Classes Cancelled this Weekend + #YogatheVote + Mindfulness for Officers

Classes Cancelled at All Life is Yoga this Weekend

Saturday, September 30th with Ron cancelled
Sunday, October 1st with Narin cancelled
Sunday, October 1st with Anneliese cancelled

Most of the All Life is Yoga teachers are going to NC this weekend to continue their education with Aadil. The studio will be closed this weekend. Be sure to be in their classes next week. An inspired bunch will return with new yoga tricks and treats!

---

Police Officers Wanted!

Dharma Project is is offering 10 free mindfulness and yoga classes for police officers. Each session will cover physical movement, breathing techniques and meditation practices to help officers reduces stress and help them be at their mental and physical best.

Please share with police officers you know. RSVP link below. 

---

Save the Date : October 8th, 3-6pm Elevator Factory

Let's use our platform as yoga teachers, leaders and enthusiasts to inform and increase voter turnout. Dharma Project is partnering with Dirty South Yoga Fest to throw a party to make sure you are registered to VOTE. This event will include a yoga class, an interactive, engaging Civics 101 class, food, refreshments, music...Fun! Register to VOTE and shape the future of our city! 

Updates

ALIY Book Club

Our book club starts this Sunday from 12-2pm. Bring your favorite vegetarian, dairy free dish and join us for a discussion on the first chapter of Fire of Love, "Dharma". The first time I read this book was in 2006. I had just committed to the 2,000hr Purna Yoga teacher training. I knew nothing about Aadil and Purna Yoga, but something about the course description inspired me. I had no idea how I would pay for such an expensive training with my modest yoga salary and I had no idea how I could travel to WA for extended periods of time for the two years of the training. All I knew is I wanted it! With commitment comes Providence. This book has been instrumental for my growth as a student , a teacher, and most importantly, a better human being. "Only when we go inside do we really know how to live outside." Aadil from Fire of Love. Hope you'll join us. Register here. 

---

honorCode Fundraiser

Join the Dharma Project on September 12th for an anniversary celebration and fundraiser for our partner honorCode. We're so excited to be working with honorCode and can't wait for the opportunity to share yoga and mindfulness with APS school students and teachers. Hope you can attend the fundraiser and hope you will donate to our joint program. 

---

Brad Waites in the A!

We are super excited to host Brad Waites. CPYT, in Atlanta for his first full weekend workshop. The workshop is called Skills for a Soul-Based Life. "This workshop is about choice and freedom.  We live in a cause and effect world:  you act on a choice; you get a result.  When you choose, as most everyone does, from habit, desire, or mental analysis, you become a slave to life’s rollercoaster of fulfillment and disappointment, clarity and confusion, and you will never exit that ride.  There is a solution..." Learn More and Register

---

Aadil Workshop Triad Yoga Greensboro, NC

Aadil will be on the east coast this month at our good friend, Terry Brown's studio, Triad Yoga in Greensboro, NC. Many fun topics like Yoga Nidra, Free Your Neck, Shoulders and Upper Back, Dynamic Digestion will be covered..."Aadil's teaching requires an open and receptive mind, a willingness to change and grow and an urge to progress on the path of yogaPurna yoga is a path to the heart and the practices, though powerful, are designed for students to develop a deeper internal connection."

Many of the ALIY teachers will be there. Join them September 29th-October 1st. Register Here.

---

Journey to Love: Introduction to Heartful Meditation

I won't get to study with Aadil this fall but I will get to be in the presence of Savitri and study Heartful Meditation from one of the most profound individuals I have ever met. Savitri is a self-taught meditation master. She has never read a book about meditation. All the meditation techniques we practice at ALIY come form her own personal experience. I've taken this introduction to Heartful Meditation so many times over the past 12 years and it changes me every time. Heartful Meditation is the most important thing I do. This worksop takes place in Bellevue, WA on November 11th & 12th. There are still a few spots open. Join me! 

New Teachers, New Classes

Viparita Karani, which means “inverted lake,” is one of my favorite words in Sanskrit. I love the way it rolls off the tongue, and its meaning paints a beautiful picture of the circulatory system. The story goes that before B.K.S. Iyengar came along, all inversions were called Viparita Karani. Iyengar gave the different inversions their Sanskrit names. Who knows if it’s true, but either way, Iyengar has contributed so much to the development and naming of many incredible postures.

We’ve added some new teachers and classes to the ALIY mix! Please welcome Anneliese Singh, Myka Harris, and Ron Young to the All Life is Yoga team!

Starting in June, join Sarah on Wednesday evenings from 7:45-8:45 PM for Inverted Lake, a new class which combines slow flow and gentle inversions. Inversions are the greatest boon of the asana practice. Increased circulation, immunity, improved brain function and strengthening of  the nervous system are just a few of the benefits. Sarah completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Rutu in December of 2016 and also teaches Form & Function on Thursday evenings from 6:45-8 PM.

Join Anneliese on Sunday evenings from 6-7:15 PM for Slow Stretch & Rest. Anneliese Singh completed her 200-hour yogateacher training in 2015 with Rutu at All Life is Yoga, and recently completed her 500-hour training with Aadil and Savitri. Additionally, Anneliese is a professor at the University of Georgia, and co-founder of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition and Trans Resilience Project. Along with her academic justice work for the trans community, she aims to bring healing and peace to the LGBTQ community through yoga and mindfulness.

Join Ron on Saturdays from 10-11:15 AM for Form & Function. After teaching Saturday 10 AM classes for over ten years, Rutu is happy to hand this class over to Ron. In 2005, Ron received his first yoga certification and in 2012 went through training with Rutu. He went on to study with Aadil Palkhivala, and in spring 2017, completed the 500-hour Purna Yoga teacher training. Since 2005 Ron has been teaching yoga and meditation in public schools, private and public universities, and retirement centers, as well as working one-on-one with clients. 

Join Myka on Friday mornings from 9:30-10:30am for Empower Hour. Myka has been practicing yoga for over a decade and decided to get certified as a teacher to deepen the practice that has been so influential in her life. She received her 200 hour certification with Rutu in 2015. She is an energetic entrepreneur, blogger, mid century modern devotee, recycler, world traveler, voracious eater & lover of allthings wild and free. She also serves on the board for the Community Farmer’s Market and is a full time mom! 

The Wrist Series

Join Rutu Saturday, May 20th from 1-3pm for a workshop on the wrist. This workshop is for students and teachers. Most of us carry tension in our neck, shoulders, wrists and upper back. This tension shrinks blood vessels, creating pain and stiffness in these area and travels into the wrists. This workshop will provide you with the tools, using yoga asana and breath work, to take into your daily life; and if practiced consistently, will relieve mental fatigue, headaches and carpal tunnel syndrome, thereby increasing your ability to think clearly and express yourself more honestly. Teachers will also learn how to modify students during weight bearing postures that cause discomfort in the wrists. 

---

All Life is Yoga is offering a free yoga class in partnership with The Community Farmer's Market at Grant Park every third Sunday. Join Rutu May 21st  from10:30-11:30am. Check our Event Page for details. We hope to see you there!

Inman Park Festival Schedule Changes

Due to the street closings for the Inman Park Festival, All Life is Yoga will be closed this Saturday and Sunday, April 29th & 30th for it's 10am classes. Instead, we will be offering a free yoga class in partnership with The Community Farmer's Market at Grant Park on Sunday, April 30th from 10:30-11:30am. Check our Event Page for details. We hope to see you there!

What an amazing workshop with Brad Waites on the purpose and practice of Savitri's Heartfull Meditation techniques . Thank you for visiting All Life is Yoga and sharing your concise, comprehensive and heart opening perspective of Purna Yoga. We can't wait till you come back for a full weekend workshop. Stay tuned for fall 2017! 

The Dharma Project is so excited to announce we won 3rd place at the 2017 United Way of Greater Atlanta SPARK Prize competition with our joint proposal with honorCode! We will be piloting a joint teacher professional development experience at Thomasville Height Elementary School during the 2017-2018 school year where teachers will learn how to incorporate Computer Science, Sociology-Emotional Learning, Yoga and Mindfulness in their classrooms to support the development of their students. We can't wait to show you allwhat we do and this is the start of many partnership for us to come!

Brad Waites Workshop This Saturday

I'm excited to announce that Brad Waites is coming to Atlanta to teach a workshop on April 22nd! Brad is a fellow Purna Yoga teacher, certified at the 2,000 hour level, who communicates the methodology of Purna Yoga with clarity and precision, while offering students guidance and support as they create purpose-driven change.

Learn more about Brad here and read the workshop descriptions + register online →

Brad Waites is Coming to Atlanta!

There are so many things I love about assisting Aadil in the 500 hour Teacher Training. For one, I spend two weeks learning from one of the most brilliant minds of our time, I get to support the flowering open of a group of teachers in training and spend time with colleagues and friends, but my favorite is having dinner with Aadil every night. The diversity of cuisine that is created to the stories of B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian mythology, yoga philosophy, relationships (yep, he is pretty interested in my dating life), the music, the jokes...It's a once in a lifetime kind of experience. Feeling blessed! 

I'm excited to announce that Brad Waites is coming to Atlanta to teach a workshop on April 22nd! Brad is a fellow Purna Yoga teacher, certified at the 2,000 hour level, who communicates the methodology of Purna Yoga with clarity and precision, while offering students guidance and support as they create purpose-driven change. Learn more about Brad here and check out the workshop descriptions below!

---

Three Most Important Questions In Life

Asking the right questions daily leads to personal transformation and helps you discover peace, power and purpose in life. Come and learn what questions to ask, as well as the major pitfall of seeking the answers (as most of us tend to do in the West). You will also learn the fundamentals of Heartfull™ Meditation, a simple but profound practice that integrates the power of these essential questions into your daily life.

Open to all, and especially for those who are ready to practice yoga beyond asana (postures). Includes some movement, but primarily focused on philosophy and meditation.

The Yoga of Practical Empowerment

The flow of events in life often seems a mystery. One day you’re up, and the next you’re down. Thousands of years of yoga practice have shed some light on the seeming randomness of life, finding a deep connection between what’s going on inside of you and what’s happening around you. By cultivating a deeper connection with the truth, beauty, and love you hold inside, you can create positive shifts in what happens to and around you. All levels. Heartfull™ Meditation and applied philosophy, with some movement.

When: April 22nd 1-4pm
Investment: $55

A Day Without Women

On this International Women's Day, women all over the country are on strike with a protest called 'A Day Without a Woman.' This protest is in opposition to Donald Trump, inequality in pay, devaluation of women led occupations, reproductive rights, etc.

Things to do:
1. Don't go to work
2. Don't spend money, unless you support a small, woman and minority owned businesses.
3. Wear red in solidarity

I'm curious to hear from you. Are you taking the day to protest? What are your thoughts on this protest? Is this protest a luxury? Who can afford to participate? 

I am celebrating International Women's Day by honoring the women chefs, farmers and artisans in our city at the Lady Locavores Event. Atlanta has an incredible urban agriculture community that I am so proud to support. Eat local, ya'll. 

Frenetic to Fearless

Join Rutu March 11th from 12-4pm for a master practice. This practice is designed to strengthen the nervous system, widen your perspective and open your heart. The program will include 30 minutes meditation at the start and end of session, 2 hour of strong asana (postures), 30 minutes of pranayama (intricate breathing techniques) and a deep, guided savasana (repose). 

2017 is a big election year for Atlanta! We are electing a new mayor, city council and school board. If you care about the challenges our city faces this is a good year to get engaged. Our current government acts as a good reminder for us that all issues are local and that's where we have power to change our city. I want to plug Center for Civic Innovation's Leadership Breakfasts. CCI is hosting the mayoral candidates for a discussion on their background, their passion and their action steps for creating a future Atlanta we all want to live in. The Leadership Breakfast's are free to members, one of the many reasons to become a member of CCI. So far I've learned more about Al Bartell and Mary Norwood. The next breakfast is Tuesday, March 14th with Peter Aman. I hope to see you there. 

Catch Up! New Classes, Workshop And Events

Spring is near (yay!) and I am so excited about the activities happening at ALIY and around the city focused on celebrating Atlanta's rich culture and community. I am proud to say I live in the 5th district. I'm also proud of how Atlanta came together to represent the 5th district and it's rich culture, community and ethnicity after some inaccurate and diminutive remarks were made about the 5th district and it's representative, John Lewis. As an effort to continue highlighting how awesome the 5th district really is, Live the 5th weekend festival was conceived.

I'll will be teaching a free yoga class at the event on Sunday, March 5th at the Carter Center alongside teachers, Rachelle Knoweles, Cheryl Crawford and Carly Brown, representing the 5th district neighborhoods. Join us for this class and many fun events over the March 4th-5th weekend. Register for this free class here.

We've also added a new class and workshop to the schedule and will be involved in a few other events around town for the next few weeks. Learn more below!

---

Frenetic to Fearless

Thank you for all that participated in the first Frenetic to Fearless Workshop. What we collectively learned is that 2.5 hours is just not enough time to cover the deeper layers of the practice. It should be 4 hours instead!

Join Rutu March 11th from 12-4pm for a master practice. This practice is designed to strengthen the nervous system, widen your perspective and open your heart. The program will include 30 minutes meditation at the start and end of session, 2 hour of strong asana (postures), 30 minutes of pranayama (intricate breathing techniques) and a deep, guided savasana (repose). This workshop is a $45 investment.

---

Other Upcoming Events:

New Class

Ashley Erwin is making a shift to her teaching schedule by adding a Monday night 6:45-7:45pm class to the schedule and eliminating her Friday 10am class. This new class will begin on March 6th. Read more about her intention for this new class that's nicknamed Monday Night Delight on the blog.

Lady Locavores

Rutu is part of the host committee for Lady Locavores and invites you to join her in honor of the amazing women chefs, farmers, and artisans in our community for International Women's day on March 8th. Funds raised from this event will be directed towards CFMs culinary education program.

Ashley's New Class: Monday Night Delight

I am so excited to start teaching Form & Function on Monday nights from 6:45-7:45pm. One thing we’ll be working on is balancing the feeling of peace and delight while working our bodies in the poses.

I know my practice is going well when a gentle smile arrives on my face while holding a pose. This has not been happening while taking photos for my upcoming yoga website. In some of the pictures, my face is so tense and I kind of look miserable. I think it’s related to trying to perfect the pose for the picture. So, now in my practice I’m working on just feeling the benefits of what I am able to do at the moment and not forcing myself to perfect the pose.

The yoga sutras define asana as follows:

“Whatever asana is performed, it should be done with a feeling of firmness, steadiness and endurance in the body, goodwill in the intelligence of the head, and awareness and delight in the intelligence of the heart. This is how each asana should be understood, practiced and experienced. Performance of the asana should be nourishing and illuminative.”

— B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

I read this passage often and will read it to you all pretty regularly. I'm looking forward to starting this class in March! 

Love,
Ashley
 

Holiday Schedule

Thank you for being at the studio and showing up for your practice during this seemingly tragic year. Despair leads to inaction, so my resolution for 2017 is a commitment to action.  I'm excited for the growth of the studio. Our growth is quality. I'm thankful for our student base. Your dedication to your practice and desire to leave a kinder imprint on the planet inspires me. I'm excited about The Dharma Project. The fellowship I'm going through at Center for Civic Innovation is helping mold a beautiful mission for an inclusive, thoughtful yoga culture and city. We'll get to see some of it finally move in 2017. I look forward to sharing more about this soon. 

The studio typically closes the last week of the year, but some of the teachers wanted to teach their classes. I am going to take the week off to relax and prepare mentally, emotionally and physically for the year ahead. Narin is also out of town for the holidays. Please visit our website linked below for the complete schedule. 

Enjoy your time with family and friends this week! 

Rutu

Frenetic to Fearless

Saturday, December 10
12:00pm- 2:15pm
Location: All Life is Yoga

Join me this Saturday for a master practice. This is my current home practice to strengthen my nervous system, widen my perspective and open my heart. The program will include 15 minutes meditation at the start and end of session, 1 hour of strong asana (postures), 30 minutes of pranayama (intricate breathing techniques) and a deep, guided savasana (repose).

Investment: $35