Practicing yoga at home every day -- even just a little bit -- can make a big difference in how you feel physically, emotionally and mentally! This workshop will help you learn how.

Working with the basic principles of posture selection and sequencing, each participant will leave with an individualized plan for a 30-minute home yoga practice specially designed and tailored to meet your needs.

Workshop will be lead by alleyCat Yoga directors Ken & Kathleen. Saturday, November 12, 2-4 pm. $21 or 7 credits.

Fri, Nov 11 Stages of Meditation: Levels of Yogic Consciousness. A guided lecture with a short practice session followed by discussion. No previous experience with meditation is required.
Sat, Nov 12 Biodynamic Dance. A dynamic, self-expressive method to reach new levels of order, self-healing and wholeness.
Sun, Nov 13 Second Sunday Kirtan. Our monthly gathering for heart-opening, devotional chanting.
Fri, Nov 18 Conscious Cinema. Bapuji:The Path of Love. A film about the life of Swami Kripalu, whose teachings were the inspiration behind Kripalu Yoga.
Sat, Nov 26 Trance Dance. An inner journey of transformation and expansion of consciousness.
Sat, Dec 10 Many Paths, One Truth workshop. An opportunity to experience practices within the frameworks of many spiritual traditions.

The stillness and complete absorption that I experienced in my very first yoga class was utterly new and deeply satisfying. I heard myself have the thought, "I want to help other people have this experience. I am going to become a yoga teacher." Well, if you know me at all, you know that I am not an impetuous sort of person. To decide I was going to become a teacher during my first class was highly atypical and a little embarrassing.

That first yoga class was at the Kripalu Center in Lenox, MA in 1991 in a room that was quiet, softly lit and filled with other expectant people.

Together, the class spoke the Sadhana Prayer, an affirmation of our commitment to be totally aware and present during the class. The class proceeded with the teacher gently urging us to dive fully into the postures without holding back. I felt respected and supported as I struggled to move my body into uncomfortable and awkward positions. He reminded us again and again that it was our presence during this practice, not the external form of the postures, that was the real goal of this ancient science of yoga.

Despite my clear and unexpected decision to teach yoga, I did not begin regular attendance at yoga classes for a few more years. Instead I began reading about yoga. I took a meditation class and learned some pranayama techniques. I occasionally practiced yoga postures at home on my own and, on and off, I took some classes.

But eventually I felt drawn to practice yoga more deeply. In 1994, I moved into the Kripalu Center and was a resident staff member for three years. Daily yoga practice was required during my first three months and, after that initial period, I continued to practice yoga postures. But the devotional practices really stole my heart!

Register by December 4 and save $150 off an unforgettable yoga vacation in sunny Costa Rica!!

Ken & Kathleen will be leading their 7th annual Awakening: A Kripalu Yoga Retreat from February 4-11, 2006 at Pura Vida Spa, an exquisite, private 12-acre yoga and retreat center.

The trip package includes: 2 daily yoga classes plus additional workshops, 3 gourmet vegetarian meals daily (chicken and fish options available), 7 nights' double accommodation and an easy 20 minute shuttle to/from the airport.

Lounge by the pool, nap in a hammock, soak in the hot tub under the stars, take in the spectacular views, walk in the coffee fields, make new friends in the dining room, and enjoy the many optional eco-adventure tours available at Pura Vida.

You will return home feeling truly refreshed and re-charged.

$150 discount is available for all alleyCat Yoga passholders.

Please be sure to check the current schedule for class changes over the Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah breaks.

Also, please note that Kevin will no longer be teaching his Wednesday, 7:30pm class. We'll look forward to having him share his talents with us again in the future.

Did you enjoy your last yoga class?
Was there some part of the class you connected with especially?
Is there a posture you're wishing your teacher would lead more often?
Do you have any questions?

Please talk to your teachers!! We want to hear from you! Let us know what you like. Let us know how we can better suit your needs.

A recent study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine examined the impact of yoga on weight change in a group of 15,550 adults aged 53-57. The study found that normal weight adults who practiced yoga regularly (at least one session of 30 minutes or more per week for four or more years) gained an average of 3 pounds less between the ages of 45 and 55 than those who didn't practice yoga.

Meanwhile, overweight adults who practiced yoga lost an average of 5 pounds. Those who didn't practice yoga gained about 14 pounds during the same time period.

Researchers say yoga's effect on weight loss and maintenance may have more to do with body awareness than the actual calories burned during the average session.

Kristal, A. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, July/August 2005; vol 11. News release, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Ken & Kathleen presented two workshops at the annual Kripalu Yoga Teacher's Conference in MA in October. Afterward, they sponsored the first US kirtan of their friends Satyaa & Pari who live in Corfu, Greece.

See photos of the kirtan tour. Listen to Satyaa & Pari's wonderful CD's.