Roger will teach:
   •Yoga Anatomy for Beginners
   •The Art of Balance
   •Twists: Anatomy and Practice

Web: www.yjevents.com/sd12/

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Yoga Teaching Safety
This lecture/demonstration will teach you what causes the most common yoga injuries, how to avoid them, and what to do if you or your students have them. Topics will include injuries to the knee, hamstrings, sacroiliac joint, low back, shoulder, wrist and neck. Suitable for all levels; a must for teachers and studio/club owners. Includes a small amount of practice.

Yoga for Shoulders, Knees and Hips
Learn simple, effective ways to strengthen, mobilize and align your shoulders, knees and hips while enjoying a well-rounded yoga class. You’ll safely get the most out of your postures by using anatomically precise technique and personalized modifications. For students of all levels.

Sacroiliac Joints: Anatomy and Practice
Yoga can encourage healthy mobility of the sacroiliac (SI) joints at the base of the spine, but it can also strain them. This workshop will teach you: –SI joint anatomy and kinesiology –Symptoms and signs of SI problems –Causes of SI injury –How to prevent SI problems –Specific yoga postures that often relieve pain in the SI region.

Yoga Adaptations for Lumbar Disk Injury
Practicing yoga can be a challenge for people who are recovering from a disk injury in the lower back. This class will teach the anatomy of the injury and a wide selection of modified postures to provide recovering students a varied, satisfying, and potentially therapeutic asana practice. IMPORTANT NOTE: Most of the asanas in this class are not appropriate for students with acute or severe injury. Please bring several blankets, a strap and a block.

Gentle Inversions and Alternatives
Learn a series of safe, gentle inversions and alternative poses to accommodate neck and shoulder injuries, menstrual cycles, high blood pressure, and other challenges. Depending on your needs, you may practice supported variations of Headstand and Shoulderstand, or a variety of other poses. Please bring several blankets, a strap, and a block. Mostly asana, some lecture.

Location:
ClearSpring Yoga
17 N. Market Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37405

To register visit:
http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=7382&stype=-8&sView=day&sTrn=100000081

For questions contact:
inquiry@clearspringyoga.com
423-266-3539

Display all Roger Cole workshops

JG: I came to yoga for the exercise. I have been a long-time competitive cyclist. I often heard that yoga would be good to augment my cycling and increase general flexibility (which can facilitate increased strength). I had tried yoga a few times, but it never fit well – either the location, or the schedule, or something did not fit. Three years ago I looked for a local studio and saw Yoga Del Mar on the internet, and on a Friday afternoon, I mustered the courage to attend what I call my first real yoga class, with Josh Vincent. And the next day I went to Geri’s class, and thus started my yoga journey. I was struck by how accepting and even inviting yoga instructors are, from the first class I felt I was part of the group. Yoga was so different than the competitive world I was used to – it is not a competition, it is about what you are doing for yourself today, and how you are connecting with yourself. After miles and miles and hours and hours of cycling over the years, I thought I had the foundation for a connection to myself, but in just a short time, I found that connection to be much deeper through my yoga practice at Yoga Del Mar. That “connection” translates to self awareness, self confidence and contentment, and openness in relationships with others. Just few months later, I completed Anusara Immersion 1 with Geri, and that deepened my knowledge of Anusara yoga and my yoga practice far more than I expected.

YDM: How has practicing yoga changed your life?

JG: Shortly after completing the Anusara Immersion 1, I suffered a very serious cycling accident when on a ride in Palos Verdes; I rode off the road on a downhill stretch and into a tree with my face and chest. My helmet saved my life, and it was more than six months before I was able to get back to the mat and back on the bike. But most importantly, yoga never left me. In those months when almost every movement was painful and I was struggling to do simple things like walk, I could come home from work, sit, do some pranyama, some meditation, and allow the distractions of the day to fade away, and accept myself for what I was that day, pain and all. And, as corny as it might sound, I embraced the pain; it was part of me that day. Yoga gave me the tools to deal with a difficult challenge in a positive way. Yoga gave me a connection to myself, the self confidence and perseverance to endure and heal. Yoga taught me to open my heart, and allow people to help me along that path as I healed and got stronger. And the healing did come, albeit slowly. Now completely healed, the accident and recovery is just a memory. I am having fun with my yoga practice, with my cycling, and even with my work. I came to yoga for the exercise, a whole world unfolded and I became a better person.

YDM: What new beginnings/openings have you found through the practice of yoga?

JG: Anusara is often defined as “flowing with grace” or “following your heart”, and it’s also about opening your heart. I have no doubt that because of Anusara yoga and following its principles, I was able to open my heart more than I ever had and allow people to help me when I needed help and be grateful for that help. I have had an opportunity to experience a long recovery in a positive way. I got a rare chance to start over again after that recovery – to begin my yoga asana practice again, to start my cycling again, and by looking at many things with a fresh view, I am appreciating them more. More than just opening my heart, through a better connection with myself, yoga gave me a better awareness and appreciation of people with whom I interact. And yoga gave me a more conscience contact with my ego, engaging my awareness of my true nature as a being.

YDM: What would you say to someone thinking of trying yoga for the first time?

JG: Do it. Do something positive for yourself – set your attitude and take action (go to that class). Because I work regularly in Los Angeles, I have been able to attend yoga classes at several studios. I am fortunate to practice regularly with a number of skilled, generous, and compassionate instructors. I have found that all of the yoga instructors I know are accepting and have something worthwhile to offer – they truly want to help students get the most out of their practice. But it is far more than the instructors. The kind, compassionate, and very real people who attend yoga practice are wonderful people to share a community with. Sometimes after a long day at work it is hard to go to class and get on the mat, but every time I do, I’m glad I did – every single time. So (as the athletic shoe add says), just do it!

The words of songwriter Leonard Cohen suggest a deeper perfection that is inherent within the apparent imperfection. In his song “Anthem” Cohen sings, “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.”

In Sankrit (the ancient language of India) the word for perfection is Purnatva. It is also the word for wholeness. When we practice yoga, the intention is not to try to look like a picture in a book — an ideal image of what a yoga pose should be — but rather to do the pose from the inside out. When we bring the totality of our Being into the expression of a yoga pose — we ring the bells that still can ring — and in that way, in that moment, we express our full unique self, we come to know ourselves more fully, we experience our own innate perfection.

There is an innate perfection in the beauty of the trees, a newborn baby, the glory of sunrise, and there is an innate perfection in each of us. May our yoga practice help to unveil the perfection inherent within each of us, and from that wellspring of wholeness may we recognize the perfection of the body we are inhabiting, the life we are living, and the celebrations we are experiencing.

Geri Portnoy: Theme for yoga class on Saturday, November 27, 2010

RZ: I began in Iyengar yoga in St. Louis 11 years ago, with a teacher who had recently moved to the city and was hoping to begin a practice. When I arrived in Del Mar, eight years ago, I was looking for a small studio with various styles of teaching.

YDM: How has practicing yoga changed your life?

RZ: I was struggling with scoliosis, and posture after doing pilates and step for many years. Reaching my 50′s I realized that yoga would better suit my spinal problems. As Geri and her staff continually say yoga has opened my heart to finding peace within my life. I have experienced greater energy and strength, and have been able to open my heart to everyone in my daily life.

(YDM: It’s so true! You brighten the room when you walk in and everyone feels your loving presence.)

YDM: What is the one thing about yoga or that you have gained through yoga that you are most grateful for?

RZ: As I have practiced at various studios I am most thankful for the many teachers I have encountered who have encouraged me to expand my individual practice, as well as the wonderful students I have met through the years.

YDM: What would you say to someone thinking of trying yoga for the first time?

RZ: Hopefully, yoga will lift your spirits as it has mine through daily practice. I am happier and more fulfilled for finding the practice.

A friend from the Midwest once asked me, “How can you stand living in San Diego, it’s perpetual summer? When do you get to hibernate?” It’s true, living in California we do not have pronounced seasons and the activities associated with them. So, it’s a bit of a dilemma when it comes to taking down time. Our ancestors knew the importance of fallow time; when the crops where rotated and the fields were allowed to rest. Autumn is the precursor to winter and is the perfect time to gather up our intentions for nourishing the soul.

Since our San Diego weather will not conspire to help us with reflective time we are invited to create our own rituals that will nourish and replenish us, perhaps, taking a morning to get up late, leisurely reading a book for pleasure, or starting a meditation practice. The most important aspect of creating a new ritual is that it be meaningful and resonant to you in a very personal way. It may take a few attempts to find the perfect soul-satisfying addition to your routine, but you will recognize it by how it makes you feel.

Just as we see in the cycles of nature, it is not possible to constantly run uphill. Respecting these cycles and allowing for contemplative time will paradoxically give you more energy in the long run. Mostly we are in prisons of our own construction, so finding the key to unlock the idea of permission to do nothing is a novel and shocking idea. This slow moving, contemplative time is an invitation to connect more fully with your heart’s inner most desires and that can be scary, but so worth while. Often our inner most voice can only be heard when we quiet the din of the outside world. As Mohandas K. Gandhi said, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” When you take time to slow down your mind-body will be so grateful, the little things in life can be seen more clearly and there is space for more joy. The psyche understands the whispers of the seasons and we should shrive to honor them as well.

This month Yoga Journal Magazine (March 2010 ) featured an article on Pastor Eddie D. Smith Sr. who introduced the word ‘Namaste’ to his congregation in Georgia.  He saw how so many of the young black men in his community were killing each other.  He instructed them to begin to greet each other with the word ‘Namaste’ which means: “The Divinity within me salutes the Divinity within you.” He suggested that by seeing the spark of Divine in one’s self and in the other, a natural respect arises.

Our yoga practice invites us into a direct experience of connecting to a deeper part of ourselves where we feel our own Divinity, worthiness, and fundamental essence.  From this connection to The Source of Life within us it becomes easier to connect to that same place within the other.  To paraphrase Pastor Smith:  If Namaste were really understood, the world would be a better, more peaceful and safer place.

Click on the video below to watch the (2 min.) video clip of Pastor Eddie D. Smith teaching his congregation the word Namaste.

If this video doesn’t show up for you, click on this link to view it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzNFCtFyyY

Has my heart gone to sleep?  . . . No, my heart is not asleep.  It is awake, wide awake.     – Antonio Machado (19th century Spanish Poet) Complete Poem Here

I just returned from teaching in Mexico City.  I was surprised to see people there grappling with the same issues that confront us here in the USA:  financial instability, environmental degradation, the fast pace of life, and a deep longing for a better way of life that invites forth more of our humanity and dignity.  Yogis all over the world are choosing a practice that invites change, that calls us into the arena to be more open, to feel more deeply and live with greater passion and aliveness — so we are not just a “stranger on this dark earth.” (Rilke)

We are called to open our hearts to feel more fully, this is an ever deepening journey of intimacy with ourselves and the world.  As yogis we want the flexibility to be able to open our hearts when appropriate and close our hearts when necessary.  This pulsation of opening and closing is called spanda in Sanskrit

May our yoga practice today, awaken us to the spanda of our own hearts that we may be aware of the times when we are closing and the times when we are opening, that we may live more skillfully, more consciously, with a greater ability to give and receive Love.

In your light I learn how to love.  In your beauty how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest where no one sees you.  But sometimes I do

and that sight becomes this art.

–Rumi

Rumi’s poem expresses the deep connection he has with the divine.  He is a channel through which the formless becomes form.  And the divine becomes heard, felt, and sensed through his artistic expression of poetry.

We are all artists and creative beings.  Yoga is a practice that reconnects us to the light of the divine, so that we, too, can learn how to love. . . how to make poems . . . how to give creative expression to the life force pulsing through each of  us.  

In our yoga practice each pose (asana) can become a way in which we give artistic expression to the divine.  No one does a yoga pose just like you.  You have a unique gift to give; a unique way to express yourself.  And this expression is emergent — it comes from that energy that dances inside your being.

May your yoga practice today be a gateway to reconnecting with the light and love dancing inside your heart,   that your poses and your life may be become a creative expression of the formless flowing through you, as you.

What does the word ‘yoga’ mean to you? Perhaps you associate
it with an Indian mystic sitting in a trance high in the Himalayas, or
with seemingly impossible contortions of the body. But, in fact, throughout
the world millions of ordinary men and women have transformed their lives
with the practice of this ancient science. Yoga is a system of postures,
special breathing techniques and relaxation which act together to harmonize
all aspects of the individual. It originated in India some 5,000 years
ago and in our century a few forward thinking yoga masters have revised
these teachings into the form we know today, making the benefits available
to all humanity regardless of race, religion, nationality, occupation
or age.

Twenty minutes of yoga is worth hours of ordinary exercise. It is the
way to good health and longevity, and will lead you to feeling youthful
in body, mind and spirit. Yoga is the natural way to free yourself from
the pains and nervous tension which sap away the strength and vigour of
body and mind. Everyone is capable of doing enough yoga to experience
great benefits almost at once. This is true for those aged eighty and
beyond as well as for people of all ages who have allowed their physical
condition to deteriorate. Many yoga practices can be done in a comfortable
sitting position, standing up or lying down. Yoga is not ‘exercise’
in the ordinary sense. With the slow, gentle movements of yoga you are
able to stimulate and relax every part of the body from the toes to the
scalp and from the muscles and tendons inwards to the deepest internal
organs and glands. Yoga awakens the vital force within and, in addition,
it is very enjoyable.

Definition of age

If we think we are too old to do something, what do we really mean by
‘too old’? Is age really anything to do with the number of years
that have passed since our birth into the world? What do we really see
when we look at a person and decide whether they are young or old? Some
of the characteristics normally associated with youth, on the one hand,
and old age, on the other, are listed below:

So really it is having many of the characteristics of youth which makes
us ‘young’ or having many of the characteristics of age that
makes us ‘old’, not chronological age. A properly planned yoga
program, if followed with sincere and regular application, will reverse
the characteristics of age and give you a new lease of life.

How yoga can turn back the clock

Yoga is a scientific method which deals with every aspect of an individual,
that is, it is a holistic approach. The regular and dedicated application
of yoga techniques removes the underlying cause of many ailments and diseases
because it has the following effects:

• balances energy

• removes toxins from the body

• improves blood flow

• increases oxygen flow in the body

• stretches and tones muscles

• increases flexibility of the body

• reduces physical, mental and emotional stress

• improves sleep and mental outlook

In other words, yoga creates harmony between our physical, mental, emotional
and spiritual aspects. So we can say that the above effects would start
to reverse the characteristics of age and gradually lead us back to having
more of the characteristics of youth. If you meet an older person who
seems to be aglow with health and vitality, there is every chance that
a daily yoga session is their secret recipe.

Yoga and common diseases

More and more these days, health care is changing as the medical profession
realizes that to cure illness and disease, just treating the symptoms
is not enough; the underlying cause needs to be treated and remedied.
What is disease? Dis-ease, the absence of ease, indicates we are unbalanced
and must make some changes to become healthy and more joyful. Illness
can be a springboard for change and evolution; nature is telling us we
are transgressing her lanes.

To regain health and vitality you do not even need to know or understand
the cause. Regular practice of yoga postures, breathing and relaxation
techniques will effect the cure automatically. Let’s look at some
of the common ailments that trouble many people: headaches, obesity, poor
eyesight, haemorrhoids, bronchitis, traumatic menopause, period pain.
It may seem miraculous but all of these conditions can be improved or
cured with yoga, and all those pills, ointments, lotions, potions, drops
and drugs can be thrown away.

What about the more serious illnesses that cause severe distress, disability
and even premature death; the modern lifestyle diseases such as hypertension,
heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, arteriosclerosis, asthma etc.?
Yes, even these can be greatly improved and even cured with yoga. Of course
yoga is much more effective when applied to a newly occurring condition
rather than as a last resort when all other treatment methods have failed.
Psychological disorders such as depression, phobias, anorexia nervosa,
anxiety etc. can also be successfully treated with yoga. What about the
‘inevitable’ ageing process – loss of memory, failing eyesight
and hearing, progressive stiffness, incontinence, general feebleness of
the body? As already stated, these effects of advancing years are not
inevitable and can be prevented or reversed with yoga practices. Yoga
is the way out of the cycle of pain and illness.

The importance of relaxation

Many of the problems which people experience are caused by stress, anxiety
and tension which eventually manifests as mental or physical illness.
So by relaxing the body and the mind, the vital energy is brought back
into balance, vitality is restored and a completely fresh and optimistic
outlook on life is experienced.

What do we mean by relaxation? When you watch very young children at
play, you will notice that they are totally absorbed in their games, oblivious
to other events around them, and when they become tired, they simply lie
down and sleep, flopping like rag dolls. However, when most adults say
they are relaxing, they are usually just engaging in another activity
which uses energy, either physical or mental. Think about how long ago
it was that you last experienced true, deep relaxation. Was it a few hours
ago, last week, last month or so long ago that you can’t even remember?

The relaxation techniques used in yoga are extremely simple and yet the
benefit is felt immediately. You do not have to ‘try’ to relax
or ‘believe’ that the practices will work; you simply follow
the procedures as instructed and all your tensions disappear as you learn
to ‘let go’. That childlike ability to completely relax will
be yours again and the benefits will be with you twenty-four hours a day.
When tension and anxiety melt away, the willpower becomes stronger, so
you have the strength of mind to tackle other aspects which may be effecting
your health, such as overeating, smoking, overindulgence in alcohol etc.
Usually the yoga practitioner finds that the addiction to these habits
just disappears by itself without any real effort.

How to get started

You should learn yoga in the beginning from a qualified, properly trained
yoga teacher. While many books are available, these should only be used
for reference and additional information, not to teach yourself yoga from.
This is particularly important if you have any health problems. Yoga courses
for beginners are often available at community health centres and adult
education centres. Classes many be advertised in your local newspaper
and some yoga teachers and yoga schools are listed in the yellow pages
telephone directory.

Classes are normally conducted for small groups of mixed age and gender,
but special classes for particular groups, i.e. women, retired people,
or antenatal are often available also. If you are unable to get to a class
or would prefer private tuition at home, this could probably be arranged
with a teacher, but would naturally be a little more costly.

If you are being treated for a specific ailment or are on strong medication
you should discuss your wish to commence yoga with your doctor, who will
most likely be delighted at your decision and may even know a yoga teacher
that he/she can recommend. If you are confined to a nursing home (or have
a relative who is) and would like to learn yoga, discuss the possibility
of a teacher visiting the home once or twice a week. They may even be
able to organize a group class if enough residents are interested.

Once you start classes, make sure you keep that time slot free very week
so you don’t miss a class. Particularly at the beginning when everything
is new, regular practice and attendance at class are essential. This is
your special time for looking after yourself. Your teacher will advise
you to do some of the practices that are being taught at home between
classes, to get the full benefit, so you may need to alter your daily
routine to fit this in. Usually just missing one hour of TV viewing each
day gives the necessary time. When you start to feel the benefits, you
will be very keen to do the practices at home anyway!

So whether you are twenty five, forty five, sixty five or eighty five,
you are never too old to discover what yoga can do for you.

Reprinted from YOGA MAGAZINE