Aligning the Soul with kirtan walla and spiritual teacher, Shyamdas. Join a very special guest teacher at Dew Yoga as he pauses in Connecticut on his summer tour.

In this satsang and kirtan, Shyamdas will discuss the Aligning of the Soul and the magical hari mantras. Registration is required, this event will sell out. $30/person, open to all.

Shyamdas combines ecstatic kirtan with stories and teachings from India. As a Vedic scholar and a bhakta, he shares the philosophy of non-dual devotion with authority and flair. Shyamdas’ presentations of bhakti teachings are unique, rooted in tradition, and filled with the nectars of devotion. 

Learn more at: www.dewyoga.net

Or you can also check out Shyamdas at his website:  www.shyamdas.com

Yoga with a purpose – finding comfort and freedom in your low back and hips! When your hips are tight, your back gets sore. In this workshop we’ll explore ways to release and open the hip joints and psoas muscles while we strengthen the core, ease back pain and awaken the spine.

$35/person in advance, $40 at the door. Pre-registration recommended.

Rita Trieger is the founder and editor-in-chief of Fit Yoga magazine, as well as the author of Yoga Heals Your Back (Fairwinds, 2005), and Tranquil Mind, a meditation and yoga CD.

Yin Yoga class, Saturday April 17th
at St. Paul’s church 661 Old Post road, Fairfield CT
From 3:00 to 5:00pm $20

Yin Yoga
Suitable for all levels of yoga practitioners, Yin Yoga provides a deep foundational opening for the connective tissue of the body in ways that more standard Asana approaches do not. Robert’s program, while hip intensive, also addresses the spine and shoulders in addition to invigorating and revitalizing the tendons and ligaments. Postures are done from either seated or prone positions, and softly held for four minutes, allowing time for the entire body to respond and relax.

Yin Yoga is the perfect complement to the more dynamic Yang styles of yoga, and will enhance the overall progress and safety of everyone’s yoga journey. Come and discover the benefits that Yin Yoga provides, and how much more open and balanced your body and practice will feel.

Check out his website for info or to contact him.

Chair Yoga: Basics and Flows
Saturday, May 1, 2010

Chair Yoga can be fun and challenging. Chair Yoga offers an alternative to mat yoga that can be just as challenging. Let’s face it, not everyone feels comfortable sitting on the floor. That alone can make yoga inaccessible. However, many postures that are done sitting on the floor can also be done sitting in a chair with better alignment, less pain and discomfort. Chair Yoga also uses chairs for standing. Using a chair for standing poses offers increased stability and often results in better alignment for students who have joint and muscle stiffness.

In this 2 – part, workshop we’ll explore Chair Yoga basics in the morning and Chair Yoga flows in the afternoon, including the Sun and Moon salutations. Sign up for morning or afternoon or both. Many of these modifications can be brought into mainstream classes for students who have specific limitations. Teachers who develop skill with asana modification and adaptive poses are in high demand for teaching special needs populations including a growing segment of the population – seniors and retirees.
Time:
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Chair Yoga Basics
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Chair Yoga Flows
Location:
St. James Church, 95 Route 2A, Preston, CT 06365 (click here for directions)
Tuition:
Part 1 – Chair Yoga Basics $45
Part 2 – Chair Yoga Flows $45
Sign up for both: $80
CEUs for Yoga Teachers + $5 for CEUs if applicable
Registration:
Mail your check payable to “Yoga Heals Us”
Mailing address: 129 Rose Hill Road, Ledyard, CT 06339
Pay online option available
Please register by April 24th to reserve your space
Bring:
Your yoga gear (I will have some extras as well. Chairs provided.)
CEUs:
6 hours
This workshop meets the Yoga Alliance standard for Continuing Education. Request a certificate of attendance at registration and add $5 to the registration fee.
Contact:
860.204.0797
yogahealsus.com
Presenter:
Karen O’Donnell Clarke, ERYT500 has been teaching adaptive asana for more than 12 years for students ages 5 – 93 in mainstream and adaptive classes. Karen has presented Teaching Adaptive Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis nationally since 2003. She received her primary training from Kripalu and Integrative Yoga Therapy. Karen will be presenting The Art of Teaching Yoga for Every Body at the KYTA conference at Kripalu June 24 – 27, 2010.

The class flow combines Ayurvedic science, vedic astrology and asanas to bring balance to the body. Ayurvedic science, which dates back 5000 years, is a system of healing that examines the body, mind and spirit in the context of the universe. Ayurvedic theory believes that each individual has a constitution composed of a balance of 3 doshas … vata, pitta and kapha … that are influenced by climate, seasons and age. This series is meant to bring balance and harmony as the seasons change.

Who can’t use a little balance and harmony?!?

Please welcome him and drop in on his class, Tuesdays at 9:30am.

Mj Bindu of Sacred Circle of Yoga in Vineyard Haven, MA is offering a beautiful Studio/Home for rent, with a reduced price for two weeks in September. Looks ideal for couples or a small group retreat or get away. Check it out here where you will find more pics, details and contact info for MJ.

I wish I could rent it!

“The gathering tomorrow at The Patriotic American Club in Norwalk, CT tomorrow from Noon to 4pm may very well be the last and only ’service’ in the local area for Melanie. I am hearing that the funeral service may consist of a hike up Mohonk Mountain in New Paltz, NY to spread her ashes some time in the future TBD.

Please check this blog for updates.”

Please keep the light of your heart shining out to those who are suffering the tragic loss of teacher, family member, friend, neighbor, Melanie Weeks-Sammarco.

Visit the Facebook memorial site to leave comments or to share memories and photos.
Read the article in the Norwalk Hour

Q: How long have you been practicing Yoga?

A: I have been practicing yoga for all my life but I wouldn’t have called it yoga. I became aware of yoga over 25 years ago in college but it has been in the last 15 that I have deepened my practice and become aware that it is not just a practice but a life practice.

Q: What fills your time off the mat?

A: My time off the mat is rich and joy filled. I spend time volunteering at the Wilson Memorial Food Pantry, being with loved ones, reading, listening to live music, getting outdoors in good weather, museums, eating, teaching and living my practice both on and off the mat. I like exploring and discovering all types of things, when I have free time. I like to keep active and just recently, discovered the beauty of balance. So now relaxing and down time are equally important. That, in itself, has been a rich experience.

Q: How has your yoga practice affected your life off the mat?

A: In all it’s forms, yoga has permeated all things I do. It is who I am, what I do, how I live my life. It has transformed me and brought me out of the fires of life into the person I am today.

Q: What would you like to share with others about Yoga?

A: People have a misconception that you have to be flexible to do yoga. But you don’t. It helps to have a flexible mind, an open heart and the desire to deepen your relationship with yourself and all living beings. It is a journey that is different for everyone. I often say to students, “The reasons you first come to the mat, are not the reasons you stay.” Many of them know, that for me, when I first hit the mat back in college, I only went because some friends and I were curious about it. We would go on Saturday mornings, hungover, because the instructor was from Egypt, hot and did yoga in tight white pants! I can assure you that that is not the reason I still get to my mat. Oh, did I mention he was HOT!

I come back to the mat, time and time again, to explore myself, fears and all, when I am tired, cranky, happy, sad, joy filled, good days, bad days etc. I become the observer of my life and watch how I flow, or sometimes, not. Yoga has become more of a meditation and a dance. It allows me to be a better version of myself and it keeps me grounded. It is a prayer and celebration of life. It is deep and yet, so very simple. The true meaning of yoga is “to join” or to “yoke”, to create union. That is what I hope to share. That it is not about the poses, but a time to commune with self and to join with the greater human collective to bring deeper love to the world.

You can read more about her labor of love in the recent Stamford Times article.

“When the Wilson Food Pantry opened its doors three and a half years ago, Gumbus was catering to an average of 200 families a week living in the Stamford area. But as the economy sunk, Gumbus saw the amount of families in need of emergency aid increase dramatically. There are now 500 individuals who take advantage of the pantry’s free assistance every week, she said.

“It’s getting progressively worse,” said Elysa DeMartini, a Stamford resident who has been volunteering with the pantry for more than a year.”