Friday, December 30, 2011

Bonnes Fetes! Bonne Annee!


Paris @ Night
Originally uploaded by dominikf
Just a reminder that I am taking a little time off during this holiday season to relax, renew, and reflect. All public and private classes are cancelled from 22 Dec - 2 Jan. Classes resume 3 Jan.

Have a joyous holiday and allow in as much awe-filled inspiration as possible.

Love ~
Amanda/DogaYoga

Friday, December 16, 2011

Give/Receive An Experience

Yoga retreats are, at the very least fun, and at the most, absolutely life changing.

The conditions are usually pretty perfect to take your practice to another level. You delve in, free of distractions and judgements, from the moment you wake up to the moment you lay your grateful head on the pillow. A yoga retreat is time to go deep, start over, grow tall, crawl, fly, cry, laugh, dance, breathe...

Instead of the accumulation of more stuff this holiday, how about giving or receiving the experience of Health, Wellness, and Gourmet Living in the Loire Valley? Dr. Jay Kumar and I are delighted to offer this package of a springtime week in the French countryside Living Your Light and Going Back to the Source.

The complete experience - beginning to end - will be the sweet succulence of Rasa; taking in the flavors and essence of the practice and the place, through every one of the senses. There will be yoga, meditation, dharma talks, Ayurveda consultations, French cooking classes, wine and architecture tours...

Imagine for a moment, you or the beloved yogi in your life opening an envelope on Christmas/Hannukah/Boxing Day/New Years/Festivus in which there is a full or partial gift certificate to have this experience. There will be gratitude and it will be profound.

Contact Dr. Kumar - jay(at)livingyourlight.com - or me - amanda(at)dogayoga.net - if you're interested and we will send you a simple gift card that you can lovingly sign and deliver on the special day of choice.

"Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, fire worshipper, lover of leaving. This is not a caravan of despair. It does not matter that you have broken your vows a thousand times, still come, and yet again, come... " ~ Rumi ~

Thursday, December 15, 2011

One Small Act = More Serotonin!


Last Karma Yoga Community Class
of 2011
Sunday 18 December, Centre de Yoga du Marais, 11h30 - 13h

I will be teaching a donation-based all levels flow class at Centre de Yoga du Marais, supporting Families for Children, a private, non-profit, non-sectarian agency that cares for over 600 destitute and mentally challenged children and adults in India and Bangladesh. This is a "kitchen counter" organization that is run entirely by volunteers and every penny goes straight to the orphanages and schools this agency has set up. The teachers at Centre de Yoga du Marais have been volunteering their service and supporting this organization for several years, through Karma Yoga projects.
Suggested donation: 10€ - 50€
Reservations required. Contact me ~ amanda(at)dogayoga.net

Lest you think acts of service and kindness are just charitable, read on...
(From the blog Mark and Angel Hack Life, Practical Tips for Productive Living and an excerpt from the post "12 Things Happy People Do Differently")

"Practice acts of kindness. – Performing an act of kindness releases serotonin in your brain. (Serotonin is a substance that has TREMENDOUS health benefits, including making us feel more blissful.) Selflessly helping someone is a super powerful way to feel good inside. What’s even cooler about this kindness kick is that not only will you feel better, but so will people watching the act of kindness. How extraordinary is that? Bystanders will be blessed with a release of serotonin just by watching what’s going on. A side note is that the job of most anti-depressants is to release more serotonin. Move over Pfizer, kindness is kicking ass and taking names."

Who couldn't use a large dose of serotonin this holiday season? Take a break from shopping, partying, decorating, traveling, and over-doing. It's as much about opening your heart as it is opening your wallet. Yoga helps us act from a place of sincere empathy, not pity. You'll be doing yourself, and the world, a great service!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Last Class of 2011 ~ Solstice Flow


Winter Solstice 21 Dec
Originally uploaded by BPJBMJ

My last class of 2011 will be on Wednesday 21 December, 12h30 - 13h30, at Paris Yoga! Come fortify yourself for the long winter ahead and celebrate the return of the LIGHT on this most auspicious day.

As for the rest of the month...

Pre-Holiday Workshop
Sunday 4 December, Paris Yoga
The end of the year can be a source of great joy coupled with a lot of anxiety. End-of-year deadlines, over-consumption, over-spending, family obligations, colder weather, and travel challenges can lead to stress and illness. This workshop will focus on those poses and breathing techniques that can keep the nervous system regulated, boost the immune system, and encourage us to make sustainable choices in the flurry of this busy time of year.
Reservations required. Contact Joelle for registration ~ info(at)parisyoga.com

Karma Yoga Community Class
Sunday 18 December, Centre de Yoga du Marais, 11h30 - 13h
I will be teaching a donation-based all levels flow class at Centre de Yoga du Marais, supporting Families for Children, a private, non-profit, non-sectarian agency that cares for over 600 destitute and mentally challenged children and adults in India and Bangladesh. This is a "kitchen counter" organization that is run entirely by volunteers and every penny goes straight to the orphanages and schools this agency has set up. The faculty at Centre de Yoga du Marais has been supporting this organization for several years, through Karma Yoga projects.
Suggested donation: 10€ - 50€
Reservations required. Contact me ~ amanda(at)dogayoga.net

Pre-Registered Classes
The American University/Paris classes end on 5 December.
The Pre-Natal Classes at Paris Yoga end on 13 December.

Public and Private Classes & Class Cards
All private classes will end on 20 December.
All class cards expire on 17 December.

Au revoir, 2011. From the soil to the cellular level you have taught me so much.
Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Burning the Candle at All Ends?

Burnt-out? Over-committed? Frazzled? Short-fused? Chronically tired?

Then this is for you....

Pre-Holiday Workshop w/Amanda
Sunday 4 December, 10h30 - 12h30, Paris Yoga
40€

The end of the year can be a source of great joy coupled with anxiety and exhaustion.
End-of-year deadlines, over-consumption, over-spending, family obligations, colder weather, and travel challenges can lead to stress and illness. This workshop will focus on those poses and breathing techniques that can keep the nervous system regulated (keep your cool), boost the immune system (stay healthy), and encourage us to make sustainable choices in the flurry of this busy time (consume less, enjoy more).

Reservations required. Contact Joelle for registration ~ info(at)parisyoga.com

Atelier avec Amanda
Ressourcez vous avant les fêtes

Dimanche 4 décembre 2011 10h30 à 12h30

40 €

Cet atelier vous prépare pour la période de fin d'année qui peut-être à la fois joyeuse et remplie de stress. L'atelier sera focalisé sur les postures et les respirations qui équilibrent le système nerveux, vitalisent le système immunitaire et nous aident à faire des bons choix. Accessible à tous niveaux, à part grands débutants. Venir avec l'estomac léger et apporter une bouteille d'eau.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Overwhelmed...with Gratitude


thanksgiving turkey
Originally uploaded by PDX Pipeline
American Thanksgiving seems a fitting day as any to resurrect my blog. It is Etats Unis' terroir holiday after all, and well, I did do a lot of yoga.

What have I been up to the last two months?

Oh, doing my thing here and there in Paris, with a brief stint in NorCal and upstate NY, living my practice down to its rawest truth and having no desire to write about it.
Sometimes there are no words. Sometimes the words need to be drowned out by subtle vibrations and soft breath.

That's what I've been up to.

14 years is long; much of my adult life and certainly all the consciously aware parts of it. One does not move on from a heartbreak so deep in any linear amount of time. Grief doesn't work that way. It doesn't even ebb and flow.
No, it's sharper and more jarring than that.
It pierces into the soft, vulnerable spots and pushes out the tears, often in the most inconvenient times.

DogaYoga
"When your first guruji is furry and four-legged, no other name will do."



She taught me about life by demanding I love well, everyday. Her love was abundant, undeniable and that was her expectation of me. But you can't truly know life until you've experienced death. Like any good teacher, she guided me directly into the greatest fear and challenged me to see the beauty in the ugly. No filters. No buffer zone.
Therefore, she completed her life's duty by teaching me all I really need to know.

I graduated from the school of Oyenti, the Aztec Warrior Princess.

Now, what will I do with this precious degree?

Release, Receptivity, and Resurrection
I've been living life and death on my mat pretty much everyday since.
When you experience your practice to the rawest, it's not all butterflies and roses flying out of your heart in every back bend.
No, letting go is hard.

Until it's not.

When your daily yoga routine becomes a practice of dying a little to live a whole lot more, then you're home.

The acceptance of change. The opening to new and beautiful possibilities.
The emptying out of what is no longer. The making space for what is. Now.

That's what I've been up to.



"La gratitude est la mémoire du coeur"
Yet, big shifts don't happen without a good dose of overwhelm from time to time (everyday).
The wave of overwhelm crashes when I lose faith of my ability to handle the good, the bad, and the ugly. When I lose my balance; my equanimity. When change is compounding in such a way that what's coming seems too good or bad to be true, rather than exactly what it's meant to be.

In an important moment in the very near past, Dr. Kumar told me, "The Universe never intends to overwhelm. The ongoing feeling of overwhelm will block prosperity; abundance. The antidote to overwhelm is gratitude. Remember to wake up every morning with gratitude, no matter what."

Waking up every morning, taking a long, deep breath, and being grateful for the first three things that come to mind.

That's what I've been up to.

And, so today I choose to be Overwhelmed with Gratitude. I think my furry guruji would approve.

Happy Thanksgiving to all near and far from a grateful American expat yoga teacher still seeking (and occasionally finding) the flow in France. Missing being with my family and friends and celebrating the one holiday whose sacredness most Americans can all agree, on which most take a long, peaceful pause to feel abundant, no matter what.

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."
~Jean Baptiste Massieu