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 Christy Brock is a Southern California teacher and one of my first yoga teachers.
Lately, her emphasis has been on bringing a specialized yoga practice to teens through workshops, teacher trainings and her dvd Yoga4Teens.
Her experience at the Iyengar workshop has deeply supported her work and invigorated her comittment to teaching a segment of our society that she says is under-served by the yoga community.
I interviewed her after the four day Iyengar intensive... you can see her enthusiasm in this video clip.
Christy teaches at Yoga Works in Laguna Beach and at schools across Southern California.
Where would we be without the tireless work of these two dynamic, energetic and compassionate women?
As a team, Elana Maggal and Renee LaRose have put on many Yoga Journal conferences, but none as spectacular and well-done as this year's Colorado Conference. Talk about challenges... the historic participation of BKS Iyengar, the addition of several beginner's conferences and the celebration of Yoga Journal's 30th Anniversary (which culminated in a concert by Ben Taylor).
By all accounts, the Conferences team (which also includes Jenny Andrews and Casey Ruby of Yoga Journal and a number of folks from Horizon Conferences) put on a stellar week-long conference.
Great job you guys!!!
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PrAna the climbing and yoga products company is in our marketplace, (If you are here, the word on the campus is that they are having a big sale right now).
I have also learned that they have a program where they are purchasing wind-power credits through a program at Green-e to offset the pollution generated by the electricity used at retailers who sell their product.
This is an awesome expression of compassion in action... yoga.
Learn more at the PrAna website.
The Green Yoga Association is here at the Estes Park conference to offer support and gentle reminders to the yoga
community on ways to green our yoga practice. Green Yoga
Advisory Board member Jessica Brainard is spreading the
word at their outreach booth with information about
Earth-friendly alternatives to toxic PVC yoga mats, an
invitation to join the Green Studio Program, and other
resources to reconnect yoga practitioners to the
ecological roots of yoga.
Continue reading "Practice Lightly on the Earth" »
The Yoga Alliance staff and board members are in the marketplace. They say that they have enjoyed
meeting the many Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT), Directors of yoga teacher
training programs and yoga practitioners who are attending
the Estes Park conference.
There are several issues that they have been talking to folks about... including the ending of the RYT200 Independent Study track.
Yoga Journal thanks them for coming and for providing the community with this valuable resource.
Which is more angst-inducing?
A dysfunctional network connection while trying to produce a blog
OR
A remote, haunted resort hotel with "r E d r U M" written on mirrors, a hedge maze, a room numbered '217' and a mad novelist?
Most of the blog team would choose the former.
 However, fellow blogger Kaitlin and I visited the historic Stanley Hotel earlier this week--the site at which Stephen King based his novel, The Shining. You may remember it as The Overlook Hotel.
We headed down the mountain from the conference site into the charming town of Estes Park on Wednesday evening to find an alternate blog spot--a location with wireless. As we were scouting, Kaitlin noticed the Stanley looming in the distance. It beckoned us like Mr. Dark in "Something Wicked This Way Comes." (Does anyone else remember being haunted by this Ray Bradbury story as a child? The film, equally haunting, was brought to us by the Darker Side of Disney. Yet, I digress...)
Even though The Shining was not filmed at the Stanley, King discovered it in 1973 and spent time in it while writing the novel.
My suspension of disbelief was pleased to see the same type of elevator and stairs as depicted in the movie. There was a scary workman on the roof, Kaitlin pointed out. And the hotel staff was kind enough to give us the 15-minute tour of the potentially scariest parts of the hotel. We took a trip to the fourth floor, which is rumored to be haunted, according to (overzealous) bellhop Amiel Yaniv. We paused outside of room 217 and heard noises inside, although Yaniv insisted he thought there were no guests assigned to the room currently.
Take a little time to visit (or stay at) the Stanley the next time you come to the Estes conference--it's actually a historic landmark and quite beautiful! I dare you to stay in room 217. (muahahahaha...)
 In case you haven't tried on a pair of agility pants or mobility pants yet: Be Present is present at the conference.
Not only are my Be Present yoga pants the best-fitting, cutest yoga pants I own, the grassroots company has two of the most heartfelt entrepreneurs I've ever met. When you meet them, you get a sense that Denver-based Jon and Amy Dobrin are truly present--not only to the needs of the yoga community, but to global needs, as well.
The Dobrins donated 100 percent of their net proceeds (that's total revenue, not just profit) from the YJ San Francisco conference last January to the Tsunami Relief Effort.
In addition, they drove in boxes of clothing to hurricane victims in Louisiana last month.
Be Present began in 2002 when Amy, 30, designed and produced the first line of clothing. Jon, 33, joined in the family biz soon after. Stop in to the booth to say hi, or visit them online at www.bepresent.com.
 I was walking the campus between classes earlier this week when I came upon a delightful sight: Yogis were performing balancing poses on what appreared to be a tightrope, strung up between two trees.
This seemingly peculiar practice is called Slackline Yoga. Co-invented by staff assistant Jason Magness from North Dakota, Slackline is a combination of rock climbing and yoga. Magness said it was invented on a rainy day six months ago, when he and co-inventor Sam Salwei were unable to go climbing. Instead, they strung up their climbing rope and proceeded to practice poses like Warrior I and Lotus upon the rope.
"It trains your nerves," Magness said. "I used to be horrible at balance poses, and this has helped my yoga balance so much. And it's a ton of fun."
Next stop for Magness after Estes Park: Barnum and Bailey.
For more information on Slackline, email Magness at undyoga@yahoo.com.
Being without cell phone coverage and reliable internet access is a challenge for some conference attendees here at Estes.
For staff assistant Pat Anderson, it's a walk in the park.
Up until three years ago, Anderson was a Thai forest monk in the Wat Pah Nanachat monastery.
Anderson, 31, has been assisting at Yoga Journal conferences for three years. "These conferences give you a shotgun experience of yoga; you experience so many excellent teachers in one space," he said.
Anderson moved from his hometown of Greeley, CO, to Northern Thailand and entered the monastery at the tender age of 19. He lived in a modest forest hut near the Burmese border with no electricity or hot water for nine years. His daily routine included 4-5 hours of sleep, countless hours of meditation, chanting, cleaning, making robes, and other discipline-building practices.
Beyond lack of sleep, the other challenges of monkhood included eating one modest meal a day, celibacy, and neverending encounters with insects and mosquitos. (Rather than slap at a mosquito sucking the blood from his arm, he explained, he learned to see the insect as a beautiful being.)
What would compell an American teen to voluntarily choose what most people his age would consider punishment?
"I got to a point where I was asking myself 'what is the meaning of my life?' and 'who is truly happy?'" Anderson said. After meeting some former monks and perceiving their sense of inner peace, Anderson was sold. He left his family and home with the intention of spending a lifetime in the monastery. He lasted nine years, eight-and-a-half more than the average monk lifespan, according to his calculations.
So what made Anderson leave the monastery three years ago?
Continue reading "Behind the Scenes: Staff Assistant Pat Anderson" »
In class Tuesday, Mr. Iyengar took a woman in a wheelchair up to the stage. She was missing her right leg below her knee. Mr. Iyengar's senior teachers helped her up to the tressle (the horse). He took a Halasana bench and many blankets, and put this woman, with one leg, into Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose). On both sides. Then he took her into Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III). On both legs. I saw how kind Mr. Iyengar was with her. How gently he touched her. And how her body opened under his touch.
I found her later that night. She told me her name was Linda, that she lived in New Mexico, and has been practicing for 35 years. I asked her to tell me her story.
Continue reading "Linda" »
Conference staff and attendees who arrived early for lunch on Sunday were served an "all-American" omnivorous lunch of burgers, hot dogs and tater tots. When those same yogis and yoginis arrived for dinner Sunday evening, it was an entirely new experience. Tempeh cakes, collard greens and herbed tofu marked the innaugural meal of the yoga conference menu.
With the guidance of Yoga Journal staff and vegetarian chef Mary Taylor, YMCA Food Service Director Michael Kingston has come up with original vegetarian recipes fit for a yogi, including eggplant roulades and tofu goulash.
This week, Kingston and his staff of 30 will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to more than 1200 yogis and yoginis attending the conference.
Ironically, Kingston is more accustomed to serving up steak and lobster to high rollers than tofu dishes for shoulder rollers. Before joining the YMCA staff last year, Kingston's experience included work at famous Las Vegas casinos, including the Rio and the Palms.
"The people in Vegas go for the most expensive stuff--the seafood and steak," Kingston said. "Here, you guys are going for a balanced diet."
Here is the recipe for Kingston's most popular entree at the conference:
Continue reading "Behind the Scenes: From Vegas to Virasana" »
From Abbe in Missouri ---
Thanks for sharing tips for people attending conferences. I attended the 2005 San Francisco conference in January and the one thing I would recommend to everyone is to bring along some nutritious and easily eaten foods with you.
Continue reading "Reader Feedback: Yoga Conference Tips" »
I checked the weather report for Estes Park and am packing a tank top, just in case the weatherpeople got it right. Highs in the low 70s? Yeah! And yes, I'll be bringing a parka and hat too, because no matter how beautiful the day, it's cold at night.
I'm excited and a little nervous. Pranayama at 8000 feet? Yikes. But being slowed down by the altitude is the tiniest price to pay for being in the Rockies in autumn, when the elk are rutting and the aspens giving a final fiery burst of color before losing their leaves. In my two visits to Estes Park, I've had so many moments of sheer joy, when my mind was blown by something I experienced in class and then I walked out into the high-mountain scenery only to have it blown again. I can't wait!
 I am very excited about leaving for Colorado, and full of anticipatory energy. Yoga conferences can provide a multitude of benefits for any yogi: They're great places to meet in sangha (community) with folks on a similar path *and* they're wonderful opportunities to taste a style of practice that is out of your usual practice routine. Ultimately, they're places to connect deeply to your heart while stretching your hamstrings.
Here are a few simple tips that can help you make the most of your experience. We have written about this before (tip # 1... don't forget your mat).
1. Be weather aware. If your conference is in Miami bring sun-screen. If you are going to Boston, know that the weather changes a lot. If you are coming to Colorado, the weather forcast says be prepared for warm days and cold nights. When travelling in the mountains, it is always a good idea to be ready for changable weather. Multiple layers of clothes can be one way to be ready.
Continue reading "Yoga Conference Tips" »
I overdid it. At Estes Park two years ago, I spent the day upside down with Ana Forrest, right side up with John Friend, and explored the energetic body with Tias Little. It was late and I was tired. Before turning in for the night, I walked outside with a friend to marvel at the billions of stars in the clear night sky-a view unobstructed by city lights. As we headed back to the lodge I stopped short- just barely missing a large, dark creature with antlers standing a few inches from me.
. "A moose!" I gasped. "No, you ninny," my (ungenerous, judgmental, non-yogic) friend replied. "It's an elk."
The elk looked at me, and I him (her?) He was huge. And beautiful. After one more glance, he turned his head, and walked slowly away into the darkness. I felt grateful that night, for my yoga practice, for the mountains, for the billions of stars, and for the elk too.
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