Join Lauren Hanna & Thomas Wave on live sitar
for a rejuvenating Prana Flow class inspired by the water element,
Jala.

Through this ritual practice we will bathe the body & mind
in pure bliss, wash away winter stress & stagnation and
establish the foundation for an empowered start to 2012.

Our practice will begin with an energizing, flowing
mandala namaskar vinyasa sequence designed to stir the cells,
wring out the body/mind and drench us with Prana, vital
life force energy. The practice will close with deep earthy
hip opening to release any lingering emotional stagnation
and open us to the freedom of the fluid body.

All Levels Welcome

Followed by a
Liquid Purification Meditation
2-2:30

http://sonicyoga.com/200-hour-yoga-certification/

As yogis we are often given a chance to start over throughout the year. Some of us embrace a different cultural calendar new year while others use the zodiac to start fresh. Anyway you dice it giving yourself a time to start something new or end something no longer serving you is a great way to treat your self… hopefully in a loving compassionate way. That’s why I chose upward facing dog. It’s a pose we practice over and over again in vinyasa and as a teacher I want you to be safe so if you are a beginner to the practice of yoga please don’t practice this yet. It’s not worth it. Give yourself some time in cobra or bhujangasana to build strength in not only your back body but arms and wrists as well. When you are ready you will know. Remember there is no achieving an optimal pose in yoga. It’s a practice. Be where you are. Now, for those of you working on or living in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana let’s look a little deeper. Moving from chaturanga roll your chest forward and up with your legs lifted off the ground the entire time if possible. Your toes just flip over so you are resting on the top of your feet. With your legs together actively roll your shoulders down and back away from your ears building strength in your arms and wrist. The inhale brings in the new. Taking in something that was never there before. Is this serving you? Does it make your heart beat a little faster? Is it exhilarating? Is that what you are looking for? Or does it cause a little pain in your lower back or wrists? Do you find yourself trying to catch up on your breath, if not hold it? Should you have taken a child’s pose? Is it so old hat you haven’t even looked into it recently? These questions aren’t meant to judge, not at all. They are there to allow your practice to deepen by simply understanding yourself a little more, in every given moment. The next time you are in class be mindful of this heart opening pose see it’s place within your practice. The answer might change throughout the class and that’s fine. The point is to look at it with a new set of eyes. A fresh outlook on the asana will hopefully bring a fresh outlook on the day and maybe even the year. Have a blessed New Year.

My dear friend and Yogini sister, Tracy Mohr & I began the New Year with an ice-cold plunge into the liquid waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  A total symbolic experience of cleansing, renewal and new beginnings. The ultimate baptism.

One of the amazing gifts of Yoga is to be continually reborn, to put the past behind you, honor the present moment and dive fearlessly into the flow of life.

The Polar Bear plunge is a ritual done all over the world on New Year’s Day. Brave souls jump into the icy waters to cleanse the remnants of the past year and enter fresh and alive into the New Year!

To be honest, I was never even tempted to do such a foolish thing as jump into the icy cold ocean in the middle of the winter, but when I began to think of the powerful Yogic symbolism, I felt a shift in my mind. I opened to this act of putting myself in a really difficult situation, as we often do in Yoga, in order to come out the other side renewed and invigorated.

Once we made the commitment the Yoga took over and although there were a few moments of “What the hell are we doing”. In the end, we just surrendered to the flow, the process, and the moment.  It was a truly exhilarating practice.

We plunged at Gurneys Spa in Montauk, where they prepared the amazing sequence, the plunge vinyasa, steam room, cold shower, hot tub, cold shower, steam room and then the run down the beach and the peak of the dive into the brilliant sparkling womb of the frigid ocean.  The end sequence of warm robes, hot cider and hugs from family and friends, followed by a short savasana on a chaise lounge basking in the winter sun brought the practice to and amazing end.

I think a tradition may have been started!  So, for today I encourage you to find a way to Plunge, do something that makes you uncomfortable, gets your heart pumping, and ride that amazing wave of joy into the New Year.  Go for a run,  take a freezing cold shower, swing really high on a swing in the playground, call that person you are afraid to call, stand on your head!

Whatever it is dig deep and go for it.  As I sit here typing with my legs still tingling, I realize now is the time, the cycle of renewal and rebirth has begun again!  I am so grateful to the Yoga of life for giving us this amazing gift of Purification and Possibility!

Om Dum Durgayei Namaha! Bring it on 2012!

So Much Love,  Lauren

As we move through the challenges of life, we are always in the flow from darkness to light and back again…. The yogi’s journey is working with the two beautiful rhythms of darkness and light, releasing into their ebb and flow, and allowing them to carry us forward on our path.  Honoring both ends of this spectrum is the key to our inner peace & balance.

During the darkness of winter solstice the longest night and shortest day, we are drawn inward. It is a time of inner reflection and great self- awareness. It is the time of surrender and acceptance. A sometimes intense but often beautiful experience.

The union of darkness and light is a critical principle in the Yogic tradition. The lotus flower is the ideal image of this symbolic union; the lotus grows from the dark murky waters and blossoms into the brilliant radiant flower, but without it’s murky roots, it’s expansion would be impossible.

As we journey along our spiritual paths from this period of darkness to light the Winter Solstice allows us to celebrate the potency of the darkness which allows for the inevitable opening to the light within.

I encourage you in joining me to take some time in the next few days to journey inward to relax into the womb of darkness and to contemplate the inner places of the self.  Let go and surrender to life, as it is, learn to live with acceptance of the imperfect self.  There is a natural composting that goes on during this period. Release what is not serving back to the earth.

As you turn the soil and plant the seeds in the darkness this prepares us for the coming of the radiant blossoming into the light. Just as we plant our tulip bulbs in the fall so they may marinate in the darkness and prepare for their blossoming in the spring. I encourage you to till your inner soil and plant the seeds of your own expansion to come.

As we journey closer to the sun the experience moves more outward and we feel the light growing as it brings us closer to the radiance of the Summer Solstice in June, the longest day and shortest night.

Where once again we will honor the union of darkness & light as we celebrate the peak period of the light and once again prepare for the return to darkness.

With Peace & Love to you and your families this magical time of year! Lauren

Born from the darkness, my brightest light, Jaya Lynn

Happy Solstice one and all. With love.

Remember these teachings.

Remember the clear light

The pure bright shining white light of your own nature.

It is deathless.

-Tibetan Book of the Dead

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During my recent to the holy temple town of Rishikesh, India located at the base of the Himalyan mountains, I was so moved by the deep levels of devotion that I witnessed as pilgrims and sadhus who traveled from far and wide to bathe in the sacred rivers of the Great Ganga river, worship at it’s famed temples, honor the sacred cows, and beam Hari Om to the tourists. It is this deep level of prostration of bowing to the divine in all her forms that inspired my choice of Radha Krishna pose.

Radha Krishna is the union of the divine feminine and masculine, darkness and light, solar and lunar energy, us and the divine. During this potent time of year as we move into the darkest days leading to the winter solstice it is through this dance of surrender and deep prostration to our dark shadow side that we are prepared for the ecstatic opening to the light.

This pose, a deep hip opening variation of Lizard pose is actually two variations that we move through in a rhythmic vinyasa. The first aspect is the deep heart opening backbend that evokes the ecstasy of divine love that is shared by Radha & Krishna the universal symbol for the lover & the beloved.  As you bind your back leg in lizard pose you gently draw your foot back into your hand to open and expand the heart and chest.

The second aspect of this pose, a deep prostrating forward fold releases us into the deepest reverent bow to the source of all love. Again with that same bind in Lizard pose you bow deeply forward gently drawing your foot forward creating a deep release in the front and back of the hip and bowing your head to the earth.

The union of these two movements creates the balance and unification within us, just as the Radha’s passion for Krishna symbolizes the soul’s intense longing and willingness for the ultimate unification with the divine source of all.

Solstice Light

Join Lauren Hanna for a Winter Solstice Celebration to celebrate the coming of the light. Together we will journey inward to explore the radiant light within as we honor the outer journey back toward the sun. We will enjoy a radiant mandala of Chandra Namaskar variations followed by a gentle restorative forward folding release into bliss. Radiant Heart Meditation follows at 2pm. Live Sitar by Thomas Wave. Your regular class passes apply, so reserve your spot on the regular class page!