Where is the crisis?

I had the chance to sit down with a group of lovely ladies to talk about the economical recession and asked them how they are coping with the challenges that it has brought into their lives.
Most of them where very optimistic saying that not having a credit card debt have helped them realize how important is to use the money wisely. Others were grateful because even though their employers cut their hours back, they feel better compare to others that lost their job completely.

In the group there was a young lady that just moved to Texas from Michigan. She is trying to adapt to her new surroundings but misses Michigan quite a bit. She told us how after living there for 6 years she witnessed how the economy plummeted. She saw how residential areas were desolated and strip business areas completely closed converting small towns in ghost ones.

To contrast that idea during the weekend I dare to go to the Apple store to ask how much a Mac computer would cost me, I arrived at noon and it was packed.! People waited for 30 minutes to be helped and I saw white big boxes with Macs flying as if they were the cheapest computers in the world.

There is no doubt that compare with other states Texas has been fortunate and hopefully those who lost their jobs here will find one soon.

One of the columns that you will find at Yoga Sanga (hopefully by the end of the week, so the programmer keeps saying) is questions and answers. The question I chose for this issue is related to crisis in our lives and how to face them in a more balance way. Maybe it is not as much as to avoiding them as to learn how to face them differently.

Rocio

How come you missed it?

That is what my students asked me in disbelief on Friday morning when they asked if I heard the storm that came into Austin Thursday night.
I looked at them and said did it rain? Most of them couldn't sleep because of the wind blowing around the houses.
My only excuse was I guess I have been a little sleep deprived and my body took the opportunity to catch up. No doubt my awareness was into my sleep state.

By the way talking about awareness, one of the articles that we will be featuring is written by Ramanand Patel (wonderful yoga teacher and a genius in the use of props and small movements that give you a fast reality check). In his article he explores consciousness and its relation with contentment.
Shantosha or contentment is an interesting and often misunderstood concept in the Yoga lingo, I am sure this article will bring some light to it.

Tell me if you have a story of complete unawareness about something going on around you.

Enjoy the weekend!
Rocio

Yoga practice

A tired and little frustrated student asked me today, how much time should I practice yoga every day?
It really depends, if you talk only about the asana (poses) then everyday will be great; if you talk about the other 7 pillars, then is every day, every moment...- I answered

Her concern was that after 3 months of not doing any Yoga, her body struggled all through the class. Sounds familiar?

It is better to practice the poses everyday for a short period of time if that is all you have, than going to a class once a week. Muscles have memory and the more we stretch them gently the easier is to open and strengthen them.

I have an older student; she might be in her 50s and had two surgeries on her knee। When she started coming to class she was hesitant to move much. Little by little using support, her body started to open up and now she has reduced the use of props and gained not only strength but control over her body.

Don't be fool by the models in the magazines, everybody is different and though there is a model to follow in every pose, we have to adapt to what the body is able to do in every practice.

My teacher would say "constant practice and complete detachment bring the goal closer"
Have you made time for Yoga today?

Rocio

Yoga props

It always surprises me how much a yoga teacher can do with props. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy going to yoga classes, it forces me to experience each pose in a different way. Plus it's always good to have someone else keeping an eye out for straight legs, aligned arms and level hips (hard to do when you are practicing alone).

Anyway today in class we used pretty much everything from blocks to wall to chairs, my favorite was supported shoulder stand. When the teacher came and adjusted my shoulders it felt sooo good!!

Tell me what has been the most creative way that you or a yoga teacher has used a prop in a class?



By the way Yoga Sanga will give a Karma Yoga Recognition if you would like to nominate someone who really practices selflessness in Texas, send me a message and I will follow up.

Have a good night, though the storm was a little rough around here (electricity went off for couple of seconds), the rain felt like a blessing to the Earth.

Rocio

Be heard!

Yoga Sanga invites you to share and submit articles, poems, cartoons or anything related to Yoga. Our team will review it and will post some of the submissions on the website. Keep on the lookout for our first Teacher's Bio!
This is a magazine for the community and by the community!

what is that??

That is what I heard yesterday when I dragged my reliable Mac into the store. An older couple even said to one another, "that is how the Mac used to look." I had to take a deep breath, swallow and move to the counter where a teenager laughed and said, uh...this is vintage, and I cannot even touch it because we don't make parts for it any more. Here is a list of places that might be able to help you and rescue your hard drive, good luck!
Vintage??? How can it be, vintage? I bought it in 2004! What does that make me!!
But hope is everlasting, every once in a while I push the power button hoping to have my old friend come back to life.
It is not only the financial loss, but the four years of information that I have that makes this so painful.

I guess the yogic way is to let go, start some things from scratch and continue using my son's Dell that hasn't been bad after all.
Thanks for your messages and interest, I have been sending the prices for those of the early subscribers (way to go!!).

Yoga Sanga will be up and running in couple of days (at least that is what the Programmer keeps telling me). Just like building a house, things take time and a lot of patience, but everything will come together at the end.
Cheers!

Yoga Sanga Adventures and Website update

Hello everyone,

It is exciting to finally get the ball rolling and introduced Yoga Sanga to teachers and business owners, this is something that I have been working on for quite some time and I am thrilled, hopeful and a little bit scared to begin a new project and be part in its development from an idea to reality.

My dream is to bring the wonderful Yoga community together and share our paths, challenges and dreams as spiritual seekers for some and physical discipline for others.


I can't tell you how excited I am to have you join me in the biggest adventure of my life, besides being married for 21 years! To me yoga is more than practicing; it is a way of life. And let me tell you life always provides me with moments where I can practice the detachment and the centering that yoga offers. For example, just yesterday I came back from a trip to Merida, Yucatan in Mexico where my husband and I gave a talk about balancing work and life. I was working hard to finish the letters to the yoga teachers and studios and my husband accidentally spilled a full glass of water over the desk where my old iMac was!!! Four years of documents, pictures and songs where gone in a second. So far it hasn’t been able to turn on and tonight we will wait for the Mac geeks to give the final verdict. In moments like these, it's a challenge to remember to Breathe!


Anyway, just to let you know, we are working hard on the website and it will be up in couple of weeks.
Enjoy the day!
Rocio

Dear Yoga teacher and/or studio owner,

I am pleased to introduce Yoga Sanga: an online Yoga magazine for the Texas Community. Our purpose is to bring together information to prospective students about the community and share our dreams, experiences and views on Yoga’s many schools of practice and philosophies.
Yoga Sanga will attract educated, affluent and open-minded buyers. Our online magazine stands out from the others by featuring inspiring and interesting articles and multimedia features such as videos, music, and a blog that will help users create an interactive atmosphere that appeals to people from a broad variety of lifestyles.


The magazine will feature articles written by Yoga teachers in the Community, special events and a state of the art directory where students will have an interactive map that will allow them to find either a teacher or a studio close to where they live.
Be part of an exclusively web-based approach connecting Yoga practitioners, studios and teachers through an inviting and interactive environment. Don’t lose the opportunity to expose your classes or studio to more than 15,000 new customers!


ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
Premium Placement
Yoga Sanga provides an uncluttered environment consisting of fewer advertising units to enhance visitors’ experience—and your marketing message in a rotation banner.
Targeted Delivery
Through a combination of company, day-part and geographic targeting, Yoga Sanga delivers to your core target audience.


ADVERTISING PRICES
Call us if you are interested and check our affordable prices!
Special offer:
Sign in soon we are offering our lowest price to a limited number of teachers. And that is not all; Yoga Sanga will pay the tuition of one of those teachers to participate at the Yoga Texas retreat in November 6-8 (accommodations not included). Don’t miss out!!

PAYMENT METHODS

You choose the type of payment that is comfortable from a variety of options and you can either send a check or use Google checkout to apply payment to your credit card. If you need to cancel just send us an e-mail two weeks before expiration of term and we will take your logo down from our website.


REQUIRMENTS

To be part of Yoga Sanga all you need to do is send us your picture on a jpeg file on a 300 pix resolution or more, the link to your website, a brief bio, style of yoga, the name of the town where you teach and your phone number in an excel spreadsheet.


I will be pleased to discuss with you more about Yoga Sanga and the directory prices necessary to be part of it. Please contact me at the numbers shown above.
My best regards,

Rocio Morales
Director and Founder
Yoga Sanga Magazine

PO Box 5717, Round Rock, TX 78683
Phone 1800-662-3901, Fax 1-888-612-0992
E-mail: yogasangatx@gmail.com
Website: yogasanga.net

Welcome

I can't believe it is finally happening, making Yoga Sanga into a reality has tested the limits of my patience and sanity, but it is here! I am happy to share with all of you Austin Texas premier resource for everything Yoga, from classes, teachers and studios.

My own discovery of Yoga was some years ago when my mother took me to one of her yoga classes, now growing up my family was loud, combative and insane, sound familiar? So you can imagine the bliss that I first encountered in that small yoga studio. I fell in love with the graceful yet strong movements and the peace of mind that could be harnessed from silent reflection.

Though it was much later, when I began my own path as a Yoga teacher I always remembered that moment when I saw the power of this beautiful practice.

~Rocio Morales