Welcome to the Kripalu Yoga Posture Clinic, week four! Here, Devarshi Steven Hartman, Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga, and Jovinna Chan, Assistant Dean, share sound tips to help your yoga practice soar. These clips can be enjoyed independently or as a series for a complete practice, once they’re all published. Come back every [...]
Tag Archives: Kripalu Yoga
Posted on June 17th, 2012 by Thrive in Moment of Quiet
Moment of Quiet
“The highest spiritual practice is self-observation without judgment.” -Swami Kripalu
Posted on June 14th, 2012 by Valerie Reiss in Yoga
Shop Like a Yogi—in Four Questions or Less
I’m allergic to spiritual texts; one sutra and I’m prone to wild swelling of the nap gland. But as someone who’s practiced yoga for 20 years and is a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor, I’ve managed to cram the 10 yamas and niyamas (yogic do’s and don’ts) into my head. I aim, loosely, to practice them. Mostly, this is not a hardship. For example, ahimsa, or non-violence, means taking a breath when I want to say something cutting and offering compassion instead. Bramacharya, moderation, means eating three, and not 20, double-chocolate organic Newman O’s. Satya, truthfulness, translates as being upfront in my relationships. One that kicks my yogic booty, though, is aparigraha, non-possessiveness. Or as I like to call it: non-shopping.
I’m not sure if this is because I grew up in New York City as a double-Aries only child who wants what she wants NOW, or what, but I do like to shop. I’m not proud of it—you’ll never see me with a “Born to Shop” bumper sticker—but I like pretty stuff. I like looking for it, buying it, and wearing it. Usually, it’s clothing that brings me those temporary bursts of shopper’s delight, but I get a similar rush from buying a notebook, hair tie, or a mug with a spiritual message like, “Trust the Process.” Judging by the compliments I get from my fellow yogis on my sparkly TOMS, Lulu hoodies, and Sayta lotus earrings, I’m not alone in the paradox of wanting stuff that reminds me to give back and let go.
Kripalu Yoga Posture Clinic: Half Moon
Welcome to the Kripalu Yoga Posture Clinic! Here, Devarshi Steven Hartman, Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga, and Jovinna Chan, Assistant Dean, share sound tips to help your yoga practice soar. These clips can be enjoyed independently or as a series for a complete practice, once they’re all published. Come back every Wednesday for this 12 week period! Enjoy!
Kripalu Yoga Posture Clinic: Yoga Mudra
Welcome to the Kripalu Yoga Posture Clinic, week two! Here, Devarshi Steven Hartman, Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga, and Jovinna Chan, Assistant Dean, share sound tips to help your yoga practice soar. These clips can be enjoyed independently or as a series for a complete practice, once they’re all published. Come back every [...]
Kripalu Yoga Posture Clinic: Cat/Cow
Welcome to Kripalu Yoga Posture Clinic, week one! Here, Devarshi Steven Hartman, Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga, and Jovinna Chan, Assistant Dean, share sound tips to help your yoga practice soar. These clips can be enjoyed independently or as a series for a complete practice, once they’re all published. Come back every Wednesday [...]
Posted on April 21st, 2012 by Janna Delgado, BFA, RYT 500 in Yoga
Get Grounded with Mountain Pose
How we stand, literally—with our feet on the ground—can have a huge impact on how we feel. When we align ourselves and ground in Mountain pose, we access the qualities of stability, balance, and strength. Reconnecting to these qualities can help us as we move through our day, meeting challenges and entering new situations. Try Mountain pose any time you need to ground yourself to find inner strength and peace.
To explore this foundational pose, stand with your feet parallel and three to five inches apart, weight evenly balanced, arms at your sides. Spread out the toes and press evenly down through the four corners of each foot. As the feet firm into the floor, the kneecaps will lift and the thighs will gently engage. Lengthen the tailbone toward the heels and lift the pubic bone toward the navel. Firm the shoulder blades onto the back and slide them down toward the waist. Gently lift the sternum and reach the fingertips toward the floor. Keeping the chin parallel to the floor, lengthen up through the crown of the head, while softening the tongue and the throat. Develop steady, smooth breaths.
Posted on March 22nd, 2012 by Jovinna Chan, E-RYT 500 in Inner View
Inner View: Jovinna Chan
Get to know the people who make Kripalu such a unique place through the personal stories featured in our Inner View series.
In this short video, Assistant Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga, Jovinna Chan, shares what brought her to yoga.
Outside Our Walls – Kripalu Yoga in Japan
For practitioners in Japan, Kripalu Yoga offers a fresh viewpoint on both yoga and life.
“There’s an emphasis on individuality—what you think and feel are very important,” says Toshiro Miura, owner of the sole Kripalu Yoga studio in Japan. “The mind is not something to change or to deny, but to be aware of and be friends with. That’s a very different way of looking at yoga for Japanese people.”
While living in the United States for four years, Toshiro was introduced to Kripalu Yoga and met Swami Kripalu during Kripalu’s ashram period in Pennsylvania. He returned to Japan in 1981 with his ex-wife, an American Kripalu Yoga teacher, and settled in the small town of Odawara, where they were unable to find a single yoga class.
So they began conducting classes together—she taught, and he translated. “We didn’t call it Kripalu Yoga, but it was the first Kripalu Yoga in Japan,” Toshiro says. Soon he took over the teaching, and taught for 12 years while also practicing acupuncture. Encouraged by Amrit Desai’s visit to Japan in 1991, Toshiro completed Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training in 1994.
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