Hello, Folks!

 

A question that I get asked a lot since the closing of our yoga school is, "How does it feel to not have a yoga school?" Most people are surprised by my answer, which is "Great!" One of the ridiculous things I've learned from closing the school is that I've realized what it is that I want to do in my life, which is teach yoga and study. On the surface it seems laughable because of course these past thirty years that's basically all I've been doing. In actuality, a lot of my time has been diverted towards managing and taking care of yoga schools. Now that I don't have to think about the thousand things that need to be done everyday to run a school, my brain all of the sudden has a lot of room freed up in it not just to remember but also to deeply feel what made me start doing all of this in the first place: a love of yoga. 

 

Teaching one week per month at Sky Ting, in a small room with slightly smaller classes, has allowed me to refocus on just teaching, without my attention getting diverted towards other things. Becoming re-focused on you, the students, is a great feeling. It also has freed up more room for me to learn new things that will hopefully help my understanding and teaching of yoga along the way. I've gotten out from the confines of our four walls, met new people, expanded my perspectives, and gotten to engage with yogis, scientists, tech people and doctors in a way that I haven't been able to before. 

 

With that in mind, this article, sent to me by Sheetal Shah, hits the nail on the head. I've jokingly been saying that now that I'm retired, I've figured out what I should do with my life. This article told me why that's probably a step in the right direction! It's a little long, but worth the read. And anyway, if you're retired like I am, you have time to read now, right? 

 

In the concluding verses of chapter one of the Taittirya Upanishad, the students (that's us), are exhorted to "Never neglect study and teaching." Study (which includes practice) comes first, teaching comes after. 

 

Please don't read this to mean that I am abandoning teaching in NY. I am just figuring out other ways to do it so that my enthusiasm for learning and teaching (and practicing) never wanes. That being said, this month we will increase to six days from five in NYC, and the same for September, October and November. On July 24th I will do a free talk at Sky Ting, moderated by one of the owners, Chloe Kernaghan, on new trends in science and yoga. Please join us if you can; the registration link is here.  

 

JULY CLASSES AND CITY RETREAT

Please find below the schedule of classes for July 5th thru July 10th, at Sky Ting Yoga, 381 Broadway. This includes our weekend retreat. You can sign up for the whole retreat, or just for single classes as well.

 

Friday, July 5th

7am - 11am Mysore Class

12pm - 1:30pm Lecture

 

Saturday, July 6th

7am - 11am Mysore Class

1pm - 4pm Lecture, Chanting, and Meditation

 

Sunday, July 7th

8am - 10am Led Primary Class

11:30am - 2:30pm Lecture, Chanting, and Meditation

 

Monday, July 8th

6am - 10am Mysore Class

 

Tuesday, July 9th

6am - 10am Mysore Class

 

Wednesday, July 10th

6am - 10am Mysore Class

 

The link for other workshops in July (San Diego, Detroit and Narrowsburg), as well as August workshops and free classes (Chengdu, Rockefeller Center, South Hampton Arts Center and Pinebrush) is here. 

 

Thank you very much, and have a happy and safe July 4th weekend. 

 

With love,

Eddie and Jocelyne