10 Things We Can Do to Contribute to Internal, Interpersonal, and Organizational Peace

(1) Spend some time each day quietly reflecting on how we would like to relate to ourselves and others.

(2) Remember that all human beings have the same needs.

(3) Check our intention to see if we are as interested in others getting their needs met as our own.

(4) When asking someone to do something, check first to see if we are making a request or a demand.

(5) Instead of saying what we DON'T want someone to do, say what we DO want the person to do.

(6) Instead of saying what we want someone to BE, say what action we'd like the person to take that we hope will help the person be that way.

(7) Before agreeing or disagreeing with anyone's opinions, try to tune in to what the person is feeling and needing.

(8) Instead of saying "No," say what need of ours prevents us from saying "Yes."

(9) If we are feeling upset, think about what need of ours is not being met, and what we could do to meet it, instead of thinking about what's wrong with others or ourselves.

(10) Instead of praising someone who did something we like, express our gratitude by telling the person what need of ours that action met.

The Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC.org) would like there to be a critical mass of people using Nonviolent Communication language so all people will get their needs met and resolve their conflicts peacefully. 2001, revised 2004 Gary Baran & CNVC. The right to freely duplicate this document is hereby granted.


Shulamit Day Berlevtov offers training and coaching in Nonviolent Communication. Individual sessions are available at the rate of $75 each. You can save $25 when you buy a 3-session package for $200. For information on group workshops, please contact Shulamit. For more on Nonviolent Communication, see www.shula.ca.

Encounter life with Focusing

Are you yearning to know yourself better? Are you feeling stuck?

Focusing allows you to meet yourself directly, with nothing (old habits, prior assumptions, fears, or any other kind of baggage) in between.

Focusing is a way of encountering life itself
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"When I Focus, I am seeking to know myself better. When Focus, I become more clear about my priorities. I value my relationships. I change... I don't stay stuck in the same ruts. I surprise myself. I move into my potential.

Focusing lets me meet people directly, with nothing in between. My relationships are enormously better now than before Focusing. I am truly present and engaged in living my life." adapted from Ann Weiser Cornell www.focusingresources.com

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Shulamit Day Berlevtov offers guided Focusing sessions in person or by telephone at the rate of $75/session. You can save $25 when you buy a 3-session package for $200. See www.shula.ca.

No matter what you do, when you know Focusing, it will go better.

Some Suggestions for Individualized, Breath-Centered Yoga Practice

Some Suggestions for Individualized, Breath-Centered Yoga Practice

Presented by Leslie Kaminoff to 170 students at 7am practice on Saturday, March 7, 2009 at Symposium for Yoga Therapy and Research, Los Angeles.

© Leslie Kaminoff www.yogaanatomy.org
Please feel free to use and share these ideas with as many people as you wish. However, please respect the original language, and preserve proper attribution when forwarding.

10 teaching points:

1. "OM" at your own pace.
Everyone's breath is a different length. Let's honor that with 3 comfortable, non-competitive OM's to start and end the class.

2. Vinyasa yourself.
A salutation done in group synchrony is a powerful experience for sure, but because the breathing pace is everyone's, that means it's actually no one's. It's shocking how many experienced group-class students have never done a single vinyasa at their own pace.

3. Function over form.
Give functional suggestions instead of form-oriented instructions. Promoting the idea that there's an ideal form to the poses neglects the context that asana doesn't exist unless expressed by the unique body of a single individual. Pursuing an unattainable, ideal form only leaves the student wondering what they've done wrong.

4. Be an opener, not a poser.
Even some of the most seasoned teachers make this mistake. A student's experience is never wrong as long as it's THIERS, not yours. Class is the time for students to have their own, unique experience, rather than being told what they should be feeling. Students are very vulnerable and suggestible in class, so instead of telling them what should be going on inside, just point them in the direction you want them to look, and be open to surprises. If they have trouble feeling anything, then that's exactly what they need to notice.

5. Honor dyslexia.
The most useless and confusing words in yoga class are "right" and "left." Does it REALLY matter what side you start a pose on? All the traditional justifications for starting on the right side can be countered with equally persuasive counter-arguments. Given the freedom, most people will do their easy side first - even if they don't consciously know which side that is. In the right context, this is very revealing.
When giving instructions for any pose, try saying, "choose a foot (or hand) and start with that one - we'll get the other one next. Now, you can refer to the limbs as "first" or "front" or "back" or "other" and everyone will be much happier.

6. Try free-form counterposing.
Instead of teaching thee usual counterposes to intense asanas, give the students a few minutes to do whatever their bodies need - based on what they're feeling. Prepare to see some people do the expected just out of rote habit, which they should recognize. Be also prepared to see the unexpected and counter-intuitive. For example, some people want to go deeper into a backbend after wheel, rather than into child's pose.

7. Try free-form krama.
Krama means steps (for more advanced students). Assign your class a challenging "target" pose, which they will do after a series of self-selected, progressive preparatory practices. Afterwards, see #6.

8. Disassociate your breathing.
One of the strongest patterns exhibited by experienced students is the simultaneous initiation of breath and movement. The deepest practice of vinyasa-bandha is most easily revealed when breath and movement are consciously DIS-connected. Try starting the breath before the movement, or vice-versa. Simple idea, big topic. Buy my next book.

9. Take a stand for freedom.
Let's try to banish the words "correct" and "proper" from discussions about asana, and especially breath. Either the goal of yoga is to be free, or the goal of yoga is to get it right - choose now, because you can't have it both ways.

If you just chose freedom, you've divested yourself of that crazy idea that you had to get it right. Stay with that, and...

10. …Congratulations. Welcome to YOUR yoga.

Enjoy! Feedback welcome.

by Leslie Kaminoff www.yogaanatomy.org

Kripalu Yoga in Centrepointe

Kripalu Yoga Class - General Level
Session begins 9 February 2009

This series is a general-level 10-week session of Kripalu yoga classes.

Kripalu classes are designed for your body, mind and spirit. Destress and refresh your body as you stretch and tone your muscles, releasing chronic tension. Calm restless thoughts and cultivate your concentration to support mental clarity and confidence. A Kripalu yoga practice encourages self-acceptance, teaches you to honor your inner wisdom, and invites peace within.

Kripalu classes taught by Shulamit will integrate Kripalu postures and experiential technology with breath and posture elements from the Viniyoga tradition. Classes begin with warm-up movements and breath awareness in preparation for postures. The heart of each class is a sequence of postures that stretch, strengthen and balance your body. Each class ends with deep relaxation.

Time: Mondays 7:45 - 8:45 p.m.
Location: Livewell Health, 100 Centrepointe Drive, Nepean
(see http://www.livewellhealth.com/web/la/en/pg/1381/inside.asp)

Cost: 10 classes for $140
Pre-registration is required.
To register, contact Livewell Health at 613-225-3339.

For more about Shulamit see www.shula.ca
To contact Shulamit, call 613-868-YOGA or e-mail shulamit@shula.ca

Kripalu Yoga for Total Wellness and Stress Reduction

Session begins February 9, 2009

This 8-week course brings together many facets of Yoga that have been especially effective in reducing stress and facilitating wellness. Each class features various learning modalities to present both body-based experiences and educational information about stress, wellness and Kripalu Yoga. It is based on the principles of Integrative Yoga Therapy, an aspect of the ancient science of Yoga that focuses on health and wellness at all levels of the person: physical, psychological and spiritual. It marries Western and Eastern approaches to health and well-being.


Curriculum:

Week One: Introduction to the Course. “What will I learn?” and The Breath: Are You Really Breathing?

Week Two: Body Awareness: Facilitating mind-body-spirit connection is the key to health.

Week Three: Understanding Stress. Learning to use Yoga for stress management.

Week Four: The Power of Belief. Bringing greater health and energy into our lives.

Week Five: Living From the Heart: The physical and metaphorical heart and its role in health and healing.

Week Six: Energy: Yoga’s source of health.

Week Seven: Introduction to Ayurveda (India’s traditional medicine): Ayurvedic anatomy.

Week Eight: Opening to Life: Integrating the course.

Students will leave this program with an understanding of the importance of the mind-body-spirit in maintaining and promoting health. They will also learn effective tools that they can take home and use in their daily lives to deal with stress and promote wellness at all levels of their being.


8-week session, Mondays 5:30 - 6:30 pm, beginning February 9, 2009. (to be confirmed)

Pre-registration and pre-payment is required by February 5, 2009. $80 for the program.

Contact Shulamit shulamit@shula.ca or 613-868-YOGA

Location: Knox United Church, 5 Gibbard Avenue, Nepean, ON

This program is presented in association with Barrhaven Yoga
See www.barrhavenyoga.com for a full schedule of classes.

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Shulamit Day Berlevtov
www.shula.ca
613-868-9642
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