seva journal

April 6 & 9 11am -12:15pm

Has your yoga practice slowed down a bit with your new baby? Or are you wanting to start a yoga practice but don’t have the time with a newborn? If so, this class is for you! Mommy & Me Yoga is designed to give you the tools you need to continue (or start) your yoga practice while caring for a new baby. The poses are designed to give mom a well rounded yoga practice while interacting and stimulating baby. Both you and your baby will fold, twist and stretch in a fun and playful way. No experience necessary

What you need:
· Yoga mat (or rent one at the studio)
· Blanket
· Small towel
· Baby’s favorite small toy
· Sling or other baby carrier (if you use one)

Cost is $40 for the 2 sessions

YOUR YOGA ADVENTURE IN TUSCANY at Soul Space
with Michele Fife and Daniel Gottleib, July 24th – 31st 2010

My goal as a teacher is to guide you on a journey- away from the everyday stresses of life. We have an incredible opportunity to experience this journey in an entirely new way. An old Italian Villa in Siena, Italy awaits us! In this ancient place called ‘Soul Space’ we will practice, we will play, we will eat local organic foods, and enjoy all that the beautiful Tuscan countryside has to offer. This unique Yoga adventure is available to 20 students.
Contact Michele Fife for more info at 616 901 7229 or email sevayoga@gmail.com.
See more pictures at Soul Space

ABOUT THE TRIP-
This property is immersed in the midst of the Tuscan woods, atop the rolling hills of Cerbaia on 100 acres in the Senese countryside. Silence and peace are assured. The rooms are elegantly decorated and newly restored. The yoga space has views of the surroundings and is equipped with sound system, including a piano.

ACCOMMODTION & ACTIVITIES
Accommodation is in newly and nicely restored apartments. Rooms have private bathrooms. Some single rooms available. Activities will include daily yoga, an excursion to Siena, a great medieval town famous for the Palio horse race, an excursion to the small towns of Montalcino & Montepulciano with wine tasting, an excursion to the ocean by the Maremma National Park, half day to the Petriolo Hot Springs.

COST OF RETREAT
$3250 per person / $3550 single occupancy
Package includes:
- all transfers (arrival and departure from/to Pisa airport)
- 7 nights accommodation
- breakfast, lunch and dinner, except lunch during excursions (wine not included)
- full day excursion to Siena
- full day excursion to Montalcino and Montepulciano
- full day excursion to the ocean
- 1/2 day to the Petriolo hot springs
Not included: airfare, tips.

HOW TO ENROLL
To enroll please pay a $500 non-refundable deposit per person.
Please pay your deposit by check made to Cultural Italy and give it to Michele.
The balance will be due 60 days before the retreat (June 28th.)
You can pay the balance by check or credit card (visa, mastercard or amex) over the
phone.

March 26th, 7:30-9pm
Enjoy the opportunity to come into balance through a restorative yoga practice. Allow yourself to release muscular tension as well as emotional and mental stress. Creating a calm and healing environment, Marro is known for her clear and caring instructions. As the new year begins, come join us for an experience sure to nourish your mind, body and spirit.

Let yoga do you for an hour and a half ~ preregister to save your spot. Limited to eight participants. Cost is $20

Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 6 to 7:30pm

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!

Normal class fees apply.

-michele

The life breath of every living being – So Hum. So Hum, I am that. A song every sentient being sings, proclaiming their own divine existence. When I pause, when I pay attention to my own life sound, a natural calm come over me. It is the rushing, the drive to Be, to be More, that calls my attention away from this sound and makes the mind like so many puzzle pieces. I wait to be put together again.

So Hum, happening without me trying, without effort, this pranic vinyasa. I can pause and take note whenever I chose, I can listen again. To listen to the sound of all life inside of me. The sound is there to remind me. I am that.

-michele

“As someone who wore a tool belt for 25 years, Allan Nett is very familiar with the aches and injuries that plague homebuilders. As a certified Iyengar Yoga instructor, he also has some ideas on how they can be avoided.”
Read the article at finehomebuilding.com

michele on WoodTV’s eightWest to talk about how yoga can improve your sleep

michele had the chance to go on woodtv’s eightWest to talk about how balance asanas can help you find a happy medium in other areas of your life

michele shows woodtv’s eightWest some inversions and discusses the benefits — how they assist with rejuvination and overall wellness.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Yoga conference that also promoted Veganism. I was excited to attend mainly to have some Yoga with some great Yoga teachers. That did happen but what I left with was much more than that. For 2 and a half days I ate entirely Vegan food. Now this was not a huge stretch for me as I have been a Vegetarian for about 14 years. Here is the thing, I like cheese. A lot. I felt like there was no harm done by me consuming dairy in that form even though I buy rice, soy or almond milk rather than dairy.

After careful consideration I decided that the same reasons that keep me from eating cows, wearing their skin and drinking their milk definitely apply to the cheese I so like to eat. I think I have always known this but was reluctant to admit it.

So back to my weekend, did I miss cheese? No. Did I enjoy a wonderful broccoli cauliflower soup that had a very cheesy tasting base? Yes! Can I stay within my moral ethics and enjoy delicious meals? I think so. I think it will be a process, I think it may take a little more effort and labor in the kitchen at first but in the end I know it will be worth it. It will be a labor of Love.

-michele

photo courtesy of rady one