Yoga with Aria February Newsletter

Yoga with Aria February Newsletter QUICK LINKS   INVERSIONS WORKSHOP     STRUCTURE & FLOW  PRE/POST NATAL  Like Yoga with Aria? Follow My Tweets Aria on Blogger You are receiving this email because you signed up for Yoga with Aria  emails. You may change your subscription settings or remove yourself from all future mailings  by scrolling down to the bottom. Look for the button marked, "Safe Unsubscribe" Thank You.   2011: Creating Beauty Dear Yogis and Friends, I hope this finds you all happy, healthy and well. This month's newsletter explores the concept of creating beauty within, no matter what is going on around us. We offer you a simple breath (pranayama) exercise to shift your internal state to one of quiet and focus.  Green columnist: Debra Silverman shares her thoughts on the transcendent beauty of water. Writing News:  If you didn't catch my article on the newststands, please read it here. It's about local yogi  Brock Cahill and his work in the Gulf, saving endangered sea turtles and other creatures from the horrors of BP's oil spill.   Yoga and Doula News:  Want to work on your alignment while still getting a great workout and having fun? I've changed my Vinyasa Flow  class at Yogis Anonymous from a Level 2/3 to a Level 2 (yay!).   Know any West Hollywood/Hollywood mamas who are pregnant? My  Pre/Post Natal Classes, at City Yoga are great for mamas who like to move.   I've attended six births, now, as a Doula. What amazing experiences, every single one! Turn Your Fear Upside Down:   Register for my Inversion Workshop: Yogis Anonymous. This Sunday, Feb. 20th!     Free Online Yoga (for a limited time!) If you can't catch my Yogis Anonymous classes in person, enjoy a few online.    Hope to see you on or off the yoga mat! Blessings. Live Happily! Aria Turn Your Fear Upside Down Inversions are a powerful part of our yoga practice.They benefit the immune and endocrine systems, regulate blood pressure and enhance thyroid function.  However, many yogis dread inversions in a class setting because they don't know how to approach the poses properly, and they feel awkward when they fall.  This workshop will move you past this resistance, teaching you to embrace inversions, to fall out of them safely and gracefully, and send you back to your practice not only confident in your technique, but eagerly looking forward to the next chance to be upside down.  Creating Beauty Beauty: the experience of which often leads to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being.(Wikipedia) What an incredible changes our world is undergoing. These last few weeks have brought about protests that have shaken the foundation of the Middle East. No one knows exactly what lies in the future, and yet we realize that something deeply primal  is shifting within us. We are growing tired of the old paradigms. Our hearts and minds yearn for more power, a more truthful expression of ourselves. During times of uncertainty, reading Gregg Braden's studies on how the earth processes our emotions is a powerful reminder for conscious action.  If he is correct, then every time humanity feels joy and freedom, so does our planet. Every time humanity feels fear and depression, so does our planet. Amazing: the power of our emotions. And that's on a scientifically measurable level. imagine how many levels of reality our science can't yet measure? Imagine on how many of those levels are our emotions creating change?  It becomes crucial that we learn how to handle our emotions so that we can become conscious co-creators of our life experience. The Abraham-Hicks materials, are amazingly well written tools for this process. One of their key concepts is The Law of Attraction: we attract what we feel. The more we feel, the more we attract the same energy, and so on: it's an infinite feedback loop that is entirely controlled by our emotions. Problem is, most of us don't ever stop feeling in order to control it. We bounce from one huge emotion to another, letting the loop take on a life of its own.  In order to stop the cycle, we must first temporarily suspend our emotions so that we can analyze our feelings. This keeps us from plunging, head deep, into old habits and patterns. We learn how to release old, negative emotions-- like fear, anger, jealousy or regret. As we start to regain control over our emotions, we regain our control over our reactions to the world around us. And as we react less negatively, we start to live our lives more positively. Eventually, we shift our entire existence. All of the sudden, when deep change comes about it is not something to be feared, but rather an opportunity for a new cycle of growth.   With practice, this shift in emotional states becomes easier to achieve, and we begin to remember that all experience is merely experience. There is no hierarchy of feeling. Everything, quite simply, is.  Life is one huge journey, and we are all connected on so many levels, to this experience.   May we all embrace Change: for within it, lives great Power.  Green Yoga Columnist Debra Silverman  When Things Come Undone  The other night, after dinner was over, my two sons and I lingered at the dining room table.  We each took out some yarn and began working on our own projects, side by side.  The house was dark but for the light over the table.  The kids were making pompoms and chatting away with each other.  I couldn't help sneaking glances at them as we worked and marveling at the simplicity of the moment.  They live their lives at a great pitch of excitement; everything is the best thing ever or the worst thing possible.  Their banter reflected this, and as I watched them my emotions ran the gamut from love to longing.  Love for the pureness of them, and longing for this moment that I knew would be lost way too quickly.  I saw them before me as little boys, then as teenagers, and then as grown men.  And as my oldest wrapped more yarn around his project my mind swam with an array of stunningly diverse emotions ranging from rage to relief. Two weeks ago I lost my job.  I'd half expected it would happen, but when the reality hit me, when I actually got the news that I was being laid off, it was like being kicked in the stomach.  I had to gasp for air, and then for the next couple of days I just couldn't concentrate.  After ten years of carefully planning each working day -- the delicate balance of packing lunches, childcare, meetings and to-do lists -- the newly long, unformed days stretched out before me.  Everything suddenly became free form and slightly chaotic.  Suddenly, I was looking around me and failing to see anything at all.  It's difficult, to say the least, to move from precision to a swirling whirlpool of disorder. The week, an open space ahead of me; my list of goals for 2011 looming large in the face of the free time I now had.  No place to be, no appointments to keep, nobody hammering me about deadlines or trying to make small talk.  You'd think this would be a recipe for tranquility, but the change was totally chaotic.  A cacophony of demands rang in my head, all self-imposed.  I was so distracted that I let the faucet run while brushing my teeth. Anyone who has spent time with me will tell you that I'm obsessed with water.  To find myself so distracted that I was letting it run freely down the drain was clearly an indication of my frame of mind.  And ironic, too, since my intention for this month's newsletter was to write a piece about my fixation with water.  I wanted to share some stories of the beautiful moments I encountered during my year-long travels through Southeast Asia where I frequently watched people haul water, wait for the water truck, or bathe from buckets of rain water warmed by the sunshine.   The words wouldn't flow through the chaos, but one image kept popping up - vibrant, intensely beautiful, and ultimately inspiring:  women in the desert of Rajasthan India walking to the well for water. Imagine an explosion of painfully vibrant color against the brown desert background, then a line snaking from a village to the well.  Despite the desperate conditions I saw around me, the procession always left me breathless.  Clearly, the visual beauty belied a certain hardship that I couldn't truly begin to fathom; however, the well seemed to offer the gathering of women a respite from the daily hustle.  It couldn't have been pleasant to have to haul water, to make the procuring of water such a huge part of their day, but these women seemed to find something worthwhile in the community at the well.  There was always a lot of laughter.  I don't know what job I'll have next or when I'll have it.  For a type-A planner, this sudden change is about as chaotic as life gets.  And like any good type-A person, I've immediately begun seeking out the life lesson that this moment is supposed to teach. I suspect I'm not going to have a huge "ah-ha" moment, but that the lessons will come slowly and more simply.   The other night at the table my baby may have taught me the first one when he simply noted we were having a crafting circle, the three of us together.  No rush to do anything else, no overwhelming exhaustion, just the simple act of making things side-by-side to remind me of all the beauty yet to be had.  Debra Silverman is a mom, writer and environmentalist who lives in West L.A. with her husband and two lovely boys. Anuloma Viloma: Alternate Nostril Breath Fun Pranayama Science: Every hour or so, the body tends to favor one side and breathe more heavily in and out of one nostril. This is part of the body's natural functioning. This natural cycle balances out the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. When our body becomes stressed, this natural cycle falls out of alignment. The greater amount of time the body is in mis-alignment, the greater our chances of weakening our immune system. Anuloma Vilma is an easy, safe way of bringing the body back into alignment. Once the breath is balanced, the bodies' systems fall back into balance.  Please find a quiet spot where you can sit, undisturbed, for 3-5 minutes. Sit comfortably, with your spine supported by either sitting cross legged on a folded up blanked, block or pillow, or by sitting, spine erect, in a chair.  Take a  d e e p inhale, lengthening out the front and back bodies, feeling the inhale rise all the way up towards the chest, spread across the collarbones, and then feeling the exhale lengthen your tailbone down, lift the crown of your head up, and relax your shoulderblades away from your ears. Repeat 3x. With your right thumb, gently plug your right nostril. Breathe in through just the left nostril. Count your inhale, inhaling up to 5, 10 or 20. Using your ring finger, gently plug your left nostril and hold the breath. (Skip this part if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure. NEVER hold your breath if you're pregnant. Consult your doctor before holding your breath if you have high blood pressure.) Both nostrils now plugged, hold your breath for the same count as you inhaled (either 5, 10 or 20.) Lift your right thumb and exhale out through the right nostril. Try and exhale for the same count (5, 10 or 20.) Keep your right thumb lifted, and inhale through the right nostril for a count of 5, 10 or 20. You'll notice that your inhales will become more powerful than your exhales. This is normal. Gently plug your right nostril with your right thumb and hold the breath for the same count. (skip this part if your are pregnant or have high blood pressure.) Release your ring finger and exhale out your left nostril for a count of 5, 10 or 20. You've now completed one cycle. (inhaled once through the right, and once through the left.) Do this for 3-5 rounds to begin with. As you become more comfortable, you can increase the length of time that you spend with this breath.  Structure & Flow is now LlVE and ONLINE  Structure & Flow.   Every Tuesday and Thursday at Yogis Anonymous. 2:30pm-3:45pm   Aria's classes at Yogis Anonymous are now a Level 2. Learn the foundations of alignment while getting your workout.  Explore inversions, arm balances and backbends, with no prior experience necessary.Balance out your hard work with deep, yummy stretches to strengthen and relax the muscles you just worked.   FREE ARCHIVED ONLINE CLASSES  Doula Services  I have attended six births: two homebirths and four hospital births, one of them a C-section. I love being a doula and am available to help you and your friends through the birth process. I completed my training in 2010 and am working on my certification for DONA, the Doula Association of North America. I am  apprenticing with Elizabeth Bachner, LM, CPM, L.aC., DASC Midwife of the Year 2008, and owner of GracefulBirthing.   Prenatal Yoga at City Yoga PRENATAL YOGA Tuesdays 10:15am - 11:30am Aria's Pre/Post Natal classes at City Yoga offer an safe, supporting environment for you to challenge your body in a conscious manner, preparing your body for labor and birth.  My style of prenatal classes is designed for mamas who want to move. If you strive to maintain a strong, fit and active pregnancy, you  greatly increase your chances of having an easier labor.

Yoga with Aria Holiday Newsletter

Holiday Vibes: Yoga with Aria Newsletter Aria teaches LIVE Thursday, Nov. 18, from 2:30pm - 3:55pm. QUICK LINKS INVERSIONS WORKSHOP SVADHYAYA: SELF STUDY GUEST COLUMNIST: DEBRA SILVERMAN FREE ONLINE YOGA WITH ARIA CLASS PRENATAL at CITY YOGA DOULA SERVICES www.yogawitharia.com Like Yoga with Aria? Follow My Tweets Aria on Blogger You are receiving this email because you signed up for Yoga with Aria  emails. You may change your subscription settings or remove yourself from all future mailings  by scrolling down to the bottom. Look for the button marked, "Safe Unsubscribe" Thank You. 2010: That Holiday Time Dear Yogis and Friends, I hope this finds you all happy and well. Things are great here. I'm doing more doula work, which feels awesome. I love my Prenatal Yoga class at City Yoga and my Vinyasa Flow class at Yogis Anonymous. This month in our newsletter, Green Columnist: Debra Silverman shares how a marriage shifted shifted her family's approach to Thanksgiving. I talk about embracing the darkness as an opportunity for Svadhyaya, or Self Study. Sunday Dec. 12th: Come to My Inversions Workshop at Yogis Anonymous!  This is a class for those of you who love to invert, hate to invert, want to invert more safely, or just wonder, what is the big deal about all these inversions. And if you can't catch me in person, you can now watch my some of myclasses archived, online, for free! My next live feed is tomorrow Thursday, Nov. 18th, from 2:30pm - 3:55pm.  Blessings. Live Happily! Aria Turn Your Fear Upside Down Inversions are a powerful part of our yoga practice.They benefit the immune and endocrine systems, regulate blood pressure and enhance thyroid function.  However, many yogis dread inversions in a class setting because they don't know how to approach the poses properly, and they feel awkward when they fall.  This workshop will move you past this resistance, teaching you to embrace inversions, to fall out of them safely and gracefully, and send you back to your practice not only confident in your technique, but eagerly looking forward to the next chance to be upside down. Svadhyaya: Inner Investigation, Inner Inquiry Svadhyaya: Sva: Higher Self, Soul, the Atman Dhya: Meditation (from Dhyana) Ya: Activating Suffix Welcome to the darkest few weeks of the year. Every day, from now through the Winter Solstice, the days will keep shortening and the nights will keep increasing. Oftentimes, this brings tremendous resistance into my life. I want the sun, the daytime, the light. Yet, what I crave is impossible. We can not always live in the blistering energy of the day. We need the intensity and depth of the night in order to recharge ourselves. Both light and darkness rely on each other in order to survive. This balance is what creates the interplay between Day and Night, the Sun and the Moon, Masculine and Feminine, Yin and Yang. Certainly, the next few weeks will provide opportunity for a physical experience of darkness, for more time spent chilling by the proverbial fire. During this time, I encourage you to to enter into Svadhyaya, or the Study of the Self. Svadhyaya means "actively meditating on or studying the nature of the Self". It is the fourth of the fifth Niyamas, or attitudes about ourselves. Self Study  can come from reading sacred texts, meditation, prayer, self-relfection or therapy. The opportunity to study oneself often emerges during times of stress, hardship or tension, as well as during times of vacation: being away from our regular life. Self Study is getting to know our selves better. What makes us tick? Where are we strong? Fearful? Joyful? Sad? In spending time with ourselves, we gradually feel more and more comfortable in our own skin, more aware of what makes us happy and what makes us stressed, more connected to the world around us.  On a deeper level, Self Study brings us to the realization that none of us are distinct units of energy, but rather, that we are all tied to each other and the world around us. It's one thing to study yoga, the physical postures, the breathing techniques, the history, the myths, the stories, even the language of yoga. It's another thing entirely to use yoga as a tool of Self Study. In doing so, we remember who we truly are: divine beings with the spark of Life. Judith Hanson Lasater, PhD, a prominent scholar of yoga, describes Svadhyaya as "the deep acknowledgment of the oneness of Self with all that is. In other words, to practice svadhyaya is to begin to dissolve the illusion of separateness we feel from ourselves, those around us, and our world. To practice svadhyaya is to find God in the person standing in front of us at this very moment. " For me, Self Study is brings about a deep connection to the entire world around me. Rocks, trees, leaves, the moon, the stars: they all come alive when I take time to study my inner workings. Most of the world's indigenous cultures already honor this connection: they believe that the sun, the moon, the earth, the rocks, the trees and the air are all expressions of and elements of Life. Biologists and physicists can now verify these ancient beliefs with science: there are fields of energy that connect us to everything around us. Even our organs have distinct fields of energy. In fact, the energy of the human heart is 5000 times greater than that of the human brain. Amazing, isn't it? If could but only see ourselves from an energetic perspective, we would see that we are always exchanging and sharing our energy with everything around us. Self Study can help us realize that we are never alone, that there is a place deep inside of us that is connected to everyone and everything that ever lived.  Let's connect to that place over the next few weeks. Sending You All Lots of Yoga Love, Aria Green Yoga Columnist Debra Silverman Giving Thanks Ten years ago, my sister married a Native American man and the Thanksgiving holiday became a lightning rod in my family. My brother-in-law's refusal to attend our annual family dinner was a real shocker to most of us, and he's stayed steadfast in his decision. I think we had all forgotten that the holiday that's morphed into an excuse for families to get together, eat enormous quantities of food, play football (or watch it on TV), and  catch up on gossip and politics is actually a holiday born out of a myth of cooperation between the white settlers from Europe and the Native American people they displaced. Every year while my mother bemoans the fact that the family is not all together, I'm secretly thankful that the day has a teaching moment built into it.  I have an opportunity to remind my children that there are at least two sides to every story and that they have an obligation to put the pieces together to create their own stories and traditions. In our family, Thanksgiving is less about that mythic first harvest than it is about taking a moment to give thanks for the bounty in our lives.  Before we dig in, each person -- from the youngest child to the oldest grandparent -- takes a turn letting us know what she or he is thankful for.  The comments are silly, moving, scatological (thank you three-year-olds), and irreverent (thank you Grandpop).  None are dull.  And maybe this small moment brings us a little closer to each other.  As we kick-off the holiday season with Thanksgiving it's my greatest hope that we each transmit that feeling of bounty and gratitude into every aspect of our daily lives.  Can we carry thanks giving with us by making small, kind gestures to the loved ones and strangers around us? Can we be kind to ourselves?  Here's where the green part comes in:  Can we extend these gestures of kindness and thanks to mother earth as she sustains us?  I hope our answer to these questions is a life-affirming "Yes." Taking care of the earth, each other and ourselves is a supreme demonstration of gratitude. And it's sometimes supremely difficult to do. It's so easy to get bogged down in the daily grind of our lives: work, laundry, traffic, grocery shopping, feeding the kids, packing lunches, and cleaning the house.  Sometimes it's so difficult to see beyond the moment, even when the breezes have blown away all the haze and there is a perfectly clear view all the way to the mountains in the northeast and the ocean to the west.  Can we stop, look and give thanks for this moment?  Can we breathe the relatively fresh air and smile?  Can we slow down just a bit?  Here are five ways of saying thank you to mother earth in this season of giving thanks:  · Kick the single-use water bottle habit by investing in a BPA-free reusable bottle. ·  Pick up five pieces of trash next time you're out walking in your neighborhood, on a trail or at the beach. · Take cloth bags with you to the market so when you're asked "paper or plastic?" you can say neither. · Ride your bike instead of using your car. · Take shorter showers. Make your own list, breathe deeply, and show gratitude.  Debra Silverman is a mom, writer, environmentalist and film executive who lives in West L.A. with her husband and two lovely boys.  Structure & Flow is now LlVE and ONLINE FREE ARCHIVED ONLINE CLASS THURS NOV. 18:  NEXT LIVE FEED 2:30pm - 3:55pm. Structure offers alignment, so you can explore challenging poses like arm balances, backbends and inversions safely. Flow gives you that deep, sweaty inner high that comes releasing toxins and tension. This fun, all-levels yoga class will strengthen and stretch you. Chill beats included. Every Tuesday and Thursday at Yogis Anonymous. 2:30pm-3:55pm  Doula Services  My daughter, Kaia, was born at home, in the water. What I treasure the most about that experience is feeling safe, trusted, heard, and at peace the entire time. My experience has inspired me to extend that energy to others in their birth experience. I am now a trained doula, working on my certification with DONA. I am  apprenticing with Elizabeth Bachner, LM, CPM, L.aC., DASC Midwife of the Year 2008, and owner of GracefulBirthing.   Prenatal Yoga at City Yoga PRENATAL YOGA Tuesdays 10:15am - 11:30am Honor your pregnancy. Exercise your need for movement within a safe, FUN environment. Each class includes stretches, standing postures,  hip and shoulder openers, and a juicy meditation. Practice expanding energy through your breath, which will help you in labor and delivery

October Shakti Newsletter is here!

Yoga with Aria October Shakti Newsletter

QUICK LINKS BREATH EXERCISE NAVRATRI FESTIVAL GUEST COLUMNIST: DEBRA SILVERMAN YOGIS ANONYMOUS SCHEDULE PRENATAL at CITY  YOGA DOULA SERVICES www.yogawitharia.com Like Yoga with Aria? Follow My Tweets Aria on Blogger

You are receiving this email because you signed up for Yoga with Aria  emails. You may change your subscription settings or remove yourself from all future mailings  by scrolling down to the bottom. Look for the button marked, "Safe Unsubscribe" Thank You. October/2010 Dear Yogis and Friends, May this find you all happy, healthy and well. I am writing you from NYC, where the weather is amazing: low 70's, sunny, and perfect. In Los Angeles, just as I left town, we were being graced with an abundance of rain, a deeply cleansing form of energy to wash off the summer and welcome in the fall. 10-10-10 If you are looking for something to do tomorrow, Sunday 10-10-10, Yoga with Aria is pleased to offer you a new guest column, written by local yogini, mother, writer, environmentalist and film executive Debra Silverman. Debra examines the energy of fall in the context of conscious, social change and 10-10-10. The City of Los Angeles, in partnership with 350.org, is celebrating 10-10-10 through hundreds of local parties and events all around the City. Navratri: If you enjoy festivals and mythology, read this month's article on the Hindu Navratri festival, a nine night festival which began yesterday, October 8th, and which celebrates the shift from summer into winter and the abundant energy of the Goddess. I encourage you all to forge a bit of time for yourselves during this ritual of the shifting seasons. Create conscious relaxation by taking a walk by yourself. Perhaps you would like to add a breathing (Pranayama) exercise to your daily or weekly meditation practice. Check out Dirga Pranayama, this month's breath exercise for more details. A beatuiful form of renewal is by participating in a yoga class. As a way of promoting my Yogis Anonymous class to you, I am offering a special for my newsletter folks only. One month (8 classes or more) of Structure and Flow classes with Aria at Yogis Anonymous for only $25.  Check out the coupon below for more info. Whatever you may choose to do during these next few weeks, please do so with the spirit of self-love. Time towards our own renewal is crucial. Without it, we wear out quickly. And if we are worn out, we are of no use to ourselves or those that we love the most. Thanks, as always for your support. Have a lovely weekend. Blessings. Live Happily! Aria October Pranayama (Breath) Exercise Dirga Pranayama If you are ever feeling rushed, out of sorts, or stressed-out. Dirga Pranayama is a wonderful resource to have available. You can do it anywhere: at your desk, on your yoga mat, or at home, in bed.  This is a wonderful, balancing breath. It expands our sense of self. It center us, and lessens the mind of  mental chatter. If you are at home, begin by lying on your back. Try bending your knees  out to the sides and bringing the soles of the feet together in supta baddha konasana pose. If that feels awkward, come up to a cross-legged position. Take a deep, cleansing breath. Allow the breath to fill your lungs and your belly. Feel the muscles in your back spread with your inhale and the vertebrae of the spine grow longer with your exhale. Do this 3X. Part I Beginning with the belly: breath deeply into the first and second chakra centers, feeling the area from your pubic bone up through your hip bones expand in all directions. You will feel this breath in your front body as well as your back body. As you exhale, release the belly and draw the navel to the spine. Allow the breath to exit your body completely. Do this 3X. Part II Now, imagine that you are dividing your inhale into two parts. Begin by filling the belly with breath, just as you did above, but only breathe in about 1/2 of your full lung capacity. Pause and hold the breath for a second. Now breathe the remaining 50% of your lung capacity, allowing your breath to move higher into the second part of the spine. Your breath will expand your ribs sideways, puffing out your right and left ribcage with fresh oxygen. Pause, holding the lungs full of breath. Release the breath from your ribscage first. Pause. Then release your breath from your belly, last, pulling the navel to the spine. Repeat 3X. Part III Now you are dividing your breath into thirds, targeting the first through the fifth chakras. Begin by breathing into the belly, as you did in #1, breathing in one third of your lung capacity. Pause and hold the breath for a second. Breathe into your ribcage next, breathing in the second third of your lung capacity. Pause and hold the breath for a second. Now, breathe all the way up into the heart, the sternum, the shoulders, the neck and even the jaw, breathing in 100% of your lung capacity. Pause. Release the breath from the upper third of your spine, first. Pause. Release the breath from the middle third of your spine (ribcage), next. Pause. Release the breath from the belly, last, and draw the navel to the spine. Repeat as many times as you like. Enjoy! CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR PREGNANCY: Not appropriate for pregnant women. If you are pregnant and would like to do this breath, please email me and I will send you the proper modifications. Thanks! Navratri Navratri: Nava (Nine) Ratri (Nights) Navratri is a festival that honors the shifting of the seasons from summer into winter and the triumpth of good over evil. The focus of Navratri is on Shakti, the Divine Mother, the Female Essence of God. The myth of Navratri harkens back to a time when angelic forces were fighting demons. After thousands of years of stalemate, the angels decided to call upon help from the Divine Mother, who arrived in the form of Durga, the Warrior Goddes, and slayed three primary demons: Mahishasura (dullness, heaviness, inertia), Shumbha-Nishumbha (pride and shame), and Madhu-Kaitabh (extreme forms of craving and aversion.) For those of us coming from a Judeo-Christian perspective, it's important to remember that in Hindu tradition, God is seen as having many aspects, beginning with a Male and a Female aspect. Within those aspects, many other sides of god emerge. The Hindu tradition honors these forms as all parts of the Divine Creator God.  Ceremonial activities during Navratri may include devotees fasting for health and prosperity and offering holy gifts of coconut, sweets and clothes. Flowers and garlands adore shrines. Evenings may include festive costumes and dancing. The first three nights of Navratri are dedicated to Durga, the goddess of power and energy. The next three nights are dedicated to Lakshmi, the goddess of peace and prosperity. The last three nights are dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom. Each of these three nights may contain specifics all to its own. For example, the first three nights of Navratri are dedicated to Durga, the warrior goddess, who is dressed in red and seated atop a lion. Each of these nights honors one of her three aspects: the child in the form of Kumari: the young woman in the form of Parvati, and the mature woman in the form of Kali. Though I've never witnessed Navratri in person, I can only imagine the preparations and celebrations going on all across the country right now. The amazing thing about these ancient festivals is that there are layers upon layers of ritual from province to province. Each ritual is quite distinct, and yet, each contains a semblance of the others within itself. It makes me think of some of the principles in Michael Talbot's book The Holographic Universe, in that experiences are felt in parallel ways through different dimensions of Space and Time. In terms of Naratri, the essence of these experiences remains the same: they are merely translated differently within ritual, practice, or devotion. The deeper aspect of Navratri, for me, lies in a personal hope that one day, all of us human beings on this planet can remember that we are all but aspects of one energy. Sometimes we live in limbo, in stalemate between our hearts and our minds. When this happens, we must call upon the Divine Mother energy within us to free us from our inner demons. May this time of Navratri be a cleansing, auspicious one for us all Blessings, Aria P.S. The last day of Navratri is said to be quite auspicious for starting up a new venture. HINT! HINT!  Start something new on October 16th and according to the tradtion of Navratri, you are blessed with luck! Green Yoga News with Debra Silverman 10-10-10 Growing up I loved autumn more than any other season.   In Ohio the leaves would turn colors, the weather would become crisp (offering relief from the heat and humidity of summer), apples would appear in the markets, and I'd get a brand new outfit to mark the Jewish holidays.  Rosh Hashanah welcomed in the New Year and Yom Kippur reminded me that I could wipe the slate clean, apologize for my "sins," and begin again; another chance to live my life better.  Now I've never been a particularly religious person, but I am a spiritual person and I think that's why I've always liked Yom Kippur - it's a solemn holiday but it's magical.  It offers everyone the opportunity to begin again, to learn from our mistakes and to treat the year as a book yet to be written - blank pages upon which you can create your own future.  I think of it also as a time of healing and a reminder that each of us should do our utmost to tread as lightly as possible upon the earth.  This celebration of renewal and new beginnings provides a wonderful opportunity - each of us can make the time to do something that makes at least one person breathe easier and leaves the world a little better. Each day we have choices to make.  We can choose to take the path that treads lightly or to go another direction.  To tread lightly, to consciously decide to leave the world a little better, we need only take small steps:  We can say no to the single-use water bottle, we can take our own bags to the market, we can bike to our friend's house instead of riding in the car, we can decide to see the homeless person on the corner instead of driving right past him, we can really look our loved ones in the eye and truly listen.  This weekend, on 10-10-10, 350.org and the city of LA are making it easier for us to choose a path toward healing.  Communities around the world are gathering people together to celebrate climate solutions in the form of a Global Work Party.  Under the auspices of 350.org, groups, organizations and individuals are committing part of their day to having fun while simultaneously doing something to heal the world.  In Auckland, New Zealand, they're having a giant bike fix-up day, to get every bicycle in the city back on the road. In the Maldives, they're putting up solar panels on the President's office.  In Kampala, Uganda, they're going to plant thousands of trees, and in Bolivia they're installing solar stoves for a massive carbon neutral picnic.  And here in Los Angeles there are hundreds of events planned, everything from solar workshops and the plastic bag challenge to trash pick-up, rainwater harvesting, tire pressure checking and kid-powered groups focused on green legislation.  Visit 350.org to learn more and to find a party in your neighborhood.  The city of Los Angeles is also using 10-10-10 to launch CicLavia and will close 7 miles of city streets to cars - bicycles and pedestrians only.  Seven miles of city streets without traffic!  This just might be the beginning of real, meaningful change.  Debra Silverman is a mom, writer, environmentalist and film executive who lives in West L.A. with her husband and two lovely boys. Structure & Flow at Yogis Anonymous STRUCTURE & FLOW Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30pm - 3:55pm 1221 2nd Street Santa Monica Structure offers alignment, so you can explore challenging poses like arm balances, backbends and inversions safely. Flow gives you that deep, sweaty inner high that comes releasing toxins and tension. This fun, all-levels yoga class will strengthen and stretch you. Chill beats included. 2hrs free parking in the Santa Monica City Lots Looking for a Doula?  Many of you know that my daughter, Kaia, was born at home, in the water.  The amazing, sacred nature of that experience is beyond anything else I have ever done in my life and has inspired me to become a doula.  I am  apprenticing with Elizabeth Bachner, LM, CPM, L.aC., DASC Midwife of the Year 2008, and owner of GracefulBirthing. Prenatal Yoga at City Yoga PRENATAL YOGA Tuesdays 10:15am - 11:30am Honor your pregnancy. Cultivate a conscious realization of your inner energy. Exercise your need for movement within a safe environment. Relax with deep, juicy stretches. Connect deeply with your baby while you learn meditation and breath techniques that will aid you in labor and delivery.  Aria brings her knowledge as a Doula to each and every class.

Save over $85/month for Structure and Flow classes with Aria at Yogis Anonymous!

With this coupon, you receive one month's worth of classes with me at Yogis Anonmous for less than the price of two classes.  Normally, Yogis Anonymous requests a $14 donation per class. You pay only $25 and get 8 classes with Aria. This coupon is not good for any other teacher at Yogis Anonymous, just myself: Aria Mayland. I currently teach regular classes every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30pm - 3:55pm.  You may also use the coupon for any classes at Yogis Anonymous that I sub.* This coupon is not transferable. This coupon is valid for current subscribers of my newsletter and their friends, so please feel free to forward this along. *This next week, Wednesday October 13th, I am subbing Krista Cahill's Wednesday 9:15-10:45am class.

Offer Expires: This offer expires one month from the date of purchase.