Community
 Amritanandamaya Devi "Amma" is referred to as "The Hugging Saint" A Guru (remover of darkness) in her own right, has bestowed her blessings (darshan) upon me for seven years. Her omnipresence and the gift of her kindness has lifted my spirits and truly removed darkness from my heart. Every year, I receive her blessing the infusion of spirit and prana resonates deep in my heart and my spirit soars like a hummingbird. "Amma's life is her message. In other words, Amma does not teach anything that she herself does not practice. Living from moment to moment in a constant state of supreme happiness, Amma warmly embraces thousands of people day after day, wiping their tears, giving them her divine guidance and offering solace to all who come to her. Amma recommends the path of selfless-service through the example of her own life." "The beauty and charm of selfless love and service should not die away from the face of the earth. The world should know that a life of dedication is possible, that a life inspired by love and service to humanity is possible. Meditation and studying the scriptures are like two sides of a coin. The engraving on that coin is selfless service, and that is what gives it its real value. Our compassion and acts of selflessness take us to the deeper truths. Through selfless action we can eradicate the ego that conceals the Self. Detached, selfless action leads to liberation. Such action is not just work; it is karma yoga." Amma Amma has many resources to help the underprivelaged, especially children, of our planet. Please, take a look at her website and see if her message resonates with you. If it does, then join me, under her supreme guidance, to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children. I have been donating to the foundation for seven years now. https://www.amma.org/donations/make-a-donation.html If we collectively support our planet, even in a small way, we can make a valuable difference. |
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 James Bailey LAc, Dipl Om, Dipl Ayu, E-RYT 500 is a third generation healer, CAM physician, and Yoga educator, and Yoga teacher trainer who has been living yoga and ayurveda for 25 years. He practices Ayurveda, Marma Therapies, Acupuncture, and Wellness Counseling to aid patients towards their true nature of well being. His training includes 5 years (4000+ hours) of formal clinical studies in Oriental Medicine (Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine from Yo San University) and training in Ayurveda under such luminary teachers as Dr. Vaijayanti Apte (Dipl Ayu from the Kerala Ayurveda Academy), Dr. Subash Ranade, Dr. Avinash Lele, Dr. Vasant Lad, and many Ayurvedic doctors and therapists in Kerala, south India where he spends time teaching and studying while on retreat."When an individual firmly understands that the power to heal is stronger than the force of disease, all things are possible. In Ayurvedic medicine it is considered natural law that every living being has an inherent tendency to move in the direction of self-healing and balance, and that the body has an inherent intellegence and set of instructions to do so. We call this svabhavoparamavdha. To encourage this natural healing potential, the unconscious must be replaced by self knowledge and healthy life promoting choices. Once this is established, a critical point in the journey is then within reach where it is said that the vital power of life and the warmth of the inner sun returns. Radiant health is then inevitable. This reconnection with our true nature is known as Prakriti. The vision of my work - whether in the clinic, in my courses, or on retreat - is to serve as a guide for those seeking their true natural being: to be your true self and to live a healthy, fulfiled and vibrant life. |
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 Sherry Brourman P.T. E-RYT 500 Specializes in walking, gait therapy, and yoga therapy as treatment modalities, and the author of Walk Yourself Well, Sherry offers innovative rehabilitation & treatment options for her patients and clients.A graduate of Boston University Sargent College of Allied Health Professions in 1973, and in private practice since 1978, Sherry Brourman is a licensed Physical Therapist, and a 500 hour Yoga Alliance Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher in Santa Monica, California. Modalities: Postural Evaluation and Refinement, Gait Analysis and Training, Yoga Therapy Consultation or Session, Active, Passive or Resistive Exercises, Specific Joint Therapy, Foot and Balance Therapy, Movement Therapy Session, Home Exercise Instruction, Pre and Post Natal Back Care, Stretching Techniques and Home Program, Massage Therapy, Ultrasound, Kinesio Taping. "You see the thing is, body balance, that is, how we manage these beautiful machines with gravity always always pulling down, is body balance. Whether we are sitting to write, driving, eating, spinning on the ice, hitting a tennis ball, walking or in the most complex yoga posture that exists, these learnable engineering principles are exactly the same. The beauty of that is, once you get this, and you can…I mean, everyone can get this, you get to sail away, or in, to where your inside lights are the brightest. This is the part that is said to be a spiritual journey, and don’t be mislead or frightened by these words. It is not a cult or specific religious following, rather a way into your self and some will call this your soul, and it is from this place, that your love will grow. Did I mention that that is the point? Of Yoga, I mean." |
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 Jason C. Frahm E-RYT Based in Los Angeles, Jason Frahm has been a healing practitioner for over eleven years. He currently teaches yoga at one of Los Angeles’ leading yoga studios Exhale for Sacred Movement as well as The Ashram a world renowned destination retreat center. In addition to yoga, his private practice also includes shamanic wellness practices, chi-kung, meditation, bodywork influenced by tai-chi, and cranial sacral energy work. In June 2005, Jason founded, The At-Onement Project a charity dedicated to empowering at risk women, children, and their families in small villages across the world that are impacted by poverty or devastation. The initial focus was bringing the gifts of yoga to the children of Sri Lanka and Indonesia left orphaned and homeless by the Tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia in 2004. The work has now expanded into Peru where AOP is assisting a village of the Amazon become self-sustaining through opening natural medicine clinics to assist the locals and the tourists of the area. "We are everything and nothing.......it is our opportunity to use this time in the body to remember and experience the depth of "I AM"" |
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 Rachel Jackscon Yoga works. I see it in my own practice and my students' practice. I believe that yoga takes us deeper into our own hearts and our own essence. At the core of everyone of us is a divine radiance. The practice of yoga helps us to connect with, channel and celebrate our radiance. This simple but challenging idea is why I continue to come to the mat both as a teacher and as a student. Yoga works to make everyone of us feel good. Why? Because we all strive to connect with our true nature which is ultimate freedom and ecstatic celebration. I began practicing yoga in New York, the city I call home, when a friend invited me to a class at Alan Finger’s studio “Be Yoga” in 2000. There and then, I began a dedicated practice of ISHTA yoga. I was an eager and avid student and my passion for the practice of yoga developed quickly. A 2004 relocation to the West Coast brought the Anusara practice into my life. Since then, I have studied with a number of world-renowned teachers of Anusara Yoga including its founder, John Friend, and other established teachers including Desiree Rumbaugh, Ross Rayburn, Tiffany Fraser and Douglass Brooks among others. I am Anusara-Inspired teacher who has taught and continues to teach at the best studios in LA including, Exhale Center for Sacred Movement, Black Dog Yoga, Sports Club LA, Studio Surya Yoga and Urth Yoga. |
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 Saul David Raye's is an internationally acclaimed teacher, healer and sacred activist known for his empowering and transformational approach to yoga, healing and spirituality. Saul began practicing Yoga and Meditation as a teenager and has studied with masters in various spiritual and healing traditions. He spent several years in Asia and India studying and practicing Yoga, Thai massage, Pranic healing and meditation. Saul’s teaching brings alive the holistic nature of Yoga and healing in a way that is simple, powerful and accessible, allowing people to connect more deeply with their own authentic power and spirit. He holds certifications in Yoga, bodywork and energy healing, is an ordained minister and musician who infuses his classes with healing music and chants. Saul has been on the faculty of numerous national conferences and has been featured in different health publications. He shares his work through teacher trainings, workshops, classes, retreats and musical events. unique and powerful style of teaching is deeply intuitive and grounded in many years of study and practice. He is able to weave together all the different aspects of Yoga and healing in a way that is clear, powerful and accessible. Saul is considered by his students as a master guide, helping people to connect more deeply with their own authentic power and spirit. He holds a sacred space in which healing and transformation arise naturally. |
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 Erich Schiffman is the author of the incredibly informative book "Moving Into Stillness" that I have included as one of the seven books in my teacher's training. Personally, I attended a 200 hour teacher's training over 10 years ago that included the gift of his book. I found his message to be profound although I struggled greatly with meditation it moved me to keep the faith. Honestly, I have given this book as a gift so many times to others. As a matter of fact, right now, my copy is on loan to a dear friend. Every time I give this book away, I go buy two more because I can't seem to keep it in my own hands. The message is revolutionary and critical for all yoga teachers. Live the path....Authenticity...Trust... "Remember, Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are. The practice of yoga is the practice of meditation – or inner listening – in the poses and meditations, as well as all day long. It’s a matter of listening inwardly for guidance all the time, and then daring enough and trusting enough to do as you are prompted to do…" Freedom Style Yoga is an intuitive approach to life and yoga that can be summarized as, “Do not decide in advance about what to do or not do. Instead, listen inwardly for guidance and trust into what you find yourself Knowing.” Erich Schiffman |
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 SEAN.FM has been immersed in his sadhana (sādhanā: spiritual exertion towards an intended goal.) His devotion to the awakening of the human spirit for over 20 years has led him to the supreme truth: We are all one! His lifelong study of self-help, self-motivation and self-realization has driven him deeper into the spiritual example that he embodies today. He offers numerous mediums for carrying out his passionate message of conscious interdependence. His work in Life Coaching, Singer/Songwriter, Spoken Word Artist, Vinyasa Yoga Teacher and Bhakti(devotional) Yoga has revealed this truth to his heart. Which is why he is so motivated to share his message.Sean.fm’s message of peace and unity through action offers a simple way of living. He lives his sadhana, with compassion, ethics and values as the key principals in his message. Alignment with these ethics helps him to inspire his family and global community to reach their spiritual potential. He shares his art to remind the universe and himself that he stands for something. One could call it self-empowerment, courage, or even inner strength. However, a step deeper, one could say it is the will to overcome life’s conditioning and it’s karmic ties. There are infinite ways one could perceive this message. He invites you to sit quietly and breath this universal concept into your heart. If it resonates, keep it, if not, breath it out and move on. Sean.fm has become a quantum activist in order to combat the global mainstream media machine. The knowledge that is received today, by mainstream media, belies a conditioned stress response. Consequently, we don’t cultivate the tools we need to transform our inherited dysfunction's. Our inner work is as important, if not more important than our work on the outside. He knows, amidst, the brain washing and mind numbing that we receive in the news, we must commit and persevere together. |
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 Robert Sturman The powerful images of mixed-media artist Robert Sturman have a vivid presence that is both other-worldly and deeply rooted in the earthly wonders he has explored so adventurously in his global travels. A spiritual journeyer as well, Sturman is an intuitive creator whose works resonate with an inner vision as much as they reach out to embrace the viewer with tactile, richly hued physicality. Dappled with light, vibrant with texture, at once brimming with narrative voice and sensual immediacy, his art conveys the sense of a moment of a dream distilled so that its magic and mystery can be absorbed at will.The official visual artist of 2005’s 47th Annual GRAMMY®Awards, Sturman has formal training as a painter and photographer, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Following his degree, Sturman completed a two-year apprenticeship with Carmel, CA-based master photographer William Giles, whose striking images have been said, "to have the impact of a Zen koan," a description that could apply to Sturman’s imagery as well. He also studied for two years at the Memphis College of Art under acclaimed Italian painter John Torina, whose ephemeral, atmospheric landscapes are echoed in many of Sturman’s works. Sturman's body of work is comprised of a wealth of images taken over the course of extensive international treks. Each landscape, cityscape or captured vista is suffused with the essence of its place of origin, including visions of India, Rome, New Orleans, Laos, San Francisco, Cuba, and myriad more destinations. The artist's passion for Buddhist thought is reflected in a host of striking images including one of monks silently crossing in front of a Nepalese Temple, and his Jewish identity is explored in the piece "Perseverance: Portrait of a Surfing Rabbi,"created after a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. In listing qualities intrinsic to his work, Sturman has said it "is about emotions for which I have no words," and that can be felt throughout his oeuvre. |
