Welcome To yacep!
YACEP : CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR YOGA TEACHERS AND A PLATFORM TO DEEPEN YOUR PRACTICE ON AND OFF THE MAT
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shanti yoga - practice Room
Keep an eye for special events and as usual we continue our monthly LIGHT CODE, YACEP and Teachers Supported meetings.
Once in a while there will be a special “Pop Up” asana practice on livestream.
Sending you love & light!
Nathalie
Below on “YOGA ROOM” you will find On-Demand audio and video of yoga practices from past meetings. Enjoy!
Important info when calling in via telephone for Yoga Practice Meetings.
Meeting ID: 813 2719 8984
Passcode: 105914
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
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BELOW YOU WILL FIND MEMBERS ONLY CONTENT FOR YACEP - WE OFFER LIVESTREAM ZOOM SESSIONS FOR YACEP COVERING A VARIETY OF TOPICS
Masterclass series
MindUP™ | The Goldie Hawn Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded to help children develop the knowledge and tools they need to manage stress, regulate emotions and face the challenges of the 21st century with optimism, resilience and compassion.
How to Engage the Bandhas
Bandhas are often first learned and engaged during practices of kriya and pranayama and once mastered can be used in asana practice as well. Bear in mind, it may take some practice until you’re able to engage them to the most refined degree.
While Mula and Jalandhara bandhas can be performed both after inhalation and exhalation, Uddihyana and Maha bandha are only engaged in Bahya Kumbhka – external retention.
Benefits of engaging these energy locks
So why is this locking up so beneficial, when yoga is apparently all about opening?
Well, bandhas are extremely fruitful for the brain centres, the nadis (channels through which prana streams) and the chakras (energy centres). They purify, remove blockages and harmonise and balance the self.
Bandhas temporarily halt the flowing of blood, so when released there is an increased flow of fresh blood. This flushes away the old, dead cells and activates the organs to strengthen, renew and rejuvenate as circulation is bolstered.
Engaging the bandhas also teaches and strengthens single point concentration, a steady and controlled breath and a clear, calm mind. It helps to regulate your internal systems, from sexual to hormonal to metabolic and digestive.
It’s advisable not to engage Mula bandha during menstruation (the first two to three days) or when applying Ashwini mudra (a kriya exercise where the anus is clenched and unclenched).
How to engage the bandhas
Mula bandha – the root
If we explain the bandhas in four steps, Mula bandha is the first.
Men can find it by contracting the area between the anus and the testes. For women – contract the muscles at the bottom of the pelvic floor behind the cervix.
At first, the anal sphincter will also ‘lock up’, but over time and with practice you will learn to differentiate and hone in on the exact location of the root. And an easier way to find it? Here are three different suggestions:
First: look at the tip of your nose – you will automatically feel the sensation of the Mula bandha taking hold.
Second: for women; if you’ve ever worried that you’ve leaked through during ‘that’ time of the month – the lifting sense you make is locking Mula in. The muscles you contract to hold in what is wanting to flow out is the Mula region.
Third (though this may take a bit of imagination!): sit cross-legged and imagine you’re levitating! Instant Mula activation!
Mula bandha also naturally comes into play during many day-to-day activities; climbing stairs, riding a bike, carrying shopping bags home. Engaging your root lock during your yoga practice allows your energy to flow up, not down and out, making it grow manifold and leaving you with that ‘floaty’ feeling. You will be lighter on your limbs, lighter on your mat and lighter in yourself.
Jalandhara bandha – the throat
‘Jal’ means throat, ‘Jalan’ means net and ‘dharan’ means flow or stream. Therefore, Jalandhara can be interpreted as the locking of the energy flow through the nerves and vessels of the neck area. When engaged with Khecari mudra (curling the tip of your tongue back to the roof of your mouth), its effect magnificently heightens.
To find Jalandhara, sit tall and cross-legged. With your palms pressing into your knees, inhale through your nose and bring your chin towards your neck. Straighten your elbows, pull your chin back and engage the muscles there so you feel them tighten, then retain. It’s the double chin you do want!
Jalandhara isn’t often performed by itself; rather, it is performed in combination with the other locks in breathing practices. It compresses the sinuses and main arteries of the neck, putting pressure on the throat to balance the thyroid and regulate metabolism. Plus, it relaxes you and alleviates stress.
Uddiyana bandha – the ‘false inhale’
‘Uddiyana’ means to fly or rise up, and is all about doing just that with your diaphragm. To learn to do so, it’s helpful to stand with your feet shoulder- distance apart, bend forward – with a straight back – and place your hands on your knees (or shins, if your hamstrings allow).
With a “false” inhale (that is, the action of taking a breath without actually taking air in), make an upward movement and feel your abdominal wall and organs push up and towards your back, kind of like a suction back and up of all your insides as if you’re trying to make your waist smaller.
Your ribs should be protruding over and in front of your abs. You hold this for as long as you can, exiting by releasing your hold, inhaling (always through your nose) and straightening up.
Uddiyana moves energy upwards with much more force than a pure Mula bandha alone. It creates a soft massage for the deeper internal muscles of the lower back and is a fantastic remedy for abdominal and tummy troubles, as well as a stimulant for digestive juices.
Maha bandha – the ‘ultimate’ bandha
To do the ultimate of the bandhas? First engage Mula bandha, then fully exhale and activate Jalandhara. Next, bend forward and ‘suck up’ to hold Uddiyana. This is Maha bandha. To release, do so in the reverse order you engaged (Uddiyana first, Jalandhara second and finally, Mula bandha).
Author : Poppy Wortman
Legal Essentials for Yoga Professionals with author Cory Sterling of Yoga Law Book
About Cory -He is the founder of the heart-leading law firm Conscious Counsel, a lawyer and yoga teacher. He wrote The Yoga Law Book and has served hundreds of yoga & wellness professionals and studio owners around the world. Cory won the award for "Highest Rated Session" at MindBody Bold and stays committed every day to teach about the law in a FUN and practical way.
Pre-Natal Yoga Review Livestream
Let's look at each trimester and the do's and don't.
We will also create a pre-natal flow yoga sequence together.
Transitioning On The Yoga Mat Online Workshop
Below find the video and audio presentation - pick your favorite learning method.
Today we are looking at transitions on the yoga mat.
In many ways as important as the asanas itself.
How are we moving from one posture to another ?
What's the quality of breath?
Movement?
Mindfulness?
Introduce moments of pause into your vinyasa yoga practice.
Awareness and quality of mind, heart space and intention.
The Upanishads -
We discussed the Shvetashvatara Upanishads -. Book I recommend : The Upanishads - 2nd Edition by Eknath Easwaren. Purchase a copy HERE | This book is also available on EBook format.
Below is the song I mentioned, it reminds me of the Shvetashvatara Upanishads by Massive Attack. I play this song in yoga practice often.
Masterclass with Veronica Ciandre from iloveisola.com on the Fibonacci Sequence, Shungite Crystal and 5G \ EMF
With Veronica Ciandre of www.iloveisola.com
Diving into the world of Iloveisola.com with founder Veronica Ciandre for all things crystals, 5G Protection and the Fibonacci sequence.
Members Event : Podcast Format with open Q & A at the end.
Navigating 5G and EMF Sensitivity
with Veronica Ciandre from @iloveisola
Veronica Ciandre is creator of high vibration jeweler line iSOLA.
Designed to help your body re-harmonize with its natural frequencies, iSOLA aims to help you bring wellness with you wherever you go.
Veronica joins Nathalie today to discuss her experiences with frequencies, how they affect her and how you can protect yourself if you share her sensitivity. Veronica uses affirmations to help her stay focused and to talk to her own DNA.
⠀The power of using affirmations everyday and practicing gratitude for that which is good has been a driving force in her life.
⠀Connect with Veronica Iloveisola.com and sowegrounded.yolasite.com⠀
The Magical Plant - Sage by Holly Hobbs
talk about how to plant sage, tent to the plant and all the mystical benefits, as well as historic factors.
Shanti Yoga Training School Graduate | RYT 500 Hour | Holly Hobbs offers an in-depth sage practice, which includes a cultural history of sage, home sage cultivation practices, and a plant meditation.'
This powerful plant is a natural healer and space purity.
Native Americans and other indigenous peoples have burned sage for centuries as part of a spiritual ritual to cleanse a person or space, and to promote healing and wisdom.
Yoga Sutras Study Group
Bring your sutras books. Namaste!
NUTRITION EDUCATION with Brittany Simmons
Brittany Simmons, RD, LD, NBC-HWC, RYT 200, is a nutrition expert in science-based nutrition education. She is a Registered Dietitian, National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and a RYT 200hr currently in the 300hr training at Shanti Yoga Training School. With 10 years of experience as a dietitian, she has helped Mississippians lose weight, manage diabetes and other metabolic diseases. She has also worked in oncology supporting patients and families of loved ones undergoing cancer treatment. Brittany has a passion for helping people improve their quality of life so they can do whatever it is they are supposed to do in this life. She became interested in nutrition when struggling with weight in high school and eventually being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Food has always had to be the main focus 24/7. Yoga has helped her manage symptoms and be more mindful of thoughts, emotions and feelings towards food. Ever since finding the right yoga studio, she has been hooked and has felt better knowing there is something to help manage symptoms besides just medicine. That is when Brittany decided to go through a yoga teacher training knowing she was ready to share it with the world.
Where to find credible nutrition information
FAD diet myth busters
Secrets to sustainable healthy eating
Why we all have cravings
How yoga can help us eat healthier
Why food shaming is counterproductive
How to serve as a role model
What to tell your students when asked what to eat
Contact Brittany brittanysimmonswholehealth@yahoo.com
On IG as @BrittanySimmons_wholehealth
Vipassana Masterclass with Daria Rubets
Outline of the masterclass:
1. History of Vipassana Meditation
2. What makes Vipassana different from other meditation techniques
3. Benefits of daily meditation
4. How to develop your daily practice
5. Theory of an ancient Vipassana technique
6. 15-20 min of Anapana practice
About our teacher :
Daria has been an avid practitioner of Yoga for over a decade (Vinyasa and Ashtanga styles) and recently got introduced to Vipassana Meditation. She learned the technique during her recent trip to India where she stayed at a 10-day silent meditation retreat in the Northern Himalayas. You can learn more about the method and what she teached on her website www.meditatewithdaria.com
Kitchari Bonus Recipe
Joan's Masterclass : The Importance of Daily Practice.
www.joanhyman.com
In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, daily practice helps us to unstick ourselves from our obstacles which can prevent us from transcending and living a life of fulfillment. Let’s dive deeper into these obstacles and what they are and why Patanjali encourages daily yoga practice and how you can make your practice an important routine in your life.
The five obstacles are found in Pantajali's Sutras in Pada 2, when he discusses practice and the tools needed to create a daily practice that help to overcome the five obstacles which are known as the kleshas. The kleshas are Ignorance (Ayvida), Egoism (Asmita), Attachment (Ragas), Aversion (Dvesha), and Fear of Death (Abhinivesha). Avidya is known as the Mother of the Kleshas because anytime we begin to identify with the outside world and we forget that our true nature is the essence of stillness and deep awareness, the ego begins to "stick" and this is what stimulates the other kleshas of attachment and fear. Attachment shows up in how we grip to pleasure and desire it again and again. Dvesha is when something that has caused us pain, tightens us and we don't allow ourselves to open up to that experience again. This is emotional, so when we get triggered and feel anxious, depressed, angry, our klesha's are being activated and we are forgetting that our soul's true nature is rooted in the essence of truth and wisdom. Abhinivesha is known as the fear of death, but in the modern day world, it is better defined as resistance to change. In the beginning of Pantajali's sutras, he speaks that the only thing constant is change, and when we resist change we suffer, usually because our attachment to the way it once was, is being shifted and we are resisting this shift. This klesha is instinctual, we all have a fear of death or moving into the unknown, and as we become more connected to our true nature, it makes it easier to recognize when these obstacles are sticking us and practicing helps to unstick us from these thought patterns that make our mind spin and trigger fear and emotionality. The practice of yoga and meditation teach us to be with what is being presented and not to run from it, but to use it as a tool to get to know yourself and understand what you are creating through your thoughts. We can recognize our "hooks", our addictions, what we fear, and start to learn that these thoughts are illusions the mind creates, we can begin to separate from these negative thought patterns and learn to connect to a higher place by observing and not reacting. Without the practice of meditation and yoga, a person will reside within their thoughts most of the day and operate from old patterns and habits known as samaskras. These habits are ancestral and we have inherited these patterns through our parents or caregivers. The ancient yogis believe in reincarnation and when our soul is choosing our next life, it chooses parents that have similar thinking minds so we can eventually break the change of negative karma. The practice of yoga and meditation help us to dissolve these samaskras by focusing our attention on our breath or a specific body part in asana, and in savasana we become more acquainted with quietness and stillness. The journey inside becomes less scary and as our attention shifts to these more positive places and we learn to stop feeding these negative thoughts, these patterns eventually dissolve and new patterns begin to form from daily practice. When we change our negative patterns and begin to recognize when we are getting stuck, we can begin to change the way we react to situations and can create a more positive outcome which will create better karma in our future and help our soul to evolve. We practice to feel physically better, yes, for mental clarity - for sure! The clarity gained from practice is important to make better decisions which will affect our future. According to the ancient texts, we practice for our soul to evolve and to burn away negative karma that can keep us on the wheel of samaskra, helping us to align with our soul's dharma and live at our highest potential. Practicing daily helps us to live in a place of observation and begin to learn from our obstacles and understand we have the power to transform them and ourselves.
understanding your voice with Joelle Rouen
Resources for this masterclass from Joelle.
These are the main points we hit today and for most lessons...
Vocalizing is a great opportunity to work on confidence and self love and care.
1 stretch (everything if possible, face, neck and shoulders if not)
2 lip trills from the highest note you can down to the lowest, then lowest to highest
3 vi-e-a-e-ah-ah-ah-ah-oh-oh-ooo
4 "I love my voice"
5 song - we did "Do-Re-Mi" from the sound of music because it is great for music theory and working on your range, but chose one that resonates with you. Use Instuner app or something similar if you dont have a keyboard and want to have a pitch reference.
Check out facial gua sha and lymphatic drainage if you have any issues with allergies or water retentions above your shoulders!
Here is an in depth vocal warm up video if paid lessons are not for you right now.
Remember that it is great to have some way to mark your progress and that any quality time you spend developing your voice counts, even in the shower or car!
Joelle is Offering Special Discounted Packages for Zoom Voice Lessons to our Shanti Yoga Members - reach out to Joelle for more info jab781@nyu.edu
She is also available for virtual workshops at your studio.
About Joelle Rouen
Joelle is an avid student of herbalism, movement, music and life.
She began her teaching career at home with her siblings at the age of 9.
From NY’s Inter School Orchestra teaching intern program in high school, to 6 years teaching group music classes in private, public and charter schools in Long Island, NYC and New Orleans to virtual vocal and string lessons, Joelle enjoys tailoring lessons and curriculums to meet individual needs and surpass personal goals.Joelle studied vocal performance and voice at NYU Steinhardt with Anna Winthrop while working on a degree in music performance.
In 2012, Joelle co-founded Aziza & the Cure with her husband, life and bandmate, River Rouen and they cherish writing, performing and recording original music to this day.
In 2016, Joelle completed the Shanti Yoga Shala Teacher Training School 200 hour YTT with Nathalie Croix and has enjoyed teaching grounded and explorative flow, restorative, and live music interactive yoga classes from NOLA to NY since.
Nathalie Croix on Sanskrit Names For Yoga Postures
Sanskrit Asana Practice - Call & Response
About the masterclass: Nathalie spent a significant amount of time in India, studying with her teacher Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Four trips to Mysore, India for three months each time. Post asana practice "Guruji" would have his students meet at the Shala to learn the name of the yoga postures in Sanskrit. We would meet for an hour or two six days a week for "Call & Response". I will use this exact same technique for this masterclass and the intention is to cover the entire primary series one time. This should take one hour to two hours max.
Why Sanskrit?
Sanskrit literally connects us to the classical form of yoga that has been orally repeated for thousands of years. It carries a vibration and frequency which connects us to the lineage of yoga... Each Sanskrit word is believed to have its own consciousness, and pronouncing the word allows you to tap into that consciousness. Much like a mantra. When you chant Om do you feel the energetic shift in your space? Try it. Sanskrit connects us to tradition and to all the yoga teachers who came before us. There is a sacred transmission in yoga and sanskrit. So let's get together and become familiar with the yoga postures in Sanskrit.
You will need to get the Half Primary series PDF from our website to follow, or if you already have the sequence and postures you can use what you have.
Once on the page below click on the photo titled Learning Sanskrit -
masterclass - Master your money with Chioma Njoku
About Chioma
Chioma Njoku, also known as Chi (pronounced chee), is the owner and Chief Mindful Operator at the Mindful Bookkeeper. Drawing on her experiences as a yogi, accountant, and financial coach, she helps business owners become mindful of all that can influence and impact their finances. With mindfulness (awareness), business owners are better equipped to keep more of their hard-earned money in the bank without sacrificing the things that makes life enjoyable, such as coffee and dinners with friends.
Mindset
Know Your Why/Wants/Desires/Goals
Understanding your beliefs around money
Making room for your money
Action
1% Rule - from Profit First
Track Your Finances
Assess
You can find her on Facebook and Instagram @mindfullychioma and also at TheMindfulBookkeeper.com.
masterclass -A Jouney to bharadvajasana
level 2/3 bonus two hour practice with nathalie
masterclass all about kids yoga with
groovykids yoga
Greville Henwood, the founder of Groovykids yoga has taught thousands of yoga classes with 16 years + experience.
mudras
What Are Mudras?
A Mudra is a hand gesture that guides the energy flow to specific areas of the brain. There are many types of Mudras designed to bring different benefits, depending on what we specifically need. They are done in conjunction with breathing to increase the flow of Prana in the body.
Bonus Presentation :
A Light On The Eight Limbs Of Yoga
Fixed Vs Growth Mindset
Tools How To Set You Apart For Success In Life.
Tree Intelligence Presentation
So much to learn from trees. They inspire us each and everyday. They are master healers. In yoga much of our inspiration is drawn from trees and nature. Learn about the magical world of trees, how they communicate, support one another, take care of other members of their community and are part of a much bigger system then we could ever imagine. Enjoy !
Our friend, Living Tea founder Colin Hudon, shares tips to Boost Your Immune System - Enjoy!
