Newsletter
KIHEI COMMUNITY and KAHULUI COMMUNITY YOGA CENTERS present our first Newsletter for June 2011….
Aloha to our friends and family of KCYC,
The Summer Solstice is fast approaching. The day that the Summer Solstice occurs is the day of the year we have the longest period of daylight. This is typically a time of celebration around the world and in the western hemisphere marks the beginning of summer. The days are long and sometimes lazy, with the sun rising around 6:00am. We thought this a great opportunity to extend our thanks and gratitude to all of our teachers and students for creating such an amazing, vibrant community in Kihei and in Kahului.
The vision for the studio has always been the same since our opening in January 2009. We wanted to offer quality yoga instruction with an abundance of classes at a reasonable cost for the Kihei community. All of the teachers at KCYC come with much integrity and authenticity to the teachings and their practice. It is a space that knowledgeably expresses and embraces all forms of Yoga equally in a safe environment enabling growth into our full potential. That’s what makes our studios so successful. Sweet, simple and welcoming!! There are less classes available however, the vision remains the same for our Kahului studio.
We have some exciting schedule changes occurring June 1. Please take the time to review the revised schedule at www.kiheiyoga.com or www.kahuluiyoga.com .
We would like to say mahalo and aloha to Brandon Lund. He has been devoted to the studio since the opening and is giving up his Thursday 4:30pm class. Brandon will continue to be on the sub list. Considering he is an important part of the yoga community in Kihei and Maui in general, we anticipate seeing Brandon often at the studio.
Erika will be taking over the Wednesday 11:15am time slot and the Thursday 10:00am slot at Kihei Community Yoga Center. We are excited to support Erika in her teaching and feel our community is too. These two classes are also “Anusara Inspired” and will carry the same theme as her Saturday morning class.
We are excited to welcome Tarah Michelle Chec to KCYC. She has subbed Katherine’s classes in the past. She is a certified Anusara instructor and is well versed in many styles of asana. She is an advanced teacher with years of teaching experience. She is teaching an advanced guided practice on Thursdays at 4:30 pm at Kihei Community Yoga Center. This is a class for practitioners who have been studying and practicing asana for at least two to three years consistently. Tarah will also be offering a monthly 3 hour workshop focusing on the “five universal alignments of Anusara”. Please check the website for a complete bio of Tarah along with the first workshop date. All levels of students are welcome to the workshops.
We are also excited to welcome Dani Dejesus to Kihei Community Yoga Center. She has many years of teaching experience and rocks a beautiful practice. She will be taking over the Wednesday at 6pm class and she will be teaching Vinyasa Flow.
Keep in mind that we also offer fabulous dance classes at the studio. Belly dance with Beka and Salsa with Samuel has been ongoing since the studio opened. Beka teaches on Friday evenings at 7:30pm and Salsa with Sam is on Thursdays at 7:00pm. New to the dance schedule is Tango on Monday evenings with Daniela and Alessio. The turnout for Tango has been great and we welcome them on Monday evenings at 7:45.
The Kahului studio is coming along. It is such a sweet space and our students there are really amazing. If you happen to be in town, please come by for a class. The class passes can be used for both studios.
Kettle bell classes start in Kahului on Tuesday June 7. Please check the schedule for times.
Thanks again for the continued support of both studios. We are committed to providing a safe environment for individuals to explore their bodies through this amazing physical practice we call Yoga!! Below, we have translated and interpreted an asana with various interpretations along with a Yoga Sutra to consider.
Mahalo and Namaste!!
Meghan and Tracy
Tadasana- Mountain Pose
Tada in Sanskrit means “Mountain ”
Asana in Sanskrit means “posture without effort”
Tadasana is the pose that precedes and follows the other standing poses. It teaches you the art of standing correctly and increases awareness of your body.
Variation #1-Stand with your feet together making sure your feet are in line with each other both the big toes bones and heels touching.
Variation #2- Standing with your big toe bones together and heels slightly apart approximately an inch.
Variation #3-Standing with feet hip distance apart directly under hip bones with the outer edges of the feet parallel.
All Variations :
Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet. Gently spread them on the ground. Press your feet firmly into the ground and stretch both of your legs from the feet up. Lift your kneecaps without locking your knees back. Firm your quadriceps without hardening your lower belly. Lift the inner ankles to strengthen your inner arches. Feel the line of energy created along the inner thighs up the groin, through the torso and up through the crown chakra (top of the head).
The hip subtlety rotates internally to release and lengthen the tailbone. Use the pectoral muscles (frontal chest) to lift the sternum without expanding your front ribs. This action also helps draw the shoulder blades down and away from the ears. Press your shoulder blades strongly onto the back and then widen them across and down your back. Keep the sternum lifting upwards and spread your collarbones apart. Draw the lower frontal ribs in and the back ribs up.
Extend your arms along the sides of your body.
Variation #1 palms facing your thighs fingers pointing down.
Variation #2 palms open and forward fingers pointing down. This releases the upper trapezoid (upper shoulders connecting to the neck area). The triceps straighten the elbows.
This basic standing posture is the base of all standing postures. Practice 20-30 seconds. This asana is accessible and suitable for all students and all levels.
The Yoga Sutras … Patanjali’s treatise that is not based on a religion, is not based on theology but is a simple sutra, literally meaning thread, to develop a reliable practice. It is a tool to help the seeker to realize the full potential of the human being.
Sutra 1 : atha yoganusasanam: Now, the teachings of Yoga
Yoga literally means to yoke/join or to bring into union. The self includes the body, mind and spirit. The realization of the true self can be developed through an unswerving and consistent inner investigation of the mind and body. Yogis use their own bodies and minds as laboratories to discover and experiment in living.
The physical practice of Yoga also known as Hatha Yoga was done primarily to bring the body to a place of rest and openness to still the mind. It was a way to prepare the vessel for meditation. Within the physical practice of Yoga we open our selves up to receive the teachings of our own selfs and those that have passed down their discoveries through their investigations.
Wisdom is understanding that we achieve as a result of having seen (perceived) the world directly. Wisdom is an understanding achieved through careful examination of direct experience. Within the practice of Yoga the teachings will emerge.
“Atha carries the connotation of a prayer, both for the auspicious beginning and a successful conclusion to the work that follows.” Desikarchar
