The New Year is a wonderful to recommit to your yoga practice or to start one! Check out our new DAYTIME HOT YOGA CLASS being added to the schedule starting January 2nd. Classes will be offered every Wednesday morning from 8:15-9:30am with Cailen. So, if you're needing a bit of detox after the holidays, there's no better time to start than now!

Hot Yoga is a unique practice of 26 poses that are performed in a hot room (110 degrees). The heat enables you to access your muscles in a deep, effective way, offering you a wonderful work out and great stretch - just be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after class!

Maureen is embarking upon a pilgrimage, with her teacher, Swami Nirmalananda, to Ganeshpuri, the Indian home of her guru's guru, Bhagavan Nityananda. Their days will start at 4:30am with a ritual bathing of a large statue of, Swamiji's teacher's teacher, in the temple. After breakfast they will chant the Sri Guru Gita (352 verse song to the guru) and meditation, followed by discussion to deepen understanding. Afternoons are free time to visit local treasures. Before dinner there will be Satsang- the ancient Tantric teachings made meaningful to life today- along with chanting and meditation. The end of the day brings even more inner openings with a yoga class before bed.

Maureen says "To place myself in the revered physical home of this yogic tradition is a sacred invitation for more. More experiences, more adventures, more blessings- outside and inside. I feel like I am taking our whole yoga community with me, to dive deeper into the practices, into the teachings, into the grace."

Some of the yoga students have formed a sponsorship committee to help financially support Maureen's journey. Look for the orange sponsor cards in each studio, for those who want to participate. You can also help by purchasing one of the beautiful shawls you see hanging in the studios.

 Assisting Backbends

When:  Sunday, January 27th from 12-4pm

Where: The Solebury Club in the Namaste Studio

Who:    Any teacher who wants to deepen their assisting skills

Cost:    $50 if registered and paid by January 20th, $60 thereafter

You might be a newer teacher looking for more hands on experience or an experienced teacher who is hesitant to assist and adjust while teaching. There is a lot going on in every yoga class, so that sometimes assisting can seem overwhelming. Perhaps you err on the side of not assisting at all rather than giving a not so good assist. This hands-on workshop is designed to give you some basic assisting techniques for backbends that will help your students go deeper in their practices. During this four hour workshop you will have plenty of opportunity to practice on other teachers. This is important because as teachers we can share our expertise and give good solid feedback to help you perfect your technique.

During this workshop we will discuss:   the proper alignment of backbends; how to see this energy; the flow of energy in the body as it relates to backbends; using breath to enhance the flow of energy; your intention as the giver of the assist; how to read the receptivity of the person you are assisting; how over-working or under-working blocks energy and the opening of postures

Because there are so many postures and so many different assists for each pose that are possible, we will narrow the scope of our work to focus only on backbends in this workshop. In the category of backbends, we will further focus our attention on a few basic backbends. The theory is that learning a few basic assists will give you a firm foundation in assisting, build your confidence in knowing how to assist and ultimately give you the tools to figure out how to adapt these basic assists to other backbends and other poses.

This work is best done in partners. It could be fun to sign up with a friend or a colleague to practice on. However, you don't need to sign up with someone, there will be plenty of opportunity to get to know and work with your classmates.

  Partner Yoga Workshop

    with Lisa Manheim and Janet Stern

  Sunday, February 17th

  2:00 - 4:30pm

  Details to follow...

Tibetan Heart Yoga is a unique and transformative system of asana and meditation that brings powerful wisdom teachings from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition into daily practices that fit with our modern lives. As it unites the old and the new, it also links the inner and outer. It works on the inside with our thoughts and emotions and the outside with our pranayama (breathing), asana (physical yoga practice), and actions in the world. The THY system shows us how to take yoga off the mat and into our daily lives where we can use it for radical transformation of mind and heart.

FEBRUARY-JUNE 2013

Course Hours: Fri 5-9 pm, Sat 8:30 am -12:30 & 2-5 pm, Sun 8:30 am -12:30 & 2-5 pm

Feb 22-24 Series One: Opening The Heart Chakra

March 22-24 Series Two: Mahamudra

April 12-14 Series Three: The Yoga of Inner Fire

May 3-5 Series Four: The Yoga of the Kalachakra Tantra

June 7-9 Series Five: Guru Yoga

Cost: $1600 for full program. ($1525 if registered and paid in full by Feb 6th, 2013.)*

Location: Feb & March: The Solebury Club.  April, May, & June: Sparrow Hawk Farm Retreat, 20 min north of Doylestown, PA

Questions: for more details click here or email with questions

FREE introductory practice followed by Q&A on Sunday, Feb 3rd from 3-5 PM at the Solebury Club

Registration: Call The Solebury Club. 215 794 3494

$500 nonrefundable deposit to hold your space  *Four-week option available by request

 Is your back sore?  Do you feel stiff and achy?

 Want to try yoga and need to take it slow?

NEW BEGINNER YOGA CLASSES

Tuesdays 6:30-7:30pm

Check out the new class starting in January on Thursdays from 11:30-12:30!

This class is designed for people who are new to yoga, struggle with flexibility, or who want to get a good foundation for a yoga practice. This will focus on yoga basics like simple standing postures and modified sun salutes.  Also includes an introduction to breath practice, meditation, and, of course, relaxation.  Join Jessica Presti on the mat Tuesday nights for a early week energizer.  Platinum & Gold members no charge.  Otherwise check at the front desk for drop-in rate or purchase a book of classes at a reduced rate

 I wanted to save Nadi Sodhana Pranayama for our last week in 2012. I think that we need this balancing practice during the final week between Christmas and New Year when everything is so crazy busy. Nadi Shodhana Pranayama is an energy balancing breathing practice. The ancient yogis knew that breathing through the left nostril was more calming and breathing through the right nostril was more energizing. The channel of energy that corresponded to the left nostril is called Ida which means moon, and the channel corresponding to the right nostril is called Pingala which means sun.   Unless you are a serious yoga student you may have never realized that sometimes you breathe more through your left nostril and other times you breathe more through the right. This is called nasal laterality and, barring a sinus infection, cold or deviated septum, which nostril is more dominant fluctuates during the day and night. This nasal laterality has a direct effect on the hemispheres of the brain. Most people know that we have two hemispheres in our brains and that the right hemisphere controls the left side of our body and vice versa. The right nostril is more dominant when we are more active. It is said to be strong like the sun, vigorous and vibrant. The left nostril is more dominant when we are quiet and calm. Its energy is more reflective and passive like the moon. The ancient yogis learned to manipulate this energy by breathing more through the left nostril ( a technique called Chandra Bhedana) in order to achieve a quieter and more meditative state or by breathing through the right nostril (a technique called Surya Bhedana) to become more active and energetic. In Nadi Shodhana we balance these energies by taking turns exhaling through one nostril while closing off the other, and then inhaling through the same nostril before closing it off switching. It's a very soothing practice and usually a common one in yoga classes, so I won't explain it here. It's better to be lead through it anyway, than to try to practice it while reading about it. I think one of the reasons that it is so balancing is that there is a lot to do; a special Mudra or hand position, closing off one nostril at a time, paying attention to when you inhale, exhale and switch, so that the mind can't wander or be bored. Pay attention to the next time we do it in class and see if it helps you feel more balanced. Let me know what you think.   I'll see you in class!   Karin

On the subject of right brain and left brain there is a book called: The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain. This book explores how the invention of writing and reading reconfigured the human brain in regard to the left and right hemispheres and how that affected history, religion and gender relations. It is an interesting read, I highly recommend it!

 Our book of the month for December is written by Tara Brach.  Tara Brach is a leading western teacher of Buddhist meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening. She has practiced and taught meditation for over 35 years, with an emphasis on vipassana (mindfulness or insight) meditation. Tara is the senior teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. She has conducted workshops at Spirit Rock Center, Omega Institute, Kripalu, and other retreat centers nationwide. She lives in Great Falls, Virginia, with her husband (Jonathan Foust), mother and their three dogs.