SEASONAL SELF-CARE BLOG


LUNAR YOGA – BOSTON

Posted on November 30th, 2015


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goddess dancerDo you feel like you are on a hormonal roller coaster every month? Create a life of balance by re-aligning with your natural rhythm. Replenish yourself with yoga and ayurvedic practices to heal, restore and renew your connection to yourself and the world around you. Reclaim your radiance and bask in the bliss of self-renewal.  Honor your sacred sensuality, awaken intuition, and invite Shakti prana, divine feminine energy into your being.

In this workshop you will learn:

• Design a monthly menstrual “self-retreat” and replenish your being through self-renewal practices.
• Restorative yoga sequence to nourish you and relieve menstrual discomfort
• Diet, mudra, and meditation practices to bring ease throughout your monthly cycle
• Connect with your natural internal rhythm and the lunar cycle

discussion and open level yoga class

 

 

REGISTER
$40 early bird by Sept 20
$45 after

 

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Samara Yoga
249 Elm St, Somerville, MA 


Sacred Sounds of Sanskrit

Posted on September 8th, 2015


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Through my deep explorations of my body as a yogini and dancer, I have found that actually the delicate intricacies of the subtle body are most eloquently unveiled through sound.

ganesh-sanskritAs my yoga practice deepened, I was drawn to study Sanskrit. I had the great fortune of attending a Sanskrit workshop with Jo Brill. I loved exploring how to create the sounds of Sanskrit and thrilled to be able to actually begin to decipher the squiggly script of devanagari in just one weekend! I felt like I was cracking the code and entering a new level in my yoga studies and awareness!

At the time I was also working on a new performance piece, “Traces”, which explored memory, origin, and roots.  Since Sanskrit is the mother of all Indo-European languages, it seemed to me to be a perfect way to explore the root of language in my performance piece. I took the Sanskrit alphabet with me into the rehearsal studio and played with the sounds and how they emerged from different places in my mouth. I created a sound score which became a very powerful part of the piece and my favorite part to perform. I loved the sounds and felt intrigued by how they affected me.

As I studied deeper, I learned that there is a vibrational correspondence with each of the sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet and the chakras. There are 50 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet and in total 50 petals on the chakras. Each of the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet is said to open one of the 50 petals of the chakras. Chanting the entire Sanskrit alphabet reverberates through all the petal of the chakras and their related areas in the body! Additionally the sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet offers healing and cleansing in the body by sonic stimulation of particular areas and marma points. Marmas are energy points in the body which connect with your underlying organ systems and energetic channels.

“The subtle body of sound vibration relates to the mental body and to the subtle or astral body in general, the site of the seven chakras. It creates and sustains the physical body, supporting health and well-being within it. Through changing the frequencies of the subtle body of sound, we can bring healing into the physical body and remove negativities from the mind.” David Frawley

The powerful healing offered through sound vibration is an area of deep interest to me. I am excited to share the explorations through our Yoga Sukhavati: ART OF SOUND weekend workshops. Join us Sept 12, 13 for a Sanskrit immersion with Jo Brill, and Oct 2-4 for the Healing Power of Sound.

 

joyous heart!

Leigh

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Freeing your voice as a yoga teacher

Posted on June 5th, 2015


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One of the most unrecognized areas in many yoga teacher trainings is the development of the voice of the teacher. Many people are drawn to become a yoga teacher for the physical practice, internal spaciousness and peacefulness it awakens inside. However, as they begin to teach, they quickly realize that most of their communication with their students comes through their voice. Many people are not used to talking in front of a group of people. They don’t have the vocal support to sustain their voice for a 90 minute class. Many yoga teachers often loose their voice because of the strain of teaching two or three 90 minute classes a day several times a week. Unfortunately one of their weakest skills, their voice, is one of their most important tools as a yoga teacher. In response to this need, I have created a module in our Yoga Sukhavati Advanced Teacher Training entirely dedicated to freeing the voice of a yoga teacher-The Art of Sound.

The Art of Sound immersion will help you free your natural voice. Awaken your voice so that it becomes a powerful vehicle for communication for you and your students. Explore your voice through exercises designed to open, support, and strengthen your voice. Dive deeply into your divine self through the ancient devotional vocal practices of kirtan, mantra and the beauty of the sanskrit language. Bask in the sonic healing vibrations of gong baths and awaken pranic pathways, energy channels and organs, through using your voice in asana.

Join us for the Art of Sound immersion starting with a delicious evening of Kirtan Fri. June 12!

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love & light!
Leigh