Welcome to Yogawaves- the Open Sky Yoga newsletter! It is a bi-monthly publication
that allows you to download our newest class schedule, to inform you of what
is going on within the Open Sky community, and to provide you with information
and inspiration for your yoga practice. If you experience any difficulty
viewing this newsletter, please view it here.
WINTER SESSION - WEEKLY CLASS SCHEDULE:
Our new session of classes will begin January 9th!! However, if you miss the first week or two and space is still available, we will prorate the rest of the session for you. Please reserve space early since January classes are often full due to New Year's resolutions. You can send your registration by mail to ensure a space in the class(es) of your choice. As always, feel free to join anytime at a prorated fee. You may download this schedule and registration form here:
Scroll down past the seminar section to read Francois Raoult's article of the month on magical Conches!
GIFT CERTIFICATES for the holidays- available for classes or yoga props and books in $25, $50, and $100. Email erinos@rochester.rr.com to receive it by mail.
WORDS FROM FRANCOIS:
Though we offer Back Care classes 3 times a week at Open Sky for those in pain or recovering from surgery, every yoga student should be deeply in tune with the spine. To create space, to decompress the discs and the joints through mindful extension and flexion stands at the core of the teachings.
Play on the yoga ropes, hanging, floating, flying, suspended. Explore ujjayi breath through the spine in all asanas and pranayama. Massage the spine from inside like an underground river of life, a place no human hands can reach.
If you attend the second half of my workshop “The Art of Standing and Sitting” (on January 9th), you will see pictures of beautiful spines from traditional cultures, as well as some distorted ones from the so-called civilized world! I am looking forward to immerse myself again in India, and to observe and absorb Tadasana.
Spinal discs are also compressed because we have longer lives. In the middle ages people were barely making it to their midforties so gravity didn’t put pressure as long on those joints and fluids. Nowadays we have to prepare for at least twice more time standing, sitting and walking so let’s have a yoga practice that is considerate of this as it prevents the aging process, first by respecting, cultivating, and elongating the natural curves of the spine, by repatterning the angle of the sacrum, which is one of the barometers of the aging process. (When the sacrum bone is in a posterior tilt in Tadasana you will look older than your biological age!). One more reason to sit higher than the floor in meditation practice. Otherwise the lack of natural lordosis in the lumbar spine will depress the sternum and hyperextend the neck. Can you visualize that pattern?
Rejuvenate the spine and the nerves by resting in restorative poses where the organs can soak in fluids and cells rejuvenate the cells. Practice especially mild inversions like viparita karani mudra and supported back bends on bolsters. Restorative yoga is a prominent part of the culture at Open Sky. And we offer at least one long session per month.
Decompression from longer, more sedentary life-styles is a priority—decompression
both mental and physical, since our lives and bodies are often com-pressed,
de-pressed, or op-pressed.
That is why “warming up" may be nice but “spacing through” and
"settling down" are also very much needed. I promote Savasana
over Botox to release those tense foreheads. Tightening the skin to look
youthful is questionable, from my point of view. Instead, looking at the
roots of the tension, in the deep introverted state of meditation, we may
learn to release and dissolve those knots. I would advocate a few years of
creative psychotherapy or an introspective shamanic journey over a tight
abs (six-pack or otherwise) which will ultimately restrict the ability to
receive the breath. And a sustained mindful downward facing dog over running
a marathon. You got the point! Form and content should match. Both ways!
I will be in India by the time you receive this, which inspired me to write about the spiral and its symbolic meaning. Life is a spiral, a vortex. We return to old places with a fresh, more evolved (more involved?!) point of view. Where we return, changed, could be where we were born but also could be where we feel belonging. For me, there is India, the Himalayas, and the Celtic forest of Broceliande in Brittany. What are your centers? What will be your next pilgrimage? When are you going to go?! 2006?
There is a spiral of involution and one of evolution. One inhales life and the other exhales it. Last time I was in India, in winter 2000, BKS Iyengar invited us to study pranayama on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh..So time has come again for me to connect with that land. I urge those interested in yoga, students and especially teachers, to go to India and be immersed, confronted with the sacred culture where yoga was born (Instead of fantasizing with pseudo yoga philosophy, listening to fake”spiritual” Indian music with pop overtones, or entertaining over idealistic visions!) Be real.
Listen to Pandit Jasraj, the great classical Indian singer. if you have a chance. I just invited Pundit Mukesh Desai , one of his disciples, to give a concert and a workshop at Open Sky in march 2007. Both music and yoga deserve your full attention and respect! Don’t mix them up lightly.
Finally, I am writing before the evening devoted to Pakistan earthquake survivors and to those who didn’t survive. What a shame that a so-called civilized world did not respond to the basic needs of fellow human beings. In the Pakistanese and Indian Kashmir, there was not even one SUV to flee early, leaving less fortunate souls behind as was the case in New Orleans. So let's hope the evening will be a success and that Doctors Without Borders, 1999 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, will receive a generous contribution from Open Sky students and friends. You can still send your donation to Open Sky, made out to Doctors Without Borders.
I wish you a great year of spiraling, expanding, and, to paraphrase a cereal commercial, a year high in prana and low in boring!
May your health be radiant. May you find in Tadasana the vertical axis of life and in Savasana the ability to merge with the Infinite.
Hari AUM
François.
SEMINARS:
Tele-classes with Francois Raoult
2-part Pranayama Series
$24.95 for one class
$44.95 for both classes
For details or registration, contact 416-529-3939 or www.yogaspirit.ca
Ujjayi and Bhramari Pranayama
Wednesday, January 11th at 9:00 pm EST / 6:00 pm PST
This 60-minute tele-class focuses on the multifaceted and enriching practice
of deep breathing. Ujjayi and Bhramari are essential Pranayama techniques
that open the door to limitless discovery. Learn how to introduce these into
your own practice or as a teacher to beginner students.
Class highlights include:
• Observing the path of the breath inside the body
• The five vayus: ascending, descending and diffusing currents of energy
in the subtle body
• How Pranayama enhances chanting and mantra practice
• How sound resonance from the humming breath calms the mind
• Contraindications that indicate when deep breathing is inadvisable
Viloma and Nadi Sodhana Pranayama
Wednesday, February 8th at 9:00 pm EST
This tele-class further explores aspects of the Ujjayi breath in its variations:
Viloma 1 and 2:
• How and why the flow of breath is interrupted in deep inhalation
and exhalation
• Benefits, including regulation of blood pressure and sleep patterns
Nadi Sodhana Pranayama:
• Benefits, including experiencing one of the most calming of breaths
• Understanding the hand mudra
Finally, we will discuss Pranayama’s effects on constitution (dosha)
according to Ayurvedic principles.
Local Seminars
in ROCHESTER, NY:
Yoga and Art
for Kids (NEW!)
One Saturday a month-January
14th and February 4th
Ages 6-11 10am–12:30pm
You may download more information here:
Rick Lynch - Restorative Seminar for the Solstice-
December 23rd from 6-9pm. $50.
You may download more
information here:
FREE Introduction to Back Care Yoga with Francois Raoult-
January 5th from 7:30-8:45pm. Please spread the word to family and friends.
You may download more
information here:
The Art of Sitting with Francois Raoult:
Monday January 9, 5-9pm [$80]
What is "good posture"? We will look at slides of people from around
the world and practice postural alignment in standing, walking, sitting in
your and daily life. Includes Francois' nationally acclaimed slide show "Postures
From Around the World". This is a must see for Open Sky Yoga students.
You may download more
information here:
Eleanor Goldfarb - Restorative Class
Eleanor is now a certified Relax and Renew trainer. She completed the program
in April 2005 with Judith Lasater and will offer restorative classes on
a sign-up basis. Space is limited so reserve your spot early. The next
classes are January 15th from 3-5pm and February 26th from 3-5pm. $32 per
class.
You may download more information
here:
Yoga Philosophy with Douglas Brooks : from 8-11:30am
January 29th - The Promise of Yoga: An Introduction to the Origins and Sources
of Yoga Tradition
February 12th - The Great Teachings: From Patanjali to Tantra, The evolution
of Yoga Tradition
April 23rd - Celestial Song: Essential Teachings of the Bhagavadgita, Fulfillment
of Yoga Tradition
$150 for all three or $60 for one session.
You may download more
information here:
Learning the Ropes with Francois Raoult : FULL!! January 30th, 5-8pm - How to release the spine and open the whole body by using the yoga ropes designed by BKS Iyengar in India. $60. Next seminar on ropes - March 13th
Introduction to Yoga Philosophy with Carl Hoffman
: February 1st from 7:30-9:30pm
- An Introduction to Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita. Carl
has been studying yoga at Open Sky since 1989. He recently returned from
four months in India, where he studied Sanskrit and yoga with a variety of
teachers. $25.
You may download more
information here:
Yoga and the Pelvis with Audrey Harp (for women only): February 10th from
5-8pm - Learn how to bring flexibility and build strength in the pelvic region
through the practice of yoga asana. $60.
You may download more
information here:
Anatomy of Asana with Laura and Norman Allard: March 10-12th
Yoga Practice and Ayurveda (Sonam Targee and Francois Raoult): May 5-7, 2006
Anatomy of Breath with Thomas Myers: September 30-October 1, 2006
Yoga Seminar with Senior Iyengar Teacher Martine le Chenic: December 8-10
Yoga and Sound with R. Patel/Pundit Mukesh Desai: March 23-25, 2007
Judith Lasater and Roger Cole - Relax and Renew teacher training (4 days): September 13-16, 2007!
Essential Teacher Training 2007 with Francois Raoult:
Advanced Teacher training 2007(information and registration available early
2006)
International retreat in the South of France with Francois Raoult:
July9-16. Register
now and reserve your flight to Montpellier or Paris!
You may download more information
here:
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS:
(click on the picture to download this flyer)
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH:
Magical CONCHES
By Francois Raoult ©2006
If you open the door of Open Sky in Rochester, you may see some conches on the window sills or in a center of a mandala. In fact, the mandala downstairs is the spiral of spirals! A trail of shells and conches leading to a stupa of clay, a replica of Boddnath stupa in Katmandu, a place I stayed when traveling in India and Nepal for the first time. You may also notice in the yoga room a little statue of Patanjali that holds a conch in one of his four hands.
The conch is one of the most beautiful seashells and a magical instrument. If you listen to it, covering your ear, you will hear the sound of the breath like ujjayi and the soft drone of the ocean as an echo in a distance. If you blow into it as a marine trumpet, the sound of om is evoked. A deep, dense, organic tone, but like a trombone or a tuba. The conch is used in Tibetan music and in Indian rituals, sometimes with circular breathing as a continuous sound.
The body as instrument, emitter-receptor
The conch is the symbol of the origin of existence. It has the shape of a spiral, a vortex. Look at them closely, take them in your hands. Larger and larger rings originate from a center. Coming from water, it is associated with the primordial ocean. The sound it produces is the image of the primordial sound. AUM.
In Indian mythology, it is an attribute of Vishnu and, therefore, of Patanjali
as his incarnation. I recently ask Dr. Douglas Brooks about the symbolism
of Devadatta, the conch blown by Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita:
“The shankha's (conch’s) meaning is always connected to the relationship between individual and universal identity. The conches have proper names, not just symbolic ones. That's important too because, whatever the name means, the conch is an entity, a discrete presence that holds its own consciousness. In a certain way, the individuality of the conch and the hero it possesses reveals that the universal, the ultimate is taking on particular forms endlessly: each conch makes its own sound, possesses its own sound, and simultaneously all conches participate in the same sound, the eternal, the AUM.
So, the point is that the individual is a form of the universal and yet the universal chooses to express itself individually, all the way down to the level of achieving a personal identity in the form of the conch. Certainly the conch is the manifest form of the AUM. The conch's own song, its own voice, its AUM never ceases and blowing the conch simply amplifies what is "already present" in it. One AUM, many forms, all real, all distinctive, but all the same and different."
The spiral reflects our life journey, in the way we are always evolving but
still connected to the core, the center of the labyrinth. The labyrinths
of the floors of the cathedrals, Chartres near Paris being the most known,
are nothing but life journeys towards awakening, projected in the marble
or the stone. In India, I often saw sadhus playing the conch, absorbed
in a deep listening of that resonance. In the Ladakh and Zanskar Tibetan
kingdoms, the sound of conches and long trumpets call from the roofs of
the monasteries and wake you up in the morning. It is actually surprising
to find an oceanic instrument in Tibet, which is so far from the sea. So
it came from Indian or Mediterranean mythological tales where Vishnu or
Triton are playing them. Is it not fascinating that shepherds from Corsica,
Celtic farmers from Brittany and Creta used them until the end of 19th
century?
If originally the conch was an instrument to call for war (in the mahabaratha, an Indian epic, Arjunas’ mighty conch was known as Devadatta and scared the hell of the enemy), it became an instrument to create peace, or to call the gods (in New Caledonia, for example). In Vajrayan Buddhism, the conch is the symbol of the truth of the dharma. It appears as a tattoo, an auspicious mark on the soles, palms, and forehead of a divinely endowed being.
On the roofs of the Tibetan monasteries, early morning, two monks sound to each other and create a drone. And it resonates like a giant halo of sound through the mountains, waking up all creatures and, of course, the monks for their early morning rituals. I had a chance to be awakened at sunrise by these pure sounds when traveling in the kingdom of Zanskar in the early eighties. Similarly, we have in our practice the sound of the breath and mantras, especially during Bhramari pranayama when the humming resonates through the whole body as if you were playing it with the bow of the breath.
Sanmukhi Mudra also creates a deeper, introverted state, moving inward into the shell of the skull, releasing the sensory organs into prathyara. Conches are a reflection of such a beautiful practice. Or maybe it is the other way around?! Like we still don’t really know, in the protohistory of music, if human voices imitated instruments or if instruments were imitating human voices. Or maybe instruments are just a prolongation of the body, another subtle body radiating from the core.
Maybe this is why I have loved to gather shells since childhood. The ocean,
early on, invited me to explore the yoga of sound, nada yoga. I was invited
to enter the kingdom of Breath.
François.
POEM OF THE MONTH:
I woke up the other morning, dreaming of wild geese as asanas migrating
in the sky! How convenient, as I was looking for a new design in advertising!
Thanks to Susan and Sheila for making the following poem migrate through
cyberspace!
Francois.
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Wild Geese You do not have to be good. © Mary Oliver.
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OPEN SKY NEWS:
* Visit the Open Sky Yoga store at 5 Arnold Park featuring paintings by
nationally recognized artist Gretchen Summer, props and cds that are great
for relaxation. We also sell essential books for practice.
* Promotion: With every person that you refer to Open Sky who registers
for an 8-week session, we are offering a $5.00 discount coupon towards
your next 8-week session.
CONTACT US:
Open Sky Yoga
19 Birch Crescent
Rochester, NY 14607
585-244-0782
http://www.openskyyoga.com
erinos@rochester.rr.com
yogawave@rochester.rr.com
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