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| Yoga
From The Heart |
Holidays 2007 |
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Hello
yogis and yoginis,
Exciting news to share - I will be teaching two new Level 2 evening
classes at Yoga
Works! Come join me Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm at the downtown
studio for authentic and intelligent vinyasa flow. New schedule starts
January 14th.
I hope your holidays are filled with love and light!
Love,
Chrissy
www.yogachrissy.com
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This
year I have the pleasure of hosting my family for Christmas dinner and
as you can probably imagine, I'm in my glory. Proving to be a
bit
more involved than my vivid imagination led me to believe, I look back
on my mother's effortless mastery over the holiday festivities with awe
and renewed appreciation. As I busy myself making lists and
hour-by-hour time tables in preparation for the big feast, I'm reminded
of holidays past where our only challenge was to occupy the long hours between stockings
and dinner. Our
prayers were answered by Santa, himself, who one year left us a
1000-piece puzzle under the tree (although we soon took issue with
Santa's choice - more on this later). How marvelous, though!
There were castles
in France and cities by the sea, and so we tore open the box and began
the endless process of putting together 400 pieces of blue
sky that all looked the same.
There's an art to the 1000-piece puzzle. It's a science,
really.
First, you have to separate all the colors into piles so you
know
what you're dealing with (hint: when dealing with seascapes, you'd be
smart to categorize by shades of blue, since there's usually only a
lighthouse or a boat to break up the other 900 pieces of sky and
water). Then you must study the shape of each piece...this
step is crucial. I'll tell you, there are
moments of sheer frustration, when you start asking yourself esoteric
questions like "how could Santa be so cruel?" but you persevere,
because you must...dinner is still six hours away.
Yoga is a little like the 1000-piece puzzle. We practice for
many
weeks, months or years and we begin to accumulate pieces of the
practice. For example, in the beginning, handstand is like a
merciless gift from the universe (nicely wrapped, of course, by the
effortless demonstrations of our teachers). Somewhere in the
background we hear instructions, but the utter magnitude of the project
is often paralyzing. We eventually get over the initial shock
and we start
to learn ways to categorize the pieces...the rotation of the
thigh
bones go in this pile over here, the triceps in that pile over there
and soon we have many neat little stacks of anatomical information.
We would consider ourselves very clever if it weren't for the fact that
we still have no idea how they all fit together. All this
frustration and our teachers continue to throw more pieces our way.
And then it starts...the questions, the doubt, the dredging
up of
emotions that have been stored in the crevices of our soul, and all
over this 1000-piece process of yoga. But you
must go on because there's something deeper, you can feel it, and you
know there's a power to a process that forces us to examine the deep,
dark alleys of ourselves.
The moment of truth comes when you least expect it. After
hours of
staring at the same piece of blue sky, you finally begin to
see what's really
there. In that beautiful moment, you pick up another piece
from another pile and it dawns on you that
maybe, just maybe, they fit together. Their innate connection
was
always there. Their shapes were always a perfect fit
and yet it took sweat, tears and commitment to see this relationship.
And so like the 1000-piece puzzle, our yoga practice starts to come
together, one piece at a time. The same actions we've
practiced
for years seem to change in nature when we find the connection between
all of our many piles - between all things. I can hear it now
as you
float into handstand, "oh that's what you meant by rolling my thighs
in"! The pieces
form such a striking picture - that castle in France, the city by the
sea, the world from upside-down. It's so worth the struggle.
Thank you, Santa, for our 1000-piece puzzle and all the joy
it
brings. How time flies.
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New Moon - December 9th
Full Moon - December 24th |
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 Shiny Pieces
On your next weekend stroll through Soho, take a detour down Mott
Street where my friend Eli has just opened his beautiful new jewelry
store. The pieces are just stunning...raw, natural, he
effortlessly blends old with new. The
collection, like his store, is warm and tranquil and will surely make a
great stop this holiday season.
Agas and Tamar Jewelry and Design
250 Mott Street
212.941.7979
http://www.agasandtamar.com
Holiday Playlist
Count
Your Blessings Instead of Sheep - Bing Crosby
Om
Namo Bhagvate - Deva Premal
Prabhupada Padma
- Rasa
Prayer to Protector
- Tulku
Returning
- Jennifer Berezan
2008 Teaching Schedule
Come play in my new 6pm
Level 2 classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, starting January 14th!
http://www.yogachrissy.com/group-classes |
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 Baby
It's Cold Outside (ooh but so toasty in Dominica)!
February 2nd - 9th
http://www.yogachrissy.com/retreats
The
view from downdog is much better when your mat overlooks the ocean.
Only a
few spots remain in paradise, where the sunshine and local rum
(optional, of course) will
warm you right up. Two hours of thoughtful and challenging yoga
in the morning and an hour and a half of gentle flow and restorative
yoga in the evenings. Indulge in delicious organic food,
cliffside spa treatments, and the chance to relax into your authentic,
tropical self.
Rates
include 7 nights' accommodations at this eco-conscious resort,
acclaimed by Conde Nast, Travel & Leisure, The New York Times
and Body&Soul Magazine. Breakfast and lunch are
included as well as two daily yoga
classes, three adventure excursions and ground transportation to and
from the resort. This retreat is almost sold out so please
contact chrissy@yogachrissy.com to reserve your spot!
$1445 double occupancy/$1995 single occupancy
Trip paid in full by January 15th.
Urban
Detox
Monday, January 14th -
Friday, January 19th
7-8:30am
http://www.yogachrissy.com/urban-detox
Chrissy Carter and Julie Marx, R.D.
$350 before Jan 9th, $380 after Jan 9th
It's
no secret that I love food, and so really, who better to lead you
through 5 days of sugar and alcohol-free yoga? While balance
is
always the goal, a detox can help to remove impurities that get stored
in our bodies from, say, too many holiday cookies. More
importantly, it can teach you a lot about the foods you eat and the
effects they have on your body. It's svadhyaya for your
kidneys.
Includes five daily, detox-specific yoga classes, one evening
restorative class, one ear-point acupuncture group session and two
private consults with Julie Marx to customize your detox plan.
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For me, there's no greater pleasure than wrapping gifts at the
holidays. This year I've wrapped my gifts in newspaper with
twine
and fresh greenery. Simple and smart, it's recycling made
beautiful.
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