Well, I did it. I took the leap, Hanuman style. I dove into the icy cold of waters unknown. I got up off the couch of comfortable complacency and hopped a little education validation train, destination unknown. Katherine Rae...is back in school!

But this, my friends, is no ordinary school. This is a magical land where, in the company of world renowned scholars of yoga I can read, discuss, and experience the roots and foundations of this yoga thing that seems to be gently but firmly directing the course of my life. Yoga &mdash I know I need it, and I know it's good...but what I would really like is to be able to explain why this is so. Coherently.

Enter the California Institute of Integral Studies' (CIIS) Yoga Philosophy Certificate course. This 150 hour program is taught by nine of the most respected teachers in their fields, and is designed to shed light upon the philosophical and psychological teachings of yoga by studying the ancient texts. What is particularly refreshing about this course, and a large part of why I am here, is the focus on building a community of support for the ultimate goal of personal growth via the cultivation of a sustainable spiritual practice. This is also why I am scared, because although I am well aware that ignorance is not bliss, it certainly doesn't require difficult applications of commitment and discipline! So here's to getting up earlier, and going to bed later...I hope you'll join me on my journey!

Om Namah Shivaya &mdash I bow to the end and to the beginning!

For more information on CIIS and the Yoga Philosophy Course, contact:

CIIS Public Programs
415.575.6175
publicprograms@ciis.edu

Katherine Elizabeth Rae was born in Frankfurt, Germany, but was raised mostly on the East Side of San Jose, CA. Extended stays in Santa Cruz and Hawaii sent her running towards the electric hum of San Francisco, where she now resides in a "cozy" apartment in the Western Addition with her wickedly talented daughter Talia Lehua, and another radical mama/monkey duo. Katherine can't help but smile every day that she reads the Yoga Journal placard on the wall next to the front door of the office where she works full-time as Sales Assistant in the Advertising Dept., even and especially on those mornings when her aforementioned little princess refuses to get out of bed for school, and then her bus swipes the fender off of a garbage truck. A certified yoga teacher, Katherine is still searching for that studio that only needs her to teach one sweet Sunday morning class a week.