Katie's Summer Teaching Schedule

Mountain Yoga: Montclaire, Oakland (http://www.mountainyoga.org/)
Mondays 4:30-5:15 p.m.

Namaste Yoga in Rockridge, Oakland, (http://www.namasterockridge.com/)
Wednesdays 7:30-9 p.m.

Piedmont Yoga: Oakland (http://www.piedmontyoga.com/)
Thursdays 5:30-7 p.m.

Spring News from YogaBhavana

Wow! Lately, Yoga Bhavana has been in the media spotlight!

Guess who's this week's featured Yoga Teacher for YogaMates?
Read the interview!

You can also stay up to date on my Yogini Lifestyle articles through Suite101.

Here are a few examples:

Oiling Yourself Up! The Art of Self Massage
Raw Versus Cooked
The Essence of the Gods: Making Ghee
Ayurvedic Doshas
Ayurvedic Health Tips for Daily Use

We are also particularly honored to be hosting one of the country's most respected Ayurvedacharyas, Mary Thompson, from the California College of Ayurveda. She will lead us through an interactive workshop on Spring cleansing methods, based on an Ayurvedic perspective. (See below for more info).

Don't forget to hurry and sign up for our delicious trip to Maya Tulum, Mexico on May 30th-June 6th. We already have a great group forming, including the Bay Area's Spiciest Masseuse and Biking-girl Wonder, Kate Maxey, as well as Colorado's Most Juicy Anusara She-Goddess, Nova Loverro Sprick.

May you rest on the leading edge of Abundance and (as well as a little Lustiness),

Katie

AYURVEDIC CLEANSING FOR SPRING: More than Cool Massages

Spring into spring with renewed vitality, health and splendor! YogaBhavana is delighted to host one of the countries most respected Ayurvedacharyas, Mary Thompson.

Date: Sunday, March 29, 2009
TIme: 10:00 AM - 2:00pm
Where: 1229 CARRISON ST., Berkeley, CA.
Investment: $80, includes full Ayurvedic cleansing lunch and four hour workshop.

Mary will lead us through an interactive workshop on Spring cleansing methods, based on an Ayurvedic perspective. The class will answer the question, "Why cleanse?" It will also provide an overview of the Ayurvedic view of health, Ayurvedic Cleansing, Oleation, Ama (toxins) Formation, the Five Elements in Cleansing, Specific Cleanse Protocols, as well as an overview of a week's cleanse that you can practice at home. Mary will also teach us how to custom design our own cleanse for our body/mind type. The workshop includes a delicious lunch with cleansing foods (kichadi, dal, rice, ghee, greens, vegetables, and a digestive tea). All recipes will be provided.

Mary Thompson, Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist and Ayurvedic Lifestyles Educator, teaches at the California College of Ayurveda in Grass Valley. She studied at the CCA and at the International Academy of Ayurveda in Pune, India. A popular speaker at Ayurvedic conferences, she has presented talks at local, state and national conferences.

To Register: Pre-registration and payment required. Contact Katie or Andrew at 540-797-6399 or email at jesseespain@yahoo.com

Featured Yogini: Allison Hurt, Goddess of the Sexy Skivvies
I love supporting living, breathing, beautiful people, instead of massive, faceless companies.

This month's featured Yogini Entrepreneur/Diva is Allison Hurt, owner of Flirt, a premier lingerie boutique in my home state of Virginia. Flirt specializes in fun, functional and flirtatious underthings to set the mood, or just make you your bedroom feel more boudoir-esque. She has a GREAT on-line shop where I recently purchased a pair of night-time naughtiness for a stellar price.

Contact this goddess on how to fit yourself for a hot little ditty, or for putting together the perfect gift for the lady in your life.

Love this web site now: FLIRT

Retreat to Maya Tulum with Nova Loverro Sprick and Katie Silcox

Inside Out-Outside In: A Journey to Self
May 30th - June 6th, 2009

Join yoginis Katie Silcox and Nova Loverro Sprick for a body-invigorating, life-changing, heart-opening, belly-laughing, mind-clearing week at Maya Tulum, Mexico. Through the practice of asana, breathwork, journaling, visualization and meditation, we will play with and discover the connection between our inner/individual world and our experience of the tangible world around us. Truly, unless our practice is altering the quality of our lives for the better, we have not discovered the real power that yoga can give us.In the words of the renowned naturalist, John Muir, "....for going out, I found, was really going in." This workshop is open to all levels of students who delight in finding new openings in body, heart and mind.

Teacher Guides:

















Powerful woman in all senses, Nova Loverro Sprick taught yoga for ten years and was certified in Anusara Yoga in February of 2006. Her passion for learning and incorporating yoga into all aspects of her life, including being a mother and wife, a lover of art, nature and food and more recently as a cancer survivor, has been her source of inexhaustible enthusiasm to teach and offer from her heart. Nova discovered Anusara Yoga and John Friend in 2001, where she received the invitation to open to the beautiful dance of life in all things great, small, beautiful and ugly.
Katie Silcox has taught yoga in Europe, Asia, Central America and currently teaches in the San Francisco Bay area. Katie was taught in India, in the home of famed yogis A.G. and Indra Mohan, two of Krishnamacharya's last students. Katie brings an original mix of classical yoga, Tantric practices, and Southern-belle enthusiasm to her students. She is also a dedicated student of Yogarupa Rod Stryker and is currently pursuing advanced education in Aryuvedic Medicine a focus on Yoga Psychology as Applied to Women's Issues.


Our retreat is located on the Riviera Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico between the pristine blue ocean, the emerald green tropical forests and the jungles. For more info, check out Maya Tulum.

HOW TO RESERVE: It is easy to reserve your spot now, simply email Katie Silcox at jesseespain@yahoo.com or by phone at 540-797-6399. You may also reserve your space directly through Maya Tulum at reservations@mayatulum.com

Details: Pricing from $1290 double occupancy, includes 8 glorious days, 7 balmy nights lodging in a luxury beach-side bungalow, 3 healthy meals daily, minimum 2 yoga workshops daily, yoga psychology workshops, course material, guided beach-side meditations.

Ayurvedic Cooking Class-I

11/05/08, 5:30-8:30 pm
1221 Carrison St.
Berkeley, CA.





Cost: 48$, includes pre-course constitution survey, all ingredients, nourishing 4 course meal, Ayurveda lecture and handout, as well as a take-home Indian ghee.

This class offers an exciting introduction to the wide-world of Ayurveda. In this 3-hour dynamic workshop, we will explore the basic principles of Ayurvedic cooking, including food-combining, the six tastes, as well as how to balance your Ayurvedic body type through the use of spices and herbs. This yummy workshop will inform us on how we can promote balance and health through a “food as medicine” approach to cooking. The recipes are delicious, colorful and easy.The goal of the class is to have a fun, taste-tantalizing experience, while gaining insight into the ancient Ayurvedic wisdom that will improve health and well-being for years to come. When we are aware and can incorporate these principles into our cooking, our digestion and assimilation of nutrients will improve, our elimination of waste is easier, and our over-all energy levels will rise. Ayurveda can truly help us to gently change unproductivel eating habits and establish a routine of nourishment and self-care. Join us for this magical evening with good people, good food and good eating philosophy.

The Menu: Black Bean Cakes with Avocado-Pecan Salsa, Savory Saffron and Coconut Rice, Fennel Cole Slaw, Cilantro-Pumpkin Seed Corn Muffins with Herb-Flavored Ghee, Rose Hip Beet Cake, Peppermint Chai
(Menu subject to change)

Instructors: Andrew Thomas, Ayurvedic Health Educator and Katie Silcox, Yoga Health Educator and Ayurveda Dabbler

Forward Bends Workshop: Sunday, October 26th at 4th Street Yoga, Berkeley

AN IN-DEPTH TANTRIC APPROACH TO FORWARD BENDS: FINDING STABILITY IN CHANGE

The ultimate goal of yoga is to find stability in the midst of change. Forward bends are a group of poses that promote stability in the physical body, nervous system and the mind. They encourage more introspection and stillness in the midst of the chaos of life. In this practice, we will use physical alignment, pranayama, visualization and focused intention to strengthen and stretch the muscles along the spine and to initiate our soothing parasympathetic nervous system response. We will also be exploring some of the more subtle realms of how forward bending effects our internal experience, including the more subtle layers of body and mind.This practice is useful for anyone with a stiff back or an overactive mind. Ayurvedic Health
Educator, Andrew Thomas has had extensive training in the Anusara tradition and is currently pursuing dedicated Para Yoga instructor status with his teacher, Rod Stryker. He is also studying to become a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist at the California College of Ayurveda. Vibrant yogini, taught in India in the home of famed yogis A.G. and Indra Mohan, authors of Yoga for Body Breath and Mind, and two of Krishnamacharya's last students, Katie brings an original mix of classical yoga, Tantric practices, and Southern-belle enthusiasm to her students. She is also a dedicated student of Yogarupa Rod Stryker and is currently pursuing advanced education in the Health Arts and Sciences with a focus on Yoga Psychology as Applied to Women's Issues. Katie has published articles for Jivamukti Yoga and Women of Grace and Power.

All levels welcome! Please make checks payable to Andrew Thomas.

Pre-registration suggested but drop-ins welcome.

For more information, contact Katie at jesseespain@yahoo.com or 540-797-6399.

Workshop

Extensions Workshop with Andrew Thomas at 4th Street Yoga in Berkeley



Extensions are a class of poses that specifically focus on lengthening the space between the vertebrae in the spine. In this practice we will use physical alignment, pranayama, visualization and focused intention to lengthen and strengthen the muscles of the spinal cord in standing, sitting and inverted postures. This practice can be extremely useful to those of us who suffer from back pain or postural discomfort. All levels welcome!

When: Saturday, August 9, 2008

Where: 4th Street Yoga
1809 4th Street, Berkeley

Time: 2:30 - 4:30 pm
With: Andrew Thomas, Yoga Teacher and
Certified Ayurvedic Health Educator.

Investment: $30 early register (before July
31), $35 after July 31. Send payments to 4th Street Yoga to reserve your space today! Checks can be made out to Andrew Thomas.

Yoga Bhavana, What does it mean?

Bhavana is a word that means "cultivating feelings" as can be understood as the underlying intention behind our practices. Wikipedia defines it as "development". Budhha used it when speaking about citta-bhavana, metta-bhevana and vipassana bhavana ( development of the mind or the cultivation of the heart (citta means both heart and mind); the development/cultivation of loving-kindness; the cultivation of tranquility and the development of insight.)