New England

OK New England…..you sent me emails asking when I was coming back to the area.  The Mysore week still has a few spots open…..this is my only NE teaching until 2013…check in and register here.

It is only about a 40 min drive from Providence, RI….(I know y’all don’t like to drive but it is the closest I am coming)…where there is no effort…there is no benefit.

Mysore Week June 18th – 22nd (only a few spaces remain)

Method and Meaning: Tools to Deepen Personal Practice June 16 & 17  1pm        $54 ($45 if in Mysore Week)

“….You have such a graceful energy–Your practice seems so effortless and light! I look forward to have more of that in my own practice! I hope it is good to be home and that we get to connect again when you return to Philly. Hari Om!…” -Philadelphia, PA

In this workshop attention will be given to the design of the traditional Ashtanga Yoga Method as taught in Mysore, India.  We will dive deeply into the often unseen structure uncovering its beauty and simplicity as this is the heart of the method.  Learning properly the vinyasa krama along with breath pattern and dristi as the point of focus.  You will count and be counted, chant the names of the primary series asanas working with breath, bandha and focus. One of Guruji’s most repeated teachings is “99% practice 1% theory.” The suggestion here is more than just practice but practice within the tradition. What Guruji has suggested is to aim for proper practice.  The proper understanding and specific vinyasa krama, breath pattern, and drsti.This workshop will be a collage of practice, and theory filled with some really informative tips and tricks for making sense of the sequence, fettering out suggested meaning, and feeling around for the more internal aspects.This is appropriate for all levels.

home is where

your practice & your animals are

Farmville, VA LOVE note

Thank you Farmville.  I’ll admit we got of to a rough start.  In yoga they say, attitude is everything and frankly my attitude sucked a big one.  I couldn’t see all the potential that was right in front of my face.  10 months in I have new mat mates and friends…with proper gardens and juicers….who are also my mat mates.

love

Jill

Practice this morning was simple and sweet….how I love primary for its ability to ground and clarify to cleanse and purify.

The next time you find yourself struggling and laying blame on some external force or factor ask yourself…how is my attitude….and focus change on that!

Unstruck

With Mike away it is very quiet around here.  This is the 7th raw day/alone day in Farmville yesterday I felt pretty emotional and for the first time a little lonely.  The loudest sounds around here are coming from the birds in the early morning and the juicer all afternoon.

Yes, I have been working on my asana practice but over these past 7 days I has dusted off my chanting and Sanskrit practice…and boy it was pretty dusty.  Last week (which is including today) was/is focused on (maybe you could have guessed by the blog titles) the bija mantra’s vibration and meaning, grounding and expansion and also where they sit in the alphabet and all that means….and checking in with pada 1 of the Yoga Sutra.  Sometimes I can’t believe that I have memorized/internalized the first two books….starting Saturday I’ll head back into pada 2 pick it up, dust it off, and one of my goals before leaving for Mysore is to have the 3rd pretty well worked on…so that I can hit that beautiful dusty Indian earth running.

Most importantly I need a new book suggestion.  I finally finished 1Q84!!!  Please suggest something that does not have nearly 1200 pages….thanks.

 

Jewel Filled

Welcome to Farmville, VA…where outside beauty brings inner prana.

….and the other stuff

Self Established

Today is my half birthday.  I am not pointing this out for a stream of “happy 1/2 birthday, Jill.”  I am taking note of this 1/2 way mark because on my birthday this year I was about the lowest I have ever felt.  For those of you who really know me…that is pretty darn low.  I felt lost, confused, uncertain, alone.  This is when the insomnia set in, followed by the head aches, and topped of with the dizziness.  I remember feeling in a deep well with no way out…….

6 months later.

I am happy, awake, and feeling really very connected to my Self and my situation.  I feel blessed to be able to teach yoga….thank you! I feel lucky to live in a small town where I can actually have down time with time to practice all  the aspects of yoga……thank you!  I am amazed and honored at the local and global friendships I have formed…..thank you! and frankly I am shocked that I’ll be making my 6! trip to Mysore…..thank you!.….not too shabby for a girl born in Northeast Philadelphia….thank you!

While I always feel the support of the larger energetic Ashtanga community.  There is a difference between self (shala) practice and self (home) practice.  After nearly 14 years of practice and exposure to this sutra I just might understand the seeds of…..long time, without interruption, and with devotion…..and the fruits that is flowered…..thank you!

sa tu dirghakala nairantarya satkara adara asevito dridhabhumih ||14||

स तु दीर्घकाल नैरन्तर्य सत्कारादरासेवितो दृढभूमिः ॥१४॥

sa tu dīrghakāla nairantarya satkāra-ādara-āsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ ||14||

Success can definitely be achieved via sound and continuous practice over an extended period of time, carried out in a serious and thoughtful manner. ||14||