Julia Hollenberg

<div>I found yoga at a crisis point in my life. Or some might say – yoga found me. I was determined to find something to channel my energy into positive things; things that would uplift and empower me. Yoga was just that. The practice immediately resonated with me – it challenged my strength and flexibility and made me sweat a lot, but more than that, if left me feeling rejuvenated and balanced unlike any other workout. Though I was initially drawn to the purely physical aspect of yoga, I realized that I had just scratched the surface of a much deeper, more profound, and utterly transformative practice. After having practiced yoga for only 3 months, I knew I wanted to become a yoga teacher. There was no way that I couldn’t <i>not </i>explore this practice in more depth for myself, but also to be able to share it with others through teaching.</div> <div> </div> <div>There is no shortage of yoga schools in the country with a high concentration of them right here in New York City. But each yoga school is not equal to the next. When I was considering where to do my yoga teacher training, I shopped around at various studios. Most of them told me I would come out of the training with a solid knowledge of alignment and sequencing. Then I happened upon ISHTA Yoga in May 2008 right after its grand opening. I spoke with Jean Koerner, a Senior Teacher at ISHTA, about the training program. She told me that with the ISHTA Teacher Training, I would receive much more than just the knowledge of the poses, alignment and sequencing. ISHTA teaches about the subtle body and the energetic principles of yoga; yogic philosophy is an integral part of the training; and meditation, pranayama, and kriya techniques are emphasized.   The point of ISHTA yoga is to create a life-long practice that improves the way we feel and to find peace within. Because no one person is the same, the ISHTA Yoga teacher trainees are taught to consider the individual – both in physical makeup and personality – when offering guidance in their yoga practice. I firmly believe ISHTA Yoga is the most holistic, profound, scientific, and life changing yoga teacher training program that exists today.</div> <div> </div> <div>The ISHTA Yoga Teacher Training is multi-faceted. You will learn all of the standard asanas (poses), their alignment, and how to sequence them to create a well-rounded balanced class. You will also learn about the breath through various techniques (pranayama and kriya) to achieve a range of states – from simple tranquility to Samadhi. You will come to an understanding of how the breath can inform one’s alignment; how it can indicate one’s emotional and mental state; how it can be used as a tool to take you from an experience of the physical body to an experience of the subtle body; and eventually how it can bring you to a meditative state with the feeling of oneness and union (Samadhi). In addition, you will learn many tantric meditation techniques, which involve visualization to help you feel the unified state of Samadhi.  All of these techniques are grounded in science and what we know about relaxation and the brain as well as the nervous system.</div> <div> </div> <p>In the advanced 300-hour teacher training, you will also learn hands on adjustments. Being confident about adjusting your students enhances your teaching so much! Hands-on adjustments are also very useful to use when teaching private yoga lessons. Throughout the course of yoga teacher training at ISHTA, you will be transformed. On some level a transformation <i>does </i>happen. For me, I realized that yoga is not about a workout or strength or flexibility. It is about being able to sit with myself in peace. Nothing more, nothing less. </p>

2010-02-02T00:00:00Z

47 Yoga Found Me <p>I found yoga at a crisis point in my life. Or some might say – yoga found me. I was determined to find something to channel my energy into positive things; things that would uplift and empower me. Yoga was just that. The pract

2010-02-03T16:49:45Z

Beth Kruger

<p> </p> <div>The benefits of yoga and exercise are very clear for the expectant mother.  We can experience the fruits of our labor through better sleep, slower weight gain, improved muscle tone, and less discomfort during pregnancy.  The benefits of our physical fitness on our growing fetus are less clear, but no less important-- perhaps they are even more so.</div> <div> </div> <div>~Each time you exercise, baby gets a surge of oxygen to her blood supply.  All of her tissues, especially her brain, function at their best.</div> <div> </div> <div>~Baby receives an emotional lift from the increase in adrenaline at the start of exercise.</div> <div> </div> <div>~During exercise, baby receives endorphins, which are morphine like substances that make us feel good and happy.  (These are the same endorphins released during a natural un-medicated labor that act as a natural pain relief.)</div> <div> </div> <div>~After exercise, endorphins continue to relax the body for up to 8 hours-which is of course passed along to baby.</div> <div> </div> <div>~The motion of exercise is very soothing to baby, he is comforted by the rocking movements.</div> <div> </div> <div>~During exercise, blood flow is optimum so baby's growth and development follow suit.</div> <div> </div> <div>So, practice yoga and exercise more during pregnancy!  You may feel more comfortable, beautiful, and confident about your newly blossoming body.  You may also find your baby is happier, smarter, calmer, stronger, and more relaxed.  Amazing, but could be true!</div> <div> </div> <div>Of course, check with your doctor or midwife first to make sure that your plan of exercise is right for you.  Some exercise is contraindicated during pregnancy. (Scuba diving, horseback riding, contact sports, and anything with a risk of falling would all be examples of contraindicated exercise.)</div> <div> </div> <div> </div>

2010-01-05T00:00:00Z

46 The Benefits of Yoga and Exercise for Your Baby <p>  The benefits of yoga and exercise are very clear for the expectant mother.  We can experience the fruits of our labor through better sleep, slower weight gain, improved muscle tone, and less discomfort during pregnancy.  The benefits

2010-01-05T22:43:56Z

Laura Butler

<p><br /> <img width="150" height="100" align="left" src="/uploads/Image/teachers/yoga2.jpg" alt="" /><font size="2"><font face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In this holiday season of hustle and bustle, it's easy to get caught up in the pure consumerism of it all.  The fine line between wants and needs is blurred in the flurry of snowflakes, Black Friday sales, and holiday music.  This feeds the mind's innate desire to wanting more, more, more.  </span></font></font></p> <p><font size="2"><font face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Two of the yamas (outward practices), the first limb of the eight limbs of yoga, deal with just that:  aparigraha (non-greed) and asteya (non-stealing).  Aparigraha is not being greedy and not accumulating more than what we need.  When we take more than what is necessary, we are then stealing as a by-product of that greed.  Since we cannot possibly use all of our surplus, we deny someone that need out of our own lack of use.  Thus, that greed is a form of stealing.  We hold onto things because ultimately, the things own us instead of the other way around.  </span></font></font></p> <p><font size="2"><font face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">So with all of this swirling around us, what can we do?  I read a story just before Thanksgiving about a woman with MS who received a prescription from an African medicine woman to give one gift a day for 29 days.  Not only did her physical symptoms improve, but also her mental state and her happiness.  I was intrigued by this and wanted to know what would happen if a healthy person did this, and decided to do my own 29 days of giving.  I quickly discovered that Thanksgiving was exactly 29 days before Christmas, starting my gift-giving journey with giving thanks, and preparing myself for the giving season.  </span></font></font></p> <p><font size="2"><font face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The gifts can be simple:  calling a friend, donating to charity, or even dedicating your practice to someone else.  I have found in just one week of giving, how much more I'm capable of, instead of focusing on where I fall short.  So, I encourage you, in your own hustle and bustle this season, to remember your own capacity to give, your own unique talents to share, and that what you have to offer the world is the best gift of all.</span></font></font> </p>

2009-12-07T00:00:00Z

44 Hustle, Bustle, and Flow <p><img width="150" align="left" src="/uploads/Image/teachers/yoga2.jpg" alt="" /> In this holiday season of hustle and bustle, it's easy to get caught up in the pure consumerism of it all.  The fine line between wants and needs is blurred in the f

2009-12-08T21:12:29Z

Alan Finger

<p><font><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" color="#333333" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"><font size="3" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow,Arial MT Condensed Light,sans-serif;"><img width="150" height="99" align="left" src="/uploads/Image/blog/Alan%20meditation%20for%20blog.jpg" alt="alan finger sat yam meditation" />The holidays can be an emotional time, which can make us either extremely elated or depressed.  In order to sail thought the tides of our emotions in the most graceful manner, one needs to have stability in the heart chakra, which is in the center of the chest. <br /> <br /> First, one needs to clear this center by using the Sat Yam technique. On the inhalation, silently using the mantra "Sat", draw up all past emotions from the heart to the top crown of the head.  On the exhalation, release all these stored emotions into the universe, silently chanting the sound "yam." Do this 9 times. <br /> <br /> The next technique is to bring inspiration and peace into your emotional center, allowing you to move through the fluctuations of your feelings. On the inhalation bring inspiration from the universe in through the top of the head with the mantra "Om." On the exhalation release "Shanti" or peace out through the heart. This can be directed either into an aura around you or to another being. <br /> <br /> </span><font size="3" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow,Arial MT Condensed Light,sans-serif;">Have a super-wonderful holiday filled with Peace and Light!</span></font><br /> <font size="3" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow,Arial MT Condensed Light,sans-serif;">Hari Om, Om Tat Sat.</span></font></font></font></font></p>

2009-12-06T00:00:03Z

45 Sat Yam Meditation for the Holiday Season <p><img width="150" align="left" src="/uploads/Image/blog/Alan%20meditation%20for%20blog.jpg" alt="alan finger sat yam meditation" />The holidays can be an emotional time, which can make us either extremely elated or depressed.  In order to sail tho

2009-12-08T22:15:19Z

Alan Finger

<p><img height="111" align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/jyoti.jpg" />According to the ancient yogis, Jyoti is our inner source of divine light.  During daylight savings time when days are shorter, people become light deprived and experience signs of Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) such as depression, lethargy, and apathy. It is at this time that they need to tap into their internal glow. <br /> <br /> The analogy of a plant awakening and growing in sunlight, then losing its vitality, becoming limp, and recharging from the inside during the night while at rest, can help us to understand how by turning to our Jyoti, we too can better function while awake when the sun goes down and our vitality is low (we do not have the luxury to purely rest and renew our vitality like the plant during all dark hours). Though science has tried to accommodate our schedules by creating special lamps at a frequency similar to that of the sun, we cannot fill our surroundings with that light; Jyoti therefore becomes our source of energy and radiance.</p> <p><br /> Jyoti occurs when the brain is in a relaxation similar to that of sleep, yet the person remains awake.  Holding the attention to the midbrain and diencephalon region (Ajna Chakra) stimulates this inner light.  Science acknowledges that there is an optical radiance that takes place in the mid brain during a state of deep relaxation.</p> <p><strong>Practice:</strong></p> <p>Count backwards from ten to zero, tapping the center of the forehead. Between each tap, pause for 2 seconds , feeling your consciousness move to that point in the center.  When you reach zero use the mantra "Aim" (ah-eem) to relax and clear thought, allowing the light to remain in the mid brain region for five minutes.When finished, rub your palms together to create heat and move the energy down chakra by chakra to reground.Practice this every day in the late afternoon.<br /> <br /> Have a super wonderful Fall!<br /> Hari Om, Alan</p> <p> </p>

2009-11-06T15:15:03Z

43 Jyoti (Inner Light): A Source of Healing for Seasonal Depression <p><img align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/jyoti.jpg" />According to the ancient yogis, Jyoti is our inner source of divine light.  During daylight savings time when days are shorter, people become light deprived and experience

2009-11-06T20:09:49Z

Michael Bartelle

<p><img height="226" align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/dsc_0032.jpg" /></p> <p>The dry, cool winds that are the trademarks of autumn usher in what in Ayurveda is known as Vata Season. This is the time of year when we are most likely to experience the onset of anxiety and worry. It can sometimes feel as though the Earth is slipping away beneath us and the winds can toss us around as they please.</p> <p>Luckily, the tools of yoga offer us a multitude of ways to reestablish ourselves on the ground, and perhaps the most obvious means is through the practice of asana - the yoga poses. The most profound and ancient source of just about all of our knowledge about yoga is a collection of aphorisms compiled about 2000 years ago by a sage named Patanjali. Collectively, they are known as the Yoga Sutras. There are 196 Yoga Sutras, and in the entire collection of them asana is mentioned only twice.</p> <p>The first mention is in a list of the Eight Limbs of Yoga - it essentially just says that asana is an aspect of the yoga practice. Which should come as no surprise to anyone. The next time it is mentioned, it is in the following sutra: Sthira Sukham Asanam -Yoga Sutras, Pada II, Sutra 46 Because the Sanskrit language carries so much meaning in each sound, all of the Yoga Sutras have been translated in vast variety of ways by people who are far more qualified than I am. But I’ve been practicing a little, so here goes nothing: “Sthira” can be translated as “firm,” “stable,” or “steady,” while “sukham” is a state of ease, joy, or comfort.</p> <p>The Sutra essentially indicates that asana is achieved when the practitioner feels a balance between stability and ease. Because our bodies feel different in each moment, the breath's wisdom is truly the most organic way to find the alignment of each pose, which itself will be different in each moment. For example, unless you live in a very temperate climate, your paschimottanasana (seated forward bend over both extended legs) will probably differ noticeably in its alignment on the First of July from how it feels on the First of February. In cold weather the hamstrings tend to be tighter, and if you are listening to your breath you will hear that it does not want you to attempt to force yourself into the warm-weather version because it will likely result in an injury. When you feel aligned in your asana, you maintain a sense of ease and stability.</p> <p>The word “asana” is also sometimes translated to mean “connection with the earth.” In my experience, a major benefit that comes from practicing asana on the mat is that it has allowed me to feel more grounded - yet at the same time fluid and open - in the rest of my life as well. I have experienced how my breath can help me find which muscles to engage and which muscles to release in each pose, and the sense of spaciousness that results through all of my joints has allowed me to feel my own life energy flow through me more freely. And then, each time I step off the yoga mat, I am a bit clearer about my sense of alignment with life itself. At any moment throughout my day I can check in with my breath and it can tell me whether I am feeling truly grounded or frustratingly uprooted.</p> <p>If you are standing on one foot in Tree Pose, you are equally likely to fall out of balance whether you are trying too hard or not trying at all. The same rings true in life as well, and especially during Vata Season. If you are too soft, the strong winds of Vata will blow you away. If you are too rigid, the wind will break you in two! Striking the balance between effort and ease in each moment of your life can certainly help you know what it means to be aware of your connection with the earth. Thus “Sthira Sukham Asanam” becomes a moment-to-moment lesson in allowing this connection to help you move through your karma gracefully and with sure feet.</p>

2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

42 Connecting to the Earth <p><img align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/dsc_0032.jpg" /> The dry, cool winds that are the trademarks of autumn usher in what in Ayurveda is known as Vata Season. This is the time of year when we are most likely to experience th

2009-11-06T20:06:54Z

Julie Wilcox

<p><img height="161" align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/tolle%20book.jpg" /></p> <p>Because I love to read, visit museums, and watch movies for all of the wisdom they put forth,  I have decided to keep a diary of my favorite quotes. Incorporating such kernels of knowledge into my teaching makes the teaching all the more fun and interesting for me and I hope it does for you too.</p> <p>"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - Shakespeare</p> <p>"Don't seek happiness. If you seek it, you wont find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is attainable now, by facing what is rather than making up stories about it. Unhappiness covers up your natural state of well-being and inner peace, the source of true happiness." -Eckhart Tolle, <em>A New Eart</em>h</p> <p>"The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, Now Voyager sail thy forth to seek and find." - Walt Whitman, <em>The Untold Want</em><b><br /> </b></p> <p>"Dear Tina, I was sorry to see you in tears when I left but Daddy understood--you were crying because you were being left alone. But today I made a discovery; all people are alone in some ways and some people are alone in all ways. Even after someone is grown up, she can be alone. " - Now Voyager, the movie.</p> <p>Last week when Obama hosted the Indian Prime Minister at the White House, the Prime Minister quoted Abraham Lincoln: "It's not the years in your life that count, it is the life in your years."</p> <p>"I feel that a really living form is the natural result of the individual's effort to create the living thing out of the adventure of his spirit into the unknown - where it has experienced something - felt something - it has not understood - and from that experience comes the desire to make the unknown, known." - Georgia O'Keefe, 1976 </p> <p>"All those moments will be lost in time like tears in the Rain." - <em>Bladerunner</em></p>

2009-10-03T16:26:10Z

41 JW Diary of Quotes <p><img align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/tolle%20book.jpg" /> Because I love to read, visit museums, and watch movies for all of the wisdom they put forth,  I have decided to keep a diary of my favorite quotes. Incorporating

2009-12-01T12:44:20Z

Alan Finger

<p><img height="100" align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/pumpkins.jpg" />The immune system is controlled by the thymus gland, which sits just above the heart. The thymus gland is governed by the heart chakra, which relates to our emotions and feelings. When Fall arrives and the sun's power is lessened it effects our emotional stability, just like when clouds cover the sun and it becomes gloomy. When our emotions are down, that feeling of gloom causes the immune system to weaken and therefore we become more susceptible to illness. Yogic tools can be used to alter our state of mind, which modern science refers to as brain plasticity. By replacing one thought with a different one, it trains our brain to re-route the neurons to a different pathway, allowing us to feel, think, and react in a new way. Mantra is one powerful tool we can use to divert our brain from going to that gloomy place.</p> <p>The mantra "Om Aim (pronounced Ah-eem) Hrim Shwaha" will inspire and uplift the emotions, while "Om Ram Ram Ram Ramaya Namaha" will strengthen the immune system. Chant each of these mantras 27 times to stabilize your mood and build immunity. You can also practice Ustrasana, or Camel pose, in order to bring balance to the heart and throat chakra. Focus on squaring the shoulder girdle and keeping balance in the throat and neck.</p> <p>Om Hari Om Tat Sat,</p> <p>Alan</p>

2009-10-03T16:18:25Z

40 Autumn and Our Immune System <p><img align="left" width="150" alt="" src="/uploads/Image/blog/pumpkins.jpg" />The immune system is controlled by the thymus gland, which sits just above the heart. The thymus gland is governed by the heart chakra, which relates to our emotions and fe

2009-11-06T20:10:15Z

Alan Finger

<p>Prana is the life force in the universe that animates all matter.  Prana travels on oxygen via the breath. Yogis believe that we are born with a certain number of breaths to live. How long it takes one to live out these breaths depends on how much we can stretch our breath.</p> <p>Pranayama teaches us how to absorb the maximum amount of prana to inspire all levels of our existence and to enhance any situation or activity in our lives.  Most people dissipate prana by excess movement and thinking.  When prana flows efficiently and harmoniously through our system our lives become effortless. This can be seen in simple examples of how our breath and mind function. </p> <p>The most important lesson of pranayama is to learn how the body functions to absorb breath and prana into our system. This happens on the inhalation. On the exhalation, apana (a quality of prana) is used to remove impurities from our system.  </p> <p>The process:  On the inhalation, the sternum lifts, then the ribs expand sideways, backwards and upward. The diaphragm draws down in opposition, allowing air and prana to be drawn into our body.  On the exhalation, the sternum relaxes down, the ribs follow, closing downward, the diaphragm relaxes upward into the chest cavity and the belly draws in.  This forces toxins to release out of the body in the form of gases, sweat, urine, and feces. </p> <p>Respect this process by checking it many times a day, just feeling the wave of the breath rising and falling in this complete manner we have described.   To relax and renew, take quiet moments to feel the pulse at the end of the exhale and allow it to become gentle.  Other pranayama techniques need to be taught by a teacher in a controlled environment.</p>

2009-09-02T20:30:30Z

36 Pranayama <p>Prana is the life force in the universe that animates all matter.  Prana travels on oxygen via the breath. Yogis believe that we are born with a certain number of breaths to live. How long it takes one to live out these breaths depends on how much

2009-11-06T15:51:46Z

Julie Wilcox

<p><strong><u><img height="99" align="left" width="150" src="/uploads/Image/blog/prarivrtta%20ardha%20chandrasana.jpg" alt="" />Basic Overview:</u></strong> This pose is heating, detoxifying, and focuses on the 1st-3rd chakras, especially Manipura. It helps to create strength, flexibility, fire, and clarity while it works the hip adductors, obliques, spinal extensors and rotators. It also lengthens the hamstrings, hip abductors, latissimus dorsi, and respiratory diaphragm. </p> <p><u><strong>From an Energetic/Ayurvedic Perspective:</strong></u> Decreases Vata (distractedness, restlessness); Increases Pitta (focus); Increases Kapha (calmness)</p>

2009-09-01T20:30:30Z

35 Prarivrtta Ardha Chandrasana <p><img align="left" width="150" src="/uploads/Image/blog/prarivrtta%20ardha%20chandrasana.jpg" alt="" />Basic Overview: This pose is heating, detoxifying, and focuses on the 1st-3rd chakras, especially Manipura. It helps to create strength, flexibility,

2009-09-24T03:49:11Z