Our New Oxford Study Abroad Program

Hope Umansky, Ph.D.

Dear CIHS Community,  

We are very excited to announce a new program we are beginning this summer that is open to all of our students. We have collaborated with Dr. Sam Aganov, and we will be offering an opportunity to take courses for credit toward your degree at Oxford University this summer. In addition to taking classes at this historic institution of higher learning, you would have access to all its libraries and resources during your time there.

The courses we are offering with Dr. Sam Aganov will be hybrid courses. We will be offering one course, Diagnosis in Clinical Psychology (MA & PhD), specific to psychology that is best done with class participation. Additionally, we will also be offering Neuroscience and Spirituality that can be an elective to any of our students regardless of your program. A hybrid course means that you can enroll in this class and it will be conducted solely online through our online platform. Alternatively, if you want the opportunity to study at Oxford, the hybrid course would be adjusted to be primarily in class, with a small online component.

If you decide to take the opportunity to study abroad, the on campus portion of the class would reside in St. Stephen's House, a division of Oxford University. The fact that you attended advanced graduate study courses at Oxford University would be reflected on your transcript with an asterisk indicating you took this course at St. Stephen's College of Oxford University. Additionally, you can place this on your curriculum vitae as Advanced Graduate Study in Psychology, Comparative Religion and Philosophy, Life Physics, or Integral Health at St. Stephen's College at Oxford University, England, for example. The cost of tuition will be only nominally higher than normal if you choose to take the on campus hybrid course.

Because this is a college town, there are numerous bed and breakfast type residences to reside in during the summer. Dr. Aganov ( coachlink@hotmail.com) is our liaison for this innovative program that incorporates the best of on campus traditional learning with progressive online higher education. The cultural richness of the area would be incorporated into the learning experience. You may contact Dr. Aganov for any direct questions regarding the Oxford Study Abroad program.

If you have academic questions about this unique opportunity, please feel free to contact me (hope_umansky@cihs.edu).

I am happy to report that the yoga workshop with Mr. Takeshima and Paul & Suzee Grilley on April 2 & 3 was well received. We had 35 participants. Mr. Takeshima, a disciple of Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama as well as an advanced meditation instructor from Japan, led this annual event. This year, the focus of the workshop was svadhisthana chakra (second chakra). In this workshop, Mr. Takeshima taught meridian exercises, breathing techniques, and meditation methods to focus on the chakra. In addition, Paul and Suzee Grilley, who have been disciples of Dr. Motoyama's for many years, supported this workshop, too. They are well known yoga instructors (yin yoga) and anatomy teachers. Together, with those experienced instructors, the workshop offered organized theories of the chakras and a systematic practice in the peaceful atmosphere of the CIHS campus. We are also pleased the workshop fell on a beautiful southern California spring day.

The class started with a meridian exercise. The meridian exercise is a series of physical exercises to mobilize the all joints in the body. Dr. Motoyama teaches that it is important to keep a healthy balance in physical body through harmony with mind and spirit in order to attain spiritual development. The meridian exercise, devised by Dr. Motoyama, is designed to release stagnation of ki (prana) and lead the physical body to optimized balance, especially a balance between the body's upper and lower ki energy. By learning and practicing this exercise method, the practitioner can regularize the flow of ki energy in his/her body and build a firm foundation for spiritual growth.

After Mr. Takeshima instructed a one-hour and a half meridian exercise, Paul Grilley explained Dr. Motoyama's philosophy on spiritual evolution. Paul presented Dr. Motoyama's main paradigm of our being in three levels. He described them along with the theory of Purusha (pure consciousness) and Prakriti (phenomenal realm of matter) in Samkya philosophy. 

After lunch, Mr. Takeshima instructed the workshop attendees on breathing techniques and meditation. Mr. Takeshima taught each technique precisely, and it is very important to learn these techniques step-by-step. He also mentioned that there is no short cut for spiritual practice, and we have to practice sincerely and diligently for our spiritual growth. Additionally, we spent some time on Q&A and closed the first day.

The second day was a review of the first day, and we practiced together under the guidance of Mr. Takeshima. We spent more time on meditation as well as Q & A in the end. After the Q&A, together we chanted the Heart Sutra (Prajñāpāramitā Hrdaya) for world peace. With this, we closed our 2-day workshop.

Next year, the workshop is for the third chakra, Manipura chakra, and it is scheduled on April 7 & 8, 2012. We hope to see you all in the next year. You are welcome to join us next year regardless of whether you have taken the previous levels. If you are sincerely interested in deepening your practice or experiencing this workshop, we welcome you. We very much appreciate those who came to the workshop this year. If you have any questions, please contact me anytime at hideki_baba@cihs.edu 

Lastly, I would like to present a testimonial from one of our attendees, Mr. Dick Stevens. He is currently a CIHS Master's student studying Comparative Religion and Philosophy. This yoga workshop is his first class at CIHS, and he very much enjoyed the class. It is our pleasure to share his experience with you since we are a community in service to your spiritual and educational growth. We sincerely hope you will join us in next year's workshop or for one of the many upcoming events that will be detailed in our newsletter. We are rapidly growing in the subtle energy and holistic community, and we welcome all those who want to be a part of it, whether for educational, professional, or spiritual/personal growth.  

By Dick Stevens

It was a bright sunny morning and students and guests of CIHS started unrolling their yoga mats, blankets and bolsters in preparation for a workshop on Svadhisthana Chakra Awakening.  Soon, the leaders of this event entered the room and we faced Mr. Takishima, and Paul and Suzanne Grilley, all well-known teachers and proponents of Chakra Yoga.  

The morning was spent learning   Meridian exercises taught by Mr. Takashima. With great patience he walked around the yoga mats to make sure all participants had a good idea of what he was teaching.  Being relatively new to yoga (two years), he spent a lot of time at my mat, for which I was very grateful.  

The afternoon session was devoted to learning the various breathing techniques, taught by Paul Grilley.  Two hours later I found myself somewhat light headed but was able to do an approximation of the different breathing techniques, glad that it was time for the question and answer period that was very interesting.  Soon we were on our way home for a quick dinner and bed.

The next morning after waking up early to practice the exercises I was taught the day before we assembled again at 9:00 a.m. and went through the exercises again and I could feel that although I wasn't an expert, I was definitely improving.  Later, we went through the breathing techniques and I knew that I had one that I could work with every day and not worry about external interferences. We practiced meditation for a while, and before I knew it, it was time for the question and answer period. I had mastered something I had wanted to do for a long time.

At lunch, I had been measured for processing by the AMI Energy Finder.  On Monday, I had an interview with Mr. Takishima where we discussed the results of the test.  I was quite surprised and pleased by these results.

The weekend was one of the most formative events in my life (not an exaggeration).  The efforts of Mr. Takishima, and Paul and Suzanne Grilley were more than outstanding.

Next year the conference will be held again and I will be there with my yoga mat, blankets and bolsters, waiting to be held in awe once again.