Late summer greetings from Singapore – the land of eternal summer. While the marking of time is funny thing when living along the equator, there is a bit of a back to school feel in the air these days and after summer travel yoga students are returning to their mats . I was away for a while too and it was great to see my students in NYC this past July – I will be back for another visit in March and teaching a few classes at Reflections while I’m there. Following that ‘new year’ energy, I’ll be offering a six week introductory course for absolute beginners starting September 9th at Yoga in Common. It’s the perfect place to start your practice (or return to it if you’ve been away for more than just the summer). We will start with the basics and build from there. You’ll be alongside other newbies so there’s no need to feel too inflexible or out of place in a yoga class. For those looking to challenge their practice, I’ve got a headstand workshop for you. The upside-down world can seem a bit precarious but with the right preparation you might just start to love it. This is great workshop for yoga teachers to take as well – it’s always good to know new and different ways to present a posture to your students. Singapore Yoga Teacher Sangha is growing! Thanks to the co-creative spirit of those attending, our monthly meet-ups are proving to be invaluable resources for yoga teachers to develop and support one another. This month I’ll be leading us through ‘The Art of Mindful Marketing’; how properly promoting yourself is an expression of owning your knowledge, skills, and abilities as a teacher. I’ll be headed ‘back to school’ as well this coming weekend for another round of teacher development with Peter Thomson, here in Singapore and in December I’m headed back to Pune, India for another week long program with the mighty Geeta Iyengar. What are you learning these days? How are you challenging your practice? Let me know, I would love to hear from youNamaste,
Lisa
What students are saying…
“It took me a few months to put my finger on the reason I felt so compelled to search for Lisa’s classes wherever she was teaching them and attend whenever I could. I finally realized it was because I could feel my heart chakra working, opening, from the beginning of class to the end – something I had never experienced with a yoga teacher and still have yet to. She is the reason I started practicing more regularly than I ever had before, and sadly her absence seems to be the reason I haven’t so much lately. Her instructions are so clear, somehow guide you to balance your attention throughout your entire instrument where other teachers might let you forget about everything but what they are focusing on. She lets her voice guide the students, so direction comes from within, rather than just demonstrating and leaving students to imitate an outward action hoping that the insides will match. She is also gloriously anti-end-gaining, so I never felt too inflexible or weak to be in her class, even in the more physically challenging moments. I attributed it to her dance background that she was able to encourage such conscientiousness around joint gentleness, but it could just be her caring nature. I suppose that’s the best thing you can say about any teacher, and it is a much-deserved, well-earned statement: Lisa cares.”
-Kieran Mulcare, NYC
Lisa Kazmer 