8 Limbs of Yoga
~Starts April 25th!
Where:
~The Inn at Priest Lake
When:
~Friday’s at 10am- 75 minutes
We need a minimum of 6 people signed up per session in order to hold class, so recruit your friends!
Price:
~$20 drop in rate- save on a series!
~1 Series- $75; 2 Series- $145; 3 Series- $195
Details:
You will learn some of the foundational elements of yoga as well as traditional postures, and poses to support the lesson. Each session will focus on a different Yama or Niyama. Please read the descriptions to find the class that you just can’t miss! Rebecca our yoga guru, will guide you through the yoga asanas while gently challenging you to focus on achieving your yoga goals.
We will offer 3 four week sessions with each class is a stand alone class.
Come and practice yoga with Rebecca ~
Session 1 April 25th- May 16th
Session 2 June 6th- 27th
Session 3 July 18th- August 8th
Rebecca is an E-RYT® 500 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher-500 hours) and YACEP® (Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider).
She has been teaching yoga since 2006 and practicing for over 25 years. She is passionate about yoga philosophy including physical (Chakra System) and spiritual (Yama and Niyamas) teachings and practices. Rebecca’s interest in the chakra system led her to seek certification as a Reiki practitioner. She trained in the Usui method and received her designation as “Reiki Master” in November 2011. Reiki is a powerful practice of moving and aligning energy fields throughout the body to maximize physical and emotional health.
Her passion for yoga has led her to study many other teachings including energy medicine, Buddhism and guided visualization which she incorporates into her practice. Yoga’s effect on the brain and prevention and treatment of various health conditions make it the ideal practice for everyone. Rebecca incorporates Energy Medicine into her various yoga classes through tapping, tracing meridian lines and other techniques.
First Session
April 25th- May 16th
- Ashtanga
- In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, the eightfold path is called ashtanga, which literally means “eightlimbs” (ashta=eight, anga=limb). These eight steps basically act as guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. They serve as a prescription for moral and ethical conduct and self-discipline; they direct attention toward one’s health; and they help us to acknowledge the spiritual aspects of our nature.
- Yamas & Niyamas
- The Yamas & Niyamas are foundational to all yogic thought. Yoga is a sophisticated system that extends far beyond doing yoga postures; it is literally a way of living. Yoga is designed to bring you more and more awareness of not only your body but also your thoughts. The teachings are a practical, step-by-step methodology that bring understanding to your experiences, while at the same time pointing the way to the next experience.
- Ahimsa (harmlessness)
- Wise sages prescribe Ahimsa (non-injury). This is the most effective master-method to counteract and eradicate completely the brutal, cruel Pasu-Svabhava (bestial nature) in man. Practice of Ahimsa develops love. Ahimsa is another name for truth or love. Ahimsa is universal love. It is pure love. It is divine Prem. Where there is love, there you will find Ahimsa. Where there is Ahimsa, there you will find love and selfless service. They all go together.
- Satya (truthfulness)
- When we are real rather than nice, when we choose self-expression over self-indulgence, when we choose growth over the need to belong, and when we choose fluidity over rigidity, we begin to understand the deeper dynamics of truthfulness, and we begin to taste the freedom and goodness of this jewel.
Second Session
June 6th- 27th
- Asteya (non-stealing)
- Asteya, or nonstealing, calls us to live with integrity and reciprocity. If we are living in fears and lies, our dissatisfaction with ourselves and our lives leads us to look outward, with a tendency to steal what is not rightfully ours. We steal from others, we steal from the earth, we steal from the future, and we steal from ourselves. We steal from our own opportunity to grow ourselves into the person who has a right to the life they want.
- Bramacharya (non-excess)
- Whether we find ourselves overdoing, food, work, exercise, or sleep, excess is often a result of forgetting the sacredness of life. The fourth jewel, Bramacharya, literally means “walking with God” and invites us into an awareness of the sacredness of all of life. This guideline is a call to leave greed and excess behind and walk in this world with wonder and awe, practicing nonexcess and attending to each moment as holy.
- Aparigraha (non-posessiveness)
- Aparigraha, or nonpossessiveness, can also be interpreted as nonattachment, nongreed, nonclinging, nongrasping, and noncoveting; we can simply think of it as being able to “let go.” How do we move through life loving deeply and engaging fully without getting attached? Looking at the inhalation and exhalation of the breath, the timing of trapeze artists, and an ancient practice of catching monkeys can give us glimpses into the ability to let go rather than be attached. The guideline of Aparigraha invites us to let go and to pack lightly for our journey through life, all the while caring deeply and enjoying fully.
- Saucha (purity)
- The jewel of Soucha, or purity, carries a two-fold meaning. First, Soucha, invites us to purify our bodies, our thoughts, and our words. As we purify ourselves physically and mentally, we become less cluttered and heavy; purification brings about a brightness and clarity to our essence. Second, this guideline has a relational quality. These two practices of purity are interrelated. As we purify ourselves from the heaviness and clutter of toxins, distractions, and scatteredness, we gain clarity to meet each moment with integrity and freshness. We become more pure in our relationship with each moment.
Third Session
July 18th- August 8th
- Santosha (contentment)
- Wanting what we don’t have has become a contagious plague. Rather than experiencing contentment, we can find ourselves busy getting ready for the next thing, tossed about by our preferences for what we like and what we don’t like, and riding the waves of annoying disturbances. The jewel of Santosha invites us into contentment by taking refuge in a calm center, opening our hearts in gratitude for what we do have, and practicing the paradox of “notseeking.”
- Tapas (self-discipline)
- Tapas literally means “heat,” and can be translated as catharsis, austerities, self-discipline, spiritual effort, change, tolerance, or transformation. Whether we practice Tapas by showing up at our mat for a regular posture practice or through constant acts of selfless service, we offer ourselves to the next higher version of us. We willingly stand the heat so that we might produce “luscious bounty” with our lives.
- Svadhyaya (self-study)
- We suffer, the yogis tell us, because we forget who we are. We think we are the boxes we are wrapped in and forget that we are really the Divine “hiding” inside. Svadhyaya, or self-study, is about knowing our true identity as Divine and understanding the boxes we are wrapped in. We can find clues about our boxes by watching our projections, by the process of tracing our reactions back to a belief, and by courageously looking at life as it is. This process of knowing ourselves, and the boxes that adorn us, creates a pathway to freedom. The ability to shift our identification from our ego self (our “boxes”), to the witness, and finally to our true identity as Divinity itself, is the joy of this jewel of self-study.
- Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender)
- Ishvara Pranidhana, the jewel of surrender, presupposes that there is a divine force at work in our lives. Whether we call it God, grace, providence, or life, this force is greater than we are and cares deeply about us. Surrender invites us to be active participants in our life, totally present and fluid with each moment, while appreciating the magnitude and mystery of what we are participating in. Ultimately, this guideline invites us to surrender our egos, open our hearts and accept the higher purpose of our being