thoughts about Santa Fe…
As many of you know a group of Mala Yoga teachers went to Santa Fe, New Mexico (a.k.a. “the mountain top”) to immerse ourselves in the teachings of the Prajna Yoga System, with Tias & Surya Little. This system is rooted in the classical lineages of Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga as well as Zen & Tibetan Buddhism. As we discussed the Arts of Hands-On-Adjustments and Sequencing, we were reminded daily to find the silence and stillness within. Through meditation, chanting and grounding asana practice we started to move our nervous systems, into the parasympathetic state, or “rest and digest” mode.
Living in a big, busy city like New York, our nervous systems are often in more of a sympathetic state, or “fight, flight or collapse” mode. But this time of year, especially in this heat we are being forced to do what our nervous systems want, which is to slow down. If we don’t slow down, our bodies will over-heat causing agitation and more stress. By slowing down our flow of postures in asana practice and focusing more on the limbs of and Pranayama (breath control), Dharana (concentration) and Dhyana (meditation) we can put ourselves in the parasympathetic nervous system and create an open state of awareness in all our encounters on and off the mat.
Granted it’s a lot easier to slow down and reflect while on retreat in the mountains of Santa Fe, than in a five-floor walkup in the summer heat, in Brooklyn, NY, however, we will continue to keep trying!
Below are a few pics of where we were and what we did in Santa Fe at the Prajna Temple. And if you can’t make it to Santa Fe this year, do not worry – Tias will be coming to Brooklyn, NY (October 4th – 7th) to teach the foundational work of the Prajna Yoga system. Spaces are filling so please go to www.prajnayoga.net to register for this not to miss event!
the temple
Where we spent our days.
a small bit of the studio
We did our studies in the classroom and at dinner.
twist Britt twist
What's going on in that standing leg?
Surya giving us some pointers.
It’s always a blessing to be able to go away and do such an in depth study of the Yoga practice. It is not always easy to “go deep” with yourself and the fact that we are so supported by those around us is the greatest gift. To Tias and Surya and all their wisdom they bestow upon us we bow; to Marcus, Britt, and Kristi for sharing their cars, beds and more importantly their voices with us we bow; to Jeff and Beckett who made us coffee and laugh every day we bow; to the whole Mala community for sharing their passion, knowledge, creativity, experience and honesty we bow, and to each other, we bow.
Much love and gratitude,
Christina, Angela & Stephanie 
More from Santa Fe…
Entering day 4 of our teacher training and everyone is still doing well. As with every training we go off and do we are once again reminded of “beginner’s mind.” How can we come to the practice everyday with an empty cup? With no expectations of our practice, just a gentle aspiration of getting closer to who we are. And can we allow our cups to fill with knowledge, information, joy & sorrow (how ever we look at it) just to empty them once again so they can be refilled.
In the spirit of joy and knowledge here are a few photos of what we are doing on the mountain top!
partners needed!
Stretch Steph Stretch! Marcus, you can just relax…Backbending Christina!
Hello Neighbor.
Much love & gratitude,
Christina, Stephanie & Angela
Santa Fe!
Greetings Brooklyn!
After a 14 hour trip we arrived in scenic Santa Fe, New Mexico. Yes, our trip Friday morning began at 4am but we were in good spirits and excited to leave the humidity- I mean we were excited for the teacher training.
Good morning ladies!
As you can tell around the studio, there are a handful of us off at this training, Stephanie, Christina, Britt, Marcus, Kristi and me (Angela). We are in Santa Fe, studying with Tias and Surya Little to hone our skills as teachers and to bring back some good, juicy information to the Brooklyn community.
Marcus and his amazing hands.
Look at Marcus jumping right in there!
We will have more to say about our experience here in Santa Fe (after coffee & tea) but we also wanted to let you all know that we are thinking about you and we miss you.
Much love & gratitude, Angela, Stephanie & Christina
lululemon athletica trunk show at Mala Yoga!
Wednesday, July 7th – 11:00am – 12 pm
Monday July 12th – 5:30pm – 6:30 pm
Wednesday July 14th - 5:30pm – 6:30 pm
Credit/debit only
Did you know there is a lululemon showroom on Bergen Street, off 5th Avenue? And it is staffed by the most lovely yogis! We are excited to bring the intimate, helpful showroom experience directly to you. Stop by when the lululemon team is at Mala to say hi, shop, get your product questions answered, and learn which luluemon styles are the best fit for you. Both women’s and men’s apparel will be available.
Authors at Mala: Friday, July 9th 6:45pm
with: Stefanie Syman & Christina Hatgis
The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America
Given yoga’s popularity today, it’s hard to fathom that Americans once thought Yoga was a dangerous, soul-corrupting practice. This change in yoga’s fortunes is an enthralling story of the American genius for creative adaptation, driven by charismatic advocates, inclduing Henry David Thoreau, Pierre A. Bernard, Margaret Woodrow Wilson, Christopher Isherwood, Sally Kempton, and Indra Devi. The story takes the reader from in Emerson’s New England to New York’s suburbs between the world wars, to colonial India, post war Los Angeles, Haight-Ashbury in its heyday, and back to New York City post-9/11. Along the way, The Subtle Body dramatizes the tension in modern yoga between spirtual enlightenment and physical attainment—between religion and exercise—so that the story of yoga in America becomes the story of our efforts, as a people, to transcend ourselves.
Stefanie Syman , a literature graduate of Yale, was a founder of Feed, an early, award-winning Web magazine. She has written for The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Yoga Journal. A native of Los Angeles, she lives in Brooklyn, and has practiced yoga for more than fifteen years.
Meet Ellynne Skove
Ellynne Skove will be teaching a massage workshop for parents and baby (6 weeks to precrawling). We’ve asked her to share her thoughts on the benefits of massage for baby. For more information on the workshop click here.
1) How did you become interested in baby massage?
I became interested in baby massage in 1986 with the birth of my daughter and practiced it with her often. I then translated many energy bodywork practices to baby massage through my work with babies in my developmental movement and yoga classes.
2) What are a few of the benefits (for baby or parent) of baby massage?
Baby massage helps to center and ground both the parent and baby. It helps to create heart beat coherency which is very calming as well as develop nervous system regulation for the baby. Baby massage can address gas, constipation, colic, congestion, sleep issues, and deepen both bonding and attachment processes. Baby massage uses the intelligence and power of TOUCH which accesses the body’s biggest organ, the skin. The skin is like the nervous system turned inside out and stimulates brain development and growth! It soothes, calms, and delights both the giver and the receiver! Baby massage is also a wonderful way to incorporate more Tummy Time into a baby’s daily life. It is a wonderful after bath and before sleep practice to encourage daily rituals for feeling loved and secure.
the first author @ mala was awesome!
Special thanks to Anna Lappe’, who graciously kicked off our new Authors at Mala series last evening! Anna’s new book, Diet for a Hot Planet, is a timely, informative call to action about making mindful choices in our diet on a daily basis. She was kind enough to give the dharma talk at the beginning of class, which was a witty anecdote about getting sucked into the trickster side of that thinking part of our brain. Major kudos to the students in the room, who stayed with the hearty sequence of twists and backbends, despite the crazy levels of humidity in the room. (Don’t worry, the air conditioners arrive soon!) I wanted the asana sequence to focus on detoxifying poses for the kidneys, liver, & spleen, in honor of healthy eating, though the humidity made sweat-asana the theme of the evening. It was a fun class to teach, as it helped highlight the ongoing conversation aspect with one’s self that the yoga practice is, and inspire us to parlay the mindfulness that our practice can encourage into daily action.
True to the generosity that is core to Mala’s community values, we raised over $600 for Just Food, a local nonprofit that works to increase access to fresh, healthy food in New York City and to support the local farms and urban gardens that grow it. And thanks to our friends at Book Court, who sold Anna’s book after the event. Join us for our next Authors at Mala class on Friday, July 9 with Stefanie Syman, author of The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America.
Anna and Steph open class
Twisting yogis
celebrate motherhood at lululemon brooklyn
When: Tuesday, May 18, 10AM-1PM
Where: lululemon athletica Brooklyn Showroom, 472 Bergen Street
Welcome to the oasis!! Join us for a day dedicated to moms and moms-to-be. Reduce stress, get some
exercise, connect with other mothers, and even receive complimentary bodywork on us! Stay for the full
workshop, or come and go as you please. We’re here for you!
10AM-11AM: Open House & meet and greet. Receive complimentary chair massage, shiatsu massage, and
a fitness assessment from Pilates instructor (and lululemon Ambassador!) Fran Darnell.
11AM-12PM: One-hour open level Pilates class taught by Prenatal and Postpartum Pilates Instructor Fran
Darnell. Connect to your breath and core, and leave feeling strong and centered from the inside out. This
class is designed for prenatal and postpartum women, and pre-crawling babies are welcome!
12PM-1PM: Panel Discussion followed by Q&A. Get great self-care tips, ask questions, and share ideas
with other women like you!
RSVP: brooklyn-store@lululemon.com
Diet for a Hot Planet
Please join us this Friday, May 14th, as we welcome Anna Lappe’, author of Diet for a Hot Planet. In addition to being an accomplished food activist, Anna is a long-time yogi. In our inaugural Authors at Mala event, Anna talks about her new book, her yoga practice and how the two aren’t all that different. Anna kicks off the 6:45 pm Friday night class with her dharma talk, then Steph teaches an all-levels sequence of twists and backbends designed to detox the body and the mind. We’re asking for a suggested $10 to $20 donation for this class for Just Food, New York City’s nonprofit bringing healthy eating to low-income neighborhoods.
If you can’t join us for this special class that awakens your mind and your body, then please join Anna as she reads from Diet for a Hot Planet at Book Court on Wednesday, May 19th at 7 pm.
WHY BIJA KIDS YOGA?
This evening, after finishing a lesson with a student of mine, I happily listened to her recite the many benefits of her yoga practice to her brother. She reminded him of the importance of stretching and strengthening his body to stay competitive in his athletic pursuits and told him about how much better she sleeps if she does a simple meditation before bedtime. She explained that yoga builds confidence and body awareness and talked about the plethora of benefits learning to breathe properly can have on the body. She even mentioned the power of mantra and how chanting can calm and center the mind. Did I mention that this particular student happens to be eight years old?
Time and again I am pleasantly surprised by how much yoga practice resonates with the kids that I teach. Not just the fun and silly games we play, or the dozens of asanas that they learn – but the deeper more subtle aspects that we discuss in class. They are truly effected by the power of the breathe and the serenity that they feel after a few minutes in savasana, or deep relaxation, at the end of class. It’s a continual reminder that children are like sponges and will absorb whatever we give them, so why not give them all the powerful tools that yoga has to offer?
When I tell people that I run a children’s yoga program they often have a funny reaction. I think that they get a mental image of 3 year olds sitting on mats and just can’t believe that it would work. Parents frequently comment “that’s great, but my kids would never sit still for it” or “what do you mean your classes are available for kids as soon as they’re crawling?” They’re right. The idea of teaching kids to become more peaceful and content just isn’t a regular part of our culture. The idea that an active seven year old boy can benefit from techniques that help him calm down isn’t something we usually even consider. As beautiful as the image of children being perfectly quiet and still might be, even the most gifted kids yoga teacher would be challenged to get a group of kids to sit through an hour of meditation techniques.
So instead of fighting against nature, we embrace it. For anyone who has spent time with kids knows that they are in many ways the embodiment of the yoga practice. Their ability to live fully in the moment, with wonder and joy and fearlessly dive into things is a great reminder of what brings us on to our mats each day as adults. We tap into these innate qualities in class and use children’s playfulness as the catalyst for all our activities. We read stories and sing our sun salutations, we do our poses as part of obstacle courses or guessing games. Ultimately though, we are practicing yoga. We are fully present and using the techniques of the practice to deal with the everyday stresses and challenges of life. In our Little Lotuses classes we give parents tools to take home to help make transitions and bedtime easier. With our older students (3+) we actively discuss how our yoga practice translates into everyday life. Whether the bully at school, too much homework or a little brother’s teasing is getting a student down, kids who practice Bija Kids Yoga are armed with things that can help them along the way so they can overcome challenges, make empowering choices and love what they’ve got. Because ultimately the practice isn’t just to help us with the hard parts of life, but to help us recognize all the beauty and joy that is in each and every moment.
Join us for Bija Kids Yoga classes at Mala Yoga to see how yoga can transform children’s lives!
The Bija Mission
To introduce children and their families to yoga.
To strengthen, stretch and calm growing bodies.
To nurture budding minds with knowledge and care.
To plant seeds of self confidence, peace and wellness.
To Shape Lives That Are Full of Health, Happiness and Joy.
Namaste,
Lauren Maples
Director, Bija Kids Yoga