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- About
you. Devoted to yoga or just getting started with a practice, you already know how good you feel
after a class: calmer, more at ease in your body, more focused. You may have found that your digestion is better and
that you sleep well after a class, and over time, you notice small, incremental, positive changes in your state of well-being.
What is happening within your body/mind during and after a yoga class is quite complex and
wonderful. In essence, you are deliberately cultivating 'prana' or the life force within you through a series of postures
and/or posture flows choreographed by your yoga instructor. Some instructors do the same series every time. Others
mixed it up, focusing on core strength for one class, balance in another. At a biochemical level, you are affecting
your own chemistry in a positive way through your yoga practice. So although hatha yoga (the postures) is often touted
as a way to become more flexible, strong and toned -- and a regular practice can do that -- it is working on a much more subtle
and powerful level.
As yogi master B.K.S. Iyengar puts it, "Yoga must be experienced." If
you're new to yoga, ask around your neighborhood for leads to a Yoga-Alliance certified yoga teacher (like me). Get
yourself a mat at least 1/4" thick, a comfortable pair of shorts or tights and t-shirt. More important than
these is the desire to explore something new and the willingness to be a beginner, as we all are at something every single
day of our lives.
- About me. Like a lot of people, I sampled yoga
in the 1970s when it first became better known in the West. For a variety of reasons, it didn't take hold then, but
I got another chance in my early 50s when a Kripalu teacher began to offer classes near my home. I discovered how good
I felt after a class, physically, mentally and spiritually. I began to notice that I was becoming more flexible, and
had fewer colds. Peri-menopause symptoms were more manageable. I was handling the challenges of my small business
as a public relations consultant and writer more calmly and creatively. In 1998, after I had been practicing Kripalu
yoga for three years, I decided I wanted to share this remarkable tool with others, so I took yoga teacher training at the
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Mass. I opened a small studio in Hoboken called 11th and Yoga and began teaching weekly group classes,
as well as prenatal yoga workshops. I launched a weekly class at Jersey City Medical Center and it was soon packed with
staffers in scrubs. From those beginnings, I branched out into other hospitals, churches and synagogues and a senior
center. In 2003, I moved to South Florida and have been teaching in a variety of private and public fitness facilities
since. Current venues/clients include Loggerhead Fitness (Juno Beach) St. Joseph's Assisted Living (Jupiter), Ocean
Trails (Jupiter, in season), Morse Life (Women's Group), the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches.
I am certified also in Chair Yoga, Thai Yoga Bodywork and Laughter Yoga. I have an MA in English, and am a published
author and blogger. I am also grandmother of five potential yogis.
- About Kripalu Yoga. Called 'meditation in motion,' Kripalu Yoga helps you find your own yoga. You are always encouraged to practice a series of postures at your
own pace, respecting your strengths and limitations, making this a very easy way to take yoga into your life. Practiced regularly, it is nothing less than a revolutionary tool
for more conscious, healthy living. I teach students short routines they can practice on their own, upon waking, before
bedtime, or whenever they have 10 or 15 minutes during the day. My goal is to encourage students to establish a regular
practice beyond the classroom.
- Created
by a mentor and colleague of mine, Lakshmi Voelker, Chair Yoga
translates many familiar yoga postures to the seated position. This makes Chair Yoga ideal for anyone with compromised
mobility, including people who cannot easily use a mat on the floor, including those recovering from injury or illness.
A complete practice in and of itself.
- You can sample my group Kripalu classes at Loggerhead Fitness in Juno Beach, or make an appointment for a private class in your home. Phone: 561-625-8753
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Laughter Yoga Part II 
Last weekend, Howard and I became Certified Laughter Yoga Leaders in
a two-day workshop in Miami led by Sebastien Gendry, the founder/director of the American School of Laughter Yoga. If
anyone had told me I could sit in a circle with a group of strangers and laugh for no reason at all, I would have ... well,
laughed at the very idea. But that is exactly what we did. I have a theory about how this works that isn't exactly on the curriculum, and it has to do with language
and/or sound linked to gesture. Our brains are crammed fully of memories and sense impressions we aren't even aware
of until something calls it up, e.g. Proust's Madeline. So just hearing Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha-Ha repeated
with enthusiasm and forcing your face into a smile can trigger the laugh response. After that, you're off and running.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that everyone around you is doing the same thing, because as you know, laughter is contagious
among social animals like us.
If this intrigues you, here's an opportunity: Next Wednesday and every Wednesday thereafter at 7:30 am , come join the new Laughter Club at Jupiter Beach, just South of the fishing
pier. We'll breathe, clap and laugh together for about 30 minutes. Then, we'll probably take a walk or
swim, and you're welcome to join us. No charge. Laughter Clubs, thousands of them in some 50 countries, are
all free as a community service. Making the world a better place one guffaw at a time?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Learning to MeditateFacebook keeps delivering old friends to my virtual door, and sometimes they
come bearing gifts like this one: Meditation Oasis (Thanks, Victoria Fann!). Funny thing is -- since I am both practitioner
and teacher of Kripalu Yoga -- I've yet to make meditation a part of my day athough given the opportunity, e.g. in a group,
I love it! So, the seed has been planted and just needs some watering. When I'm driving up to my class at
Re-Flexions (Gold's Gym in Jupiter), I often pop into Stephen Cope's CD from his book The Wisdom of Yoga and listen
to him read two chapters about working with new meditators. In Chapter One, he talks about the Noble Failure, that is,
the realization that we cannot still the mind or fix it on an object, in this case, the breath, for more than a nanosecond.
But apparently, with diligent practice, we discover that we can start to witness 'puppy mind' if only for a moment
at a time. I recommend both the book and the website for those of you, like me, who really want to learn how to meditate.
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Occasionally, I'll focus on a particular posture here or steer you
to some information that will nourish your practice of yoga. Whenever possible, I'll include links so you can explore
resources more deeply. I think of my yoga teaching as a two-way conversation between me and my students, so feel free
to email me (marika@2young2retire.com) with questions or comments. As Rodgers and Hammerstein put is so well, "As
a teacher I've been learning..."
Here
are a few links to get you started:
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Please get in touch with any questions or comments
on my site. Marika@2young2retire.com
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