by Ann Chrapkiewicz
For almost 20 years now, I have been sharing a certain topic with anyone and everyone who might want to listen.
Just a few minutes on this website will tell you what that topic has been.
An hour spent with our book on Bikram Yoga and Autoimmune Disease will also give you a clue.
Any guesses?
Yep, that’s it.
As inclusive as North American yoga wants to be, yoga in its deeper dimensions demands certain qualities.
Well, I have a yoga mat and I hydrated well. So yes, I think so.
The yoga clothing companies would like you to think you are.
by Ann Chrapkiewicz
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I have learned a dozen lessons and received a thousand blessings from my back injury on March 17, 2004.
But before getting to those, let me finish telling you about that day. If you missed the first part of the story, you might want to read that first.
by Ann Chrapkiewicz
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If I had not broken my back 13 years ago today, we would not be here. At least not in the way we are today.
It might sound extreme, but it is true.
If you were in class last year on this date, you may have heard me tell the story.
In my 14th year of practice in this amazing yoga lineage, I continue to love and appreciate the steadiness and auditory meditation that comes from the near-constant instruction from the teacher. I enjoy the rhythm of the “dialogue” – which truly is a two-way exchange of information between student and teacher! – and its phrases, or the flow of an expert teacher using his or her own tremendous experience and unique instructions to guide us.
The weekday morning classes here are indescribably special. I love every single class I teach and practice – evenings and weekends included – but the 9:30 am classes have this special energy that dedicated, regular, curious students create. The average age is probably 55, with many of my 70+ students attending regularly at that time.
This past Tuesday’s “warm” 9:30 class – practiced about 10 degrees cooler than the usual 105F – was an all-front-row class with the kind of calm, deep focus that leaves you floating the rest of the day.