Posts Tagged ‘OM Yoga’

JOIN the OM yoga Challenge!

March 2010, October 2010 31 yoga classes in 31 days.  Yes, that’s right!  And it means 31 classes at OM yoga Center.  You are making a commitment to cultivating expansive awareness and bright relaxation, schvitzing and letting go, stick-with-it-ness and resting with things as they are — all in harmony with other OMmies.   What IS the OM yoga Challenge? The idea of the OM yoga Challenge is to explore commitment, consistency, curiosity, connection, community and transformation. In 31 days a lot can change — with yoga those changes might include greater strength and flexibility, improved sleep and digestion, uplifted moods and more! Who knows? Maybe for you just making a commitment and keeping it could be a big change! Whatever we think might happen, after 31 days of the OM yoga Challenge, we will all be surprised and learn a lot… about yoga and about ourselves! This is how it works: 1. Register with the front desk to reserve your space in the OM yoga challenge. Joining the Challenge is FREE but we want to know who’s on the team! 2. Come to an OM yoga asana class every day for 31 days. 3. Find out what happens… FAQs What if I go out of town? Use either one of the OM yoga DVDs to do your OM yoga practice wherever you are, every day that you are gone. DVDs are available to purchase online or in OM yoga boutique. Can I take more than one class in a day? The idea of the Challenge is to develop commitment, consistency and curiosity, so to meet the Challenge your requirement is to take one class daily. It’s not about taking 31 classes, it’s about taking an asana class daily for 31 days. Do I have to buy the monthly $139 Sale to join the Challenge? No! Signing up for the Challenge is free. If you are an OM yoga member, or if you prefer to pay for your classes in a different way, that’s fine. But, it’s a great deal… What else will OM yoga give me? The OM yoga Challenge team will have 3 gatherings. We will provide healthy drinks & goodies.  Halfway through the Challenge you will get a special present from your friends at OM yoga to help you stay motivated. Don’t take our word for it, here is what some fellow OMmies have said about the Challenge: “The discipline of going to yoga everyday was actually helpful.” “From doing yoga every day I find that I have more to give and so all my relationships have gotten better.” “Because I’m going to class every day, I’ve been going to different classes than what I usually go to which has been fun.” “Since I know I’ll be doing yoga again tomorrow, I realized that I have stopped working too hard in yoga.  Like taking a shower, I just know I’m going to do it every day and so I am not so grasping about it.” “It cheers you up!  Yoga is better than Prozac!” “31 days of yoga has increased my productivity.” “I thought I would have less time since I’m going to be in yoga class everyday, but it turned out I have more time and space.  Because I am prioritizing and not doing things like sitting in front of my computer or my TV — and just doing what I really want to and what means something to me.” “Yoga every day has been super grounding.” “I’m sleeping deeper.” You can do it! Send an email to challenge@OMyoga.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to be placed on our list or call 212 254 8642 to join TODAY!

OM yoga Workshops

Get to Know Your Hips taught by OM yoga Dean of Anatomy, Joe Miller Saturday January 30 9:30 am – 12:30 pm $45 Sign up • Learn why hip opening is more than just stretching and how the hips affect the rest of the body • Explore the basics of hip anatomy, including how opening and strengthening the hips can help keep your back healthy • Move through an OM yoga practice devoted to finding healthy alignment in the hips and spine through a full range of movement • Review safe alignment in hip opening poses $120 for the ‘Get to know your Body’ series. Saturday February 27 ‘Get to know your Shoulders‘ Saturday March 27 ‘Get to know your Feet & Ankles‘ Recommended for yoga teachers, personal trainers, yoga therapists, exercise enthusiasts and anyone wanting to explore the topic of hip anatomy. OM yoga Workshops When you complete OM yoga teacher training you will be ready to teach yoga. The OM yoga Teacher Training Immersion is how you begin that path. Sunday January 31st 9 am – 5 pm taught by Joe Miller Wednesday February 24th 5-10pm taught by  Christie Clark Why do I have to attend an OM yoga teacher training Immersion? In order for us to maintain our high standards, it is important that every teacher trainee has: A basic knowledge of OM yoga principles A personal experience of OM yoga practice An evolved asana practice appropriate for beginning this professional training program. What can happen in 1 day? The purpose of this 1-day OM yoga teacher training immersion is to give students a taste of the OM yoga Teacher Training program, which emphasizes methodology, philosophy, technique and practice equally. During this one day immersion you will: * Experience an OM yoga asana class which includes: Four Surya Namaskar templates Creative and logical sequencing Subtle, precise hands-on work and eagle eye/verbal adjustments Instruction of alignment principles within flow integration of Buddhist principles of mindfulness and compassion within an asana class. * Learn about the background, mission and methodology of OM yoga and how it is manifested in each yoga class. * Practice hands-on adjustments in groups and partners * Lunchtime homework with a study group * Learn how basic alignment principles reflect the essence of yoga * Learn how to teach Ardha Surya Namaskar — and then get up and teach it that day! * Mindfulness meditation: brief instruction and practice The day will end with a reception where the teacher will meet for a group discussion and Q&A. Following that, the teacher will meet with you to assess whether you are ready for the program and if the program will meet your needs. Is this for you? Yes, if: * you are serious about applying for OM yoga teacher training, then the immersion is a requirement for you. * you are curious about OM yoga teacher training and want to learn more about it. * you are already a certified yoga teacher and want to learn some of the OM yoga methodology. * you are an advanced yoga student and would like to deepen your practice. Email info@OMyoga.com for a list of upcoming dates. Sign Up today and begin the path as an OM yoga teacher.

According to Travel & Leisure Magazine’s article entitled ” 25 Top Yoga Studios Around The World” there are four studios worthy of mention in New York City (Manhattan as well as outer boroughs).  The classes range in price from $17-$20 and include many different styles and practices of yoga.  I have also included the listings for Los Angeles and Miami for our readers in other areas of the country.  If you have any input or experiences with any of these yoga studios please comment and share your thoughts.

New York                                                                                                                                                                       There’s a surfeit of good yoga studios in Manhattan (and in outlying boroughs). It all depends on what style you practice. For Vinyasa, go to Cyndi Lee’s Om (www.omyoga.com; $18); for Iyengar, head to the Iyengar Yoga Institute (www.iyengarnyc.org; $20) in Chelsea. Jivamukti (www.jivamuktiyoga.com; $17), recently opened an uptown studio on 65th St. and Lexington Ave., but its flagship downtown location is still going strong. At Rolf Gates’s Prana Power Yoga (www.pranapoweryoga.com; $17), classes are a mix of Power and Vinyasa Flow-the studio is heated to 90 degrees, allowing you to stretch deeply into pigeon pose.

Los Angeles                                                                                                                                                                       It’s not hard to find a challenging yoga class in L.A. Two popular examples are YogaWorks (www.yogaworks.com), with five locations, and Power Yoga guru Brian Kest’s Santa Monica studio (www.poweryoga.com). The Hatha teachers at Liberation Yoga (www.liberationyoga.com; $10), on south La Brea, emphasize the spiritual sides of yoga as much as the physical. Your first class is free.

Miami                                                                                                                                                                               Word has quickly spread about the Miami Life Center (www.miamilifecenter.com; $18), which opened in November on South Beach. Founded by Kino MacGregor, one of the youngest women to complete the third series of Ashtanga (she recently started on the fourth with Guruji and Sharath), the studio has both “led” Ashtanga classes, traditional Mysore classes (where each student goes at his or her own pace), and a few Vinyasa classes. The Center has two practice rooms with bamboo floors, showers, changing rooms, and a large marble-floored lobby where students linger after class on oversize couches.

BUDDHIST STUDIES AND MEDITATION AT OM YOGA

Yoga Meditation New York is happy to announce that The Om Yoga Studio is holding meditation groups every Tuesday with Cyndi Lee for only $5.  The weekly meditation groups will be from 5:30pm-6:00pm and are held at 826 Broadway at 12th Street (6th Floor) at Om Yoga.  I am looking forward to attending and promise to post and let everyone know how it went.  There has been a lot of hype around Om Yoga so I will try and talk to a few of the employees and yoga instructors and get a real feel for the place.  This particular studio seems to have a broad spectrum of yoga, meditation and educational instruction as well.  Planet Hope would be interested in them for sure as they are a comprehensive website dedicated to those of us living a conscious life.  They have reports on mindful eating, green living and yoga and meditation and can be found at www.planethope.tv .

Om Yoga also is holding a retreat at The Omega Institute :

Yoga Body Buddha Mind on the Road
with Cyndi Lee and David Nichtern

This Fall in the Beautiful Berkshires
Join Cyndi and David at Kripalu for Yoga Body Buddha Mind November 20 – 22 Click here for more information
or call 1-800-741-7353

This article that I just found while reading through The New York Times online about regulating yoga instructors has a lot to say.  The lawmakers in New York State are looking to regulate the licensing of yoga instructors in order to make money for a struggling bureaucracy, bottom line.  Yoga is a spiritual practice and although it has become a money making industry, it should be exempt from such regulations as any religious organization would be.   Please do yourself a favor and take a look at the following article when you have a chance.

Yoga Faces Regulation, and Firmly Pushes Back

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Ten years ago, with yoga transforming into a ubiquitous pop culture phenomenon from a niche pursuit, yoga teachers banded together to create a voluntary online registry of schools meeting new standards for training instructors.

But that list — which now includes nearly 1,000 yoga schools nationwide, many of them tiny — is being put to a use for which it was never intended. It is the key document in a crackdown that pits free-spirited yogis against lumbering state governments, which, unlike those they are trying to regulate, are not always known for their flexibility.

Citing laws that govern vocational schools, like those for hairdressers and truck drivers, regulators have begun to require licenses for yoga schools that train instructors, with all the fees, inspections and paperwork that entails. While confrontations have played out differently in different states, threats of shutdowns and fines have, in some cases, been met with accusations of power grabs and religious infringement — disputes that seem far removed from the meditative world yoga calls to mind.

In April, New York State sent letters to about 80 schools warning them to suspend teacher training programs immediately or risk fines of up to $50,000. But yogis around the state joined in opposition, and the state has, for now, backed down.

In other states, regulators were not moved. In March, Michigan gave schools a week to be certified by the state or cease operations. Virginia’s cumbersome licensing rules include a $2,500 fee — a big hit for modest studios that are often little more than one-room storefronts.

Lisa Rapp, who owns My Yoga Spirit in Norfolk, Va., said she was closing her seven-year-old business this summer. “This caused us to shut down the studio altogether,” Ms. Rapp said. “It’s too bad, because this community really needs yoga.”

The conflict started in January when a Virginia official directed regulators from more than a dozen states to an online national registry of schools that teach yoga and, in the words of a Kansas official, earn a “handsome income.” Until then, only a few states had been aware of the registry and had acted to regulate yoga instruction, though courses in other disciplines like massage therapy have long been subject to oversight.

The registry was created by the Yoga Alliance, a nonprofit group started in 1999 to establish teaching standards in an effort to have the industry regulate itself. In a recent newsletter, the alliance warned its members that nationwide licensing might be inevitable, “forcing this ancient tradition to conform to Western business practices.”

“We made it very, very easy for them to do what they’re doing right now,” said Leslie Kaminoff, founder of the Breathing Project, a nonprofit yoga center in New York City, who had opposed the formation of the Yoga Alliance. “The industry of yoga is a big, juicy target.”

New state regulations would not directly affect the drop-in classes attended by many of the 16 million Americans estimated to practice yoga. But the classes they would affect are an important source of revenue for many schools, and, of course, train future instructors.

“It’s the perpetuatioga on of the species,” said S. J. Khalsa, who operates Kundalini Yoga East in Manhattan, a school that offers teacher training courses. “We’re not in it to make tons of money.”

However, Sybil Killian, general manager for the OM Yoga Center, also in Manhattan, questioned whether yoga could fairly claim to be a spiritual pursuit in an era when, according to an industry estimate, it earns $6 billion a year in the United States.

“People buy $1,000 pants to sweat in because while they’re getting enlightened they need to look good,” Ms. Killian wrote in an e-mail message to other New York yoga teachers. “Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, yoga is an industry. One need only leaf through the advertising section of Yoga Journal to know that.”

Regulators said licensing the schools would allow states to enforce basic standards and protect customers who usually spend $2,000 to $5,000 on training courses, not to mention provide revenue for cash-starved governments. “If you’re going to start a school and take people’s money, you should play by a set of rules,” said Patrick Sweeney, a Wisconsin licensing official, who believes that in 2004 he was the first to discover the online registry and use it to begin regulating yoga teaching.

“Sooner or later, probably every state will do this,” said Patricia Kearney, an instructor of health and exercise science at Bridgewater College in Virginia, who has been researching the trend. “Once people get used to it, it will ultimately benefit yoga. But it will not be without loss. Some good small programs will close. But so will some not-so-good programs that probably should close.”

In New York State, though, teachers fought back, complaining that the new rules could erode thin bottom lines, contradict religious underpinnings and, most important, shut down every school in the state during an eight-month licensing period.

“It basically destroys the essence of yoga, to control and manipulate the whole situation,” said Jhon Tamayo of Atmananda Yoga Sequence in Manhattan. “No one can regulate yoga.”

Brette Popper, a co-founder of Yoga City NYC, a Web site that has chronicled licensing developments, said the yoga community — described on the site as “a group that doesn’t even always agree about how to pronounce ‘Om’ ” — was uniting around a common enemy.

The teachers formed a coalition and enlisted a state senator, Eric T. Schneiderman of Manhattan, to take up their cause, hoping that New York would buck the national trend. “It’s really kind of historic in the yoga community,” Ms. Popper said.

That unity was on display last month in a small studio in Midtown Manhattan, where nearly 100 devotees from around the state sat barefoot and cross-legged on the wood floor. The group, whose members ranged from lithe young teachers in spandex to older ones in religious garb, opened with a traditional chant and ended two hours later struggling with parliamentary procedure as it established a formal organization. One attendee cast the conflict as “bureaucracy versus freedom.”

Alison West, who was selected to lead the new coalition, the Yoga Association of New York State, prayed for “some joyful conclusion we’ve never conceived.”

Within days, Joseph P. Frey, an associate commissioner with the State Education Department, said in an interview that the department would suspend the licensing effort, allow the classes to continue and instead lobby for legislation adding yoga to a list of activities that are exempt from regulation.

“I understand how folks could get upset,” he said.

I am proud to announce that Thich Nhat Hanh will be in New York City and speaking at the Beacon theater on October 9th and 10th 2009.  I have read many of his books including Living Buddha, Living Christ, Peace is Every Step and Anger.  His writings have been an inspiration to me for many years.  As a matter of fact when I first became interested in meditation and the awakening of the spirit I was told about Thich Nhat Hanh and through his work I discovered a whole new way of life.  I have always wanted to visit his retreat center in Vermont called Plum Village, but the opportunity never arose.  My favorite thing about his teachings is that he puts all of these complex ideas and philosophies into a very simple text, allowing first time readers full comprehension.  www.eomega.com is the address to the Omega website, which has many different programs to offer besides Thich Naht Hanh.

I had someone ask me about OM Yoga, so I have included an article here from Vogue Magazine on that very subject.