When I got home from Ananda Yoga Teacher Training, I called up a community center to see if I could get in as a teacher in next September’s schedule. The woman who answered said that they were full, but she still asked me for my résumé. I knew right then that my name, phone number, and certificate weren’t going to get … Read More
From the Kay Erdwinn’s Post Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies Except for the advanced half-lotus version of this asana, wherein thigh fat would interfere with placement of the raised leg, this asana is usually no more problematic for fat people than for thin, unless the fat person is very out of shape. Sometimes, though, a fat person has less of a … Read More
(Originally Written in Spring, 2003) As I write this, the war in Iraq seems mostly over, but the question remains: what will come of this unfortunate conflict? And the next one, and the next? Why are these things happening? What is my role in promoting peace? What role can yoga teachers play? During the 1991 Gulf War, Swami Kriyananda gave an answer: “The … Read More
Have you ever found yourself in an asana, beginning the affirmation, when suddenly the loudest voice in your head was not the affirmation, but an objection: “Who are you kidding? You don’t feel that way. C’mon, get real!” Yeah, me too. The classic example is Utkatasana’s affirmation: “My body is no burden. It is light as air.” No doubt there have … Read More
I had been teaching yoga for 4 years, ever since graduating from Ananda Yoga Teacher Training, Spring 2002. I was running my own yoga business, and instructing 5 – 10 classes a week. Even with that experience under my belt, I felt like (and still do feel like) a teacher-in-training. There is such depth to yoga — always more to learn. … Read More
The path of Karma Yoga is a perfect place to start, for it offers a meaningful orientation for our daily lives. It addresses how we live, how we act and the way to inner freedom through action. Let’s examine some of the key tenets of Karma Yoga and explore how to apply these in our practice and teaching, as well … Read More
From the Kay Erdwinn’s Post Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies Fat people generally make excellent warriors! This asana requires strength, but extra fat doesn’t get in the way of anything here. The extra weight does make an already challenging pose a bit more challenging, but that will be a problem only if the fat student has no prior physical conditioning. Watch … Read More
Cynthia Edmonds Bath, ME In the Restaurant with a Five-Star Chef In one of my classes I have someone of regional celebrity status: a five-star chef (he was Maine’s first) with a restaurant and large catering service. He’s known for being passionate and outspoken, and he has a temper. He loves the asana affirmations and often repeats them out loud … Read More
“I Am a Skeptic…” Like all Ananda Yoga® Teacher Training graduates, I was asked to write an evaluation of the course. My comments were eventually published in a subsequent Expanding Light program guide (right underneath a photo of Lisa Powers demonstrating “Garudasana arms”). They began: “I am a skeptic…” Although I was not deliberately trying to be provocative, I think … Read More
Seeing the Differences Visualize a group of students sitting comfortably crossed legged on the floor with good posture in Sukhasana, Easy (sitting) Pose. In preparation for the next pose, you give them the first instruction: “Place your left hand on the floor.” Now do you see in your visualization everyone maintaining good posture as they place their left hand on … Read More
