Posts

"You become what you hate"

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Fort Collins, Colorado June 26, 2018 “You become what you hate.”  My dear friend and spiritual mentor, child psychologist Janet Culp, once told me that this is common knowledge in the field of psychology.  That thought has never left me since I first heard it, over 10 years ago. And it is foremost in my thoughts right now, as I return from a gathering of well-intentioned people – a vigil  – in Fort Collins, in support of humane immigration policy in the US. This is an important issue not only here in Colorado and the US, but globally too, with a staggering amount of people seeking safety and asylum worldwide. How a country integrates refugees and immigrants without loosing its own sense of identity is not as obvious as we might wish it to be. As the number of people migrating is likely to continue to rise in the years to come, serious consideration and discussion on immigration and assimilation policy will be essential to each nation’s abilit...

Childhoodnature in Motion: The Ground for Learning

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This chapter, co-authored by Ann Moradian and somatics expert Martha Eddy, "aims to establish embodied movement as both the physical and metaphysical grounds for learning, including aesthetic learning in an ecological context. We advocate the moving body as critical to celebrating and deepening childhood nature... We suggest that developing a lifelong somatic relationship with our bodies in motion, a relation in which we bring our attention to our lived (psychosensory-motor) experience, is a powerful way to reclaim that wholeness which allows us to care and connect for self and others, to feel a sense of place and belonging, and to self-regulate our behavior for optimal interaction with our world..." To link to the abstract and online publication, click  here . DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51949_97-2 © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 Eddy, M.H., Moradian, A.L. (2018), Childhoodnature in Motion:  The Ground for Lea...

Introduction to Dharma & Complexity

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July 10, 2018 (Tuesday), 6-9pm Fort Collins, Colorado How do we navigate the complexity and contradictions that are knotted into the daily interactions of our lives?  How do we even begin to see the threads that are in play? And then how do we negotiate between the sometimes contradictory needs between self and other?  How do we make choices we can not only live with, but feel right with? These are some of the questions that underpin this workshop, as we use the ethical framework of yoga philosophy and the idea of  dharma , “right path” as a matrix for living with ease, strength and clarity in today’s world.  photo  ©    Ann Moradian, 2018.

Introduction to ShinGaia (video)

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Please click here to see our brief video introducing ShinGaia:   https://vimeo.com/271713012

Yoga Detox Weekend in Dax

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A Yoga Retreat in Southwest France September 28-30, 2018 Autumn cleansing practice for detoxification and purification in the beautiful countryside of southwestern France, near the well known spa town of Dax...  We'll cleanse and nourish our bodies and minds with daily postural practice (asana) focused on digestion and detox, along with breathing practices (pranayama), meditation and self-study (svadhyaya).  Fresh, local and organic food will be prepared for us by our host, as he welcomes us into his family home.  300€, including food, lodging and full yoga program (transportation and any additional activities we might decide upon as a group are not included).  We begin with lunch on September 28th and continue through until early evening on September 30th.  All photos  ©  2018, Ann Moradian.  

ShinGaia : Module I (video)

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Please click here to view Nannette Bertschy's short video of our ShinGaia practice, Module I:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_bY_N8bcXk

Dharma and Complexity

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A Yoga Retreat in Southwest France May 19-21, 2018 We have the pleasure of gathering together to practice yoga in a pleasant country home near Dax, with local French cuisine and a family-style welcome. A wonderful way to welcome in the Spring! Nous avons le plaisir de nous rassemblons pour pratiquer le yoga dans une maison familiale près de Dax, avec le cuisine local et une accueille chaleureuse. Quel manière de saluer le printemps! €230 includes room, board and yoga program. Space is limited. Contact Ann to reserve your place!

READING THE BODY RETREAT

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Toby Brothers and Ann Moradian join forces once again, with Reading the Body , a deep plunge into body, being and nature through literature and yoga-based movement practices, in the idyllic setting of the Swiss Alps. SUMMARY Cultivate your Mind with salon-style literary study of transcendental essays. Fine-tune your Body and waken to its wisdom through yoga-based movement, meditation and breathing practices. Reconnect with Nature and flourish. This retreat will be enjoyable for anyone looking to immerse in nature, great writing and deep connection to the living, breathing body. An extraordinary escape that includes room, board and a full program of activities. The magical surrounding of this Alpine environment will inspire and amaze you. No experience of formal preparation is required. The preparatory reading comes with supportive and guiding notes.  Ann and Toby have each been exploring in their work the movement from personal unders...

Wishing Everyone Health, Wholeness and Prosperity in the New Year! ॐ

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New Year Dedication Practice  (with Ann Moradian) a clearing and cleaning out of old, toxic material (mental, emotional and physical), reconnecting to source and purpose, and aligning to embody our own best becoming in 2018 10h-13h30, January 13, 2018 (Saturday) 55€, pre-registration required Introduction to ShinGaia Yoga  (with Ann Moradian) in Paris at Paris Yoga Shala (M° George V) 19h-21h00, January 20, 2018 (Saturday) gratuit (free), pre-registration required

ABOUT US...

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Bienvenue et welcome !  ( Version anglais en dessous) Être présent à chaque instant de notre vie est une célébration de la vie. Cela peut être un défi, car la vie (comme nous le savons) est pleine de toutes sortes de défis. Il faut du courage et de la fermeté pour faire face à tout ce que nous ressentons. Il faut de l’honnêteté et de la compassion pour trouver un équilibre. Être présent dans nos vies nécessite une volonté de se transformer en permanence. La vie n'est jamais tranquille. La vie bouge. La vie nous bouge.  Être présent à chaque instant alors que nous bougeons et sommes émus dans notre vie est la seule chose qui vaut vraiment la peine d'être faite. Être présent tout au long de notre vie augmente notre conscience de la dynamique toujours en jeu entre nous et les autres. Être présent dans nos vies est le fondement de l’amour et de la sagesse. C'est pourquoi j'enseigne le yoga.  Le yoga est fondé sur ces mêmes qualités de courage et de fermeté, d’honnêteté et...

Class descriptions

Integral Hatha Yoga  – Aimed toward managing the mind through meditative practice of  asana  (physical postures),  pranayama  (breathing practices), dharana (concentration),  pratyahara  (quieting of the senses) and dhyana (meditation), it may also include  mantra  (chanting) and  netyavyamam  (eye exercises). Hatha Yoga balances both the generative and receptive energies of the body-mind, and encourages stability and ease in all that we do.  Hatha Flow  – Embracing all aspects of Hatha Yoga, Hatha Flow  moves through traditional yoga postures fluidly from one position to the next, incorporating breath into a moving practice. This dynamic approach can be excellent for balancing strength, stability and ease, while improving joint health and agility. While  Hatha Flow  tends to be gentler than  Vinyasa  styles (which tend toward the athletic), it remains dynamic and toning.  PranaStretch ...

The Wheel of Yoga (What is Yoga?)

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Yoga is “the stilling of the whirling of the mind.” The word yoga comes from the root word, yuj (Sanskrit), meaning union , or to yoke . Yoga is often defined as union, and in a physical practice, we begin by uniting the attention and the breath in the body. Georg Feuerstein’s Wheel of Yoga (from The Yoga Tradition ) illustrates the many paths of yoga (the spokes), with the shared outer hub of the yamas and niyamas (the ethical practices), and the common aim depicted by the inner wheels of samadhi (enstasy) and transcendence of the "egotropic" consciousness to realise the Self. The Wheel of Yoga, from Georg Feuerstein's The Yoga Tradition . All physical yoga practices, most popular in the west, fall under the category of Hatha Yoga . Common names for yoga (like Integral Yoga , Vinyasa Yoga , Iyengar Yoga , Kundalini , Bikram , ShinGaia Yoga , etc.) are different schools or approaches to yoga within the larger genre of Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga –...