More 'Loaf Love

Police Officers Wanted!

The Dharma Project is doing a 10 week pilot program for police officers. We are in search of officers to enroll in the pilot. The program includes 10 sessions, one hour each session . The program will cover physical movement, breathing techniques and meditation practices to help officers reduces stress and be at their mental and physical best. 

This 10 week program can help demonstrate the opportunity for a year-round program for officers, with a curriculum that can be implemented in their ongoing training. View our Facebook Event  for more information. 

Dates : 
October 12th, 19th & 26
November 2nd, 9th, 16th & 30th
December 7th, 14th & 21st

Cost : FREE

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Thank you for all the love Creative Loafing! Check out 2017's Best Yoga Instructor! "For too many people, yoga is seen as affluent white women wearing expensive pants indulging in pain-inducing poses. RUTU CHAUDHARI, however, is on a mission to change that perception. Through her All Life is Yoga studio, Chaudhari works to return the practice its self-referential roots by embracing mindfulness over athleticism..."Read More.

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ALIY Book Club

"You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room." -Dr. Seuss. Our next book club session meets this Sunday from 12-2pm. This week we will discuss the 'Wisdom' chapter from Fire of Love. This is potluck style, so please bring something vegetarian and dairy free to share.  Go to our Facebook Event Page to share what your are bringing so we don't have five different quinoa salads (though they were all YUM!) 

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Save the Date : October 8th, 3-6pm

The deadline to register to vote for Atlanta's upcoming local election is October 10th. This year Atlanta will vote on a new Mayor, City Council, and School Board. Atlanta is currently at a critical stage of growth and this election presents its residents with a major crossroads. This next group of leaders will decide the future face and culture of our city.Voter turnout in Atlanta is low. Let's use our platform as yoga teachers, leaders and enthusiasts to inform and increase voter turnout. 

We are throwing 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! 

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Brad Waites Workshop Early Bird Registration ends 10/07/17

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..." Save $25 if you register before 10/07/17! Learn More and Register

Dharma is the Umbrella

According to the Vedas (the oldest scriptures known to man, which came out of India), there are four major reasons for life. They are:

1. Dharma: pursuit of purpose
2. Artha: acquisition of material wealth
3. Kama: experience of pleasure
4. Moksha: spiritual exploration

 The Vedas explains that the latter three are contingent on Dharma. That means that the amount of wealth you acquire, the amount of pleasure you experience, and even the amount of time and energy you spend on spiritual practices depends entirely on your pursuit of purpose. Anything beyond what is required for living your purpose is excess and fuels the ego. Discovering your purpose, then, becomes the most meaningful life endeavor. Everything else you do is clarified by that purpose.

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Level I Yoga Teacher Certification

All Life is Yoga's 2017-2018 teacher certification dates are set! This training is appropriate for anyone who wants to deepen their personal practice, understand the why of yoga asana, pranayama, nutrition, meditation, anatomy, alignment, energetics, philosophy, sequencing, service...and learn to teach with confidence.

August 19th-20th
September 9th-10th
September 23rd-24th
October 21st-22nd
November 11th-12th
December 2nd-3rd
January 6th-7th
February 10th-11th
February 17th-18th

For more information and to apply, contact Rutu. 

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Save the Date:

Brad Waites is returning to Atlanta to teach a weekend workshop on October 27th-29th, 2017 at All Life is Yoga. More information to come soon! 

Aspirations

quiet joy
peaceful trust
luminous hope

- The Mother

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Level I Yoga Teacher Certification 

All Life is Yoga's 2017-2018 teacher certification dates are set! This training is appropriate for anyone who wants to deepen their personal practice, understand the why of yoga asana, pranayama, nutrition, meditation, anatomy, alignment, energetics, philosophy, sequencing, service...and learn to teach with confidence.

August 19th-20th
September 9th-10th
September 23rd-24th
October 21st-22nd
November 11th-12th
December 2nd-3rd
January 6th-7th
February 10th-11th
February 17th-18th

For more information and to apply, contact Rutu. 

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. 

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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!

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!

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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

The Dharma Project, Fellowships and Pitching

This past week my Fellowship with Center for Civic Innovation officially ended. It's been quite a growing experience. Along with learning how to develop The Dharma Project as a sustainable nonprofit, I've had the opportunity to learn with six other social entrepreneurs that are building powerful organizations. I have developed a lasting community of friends, colleagues and support structure. 

In June 2016, The Dharma Project got selected to participate in the Civic Innovation Fellowship with seven other social enterprises. The intention was to develop a strong business model, teach us how to become a sustainable non profit, how to tell a compelling story about our work and then to pitch, pitch and pitch some more. 

Our Mission: The Dharma Project provides self care in the form of yoga, mindfulness, nutrition and lifestyle to public service organizations and the communities they work with. 

Here are some of the things we've accomplished these in the past seven months:

Sara Blakley Fellowship: Sara Blakely selected 10 women entrepreneurs to support and develop as leaders in their social enterprise. I was one of them. I'm so grateful for this opportunity. Read more about it here.

Yoga at Decatur Housing Authority: I've had fun spending the last six months doing chair yoga with the senior residents of the DHA. I've learned SO much about teaching yoga in this time. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share yoga with various, diverse communities around Atlanta. 

Our first contract! We landed our first official contract with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. This is an amazing opportunity for The Dharma Project to work with a public service organization that provides support and funding to so many of the non-profit organizations in our city. I trust that it will be a great advantage to have CFGA as an advocate for The Dharma Project. 

Yoga at Stewart Center in Pittsburg neighborhood of westside Atlanta for Parents and Kids. This community has never been exposed to yoga and they took to it immediately! I believe that more people of color don't do yoga because they don't see themselves represented in the larger yoga culture and don't relate to it as something that is for them. "Nature abhors a monoculture" and there's no better time than now to lift our diverse communities with the transformative power of yoga! 

Final Pitch Event at CCI March 16th. I had my first experience of pitching The Dharma Project to different organizations and foundations last week. For my first time presenting, I think it went great! I look forward to many more opportunities to talk about The Dharma Project. 

The Dharma Project has been nominated as a 2017 SPARK Prize finalist. We will be competing with fourteen other organizations from around the city at the C3 Conference on April 21st for one of United Way's $15k grant awards. If won, the prize will support a joint teacher training program focused around computer science, socio-emotional learning, yoga and meditation with our partner, honorCode. A huge thank you to United Way of Greater Atlanta and the Center for Civic Innovation for sponsoring the competition!

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Our goals for the next 8 months:

1. Provide The Dharma Project's services to 12-16 organizations across Atlanta. 
2. Add 2-5 new instructors to the team
3. Summer Camp for kids at Stewart Center

If you'd like to support The Dharma Project's programs, Donate below. For the Summer Camp at Stewart Center we are raising $2000.00. We'd love your support!

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!

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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.

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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.

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

I Already Failed! - All Life is Yoga

We completed the second module of our 200 Hour Purna Yoga Teacher Training this weekend. On Sunday we focused on foundations of living and incorporated what Aadil calls, "21 Day Experiments". These are a list of practices that cultivate character. Each student is to pick one to practice for the next 21 days. It takes 21 days to create a new nerve synapsis, a new habit. If you miss the opportunity to practice your experiment, you must start over to day one. Is what I'm about to say kind, true and necessary is my experiment for the next 21 days.

If all three of these components are not present, then I will practice restraint in my communication. Most of you know that I am a direct person. My communication may not have malice, but it is not cushioned. I'm learning that, for me, effective communication must have kindness, truth and necessity.

Monday was Day 1 of my experiment. I had a conversation with my sister and I failed at my 21 Day Experiment. My communication was not kind or necessary, though true :)

There is a reason why Ahimsa (nonviolence) comes before Satya (truth) in the Yamas of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. If I cannot speak my truth with kindness, I am only creating more violence on this planet. If I cannot speak my truth with kindness, is it necessary?

Well...do I at least get points for being aware of my failures? Yes and No. I'm back to Day 1!

Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Level 1 October 8-9th

We need more restorative yoga classes and teachers in this world! The practice settles the nerves, quiets the monkey mind, heals the body, teaches the value of surrender and receptivity and over time can create a paradigm shift. A practice with purpose can move us from violence to love. I’m am offering a Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Level I & II this fall. We will cover asana, anatomy and physiology, benefits, contraindications, sequencing, nutrition and lifestyle and meditation. We will discuss the value of rest and how to teach students one of the hardest practices- the art of letting go and allowing oneself to be held, supported and heal.

There is no pre-requisite for this training. You do not have to be a current yoga teacher nor want to become a yoga teacher. A desire to create a home practice of restoratives is a great reason to do this training. A solid home practice is the foundation for an effective, dynamic teacher anyway.

Level 1 establishes the foundations of Restorative Yoga: the essential postures, as well as anatomy, benefits, contraindications, and modifications. Level 2 will continue with more intermediate postures that are not accessible to beginner students, but powerful for those who have a strong asana practice. Level 1 is a pre-requisite for Level 2.

When: Level I October 8th&9th from 10am-7pm Cost: $325 early bird paid by Sept. 1st. $350 after that.

Register today to get the early bird rate!