Winter Solstice 2012: The Coming Light

Gather in good company to celebrate the Return of the Light.

The Winter Solstice, when the light of the day overcomes the dark of the night, has been honored as a sacred transition the world over for as long as human beings have kept time.  This year the winter solstice, December 21^st, 2012, marks a significant passage as many Wisdom Traditions regard this time as a pivotal cosmic window, filled with the potency of transformation as many celestial bodies align in the sky.  Come and practice yoga to align your deepest intentions with those great heavenly movements on this auspicious day.

In this special two-hour candlelight practice that I will be teaching, we will immerse ourselves in the transformative power of yoga through asana, pranayama, and an extended gong meditation.

December 21, 2012, 7-9pm

The People's Yoga NE

www.thepeoplesyoga.org

6 Week Yoga Foundations Series Begins This Sunday!

Hi Friends, 

Teaching yoga foundations has been one of the most fulfilling, instructive, and inspiring experiences for me as a teacher.  It's kind of like starting a garden, we get an expansive perspective on what sits within us and the potential that lies there, and then we get into the dirt and plant seeds that will nourish us for a lifetime.  

Below are the details.

Harness Your Power, Open Your Heart: A Six-Week Introduction to Yoga Essentials

This six-week yoga foundations series is an ideal introduction to the yoga practice.  It is thoughtfully and progressively designed for those who have never tried yoga before and can be a great refresher for those students who have some experience but want to refine their understanding of the basics. This series offers:

~ An introduction to the basic classes of yoga poses including standing poses, forward bends, basic twists, backbends, and inversions. You will learn the form and name of poses that you will commonly encounter in an all level/mixed level yoga class.

~ An overview of the foundational alignment necessary for the optimal movement of your body as you practice. This will teach you how to move on your mat (and in your daily life!) so that you can get the most out of your yoga experience, open and heal tight spots, build strength and flexibility, and prevent future injury.

~ Introduction to the basic breathing practices used in yoga.

~A window into the rich philosophy at the root of the yoga practice, which gives a greater context into which you can put your experience.

Yoga is an invitation to harness your personal power in service of your potential.  Come and explore what this means for you in a thoughtful, supportive, inspired atmosphere. 

Date: Sundays, October 7^th-November 11th

Time: 4-5:30pm

Location: The People’s Yoga SE

Cost: $75 early bird, $85 regular registration

What students had to say about the series…

"Taking the Foundations series with Kate made my life better. This series was my first time doing yoga and I was nervous, but the weekly classes made me feel comfortable and proud to roll out my mat and find my breath. Yoga is now a part of my life and I'm so happy to say it began in Kate's class." -Anna Ardizzone

"Kate is a knowledgeable, patient, and thorough instructor. Through her guidance in class and after class, I was able to understand the physical mechanics of what we were doing, and almost more importantly to me, the physiological and philosophical why.  I am convinced that had this been a single class or even two classes, I would not have come to this important physical and mental understanding.  I couldn’t think of a better way to be introduced to the potential the practice of yoga holds."  -Scott Bump

Thank You Heart Fire Yoga!

Heart Fire Yoga Community,

I have been teaching the Foundations class on Tuesday evenings since the studio opened and it has been a continual source of inspiration for me.  I am so grateful to every student who ever came to my class.  I have learned so much from you.  As I head into my fourth and final year of acupuncture school and need a little more time and energy for seeing patients and studying for board exams, I have decided to teach less. I will miss those Tuesday nights!  Please feel free to stay in touch; I'd love to hear from you. And please keep practicing!  

My Resignation is an Affirmation

My entry into the world of yoga started, like all things, with a desire, a longing, a need. I wanted to heal.  I wanted to learn to love myself.  I wanted to find my own power. I wanted to know my own worth and to trust it.   I wanted to experience my awareness inside of my body for more than a moment at a time.  I wanted to confront my fears.  I wanted to be real, to be strong, to own my right to exist. Years later, I started teaching for the same reasons.  I wanted to share with others the transformative power of yoga.  

Over the last few months since John Friend’s abuses of people and power came to light, I have reflected on how yoga has changed me. It has taught me enough about my own worth to know that I have a responsibility to account for it.  It has taught me that my power is my own and that the ability to use my power rightly and in alignment with my values takes honesty, discernment, and a tremendous amount of integrity.  

Stepping away from the Anusara organization is an act of recognition. It is an affirmation of my practice, my worth, and my values. It is a deep bow towards those I have, and have had, the opportunity to study and practice with, and to teach. My practice on and off the mat is stronger than ever and moving forward I continue to be committed to studying with teachers who embody their ethics and the teachings of yoga.  My teaching style will remain the same, just without the Anusara-Inspired title, hopefully continuing to improve as I grow and refine my understanding and experience of the practice.

I am grateful to all the yogis along the way who have pointed me back towards myself.  Together, I am certain, we will continue to practice.  In gratitude for all that yoga and Anusara yoga have given me, namaste.

       

Pacing

Again I confront my astounding ability to pace.  Back and forth, back and forth. So many vantage points, and yet I still can’t see the whole picture.  Maybe that is because I am looking around, instead of within.  As a yogi I know that what I need to see most, lies within.

In the last few months (has it already been three?) since information surfaced that John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, the style of yoga that I practice and am trained to teach, had acted in ways that went far beyond the boundaries of my personal values and ethics, I have been pacing.  I am now prepared to stop and be still.  I have used the fullness of my academic and personal life as a way to deflect the necessary.  I need to be with this. 

Strangely, and somewhat expectedly, since in my 30’s I have begun to know my ways-and catch them-so much better, I realize as I write this that I already know what I need to know.  The truth of my heart is clear to me.  Now, it is making decisions in alignment with that knowing, and going through the process of change, and hopefully transformation.

More to come, very soon, as I bring what I see on the inside out.

Winter 2012 Yoga Teaching Schedule

After a break in the sunshine and warm waters of the Pacific Coast of Mexico, I am back to my regular yoga teaching schedule, with a new addition. I hope to see you soon!

Anusara-Inspired Yoga Classes in Portland:

Monday
The People's Yoga SE, All Levels, 7:15-8:30pm

Tuesday
The People's Yoga North, Yoga Foundations, 7:15-8:30pm

Saturday
Yoga Pilates Northeast, All Levels, 9:30-10:45am
The People's Yoga NE, All Levels, 11:15am-!2:30pm

Workshop Series at The People's Yoga North
Harness Your Power, Open Your Heart: A Six-Week Introduction to Yoga Essentials, Sundays 5:30-7pm, starting January 8th.