You Can Take the Yogi out of the Bay Area...

but she will keep returning for her annual dose of that certain kind of love only San Francisco can serve up ;-)

The Going Back to the Source: Yoga and Urban Terroir Autumn workshop is October 1, 2, and 3 at Satori Yoga Studio. Three days of seasonal flow with a closing picnic in Dolores Park on Sunday afternoon. (Chef Russ of the GBS: Slide Ranch days is back!)

All details are coming as fast as I can get them to you.

The air will be crisp. The breath will be soft. Our practice will be strong.
I can already smell the waft of Gravenstein apples (and a Blue Bottle latte) from the farmer's market now...

Rentree Schedule 2010

ça y est... On commence à sentir la douceur de la fin d'été et l'automne pointer le bout de son nez. J'espère que vous avez passé un été agréable, relaxant, rempli de bons moments et source d'inspiration!

Voici mon planning de rentrée, ainsi que des nouvelles au sujet des ateliers, retraites, etc.

Les nouvelles cartes de cours commencent la semaine du 6 septembre... Donc si vous avez encore une carte de cours d'été, vous avez jusqu'à ce samedi 4 septembre pour l'utiliser.

Cours collectifs:
Pas de changement...
− Vendredi, 18h30-20h: cours doux au Centre de yoga du Marais
− Samedi, 12h30-14h: Bhakti Flow dynamique au Centre de yoga du Marais

Ateliers:
Les ateliers trimestriels auront à nouveau lieu à YogaHum, à Montmartre.
L'atelier d'automne aura pour thème « Explorer les mystères de la force centrale de notre corps », le dimanche 16 octobre. Durée: 3h et coût: 50€ (une réduction s'applique si vous avez une carte de cours). Merci de me dire très vite si vous souhaitez participer.

J'aurai également cette année le plaisir d'accueillir des professeurs confirmés, en provenance de San Francisco, pour des ateliers sur un week-end. Détails à suivre...

Retraites:
La retraite « Retour aux sources » en Normandie est reportée à l'automne, certainement au week-end de la Toussaint. Si vous êtes tentés par une retraite de 3 jours à ce moment là, merci de me le faire savoir. Je confirmerai la date selon vos réponses.

En 2011, il y aura au moins une retraite sur un week-end et une autre sur une semaine... Je réfléchis aux thèmes « Yoga à la ferme » en Bretagne et « Yoga dans les vignes » dans la vallée de la Loire ;)

Remplacements:
On m'a demandé de revenir au studio Satori de San Francisco pour l'atelier « Retour aux sources: yoga et terroir urbain »: je serai donc partie du 23 septembre au 5 octobre. Mais je serai remplacée pour les cours collectifs des 24, 25 septembre et 1er, 2 octobre. En revanche, pas de cours particulier pendant cette période.

Cours particuliers:
Je donne des cours particuliers entre le mercredi et le samedi. Des créneaux sont encore disponibles pour des cours réguliers ou ponctuels.
Ces cours sont d'excellents moyens d'approfondir votre pratique, de créer une pratique chez vous, d'explorer les divers aspects du yoga, d'apprendre à modifier votre pratique pendant une grossesse ou suite à une blessure, ou pour une introduction au yoga... Si vous êtes intéressés, faites-le moi savoir rapidement et je vous donnerai les détails des horaires et tarifs.


Tarifs des cartes de cours collectifs:
* Carte illimitée (10 sept-22 déc., 30 cours) = 300€ (10€ / cours)
* 12 cours (expiration 1er nov.) = 144€ (12€/ cours)
* 6 cours (expiration 15 oct.) = 90€ (15€/ cours)
* cours à l'unité: 17€

Blog et site web:
Si les rêveries et pensées d'un professeur de yoga entre Paris et San Francisco vous intéressent, vous pouvez consulter mon blog www.dogayoga.blogspot.com.
Quant à mon nouveau site web, il devrait être en ligne le mois prochain!

En cette fin d'été, à l'heure où beaucoup d'entre vous retournent au travail ou à Paris, ne traînez pas les pieds mais arborez un beau sourire de gratitude!

What is "Going Back to the Source?"

My yoga retreats are called, "Going Back to the Source". I've had a few people ask for a bit more clarity on what this theme means. My big (and sometimes evasive) answer is that, like our yoga practice - and indeed life itself - it's a work in progress. But right now, this is sort of at the core of it...

Life is just energy moving through us. We can allow it to flow or we can allow it to stagnate in our being. Everything we say and everything we do will determine one or the other. The energy does not disappear when we die. There is no beginning and no end. The samskaras we were born with (the blockages preventing us from accessing our best selves) can melt away enabling the flow or they can grow thicker and act as a dam. Going Back to the Source is a conscious journey that starts with a simple decision: In this life do we choose to breathe, move, and act in synch with the flow of the universe or do we habitually align with our suffering, thereby compounding the suffering in the world?

Going Back to the Source is about making decisions - from what we consume to what we say to who we surround ourselves with - that support our greatest capacity for forgiveness, compassion, learning, creativity, and love. Anything else is just maya, a lie we tell ourselves as we put off and resist the love and joy available to us. Because at the Source of our being is a profound truth that we are ultimately connected to all beings, everywhere. We are never alone and our actions - conscious and unconscious - have an impact. At our Source we are perfect. We are beautiful. We are radiant. We are imbued with all the knowledge or wisdom we could ever need.

The Source is indeed a place of "...peace, love, joy, playfulness, and truth. When you're in that place in you and I'm in this place in me, we are One."

This is Going Back to the Source. This is yoga.

I was introduced to this wonderful, somewhat heartbreaking, but nonetheless honest and sweet story written by a courageous woman describing her journey. And she names her dog as her guru, so I immediately fell in love with her sentiments: "The Downside to Down Dog" by Kelly Grey.

Go Pooja

So in Basse Normandie, in the spring and summer, a beautiful thing happens - lots of lots of little farm animals are born. When you drive through the countryside, you see these little ones; all spindly-legged and wide-eyed, next to their protective mamas who are standing stoic and proud. They are grazing in grass pastures, with hectares and hectares of space; having been born into the most charmed scenario for domestic farm animals, ie, free-range and well-loved.

The baby goats are adorable and mysterious with their horizontal eyes. The lambs, while also adorable, are a bit goofy looking. But the ones who touch into the soft spot in my heart are the calves, les petite vaches.

Before this spring, I'd never really noticed the calves. I mean, I always thought they were cute, but I had never really looked deep into the huge, gorgeous, innocent eyes of a calf and felt so connected to something so very big.

There's a particular pair of twin calves in a pasture just down the way, who have touched me deeply. They are of the Limousin variety, possibly the oldest breed of cow in all of Europe. 20,000 year-old cave drawings found near Montignac, France, bare an uncanny resemblance to today's breed.

I have named them Ram and Lam, the energetic sounds of the Mulandhara Chakra, represented by the color red, the color of their fur...

In Hindu and yoga philosophy, cows are sacred. Their sanskrit name is "Go" and honoring a cow is "Go Pooja". It is believed that "...a cow is so spiritually pure that millions and millions of deities take residence in and around a cow. Thus the very space occupied by a cow is holy ground. Only very pure souls can take birth as cows. Humankind should realize the spiritual significance of cows and learn how these docile animals can contribute to our spiritual upliftment."

Everything from their dung to the dust stirred up from the ground on which they walk, is considered sacred.

I love folklore and as the story goes, when Krishna (often also referred to as "Govinda" protector of cows, and "Gopala" finder of cows) played his flute in the pasture, first all of the cows would flock to him. Then, all the cow-tenders/cowgirls, ie, the Gopis, would flock to him as well. The music was transcendent. They would all dance the dance of Bhakti, playfully and lovingly, infusing the Universal life-force with pure love and devotion.

Apparently, Krishna loved butter and milk. He loved it so much that as a child he would steal the homemade butter and stuff it in his mouth, hiding it from others. One day his mother caught him and demanded he open his mouth. When she gazed in the mouth of this son of Brahman, she was overwhelmed with what she saw; the entire Universe unfolding as if like a song.

At times I have wondered why I, a one-time vegan, ended up here, in this sort of obscure part of Basse Normandie/Pays de la Loire, surrounded by cows and so much butter and cheese. As of this spring, I'm starting to understand.

Shri Govinda.

Summer Schedule in Paris

Le mois de juin est déjà là! Incroyable...
Voici mon planning d'été au Centre de Yoga du Marais pour la période du 1er juin au 1er septembre. Mes cartes de cours couvrent cette période.



Juin ~
Yoga doux (tous niveaux), vendredi, 20h15-21h45*
Bhakti Flow (niveaux 1 / 2), samedi 12h30-14h
Retraite/atelier yoga** du 13 au 20 juin (des professeurs de remplacement assureront mes cours).

Juillet ~
Yoga doux (tous niveaux), vendredi, 18h30-20h*
Bhakti Flow (niveaux 1 / 2), samedi 12h30-14h
Je serai en congés du 25 juillet au 1er août. Aucun cours de remplacement n'est prévu car le centre sera fermé pour travaux de peinture.

Août ~
Yoga doux (tous niveaux), vendredi, 18h30-20h*
Bhakti Flow (niveaux 1 / 2), samedi 12h30-14h
Je serai en congés du 8 au 15 août (pas de cours de remplacement).

* Merci de bien noter que mon cours du vendredi soir ne sera à 18h30 qu'à partir de juillet.

** Il y a encore 1 place disponible pour le week-end « yoga et terroir » à l'occasion du solstice d'été, du 18 au 20 juin, en Basse- Normandie. Vous passerez un très bon moment, je vous le garantis ;) et pourrez profiter de longues journées ensoleillées, de la rivière proche, de la campagne environnante, d'une excellente nourriture et bien sûr de nombreuses sessions de yoga... N'hésitez pas à vous offrir ce plaisir!

Les cartes de cours pour cette période sont déjà disponibles:
Carte illimitée (soit 7€/cours): 155€
Carte de 12 cours (soit 10€/cours): 120€
Carte de 6 cours (soit 13€/cours): 78€
Cours à l'unité: 15€

Je suis également disponible tout l'été pour des cours particuliers. Ces cours constituent une formidable occasion d'approfondir votre pratique, de poser tout type de question, de travailler les variantes des positions, etc.

Cet été, je ne pourrai malheureusement pas donner de cours le mercredi soir au centre YogaHUM. Mes emplois du temps professionnel et personnel ne me le permettent pas encore, mais j'étudie la question pour septembre. En attendant, je vais y donner des ateliers ponctuels, dont je vous communiquerai les dates ultérieurement.

Voilà les nouvelles...
En tout cas, c'est le moment de profiter de l'été, de son côté magique, de l'énergie et l'amour qu'il dégage! C'est la période de Sri Krishna !
Je vous envoie à tous mes pensées positives!!

Hari Rama!

**********************************

Wow. June is almost here!
Incroyable.

My summer schedule is a little longer than the traditional French schedule ~
1 June - 1 September.
My class cards are for that window of time.

My public class schedule at Centre de Yoga du Marais is as follows:

June ~
Slow Flow (All levels), Friday 20h15 - 21h45
Bhakti Flow (Levels I/II), Saturday 12h30 - 14h
On Retreat** - 13 June - 20 June (will have subs covering the classes)

July ~
Slow Flow (All Levels), Friday 18h30 - 20h*
Bhakti Flow (Levels I/II), Saturday 12h30 - 14h
On Vacation - 25 July - 1 August (no sub coverage, the centre will be closed for painting)

August ~
Slow Flow (All Levels), Friday 18h30 - 20h*
Bhakti Flow (Levels I/II), Saturday 12h30 - 14h
On Vacation - 8 August - 15 August (no sub coverage)

*Please take note that my Friday night class will not switch to the early time slot until July.
**There is still one more spot left on the Summer Solstice Yoga and Terroir Weekend Celebration in Basse Normandie, 18 - 20 June. It is going to be good, I promise ;-) Big sky, long sunny days, flowing river, pretty cows, amazing food, and lots of yoga...Give yourself this treat!

Class cards are available for purchase now!

Costs:
Unlimited (€7/class) = €155
12 Class Card (€10/class) = €120
6 Class Card (€13/class) = €78
Drop in classes = €15

I will be available for private sessions throughout the summer. One-on-one sessions are a great way to deepen your practice, ask specific questions, focus on modifications, etc. Through the summer all private sessions will be scheduled for Thursday - Saturday.

Unfortunately, I will not be teaching a Wednesday evening class at YogaHUM this summer. My schedule and life circumstances just did not make it possible. I will be exploring evening teaching opportunities at YogaHUM upon rentree. However, I will be hosting summer and fall seasonal workshops at YogaHUM. The times and dates are forthcoming.

Okay, open yourselves to the magic of the season; the spaciousness, energy, and LOVE! This is Sri Krishna time!

Hari Rama!

DogaYoga Spring iTunes Playlist

I've been breathing new life into my Spring practice with this playlist.
Enjoy!

(P.s - There are two additional - and beautiful songs on this list, by Damien Rose, who uses the magic of the Tibetan Singing Bowls to create his sound. Unfortunately, his album is not available on iTunes so if you're interested, check out his website. I like "Awakening" and "Renewal".

New Logo!

Well, not brand-spanking new, but fairly new. I was going to wait to unveil it with the new website. Alas, while the new website remains a nagging voice in the back of my head; a tiny little slice of self-imposed dukha that I'd rather not discuss at the moment, I didn't think it was fair to keep this branding masterpiece hidden for some later time.

So, voila!



Chetana Deorah, (the most amazing designer I've ever had the honor to work with) was given the obscure task of manipulating the AUM symbol to resemble a dog, without altering the ancient and auspicious symbol beyond spirit and meaning.

After long talks about the why and the what, Chetana's Indian roots stirring up some internal conflict, and our joint agreement to simultaneously honor and buck tradition, Chetana came up with the perfect embodiment of DogaYoga: a teaching and practice guided by timeless and unconditional love; always striving for greater grace, humility and healing; and the desire to be outdoors playing as much and as often as possible (preferably on a beach or on a farm, but a dog park will do in a pinch)!

And for those of you who read the SF Chron, (or who just generally love dogs and believe it's no accident what that word is in reverse) I was recently reminded of this story from 2006:
ALICIA'S STORY / A sad, sweet little girl gives comfort to a soul mate

(The update to this story is that Alicia is now in hospice care. The doctors have stopped her treatment, and she's living out her remaining days in pain but at peace, with Clarabelle at her side gratefully receiving belly rubs.)