Alignment Theme for July

This month we will focus on the upper body. Due to the way we habitually live our life, the upper body tends to have certain areas that are chronically tight, which can be called "locked short" and corresponding areas that are chronically stretched and weak, which can be called "locked long".

• locked short muscles: pectoral muscles, anterior deltiod, upper trapezius and levator scapula.
• locked long muscles: rhomboids, serratus anterior, posterior deltiod, neck flexors. 

To bring balance to the upper body we need to strengthen what is weak/ "locked long" and lengthen what is tight/ "locked short". 'Tis the month of freedom, so I remind us: this is our choose! We are free to choose to stay stuck in our habits that bring us dis-ease, injuries, stress... or we can choice with our freedom to co-participate with life by mindfully aligning our body, mind and heart.

Top 10 books I love

💜Shakti Meditations and Meditation for the Love of it by Salley Kempton
💜The Mists of Avalon series
💜From Fear to Fearlessness pema chodron
💜A Return to Love Marianne Williamson
💪Warrior Goddess Training Manual by HeatherAsh Amara
💜May I be Happy by Cindi Lee
💜Joyous Body myths and stories of the wise women archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
💜Carry on Warrior by Glennon Melton
💜Peaceful Parent Happy Kids by Dr. Laura
💜 A New Earth and Power of Now by Elkhart Tolle
💜 The Bhagavad Gita any and every translation.

Privates

I am opening up my schedule for PRIVATES!

Yoga Sessions: Private yoga sessions are customized and tailored to meet each student's individual needs.  A Private Yoga class is a great way to work on your individual needs.  Whether you are new to Yoga, working with a specific injury /condition, looking to advance your practice, or to start a home practice. A one on one class is tailored to your specific desires of what you want to achieve out of  your practice. With an attentive eye and focused support, you can reach new milestones with a Private Yoga session. 

Thai Massage: Performed on a mat, on the floor, wearing loose and comfortable clothing. I like to think about it as passive yoga. You lay there relaxed, while I move your body through passive yoga postures. 

Reiki and Crystal Healing: Performed on a mat, on the floor, wearing loose comfortable clothing. I use light hands and crystals on your body to activate the natural healing processes of your body and restore physical, metal and emotional well-being.

Women Wellness Coaching:  We will work with where you are to get you to where you want to be. Using the cycle of the moon, the elements and the archetypes (queen of death, wise women, midwife, visionary, mystic, warrioress, lover, muse, mother, wild women, healer and lady of balance) to create personal autonomy. Our work together will help you to understand yourself better, identify where you are already strong and what attributes or functions within you that are less skillful. Move into balance! Move into healing! Move into transformation! So you can stand in yourself and in your life with more strength, confidence, love, and ease.  Whatever you are going through, I can work with you to help remove the obstacles and self limitations and mirror back to you a deeper understanding of yourself. Knowing that you are worthy and you don't need to look outside yourself for validation.

Yoga Mentoring: Recommended for yoga teachers or teacher trainees. We will work one on one to help you grow as a teacher! Looking at what is working well, what needs refinement, fears and blockages standing in your way, intentions you want to cultivate and goals you want to achieve as a teacher.  

60 minute sessions in person or via Skype.

Contact me for more details kachelis@hotmail.com

Inbody Yoga Academy

This month I taught alignment and biomechanics for InBody Yoga Academy. We discussed how as a yoga teacher I believe the goal is to facilitate our student in moving toward optimal alignment within their body, mind and heart. We are fluid being and we are always moving toward optimal alignment or away from optimal alignment.

Optimal alignment is the state of being in balance physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Moving toward optimal alignment= more EASE, heal old and prevent future injuries in the body, focused and stable mind, peaceful and joy filled heart.

Away from optimal alignment= more DIS-EASE, injuries and discomfort in the body, foggy and unstable mind, heavy heart.

We find optimal alignment (sattva/ just right) = dynamic balance between STABILITY and FREEDOM (three gunas)

To much stability (tamas/ to little)

Body= stiff, uncomfortable, negatively influences physical alignment. Distracts from a clear mind and happy heart.

Mind= slow/ stuck on one thought. Addiction. Hard to be vibrant in heart and body.

Heart= stuck in an emotion, little energy. Hard to be focused in mind and enjoy body.

To much freedom (rajas/ to much)

Body= hyper mobility, negatively influences physical alignment. Distracts from a clear mind and happy heart.

Mind= over-activity, lack of direction, stress. Hard to experience vibrancy in heart and body.

Heart= depleting, instability, rapid changes in mood. Hard to be focused in mind and enjoy body.

We did lots of journaling and exploring of what it feels like when we are moving toward optimal alignment and what it feels like when we are moving away from optimal alignment. This concept transformed my life as a yogi. Realizing that every action I take or do not take brings me either towards my goals of health, happiness and harmony (optimal alignment. sattva) or sadness, anxiety and fear (away from optimal alignment) and that I am free to choose my actions and I can choose to co participate in this process so I can continue to move toard optimal alignment!

Summer Solstice

Theme: during the brightest day of the year shine out your own light and thank the sun for its ongoing blessings. 

Ancedote: Summer solstice. The word solstice comess from the Latin solstitium: from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop).

The Summer Solstice, Midsummer, Litha, has long been celebrated across the globe as a potent reminder that even in the peak of the most light we begin the long return towards the dark. Summer Solstice is a celebration of the light while remembering that the dark days are coming. Today let's honor and celebrate the Sun as the source of all light and life force on the Earth. This week, make time to stop and acknowledge how far you’ve come and ritually set your intentions for the second half of the year until winter solstice, for as William Shakespeare wrote,"Whatever is dreamed on this night, will come to pass."

Apex: Backbends shine out the light of your head 

Upa: muscle energy and organic energy. Feeling the pulsation between pulling into the dark and shining out the light in alignment with nature. The past few months we have been focusing on the psoas muscles using the alignment principles thigh loop, kidney loop and shoulder loop that will be integrated through out the sequence. 

Sequence:

Warm up 

Childs pose

Sun A 5x 

Basic 

Lunge - tree- lunge

Wide leg forward fold - scandasana- scandasana 

W2 - trikonasana 

Half moon- trikonasana 

Half moon quad - trikonasana 

Harder

Wide leg forward fold head stand 

Clear neck

Half hanuman 

Ll quad- ss- handstand hop 

Pincha manyrasana L at wall 

Pincha manurasana splits 

Pincha manyurasana feet on wall reach heart through 

Apex

Dancer at wall hinging forward 

Dancer at wall upright 

Cool down 

Upright L- root femurs 

Down dog

Supta urdhva hastasana feet on wall conscious stretch psoas by keeping thighs grounded in hamstrings- ribs in and lengthening out through feet and finger tips 

Root femur foot on wall asymmetrically

Supta pada A B C strap foot on wall 

Legs up wall 

Meditation