Some pics from our Deep Relaxation with Shiva Meditation class at YogaWorks in the Southbay on Saturday!!! This was a really fun pop up class.
Arm Balance and Hip Opening Workshops!
First Workshop in Jiaxing
Just before Christmas I taught my first workshop in the city of Jiaxing! What a great group of students at YogaWorks! Thank you to Michelle for inviting me to come and teach your students. Thank you to Skye for doing such a great job translating. And thank you to everyone who came to practice with me! We had a deep hip opening workshop and the studio was packed. I loved digging into these practices with you all and helping you find more range of motion at your hip joint. December turned out to be all about the hips! Why do we want to open the hips? To stretch and strengthen the muscles of the upper legs and pelvic region, to protect the knees and the lower back, to increase blood flow to the pelvic region, to connect the upper and lower body, to keep energy flowing smoothly to the lower extremities, to find balance and prevent injuries, to prepare the body to sit for deeper pranayama and meditation practices, and to release tension from the body, which allows us to release tension from the mind. Are your hips tight? In which direction of movement? How is this affecting your body? What are you holding onto? Do you know how to open up, which muscles need to be stretched and which muscles need to get stronger? Do you know the poses that will help you? Do you know how to protect your knees and your lower back? Look forward to seeing you at a future workshop. And hope to see you all again soon in Jiaxing! You did a great job YogaWorks yogis! Very auspicious! I practiced for years in Santa Monica with my teacher @anniecarpentersmartflow at another studio called YogaWorks. Namaste.
Deep back bending workshop at Sunya Yoga!
Shiva Power class in Guangzhou!
When did you first start practicing yoga?
Fun pictures at the Guangzhou Dreamer Yoga Festival.
My first yoga practice was when I was studying acting in the UK at RADA for a summer program. We did yoga in one of the movement classes. I don’t know if they were allowed to call it yoga back then because of the perceived connection to religion. I looked back on what we were doing when I started practicing regularly after I’d returned home from the program and realized we’d been doing yoga in some of our movement classes.
Thank you for the birthday wishes!
I had a wonderful dinner last night at Gracias Madre. Lots of calls and texts from family and friends. Lots of emails and messages and posts on Facebook. Grateful for all of you who are a part of my life. It’s been a wonderful start to the year. I’m excited for the journey ahead. Lots of love to everyone. Thank you for your love, friendship, and kind words. And thank you for being a part of my life. I feel very blessed. Namaste.
Kula All Dressed Up!
We had a really fun dinner on Saturday night! Nice to spend some time with this lovely Kula Yoga community. Fun to see everyone dressed up and not in yoga clothes too.
A Kula is a family. I feel like I have several yoga families right now and I love connecting with these families as much as I love connecting with my biological family.
We are in a time where the things in our life that are supposed to help us connect to each other are actually making us feel more lonely and alone. I think yoga and the communities we create around our yoga practice can really make up for this lack of connection we feel in our modern world and this lack of community that is disappearing from our lives.
Do you have a Kula? Do you feel connected? Come to a yoga class and you’ll meet a whole lot of people on the same journey that you are on. You might make some new friends, you might find a new partner, you might find the sense of community and belonging that you have been missing.
Thank you, Kula Yoga community for a fun night out!
How is Your New Year Starting Off?
How is your new year starting off? Did you set intentions? What are you going to do differently this year? What seeds have you already planted that you want to see continue to grow? What are you ready to let go of and leave behind?
I returned to Los Angeles on Monday after a wonderful trip to Toronto and the surrounding area to see family and a few old friends and a very rejuvenating trip to New York to practice with my teacher Dharma Mittra and reconnect with some of the Dharma community.
My Nana and her grandkids!
My sister is a Chef!
Elysia Yoga Convention!
Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th of July! I chose to move here almost 15 yrs ago. Love it. Love California. Love the ocean. Love the people. No regrets.
The world right now is going through a major awakening -- and that is always messy. I think something wonderful is going to come out of the many challenges we see around us.
Story of the Three Debts.
Feeling Grateful!
Thanks for all the birthday love, everyone! It's been a beautiful day. This has been a great year and I have much to be grateful for in my life. There are always challenges in all of our lives. I think it is how we meet those challenges that matters. I look forward to the year ahead. I'm ready for whatever challenges come my way and I'm exciting for the opportunity for growth which each one will bring.
Special Event Class: Maha Sadhana
One of the best ways to introduce your students to Garth and the IntegratedDharmaYoga system is to host a Maha Sadhana event. The Maha Sadhana event is a 3hr event class that features a sampling of the many teachings Garth offers in the more in depth weekend workshops series and in the IntegratedDharmaYoga teacher training.
