Air Module Begins...

This weekend began my last module (4 months each) of my 16 month Master Teacher Training program at Inner Vision Studios. Yikes! I am so not ready for my program to come to an end. But, I must listen to my own words as a teacher and "Be present" and enjoy every moment.
This weekend we focused mostly on Chapter 4 of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras-Kaivalym. I learned that Kaivalym means freedom. It also means isolation. It can be thought of as the freedom that comes to the mind through meditation. Kaivalym can also mean "alone" or to be alone in ones mind and to be able to feel contentment in that~brings us ultimate freedom.
An important Yoga Sutra that we learned this weekend that resonanted with me was
YS 4.19~ "A thought cannot illuminate itself." It order for it to become a thought it needs us to bring awareness to it. Think of it this way, the Moon cannot illuminate itself, it needs the sun.
Namaste for now~
Andrea

Earth Module comes to an end...

This past weekend, brought the end of Earth Module, the third module in my master teacher training at Inner Vision Yoga. As always, I reach the end of this module with gratitude for my teachers, all that I have learned in the last 10 months, and for my fellow students in the program. I am also grateful that I am not done!!! I have one more module in the fall beginning at the end of August and going to the beginning of December.
So, with todays post I'd like to wrap up the module with some wonderful words of wisdom that my guru, my master teacher, Jeff Martens shared with us on Sunday:

* Life is the ultimate Guru~the ultimate teacher!!
* When you teach, unexpected things will happen during class, It is your job as a master teacher to find the GIFT in it!
*Trust yourself completely to be lead by higher action~ "sacred action".
*Teach from a place of helping people to evolve to another state of being. To looking at life with a different, evolved perspective.
*Always respond, never react-reacting comes from a place of fear. Be present, Breathe and Trust.
*Just choose to step out of the way of conflict. It is like a punch that doesn't connect with anything. There is no force there to resist, so it loses energy.
*Teaching a yoga class is always about the students, NOT YOU!
*And lastly, Quitting is not an option! Krishna says to do your work fully and surrender the fruits of your actions.

~This is Karma Yoga~

Peace, love, Namaste and Congratulations to Bobu, Ken, Lynette and Brigette who graduated from the program on Sunday. I will miss you all!!♥

Weekend with Nicholai Bachman...

This weekend started Earth Module, the 3rd module out of four in my Master Teacher training program at Inner Vision Yoga. We had a guest teacher for the 3-day training, Sanskrit scholar Nicholai Bachman. I thought the weekend was wonderful and really enjoyed learning the sanskrit alphabet and learning to chant some of the yoga sutras.

Here is some info on Sanskrit:

~Sanskrit is the language of teaching/sharing yoga.

~It is considered the "language of the Gods", a 'devine' language.

~Sanskrit is still spoke fluently in India today, so it is not a 'dead language'.

~Sanskrit is set apart from all other languages in India and is kept alive by Brahmans (priests/holy men). Passed down for generations...

~ Sanskrit is read left to right, top to bottom just like English and it lives through the "sound",

the direct experience of it. The primary "prana" (or life force) of Sanskrit is the sound.

~Every vowel has a short one beat form and a two beat long form.

Backbending = Heart Opening...

This is the last weekend of "Fire Module" (for me the 2nd module out of 4 total) in my Master Teacher Training at Inner Vision Yoga Studio. The weekends focus is Backbending, otherwise known as heart opening. Because backbends are heart openers, if a student is guarded or closed off at the heart center they will not feel comfortable or safe in the various backbending postures. Nor will they be able to receive the benefits of the pose; the physical, emotional or spirtual benefits that the pose provides.

The pose pictured above is Natarajasana or Dancer Pose. Although dancer is a balance posture, it is also considered a backbend because of the level of heart opening that the pose can acheive when practiced correctly.

Here are just a few verbal ques for teaching Dancer Pose:

~You must ground thru whatever is making contact with the earth. For example here-the standing/supporting leg.

~Imagine moving the energy up from the earth all the way to the crown of the head for lengthening.

~Always find "spaciousness" in the heart center.

~Try not to leak energy out of your navel point. Draw the navel point in and keep the tailbone down.

~Keep the shoulder integrated of the arm that is lifted (draw the arm back into the socket).

And reach from a place of softness.

**Once you reach a place of stillness in the posture, pause & hold for 20 seconds, finding the breath and...let go of everything you thought you knew, and be open to the unknown.

Namaste~Andrea

(these teaching tips are from the brilliant mind of Master Teacher Jeff Martens at Inner Vision Yoga Studios in Arizona.)

Tantra Yoga~The Pathless Path...

*Pictured above is Shiva Nataraj, the symbol for Tantra Yoga~telling us all, "It's just a dance...all the world is just a cosmic dance...

The subject of Tantra is you...

This weekend in master teacher training at Inner Vision Yoga we spent three days studying Tantra Yoga with Jeff Martens. Here is a little of what I took from the weekend:

-Tantra asks you to be completely present, to practice complete awareness.

-The greatest courage is to be present, not to run, or numb out or look for distraction~but to face whatever it is head on.

-To accept yourself completely is a path to liberation.

-Tantra says to use all of your senses to have a direct experience of life. To become more aware.

-In Tantra, karma comes from incomplete action. Incomplete action is something you are not fully present for.
**Above all, it is an Experience!

Life is to be experienced!!

Namaste~Andrea

Fire Module!

Friday January 15th, 2010 marks the beginning of my second module in my advanced teacher training program. I enjoyed the first module~The Water Module~ so much that I can't wait to get started again!
I am SO excited for this next module of training to begin.
The "Fire" module studies consist of:

Yoga Sutras Chapter 1 (Samadhi)

• Jnana Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita (and selections from the Upanishads)
• Backbends and the Anatomy of the Spine
  Vedic Cosmology
  Tantra Yoga
• The Performance Art of Teaching Yoga

So join me! Come along for the journey! Put me on your RSS feed so you receive every update!

I promise again to be more consistent with my posting. As always, life is busy and full of challenges and surprises, but I will try to post what we have learned about in training after every weekend of classes.

Namaste til then! Peace, love, light & blessings~Andrea

The End of Water Module...

Today, December 6 th, 2009 and was the last day of the Water Module (one four month module out of four total) in my Advanced Teacher Training studies at Inner Vision Yoga.
This weekends focus was Inversions. The benefits of inversions, the practice of inversions, the teaching of inversions. The knowledge of what glands we are stimulating by practicing inversions (going upside down). Most importantly, that inversions (such as headstand, handstand, plow and shoulderstand) are meant to bring a sense of calm, rather than a sense of panic and fear.

The most important part of this last weekend of training in water module - and of today, this last day of this module, is that we graduate and send three more beautiful master yoga teachers from the program and send them out into the world~to make the world a better place with their teachings. Congratualtions to Kathy, Terese and Colleen!!

I find myself being grateful that I am only in my first module and that I am not finished with this journey of learning just yet. I have taken so much from my first module and am already applying it in my teaching and my everyday life off the mat.

Beautiful call & response from Jeff Martens:
Om so hum
So hum sa-ha

Om so hum
So hum sa-ha

I am that... I am
I am...that I am
I am that...I am
I am that I ....am.


Namaste. Peace, love & light~Andrea

Flowin' with Cohen!

This weekend in ATT (advanced teacher training) we had a guest teacher. The beautiful Lisa Cohen came to Inner Vision Yoga to guest teach a master workshop called "Being in the Flow".

Lisa taught us about creative sequencing, fun music, incorporating a theme or metaphor into your teaching and above all~ don't forget to be JOYOUS and have a sense of humor!

* Here are a few more teaching tips from Lisa:

~ Teach what you know!

~Create a Theme or idea for each class have a message you want to convey, something they can take with them into the world.

~Find your voice (not someone else's). It is okay to borrow someone else's words, but messages that ring true to you will stick with you and seem more genuine.

~Be joyous! Rejoice! Ujayyi-victorious, try not to take it all too seriously.

~Being scared is a waste of time! Feel the fear and do it anyway (on or off the mat).

Namaste~Andrea

Movie recommendation...

Last weekend in my master teacher training program at Inner Vision Yoga studio in Chandler, we talked about quantum physics in relation to yoga practice, specifically Patanjalis last three limbs; Dhrana, Dhyana and samadhi.

I highly recommend this movie, "What the Bleep (do you know)!?" This movie will make you think, question your own existence and hopefully open your eyes and mind to a whole new way of thinking about your relation to the universe we live in.

Namaste~Andrea