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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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Sunday, September 11, 2011
Kid YogaYoga is great for kids and it makes you feel like one, even if that
wasn't exactly in your lesson plan! In fact, when I started a new class for K-5 at the Weiss School, I quickly realized that
it was best to be flexible about the lesson plan and go with the flow. I always tell my adult students that yoga is
not competitive. Well, try that with children! They love nothing more than to show you what they can do and challenge
each other to contests about who can hold a particular pose the longest. They love to fall out of a pose yelling 'timber!'
and find ways to move within poses. So far, we have done posture flows to reggae, Jason Mraz and Black Eyed Peas. They
also like Krishna Das' chanting and classical music. We had three periods of silence: at the beginning of the class,
during one long Warrior sequence requiring concentration, and during corpse pose when I challenged them to be the most relaxed,
heavy bodies they can be. As a teacher, I am learning...
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Kula Yoga Shala: A New Yoga Community I Just Joined I really have to thank yogi and chant artist,
David Newman (Durga Das) for my introduction to Kula Yoga Shala in Jupiter. If he hadn't chosen it for a recent performance venue, I might not have found my way to this dedicated
yoga studio, tucked behind corporate office space on Toney Penna. As soon as I made my way along the stepping stones
through a lovely garden and into the beautiful boutique space, I felt at home. It was almost as if I had traveled back
in time and space to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health where I took my yoga teacher training and began the transformation from promotional/speech writer to yoga teacher.
A few weeks later, I took a Kundalini class
at KYS with Kim Depasquale and met founder and ceo, Scott Feinberg. He was interested in adding a Kripalu class and
before we long we were sitting down to talk about my joining the community. On October 15, I start teaching a 90-minute
Kripalu class at Kula Yoga Shala, Wednesdays 1-2:30 pm.
Like all my classes, this will welcome all levels, with warm ups and postures accessible to all, and moderate challenges for
the more experienced yogi. Kripalu Yoga, as I have written elsewhere in these pages, is about finding your inner yoga
teacher guided by the wisdom of your own body and your experience within the context of the Kripalu method: meditation, pranayama
(breathwork), warm ups and posture sequencing. Kula
Yoga Shala is an unusual business model in that all classes are supported by donation. The key to a sustainable business
based on donations is a strong community of instructors and students. This is what we are all working to build at Kula
Yoga Shala. Teachers offer their unconditional best to all who come to their classes; students offer fair compensation
for the value they are receiving from the class. I'll let Scott tell you more about how this works. You'll still be able to find me at
my Tuesday and Thursday schedule at Loggerhead Fitness in Juno Beach. I hope you will also join me and a talented group of yoga teachers at Kula Yoga Shala.
9:27 pm edt
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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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