I recently returned from Bhubaneswar, India where I was studying and performing Odissi dance and teaching yoga to mostly dancers and musicians. Odissi is a classical dance that has its roots in the yogic temple rites of the tantrik priestesses of ancient Orissa or Kalinga. The dance was nearly lost during British rule because the sensual nature of the dance made the English uncomfortable.

Odissi has been reconstructed from existing traditions, the study of ancient texts like the Natya Shastra and from the study of temple sculptures. The Natya Shastra could be from 1500-3000 years old or even older according to some. It offers not only a general theory of aesthetics (often compared to Aristotle’s Poetics) it is also a detailed compendium of the technical details of the arts of dance, music, dramaturgy, costuming and all arts relating to the stage. It is often called the Fifth Veda. It describes performance as a kind of yoga or means of liberation (mokshya) for both performers and informed spectators.

This tradition of dance/music/theater/yoga has traditionally been open, unlike many other yogic traditions, to women, non-brahmins, and other “impure persons”. Though the city of Orissa is now largely Vashnaivite it was for many years a stronghold of tantrik Shiva/Shakti worship and there are a number of well-preserved temples from this period in Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark and elsewhere. It was interesting to witness these temples with their many graphic sculptures not only depicting an acceptance of sexuality but celebrating its power in contrast to the pervasive shyness about sexuality in contemporary Indian society. It was a great gift to be learning the dance while living with a group dancers and feeling, at least momentarily, woven in to the spiritual fabric of their daily lives and practice. It seemed that many people had a practice with a strong spiritual focus or one which utilized dance and music as a means, but few people had a yoga practice which supported their physical well-being and complemented their other activities. So, I ended up being very much in demand as a yoga teacher – with students ranging from teenagers to a woman in her late 80’s. I was able to work in trade for room and board, dance study with teachers there, and a new silk costume! The overall experience was encouraging, invigorating and humbling. I can’t wait to go back in December!

Posted by: Douglas Ridings
Douglas will perform Odissi at 8 Limbs Capitol Hill on Saturday, May 15 prior to our scheduledd Kirtan with Gina Salá. He is also teaching in the 8 Limbs Yoga Immersion and will offer classes on Hindu Mythology and Home Practice.

I received a precious early birthday gift while leading a retreat with Jenny Hayo in Guatemala last week. Per Jenny’s request, every morning we held silence as a group until after breakfast.
At 6am we met in the Tara Temple and practiced meditation for 30 minutes. During meditation, the moonlit darkness of night would shift shift to light and we’d open our eyes to brightness for our two hour asana and pranayama practice.
Most mornings I would sit on the dock after practice for a few minutes before eating, and watch a local fisherman in his wooden skiff. At the breakfast bell I would walk to fill my plate and eat in silence, sometimes seated with others, sometimes alone. The birds were the only ones talking, and we could hear their different calls.

The last two days of our retreat, my swimming buddy and I agreed to jump in the gorgeous lake before meditation. A tap on my window, a short walk in the dark to the dock, a running dive, and then silent stealth-operation hike back to our cabins for warm showers. No words, but a few giggles after the plunge. We were kids again.
By the end of the week, I began to crave silence. At first I was distracted and resisted, but at times I felt like an explorer, moving into the unknown, pulled into the depths of consciousness that continue to unfold. I was ready, for this stillness, for this gift.
Tomorrow I turn 40 years old. I am thrilled at the prospect, and feel lucky and grateful to have had a week on retreat to prepare for this milestone. Though I was one of the retreat leaders, we all had hours of free time, a luxury I don’t experience very often at home. I didn’t check email, I made only two phone calls, and I came back to my family and work completely refreshed. Check out a few photos from our trip. The last photo captures how I felt at the end of the retreat.
I look forward to celebrating with lots of you on Sunday March 14 at 8 Limbs Capitol Hill for my Birthday Celebration/Kirtan with Sean Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band. Click here for event details.
Lastly, it occurred to me this week that though I need/want nothing for my birthday, if you have a poem to share, I would take it gladly.

Posted by: Anne Phyfe Palmer, Director 8 Limbs

I promised a weekly chakra blog in February but Superbowl Fever got in the way last week! Apologies, and back to the plan.
Let’s take a look at the whole chakra system from root to base, which is called the “liberating” current, or direction. The first three chakras, located at the perineum (Muladhara), navel (Svadisthana), and belly (Manipura), are considered to be our physical foundation. They are connected to the elements earth, water, and fire (in that order), and are related to our most physical needs and desires.
The fourth chakra (Anahata) is located to the right of our physical heart, and is the bridge between these three lower chakras and the three above it, the three connected more with spirit. The heart is connected to the element air, and is the seat of our emotions.
The three upper chakras are our connection to spirit, through expression, at the throat (Vishuddha), intuition at the third eye (Ajna), and deep knowing at the crown of the head (Sahasrara). While Vishuddha is associated with ether, that two upper chakras are beyond the elements.
This current is called liberating as it moves from the densest to the lightest, from earth-bound to the cosmic, from our earliest stage of development to the freedom of wisdom. We can also follow the chakras from the top down, which is called the manifesting current.
Join me on Capitol Hill on Monday, February 22, 7:15 – 8:30pm for the monthly chakra focus class. This month we will focus on the fifth chakra, the throat (Vishuddha). There will be no chakra focus class in March, and we’ll resume the last Monday of each month on April 26.

Posted by: Anne Phyfe

Just like anyone with a strong connection to their hometown, I tend to get swept up when something is going on down home in New Orleans. The song I’ve heard all of my life could not be more true: “OOh I want to be in that number, when the Saints come marching in.” I wish I could be in New Orleans for this joyous time, but instead, I get to bring a piece of New Orleans here for my 40th birthday!
Sean Johnson is a rising kirtan (devotional singing) artist from New Orleans, LA who leads the colorful Wild Lotus Band, named after his yoga studio back in The Big Easy. Sean and band will be here at 8 Limbs on March 14 to play kirtan and accompany a live music class with Melina Meza and help me cut some birthday cake! Please plan to come.
We’ll let Sean’s words in a recent newsletter share the spirit that has spread through our hometown (we went to high school together!):

“On tour, many of you kindly ask us how New Orleans is doing. I want to share with you that it is an incredibly joyful time here! Our beloved Saints won the Super Bowl last night! I’ve been a fan since I was a child growing up here and watching them lose year after year, yet still keeping the faith. We are still pinching ourselves! It’s especially meaningful for those of us who stayed after Katrina to rebuild amidst the chaos, uncertainty, and challenges. For people who may believe that sports is frivolous and has nothing to do with spirituality, practicality, or the real recovery of a city, I’d love for you to be here in New Orleans right now and just feel the energy in the community. It’s a feeling that just can’t be put into words or explained rationally.
After the game last night, strangers of all walks of life and all colors spilled out onto the streets to embrace each other, sing, dance, laugh and cry. I went downtown to the French Quarter with my friends and brothers to celebrate and bumped into Gwendolyn (member of Wild Lotus Band) dancing with her tambourine. We paraded through the streets singing “Who Dat!” and hugging and high-fiving the many revelers. It was Bhakti, with a black and gold twist, in full effect!
The deep soulful vibe and traditions of New Orleans are as strong as ever and complimented by a new and progressive spirit. Thanks to so many of you for helping right after Katrina and then sending your love and blessings in these years of recovery. New Orleans is coming back better than ever and feeling so proud to be a part of it!”

Amen!

Come share in the spirit of yoga, the deep musical tradition of New Orleans, and help me celebrate my birthday with the 8 Limbs community on Sunday, March 14. More info.

Posted by: Anne Phyfe Palmer

The last Monday night of each month I teach the 7:15 – 8:30pm Capitol Hill class with a focus on the chakras. It is a cycle I so enjoy, moving through the chakras once a year to address the unique characteristics, issues, and energy of these levels of consciousness that we all hold within our physical bodies. I began this study with one of my two main teachers, Shari Friedrichsen, back in 1999. She opened me to a whole world within my body, and a potent way to physically move through sticky psychological issues.
Chakras are energy centers, places where the lines of energy that run through our bodies, called nadis in Yoga (similar to meridians in Chinese Medicine), intersect. There are thousands of chakras, but the one we most hear about are the seven main chakras, or wheels, that are just in front of the spine from the root to the throat (1-5), in the third eye center (eyebrow level but set back in the brain), and the crown of the head.
In February our focus of the month is the Chakras, so you may hear your teachers bring their perspective of this way of viewing the energetic body in their classes. We chose this as our way to embrace Valentine’s Day, a day so connected to the heart chakra. May you have a sweet sweet Valentine’s Day, and fall deeper in love with your Self, your Soul, and through this, everyone in the world. I’ll be posting weekly blogs on the chakras throughout February, so stay tuned, and let me know if you have questions or comments I can address by posting a comment.

Posted by: Anne Phyfe Palmer

All drop-in class payments for Friday evening classes at 8 Limbs Phinney Ridge and 8 Limbs West Seattle will be donated directly to Doctors without Borders to aid their relief efforts in Haiti.

Friday, January 22, 2010
8 Limbs Phinney Ridge
6:30 – 7:30pm All Levels Hatha Yoga with Megan Costello
8 Limbs West Seattle
5:45 – 7:00pm All Levels Flow with Amelia Gailey

Drop-ins are $16, please bring cash or checks made out directly to Doctors without Borders.
Please spread the word.

Posted by: 8 Limbs

As the news of the devastating earthquake in Haiti has spread across our office, a staff member directed us to a web page with a list of charitable organizations working in Haiti to help with the disaster. Click here to go directly to the full list, which is from Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC, or click one of the links below (this is a partial list). Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti.

Action Against Hunger
Beyond Borders
Mercy Corps
Yele Haiti (Wyclef Jean’s Grassroots Organization) or Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone

Posted by: 8 Limbs

Consider for a moment the way your body feels as you sit in meditation just after shivasana. Perhaps there is a quiet, subtle vibration to your muscles and connective tissue having just moved through an asana practice. Perhaps, too, you experience a crisp clarity in different layers of your being; energy channels, your breath, your thinking. You may leave your mat feeling like you’d just received an all-over body massage – pure bliss. Now imagine that feeling informs your intention with which you begin your day. What could be a better way for setting the tone of your day, each day, than a morning yoga practice?
8 Limbs has always been committed to offering early morning yoga classes to provide an opportunity for you to start your day with a led practice. We want to encourage YOU to commit to yourself and to an early morning practice. This time of year you do have to get up in the dark but you get to enjoy the change of light during class. You may even get to watch the pink light of sunrise suffuse the yoga room.
It is a wonderful time of day to practice!
Capitol Hill
8 Limbs Capitol Hill has adjusted the first morning class schedule to 6:30am-7:45am, Monday through Friday. Join Andreas (MWF) and Jeff (TTh), up on the hill any day of the week!
Phinney Ridge
Due to the strong requests we received for early morning classes before opening our newest studio, there are also daily weekend early morning classes here:
6:00 – 7:00am Mondays & Wednesdays with Megan for you early early birds
6:30 – 7:30am Tuesdays and Thursdays with Brent
6:30 – 7:30am Fridays with Tracy
Wedgwood
Join the longtime community over at Wedgwood for Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 – 7:30am classes with Gregg Turner.
West Seattle
Terilyn serves a vibrant Level II Flow class Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 – 7:30am.

Posted by: 8 Limbs

Here are some basic health tips to maintain your fire during the winter. In Ayurveda, winter is the kapha season. The earth and water elements accumulate in our body (adding excess weight) as well as in the organs (stomach and lungs) which can remain damp. The cold dries out the skin, and darkness promotes hibernation or time to converse with the creative muse.

Early Winter Ayurvedic tips to stay healthy:
1. Increase your physical exercise
2. Stay hydrated with warm beverages
3. Add omega-3 rich foods to your diet
4. Rub sesame oil on your body before showering
5. Avoid foaming soaps – they dry out your skin
6. Apply honey to your face, leave on 10 minutes, rinse with warm water
7. Meditate, take time for reflection
8. Practice visualization exercises, draw from your inner muse
9. Moderation with sugar, alcohol, and coffee
10. Sleep like a bear – retreat

Posted by: Melina Meza

Early Winter You Tube Mini-Sequence with Melina Meza

“Every year as this season of giving rolls around, I begin to reassess my goals for our family’s holiday traditions. What do I want my children to learn and remember? What seeds am I planting for their future holidays with their own children? What did my parents do that I treasure?
In a world that stresses materialism over spirituality it is difficult to make sense of it all. What I want my children to learn is that receiving gifts provides only a fraction of the satisfaction that giving away one’s love and energy can. I want to imbue their holiday traditions with a spirit of generosity and unconditional love. But how?
It is easy to feel that my days are spent in service to my family, since my primary job is as a stay-at-home mom. But if I want to take my yoga practice further, I need also to look further into ways that I can serve my larger community, ways to practice the selflessness of Karma yoga.
It can be extremely challenging to find ways to volunteer with children, but this last year my diligent searching finally came to fruition. On Thanksgiving my husband, two daughters ages 6 and 2, and I were given the opportunity to serve our community a beautiful and free meal. The day was transformative for us all; unquestionably, this is just the beginning for us. As we continue to create a family holiday true to our own values, we will deepen our commitment to our yogic practice as a family as well.