Ashtoberfest

Well, the 1st Annual Ashtoberfest was truly great!  Nothing like spending the weekend in a beautiful setting in Chatham County with yoga friends, talking about everything yoga!!  Thanks so much to Skip and Mary Ann for hosting, and for the teachers who came down to share their unique views on the Ashtanga practice: Bobbi Misiti, Michelle Dorer, and John Bultman.  I can't wait for Ashtoberfest II.

Bobbi is a student of Nancy Gilgoff, who went to study Ashtanga yoga with Pattabhi Jois along with David Williams in the 70's, and she learned the sequence from Jois differently from other students. She was sick when she arrived in Mysore, and Jois litterally carried her through her practice until she was strong enough to do it herself.  Nancy has passed on this approach to teaching the practice to Bobbi, and Bobbi passes it along to her students.  Bobbi talked with us about balancing out your practice - finding the middle ground between working hard and easing off - both on and off the mat.

Michelle Dorer is a student of Tim Miller, who studied with Jois and was the first American to be certified by him.  Michelle owns Ashtanga Yoga Center in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  She is deeply dedicated to the practice and traditions, and I'm hoping to have her come again soon for a longer visit...

John Bultman has just returned from Mysore, India and teaching alongside Sharath (Jois's grandson).  He is newly authorized, and is heading up the Ashtanga Mysore program at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.  John shared some of his experiences with us last weekend, and I'm also hoping he'll come for a longer visit to the Triangle soon!

So between the three of them, and all the dedicated and knowledgeable Ashtangis in attendance last weekend, there was a lot of inspiration to be had!  I personally came away with renewed dedication to my practice, and a sense of balance.  There were a few of us there that have started or finished learning the third series of the Ashtanga system, and it was really nice to talk about some of the challenges and highlights we've all encountered.  I have started the series 3 times, and it is a difficult practice!!  It was good to see that others agree!  I've come away from the weekend with a new plan...practice diligently, building a solid foundation for my third series practice, including my teacher, Matthew Sweeney's sequences - Moon, Lion and Bound.  But that's just the physical practice...there's so much more to yoga than jumping around on the mat.  That's the beginning, of course, but as my physical practice matures, I find myself drawn deeper and deeper into the subtle practices of yoga - meditation, devotion, study of yogic texts and karma yoga.

My home studio is under construction this week, so I've had to be creative with where to hold classes, and you can see that my cat, Moby has put himself squarely in the center of the action!  The work should be done soon, and classes will be in their usual place starting this evening.  Thank goodness my neighbor is also a yogi, and has a studio in her home - how convenient it that!  Her space is really cool, and she recently added a yoga wall!  I'll be encouraging her to hold a workshop soon, and will keep you posted on that as well...That's all for now...

Namaste

Here's a great picture of my friend Skip Doty with the fabulous Beryl Bender Birch.  The first yoga class I took was based on her book, Power Yoga.  I fell in love with the Ashtanga practice in that class, and never looked back!  Thanks for sharing this photo, Skip!

I've been making a few changes to the blog - hopefully it is more informative and a little easier to find what you need...be sure to check it out and share it with others!

This has been a great week at AYC so far, and ASHTOBERFEST is this weekend!!  I'll be there for as much of it as I can manage, including the Saturday morning Mysore session with John Bultman from 8-10am.  So this Saturday's Mysore here at AYC is cancelled, but please join me at Skip and Mary Ann's place if you can!  Here is the link to the flyer for the event, with contact info for directions:  http://www.befityoga.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ashtoberfest-2012-pdf.pdf
Skip and Mary Ann have a great place out in the woods in Chatham County, with a beautiful yoga studio.  They are hosting three teachers over the weekend for lots of yoga, discussion, food and friendship.  Check out the flyer for times, and contact Skip for directions at jpskipdoty@aol.com or 919-663-3687.

I'll be subbing for Brittney at Yoga Garden on Friday mornings through the end of October - which means only two Fridays left (where did the time go??).  Join me this Friday or next at 9:30 at Yoga Garden: www.yogagardennc.com

The next full moon is Monday, October 29 - Join me for Moon at the Garden on Monday, October 29, 6-7:15pm in place of my regular Monday evening Ashtanga class.  The Moon Sequence was developed by Matthew Sweeney as a complement to the Ashtanga Primary Series. It is appropriate to do this practice on New Moon, and Full Moon days, as well as those days when your energy is flagging. This series shifts the focus of practice from upper body to lower body and core, giving the shoulders and wrists a break, and going deep into the hips and sacrum with grounding energy and innovative backbends. The closing sequence is restorative and lovely, resetting the body for what lies ahead.  www.yogagardennc.com

Namaste

Stacy