Yoga For Life

To be doing this, I have to repeat a statement that Gurumayi ( Swami Chidvilasananda ) made to those of us who were involved in offering our energy and skills in the seva of  teaching hatha yoga to others in Siddha Yoga Meditation centers, ashrams  and programs :

” Teaching hatha yoga is an honor , a privilege and a blessing. “

I began to do this, actually in 1980 ~ after having completed an 8 week course with James Rippy,  ‘Rip’, a martial arts, scientist – master of sorts who lived with his wife, son and daughter in the Newtowne Courts housing development off of Main Street in Cambridge near Central Square. Persons individually began to find me and ask me to tutor them~ which I did in between being a graphic artist and production consultant. I welcomed this . Not only was I proficient at it; I also realized that I was able to communicate and easily share it with others.

It was in 1984 that I  was first asked to teach a hatha yoga class on a Sunday morning after the ‘Guru Gita ‘ chant @ the Boston ashram located in Chestnut Hill, South Brookline, Massachusetts. The usual teacher had gone away for the weekend and was unable to be there. I had been studying Iyengar style hatha yoga with Patricia Walden in Cambridge for about a year.

This style is very rigorous , exacting in it’s attention to detail and demands  a persons total attention while performing the asanas.  The feedback I got from several of the people who attended ~ all of them meditators ~ was that ‘it was too intense ‘ and that ‘I killed them’ .

I have realized over years of self -practice and  study with teachers of other styles of hatha yoga ~ that the Iyengar method , though it is a bountiful source of information and can be a comprehensive foundation for one’s practice ~ is simply not suitable for everyone who wants to experience the challenges and benefits of having a yoga practice.

At that time however, I was so much ‘on fire ‘ with the shakti of my sadhana of Siddha Yoga meditation ~  that the Iyengar method was perfect for me.

It helped me develop a deeper awareness of my entire body; it helped me become more aware of the workings of my mind ( often, while I endured Patricia’s practice of having us hold asanas like ‘janu sirsansana’  ( head -to- knee pose~ a forward bend ) and sirsansana’ ( headstand ) for 5 to several to 10 or 12 minutes, sometimes with variations and, at other times ~ just by holding the pose with no ‘entertaining ‘ variations.

To be continued ~ love om peace

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copyright Ray Iasiello ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2015

I began to teach hatha yoga full-time in 1994.

For the 1st ten ( 10 ) years, I taught 15 to 19 classes for every 7 day week.

Let’s say that I taught 17 classes per week  between 1994 through 2004.

That’s 884 classes per year for 10 years = 8,840 classes.

From 2005 through 2010 I taught 13 classes per ( 7 day ) week; so that’s 676 classes per year ~ the sum total being 6,760 classes over these  5 years.

From 2011 through 2014, a three year period, I taught 10 classes  per week.

That’s 520 classes a year .

Sum total is 1,560 yoga classes .

So ~

from my ‘full-time’ start in 1994 through the recently finished year of 2014 ~

I have taught approximately 17,160 yoga classes over this period of 20 years .

It is probably closer to 18,000 classes if a more  accurate count is taken

My classes and students  have ranged from private clients, special needs clients who are dealing with life-threatening illness, elementary and middle-school kids, teenagers in public school phys ed programs, senior citizens, college, graduate students, staff and faculty at major universities, at corporations and in fitness  centers and spas throughout greater Boston.

Certifications and ‘registrations’ ( RYT ) are good to have ~   so are 20 + years of experience ‘ in the field’.

I ‘hold’ 2 certifications ~

1 was earned over the course of 16 years of offering hatha yoga seva in the global hatha yoga department of Siddha Yoga Meditation- the SYDA Foundation.  This involved  undergoing continuous in-depth training while practicing, assisting and teaching yoga classes and workshops   between 1988 until  2004 in Siddha Yoga meditation centers, ashrams and public programs.

The other certification is from ‘Finding Inner Peace’ Yoga & Stress Reduction Center located in the greater Boston area, which I obtained in 1998, approx.  I went on to become part of the FIP faculty for 2+ years after completing my certification there, helping to train and certify others who wanted to become yoga teachers.

~ The goal of yoga ~

is the practice of yoga ~

Love OM Peace,

Ray

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copyright Ray Iasiello ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2015

 

~ some love ~ needs to be a part of the texture of our day to day moments ~

yeah sure ~ romantic love ~

AND beyond romantic love ~

the love and appreciation that one experiences as

just being ‘in existence’

from moment to moment ~

as a ‘human’ being

and ( ‘love’ ) appreciation for all other beings,

or @ best  – acknowledging their existence.

There is a quote from Siddha Yoga Meditation ~

Gurumayi said;

” The Sunrise of Supreme Bliss Shimmers

in every particle of the Universe.

So why not drink a fresh cup of joy

and become inspired with new perception ?

Remember,

Love and respect must be renewed with each dawn.”

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copyright Ray Iasiello ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2015