Saturday, July 14, 2012

Singapore and September

We have been very busy since we got to Singapore and thus, no updating the blog. I have enjoyed my time here so far. After a few days exploring the city- which mostly consisted of taking some yoga classes and eating and going to Chinatown, Noah and I started our intensive on Friday. Just like the program in Sydney, we have a 3-day asana intensive followed by a 3-day Teacher Training. So far everything is going well. The students are sweet, hard working, very funny and a pleasure to teach.

All in all, this has been a very clarifying trip for me, both personally and professionally. In a lot of ways, I have to say that this last year has been one of the most stressful years I have had in a long time. A lot of the primary dramas that led to me resigning from Anusara were really heating up almost exactly a year ago and since then everything has felt a bit on overdrive. I had panned to do a big tour through Asia this July and cancelled it with the hopes of regrouping. then as circumstances changed again I added Singapore back in as well as Australia. I did however, add some time in the schedule to actually unwind and vacation a bit in Australia which gave me some much needed time for personal reflection. At time over this last year I have felt a bit more like the tail was wagging the dog and I am more clear than ever that is not the way I want to go about working and living.

I have cleared away some commitments and engagements I have in August which will give me some time after this month-long trip to regroup and ground myself and work on the building and property down in San Marcos, which will be great. Speaking of San Marcos and The School of Yoga there, I am really excited about growing the workshop offerings there. I have written about the School before but what I love about it is that we have a 800-sq.foot space for yoga  a nice large yard and a house next to the yoga building where we can all  gather between asana sessions for tea, coffee and meals. To me it is such an ideal venue for workshops and trainings and all the the programs we have had there have been so great.

As I have continued to grow my work and my business as a guest teacher I have felt more and more strongly that the outreach/visiting work I do needs a home base and that I as a person am happier when I have both roots and wings. I also want to create a way to teach in an intimate setting that is a bit out-of-the way without being remote and that has amenities and comforts without being urban. San Marcos, TX is  a small university town south of Austin, TX and is definitely a slow-paced mellow town which makes it ideal for the programs I envision, which have more to do with accessing the power or practice in community than they are about a big yoga scene with lots of bells and whistles and so forth. When Manorama came to teach in March, she looked around and said, "How very old-school of you. I totally get it. This is like an classic yoga shala."

And she did get it. And so have the people who have come. I could spin a yarn for sure about how important I think these kinds of times are for us- not only now in the wake of certain reason upheavals in the yoga community but also in light of the fast-paced lives we all seem to be living. To me, I want to make yoga the counter-point to all that madness not funnel my yoga and my teaching work into that paradigm.  Yes, yoga happens in the midst of life and all that. I get that. AND time out, contemplation, slowing down and getting a bit quieter is key in order to actually be able to practice in the midst of our daily circumstances.

Our next program is pretty unique. I am teaching with two amazing people who mean a lot to me, Darren Rhodes and Mary Young.  Its not often that Darren leaves Tucson to teach so this is a great chance to learn from an awesome teacher and practitioner. Mary Young is a long-time senior student of my spiritual teacher, Lee Lozowick and has written extensively on topics of spiritual growth, philosophy and conscious living. She, too, rarely leaves home so this a very unique chance to learn from one of my closest mentors and advisors.

Here is the information, in case you are interested. Asana will be all-levels and nothing crazy or advanced. Philosophy will be personally-aimed and ecumenical, with practitioners of all faiths and traditions welcome to come and join the discussion.

Space is limited and registration is open.



Living A Larger Story:
Myth, Metaphor, and Transformational Tales of Truth
with Christina Sell, Darren Rhodes and Mary Young September 19-23, 2012
in San Marcos, TX 

“The way we tell our stories is the way we imagine our lives.
The way we imagine our lives is the way we will live our lives.”
-James Hillman
Pleae join Christina SellDarren Rhodes and Mary Young for a 5-day transformational journey through asana, storytelling, personal inquiry, mantra, pranayama and meditation. We will examine the various scripts and stories that govern our lives and explore how to use symbol, archetype and mythological themes to consciously transform our relationship to ourselves, our histories and our spiritual unfolding.

This is a perfect intensive for you if you want to:

-experience the power of intentional community
-deepen your asana practice in an intimate setting under the skilled guidance of Darren Rhodes and Christina Sell,
-identify self-limiting stories that have governed your life while harvesting the seeds of new possibilities,
-release shame and regret about your past,
-develop insight, understanding and compassion for yourself and others,
-learn how Eastern and Western mythology can help you see yourself and your life through universal transformational themes,
-live into your future with greater clarity, self-acceptance and passion.

Daily Schedule:

8:30-9:30 Morning Contemplation: puja, pranayama, meditation, journaling
9:30-9:45 break
9:45-12:00 Asana Class with Darren/Christina
12:00-1:30 lunch
1:30-3:30 Lecture & Small Group Work with Mary
3:30-3:45 break
3:45-5:45 Asana Class with Darren/Christina

Tuition: $575.00 

For more information, please visit www.schoolofyogasanmarcos.com.

If you have questions, please contact us atschoolofyogasanmarcos@gmail.com or call 512.534.5153

Please register for this program here.
There is limited space, so please sign up early to ensure your space.

***Please note that these program hours can be used as make-up hours for School of Yoga Teacher Training programs and for Continuing Education hours with Yoga Alliance.

Darren Rhodes and Christina Sell are the co-founders of School of Yoga. They met in 2000, began teaching seminars and trainings together in 2007 and in 2012, in collaboration with their friend and colleague, Noah Maze founded School of Yoga as way to share traditional yoga teachings with a new generation of teachers and students through creative, down-to-earth programming and presentation. Both known for their passion and commitment to honesty, authenticity and personal growth, Darren and Christina’s trainings offer students safe and challenging circumstances in which to learn and grow.

Mary Young is a senior student of Western Baul master, Lee Lozowick. Trained as a Jungian psychotherapist, she has over 30 years of experience working directly in the field of consciousness studies, personal transformation, and psycho-spiritual integration. Mary has dedicated her life and work to spiritual awakening through her unwavering commitment to the demands of bhakti yoga under Lee Lozowick’s guidance.  She is the author of several books including, As it Is: A Year on the Road with a Tantric Teacher, Under the Punnai Tree: A Biography of Yogi Ramsuratkumar, Enlightened Duality: Essays on Art, Beauty, Life and Reality As It Is  and Spiritual Slavery: A Biography of Lee Lozowick. She lives in Northern Arizona on Triveni Ashram.

It's going to be great!

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