1. Private Lessons for Individuals:
Just like it sounds, it's you and me at your home, office, or yoga/fitness studio. The private lesson can explore a myriad of topics, it all depends on your needs: fundamentals of yoga, pre & post-natal yoga, recovering from an injury, how to start a meditation practice, or even just a well-rounded yoga sequence that gives you the feel of a group class within the privacy and comfort of your personal space, at a time that is most convenient for you.
Individual Pricing for returning students:
90 € for 60 minute session
135 € for 90 minute session
SAVE OVER 20% with a pre-paid 4-session pack (60 minutes each): 285 €
Schedule your next private 1-on-1 lesson
by email: kali.empl@gmail.com
or phone/text: (49) 160 515 7932
2. Private Lessons for Groups:
Tailored specifically to the needs of your group, we can relax and unwind, or move and sweat! Yoga increases office productivity, decreases back pain, and increases team morale, communication and creativity. The private group session is also a great and cost-effective option for couples/partners who want to practice together in a private setting.
Private Group Pricing:
125 € for a single 60 minute session.
500 € for 5 pre-paid 60 minute sessions (save 20%!).
Schedule your next private group lesson
by email: kali.empl@gmail.com
or phone/text: (49) 160 515 7932
Te-Vyakta-suksmaa gunaatmaanah - Patanjali's Yoga Sutras IV:13
- translation by Ramamurti S. Mishra
According to yogic philosophical texts, such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali quoted above, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and the Bhagavad Gita, the three gunas are described as qualities which, in combination, make up all of manifest & unmanifest reality. It may seem all a little vague, especially for a rather skeptically minded person like myself, but here's the breakdown: the quality of tamas is associated with inertia, feeling lazy and lethargic, procrastination, heaviness, darkness (as in lack of light), delusion, ignorance and stubbornness. Rajas is motion, passion, dynamism, creativity and restlessness. That which is sattvic, or having a preponderance of the sattva guna, is light, conscious, balanced, pure, steadfast and harmonious.
Do you suffer from depression? If you do, you are not alone. I do, too, as do more than 300 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. I would guess that the actual number is much higher. Although I don't suffer from it as intensely as some, when I am depressed, I experience symptoms of lethargy, sadness, delusions of low self-worth, have extremely critical thoughts of myself and others, and in general feel that life isn't much worth living. Then it hit me the other day during my yoga practice: these symptoms are all hallmarks of the tamas guna. Lightbulb moment.
The yoga texts say that tamas is overcome by the qualities of the rajas guna, which leads to the peaceful state of sattva. Before I go spouting off a bunch of advice of what to do if you are depressed, let me first say that if you are reading this and are actually depressed right now, just reading something, (including this blog), is already an accomplishment. Good for you! I sincerely mean that. Being depressed is truly painful and miserable. My depressed self would probably read the sentences above and think "yeah, big deal, an accomplishment, whatever, life still sucks, accomplishing stuff is stupid anyway," etc. But an accomplishment, even just surfing the internet, is an action of some sort and a step in the direction of rajas, out of the tamasic state of complete inertia.
To recap, inertia is an aspect of the tamas guna, and action, or motion,
is the rajas guna (and sattva is harmonious peaceful balance, but let's not
get too ambitious just yet). Almost any non-violent action one does is a
good thing in this regard, including even the act of noticing your thoughts.
Much of the time I don't pay any attention to my thoughts, which can lead
toward a more tamasic state, because if I don't filter my thoughts, they
often spiral downward to a more negative outlook. Neuroscientists say our
brains are born hardwired to scan for danger and have a negative bias if left
unchecked. So just noticing my thoughts is already helpful, and is the yogic
practice known as sakshi bhava, or the act of witnessing without judgment.
If I can just do this, I can then question the validity of the negative
thoughts my depressed brain is generating. Now this step can get tricky,
because one can then start judging oneself as being a "big loser"/stupid,
etc., for having all these negative thoughts. Hence, getting bummed out even
more because one became bummed out in the first place, as it were. If you
don't suffer from depression, you are probably laughing at this point,
or at least rolling your eyes in disbelief at the absurdity of it all.
To my fellow depression-prone comrades, you know what I'm talking about.
However, sticking with the practice of witnessing my thoughts, I notice this
wicked twisting of my mind that wants to self-blame and self-criticize, and
I can ask myself, "Is this particular thought really true, without a doubt?"
True or not true, regardless, I can then ask myself, "Okay, so what can I do
RIGHT NOW to help myself feel a tiny bit better?" (For me, at various times
in my life, this was a perfect moment to either take a swig, puff or bite of
something at best, naughty, and at worst, illegal, to alleviate the pain.
Or go online & "conveniently" 1-click buy a bunch of random crap I didn't
need nor could afford.) I have eventually learned to rephrase the question
to "what healthy, appropriate thing can I do right now to help myself feel
a tiny bit better?" Sometimes this means just accepting the fact that I
am, in this moment, feeling depressed - not making a big drama out of it
while at the same time not dismissing it or denying it - and doing something
simple, like breathing in deeply and continuing the practicing of witnessing
(sakshi bhava). These simple acts of breathing and observing the sensations
and perceptions that arise are profound. Stuff starts to shift a little.
I have even been known to do the radical act of turning off my computer and
taking a shower, or even going outside for a walk! (Amazing!) The point is
that action, by its very nature, is rajasic, which leads to a less tamasic
state...and that much closer to the sweet state of sattva. Any non-violent
action you can do is helpful. The important thing is to develop compassion
for your depressed self and strive to remain non-judgmental of depression
when it arises.
May we all be well!
