this through losing as well as through winning, by having and by not having, by succeeding or by failing.  All we need to do is show up openhearted for class.”

The quote is from Rachel Remen’s book Kitchen Table Wisdom and it will be our theme for classes this week.  It’s a laid back week for me.  Classes at Avenidas are on break until July 9th and my class at Prajna Yoga and Healing Arts is taking a break on July 4th, but you can still join me for some heart opening practice at California Yoga Center, where I’ll be teaching the following classes:

 Yin:  Monday 2nd July from 7:30-9 PM
Slow Flow:  Tuesday 3rd July and Friday 6th July from 9-10 AM

See you there!

Summer Class Updates

If you’ve been to my classes you’ll know that I love to “hang out” in the asana. 

I don’t believe in rushing, I don’t turn yoga into aerobic exercise, and the thought of practicing yoga in order to build a better backside is loathsome to me. 

So if you enjoy exploring the shape of a pose, feeling how the energy shifts as you change your alignment; if you enjoy testing your strength and flexibility while dialing down the stress – then I’m your guide.  My classes begin with two minutes of quiet reflection/meditation and end with savasana.

Seasons change and so does my teaching schedule. At least a little bit.

Here’s a summer update:

California Yoga Center

The Monday Evening Donation-Based Yin Class continues to meet from 7:30 to 9:00 PM at the Palo Alto Studio.  All equipment is provided.  Some understanding of Yin is helpful (you can find that here) but not necessary.  There is no class on Monday 30 July.

My Tuesday and Friday Iyengar-inspired Slow Flow meet from 9:00 to 10:00 AM at the Palo Alto Studio.  Please bring a yoga mat.  These class are Level I/II. $15 drop-in.  The class on Friday 27 July will be taught by Terry Lesser.  The class on Tuesday 31 July will be taught by Lisa Brill Robinson.

Prajna Yoga and Healing Arts

My Hatha Yoga Class meets on Wednesday from 6:15-7:30.  Please bring a yoga mat. There is no class on 4 July. The class on 25 July will be taught by Yiwen.

Avenidas

Registration for Summer Session, which begins on Monday 9 July, is still open.  I teach two classes at the senior center:  Monday at 1:00 and Friday at 10:30.  We’ll have seven class meetings over eight weeks, with no class on Friday 27 July or Monday 30 July. 

For further details on any of these classes check my website.