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Happy New Year 2008 of the Yang Earth Rat!
Awareness and accelerated perception is the blessing and goad
of the Rat year and we are enormously availed to it through a
wide river of opportunities to consciously fjord through! The
Rat year emphasizes spontaneity, mental and emotional flexibility
and more Letting Go and Letting God/dess. It is important this
year especially to have trust in the organic process that what
we truly need is coming to us, that what we are seeking is seeking
us, too. Earth Rat is concerned with the development of what is
called in Sanskrit "upaya" or skillful means, which
is akin to resourcefulness and being available to respond in the
right way to what is encountered. It also encourages "sraddha",
a deep practicality of devotion and faith based on observation
of what has been keeping us connected to what is important throughout
the dark trials of life~ that which survives, that which is beyond
mere belief or hope.
The Rat is the first animal in the Zodiac and is considered to
be a Leader. The Earth element underscores organizational skill
(as in nature), keening in on and developing innate talents to
infuse our work with purpose and inspiration. Respecting the intense
prayer of humanity for right political leadership and environmental
stewardship, the Earth Rat year asks us to put aside professional
and personal grudges in order to strengthen the foundation for
right action governed by strong connections to internal authority
set in place by the previous Boar year, and to recognize the tremendous
power available in group work. This numerological One year has
the great vista of new beginnings at it's hull, but we should
not do ourselves or anyone else harm (Ahimsa) in the often stubbornly
independent rushing about that is Rat's characteristic way of
getting things done . Hatha Yoga Pradipika says, "The mind
rules the body, but the breath rules the mind". When, (not
if!) this year stirs you up, guard against being too "in
your head" and move your attention to the mind that is in
your heart through a pause for conscious breathing.
More than any other time this is a time for action, not just words.
Rat year brings about a fusion of the individual and social through
a courageous and visionary new paradigm, with a high emphasis
on sensitivity. It is important to consider our words when we
speak of others and speak to promote unity amongst ourselves.
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Spring Musings
on Creative Transformation
and Inner Aspects of Practice Based on
Patanjali's 8 Limbs of Yoga |
The
gradual nature of Yoga in stabilizing and simultaneously opening
up the creative channels of a practitioner is its' Gift to humanity.
By way of self-discovery about our own nature, we connect with
the civilizing and universal manner of the dignity and beauty
of being Human. Yoga shows a way towards the flowering of the
human spirit, which gives fragrance and nourishment to the world.
Through
Yama
and Niyama we meet ourselves at the
level of personal responsibility for our behavior and attitudes.
Through
Asana
we meet the body as a reflection of the healthy or unhealthy
attitudes in the mind, respecting it as a Divine laboratory
full of infinite potential for greater contentment and gratitude
for the treasure and mystery of existence. The body continually
offers us an honest reflection of what needs healing, refinement
and study. The word "asana" is commonly referred to
as a posture, but is semantically a "seat" or "throne"
for the higher energies to sit within us.
By the practice of Pranayama,
the Yogi/ni develops knowledge of the ever-unfolding life essence
in the breath called prana--which sustains and infuses human
life with consummate support, emotional intelligence and creativity,
mental clarity, physical vigor and spiritual courage.
The
internal quest of Yoga takes root in Pratyahara,
where one learns to differentiate between the identification
of the mind with external objects that create attraction and
aversion and the relevance of the Witness who experiences things
as they are. Pratyahara has it's roots in a state of concentration
that dissolves the distinctions between the outer world and
the inner world and gives birth to a warrior's way of seeing
and being in any kind of circumstance, without losing your center
and connection to the Divine within.
Something I have been finding fun to explore this month in relation
to concentration and Pratyahara is that concentration is more
than mental focus or a state of awareness, it is also the essence
or "concentration" of beingness made perceptible to
us through quieting and centering ourselves. In that way, it
is not a state to be arrived at through making it through a
gauntlet course in the mind and emotions, but rather an uncontrived
state of pure awareness. The Tibetans call it "Rigpa".
Dharana,
or concentration, is built upon continued sustained attention
to the moment by bringing the mind to single-pointed awareness
of an object--this method has many variations, all with the
same skill in mind. According to Yoga Sutra, the mind is fraught
with 5 main klesas or habitual afflictions--those
of ignorance, egoism, desire, aversion, or clinging. Concentration
is like the sword which cuts away these kinds of flaws in our
ability to dwell in our true nature. Dispassion, gained by having
an increasing sense of detachment from identifying with the
habits and neuroses of the mind, stabilizes concentration and
brings strength of character, enabling a person to become more
compassionate to self and others by increasing an awareness
of the universal and impersonal nature of suffering.
When
concentration is able to be sustained on a single point and
can move with that same one-pointedness towards other objects
without fluctuation, meditation or Dhyana
is experienced. Here in meditation, knowledge of a single-point
of an object of attention becomes an experience of the whole,
and expands to where interdependent relationships between other
objects can be seen; as well, the innate emptiness of phenomena,
devoid of the sense adulterations and modifications brought
about by intellect, is perceived.
Samadhi,
the eighth limb of Yoga, evolves as meditation stabilizes into
a unitive state of absorption into the undivided awareness of
the Self as truth-consciousness-bliss.
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Schedule
of Public Classes
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***MONDAYS***
5:45-7PM Bare Yoga
Mixed Levels Vinyasa
New
class!
***THURSDAYS***
7:15-8:30AM PCC
"Rise up Wise" morning practice
Chanting, Pranayama intensive, Sun Salutations w/ mantra
***FRIDAYS***
5:30-7PM One Yoga
Level 2/3 Vinyasa
***SATURDAYS***
4:30-6PM
Mixed Levels Vinyasa
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Class
Locations
Bare Yoga (Mondays)
227C North Santa Cruz Ave.
bare-yoga.com
Pacific Cultural Center (Th and Sat)
1307 Seabright Avenue
pacificcultural.org
One
Yoga Center (Fridays
846 Front Street, Santa Cruz
oneyoga.org
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~Come for one week to Crete only, June 21-28th
or two full weeks in Crete and Santorini, June 21-July 5th...
(details)
Join us on a journey that will nourish your Spirit through twice-daily
practices of pranayama, asana, and meditation, in sight of the
lapis blue Aegean and Libyan seas bordering Crete, and the stunning
cliffs of Santorini. This Yoga retreat includes seminars on Minoan
culture and guided tours during several excursions for those coming
on the two-weeks session. In Crete we will visit the Minoan Palace
of Knossos, which was a center of trade between ancient peoples
of the Mediterranean, as well as the epicenter of Minoan religious
activity, culture and government; and the incredible National
Archaelogical Museum of Crete. In Santorini will visit Nea Kameni
volcano by boat and the adjacent ocean hotsprings and see the
Minoan settlement of Akrotiri and Akrotiri Museum.
We arrive in Heraklion, a historic Minoan port and the capital
city of Crete, on June 9 and shuttle to Triopetra Yoga Center
for a weeklong immersion in the practices of Ashtanga (8 Limb)
Yoga on the Libyan Sea. Located in the south of Crete, Triopetra
has an oceanfront Yoga room with open glass wall to the sea, and
views of the sea from the balconies on all of the rooms. Enjoy
2 daily classes, optional morning and evening meditation, special
classes on philosophy and deepen your application of the eight
limbs of the Yoga practice in daily life. Swim, go scuba diving
or snorkelling in the incomparable, warm Mediterranean waters,
enjoy organic vegetarian Greek cuisine at the tavernas... Through
informal beach seminars and walks you will learn about Minoan
civilization and their influence on art, culture, and economics
of the Mediterranean of 3500 years ago.
During the second week, we continue on to spend 2 days sightseeing
in Heraklion with a full practice session each morning, visiting
the Palace of Knossos and Archaeological Museum in the afternoons.
Then, we depart by ferry for the island of Santorini, where we
will stay for 4 nights and days on the cliffs of the crescent
island that was once called "Callisto" ("the Beautiful")
before it's current incarnation as a crescent took form after
the eruption of it's still-active volcano at the center of the
island, Nea Kameni. We will visit the volcano on a boat trip and
dabble in the ocean hotsprings bordering the volcano's rim. We
will also visit the ruins of Akrotiri, a Minoan settlement on
the southern tip of the island, and the small but impressive archaeological
museum which has cult statues, pottery and beautiful reconstructions
of frescoes from the site. We return to Heraklion overnight and
have a closing circle before our departure on the 5th.
View photos of accomodations for this retreat at:
Triopetra Yoga
Retreat I The
Boathouse, Santorini |
| Yoga
Pilgrimage:
rishikesh,
haridwar, agra
Yoga
retreat intensive
and tours of Northern India
October 4-19, 2008
Slideshow of a prior Journey to
India
Registration opens on Nov.1 for 2008 trip |
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A week of our retreat will be held at Parmarth Niketan Ashram,
located on the banks of the sacred Ganga river in Rishikesh, Uttaranchal--in
the foothills of the Himalayas. At this time of year the weather
is at its' best, with warm days and breezy nights. Explore Yoga
at its' source by the Ganga with morning sadhana and instruction
in pranayama and meditation, 2 daily asana classes, Yoga Philosophy,
and Yoga Nidra, led by Phoenix and Mataji (Sadhvi Abha Sarasvati).
Every night there is Kirtan (devotional singing) and Aarti (offering
of Light) at the Ganga at Parmarth's beautiful ghat (pier). We
will visit several temples and a cave sacred to the sage Vasistha.
In Rishikesh you will also receive a 2 1/2 hour Ayurvedic massage
treatment and shirodhara, to be scheduled at your convenience...
Two days and nights will be spent in Haridwar, an ancient city
sacred to Lord Shiva. This very special gathering places of saints
and teachers over time is also a tirtha, or holy place, where
the massive spiritual gathering of Kumbh Mela meets every 12 years.
In Haridwar there is an optional excursion to a Shiva temple,
evening Aarti at the Ganga and a day trip to visit one of India's
wildife preserves. We will stay at a renovated Maharaja's mansion
on the banks of the Ganga and have our classes on their rooftop
balcony.
On the last portion of our journey there will be a daylong trip
from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, an architectural wonder
and monument built in tribute to Love. We will also see the old
historical quarters of Delhi and shop in the bazaars on the way
back.
Your Guides on the Journey
Detailed
brochure
Fees,
Itinerary and daily schedule
Registration
and Waiver
Traveller's
info for India
View photos of our accomodations for
this retreat at:
La
Sagrita, Delhi
| Parmarth
Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh | Green
Hotel, Rishikesh
Haveli
Hari Ganga, Haridwar
Maya
Hotel, Agra | Hotel
Sri Nanak, Delhi |
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Yoga
& Nahuatl (ancestral) traditions of ancient Mexico
Vinyasa
and Iyengar-inspired Yoga, excursions to Mayan ruins,
wisdom traditions, teaching and ceremony from Pre-Columbian Mexico
with Phoenix Artemisia and Mazatzin Acostas
Join
us in Mexico for a week of diverse Yoga practices, pristine beaches,
exploring nearby Mayan ruins, and learning about indigenous traditions
of ancient Mexico from traditional teachers.
Maya Tulum is on the Yucatan Peninsula and is close to
Cancun. The retreat center is famed for it’s peerless location
on white sand beaches, gourmet organic vegetarian and seafood
dishes, and also for it’s spacious and inspiring Yogashala
and beautiful, traditional Palapa-style accomodations. Maya Tulum
is in the vicinity of the Mayan citadels of Muyil and Coba, which
we will visit on two excursions (optional to mountain bike at
Coba.)
Your
Guides on the Journey... |
Phoenix
Artemisia, B.A., RYT 500
Mazatzin Acostas, Ceremonialist and Tonalpouki (Calendar Keeper)
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Phoenix
Artemisia, RYT 500 has been leading inspired Yoga retreats
internationally for several years and draws from her fortunate
studies with Indian and western Yoga teachers and indigenous
healers in her understanding and transmission of Yoga and
mind-body-spiritual integration.
She leads creative Vinyasa and Iyengar-influenced Yoga classes
that include energy practices such as pranayama, mudra and
chanting. Her classes are rooted in techniques for conscious
embodiment, mindfulness, and a peaceful, open heart~ reflected
in the timeless Yoga philosophy.
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Mazatzin
Guadalupe Acostas is a special guest teacher coming to be
with us as a guide who will bless our gathering with facilitated
group ceremony and daily teachings on ancient indigenous
Mexican Indian culture. Mazatzin
has been called to travel all over the world and has studied,
participated in, and facilitated ceremony with Native elders
from the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America. He is
a respected ritualist, teacher, astronomer, linguist, and
public speaker whose life work is based on the Aztec Calendar
of the Fifth Sun. During mid-morning, we gather in circle
to understand these potent teachings based on Aztec astrology
and indigenous traditions from the Calendar, which is based
on a cycle of time governed by the elements, and their seasonal
and social influence on human psychology and relationships.
Mazatzin
is called by the title "Tonalpouki", one who keeps
count of the symbols of the days of the Sun on the Aztek
Calendar. Mazatzin
teaches the personal, social and spiritual truths revealed
by the Calendar and how to use it on a daily basis for your
personal benefit, self-understanding and evolution.
He invites you to a "Re-Encounter
with your Cosmic Identity". The teachings of the Calendar
are an accumulation of thousands of years of observation
and study so that people of all backgrounds may be able
to live a just and HAPPY life, with a strong heart and their
own identity signature, given as your Nahuatl name according
to your birth astrology. Mazatzin will give daily seminars
on the Calendar and is available for personal appointments
and counselling sessions during the weeklong retreat.
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| Phoenix
and Mazatzin have worked together over many years with groups
of adults and children, co-facilitating these teachings, and
are looking forward to bringing them back into context with
participants near the ruins of ancient Mexico. |
7
days/nights at Maya Tulum, 3 gourmet meals a day, airport transfer,
2 Yoga classes a day, daily seminars on indigenous Mexican culture
and spirituality and guided excursions to archaeological sites of
interest
Contact: Phoenix in the U.S. at 001 831 728 8064
email: garudayogini@yahoo.com
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