~ A Note from Coni ~

HAPPY SPRINGTIME!!!

As we usher in the beginning of the spring season this month (my favorite time of the year!); I always feel the beauty of renewal.  It’s all around us the flowers, the trees, the birds, even the color of the ocean begins to change.

I have been doing a lot of inner exploration these days… I think it’s because of the innate feeling of opportunity to grow and change at this time of year.  Interesting to me is how little changes can affect such big feelings.

We hosted Lisa Schrempp, from Arizona, last month at the Clearwater studio.  Lisa is a fantastic Ashtangi and an Ayurvedic teacher!!  I have always been fascinated with the tradition of Ayurveda.  I did a consult with Lisa, I’ve done many consults in the past.  What she told me about my dosha and how to begin to balance the imbalances, the small things have already, in just two weeks, begun to affect me.  Although I have been struggling in my physical practice (normal, when you are cleansing); I am beginning to feel so much clearer mentally.  Isn’t that what Yoga is really about?  It’s about your mind and spirit, really it’s about the way you live and move in the world, it’s about the way you think and perceive.

The dedication to the physical practice of Ashtanga is an amazing vehicle to begin to access these kinds of changes.  Yes, it is an intense and challenging tradition but there is reason behind that.  Life is intense and challenging.  Analogy???? Yes, most definitely that’s what it’s all about.  The strength and flexibility that you gain is great but it’s what it does to your mind and life that is beyond explanation.

Ask any dedicated Ashtangi what the practice has done for them.  You will hear beautiful stories of healing, of grace, of the powerful changes in their lives.

This, my dear students is why White Orchid was opened.

On to studio business… during the month of March we will be offering a great deal on classes: buy 8 classes get 4 free, twelve classes for the price of 8!!  So… think about that, if you commit to practicing 3 times a week at White Orchid, I can promise you that you will begin to see transformation beginning!!!

We are offering a series of Master classes on different aspects of the practice; taught by our own fantastic teachers.  Please see the website for details, days and times.

March 10th, White Orchid will again participate in YOGA STOPS TRAFFICK.  This is a worldwide event; 108 Sun Salutations in an effort to bring awareness to the horrendous problem of Human Trafficking in the world today.  This is a donation class and we will be practicing in the field behind the Clearwater studio.  After the class we will have free food donated by CASA TINA’S in Dunedin.  We will also have a huge “one day only” sale on all merchandise in the studio; 5% of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Odanadi & Yoga Stops Traffick.  Bring the family, everyone is welcome…and no you don’t have to do all 108 sun salutations!!

So, lots going on.  I look forward to seeing you all soon.

My love, Coni

~ Upcoming Events ~

~ Insights into Ashtanga ~

by: Calley Masson

Don’t Worry, Go to Mysore Class!

As I sit at the desk at White Orchid, or before and after teaching, I’m often asked by students or people interested in starting yoga what class they should attend.  I usually offer them some good choices for led classes, but I almost always recommend a Mysore class. You’d be surprised at how many scared faces I get looking back at me, “Oh NO, I can’t do THAT…  it’s not for me… I don’t know what I’m doing… I’m brand new… I’m not flexible…I’m not strong…I don’t know the series… I’m injured… that’s for super advanced practitioners…” and on and on and on. Well guess what? You are just what a Mysore teacher would LOVE to have in class! The Mysore method is the traditional way to learn Ashtanga, one pose at a time, from teacher to student, creating a bond and a level of trust between the two, and creating a stronger and more open body and mind as they go. So in reality the less you know to start out with the better.  The better for you because you will get direct instructions from your teacher who is looking out for your safety and supporting you when needed.  And the better for your teacher because you are a blank slate, they get to teach you the practice from the start in a way they’ve been taught by their teacher. And so this rich tradition is passed down from teacher to student, teacher to student, always the same, and you are now a part of that tradition. So I urge you ALL to try a Mysore class, and try one soon! I’ll just give you a few helpful hints to starting:

· Let your teacher know you are new to Mysore (even if you have been rocking the Full Primary on a regular basis)

· Let go of ALL your worrying!!!!!!

~don’t worry about what anyone else is doing or what their practice looks like.

~don’t worry about your practice and how it measures up to anyone else’s, just do it and feel it.

~don’t worry about how others perceive you, they have plenty of work to focus on in their own practice, I promise you, they aren’t dissecting your practice.

~don’t let all this self-imposed pressure stop you, from anything!

· Come with an open mind, and allow yourself to trust the method.

· Remember, everyone was new to Mysore at some point. Enjoy being new to class and allow yourself to be just that.

· Be prepared for the awesome lifestyle changes that just start to come (more sleep, healthier diet, less stress, more productive, calmer, focused, joyful…. And on and on!)

See you on your mats!

xoxoxo – Calley

~ A Note from Coni ~

Is winter over yet??

Happy February to you all…

Just kidding about the winter thing!!!  This is just the kind of winter I love, short and sweet!!

We are so happy to report that classes are growing in both studios, our new student base is increasing; so all is well with the White Orchids!!

I feel strongly that we are really beginning to establish our place in the Tampa Bay area yoga world!  This is no easy feat, when you offer a style of yoga that is traditional, requires dedication, patience and respect.  If you think about it, these are traits that are sorely lacking in many aspects of our society.

I choose not to get into the political arena, but I hear these guys bantering about their values, their integrity…how they are going to bring this country back to the way it used to be, etc., etc., etc., really???  I think one of the coolest things about trying to follow the yogic lifestyle is that it asks that you try to live a life of truth and integrity; living through the lessons of the yamas and niyamas. Study the sutras and you’ll find a 5,000 year old plan for living in the world.

Tradition…can be an amazingly safe place!!!

Hey, Newt, Mitt, Ron…..maybe even you, Mr. Obama…ever thought about trying yoga?????  We are sending you an open invitation to White Orchid!!!

Now on to my real heroes!!  I would like to be the first to congratulate all of you who signed up and completed the 21-day challenge.  You guys are amazing…wow!!!  We will be contacting you soon to ask for your testimonials.  Check out our facebook pages for their stories.

No sooner did we welcome our first authorized teacher, Heather Serna, back from Mysore, India, then we sent off our next White Orchid teacher!!!  I ask that all of you send your strong, and positive energy to Ally Ford, who arrived in Mysore just a couple of days ago.  This is a huge sacrifice for Ally, and for her family, her husband, Scott, and their two beautiful children, Ian and Ila.  We know this will be an amazing journey for you Ally, but realize how your heart will ache until you are home with your family.  Be strong, live your dream, and embrace this beautiful opportunity to practice at the source of Ashtanga Yoga!!  We love you.

We are welcoming Lisa Schrempp; an authorized teacher from Arizona to White Orchid Clearwater for an amazing weekend workshop, February 11 & 12.  This unique workshop will blend the two traditions of Ashtanga Yoga and ayurveda together.  If you have never explored ayurveda, this is the time!!  This is one of the world’s oldest forms of preventative medicine.  Lisa will be available for private consults, on a first come, first serve basis.  Find out what your dosha is; and the best way to keep your body strong, healthy and disease free!  See the website for more info.

Finally, we are having two promotions for the month of February, starting with a Valentine’s Special – Buy $75 or more in retail and save 20% off your TOTAL purchase.  ALSO, bring a new student in to White Orchid with you and if they buy a 4, 8 or 12-class pass that day, you BOTH receive a White Orchid Logo Tee.

Thats it for now, happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! I look forward to seeing and practicing with you all soon.

Love to you,

Coni

~ Upcoming Events ~

~ Insights into Ashtanga ~

by: Coni Pappas

Tradition

Tradition….why is it so important???

I offered to write this months ‘ashtanga insight’ on the importance of tradition for a number of reasons.

First, for me, it was a no brainer!!  I come from a very traditional Greek family; the strong father, the stay at home mother.  I was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith…very traditional.  I won’t say that I didn’t fight against much of it as I was growing up…..it was difficult at times following the expectations of not only my immediate family, but also my huge extended family…myriad numbers of aunts and uncles, and cousins!!  I sometimes had to answer to them too.  But you know what I realized as I grew up?  Tradition is a safe place.  Knowing what is and what isn’t acceptable or expected gave me healthy boundaries within which I could make choices that would support my life as an adult.

This is not a ‘be all or end all’ answer; I’m not saying that.  But for me, especially now as I look back it was all good!!

I think that is why the Ashtanga method of yoga made such sense to me.  Once I questioned, and critiqued it and tried to understand it before I truly embraced it, finally accepting and surrendering to it….. I can’t express to you, what an immense impact it has had on my life, and on those walking this path with me.

I have watched many, many people come into Ashtanga classes with the type of personality that is most comfortable with being able to control things.  Oh boy…they are the first to begin the criticisms, “it’s boring to do the same series every day”, “I love music in my yoga class”, “it’s not healthy for your body”, “it’s too intense”…blah, blah, blah… Sorry, but if these same people would just let go…give it some real time and intention… what they would find is relief.  How cool is it to just let the practice teach you, guide you and change you in just the way best for you.

I’m reading a book: Yoga Tradition; by Georg Feuerstein, PH.D.

In the first pages, there is a blessing from a guru, now passed on.  In this blessing he states: that ”yoga is not something we do, but something we become and are”… he goes on to say; “tradition is the best of the past that has been preserved”.

For me, that says it all.  To practice a style of yoga, like Ashtanga; a style of yoga that has changed very little since our guru; Sri K Pattabhi Jois developed it, through the teachings of his guru Krishnamacharya.

There is basis for each asana, there is reason for the style of breath we use, there are ways to focus the mind and the body, through the bandhas and the drishtis.  This is no haphazard, freestyle yoga of the west.  This is the best of what India has given us in yoga.

This is not a physical practice……….this is a spiritual practice. And it’s beautiful, and it’s pure, and it’s true.

It will make your life more pure, more spiritual, more true….. If you just let go, and allow it.

Namaste!