Bow Down Yoga

Introduction To Gentle Flow Yoga - 4 week series

This 4 week series is a perfect way for beginners to experience the effects of a gentle flowing yoga practice that will warm and open the body, and quiet and calm the mind. We will explore breathing techniques and physical alignment that will allow you to safely and seamlessly move through the yoga practice.

When – Tuesday evenings 4:30 – 5:30 beginning December 14th

Where - Laughing River Yoga

Cost  - $40

Why Flow Yoga? Have you ever felt like you were rushing through life or operating on a more unconscious level;  unaware of what thoughts and feelings were motivating you from moment to moment? For most of us, at some point or another, the answer is “YES”.  Sometimes we might even suddenly stop and ask ourselves, “Why did I do that?”,  ”How did I get here?”, or simply “Where has the time gone?”

In a flow (or vinyasa as it is called in Sanskrit) style of yoga the breath serves as a link between the body and mind and allows us to stay focused, calm and aware as we move  in and out of the yoga poses. We are encouraged to slow down and to bring our  heart felt intentions into our movements by  linking these intentions to our breath and always making sure that the breath is moving freely and smoothly as we practice.

What most practitioners find is that as they begin to cultivate this ability to open up  their hearts and move with greater presence and intension on their mats, that they are able to bring these same qualities into their lives off the mat.

Flow yoga is less about  thinking our way through the poses and more about  feeling our way through the poses using the breath as our guide. Those of you who tend to over think or analyze  throughout your day will find this to be a welcomed break!

Learning how to move consciously moment to moment, breath to breath. We will strive to infuse this practice with a sense of humor, a sense of play. The point is not to judge the practice but to simply get into our bodies and explore.

Who will this series serve? This series is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to slow down and take it easy in their practice or who has questions about alignment and transitions in a flow yoga class.

It is particularly  suited for those of you who are either brand new to  yoga or  who have had some prior experience and are curious about what the flow style of yoga is all about.

Please click here with questions or to register for this series.

 

The 4th (almost) annual 'Yoga Like Monkey' retreat in Costa Rica

February 20-26 2011. Ojo del Mar, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.  Join me and Emily Garrett for an outdoor Yoga adventure in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  The retreat includes lodging, three meals a day, daily meditation, morning yoga, and afternoon yoga and more.  $1330 cabina/$1050 tent. 

Email me to sign up!

A TYPICAL DAY LOOKS LIKE……

MORNING

*Wake up with the monkeys

*Eat a light breakfast of fresh, local fruit, cereal, juice, coffee and tea

*Half hour meditation practice followed by a 2-hour invigorating asana class led by either Emily or Sofi

MIDDAY

*After yoga, eat a gourmet brunch of fresh vegetables, grains, homemade breads and a variety of proteins.

*A break in the afternoon allows time to enjoy many activities.  Possible activities include:

Swimming

Lounging on the beach

Jungle hikes

Bird watching

Monkey watching

Napping in hammock

2 hour surf lesson ($50)

Surf Board rental ($20)

Sea Kayaking (35$ plus a shared taxi to and from Puerto Jimenez)

Jungle canopy tree climb ($50)

Massage  ($60)

**Prices are as of spring 2009.  They are subject to change.

AFTERNOON

*We will regroup around 4 pm for a relaxing afternoon yoga class.

* Some afternoons we will take a group excursion to explore the magic that the Osa has to offer.

EVENING

*Gather at the Casa Grande for a gourmet candlelit dinner lovingly prepared by Nico and her crew.  This is a wonderful time to share stories from our day, laugh, relax and get to know each other.

Laughing River Yoga Opening Oct. 4th!

 

Thank you...

To everyone who showed up this morning for Yoga On The Mountain. Together we raised over $6000 for The Vermont Community Yoga Project. What a great way to start the day.

I feel truly blessed to be part of this Yoga community!!

             
 
 
 
 
 

The Vermont Community Yoga Project!

I am happy to announce a new organization ....

 

The Vermont Community Yoga Project (V.C.Y.P.) reaches out beyond Yoga studios, to teach empowerment and stress-reduction practices to under served populations in our community.

 We compassionately support individuals in their efforts to meet life's inevitable challenges from a place of stability and ease and to cultivate a life that is both fulfilling and safe.

V.C.Y.P offers classes to: clients of social service agencies, training  and youth program participants, school children, and individuals involved in corrections. Classes are also available for staff members who support these groups. 

V.C.Y.P classes are suited to all levels of experience and physical ability and are designed to meet the particular needs of each group.

Our classes will help individuals to:

 *Release tension in their body and mind.

 *Enhance mental concentration.

 *Regulate emotions.

 *Improve physical and emotional wellness.

 *Build self-compassion and self-confidence.

 *Make healthier life choices.

 *Cultivate peace within themselves and their communities. 

 

All classes are taught by certified Yoga instructors trained to work with under-served populations.

Please stay tuned for upcoming FUNdraisers....

For more information, visit us at 

www.vcyp.org 

 

or contact us at:

 vtcommunityyoga@gmail.com

(802) 238-8513

 

 

Looking back at it all.....

Twenty hours ago I departed from the Entebbe Airport in Uganda and I'm still one flight away from home. As I  sit here in the  Newark airport Starbucks  I'm filled with a flood of emotions and memories:  the joy of being only hours away from seeing my family, the sadness of leaving so many behind, the smiles of the Shanti Uganda women in Kasana who danced and sang for us, the looks in the eyes of  the  HIV/Aids positive children at the New Hope orphanage when we said good bye to them, watching my fellow seva challengers work so hard in the mud and rain side by side with the men, women and children of the surrounding villages to help build a school through Building Tomorrow.

Going to Uganda through The Off The Mat Into The World 2010 Seva Challenge was a little like doing a strong shot of Tequila. It was fast and furious, incredibly powerful and once it began there was no turning back. And like downing a strong shot, while I felt the initial jolt of the experience immediately, I have a feeling that my strongest responses are still to come. Not only am I certain that we made a difference in the lives of so many, but that I gained invaluable insight into myself: both where I shine and where I need to continue to work to break down the walls that keep me from truly stepping into my own power, my own truth.

I look forward to the days, weeks, months, and perhaps even years that I will spend digesting these past 2 weeks. I know that the ripples of this experience will carry me to new and beautiful places filled with the deep waves of joy and inner peace that can only be felt through our continuous efforts to serve others and to serve the God that dwells within each one of us. 

If anyone out there reading this blog is trying to decided wether or not to participate in next years 2011 Seva Challenge, I would like to put in a strong vote for, "Do It!". The process of fund raising can be difficult at times but as Krishna teaches us in chapter 2 of the the Bhagavad Gita:

 "On this path of Yoga, no effort is wasted and there is no failure. Even a little effort towards spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fears"

In other words, any amount money and awareness you raise will carry with it them karmic seeds of positive change both for the recipient of your efforts and for you. Take that first step. Make the commitment to try and see where the universe leads you.

May Peace Prevail,

Sofi

   

Off The Mat Into The World and The Shanti Uganda Birthing Center

We've spent the last few days in a small village outside the town of Kasana in the Lerrwero district. Here we were working with an organization called Shanti Uganda founded by a 27 year old women from Toronto named Natalie). The Off The Mat Into The World Seva Challenge was able to to provide Shanti Uganda with $150,000 to build a new birthing center for a group of women who are HIV/Aids positive. I've spent the past 3 days at the site ands it's going to be amazing! 

Up till now, the options available to these women for how to birth their babies are beyond dismal.  Not only do they have little or no access to education regarding the HIV/Aids and how to take care of themselves and their babies who will most likely also be born infected, but the don't even have a clean and safe place to go to birth their babies. Needless to say, a  high percentage of these women and children are dying in the child birthing process. 

There are hospitals here but they are  very far away and these women would have to walk a n incredible distance (sometimes even for days)  to get there.  Once there, the protocol for birthing babies is to basically strap the women down to cots with their feet tied up in stirrups and not allow them to move through out their labor and delivery. Why? For one thing, they have no way to keep the birthing area clean and sterile. All they can use is one piece of plastic under each woman. Because of this they have to make sure no blood or anything gets anywhere other than on that piece of plastic. Many of these women  end up having to have c-sections often times with no anesthesia and no sterile surgical equipment. It's so scary for them and as a result most women will choose instead to give birth in their homes. Just in case you have a romantic idea of what a home birth in a rural area of Uganda might be like, let me tell you that most of these women are so poor that their homes are dirty and uncomfortable and the babies are being delivered in unsafe ways with little knowledgeable supervision.  Again, a high percentage of these women and babies are dying during the birthing process and many more after due to the  HIV/Aids virus which they themselves might not even know that they have and even if they do, can't get medication for themselves or have their babies  tested. 

Natalie's vision for this new birthing center in holistic and completely sustainable. It will have a building for pre and post natal check ups, a room with beds for the women to stay in while laboring, a birthing room that will even have a birthing tub in it, a sterile room to hold all the birthing supplies (and our group brought enough donated supplies to keep it stocked for a long time!),  a recovery room for mommy and baby after birth (in hospitals they are forced to leave right away) and 6 fully trained mid wives on staff. The birthing center  will also have a community house where both Men and Women will be educated about the HIV/Aids virus and how to avoid spreading it as well as a place to come and learn various skills (like beading and textiles).

While it will take another year until completion, this project is already having strong effects on the Kasana community as it has provided employment to many son's in the area who had no source of income before hand. We worked hard side by side with them mixing mud, and laying bricks. Women too are involved, planning and starting an organic farm on the premises offering their input and letting Natalie, the founder of Shanti Uganda, know what their needs are and about their important birthing traditions. In this way, some of their methods can be gracefully combined with some of the more modern midwifery techniques that will be used.

We worked long and hard, and ended our time there with a short yoga class for the workmen who eagerly asked “What is yoga?” (they were very strong & very flexible, must be all the manual labor) and ended the night with a bonfire full of signing and dancing.

The Shanti Uganda birthing center in going to have so much heart and the women are beyond grateful and joyous for the potential it holds. 

Words can't express how grateful I am to all of you that made this trip possible for me and I feel that I am simply the conduit that is allowing your compassion and belief that all Beings have the right to live a healthy and happy life to reach the people of Uganda.

Today we are off to the New Hope Orphanage. The children there, again, are ALL HIV/Aids positive. I anticipate a day of both laughter and tears.

With Love,

Sofi

 

  

That which allows us to connect is Sacred: My day spent at the Acholi slums

February 8, 2010 at 1:22 pm (Uncategorized) · Edit

Today was my first day in Uganda and we went to visit the Acholi slums located outside the Kampala, the capital of Uganda. We had brought with us lots of clothing and supplies from home to give out to the families living there. Like so many other times in my life that I have faced the new and unknown, the experience I had there was much different than I had imagined it would be.

The first thing that struck me was the strong sense of community that I felt there. It was truly inspiring. We gathered with many of the women in a meeting house of sorts which was no more than a large dark cement structure with some make shift wooden benches. There they welcomed us with a song that was filled with so much joy and gratitude that I felt my heart open up and soak it in like a sponge or like a thirsty dessert animal who had stumbled upon a cool stream and was drinking in the life affirming water. This was not the vibration of sadness and despair that I had imagined would be so palpable in the slums that I wouldn’t be able to breath. We answered their song with our own rendition of Amazing Grace. I had never offered a song as a gift before but it felt like such an honest exchange of loving vibration. It was powerful to say the least.

The second part of the day involved splitting up on our own and going to visit the homes of two families and delivering to them what we had brought. This part was challenging for me. For starters, where as most of the other members of my group were paired with two women (one from each house hold), I ended up two men. At the first house, and I use the term ‘house’ lightly as it was no more than a two room shack which housed 6 family member, no english was spoken. Luckily, the four children with who lived there were of the ages 2-6 and I was equipped with a bottle of bubble’s … need I say more?

The second house, however was a very different scene. Nine boys (who were a mix of brothers and cousin) lived there along with 1 baby girl and a Mom and Dad. The house was, again, only two rooms and I can’t fathom where they all slept. I didn’t ask because I was afraid it would be somehow embarrassing for them. The father spoke only a little english but explained how his brother was gone and that he had taken in his 3 nephews. He was working to support all 10 kids and when he couldn’t think of the english words to express his situation I offered some help. “Hard”, I said to him. He looked me in the eyes and said, in a deeply burden ridden voice, “Hard”. Then there was a silence that lasted for so long that I felt my whole body contract with uncomfortableness. No one was speaking. The teen age boys (ages 13 – 18) had the same vibe as my teenage step son and his friends – totally great kids but probably were being forced to be home and hang out with their parents and me when all they really wanted to do was to go out and hang with their friends. At least this is what I imagined. The scene felt tense. I felt stupid just sitting there but couldn’t think on anything to say. We all just sat there. Time seemed to drag on forever. When the father explained that the boys new english very well but were just to shy to say anything I looked at them and told them that I was feeling shy do. They smiled and though I could have imagined it, I can almost swear that we all shared a big group exhalation. I felt my muscles loosen, my breath began to flow again. We had found our common ground. They were nervous and I was nervous and it was okay.

At first I felt disappointed in myself that I had frozen up in their home but now I feel okay about it. It’s where I was at the time and I am just so happy that my heart allowed me to be vulnerable enough to express what I was feeling to them. They say a smile is a language that we all share but so are songs, tears, hardships and even moments of shyness. Whatever it may be that allows us to connect is Sacred and today, in a place where I had imagined that I would feel so different and separate from those whom I would be meeting, I had a taste of that first hand.

Uganda Bound

I will be away in Uganda from Feb. 5th to Feb. 18th. While I'm gone Mandi will be teaching my classes. Thank you all again for the heart felt support you gave me this past year during my Off The Mat Into The World Seva Challenge efforts.

With love and gratitude,

Sofi

Bhagavad Gita Discussion Group

The Bhagavad Gita is possibly the most famous spiritual text in India. It is said that this was the only text Mahatma Gandhi kept on his night stand. Join us for an overview of the text, based on GesheMichael Roach and Lama Christie McNally's recent teaching on this sacred classic. Led by Geoff Eddy.

Saturday, Jan 30th

3-5pm 

at Bowdownyoga 200 Main St. Burlington

By Donation

Email me to sign up now!