Thursday, May 21, 2009

June Schedule and other announcements

Here is the schedule for the first week of June. The Breathing Room will officially close June 6th. Please keep reading after the schedule for some important announcements!

Sunday May 31
9:30am Power Yoga with Barbara
6:00 Vinyasa Flow with Mary
7:30 Power Yoga with Barbara

Monday June 1
5:00 Hatha Yoga with Lesley
6:30 Ashtanga yoga with Jenna

Tuesday June 2
9:30am Power Yoga
5:00 Hatha Yoga
6:30 Ashtanga Yoga

Wednesday June 35:00 Ashtanga Basics with Jenna
6:30 Power Yoga

Thursday June 4
9:30am Ashtanga

Saturday June 6
10:00 Hatha Yoga

*Jenna will hold one last Ashtanga class on June 7th at 6:30, this class will have a special Drop In rate of 20LE!

*If you are leaving Cairo and you still have classes left on your pass, you have two options; either "gift" your classes to someone else or get a refund. All refunds must be given by May 31! Also, if your class pass expires you can still drop in at a reduced rate of 50LE a class. Please note that the class passes will carry over into the fall.

*The Breathing Room will hold and Open House on August 29, 2009. Check back for details later this summer...

*Classes will resume on August 30, 2009.

*We are very excited to be hosting a workshop given by Bobbi Misiti October 1-3, 2009. Mark your calenders, you don't want to miss this. More details to follow!!

*One last thing...all of the instructors and administrators would like to thank you for coming along with us on this ride. It has been a great experience for all of us and we are so grateful that you have participated and supported us. We are growing and changing with the needs of the yoga community and hope to see you in the fall!

Namaste,
Jessica, Gordana, Jennifer, Barbara, Lesley, Mary, and Jenna

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A news article on the death of Pattabhi Jois, discusses the importance of ashtanga yoga

Yoga pioneer Pattabhi Jois dies
By Richard Warry
BBC News health reporter

Sri K Pattabhi Jois
Jois is credited with founding ashtanga yoga

One of the leading figures in the world yoga community, Sri K Pattabhi Jois, has died at the age of 93.

Jois, from India, was widely considered to be the modern founder of the ashtanga branch of yoga and credited with popularising it in the West.

His many thousands of students include the pop musicians Sting and Madonna, and the actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

Ashtanga yoga is based on synchronising the breath through a progressive series of postures.

It is the most rigorous form of yoga, and its practitioners claim it can produce positive effects on mind and body.

The theory is that it produces intense internal heat, which purifies the muscles and organs, expelling unwanted toxins as well as releasing beneficial hormones and minerals which can nourish the body when the sweat is absorbed back into the skin.

Research institute

Introduced to yoga at a demonstration in 1927 at the age of 12, Jois immersed himself in the discipline, studying under the guru Krishnamacharya who had revived the ancient practice of yoga in the early years of the 20th century.

Jois developed and refined Ashtanga yoga after translating ancient texts on the technique, eventually establishing the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Lakshmipuram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

In 1964 a Belgian named Andre Van Lysebeth spent two months studying under Jois, and wrote a book which mentioned him and included his address.

This marked the beginning of Westerners travelling to India to study under Jois, who moved his base to Mysore.

In 1975 he visited California, triggering a huge surge in popularity among Americans for asthanga yoga.

He continued to travel the world into his nineties, developing a loyal band of followers.

Jois considered yoga to be a form of mind medicine.

"Ashtanga yoga is helping many people throughout the world to balance the mental, physical and spiritual pressures and stresses posed by the modern world we live in today," he said.

Pierre Bibby, chief executive officer of the British Wheel of Yoga, said: "He was a massive influence on the development of yoga, and greatly respected.

"He did a great deal to broaden the appeal of yoga, and make it more accessible to a Western constituency."

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Goodbye Guruji

Today the beloved Sri K Pattabhi Jois passed away. "Guruji" as he was called by his students, was 94 years old. In his long, amazing, productive life he taught the Ashtanga series to millions, either himself or through the teachers he blessed. Although I had always dreamed of going to India, and still do, I never made it there to study with him. However, I have been blessed to study with a very select few that he did bless and I always felt I was in a direct line to his wisdom and light. He was, for lack of a better word, the "founder" of Ashtanga yoga. Before I came to Egypt, one of my teachers, Christine Hoar said "you'll teach yoga when you get there". And knowing that Guruji had told her the same thing, that she should teach, made me feel I was in good company. And so I do teach the series to anyone who wants to learn, to anyone who wants to follow the path that he has so carefully and specifically laid out for us. Although his presence will be missed all over the world, he has truly left a legacy greater than any one person could dream to create.
Namaste,
Jenna