Native Yoga Center – October Newsletter Exciting News! © 2010 Michelle Haymoz Photography http://www.flickr.com/photos/sribhagavati/ Thanks to your continued interest and support, Native Yoga Center is expanding! We are doubling in size and breaking down the wall. We will keep you posted with renovation progress. October Specials  New Student One Month Unlimited $45   No contract required!! Must be purchased by October 31st. Community Class Added on Tuesdays   Intro to Ashtanga Yoga FREE class to the public/ Donations accepted  Tuesdays at 4:30pm (60 min) with Bob McLaughlin, RYT This is a perfect class for those new to vinyasa practice as well as those who are already hooked.   Bob’s enthusiasm and dedication for the Ashtanga tradition translates into a fun and inspirational class.  The first class begins October 5th. Click here to register online or call 561-296-7996 for more info.  Kirtan Tuesdays   Join us on Tuesdays at 8:30am for the Hanuman Chalisa (20 min.).          All are welcome and no experience is required. For more info click here. © 2010 Michelle Haymoz Photography http://www.flickr.com/photos/sribhagavati/ Yoga for Cancer Survivors Begins Saturday, October 9th Date: Every Tuesday & Saturday beginning October 9th Saturdays: 2:00pm – 3:15pm beginning Oct 9th Tuesdays at 1:30 – 2:45pm beginning Oct 12th  Location: Native Yoga Center  (75 minute class) HOL-LIFE YOGA founders Adam and Shari (members of the NYC community) are excited to announce the addition of their twice weekly classes at Native Yoga Center! The Cancer Survivors Yoga Program (CSYP) therapeutic yoga classes are specifically designed to meet the needs of cancer survivors (during treatment and post-treatment) and their supporters! CSYP classes are donation-based,  student donations make this class possible (suggested: $12). Please visit hol-lifeyoga.com for more information, links to medical research and more!  Please help spread the word!! Native Yoga at Lululemon Ashtanga “lite” class Sunday, October 17th, 2010 10:30am (1 hr)  Join us for a FREE Class at Lululemeon Athletica in the Gardens Mall Intro to 2nd Series Workshop Sunday, October 24th, 2010 12:00pm – 2:30pm $45 Click here to register online or call 561-296-7996.    © 2010 Michelle Haymoz Photography click here to view more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sribhagavati/ Come and explore the 2nd Series of Ashtanga Yoga. Todd and Tamara are delighted to share insight into this dynamic and diverse practice. The 2nd Series is an incredible immersion into depth and strength. In this workshop we will begin to lay a foundation of the basic techniques inherent in 2nd Series. Workshop will include research poses to help build alignment strategies for safe movement and will also include an introduction to traditional pranayama practice. Prior experience with 1st series is required. Click here for more details. Join Native Yoga on Facebook and read about 2nd Series Training with Tim Miller.         Fridays through October 29 @ Native Yoga Center Baby (newborn to pre-crawl)   11am (50 min class) Tots (crawling to 21 mo.)   12pm (50 min class) All classes taught by certified Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitator Kayla Willson. No prior yoga experience necessary. Cost for 6 week Session: $95 for parent/child  Individual drop-in singles: $20 Second child half price ~ Late sign ups available To register call 561-296-7996 or for more info click here.                        Moon Days in October Thursday, October 7th, New Moon Friday, October 22nd, Full Moon Studio will be Closed! (click here for more info)

Native Yoga Center – September Newsletter September Specials Get 15% Off of All Class Packages! *Excludes beginner specials and Itsy Bitsy Yoga. New Student One Month Unlimited $45   No contract required!! Must be purchased by September 30th. Open Labor Day Monday, September 6th 9am Native class only! New Session Begins Friday, September 17th, 2010 through Friday, October 22nd. @ Native Yoga Center Baby Itsy Bitsy Yoga (newborn to pre-crawling) Fridays, 11am (50 min class) Tots Itsy Bitsy Yoga (crawling to 21 months) Fridays, 12pm (50 min class) Cost for 6 week Session: $95 for parent/child Individual drop-in singles: $20 Second child half price ~ Late sign ups available All classes taught by certified Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitator Kayla Willson. No prior yoga experience necessary. Itsy Bitsy Yoga mats available for purchase. To register call 561-296-7996 or for more info click here.                          Moon Days in September Wednesday, September 8th, New Moon Thursday, September 23rd,  Full Moon Studio will be Closed!

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The last day was very profound. We had our final session in the afternoon. We completed our study of the finishing poses. We all had a chance to work together and practice adjusting technique. Tim held our graduation ceremony. The outpour of emotion and thankfulness that everyone expressed was so heartfelt and sincere. We closed with a good chalisa session.
To fully complete the closing we went down to Moonlight beach for a going away party. The locals had made these three huge bonfires a a Brazilian drumming troupe jammed out until late. It was a lot of fun and Tim was as gracious as ever. This group was so much fun to be with. I genuinely feel that not one person was there to receive a certificate. Everyone was there to explore the yoga and it’s many facets with each other. As I listened to everyones stories I quickly realized I wasn’t the only one who was having a really challenging and yet rewarding time. There also was this great feeling and understanding that as Tim shared his love of the yoga with us it is time for us to do the same with others. In this respect I want pay homage to the great guru Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, for sharing with Tim and now with us. I feel honored to have been touched so deeply by this tradition. Namaste!

Todd McLaughlin
www.nativeyogacenter.com

Today was our last day of Mysore practice for the training. I think everyone is feeling a sense of relief that we have made it. Yet, time with Tim is so precious that knowing it is coming to a close also has me feeling so thankful to have had this time. Without the loving support of my wife and family immersions like this would not be possible. For this I am very appreciative.
Today’s early morning Pranayama practice was the real deal. Tim had done such a good job of starting us very slow and easy and then ramping it up to today. Tim is a Pranayama master. Beyond even his extensive knowledge of asana practice, Tim’s understanding of the breath is remarkable. Today was a reminder of my first days trying to keep up with him. He has been practicing this for so long, he makes it seem like a walk in the park. I hung in there but when we got close to the end I had to gasp a few times. Something about the challenge and intensity of control over the diaphragm and our immediate tendency toward panic in an uncomfortable situation brings about a sense of relief and relaxation when practice is complete. This is yet another reason why I love Ashtanga yoga so much. So much complexity!! Sometimes people say “doesn’t it get boring to do the same sequence every day?” How we move into a pose can be so different one day to the next. The consistency of the sequencing allows for steadiness especially when our minds can be so shaky. This training has reminded me how interesting and fascinating the yoga practice is!!!!
This evening I had the opportunity to assist Tim in his Intro to 2nd series class. It was so much fun and I watched him demonstrate for the students. Tim goes off!!!! He fully busts it out. So he has this incredible talent that he backs up with deep devotion all the while remaining humble. I honestly cannot say enough good about him. He is a true yogi and an honest teacher. I was thinking back to last Friday, a week ago, and how much I was struggling with pain. Now a week later, still pain, but not as much struggle. Guruji would call the soreness of practice sweet pain. I am so relieved to have made that transition.
In closing, Buddha says it best, “may all beings be happy!”

Todd McLaughlin
www.nativeyogacenter.com

On the great battle field Arjuna struggled. Krishna encouraged. A metaphor for the internal struggle we all face. Advice for one who perseveres on the path. Move into union! Move into yoga!
After practice this morning someone came out and said, I feel like I sweated so much it was like in was in the ocean. I think of the story with Krishna and Arjuna as like a surfboard on the wave. Arjuna is the surfer, Krishna the vehicle, the board, and the ocean and waves as the great battle field of Kurukshetra. We are experience this balancing act in all that we do, whether on the mat or off. Sometimes we just need a little help to get started. Once off and riding the real fun begins.

Todd McLaughlin
www.nativeyogacenter.com

We are getting so close to the end. I am so looking forward to getting back home!!!!! Yet also don’t want this training to end.
Opening the heart is such a profound experience. There are so many books and manuals available these days to help guide us along this process. I am finding that it is so different for each person though. My own personal experience is that of continuous navigation. The deep work that comes along with this process is so freeing and yet terrifying at the same time. It seems to be this continuous sense of wanting to hold on and yet feeling so much lighter when the grip softens. I can definitely say, better to dive in then sit on the shore and wonder what diving in would be like!

Todd McLaughlin
www.nativeyogacenter.com

I was walking down the beach the other day just below Swami’s and I met this guy named Yogi Shane playing the harmonium. I walked over and listened to him bust out the most radical devotional songs……super classic. Because we had the morning off with no class, today I went down there again. He told me he had begun burying his body in the sand while in a yoga pose. I had to admit that it was a really unique idea. I gave it a try and he dug a deep enough hole so that I could sit in baddha konasana(feet together and knees toward the ground.) He then filled in the hole and packed the sand down. Really strong so that basically I couldn’t move at all. It was so awesome and intense at the same time. A dog ran up and started to lick my face and ears and I fully cracked up. Nothing I could do about out it. In Buddha meditation there is what is called adithan. Which means fierce sitting or sitting with no movement or with strong determination. This seemed to be following a similar thought current. A strange sense of anxiety cropped up but the process of staying present was so amazing. It took me about 10 minutes to dig myself out. I then went and jumped in the 68 degree water, (which is a heck of a lot colder than Florida) and seriously woke the senses. It was freakin’ awesome!!! We all just spent 5 hours in Yoga sutra study with Tim. The yoga sutras create an opportunity for deep introspection. So in many senses they are very challenging. Tim presents them in such a clear and concise fashion, with humor, and sincere insight. Being Tuesday, Hanuman day, we had an epic Hanuman chalisa session! The combination of the harmonium and the devotion behind the delivery is creating an interesting space for me. It is really growing on me.
One of the sutras that stood out for me today was to the effect of; when there is contentment there is no need to seek happiness. So simple right?? Yet how often are we in a place of contentment? True contentment!! Since most often we are in the place of seeking happiness through an event or experience. So to experience Santosha(contentment) the need to seek drops away. The sutras then point out; well, how to experience santosha when there is suffering? This seems to be the challenge. Hence the practice.

Todd McLaughlin
www.nativeyogacenter.com

I find it very interesting that a yoga posture can be considered a gateway. A position of the body can serve as a porthole to another dimension. I suppose that dimension will differ for each individual and how we move ourselves into that dimension seems to be why practice is needed.
Our entrance from one moment to the next is marked by passage. Time according to nature is our usual method of measuring this movement. Either through our observation of the Earth’s rotation in relation to the sun or in the time it takes for a flower to bloom. One way or another the passing of time continues. In yoga practice we have what are called “gateway” postures. These poses are often very difficult for the beginner and require years of practice to achieve mastery in. These “gateway” poses are often very appealing to the eye because of the artistic lines of geometry that they create. When the yogi begins to enter into this “gate”, an incredible sense of possibility is facilitated. What we choose to do once we enter is also an interesting issue. Do we use this to enhance our ego or do we direct our attention toward greater levels of compassion for all beings? I think that if we can learn apply to proper level of commitment balanced with ease and steadiness we can enter into infinite possibility. Perhaps to try to put it more simply, yoga opens us up to our true reality.
On a lighter note. Tomorrow is full moon. I can’t express enough bow thankful I am for this. To have a day off from practice is such a blessing and to some maybe it is in disguise. Moon day give two days a month to reflect and rejuvenate. Tomorrow happens to be full moon. Typically during this time we are a little headstrong. Even more reason to relax.
It also give some time to do laundry. Right now I am watching the coin machine spin. The yoga practice is so amazing!!!!!!

Todd McLaughlin
www.nativeyogacenter.com

This photo is taken from Swami’s beach looking up toward the SRF shala. Today was the beginning of the turning point. Yesterday I went to the chiropractor who discovered I had two ribs out and she managed to get them back in. I was able to smile again and breath so much easier. I still have some residual soreness but I can’t tell you how relieved I am to be back in alignment. That was over two weeks of excruciating pain!!!! Thank the heavens for chiropractors who know what they are doing. It is amazing how impossible it is to feel positive when our health is out of alignment. Which I think is further testament to the reality that our health is of the most utmost importance. It is is such a delicate balance to maintain health but it needs to be at the top of our priority. Without health one cannot focus on achieving enlightenment. There may be exception to this. Sometimes people that face severe illness come into an enlightened state by acknowledging that death is a part of the process and it is only a gateway into the next adventure. When this is the case there is nothing to fear.
Beyond such discussion, I went for a walk on the beach and met these two yogis playing harmonium and singing kirtan on the beach. Classic characters full of enthusiasm. One of them I hope to get to come to Florida to offer a workshop. We shall see. The waves were going off and although I am not ready to paddle is was great to watch everyone having so much fun.
I got to the studio at 1pm and everyone could see I was smiling again and it felt so good to be feeling back toward normal. Tim is as awesome as ever. We did a Kapotasana warm up which I observed for the most part and got a chance to help with a few adjustments. Super fun and learning some really effective assists. Because today is Saturday it is also Hanuman day so we sang the Hanuman chalisa again which I am loving. Myself and one other student are learning to play the chalisa on the harmonium so Tim is teaching us. The chalisa is so powerful. It has the power to melt even the hardest of hearts. After the session tonight I had the chance to eat some food with a group of yogis who have been at this for 20-30 years. Amazing conversation and insight. It is really inspiring to be surrounded by Ashtangis who have so much enthusiasm this far along the path. It is like climbing a mountain and the road is still really long up ahead and someone else is on the way back down and you ask them how much further and they say well it actually doesn’t end but how about I turn around and walk with you so we can enjoy a part of the journey together. This is so refreshing and inspiring. Just to have a discipline that is so engaging that each day it is as fresh and new as day 1. The depth just gets deeper. The yoga is never ending. It is not like a book, you pick it up read it and put it on the shelf. Yoga is like writing a book that has no beginning or end. You just keep writing because the moment is forever presenting itself.
I think all in all it was a day of releasing some garbage and ready to move forward. Jai!!!

Todd McLaughlin
www.nativeyogacenter.com