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Q.What Is Yoga?
A.The word yoga, from the Sanskrit word yuj means to yoke or bind and is often interpreted as “union” or a method of discipline. My Yoga classes and coaching are based on the Ashtanga yoga primary series that I have practiced for 14 years. The beginning classes introduce you to the Ashtanga series to build stamina through a program of physical postures designed to purify the body and provide the physical strength and stamina required for the 1 and 1 1/2 hour led classes.
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Q.How Many Times Per Week Should I Practice?
A.Yoga is amazing—even if you only practice for one hour a week, you will experience the benefits of the practice. If you can do more than that, you will certainly experience more benefits. I suggest starting with two or three times a week, for an hour or an hour and a half each time. If you can only do 20 minutes per session, that’s fine too. Don’t let time constraints or unrealistic goals be an obstacle—do what you can and don’t worry about it. You will likely find that after awhile your desire to practice expands naturally and you will find yourself doing more and more.
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Q.How Is Yoga Different From Stretching
A.Yoga is more than just physical postures. Patanjali’s eight-fold path illustrates how the physical practice is just one aspect of yoga. Even within the physical practice, yoga is unique because we connect the movement of the body and the fluctuations of the mind to the rhythm of our breath. Connecting the mind, body, and breath helps us to direct our attention inward. Through this process of inward attention, we learn to recognize our habitual thought patterns without labeling them, judging them, or trying to change them. We become more aware of our experiences from moment to moment. The awareness that we cultivate is what makes yoga a practice, rather than a task or a goal to be completed. Your body will most likely become much more flexible by doing yoga, and so will your mind.
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Q.I’m Not Flexible—Can I Do Yoga?
A.Yes! You are a perfect candidate for yoga. Many people think that they need to be flexible to begin yoga, but that’s a little bit like thinking that you need to be able to play tennis in order to take tennis lessons. Come as you are and you will find that yoga practice will help you become more flexible. This newfound agility will be balanced by strength, coordination, and enhanced cardiovascular health, as well as a sense of physical confidence and overall well-being.
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Q.What Do I Need to Begin?
A.All you really need to begin practicing yoga is your body, your mind, and a bit of curiosity. But you will need a yoga mat, a pair of sweat pants, leggings, or shorts, and a t-shirt that’s not too baggy. No special footgear is required because you will be barefoot. It’s nice to bring a towel to class with you. Water or food is not allowed in the studio.
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Q.Can I Drop In For A Class?
A.Reserve your First Class online and save $5. M-W-F at 5 or 6 pm and Saturdays at 7:45 am, 1 hour class. Regularly $15. That way you can check out my teaching/coaching style. The classes are very small (up to 5 people) so expect a lot more personal attention.
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Q.Do You Provide Yoga Mats?
A.Yoga mats are a kind of personal thing. You stand on them, you sweat on them and in today’s world the answer is necessarily no, but yes in an emergency, or for first timers. You can sometimes find them at Ross or Walmart. The yoga studios in town have excellent mats we used daily for many years cost about $100, well worth it. Please do not bring spongy cheaper yoga mats that break up all over the place after a couple of weeks.
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Q.Refrain From Eating For An Hour Or So Before Class?
A.In yoga practice we twist from side to side, turn upside down, and bend forward and backward. If you have not fully digested your last meal, it will make itself known to you in ways that are not comfortable. Experiment with a light snack such as yogurt, a few nuts, or juice about 30 minutes to an hour before class. With regular practice you will create the stamina and internal energy and hunger will not be an issue.
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Q.What is a musical massage?
A.Great question and I could write books about it! When we play or listen to music most of the information is perceived through the ears to the brain. Different music creates different rhythmic and melodic patterns. The science of this is called “cymatics” or vibroacoustics. These patterns (3D geometries) rapidly change causing a long list of bio-chemical effects in the body such as the release of endorphins and other mind body stimulants. This is the reason why we feel good from music that we like. As an engineer, I was able to look at systems on many levels and use that data to make a better mouse trap and some of the concepts and designs come through dreams. So, back in ’87 I had dreams about creating sound environments and it took me to inventing ways to get the sound directly into the body, without being loud, so that you feel (especially the low notes) in your body. The result is that the whole body relaxes very quickly, much more quickly than with speakers or headphones. Tibetan monks with decades of meditation experience reported getting to deep levels (that would normally take over an hour) were reached in 10 minutes.
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Q.What is a High Tech shaman?
A.LOL. When I was looking at my life last year a colleague coined the phrase and it stuck, it felt that it was me. Even though I don’t have any “classical” shamanic training I realize that I use dreams to design and create and implement new healing concepts. And when I took inventory of my life I see that one step has led to another and I have been at the cutting edge of working with consciousness to create systems like the sacred geometry sound environments for raising consciousness, like taking the micro current biofeedback well past the Master’s training I received from our Russian colleagues to manage pain and rejuvenate tissues, and of course brainwave patterns. So, lucky for you I bring these tools to the table as a resource for coaching you in Yoga well beyond the asanas (physical poses), to help you integrate, gain confidence, solve pain and shine like the star you were born to be.
