Acres of Diamonds + Yoga with Police Officers + Dirty South + Meet the Trainees

Many years back I read this book called Acres of Diamonds. The author shares countless tales, spanning throughout history, of people who lived in the most destitute conditions on land that was seemingly barren and hopeless. Seeking riches, they would sell their land and travel far to mine for gold, oil, diamonds, etc. Story after story, the person that bought that seemingly worthless land for next to nothing would find the very thing the original owner chased elsewhere, making millions.

I’ve been spinning like a top trying to develop the appropriate connections to get certain programs for The Dharma Project moving. Recently I discovered that the people closest to me—those already in my inner circle—are exactly the resources I need to propel The Dharma Project forward.

The teaching in Acres of Diamonds is that we look outward for the gold when it’s usually under our very noses. “Every [wo]man has the opportunity to make more of herself than she does in her own environment, with her own skill, with her own energy, with her own friends,” says author R. Conwell. This wisdom from many years back came to mind today when a door finally opened and the perfect connection was made by none other than a dear friend of mine.

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Yoga for Police Officers

I am going to put the above into practice some more: friends, The Dharma Project is starting a program to bring mindfulness and yoga to police officers. We need your help. Do you know a police officer that I can coerce into trying yoga?  :-)  Please put me in contact with them. The goal is to get 10 to 15 officers together for a pilot yoga session in early September.Please email me at rutu@alllifeisyoga.com

The Dharma Project is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to bring mindfulness and yoga to public service organizations and the communities they work with.

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I will be co-teaching a workshop at this years Dirty South Yoga Fest with Veronica Lewinger. We will explore the 'mother of all twists', Matsyengasana. At the studio we usually focus on the first three stages of the pose, this weekend we will go deeper with the later stages and include the bind. 

Twists are some of the most powerful postures in yoga asana. They release spinal tension, ignite the digestive fire and energize the kidneys. Join Veronica and Rutu in an exploration of one of the most powerful and uniques twists in all of asana, Matsyengasana. Find out why it is referred to as the 'Mother of all Twists' and learn the many phases of this twist that provide deep intervertebral release and abdominal churning.

Join us Sunday, July 30th from 11:30-1pm at Loudermilk Conference Center. Register Here.

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Meet Our Teacher Trainees:

We are so excited for the upcoming teacher training, which starts August 19th at ALIY. So far, the group that is registered brings experience and perspectives from such a wide variety of backgrounds. Join us for what is sure to be a mind/body/heart-opening experience. Details and Registration.

Adrian Barzaga: Adrian loves to create with his hands, play his classical guitar, speak philosophy, climb things, and care for animals. "I was searching for a more holistic training, encompassing all aspects of yoga, and I’m confident I found it."

Ananya Paul: Ananya is a research scientist at Georgia State University. She has practiced yoga for three years. “With this training I want to gain in-depth knowledge of yoga. I understand the surface practice of postures but I want to go in-depth with the lifestyle of yoga.”

Aba Bailey: Aba has been practicing yoga for 30 years and is a licensed Thai Yoga Massage therapist. "I am looking forward to the YTT at All Life is Yoga so that I may learn and grow as an instructor. I'm ready to go deeper."

Margarita Cruz: Margarita has taught kindergarten for over 25 years and has practiced yogafor 12 years. “I have no expectations for this training. I want to be open and receive the teachings. It’s a personal journey of change, introspection, and growth.”

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.

Sleepless

“You are to be conscious of yourself, you must awake to your nature and movements, you must know why and how you do things or feel or think them; you must understand your motives and impulses, the forces, hidden and apparent, that move you; in fact, you must, as it were, take to pieces the entire machinery of your being. Once you are conscious, it means that you can distinguish and sift things, you can see which are the forces that pull you down and which help you on. And when you know the right from the wrong, the true from the false, the divine from the undivine, you are to act strictly up to your knowledge; that is to say, resolutely reject one and accept the other. The duality will present itself at every step and at every step you will have to make your choice. You will have to be patient and persistent and vigilant - “sleepless”, as the adepts say...”

— The Mother

 A year of insomnia and now I know why!

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Frenetic to Fearless

Join me Saturday, Dec 10th, from 12pm-2:15pm 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

New, Shiny, Pretty!

Our website is finally complete! YAY. This was a beast of a project. Thank you to Sarah Corbett for all the care and patience you brought to the process of building the site, Mark Leibert for your creative contribution and Narin and Helme for your, too much to articulate, contributions. It has been an amazing process of clarifying who we are and what it is that All Life is Yoga does. Along with revamping the website, we have made some additional changes.

First, we renamed our classes. We now offer Form and Function, which is our classic Purna Yoga class, Empower Hour provides vigor with a continuous flow from one posture to the next, and Slow Stretch and Rest provides a calming restorative option. Some of the class times have also changed so please review the website for latest updates. 

Second, We are bringing back the monthly unlimited for $99 with a three month autopay contract.

Third, we're offering a New Student Special. 10 classes for $35 with a 2 month expiration. What! That's crazy! I know. We have learned from so many students that our practice becomes indispensable after about 10 sessions. The initial sessions are an adjustment for the mind and body to a new approach of asana and meditation - by the tenth class you will crave the alignment, poise, and centeredness Purna Yoga creates. Please tell your friends and family and help us grow this beautiful, transformative practice. 

Finally, remember that we now offer Sliding Scale classes. $0-Priceless. Share this opportunity with people in your life that experience financial barriers to practicing yoga. We have postcards with our schedule at the studio that you may take to pass around. Spread the love! 

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Restorative Yoga Teacher Training Level I October 8-9th
All Life is Yoga - Atlanta, GA Register

Restorative Training starts this weekend and there is still time to sign up! This training will cover asana, anatomy and physiology, benefits, contraindications, sequencing, nutrition and lifestyle, and meditation. There is no pre-requisite for Level I - teachers and students of all levels are encouraged to deepen their practice with this Restorative training!
 

Purna Yoga Workshop with Aadil November 18-20th
Triad Yoga - Greensboro, NC Register

This workshop isn't one to miss! Aadil will be going over how to understand the sacrum in standing poses, how to do shirshasana safely, backbends, reversing exhaustion, healing headaches, cultivating a strong back & life, and more! The workshop begins on Friday night and lasts through Sunday. We'll see you there!

All Life is Yoga provides tools for mastery of your body, mind and life. This practice is accessible to any body type. We provide a non-competitive, inclusive and safe environment giving students the space become stronger, stretch without injury and progress at their pace.