Please consider this:  Baron Baptiste’s upcoming FOUNDATIONS IN ACTION: A BAPTISTE YOGA BASIC TRAINING in Park City, Utah and for a very special event for the Africa Yoga Project!

FOUNDATIONS IN ACTION is a weekend-long immersion into the art and practice of Baptiste Yoga, and for this training Baron has added a special 2-hour workshop dedicated to the Africa Yoga Project. Friday afternoon, join me and several Master Baptiste teachers for The Yoga of Service in Action – Lessons of Possibility and Purpose from the Africa Yoga Project, a powerful asana practice and discussion about the life-changing work of the Africa Yoga Project. We’ll be exploring ways to empower yourself, your practice and your community through the yoga of service, and be discussing what we’ve learned in our work with AYP. Join us for this unique event and take what you learn from this inspiring session back to your studio and into the world!

Baron and the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute have played a very special role in the evolution of the Africa Yoga Project. Baron’s work was foundational in the creation of the vision, commitment and passion to establish the Africa Yoga Project. His continued support of AYP teachers is instrumental in the growth of our organization and the development of our teachers. Baron was just in Kenya in July delivering the second teacher training for the AYP teachers, as well as an immersion for our community in Kenya. In April of 2009, Baron and his team traveled to Kenya to deliver the first Level 1 Teacher Training, Journey into Power, in Kenya to 58 young people. Now there are 40 teachers employed by AYP, earning a living wage by establishing places to teach and expanding the student body. We are delivering more than 100 classes weekly to over 2,300 people in prisons, women’s centers, primary schools, hospitals, and slums throughout Nairobi.

Come experience the power of Baptiste Yoga and the Africa Yoga Project, and learn from my teacher and friend, Baron Baptiste. Register for FOUNDATIONS IN ACTION before August 20th and get your early bird discount on tuition. I hope you will be able to join me, Baron Baptiste and other AYP supporters for this amazing and transformational weekend!

REGISTER NOW:

The Yoga of Service in Action – Lessons of Possibility and Purpose from the Africa Yoga Project.  Friday: 2pm-4pm

Join Master and Senior Baptiste teachers for a powerful Baptiste-Community asana practice and discussion. Explore ways to empower yourself, your practice and your community through the yoga of service. Employing real life examples from the powerful and life-changing work of the Africa Yoga Project, the discussion will revolve around Baptiste Yoga’s fundamental call for creating service through a yoga practice in action.Take what you learn from this inspiring session back to your studio and start changing lives in your community. Join top Baptiste teachers for this powerful session and get into action as you develop new insights and levels of personal expression, contribution and empowerment!

All donations for this class go to the Africa Yoga Project.

Yoga as Service: Community, Connection and Contribution Friday: 7pm-9:30pm

Internationally renowned teacher and author Baron Baptiste offers an evening discussion as a kick-off for his “Foundations In Action” weekend training in Park City, Utah. Baptiste will explore the expansion of a yoga practice beyond the mat, creating action through service and developing new levels of personal expression, contribution, and empowerment. Together you will examine how your personal growth positively impacts to others and how to powerfully support individuals and organizations in your community and throughout the world, all through putting your yoga practice in action. Baptiste’s programs are designed to empower people from all walks of life find more authentic and joyful living now. This discussion is available as part of the weekend training or for a $15 drop-in fee.

Saturday: 9am-8pm, Sunday 9am-6pm FOUNDATIONS IN ACTION: A BAPTISTE YOGA BASIC TRAINING

Get ready to reconnect, recharge, and reserve your space today!

Yoga has become a popular form of exercise and stress management in the United States, for anyone who wants to explore the holistic benefits of combining strength training, flexibility, deep breathing and concentration. But even though this ancient practice has become a mainstream form of exercise and relaxation, there is still a lot you probably don’t know about yoga. Whether you are a yoga enthusiast or novice you might be curious about yoga’s health benefits and risks, or the history of yoga, keep reading:

1. There are 19 types of yoga: The most common type of yoga taught in the United States is hatha yoga, which is a foundational type that teaches breathwork, postures and meditation. Other types focus on chanting and prayer, detox, strength, endurance, and total lifestyle habits like vegetarianism and non-violence.

2. Yoga may be 10,000 years old: Actual records of yoga can be traced back 5,000 years, but because yoga was passed down orally or on delicate leaves and that were destroyed, many researchers believe it is much, much older.

3. Patanjali — one of yoga’s most important figures — was a physician: While yoga was first explored and recorded by priests and mystic seekers, Patanjali, who is one of the most important figures in yoga history and is called “the father of yoga,” was actually a physician. Patanjali wrote down 195 sutras for explaining how yoga should be used in everyday life to achieve enlightenment and a moral life in a text called The Yoga Sutra.

4. There are four periods in the history of yoga: These are: pre-classical, classical, post-classical and modern. During the pre-classical period, yoga was being developed in Northern India by the Indus-Sarasvati people, and then by Brahman priests. This is when yoga was recorded in texts and scriptures. The classical period saw the organization of yoga into the eight-limbed path philosophy that still holds today, while the post-classical period explored the idea that the physical body led to true enlightenment, a severe departure from pre-classical ideals. In the modern period, yoga spread to the West, when Swami Vivekananda visited Chicago in 1893. Hatha yoga became the preeminent form of yoga here.

5. Yoga poses and meditation are inspired by Buddhist influences: In the earliest periods, yoga was practiced as a form of healing and path to self-discovery. Buddhist influences during the 6th century B.C. turned the focus towards meditation, too, and incorporated the practice of postures and poses.

6. Yoga’s eight-fold path to a better life: Patanjali’s eight-fold path is described in The Yoga Sutra. The eight limbs are yama, or social behavior; niyama, or inner discipline and responsibility; asana, or posture of yoga; pranayama, or energy force that flows through us when we breathe; pratyahara, the withdrawal of senses during meditation; dharana, concentrating on a single image or point; dhyana, meditating without an object or distraction; and samadhi, or absolute bliss.

7. Yoga’s original language is Sanskrit: The oldest literary language of India, Sanskrit is also the language of yoga. The word yoga actually means yoke or union, and is translated from the Sanskrit word “yuj.”

8. Your yoga experience is always changing: Some people might think practicing yoga for years or decades is boring because all of the poses are the same. But yoga’s philosophy is built around the idea that your experience or relationship with the yoga poses is constantly changing. This experience is based on your physicality as you become more flexible and balanced, and also your spiritual relation and ability to meditate while doing yoga.

9. Yoga may interfere with natural growth: The American Yoga Association doesn’t recommend that children under the age of 16 years old perform yoga positions, because they may hinder natural growth. And while they can experiment with breathing exercises and stretching, they should not hold their breath while doing so.

10. The number of yoga poses is disputed: In The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, Swami Vishnu-devananda explained 66 official postures for yoga, and 136 variations. Other yogis have suggested that there are more official postures, or even an infinite number of positions.

This article was contributed by www.NursingSchools.net. We GREATLY APPRECIATE their CONTRIBUTION & FUNDAMENTAL INFORMATION on the HISTORY of YOGA!

Sunlight streams through the window while rhythmic New Age music fills the air. This is the atmosphere specially created by  Stephanie Churchill for yoga practice. It is the early morning, and a fresh chance to shape ourselves for the coming day. What kind of person will we be today? Generous, kind, and humane? The yoga space is ripe with possibilities. It has been too long since I have practiced yoga, yet I sense a new beginning with Stephanie’s expert guidance.

Stephanie begins with meditation and breathing suggestions that form the backbone of the session. Her calm voice encourages the deep breathing that has me inhaling the good and exhaling the toxic. With each breath I feel more centered in my body and more relaxed for the workout to follow. On a spiritual plane, every inhale invigorates my life force for good, and every exhale sheds the negative energy that keeps me from being all I want to be. I meditate, like many others, with eyes closed. I follow Stephanie’s beautiful narrative and breathing suggestions. She suggests that my inhales be white light that I guide to my body’s center. I cheat here. I direct the white light of breath to far reaches of my body, that have been neglected of deep breathing for far too long.

Stephanie segues from meditation and gentle stretching to some more formal postures. She alternates more strenuous postures with relaxing ones, giving my body a respite and my mind precious moments to ponder the postures. At different moments, Stephanie interrupts her own practice to ensure that my positioning is the most that it can be for me. Sometimes she is a brace, and sometimes she lengthens and coaxes a stretch. Stephanie intuits easily when I need an assist.

As the session moves forward, Stephanie juxtaposes the positions of downward facing dog to the cobra. My mind is an empty slate, but then I reflect upon the rich imagery of these positions. I think of the submissive dog, bowed low, simultaneously humble and regal, and intensely loyal. Then I bring to mind the cobra, strong and proud, crown reaching toward the sky, vertebrae elongated. With these two images in my mind, I form the positive intention to live my day with both humility and strength.

Thank you, Stephanie for a meaningful reunion with yoga practice!

Humane League of Philadelphia is joining with Dhyana Yoga for an upcoming yoga class that will be held at their Old City location, 68 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, on Sunday, August 8 from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Come join animal rights activists, vegans, yogis, conscious minded people and more for a Vinyasa Yoga class. All proceeds will benefit the Humane League’s work to save animals. It’s welcome to everyone–from yoga novices to an experienced yoga enthusiast! The class will focus on breath and will include meditation.

Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged, and any interested participants can pre-register by emailing dhyana.staff@gmail.com.

A $10-$20 donation is requested and every dollar goes to the Humane League’s life-saving work for animals!

FIND OUT MORE about and how to get involved with Humane League of Philadelphia We strive to create a more compassionate world for animals through education, campaigns, and rescue. Because 98% of the animals that are abused and killed in this country are farmed animals, our primary focus is on working against the cruelest methods of factory farming and in support of vegan eating. We also deal to a lesser extent with issues of animal testing, fur, and companion animals.

Twelve DC Yoga Studios Offer 30 Days of Deals

Washington D.C. – June 15, 2010 — Citizen Effect’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge is bringing together DC’s top yoga studios and their students for a great cause: building a foster home for orphaned and abandoned children in Cloetesville, South Africa.

The Challenge calls for participants to do as much yoga as they can for charity during July. Much like a marathon runner, participants will pledge a fundraising goal, ask friends and family to sponsor them, and collect donations through www.CitizenEffect.org.

The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) is doubling the impact of Citizen Effect’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge by matching the total amount of money raised.

Twelve district studios including Flow, Tranquil Space, Studio Serenity, STROGA, Lil Omm, Yoga Chai, Quiet Mind and Circle Yoga are sponsoring the Challenge by offering free or deeply discounted classes to participants.

Additionally, the top fundraising yogis will receive apparel from sponsor lululemon athletica Georgetown.

The event is the brainchild of Carolyn Butcher and Kelly Ferraro of WelcomeOmDC.com — “DC yoga studios are synonymous with giving back, their giving nature made the DC yoga community a natural partner for Citizen Effect’s 30-Day yoga challenge.” Ferraro adds, “Ours will truly be the “om” heard round the world.”

The 30-Day Yoga Challenge kicks off June 30th with a free outdoor class in Meridian Hill Park at 7:30 p.m. A celebratory party will be held at lululemon Georgetown on August 5th. For more information and to sign-up, visit www.citizeneffect.org/yogachallenge.

PLEASE DONATE TO THIS CAUSE!

About Citizen Effect is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is reshaping philanthropy by providing a platform for anyone to choose their own project, raise the money through creative fundraising approaches, and seeing the direct impact of their work. For more information visit.

For more information, contact: Laura Goldstein.  Email: laura.goldstein@citizeneffect.org

* Picture on front page provided by: http://whatgives365.wordpress.com/

(You should check out this blog too; it is inspiring & about giving to causes , if you are intrerested or have one!)

You are cordially invited to attend a chi dancing and flow motion display by Sifu Chik Qadir Mason. The performance will feature Chik wielding a traditional Green Dragon sword as he pierces, jabs, stabs, and leaps his way through an ancient form set to modern ambient and trip-hop music.

Kung-Yang Lin/ Dancers’ INhale Series is a community initiative to help local and emerging movement artists perform their work.

Go to www.spiritwindinternalarts.org for more information on Chik’s Tao Yin Yoga and Kung Fu classes, as well as his acupuncture, Thai massage, and other healing services.

Recently we were informed that Nursingschools.net has included us in a list of the 100 Incredible Yoga Teachers Who Blog.

TOTALLY ZEN is Totally Excited to hear of this great news!

We blog about our mind, body, spirit in order to learn, grow and transform ourselves into the best person we can be at that moment. Sharing our experience and findings inspires and helps us to keep moving along the path of self development and Universal consciousness. Hopefully it does something for you too

It is Most Excellent to be recognized for our labor of love and hard work we do to create TOTALLY ZEN.

Check out the other yoga blogs in the list & see what other treasures there are to behold:

100 Incredible Yoga Teachers Who Blog

Thank You for your time, energy and readership!

Surrendering in a yoga posture. What does that mean? To me, it is to be in a posture and let go. As I teach yoga, I look around and find so many people still holding so much tension in their bodies. When I go inward I can find places within my self I need to surrender from in order to be open or relaxed in a posture.

It is possible to release and open each part of your body from head to toe. If we were able to get rid of the tension and stress that is built up on a daily basis, how much less tension would be in our bodies?

Whether it is in a contracted yoga posture or a true relaxation posture, little by little, just like a hip opener, you can draw deeper into surrender if you keep practicing it. This is the only way to truly train physical relaxation in yoga. There is a certain type of magical feeling when you get to this point. Like nirvana must be, full body relaxation is splendid and so rejuvenating! This is the point of surrendering so completely that you let go of the physical body and just reside in your spiritual self.

By practicing surrender in different challenging or relaxation postures will get you lots of different kinds of releases. Some of them are mental, some emotional, and there are spiritual releases as well. Surrendering and breathing into a relaxation posture will restore your body significantly if incorporated into a regular practice. Personally, as I have continued with this practice, I can feel my bodies’ ability to rebuild as I open, breathe and relax. Emotionally, mentally it can help people not feel like you have to control everything. Start telling your mind and body to take a break. Find peace, happiness and emptiness.

Give yourself a gift of surrender and release from the normal pressure, tension and activity that we live our lives in on a regular basis. Taking these moments to surrender you will become enveloped by a state of grace. In that place of openness you can experience the merging of your self with the Universal energy to become one. Allowing yourself to trust the Universal law that guides us through life. This will help you release the suffering of your own will and ego and allow the Universal energy to direct your soul. Or at least your body will be a bit more relaxed.

ON THE MAT EXERCISE

Ideally you start this practice in a meditative state so that the work is very deep. Start in corpse pose. Lie on the ground, chin down, hips open, arms open. Try releasing the spine deeper into the Earth. In all directions you expand and release against and into the Earth. Fill your body with breath and send relaxation into the posture.

Breathe in and out deeply to the surrender of your physical, mental, spiritual self. The act of letting go is so freeing. It allows the body to just be and not be in control. From this place your mind will clear and what is your core will be emitted from your center. Take the focus off yourself and become ONE with the Universe for a while.

Each time you do this practice in a posture the body lets go and releases a little deeper. The process is about letting go so much you find what is in your true center. Only you know if you are concentrating and focused in the specific place of your body so that you will be able to release it. Concentration is a definite component of getting to the state of “surrender.” Whether it is tension, negativity, toxicity, emotional, physical, spiritual stress- just let go of it.

OFF THE MAT EXERCISE

Challenge yourself to find one time every day you are holding tension in your body or mind, release it and take 9 deep breaths in and out of that space and think open, relax and surrender.

Try to visualize or call the attention of your mind to a body part. Release that area by releasing the stress, tension or blockages. Use your mind’s eye to scan your body parts and open and release the places where you are holding on. Let the breath guide you a little deeper each time.

Or once a day take time to let your shoulders relax, let your jaw open, relax your hands and feet. Then move into your mind and surrender anything you hold in it just for a few moments by using the breath as relaxation. This is a useful tool for every day life.

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I was out on Halloween night with my master/teacher and we went to a party where everybody dressed up. He chose to be a monk & I chose a daredevil or a female evil keneival. As I pondered the process of picking out a costume, getting in costume and presenting yourself to others I realized this could be easy or difficult for a person. I got to thinking about why that might be and went on to observe what I thought of the night in a new paradigm. One that made me question: who we are, what we are made of and how comfortable we are in this process. The Halloween party was a unique experience because I felt like the hundred’s of people that were there had transformed themselves into a deeper version of themselves or brought out a hidden part of themselves. Either way the party was full on and everyone was in character. It was so great to see people living life and feeling free and happy!

As I thought of the act of transformation I decided that yoga was the catalyst for my most complete and significant transformation. I’m not sure if the people around me really know how different I feel in my same skin. I don’t know if others realize that while I am the same being; I do not resonant on the same channel, in the same vibration or in the same harmony. Much like music I have changed my tune. It is a subtle thing from the outside; it is the deep internal changes that make me feel like a slightly different person; oddly, more like the little girl I remember from childhood. Shedding layers of negativity and toxicity to shine as the person I had lost somewhere along the way. It has been several years since I felt whole and calm; but, I do notice the process continuing and that each new dimension continues to be significant as I continue on my path to be One with the Universe.

In yoga transformation comes as a byproduct of practicing yoga. The positive effects of yoga are so overwhelming that most who find that connection are like spokesperson for the cause. Yoga can take an old body and make it flexible and graceful, meet a rigid mind and make it more focused, clear and take a closed spirit and soften it.

Yoga can literally burn off layers of your former self in the form of physical, mental, spiritual toxicity. It is amazing to experience the process of change for yourself and in others. We hold old memories
In our bodies, spirits and minds. Eventually if a person has enough bad or negative experience their being shifts toward darkness. Once this happens it becomes more difficult to look for or believe in the light. Eventually life can become like a self-fulfilling prophecy never quite treating you right or turning out the best. On the other hand, if the cup is half full then life can keep getting better and better.

Transformation starts with feeling things could be better or they are not right, the action is change and the goal is transformation.

Oneness is singular, without parts and not made up of other things. Oneness in the self; is that the same as Oneness in the Higher power? In Daoism, the theory is the Universal energy that flows through you, flows through me. It is also connected to the Higher force, the Universal consciousness. Anything you want to describe or label the Creator, the One will be constant and without change.

A lot of people are not sure if yoga is a religious practice or yoga tries to incorporate religion into it? Of course, there may be some teachers or practices that connect the two; but I think it just happens naturally as an effect of practice. When I first started practicing yoga maybe I was a bit spiritual; but I was not religious. I find the more I practice yoga the more I find G-d or this Universal energy and it has nothing to do with religion.

A lot of people live in a place ruled by their ego. Some people reek so strongly of ego anyone could call it and others it may be so subtle that its restrictions are barely noticeable. In yoga, part of practice is to let go of the mind. Your ego lives in your mind. If you decide to release ego you concede to a Higher force. Then, a small opening is made in the Universe to allow you to feel Him or Her’s presence and power. The more you release ego and join in this Higher force the more you experience the light in your life.

Being self-centered is a common and practical way to live in our Western world. We have been raised to be self-sufficient and achieve which might not leave a lot of space for others. Many people will have to work hard to truly join with their higher self, community and this Higher power. Evaluating where you are now and where you want to be is worth time and energy if you want to make more space and light in your being.

How do we establish this connection to Oneness and make it stronger? In yoga practice the clearing through breath and meditation is going to manifest a deeper connection to the true self. This can be seen as a reflection of the Higher power, the source, the white light that we are all made of and is there to support you. This connection is a beautiful blessing that arises from practice and has to manifest organically through time and space. It should have no boundaries or divisions just as the Higher power has none. You can devote each practice as an offering to G-d as a way to connect to this Oneness or let nature take its course bringing you back home, to center.

The result of being in Oneness is life has more purpose and satisfaction. You feel more empowered in your life, relationships, community and direction. You are on and in purpose. This pure energy source flows through you and you are One with this Universal energy source.

It feels mystical and joyous but mostly it takes the pressure off you to follow a road that leads away from Higher power and others. Each time we make a choice that pulls and tugs at our mind, body and spirit it is a result of us being less One and more me. Listen to that voice and try yoga as a way to begin the gradual transformation to Oneness. It is a glorious trip!

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