seva journal

Tuesdays 10:30-11:45am (9/6 to 9/27)
Curious about yoga but don?t want to come to class without some experience? Do you want to explore or refresh the basics? This class is for you and a great beginning for your classes at Seva Yoga.

Experience why so many people enjoy the bene?ts of yoga to improve their lives. Reduce stress, feel better in your body, mind and spirit.

Mimi Ray will guide you in the amazing practice of yoga in a step by step safe way that is easy, safe, fun. You will learn :

1. basic yoga poses and their form; general alignment principles.
2. easy breathing techniques
3. yoga philosophy : a brief intro
4. deep relaxation in a supportive environment

Only $45 for the 4 week Series

Food Healing Workshop with Moses and Zeina
Friday Aug. 5th 6-8pm

Vegan? Vegetarian? Raw Foods? Organic? Do you spend a lot of money on food but still feel like you are not getting what you need? Are you confused about what the perfect diet is for you? This Class will inspire and educate you on how to heal yourself and your family. $15 Suggested Donation per person

September 9-11, 2011

Hours: Friday 6:00-8:00pm
Saturday 11:30am-2:00pm & 3:00pm-5:30pm
Sunday 11:30am-2:00pm & 3:00pm-5:30pm

Dr. Ray Long MD FRCSC is a board certified orthopedic surgeon and the founder of Bandha Yoga. Ray graduated from The University of Michigan Medical School with post-graduate training at Cornell University, McGill University, The University of Montreal and Florida Orthopedic Institute. He has studied hatha yoga for over twenty years, training extensively with B.K.S. Iyengar and other leading yoga masters. Dr. Long is the author of 3 user friendly anatomy books designed for yoga teachers and practitioners. Dr. Long is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. He has studied Hatha Yoga for over 20 years , training extensively with B.K.S. Iyengar and other of the world’s leading yoga masters

Friday evening — 2 hours

Fundamentals:
1. Introduction to muscle awakening and body clairvoyance
2. Form and function of the skeleton
3. Form and function of the major joints
4. Ligaments in yoga
5. Muscles and tendons
6. Stretching physiology
7. Stretching biomechanics

Saturday — 5 hours

Application of the fundamentals in asana (the lower chakras)
1. Standing poses (awkening the psoas)
2. Forward bends
3. Hip openers

Pranyama
1. Anatomy and physiology of the breath
2. Opening the thorax
3. Fundamental pranayama

Sunday — 3 hours

Application of the fundamentals in asana (the mid and upper chakras)
1. Twists
2. Back bends
3. Arm balances
4. Inversions
5. Restorative poses

Cost Information:
$50 Non-Refundable Deposit Required (if not paying in full)

Friday Only:

Saturday or Sunday Only:

REGISTER NOW!!! SPACE IS LIMITED

with Chicago yoga teacher Remi Gonzalez
Saturday, April 9, 1-3 p.m.

Learn the basics of Forrest Yoga, and start to heal your body, relationships and life with a stronger connection to your body and spirit.

Find your Breath.

Feel your Strength.

Live your Integrity.

Nourish your Spirit.

These are the four pillars of Forrest Yoga. Take them with you off the mat, and they can transform your life. Forrest Yoga honors ancient yoga practices, and addresses the physical and emotional challenges unique to life today. Injuries, relationships, work and life transitions can be healed with the connection to your body and spirit that Forrest Yoga creates.

Learn the basics of Forrest Yoga and apply them immediately during a 90-minute class. Afterward, we’ll address your questions and discuss how to continue your journey.

www.forrestyoga.com

Remi Gonzalez is a certified yoga teacher based in Chicago, and has studied with Ana Forrest since 2005.

Cost is $30/pp.

Expand your awareness of the rhythm of life as you embrace a…
24-Hour Reset with Michele Fife And Marro Spehar

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute . 701 West Cloverdale Road . Hastings . MI 49058

YOGA . HIKING . DRUMMING . VEGETARIAN MEALS

Exhale at PCC with Michele and Marro for a 24-Hour Reset designed to calm the mind, open the body and relax the spirit.

Arrive at Pierce Cedar Creek in the mid afternoon and let the journey begin as you drop your bags in your room and allow yourself to unwind at the 661 acre nature facility. We’ll begin the guided activities at 5:00 PM. Marro will lead an afternoon Yoga (Sadhana) before sitting down for dinner at 6:30 PM. Saturday evening finds us exploring our innate relationship to rhythm. We will be led in an experiential drumming workshop – weather permitting, around a fire pit at 7:30. After finding our rhythm, unwind with a restorative Pranayama and Yoga Nidra session with Michele and Marro, 9:30pm.

Sunday morning brings an inspiring Yoga session with Michele at 8am before enjoying breakfast observed in Loving Silence at 9:15AM. Sunday morning is yours to explore the forests, fields and wetlands. Our closing lunch will be at 1pm.

June 4 & 5
Cost: $180 single, $160 double

Includes:
Overnight Accommodations
3-Vegetarian Meals
2-Yoga Classes
Drum Circle

Participation is limited. Register now!

*cancelled reservations subject to $50 cancellation fee.

March 26/27

Emotional and spiritual transformation evolve within a place of safety & security. We spark this transformation by fulfilling our moral obligation to provide our students and ourselves with a physically safe practice.

Optimal alignment enables us to create simple modifications for individual physical conditions, thereby providing the security needed to change and heal. This will be an interactive, hands-on workshop from which you will glean practical information to support your teaching and/or enrich your personal time on the mat.

Accessible Modifications and Adjustments
March 26, 1:30pm – 6:30pm
Exploring the postural template: applying and adapting it to your body as well as seeing it and guiding others to do the same. With this awareness, exploring pose modifications for oneself and others keeping body type, injuries and sensitivities in mind. The use of props and best adjustment techniques will be reviewed.

The Ethics of Yoga
March 27, 1pm – 4pm
A discussion of ethics as it applies to the seat of the yoga teacher with interactive group work and practical applications.

Saturday, March 19 · 2:00pm – 4:00pm

This class is for you if you want:
*Rapid, lasting weight loss
*Elimination or marked decrease of cellulite
*Firming and tightening of the facial skin
*Increased circulation to create a healthy glow
*An awesome increase in energy throughout the day
*Reduction of wrinkles and under-eye circles

Workshop is half juicy nutrition and lifestyle detox tips; half yoga practice awesomeness. Wear something comfy. Start living the life you’ve always imagined for yourself. Space is limited. Register now to save your place.

Saturday, March 19 · 5:00pm – 7:00pm
We have done it before, we can do it again!

Yogis near and far,

108 is considered a sacred number in Hinduism and Yoga. Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads. Mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. 108 also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.
And one can enjoy a Yoga mala of 108 Sun Salutations as an offering to Peace and Unity.

Join Michele on Saturday to celebrate the vernal equinox with 108 sun salutations!

$20 Day of event space permitting.

In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain’s grey matter.

“Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day,” says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study’s senior author. “This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.”

Read the full article at physorg.com

March 5 & 6

Principles of Ashtanga Yoga
Sat, March 5, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Ashtanga is the root of modern vinyasa. It is a powerful practice designed to bring about total balance of body, mind and spirit. Through this workshop you will learn and practice the foundational principles of Ashtanga Yoga. Through breath (ujjayi pranayama), energy guides (bandhas), and flow (vinyasa), Ashtanga heats the body to purify it of all toxins. A good understanding of the Ashtanga sequence is a must for serious yoga practitioners and teachers.

Ashtanga Primary Series
Yoga Chikitsa
Sun, March 6, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Yoga Chikitsa (yoga therapy) is a beautiful foundational practice that offers a deeper understanding of the art of flow. This Ashtanga sequence consists of a specific set of postures systematically designed to open and purify the body. In this workshop you’ll put to use the Principles of Ashtanga Yoga.
This high-energy flow is all about journeying the river within.

one year yoga experience recommended.

$30 per session at the door