Halloween Evening 2011 ONE YOGA Class Synopsis

BOO! Happy Halloween to each of you!

We had a ‘scary’ yoga class tonight. Was it my costume, complete with Tutu and Pink wig? Perhaps, but also we explored various ‘scary’ poses/ asanas !

After a thorough warm-up including backward bending and forward folds; and side-bending and rotations....and delicious circling flows; we scared away sundry viruses with ferocious lion poses....(Simhasan).

We explored supported bridge poses, ankle-knee poses, and 5 point star.

For many yoga students, inversion poses bring up fear or scared of falling or injuring oneself. So we worked deeply into Headstand, supported with the wall and individually supported and fine-tuned by yours truly. We especially worked on slowly coming up into the headstand and coming down and out of the pose. The majority experienced personal breakthroughs with the pose!

Exploring the realm of pranayama, breath work and its powerful ability to shift our consciousness, we practiced the Buddha breath tonight...

Then, we closed with corpse pose, often referred to as the final relaxation pose. Unlike zombies, we practiced peaceful clarity and peace.

Hope to see you join us soon, Monday evenings, 7:15 pm.

Namaste, Yusuf Quddus Erskine DO

Yoga Class 10-17-11

Namaste!

Tonight’s class of the Autumn Series 2011 began with an exploration of standing, stretching warm-ups.  Standing tall, upright, shoulders aligned over our hips, with arms raised toward the ceiling, we explored alternate side lengthening from heel to finger tips. Then, we incorporated cervical side-bending, with the tilting of our ears towards the ipsilateral (same) shoulder. 

Moving downward through our bodies, we opened our shoulders, with side-bending stretches, progressing into rotational stretches, and exploring ‘sunflower’ and ‘ inward spiral’ pinwheel-like motions.  Onwards we moved into Standing Warrior Pose, a variation similar to Cow Head Pose, followed by assorted hugging poses.  Lowering our reference point within our bodies, we explored further rotational turns, holding and breathing in the zone of thorough rotations. Then, folded forward in Padu Hasthasan (forward fold) exploring restorative release possibilities.  

Next, we explored the always - effective Soorya Namaskar or Sun Salutation, working the core 12 steps coordinated with balanced breathing!  I could be inspired to utilize a full hour within the full experience of the alternating unfolding of the forward and backward bends contained within the Sun Salutation. Tonight, we unwound our bodies via the Sun Salutation experiencing greater flexibility and less resistance to deeper stretching. 

Continuing with the general vertical inclination for the class, we then explored standing balance poses, including mountain pose and King’s Dancer Pose.

From vertical to horizontal, we came down closer to the earth, sitting on blocks and performing a core strengthening seated balance pose or two.

A leisurely final relaxation, on a balmy warm night in Sebastopol, wrapped up our third class of this series. 

Hope to see you soon if you missed tonight’s class!  Try making time for 15 minutes of yogic attunement by Friday of this week!

Best Wishes to each of you,

Yusuf Quddus Erskine DO 

Constellation Workshop

SATURDAY, Nov. 12, 2011 AT 1:OO PM

Systemic Family Constellation Work is a therapeutic process that is based on the understanding that traumatic events from one's family lineage can be transferred into the next generations. Ancestral suffering can emerge in your life and may manifest through illness, addictions, eating disorders and/or destructive relationship patterns.

All members of a family system are deeply connected over many generations. This bond springs from a love that provides strength and a sense of belonging. The bond connects us to a family conscience that wants us to recognize all members of our family, including those who have been outcast, dishonored, or forgotten.

fn the constellation process, the unconscious bonding of a person to lineage-related traumatic events is re-enacted, qnd intentionally redirected.

This workshop explores the theoretical underpinnings of this work which is used extensively throughout Europe in psychotheropeutic ond medical settings. The work was first developed in Germany by Bert Hellinger, a psychoanalyst and family therapist.

Family Constellation Work helps you to:
. Make systemic entanglements conscious.
. Honor your ancestors and give them their rightful place.
. Unburden your current family system and yourself.
. Access the remembered love for healing and integration.

Sponsor: J. Yusuf Q. Erskine DO Family Wellness Medical Center.

Facilitator: Anneke Hogeland has been a psychotherapist since 1990 and a
homeopoth since 1996. fn her practice she combines her knowledge of
psychology, hypnosis, homeopathy, family constellation work, ond various
forms of energy psychology techniques.

Autumn ONE YOGA Series

Greetings!

Tonight, the second class of the Autumn Series, I was inspired by the fact that it was Columbus Day.  I recalled that in the 1980’s there was an effort to redefine the day as Discoverer’s Day, to acknowledge all the brave explorers who reached the shores of North America inclusive of Christopher Columbus.   I decided to focus on the theme of Discovery and exploring internal yoga.  By this I mean, to explore the effects of our yoga on our internal environment, massaging the organs, the lymphatic's,and the circulatory system.  Starting at the top of our bodies, relying on asanas and appropriate stretches, we were promoting clearing of the sinuses, oral pharynx, the lymphatic’s, tonsils.

To help us develop a greater awareness of our interior, we used the Triangle breath, with its three phases, inhalation, hold, exhalation of equal durations. 

Moving downward, we progressed into appreciation of the lungs, heart, diaphragm, working from the midline and using primarily sidebending and rotational stretches and held poses such as Spinal Twists (ARDHA MATSENDRASAN).  Continuing in our descent, we reclined on bolsters to promote the optimal lordotic curve to the lumbar sacral junction and opening our knees wide, we dropped into the pelvis, allowing the breath to invigorate the bladder, uterus/prostate, ovaries/ testes, distal colon and rectum. 

Removing the bolsters, we went into final relaxation- exploring repose!

Join us next week!

Namaste

Yusuf Quddus Erskine DO 

Fall ONE YOGA Class Series!

Greetings!

Just a brief email invitation to you to join in the Fall ONE YOGA Class Series! 

Monday evenings:  7:15 pm - 8:45 pm at the Devi Yoga Center in Sebastopol. 

We had a great class tonight; the theme was fluidity, inspired by the light rain during the class!  We explored the Water Breath and used it as a template to move through opening stretches, hip and shoulder releases, moved into continuum work around the pigeon pose, and ended with a soothing relaxation ‘dive.’   

Perhaps due to the rain, limited marketing on my part, or whatever, the class size was smaller than optimal.

So I am sending this invitation to assure you’re welcome at the remaining 7 classes in the series. Best outcome comes with series participation but prior students are welcome to drop in! 

Namaste,

Yusuf Quddus Erskine DO