Evo-Friendly Yoga Teacher Training Program in Nosara, Costa Rica this August...

Amazing Costa Rica Yoga Teacher Training, 200 hr @ the Costa Rica Yoga Spa, August, 2011

Namaste’ Dear Evolver People /\

I would like to personally invite you to what I know will be one of the most fulfilling and transformational experiences of your life. Imagine three weeks in one of the most beautiful parts of Costa Rica, at the well-loved Costa Rica Yoga Spa, in great company of kindred spirits, enjoying healthy food, and with much time to devote to yourself and yo ur practice. Not to mention day trips to the beach (surfing for those who want to), live music featuring our own kirtan band, Wabi Sabi, and the music of an amazing musician, Leighton O. Virtue (L.O.Ve), and you have the makings of an unforgettable, life-changing vacation. As for the yoga part of the experience, I can promise that it will be all that you would want, and more.

for more about the program please visit us at our website, www.allow-ah.com

Costa Rica Yoga Teacher Training, 2010

This program has been in development for the past 15 years, since I first fell in love with yoga and KNEW that I was going to be a yoga teacher in some capacity. From the age of 14 I was a budding philosopher with so many questions about life, the most essential to me being the questions of who am I, and how do I live in the world? In the process of answering these questions, I tried numerous things – distance running, religion (I lived as an Orthodox Jew in Israel for 2 years), songwriting, non-stop reading…and while all of these activities had a piece of what I was seeking, there was something that always felt incomplete. So when I discovered yoga at the age of 26 – with the guidance of a colleague in the Religious Studies Department in grad school — I knew I’d finally found what I had been looking for over the past decade of my life. Here was an overarching and integrated way of life that felt completely right and made complete sense to me, making sense of everything I had tried up to that point.

My friend and mentor was an Indologist, meaning she was a student of all things Indian, so I didn’t get just exposed to Hatha Yoga and nothing else; no, she taught me about everything. Over the course of the next 4 months, I found myself traveling with my friend all over to meet saints and gurus from India, chanting ancient Sanskrit mantras and verses, doing pujas (sometimes elaborate offerings to the devas), meditating for hours at a time, staying up all night talking philosophy, and so on. It was only after a summer of doing all of this that I then began to explore the practice of Hatha Yoga, and what an eye-opening exploration that was! I had been a long-distance runner for the past decade and had not really stretched out a whole lot during that time or breathed consciously, certainly not in the yoga way.

So what I found was both that it was so challenging (and sometimes very painful), but it also felt soooo good! Through the practice, I also noticed some deep releasing of “stuff” happening – sometimes spontaneous uncontrollable laughter, and other times tears from I knew not where. I also began to actually feel my chakras and become more intuitive; for instance, I began noticing more and more some really amazing synchronicities. To put it simply, then, I was hooked! I began taking as many classes as I could, and I wound up studying with a number of different teachers from a number of different styles. I studied most extensively with Joan White (Iyengar), David Swenson (Ashtanga), Dharma Mittra (Dharma Yoga), and Yogi Hari (Sivananda lineage). (I also consider my Indian teachers to be my yoga gurus, too, but they don’t focus on Hatha Yoga so much, for reasons we will consider.)

Early on, I decided that I was going to stop doing running competitions and just focus on yoga. I kept running, but far less, devoting much more time and energy to my Hatha practice. This was a welcome choice because I actually dreaded competitions ( I knew on some level they were killing me), and I was so loving my yoga practice. So much that some days I would come home from school or whatever I was doing and just practice from 3-5 hours straight. I practiced like that daily for years. Early on when I would look at pictures of yogis in advanced poses, I would be like, “Well, maybe I’ll be able to do that many years from now, or maybe next lifetime!” and then, how amazed I was to find that a few months or years later I was doing those very poses! So I began to recognize and respect the power of disciplined practice – practice and patience and perseverance. My practice also included getting up most mornings at 3 am, doing some Hatha, and then meditating, as one of my Indian gurus, Sri Karunamayi, suggested we all do. I did a lot of other pretty crazy things over the course of my training, too, some of which will go unmentioned – others, like doing headstands for over an hour, sitting in lotus for 2 or more hours straight, or 108 Sun Salutations nonstop at cardio pace, were explorations into what would happen if…

Well, those days of intense personal practice are now over for me as I have realized I feel more fulfilled now in sharing the gift with others. Admittedly, the way I practiced and lived at the beginning of my yoga journey is not possible for most people. Clearly, I had a lot of time on my hands, and I also had resources to take trips around the country, and to India ( I made 5 trips between 1998-2001). Yet, I would also say that when we are aligned with our true joy and purpose in life, the Universe just seems to want to do everything it can to make that possible for us. And so it was. And so it can be for you, too. Do you also feel you are being called to transform your life and the world through the power of yoga? If yes, you came to the right place! I so look forward to working with you!

3~’ Shanti Prema 3~’ ~ Peace Love, Allowah

ps. What follows are some of the themes and practices we will be exploring in-depth in our training. A full write-up and schedule for our program will be available by June 15th.

Themes for Our Training:

Yoga Beyond Belief — “Get with Deprogram” – How to release stuck patterns, open to limitless possibilities, free yourself from dogmatic beliefs and belief systems. Realizing how our thoughts, feelings, and words become energetic structures. This is the basis of all that way we will do together.

The Yoga of Food & Diet — We’ll discuss portions of John Robbins’ book, “The Food Revolution.” How we can maintain a constant ideal body weight for the rest of our lives, and have “energy to burn.”

Yoga and the Brain – Using the new book, Power Up Your Brain by local integrative doctor, Dr. David Pearlmutter, and co-written by yogi shaman, Dr. Alberto Villodo. Also, considering the work of Dr. Andrew Newberg, author of “How God Changes Your Brain,” who has done brain scans of Tibetan monks in deep states of meditation.

Yoga & Shamanism – How does Yoga differ from Shamanistic philosophy and practice, and how is it similar? How might (and are) these two evolutionary practices be most usefully synergized at this momentous moment in humanity's evolution?

The Yoga of Money – How to Do What You Love & Be Well-Compensated for It… Moving toward financial freedom…Opening to Abundance on all levels.

Sound Healing Therapies (Nada Yoga) – Focus on the Didgeridoo & the Power of our own Voice. Other sound therapies you might want to use in your yoga classes, including healing music; kirtan. We will have live kirtan at least 3 times per week.

Rainbow Bridge Breathwork – Releasing Deep Trauma & Fear through a Powerful Breathing Practice.

The Yoga of Relationships – Living from a place of Namaste & the Golden Rule, breaking the cycles of dependency and co-dependency; exploring tantric sexual teachings. Reflexology, Thai Yoga Bodywork – How to incorporate these practices into your classes, as well as offer private sessions.

Maha Sadhana – Insight into the “Great Discipline” of Yoga, and how it can transform your life. Making yoga your way of life, not just something you do as a daily practice, but live moment to moment.

Please feel free to call anytime, my # here in Florida is (239) 592-0898,
and my email is sunshinestateyoga@yahoo.com.

Love <3 Allowah