Bryan Kest Master Class Saturday, November 28, 2009

Hello My Friends.

I will be welcoming Bryan Kest back to the area on Saturday, November 28th.  This year I will be hosting him at our new yoga home, Harmony Martial Arts Center in Jupiter, Florida located at 1928 Commerce Drive.

Class will begin at 9:00 a.m. with Bryan lecturing on yoga, followed by a break and about 2 hour asana practice.  Those of you who have attended class with Bryan know what an amazing teacher he is.  It is no wonder he's invited all over the world to share his unique teachings.

If you would like to attend or have any questions, contact me at lbakercole@yahoo.com.  Class fee is $50.00.

Hope you get to attend the event with this exceptional teacher.

A Thought

What would your day be like if you kept in the forefront of your mind the reminder that your life is a gift?

Keeping Your Yoga Practice Alive During the Summer

Summertime may bring a change of schedule for many of us.  Some of us live by the school schedule, a lot of us travel, while others have visitors or different variations to our routines.  When we are used to attending a regularly scheduled class and think of our yoga practice in terms of class time only, these alterations to our regime have potential to interrupt our practice.  If you have to be away or are truly unable to attend your class, remember that physically all you need to practice is your body and the earth beneath you.

To sustain an uninterrupted practice while away from your class, try the following.  First of all, dedicate some time and space to it.  You might set a minimum amount of time as a goal and not allow anything to intervene.  Find a place with little distractions and room enough to move your body in.

When you come to your space, begin with quietness.  Be still and listen to what your body is in need of.  A long flight or car ride and trying new things on vacation will certainly put demands on the body that require undoing.  Next, find out what you could use emotionally and mentally.  Traveling and being out of your normal rhythm in other ways can be stressful.

After you realize your needs, begin to move in ways that your body is calling for.  You don’t have to remember the sun salutation or any particular postures.  Explore movements that create openness, length and strength and do it with full awareness.  Keep your health in the forefront of your mind 

It is important to recall the rewards of your yoga practice as they provide so much incentive to keep it alive.  Not only do you receive mental, emotional and physical health from it, but everybody you come in contact with or even think about benefits from your practice.

Remember that it is much easier to keep a fire going than it is to start a new one. Make every effort to maintain a regular practice.  When you’re traveling, find local classes to attend or do your own thing right where you are.  When you’re back in town, return to your class every chance you can.  There is so much to be gleaned by being guided by your teacher and the support attained in the group energy of the class.

With the exception of the week of July 3 – 10, when Harmony is closed, your classes at Yoga in Harmony will be here for you this summer.  Set an intention to keep up your yoga practice through this time of potential challenge to it.

Change is in the air, Friends.  I have been invited to initiate and direct a Yoga program at the Harmony Martial Arts Center in Jupiter, Florida.  After careful thought and meditation I have accepted the opportunity and am looking forward to building a growing, vibrant Yoga program in Harmony’s beautiful facility.  I am inspired by what this opportunity brings to me personally and the positive changes that I feel will come from it for all my long-time and much cherished students. 

The disciplines of yoga and martial arts are a natural compliment to each other.  The tenets of TaeKwonDo are:  courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit.  They are kindred practices and for that reason I feel very positive about introducing Yoga as another facet of this school.  The space is beautiful, light and has great energy.   I have personally been involved with Harmony since 1997 when my son, Adrian began his journey in achieving his black belt.  Harmony Martial Arts is a highly respected institution in the Jupiter community and is consistently run with integrity and enthusiasm. 

Yoga in Harmony will begin Monday, May 4^th .   The class schedule will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 9:15 to 10:30.   It is located a 1/2 mile south of Indiantown Road off Maplewood Drive at 1928 Commerce Lane (just south of the bowling alley). 

To have a glimpse at our new home for our yoga class, visit Harmony’s website at:

www.yogainharmony.com/yoga.html

I look forward to continuing our journey together.

Namaste.

Laura

 

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

-Anais Nin

Thank You From Scott Feinberg of Karma Krew

Karma Kastles 2008  -  Tequesta Rec Yoga Sculpture

Dear Friends,

 

I'm not sure about you but I'm still lingering in the residue of the amazing experiences of last week (Karma Kastles). It is a testament to the power of community that we could pull off both events with such ease, delight, and success. It awes me that in the midst of so much economic uncertainty that in truth, it is our internal circumstance that dictates our external circumstance and not the other way around. Because of your help, Karma Krew was able to raise $53,000! What a shining example of how what lies inside of each of us is paramount to what lies outside of us and that when those intentions are aligned together and mobilized there is nothing we can't do.

 

These funds will serve to sustain our shelter program and ensure that even more children who have been abused will now have the opportunity to experience the healing benefits of Yoga. It will also ensure a healthy and vibrant Community Karma Krew program with new krews popping up all over the country. Thank you so much for your support.

 

It was nothing other than a deep deep joy to be able to manifest this vision with each of you. We each did our part and it equalled something so much greater than we ever could have expected. I offer you my deepest gratitude for your generous contributions of sweat, heart, committment, vision, patience, moral support, and for simply the honor of doing this sacred work together.

 

With Much Love,

 

Scott

Bryan Kest Back In Tequesta November 2008

A heartfelt 'thank you' goes out to Bryan Kest and all who participated in our 4th annual Master Class this November in Tequesta.   Bryan led another amazing class filled with his unique style of sharing yoga in a present-day approach.  He gave us plenty to think about as he imparted solid teachings on the relevance of yoga in our daily lives through the first third of the class.  Then, he kept us smiling (and sometimes laughing) through a challenging asana practice for the balance of the workshop.  I believe we all left the session a little wiser, a little happier and a lot sweatier.  Needless to say, we're looking forward to his return next year.

A Path to Enlightenment

Yoga teaches us to go within for fulfillment and to recall, to mind and heart, the union of our individual consciousness with the Universal Consciousness. The path to enlightenment will take many different routes for each of us though there are aspects that will be realized by every soul as we progress. Doubtless conviction that there is one source of creation and belief in reincarnation are paramount in this quest.  Though various religions and spiritual teachings will call the source of creation by many different names, the message at the heart of most religions is consistent.  It is to love one another and to love thyself.

We are all gradually approaching our inevitable enlightenment. A belief in reincarnation is essential as it may take thousands and thousands of lifetimes of progressive assent toward that goal.  There are many qualities that we will develop to the fullest as we drawn in the direction of enlightenment.  Some are love, patience, compassion, forgiveness and kindness.  Each lifetime presents self-chosen opportunities to cultivate these qualities to their perfected states.  Life experiences show us what we chose to work on in the present incarnation.  We must accept our life experiences as our teachers empowering us and never feel a victim of life’s lessons.

Meditation is a very helpful way of focusing the being and not wasting time and energy in distraction.  And service, in any form is an equally instrumental way of unfolding spirituality.  Intention, effort and the power of persistence are of prime importance.  “The mind which thinks of the all-pervading divinity which it worships, is ultimately, through long-continued devotion, transformed into the likeness of that divinity.”  We are our thoughts.  We become what we dwell on.

Careful reading of spiritual texts, studying under the tutorage of wise teachers, quiet reflection, and practical application of the sensed truth and the intuited ideas, will gradually bring enlightenment.  A steady, regular, persistent endeavor will carry us along that voyage.