Gratitude

Yoga and GratitudeBy Jennifer Jordan


Gratitude.......just like other things that are important to health – exercising, eating right, getting adequate sleep – may be easy to lose in the couch cushions of life.

But, there are a few tricks of the trade aimed at helping gratitude flourish. Setting aside a few moments a day, perhaps five or ten minutes, to just reflect on what it is you appreciate today can be helpful. Another thing that can be helpful is getting a small notebook and writing down three or five small things that you are grateful for, like the sunshine, the time to reflect, clean clothes, and a warm cup of tea.

Writing is a great tool for self reflection, writing down thoughts of what are you thankful for helps you cultivate gratitude. So much of our health and overall well being is determined by the way we think, programming our brains will program our lives.


Jennifer Jordan is senior editor of for http://www.yogatwisted.com. Specializing in articles that not only teach yoga techniques, but also teach techniques on fulfillment and enrichment, she aims to educate students proudly enrolled in the school of life.

SATURDAY, JAN. 3RD.

Please bring your copies of the Guru Gita with you this Saturday, if you own one.
If not, I have copies you can borrow.
Thanks!

Beautiful slide show

There is a slide show with a beautiful selection of photos and quotes which has been posted today on the Siddha Yoga website, www.siddhayoga.org. It can be viewed by visiting the homepage and clicking on “view slideshow.” The slideshow will remain on the website until December 26^th.

HAPPY PANCHA GANAPATI!!!
OM Gam Ganatapayai Namah!

Yoga materials:

I made this list of yoga reference material. You may have these titles, have others that you would be willing to lend, or wish to experience more yoga writings and videos........

Books:

• Iyengar: Light on Yoga, Light on the Yoga Sutras
• Schiffman: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness
• Yee: Yoga
• Chopra: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga
• Lasater: Living Your Yoga
• Coulter: The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga
• Paul Grilley: Yin Yoga
• Rolf Gates: Meditations from the Mat
• Doug Swenson: Mastering the Secrets of Yoga Flow
• Elise Miller: Life is a Stretch
• Ashtanga Yoga - Juliet Pegrum
• "A Morning Cup of Yoga"
• Yoga for Body, Breath and Mind
• Mega Yoga
• Yoga for Your Life
• The Hatha Yoga Pradipika
• 101 Essential Tips

Meditation, philosophy, quotes, poetry, Buddhist and Taoist teachings:

....Chodron, Brach, Thich Nhat Hanh, Notes from the Universe, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Poems and reflections by Hafiz, Leza Lowitz, Danna Faulds and other writers.

DVD's:

I have DVD's from one of the most beautiful teachers Desiree Rumbaugh, others by Suzanne Deason, Rodney Yee, Ravi Singh and Ana Brett - and a chair yoga series from Sita Davies at Shoshoni. Also "Yoga for Dummies", which sounds funny, but those "Dummies" folks do their homework as far as the physical postures go. Some great cues in other words.

Yoga is meant to be shared, and I wholeheartedly do so, in any way I can. Namaste, Cindy

NEW SHAMBHAVA SCHOOL OF YOGA WEBSITE

The Shambhava School of Yoga has put up a new website. You can now go there for information or to register. The web address is www.shambhavayoga.org.

This site outlines how to continue to your 500HR RYT, or just to take some continuing education classes. If you have friends who are interested in taking the training, please refer them to this site, and also have them call me.

I am considering several courses of action for the Wichita location. If 3 or 4 of you are interested in beginning Level II and III training, I might offer that next year instead of Level I.

ASSIGNMENTS

Program Overview Chapter: pp.7--21
Chapter 6: Pranayama
Chapter 4: Teaching Methods

We will begin using this material the first Saturday in January.
Continue to review your pose cards, so you become more familiar.

And as usual, please feel free to call or email me.
I will be having class on New Year's day, and family and friends are welcome.
No charge to family and friends of teacher trainees on this day.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to all of you for successfully completing the first half of your teacher training!
I am so very proud of all of you, and it is so wonderful to see the personal growth in each of you.
Thank you for being with me in this process.

If any of you want a copy of the cd "Grow It" which I played today, just let me know as I will be ordering copies.

Love and blessings!! Have wonderful holidays and enjoy your loved ones.

A great time with Narayani!

We had a great time, but it was very cold and winds were high sometimes!

FINAL CATEGORY OF POSES

This Monday evening, Dec. 8th, we will be going over the balancing poses.
(Asana chapter, pp. 84--94).

On Saturday,Dec. 13th, cue cards for all poses should be completed.
Module 1 Written Assignment is due.
We will have practicums, in which each one of you will teach 3 poses.

And then we will be done with the first half!
CONGRATULATIONS!!

Carpet for the center.....

I always hoped I could help the rec center students be a little warmer in January and February. I thought if maybe I could get some carpet remnants.....that would work......

Wishes come true.....so just wish them!

Debbie......you and your husband are wonderful people!

Where Are You Going? A Guide to the Spiritual Journey

Hi Everyone!

I just finished reading the above mentioned book by Swami Muktananda. If anyone is interested in reading it, I would be happy to loan it out. I really enjoyed it! Have a great week!

Portrait of Babaji by his wife, Faith Stone

Inversions

The assignment for Inverted Poses is in your Asana chapter, pp. 72--83.
We will be covering them tonight, Monday, Dec. 1st

Several things....

1. January 24th we will have an evening of chanting with Jeffrey Faus and me at Yoga for You.
I need some volunteers to bring cookies or snacks. More information will be on the website soon.

2. Call me if you are interested in the art class with Charles Baughman. He will be teaching how to draw simple figures, such as Yoga poses.

3. Think about April 19th at Shoshoni for a possible graduation trip together. April 19th is a Sunday. If we could arrive by Friday evening, and take some classes at Shoshoni on Saturday, then graduate on Sunday morning, that would be the plan. However, I would personally like to go on Thursday, and stay over Monday, and come back Tuesday, because Babaji holds a question and answer session on Monday evenings at the Eldo ashram near Denver. You can just think about it, check out the prices on the Shoshoni website, and let me know. I will find out the cost of taking the classes and let you know.
Your family is welcome to come with you.

Photos from Amanda Goner

PHOTOS FROM AMANDA

PHOTOS FROM AMANDA

PHOTOS FROM AMANDA

PHOTOS FROM AMANDA

BKS Iyengar

Found this clip from 1938. Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmOUZQi_6Tw

Happy Thanksgiving

I am so very grateful and appreciative to be sharing, what I believe, for me, to be an awakening of our gifts within, with all of you. No doubt we were all brought together, not only for ourselves and each other, but for the many lives that will be touched in more ways than we will ever know.
"Its not about me" Blessings to each of you. Happy Thanksgiving

Namaste

This Saturday

Namaste, all. Reading assignment for this Saturday is in your asana section, pp. 65--75.
Please be familiar with this before we do class. If there are any twists in particular you would like for me to teach in detail, please let me know.

WAAAAY COOL!

Say You Can

Many memories as we journey on our new path.
I'm in.

Possible trip to Shoshoni in April 2009

Maybe it would be possible to go to Shoshoni for your graduation in April.
We could do your last teacher training hours there on Saturday, and then graduate Sunday morning on April 19th.
We could travel there on Thursday or Friday, and come back Sunday. I talked with my daughter, Narayani, and she thought this would work out for them.
Let me know what your thoughts are about this. It would also be possible to stay a little longer. On Monday evenings our teacher holds satsang at the Eldorado ashram, and we could stay and go to that if we wanted to.
I would estimate the travel time driving to be around 9-10 hours. It is a long trip, but not so bad if you have people to talk to.

Picture of Swami Muktananda

Some of you have been interested in having a photo of Swami Muktananda. This is sometimes called the
"shaktipat" photo, because of its power and intensity.

Tibetan Photo Project

This is cool ya'll. See what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4uDmdU3Sgk

Thank you

Thank you all so much for yesterday. You all are progressing in your Yoga so beautifully, and it is wonderful to hear your questions and comments. We are almost half way through your training and I am so grateful to be with you in this learning process.

Now, how about that Pumpkin Bread recipe, Letty!

Deva Premal chanting the Gayatri Mantra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d63COahIpVM

Beautiful......just beautiful.

Second Half Teacher Training Schedule

2nd Half of Teacher Training (2009) Saturdays 11--4:30
Jan 3, 17, 31
Feb. 14, 28
mar 14, 28
Apr, 11, 25

Mondays: 5--7PM
Jan 5, 19
Feb 2
Mar 16, 30
Apr 12, 27

Yay Sarah!

Did anyone hear Sarah's spot on KMUW this morning? It was great to hear voice on the radio speaking so well of the virtues of public radio. OK, Sarah, I'm making my pledge today.

.....a few announcements

I will be at Shoshoni from Dec. 2--7th, and so my classes Tues-Fri. will be canceled.
Julie's class will be held, and I hope you all can go.

Written assignments are due Dec. 13th.

Each of you please schedule a private consultation with me for Nov. or Dec., preferably before Dec. 13th.

Pictures!

Could anyone fix the red-eye without losing the red wall behind us......?? grin.

I sure had fun today ....thanks for the opportunity to train with all of you - I am a very lucky yogi.

Cindy

podcasts

Hi all, yesterday morning I listened to a great podcast of Seane Corn interviewed on Speaking of Faith.

Corn has been practicing yoga for 20+ years and works with child and adolescent prostitutes. She is also the National Ambassador for YouthAIDS. You can find the interview here. That link takes you to a page whee you can download the podcast, read personal reflections on yoga and watch a video of Corn practicing body prayer. She is beautiful!

Matthew Sanford, the paraplegic yoga teacher who has adapted his practice to students with disabilities was also interviewed on Speaking of Faith. Here's the link to his interview. The link takes you to a page that also has further resources about Sanford, including information about his great memoir, The Body's Grace.

Both interviews are about an hour, but they are certainly worth the time.

Jill Bolte Taylor

Hi everyone. Jill Bolte Taylor, the brain scientist who had the stroke, whose you tube video we saw a while back, is on Oprah today.

Go here for a quick write up of today's show by a gal who is "living Oprah" for a year to see what impact that has on her life. She's also a yoga teacher!

Ashtanga Yoga

And now for something completely different....

http://www.yogabeans.com/

Just be aware that the language in this site is quite salty!

A favorite quote

"Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got." ----Janis Joplin

Photo Op

Does anyone have a digital camera and would you be willing to bring it next time and take a few photos. I would like to put some up on the website. You are all STARS!!!

Creative Scheduling

Let's think about end of Nov. or December dates. Instead of doing the last weekend in Nov., which will be Thanksgiving, maybe we could do an afternoon and an evening during the following week, and do the hours in several sessions.
Let's just blog on this and see what happens.

Yoga Dance

Ok, another youtube: The Tripsicore Yoga Dance Company

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wyrwbHwp4

YouTube account of having a stroke.

If you all have not watched this yet, it is an amazing story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

Link

Hi everyone. I just read this week's Modern Love column in The New York Times and I was so moved I wanted to share it with you. I thought of you because one of the characters in the column is a young woman with a strong yoga practice.

I hope you like it. Enjoy!

--Sarah

SHARING THOUGHTS

I would love it if each one of you might be willing, at this time, to record some of your observations about yourself since you began a regular Yoga practice. Just to begin to observe your own thoughts is a spiritual practice in and of itself. Sharing your thoughts with your fellow students will help them and you. It will also give me an idea about what is going on with you, so I can be a better teacher.

I welcome suggestions and comments.
If you do not feel comfortable doing this, I encourage you to take care of yourself.
Some people are very private about their process, and I completely honor this.

Just remember, the one you are seeking is the one who is doing the seeking.

Possible trip to Shoshoni

Namaste,
Along the lines of brainstorming here, we have the possibility of planning a trip to Shoshoni for part of your teacher training. We could do it in early November, or more like April or May, rather than the dead of winter.

We could arrive on Friday, and leave Sunday afternoon. The cost would be $153 for the program and then the costs for lodging (the choices are on the Shoshoni website.) They would count that as 13 hours of training, and we could then skip 2 Saturdays on our schedule here.

Or we could plan to arrive Thursday, and leave Sunday or Monday.

I realize that it might be difficult to coordinate the date with all of you. I had the idea to take one of the November teacher training Saturdays, and just go during that time.
Let me know what your thoughts are.

Yoga Study

Hello everyone,

The Wichita Clinical Community Oncology Program at Via Christi, where I work, has started recruiting people to participate in a research study on yoga sponsored by the University of Rochester Cancer Center.

Its title is: Yoga for Persistent Sleep Disturbance in Cancer Survivors.

About 20 people will participate in 4 weeks of restorative yoga classes (2 classes per week for a total of 8 classes) taught by a 200 hr RYT at the Cancer Center of Kansas. Subjects will be randomly placed in one of two groups. The first group will start the class at the end of October while the second group acts as a control. After the first group is done, the control group gets to take the next session, so everyone gets to benefit from the practice. We had a group of patients do this study last year with great success.

Here are some of the criteria for participation:

• Has a confirmed diagnosis of cancer (but not metastatic cancer)
• Has undergone standard treatment (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy)
• Has completed all scheduled treatment (see above) between 2 and 24 months prior to enrollment in the study.
• Has trouble sleeping.
• Has not regularly participated in a yoga class or maintained a personal practice within the last 3 months.

If you know anyone who might qualify for this study, please have them contact me at 268-5424 (work) or 765-4706 (cell) or email bradley_smith@via-christi.org

We're working on an official flyer for this, and I'll bring some copies to the studio as soon as they are ready.

Namaste,

Brad

Anatomy for Yoga DVD

The place to get the anatomy DVD is www.pranamaya.com
Anatomy for Yoga, by Paul Grilley.

Sri Shambhavananda's blog

I have permission to give you my teacher's blogspot. He regularly gives us insight in his own wonderful way. I thought you all might like to read it, so you can see how the tools you are learning actually helps you so much in your day to day problems.

http://shambhavananda.blogspot.com/

Welcome!

Today with Sarah's help I think I got you all invited to be authors, so we can all post and we can all comment. Let's just try it and see if it is a help.

GETTING STARTED

Ok, let's see how this works. I think you can add posts to this page, and you and I can dialogue.