THE FREEDOM EXPRESS with Shiva Rea’s partner, Demetri, was a blast, and hosting “D” here was a special treat for me. His excitement in teaching his combo of Yoga, Trance Dance, and Buddhist meditation is infectious, and the way he transmits it with such ease, joy and knowledge is very special. We each gave the “conductor” our tickets and were off! The Yoga Mala 108 on the solstice coincided with the eclipse and the full moon, so it was a very auspicious candlelit practice with the room full of locals, newcomers, and many teachers. This is one of my favorite seasonal events, and marks the passing season and forthcoming season with an element of ritual that imbues those of us gathered with our individual and collective prayers in a very powerful way.
Our winter schedule began in earnest the next day with more classes and some very special new teachers. It’s wonderful to have Dance Fusion back on the schedule with Nicole back for the winter, and Kristi Murrin who will be the co-teacher. I am thrilled to have Brynn O’Connell back on the schedule with her infectious laughter and light that fills the studio. Oriana Reed’s sweet voice and dedication to the Yogini lifestyle will be apparent in all her classes. Christie Hicks, (with the best free standing handstand you have ever seen), brings her strong practice and teaching skills with Shiva Rea and other L.A. based teachers to our Vinyasa and Prana Flow classes. I am proud to say we still have our solid core of teachers on the schedule, and a great all around schedule that includes early 7 am classes, more noon classes, and $5 community classes 4 days a week, created especially for locals. This way, we can truly say we offer YOGA FOR EVERYONE!
Our teacher training began on the Solstice weekend, with our lead teacher, Shakti, who also runs the non-profit organization YOGA WORLD REACH, bringing yoga outreach to poverty stricken third world countries. It was an alchemical group that will be together one weekend a month for the next year, and we quickly bonded and were excited about all we’d be learning from this program. Even though I have enough teacher training under my belt, I wanted to be a part of this program because there is ALWAYS more to learn in yoga, and I wanted to be able to share this with the wonderful people who showed up. We are excited to be able to offer this program annually and a few of us who are taking it now will be leading it with Shakti.
The holidays filled the studio with joy, festivity, and soulful classes. Our first annual Hanuman New Years Eve gathering was surprisingly well attended. We began with some wonderful food and did a practice that included meditation, asana, and chanting the Hanuman Chaleesa for 108 minutes until midnight! It was a wonderful way to spend the holiday with like-minded people gathering together to raise their vibration and celebrate in such a sacred and conscious way.
I have many intentions for myself this year, but wanted to share with you the goals for the studio in 2011:
108 Kula memberships (locals and visitors) to stabilize and thrive
“Yoga Rocks the Butte” Festival in summer 2011
Shiva Rea workshops and modules with Shiva and certified master teachers
Yoga Outreach & Adventure trips to Africa, Nepal, Colombia, and Haiti
Yoga Kids Program
Teen Yoga teacher training
Opening our first franchise in a wonderful community
More men joining Y4P
Less money spent on alcohol, coffee, online shopping, and more money on yoga, healing, and conscious consumer purchasing.
More peace and loving relationships!
More people taking advantage of our $5 classes!!!
(Please let us know your own hopes and wishes that you want us to provide!)
Please join our Y4P facebook page and friend me (Monica Mesa) so you can stay in the loop and benefit from our FB promotions and specials, and let me know if you read this blog!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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