Irish Yoga in Mallorca
11 May 2012 3 Comments
Due to a friendly person siting next to me on my flight from NYC to Barcelona, a young unemployed pharmaceutical rep from chicago, I did not sleep for almost 40 hours. Thus after an ‘Irish yoga’ class taught by my friend Howard, and a late night bread-toast with olive oil and tomato, I crashed like a meteor on its way to the milky stars.
You might be wondering more about the ‘Irish yoga’ than the consequences of my crash, so I will fill you in.
‘Irish yoga’ is an hour long yoga class which used to be taught by an Irish pro soccer player who found yoga after an injury to his hip. Apparently he was popular in the little village where my friend Howard has set up his home. When he left, Howard, who basically got the class organized, picked up the class so the experience could continue, however, since he is not a yoga teacher, and was more interested in the community, it became a practice class with everyone heading to the down town center to drink beer and eat potato chips and local olives.
As most of the sailors were back from their journey, we had a rather large class, forcing us to move from the roof top of a local student and into the yoga studio of a different friend.
The practice was an interesting experience. I have taken a few classes per the last few months, and most of the time I leave feeling a bit off balanced, primarily because classes are predominately focused on standing postures, and most of them are the same repetitive movement over and over. They gets stamped with the word ‘vinyasa’ which means ‘flow’ and thus what you tend to get is a yoga class that simply moves through the same combination of postures for about 50 minutes, then they do a back bend, a seated pose and relaxation.
Howard led a class that was unorthodox in my book, yet balanced far better than most. After 3 sets of an interesting adaptation of sun salutation we went to the floor and worked with various poses that positioned the hip in all three planes of movement, then worked the shoulder girdle in a similar plane manipulation.
The planes of the body are the three dimension movement we can go through, forward, backward and side to side.
We then stood back up and used a rubber strap to create more movement in the shoulders (considering that the class was balanced between its male and female population this was a cool observation of what really benefits practitioners who really do yoga every once in a while, or once a week if they live on the island).
I appreciated the fact that each pose was actually held for a period of almost 8 breaths, something which again is very rare in the bare skin, tight fit wear, ego filled yoga classes of the USA.
Howard says of his class that he put it together to work the agonist and antagonist of each muscle group, creating a compete body experience, which ultimately is the point of any good sequence.
We headed to the ‘piaza’ after class for beer, olives and potato chips. It was a fun relaxing way to get to know the various students, and after 3 beers, conversation about Thai Massage, a mix of jokes which was provoked by Howard, who was recalling our Croatia dinners which were always filled with jokes, laughter and social mix, we came back to the house.
Howard had a friend stay over, and we had a nice late snack, before we all retired.
I honestly am unsure how I survived.
When Howard went to work with his clients in the afternoon, I was online cleaning emails and reading a book about Osho, written by his former body guard, and fighting my body’s desire to crash. My eyes like a pair of heavy weights threatening to fall on my toes.
I knew I was going to the Irish Yoga class, and though I thought of doing my ashtanga practice, I could also feel that my traveling soul needed a respite. I did do my daily minimum which proved to offer a bit more energy, yet also showed me that had I attempted to do any more I would have enjoyed an inner rebellion, my cells rising to the aristocracy of my ego and putting it to the gulliotine. I chose to be part of the socialistic movement and settled for 3 sun salutation A, 3 sun salutations B, and the 3 closing poses, what my teacher Patabhi Jois told my other teacher David Williams was the daily minimum required to be an ashtanga yoga practitioner.
I did have an interesting conversation about ahtanga with one of the students siting next to me. While she did not enjoy a beer because she was pregnant, the subject came up when Howard shared something I told him when we were teaching at the Thai Massage Gathering in Europe two years ago. If you can’t stay up drinking and eating and still get up the following day and practice, you should not be eating and drinking late.
It is super easy to be a “yogi” living an austere and secluded life style. Never participating in the fullness of living. I am not preaching over indulgence here, but if you over indulge AND get up and practice, in my opinion, you are just as committed and just as spiritual as the recluse yogi or yogini.
That’s why I also respect Osho, despite knowing that he led a community of people on a path of over indolence in sexuality, sensuality, money, and expensive toys. At least that is what the author of ‘The God that failed” was sharing in his personal account of his time with Osho.
Osho, also known as Rajneesh Resh, is enjoying a resurgence of awareness in these times, through his foundation publishing books based on his extensive talks, on virtually every subject imaginable, from religion to poetry, from art to architecture.
YouTube is also credited for helping this new movement where Osho’s lecture videos are now easily discovered through their search engine.
Howard’s point really was that here we wee on a beautiful island in coatia, eating and drinking and laughing until the late hours of the night, and yet every morning I would be out on the deck over looking the ocean, practicing with who ever wanted to do the practice.
Practice after all is just brushing your teeth, I shared with the Irish Yoga group.
But brushing the teeth takes 3 minutes, commented the student sitting in front of me.
True, I responded, and practice takes about an hour, which is why most people do not do it.
The student next to me was surprised at how long it took me, saying it takes her at least 2 hours to finish her mysore practice.
I shared that I do tend to be a bit lazy these days. Where I used to practice the first and second series together for many years, these days I apply principles I picked up from my teacher Anthony ‘Prem’ Carlisi that when you travel, you should only practice the Primary Series.
When I hung out with David Williams I learned that he took ‘vinyasa’ – the flowing coordination of the body through push up, upward facing dog, downward facing dog, and back to sitting – after both right and left side completed the pose, as opposed to taking ‘vinyasa’ after each seated pose, which is how I practice if I am in a traditional mysore room. I hardly get to practice with others in a mysore setting any more, and thus in the confine of my personal practice, I have found a liking to the original form of the practice, and thus it only takes me an hour to finish the practice.
‘do you take less breaths or practice faster’ I was asked, to which I only smiled and replied of course not.
The practice of ashtanga is not a physical practice after all. it is a breath practice.
After a brief exploration I had an intuition that the student sitting next to me was under the guidance of a teacher who has placed more emphasis on the body, as opposed to the breath, so I asked her: ‘you spend quite a bit of time trying to position your body in the pose, which is why it takes you almost 2 hours?’
She was shocked at my insight.
While it is perfectly fine to do that, I pointed out words that my teacher Tim Miller left me about 8 years ago when he was attempting to wrap my arm around my leg in a complicated pose called ‘Marichasana D’ dedicated to the sage Marichi who is considered to be the grandfather of Surya and the son of Braman, the creator. I had been with Tim about 4 months at that point, and while it would take me another 18 months before I would actually bind the pose by myself, I asked him ‘why is it taking me so long?’ Tim simply smiled at me and calmly said: ‘it’s not about the pose.’ I knew exactly what he meant immediately, and laughed with him at my own attachment, when the whole point is to find the joy that lies through connecting with the breath.
It is not about the pose, even though we are trying to achieve the posture.
It is about the breath, and the practice is to do the best we can, but with ‘vairagyam’ which means non-attachment.
At this point in my teaching career I am used to the fact that my perspective is very different than what most student are exposed to, or what most teachers offer. Since I feel my perspective is a result of my teachers, I simply feel grateful to them when it helps inspire others to embrace their practice once again.
Amelia, the student sitting next to me, looked at me and said: ‘I never thought of it that way, and that makes so much more sense.’
While we had planned to be on the beach by 8am for morning practice, Howard and his friend did not step out of their room till 8:30, and by the time we got to the beach the sun was well on it’s journey to heat the freezing mediterranean ocean.
Where I was hoping we would practice on solid ground, I found myself on a beach towel, on sandy plain, looking at the crystal blue ocean, in one of the bays of the western side of the island, guiding Howard through the primary series.
Yoga on sand proved to be harder than I expected, yet also surprisingly fun in it’s application of the same things I shared the night before.
We did have to adjust the towel every now and again, and it was super hard balancing in boat pose on the soft sand. I felt as if i was imprinting my tail bone on the coast of Mallorca.
After a stroll down the beach side, and a discovery that the ocean water is the temperature of my freezer, we headed back up the mountain to make lunch for Howard’s kids who are hanging out with us this afternoon.
Gabe Yoga and Thai Massage Tour
23 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
Spain – 2 Workshops 1 Transforming weekend /Mallorca (May 11- 13, 2012)
- Poland – Retreat (May 18 – 23, 2012)
- Hong Kong – Astho-Thai Yoga and Bikyasa Yoga (May 25-27, 2012)
- Poland – Yin Weekend (June 1-3, 2012)
- Germany – Leipzig – Thai massage training (June 8-17, 2012)
- Germany – Berlin – 10 day Bikyasa immersion (June 19 – 27, 2012)
- Antwerp – g d – (July 7-8, 2012)
- Zurich – Workshops – (July 13 – 15, 2012)
- Poland – Tatra Mountains – (July 16 – 23, 2012)
Thai Yoga Explained
20 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
In 2010 I was invite to give a lecture on Thai Massage at the Thai Massage SYmposium in Washington, DC.
I presented a talk about the history and the magic of Thai Massage, and also discussed how modern massage principles have been in use for centuries in Thai Massage.
Day 1 of teacher training!!
21 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
Today we began our 10 day teacher training with Gabriel Azoulay. I absolutely loved taking this Bikyasa class for the very first time. It was a great workout, but at the same time I felt extremely connected with my breath and body during and after my practice. We were able to dissect our sun salutations, as well as learn about how to correct and further stretch another student’s posture (downward facing dog, child’s pose). After only working with Gabriel for one day, he helped me understand areas where my practice needs improvement. I am so excited to learn more!!!!
maritbrevikyoga
http://maritbrevikyoga.wordpress.com/
Beginning the Journey
13 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
I am officially signed up and excited to begin H3 Yoga Teacher Training with Gabriel Azoulay (www.gabrielazoulay.com)!
My path into yoga began in 2003 when I unsuspectingly ventured into my first Bikram class with a friend, utterly clueless as to what was about to hit me. As probably most first-time hot yoga practitioners, I basically thought I was going to die in the class, although the teacher cheerily informed me that I wouldn’t be so lucky. During the class I was absolutely sure I would never go back…what kind of lunatic does yoga in a sauna anyhow?! But then an amazing thing happened. I woke up the next morning feeling reborn…and I was addicted.
Throughout the years I continued practicing Bikram style, sometimes hitting five classes a week, at other times dragging myself to a few classes a month. Regardless what shape my life was in, I loved that yoga was something I could always go back to, where I could find my center, my balance, my strength, my challenge. And I loved how the same exact 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises and the same exact dialogue could show up so completely different in my body with each practice.
In 2009 I moved to East Germany, where there were no hot yoga studios. I continued practicing Hatha Yoga at a local studio and took up a home Bikram practice. The space heater and long underwear didn’t exactly achieve the hellishness of a real Bikram class, but it was the best I could do, and I enjoyed my daily practice.
Life takes some turns that we don’t always anticipate. By summer 2011 my relationship was quickly unraveling and my career as a massage therapist was hitting a brick wall. I still fought my way through each day, trying to make it work, but was really beginning to question whether Germany was really the right place for me after all.
As chance had it, I signed up for a 10-day Thai Yoga Massage course in Leipzig in July 2011, led by Gabriel Azoulay. In addition to learning Thai Massage, this was my introduction to Ashtanga Yoga and Yin Yoga, which since then have become my primary practice. But the class extended far beyond yoga and thai massage for me. It changed my life and opened my eyes to new possibilities, and it gave me the courage to make the hard decisions that needed to be made…to start my life over. It was not an easy thing to do, and for many dark months I clung to my yoga mat as the only safe space in a world of internal chaos. But the decision was made – I moved back to the states and opened myself to the new path that started to lay itself out before me: to become a yoga teacher.
The day after I moved to Denver, Colorado, I began my 200-hour hot yoga teacher training with CorePower Yoga. It was a wonderful experience in many ways, and I am currently doing an internship at the studio, teaching and assisting classes. It’s amazing how much you learn from each time you step into the yoga room - but I recognize there’s a long way to go.
I look forward to continuing my training through the H3 program because I have seen Gabriel’s talented genius at work in the yoga room and I know his ability to inspire others. Having him as a teacher, mentor, and a friend has truly been a blessing.
And so a new journey begins…
Namaste,
Elina
Introducing Bikyasa Hot Yoga in our studio
09 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
My name is Dennis Dusho.
My wife and I are opening a hot yoga studio in Eagle, Idaho.
We will be introducing Bikyasa Hot Yoga in our studio.
Bikyasa Yoga was developed by Gabriel Azoulay and we have invited to Eagle to run a 10-day Bikyasa Immersion for teachers.
We just completed Day 1 and I learned Sun Salutation postures.
Viewed 2 videos.
Learned how to correct down dog and child pose.
We also learned that we are starting a new journey.
my biggest fear is learning the dialogue and teaching it.
I am afraid i will forget the words or mess up the sequence.
Hanuman
29 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
My favorite of all the Hindu expressions of Divine, is the Monkey Face divine form known as Hanuman.
The video details step by step instyruction, while weaving the story and magic of Hanuman ad the beauty of the pose, which signifies the ability to take a leap of faith.
a leap into the unknown.
Eagle Pose
29 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
Garuda Asana as it is known in sanskrit is a beautiful pose that works:
- all 14 major joints in the body
- enhances circulation
- develops mental agility and concentration
The story of Garuda’s birth and deeds is told in the first book of the great epic Mahabharata. According to the epic, when Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at the end of every age. Frightened, the gods begged him for mercy. Garuda, hearing their plea, reduced himself in size and energy.
Garuda’s father was the creator-rishi Kasyapa. His mother was Vinata, whose sister was Kadru, the mother of serpents. One day, Vinata entered into and lost a foolish bet, as a result of which she became enslaved to her sister. Resolving to release his mother from this state of bondage, Garuda approached the serpents and asked them what it would take to purchase her freedom. Their reply was that Garuda would have to bring them the elixir of immortality, also called amrita. It was a tall order. The amrita at that time found itself in the possession of the gods, who guarded it jealously, since it was the source of their immortality. They had ringed the elixir with a massive fire that covered the sky. They had blocked the way to the elixir with a fierce mechanical contraption of sharp rotating blades. And finally, they had stationed two gigantic poisonous snakes next to the elixir as deadly guardians.
Undaunted, Garuda hastened toward the abode of the gods intent on robbing them of their treasure. Knowing of his design, the gods met him in full battle-array. Garuda, however, defeated the entire host and scattered them in all directions. Taking the water of many rivers into his mouth, he extinguished the protective fire the gods had thrown up. Reducing his size, he crept past the rotating blades of their murderous machine. And finally, he mangled the two gigantic serpents they had posted as guards. Taking the elixir into his mouth without swallowing it, he launched again into the air and headed toward the eagerly waiting serpents. En route, he encountered Vishnu. Rather than fight, the two exchanged promises. Vishnu promised Garuda the gift of immortality even without drinking from the elixir, and Garuda promised to become Vishnu’s mount. Flying onward, he met Indra the god of the sky. Another exchange of promises occurred. Garuda promised that once he had delivered the elixir, thus fulfilling the request of the serpents, he would make it possible for Indra to regain possession of the elixir and to take it back to the gods. Indra in turn promised Garuda the serpents as food.
At long last, Garuda alighted in front of the waiting serpents. Placing the elixir on the grass, and thereby liberating his mother Vinata from her servitude, he urged the serpents to perform their religious ablutions before consuming it. As they hurried off to do so, Indra swooped in to make off with the elixir. The serpents came back from their ablutions and saw the elixir gone but with small droplets of it on the grass. They tried to lick the droplets and thereby split their tongues in two. From then onwards, serpents have split tongues and shed their skin as a kind of immortality.
From that day onward, Garuda was the ally of the gods and the trusty mount of Vishnu, as well as the implacable enemy of snakes, upon whom he preyed at every opportunity.
WHAT MAKES A ‘TYPE AB’ AN INDIVIDUAL?
21 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
What makes Me Me and You You?
This is the question that is at the heart of the genetic puzzle. It is also central to our exploration of blood types. The key is genetic heritage – the story line of your life. Even though you are living in the 21st century, you share a common bond with your ancestors. The genetic information that resulted in their particular characteristics has been passed on to you.
People who are AB blood type have a different set of characteristics than people who are Type O – they are susceptible to different diseases, they should eat different foods and exercise in a completely different manner. Some believe that personality is influenced by blood type! Dr. D’Adamo, author of the best selling books Eat Right for Your Type andLive Right for Your Type, among others, gives us a blueprint for living in his books. Read on to learn more about the Type AB individual.
The Blood Type AB Individualized Lifestyle
Type AB blood is rare – it’s found in less than five percent of the population. And it is the newest of the blood types. Until ten or twelve centuries ago, there was no Type AB blood type. Type AB resulted from the intermingling of Type A with Type B. Type AB is the only blood type whose existence is the result of intermingling rather than environment. Thus, they share both the benefits and the challenges of both Type A and Type B blood types. Type AB has a unique chameleon like quality – depending on the circumstances, this blood type can appropriate the characteristics of each of the other blood types. Type AB is sometimes A-like, sometimes B-like and sometimes a fusion of both. Today, as we look back at this remarkable evolutionary revolution, it is clear that the genetic characteristics of our ancestors live in our blood today.
How Hot Yoga is leading and changing the Yoga Industry
19 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
Today, Hot Yoga has changed the lives of hundreds of people across the world. Intentional Yoga Studios throughout the world offer a Hot Yoga practice called “Bikyasa” that is grounded in the scientific and medical benefits of the Bikram and Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga.
The word Yoga today is easily associated with lifestyle and health, two major concerns of the American Health Association today. With an increase of obesity in younger adults, rising numbers of diabetes, heart failure, and other stress related health concerns; Yoga classes are becoming increasingly more popular, as a cost alternative, prevention, and even symptom reversal.
In 1998, Dr. Dean Ornish, through experimenting with 194 patients of coronary heart disease, found that “80% of the patients were able to avoid bypass or angioplasty by adhering to lifestyle changes, including yoga.”
Intentional Yoga continues to change one’s outlook of Yoga with its heated flow, in-depth instruction, and popular culture beat. Baseball stars, Hollywood celebrities, and pop culture artists attest to the amazing benefits they experience after just a few classes.
Hot Yoga continues to lead the Yoga industry by encouraging physicians and scientists to research its benefits, funding experiments and educating the general public. Benefits such as weight loss, muscle tone, joint flexibility, range of motion, increased energy and enhanced vitality are only a few of the common benefits that practitioners rave about.
The most recent published paper on the benefits of Hot Yoga were published in the Chinese Medicine Journal on June 2010, demonstrating the benefits of Hot Yoga as a countermeasure of bone loss in women. Cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, also argues that Yoga “massages the lymph system,” activating the flow of lymph throughout the body, speeding up its infection-fighting and waste-filtering process, and promoting “the draining of the lymph.” According to Oz, specific asanas “stretch muscles that from animal studies are known to stimulate the lymph system.”
Today’s Yoga industry is vast and varied and offers a class that suits any individual, though Intentional Yoga classes offer a consistent experience through their Bikyasa program which is a set sequence with specific instruction, which make the class accessible to beginners and challenging for advanced practitioners. The postures are connected together to provide not only a complete workout, but also a scientific approach to revitalizing the entire system.
This revitalization process occurs primarily through the heat. In a heated environment capillaries dilate more effectively, enhancing oxygenation of tissues, muscles, glands and organs. Metabolism speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids, and just as when your body raises its temperature to fight infection, raised temperature in the room assists in improving T-cell function and the proper functioning of your immune system.
Outside of the physical benefits, Intentional Yoga builds a community that supports and nourishes it’s students. What sets Bikyasa Style apart is it’s ability to bridge between the sciences of the East, and the freedom of the West.
Have you done your yoga today?
