yoga

yogas citta vritti nirodhah
'the restraint of the moving of the mind is yoga'
- patanjali c. 260 ad

fall 2008 teaching schedule:
vinyasa yoga : mon + wed 12:15-1:15pm, alumni gym studio
piyo : tue + thu 4-5pm, alumni gym studio
rock hard abs : thu 5-5:30pm, alumni gym studio
*
come try out a class sometime!

*

i had a site,
www.fernyogastudio.com
that was my web yoga home in 2005.

--

teacher training retreat! at the end of my teacher training program our graduating class ventured out to block island, r.i. for a yoga retreat on june 10-13th 2004. it was a wonderful experience, timely in that this was the weekend before i started my teaching career, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. what else can i say...? here's a couple pics:

core yoga class of 2004. from left: rakhi, debbie, diana, barbara (center), ruth, christy and fern	standing from left: debbie, pat, christy, diana, ruth and fern; sitting from left: barbara and rakhi

5.18.04: it's official: i'll be teaching the vinyasa yoga class in stata's wang fitness center throughout the summer. these classes may be taken for phys/ed credit and are open to the whole mit community. for info on how to obtain the goup exercise pass for summer 04, see the main desk folks in the z ctr or the alumni/wang ctr. for more info and to see the whole fitness catalog look here.

i submitted the revised version of my yoga thesis, explorations into the yoga-dance relationship on 5/9, and presented it on 5/16. i got some great feedback and am posting it here in pdf format.

...back in time...

in september of 2003 i joined the core yoga teacher training program, taught by yogini debbie cohen. it's been absolutely great, and my projected certification date is late june 04; here's some of what we've covered thus far:

the 8 paths of ashtanga yoga:
1. yama (abstinence)
2. niyama (observance)
3. asana (posture)
4. pranayama (breath control)
5. pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
6. dharana (concentration)
7. dhyana (meditation)
8. samadhi (contemplation)

- bks iyengar yoga: not as much a philosophy as a hefty practice reference
- the yoga sutras of patanjali: i loved it; these are litle proverbs/threads relevant to yoga ideology and discipline
- the bhagavad gita: krishna and arjuna's dialogue on karma; my favorite hindu scripture yet
- extensive anatomy, breathing, physiological processes
- the different styles/teaching techniques of soorya namaskar, the sun salutation
- standing, balancing poses, inversions, twists, bends, relaxation response
- therapeutic yoga, restorative yoga, ayurveda, yoga for athletes
- the age-old yoga vs. religion debate
- teaching methodology

debbie has introduced us to some real bhakti practices like meditation and chanting, which i had never really tried before. to be quite honest, getting to meditate has been an enormous challenge for me. i can never seem to get my mind to sit still for five minutes. what is meditation, even? this just came to me yesterday: meditation is the cultivation of the space in between thoughts. with time and practice, these spaces get longer and quieter so eventually you can savor the inner void from where all thought, perception and creativity is born. sounds wonderful (if a bit weird), so for now that's my yoga - the quest to meditate, to quiet the fluctuations of the mind...

also worthy of mention is the fact that i just taught my first 3 official classes! my teacher david offered me his classes at lesley university for a week while he was on vacation, and reluctantly, i accepted. i taught on 3/29, 4/1 and 4/5/04. i survived the initial 15 minutes of my first class by leading a seated meditation, and as soon as we started the standing sequence, i got into the groove and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the class. i'm looking forward to starting some real teaching.

yoga links:
my favorite online yoga source: the yoga journal
supporting yoga teachers and the diversity and integrity of yoga: the yoga alliance
core yoga.com and all about debbie cohen
where dance and yoga intersect: kali ray triyoga
my teacher david magone's pranavayu yoga site
a haven in the berkshires: kripalu yoga center
baron baptiste's power vinyasa yoga studio

main | play |