Inner Bodyworks Blog

Yoga During Pregnancy | Surf Bakersfield Magazine

2010-10-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yoga During Pregnancy | Surf Bakersfield Magazine

The Full List | Environmental Working Group

2010-10-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

List of pesticide concentration in average fruits and veggies from best to least. When choosing what to 'splurge' on for organics try choosing from fruits and vegetables known to have higher concentrations and make choices from least concentrated options when you can.
The Full List | Environmental Working Group

Ted Talk

2010-07-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Sheena Iyengar on the art of choosing | Video on TED.com

Ayurveda Workshop with Kira

2010-07-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

“Ayurveda” means the knowledge or science of life – not the knowledge or science of illness. This is because ayurveda focuses on obtaining and sustaining health. Maharishi Ayurveda is an ayurvedic approach based in science with a mission of integrating ayurvedic medicine with western medicine practices. This workshop will offer ways to integrate simple ayurvedic diet and lifestyle practices into your everyday life for increased vitality and overall well being.

May's Community Class Donation Recipient

2010-06-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

Bakersfield Recreation & Parks Department Build-A-Bike Program.

Inner Bodyworks' own Joe O'Grady volunteers his time for this program which helps under served children in Bakersfield build their own bicycle.
Read an article about the program
Want a bike? Build your own wheels - Bakersfield.com

You can also watch a video about Joe and the program.

Joe the Bike Guy from BC Journalism on Vimeo.

Yogi Quote

2010-05-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

"It is better to live unsucessfully in your own dharma than to live sucessfully in someone else's." ~ Krishna advises Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita

Fireworks for the Soul: Tibetan Bowl and Gong Concert with Diane Mandle

2010-05-04T13:11:00.001-07:00

Friday May 15th at 6:30pm
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
Nationally known Tibetan Bowl Sound Healer, recording artist and author, Diane Mandle uses sound and light to tap into an individual’s sensory experience and create an elevated state of healing and meditation during her concerts. These restorative concerts feature precision tuned Tibetan Bowls, Bells, Planetary Gongs and other vibrational instruments creating a “tonal bath”. Additionally she also projects light forms of sacred geometry bathing the audience in color and moving light. She tells the story of these amazing instruments, the healing they bring and the science behind it.

“ It is really a transformational event. People should come prepared to have body, mind and spirit deeply shifted.” Mandle says.

Mandle is the only State Certified Tibetan Bowl Healer/Instructor in California and a guest presenter at the Deepak Chopra Center, The Golden Door and Rancho la Puerta. In addition to her private practice she works with cancer patients in the medical setting. Her CD’s have received praise in San Diego’s' Light Connection Magazine as "highly internal and great for meditation. COST: $20 advance, $25 at the door Bring something comfortable to lie on.

Yogi Quote

2010-04-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

"When we are in pain, we become self-centered and myopic. When we heal, we become more empathetic, self-less, and sympathetic to the pain and welfare of others. It is our gift to others to heal ourselves."
~Max Strom
Presenting a workshop here at the studio on Sunday May 9th, 2010
9:30a-12:00p
A lecture, meditation and asana practice focused around his newly published book A Life Worth Breathing.
Sign up or get more information at www.innerbodyworks.com

Yogi Quote

2010-03-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

"Affect the world, don't live in a state of reaction to it."

Yoga Practice and Music

2010-02-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

The post below is video of MC Yogi, a musical artist that has become quite popular, especially around the San Francisco area. He was featured recently at the Yoga Journal Conference and frequently participates in workshops with one of my Anusara teachers, Sianna Sherman.
While looking through a catalog to order music yesterday (a task I often set aside for as long as possible) I came across his video. There are so many kinds of influences and genres in yoga music now that it is staggering. Yoga Hip Hop?
Music has become such an integral part of a typical class that Yoga Journal has started a monthly play list column which incorporates all kinds of musical influences.
It brings up an interesting conversation regarding yoga practice and music.
We all know that music can arouse emotional states within us. It creates mood. It can jog memories and bring old experiences to the surface. Music ends up earmarking new experiences.
A yoga practice will do just the same thing if performed consciously. Music with your practice can either create a conduit of sorts where you can plug into these experiences and find release or they can alter your mood altogether which makes practicing with music a tricky thing.
I have had all kinds of musical experiences in visiting yoga classes, some moving and profound, and some downright humorous. Example...An Anusara class in Las Vegas where we were exploring the role of pelvic tilt in Warrior II and the instructor had Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" playing in the mix.
Jivamukti teachers David Life and Sharron Gannon mix contemporary with traditional; from Kirtan devotionals to the Beatles, in their classes all the while providing occasional social commentary as you move through your practice.
Finally, at my last training, a musician was among all of us and played a guitar accompaniment he had created to the simple mantra "Om namah shivaya" which was so beautiful and moving it left most of us a little glassy eyed.
Many styles of practice, especially the more traditional like Ashtanga and Iyengar recommend practice in a quiet space. We spend so much time in external stimulation that the space we create for a yoga practice should be without distraction.
The opinions and options are seemingly endless in a culture of yoga that is ever evolving within our society... So what is the answer?
My thoughts will sound a bit like a cop-out, but I think that as with most things, the answer is to be non-dogmatic. Music changes the experience of a practice and that can be positive and negative. It is also easy to treat music like a crutch and become too dependent on having it in the background. In my personal practice I try to mix it up and most importantly be aware of how the different choices effect my practice and how I feel after. Awareness is key. Our true yoga practice is building awareness in all parts of the self. So I experiment. I invite you to do the same. While you might not hear MC Yogi in my next class, music (or the lack thereof) reflects style in the class and mood and is consciously used in that way.
If you have any ideas about music feel free to share.

Yoga Inspired Hip Hop...

2010-02-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

MC Yogi - Give Love (Giving4Living Mix) from MC Yogi on Vimeo.

John Friend

2010-02-16T15:28:00.000-08:00

“As soon as you start to lose the integrity, it’s over,” John Friend says referencing a yoga posture. But, of course, it could and does apply to life and business and love, as well.

Partner and Thai Yoga Workshop

2010-02-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

SATURDAY MARCH 6TH ~ 4-6PM
In this workshop we will move through playful sequences of partner-assisted poses where one helps the other, and double yoga poses where each reflects the other in dynamic and balanced symmetries. This workshop will also incorporate aspects of Thai Yoga in which partners will assist each other in stretches which allow for greater opening and release. This workshop is for all levels. You can come with a friend, sibling, romantic partner, etc. The only prerequisite is the ability to giggle and have fun.

Quote

2010-01-07T14:09:00.000-08:00

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.
~ Ray Bradbury

Yoga as a Way of Life

2009-12-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

Here are five causes that can transform your yoga from a life style to a Way of life.

The Five Causes

1. We practice gratitude daily remembering that the human heart cannot hold gratitude and negative emotions at the same time.

2. We practice forgiving others as a mode of healing. We reach out to those we have harmed, either personally or by hand-written letter, offering apology.

3. Our career is a major factor in our practice of transformation, so we infuse our highest ideals into our work and workplace, always looking for win-win events. We hold firm that the end never justifies the means.

4. We take a vow of non-violence in word and deed and clear truth toward our romantic partner.

5. We never treat others as servants and avoid enabling others to behave as royalty. We behave with humility.

Reposted from Max Strom at maxstrom.com who gave a wonderful workshop here two weeks ago. He promises to return!

Ted Talk: Let's Revive the Golden Rule

2009-10-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Quote

2009-09-25T15:07:00.001-07:00

Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run,
than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ~Helen Keller

Howler Monkey Video

2009-09-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is a video from Michael's trip to Costa Rica during the summer.

News from Inner Bodyworks

2009-08-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yoga teaches us that change is an inevitability. Through the process of our practice we learn that one of the paths to being at peace in our world requires accepting changes, adapting with them, and experiencing growth in the process. We also learn that we cannot truly hold on to anything forever in this world; that we will be happier individuals when we learn a certain amount of detachment from events and their outcomes.
I know these concepts to be true in my mind. Occasionally life hands over the opportunity to teach the heart.
Within weeks of each other, two of our very special teachers at the studio informed me that their paths would be taking them away from Bakersfield. Both of these pieces of news were bittersweet. While I cannot be happier for Alyssa and Kate as they move on to new experiences and adventures, I selfishly wanted them to stay. I am sure most of you who have had either as a teacher would say the same. Every change that occurs can bring room for new possibility and growth. Without this newsletter being overwrought with platitudes, which have been a great comfort to me this last month, I am happy to say that I am beginning to feel optimistic at the opportunities to make some changes to our schedule. I feel like some of these changes are bigger than I have made in the past, but hopefully you will see them as positive.
With two teachers moving on we have a place on our schedule for some of our substitute instructors to take on regular classes. I look forward to having Kira Wiggins and Renata Bocardo offering classes. In addition to this, we are able to have space for our newest addition, Heather McCoy. Heather has been working at the front desk for a over a year now and working hard in her spare time learning the art of teaching yoga.
When Kate was leaving she said to me that each time a space opens in life, the universe find a way of filling it and she is right.
So...bear with us a little bit in this time of transition. The final touches are being put together on the schedule and new workshops and classes will be announced shortly. We all can feel a little ruffled by change and I know that for many of you, just like me, this place is a considered a refuge, but it is also a place where we can put our practice into the practical.
Namaste'
Tara

Goodbye Party for Kate and Alyssa

2009-07-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday July 16, 2009
5:30-8:00pm
Some of you maybe haven't heard but Kate and Alyssa are both taking a new step on their journeys and moving on from Bakersfield in the next month. While we are very sad to see them go, they are both moving on to very exciting new adventures and we wish them well. Come and help up give them a cheery farewell. Feel free to bring a dish or just come by.
All Classes are canceled for Thursday afternoon and Evening!
Hope to see you there!

vegan potluck this sunday

2009-05-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

Our monthly vegan potluck will be this Sunday at 5:45pm. This is a free event. Bring your family and friends along. If you are unsure what Vegan food is this is a great experience to try food that is good for you, the environment and other animals. This is also a great time to meet all of those people on the mats around you in yoga class.

Yogi Quote

2009-04-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.” - Paulo Coelho

fascinating talk on your right brain

2009-04-23T12:17:00.001-07:00

“I believe that the more time we spend choosing to run the deep inner-peace-circuitry of our right hemispheres, the more peace we will project into the world and the more peaceful our planet will be…And I thought that was in idea worth spreading.” - Jill Bolte Taylor

vegan potluck this sunday

2009-03-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

welcome to our blog

2009-03-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Inner Bodyworks has had a monthly email newsletter for just over one year now. The general idea behind the newsletter, aside from keeping you all up-to-date on upcoming events, was to establish better communication within our community. A newsletter format falls short in many aspects and this blog is the evolution of that idea.
Once each month, I would sit and try to compile information and articles all in one sitting, many ideas would be forgotten, occasionally events would change. The most frustrating part was that it was just me (with help from Kate and Alyssa) adding to our community forum.
I frequently receive emails from students with interesting articles to share and often times it would be to hard to include everything I would have liked into the newsletter.
My hope with this blog is that now the information exchange can go both ways, as well as the possibiltity of sharing a wider breadth of yoga insight as it applies off of our mats and out into our lives.
All of the instructors at the studio will be able to easily post and we welcome and encourage commentary from you all. I hope that you all enjoy this new addition.