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  SHANTI YOGA SHALA is partnering with SUPER FOOD to bring you a one week detox cleanse!Kick off Spring and get ready for Jazz Fest take ONE WEEK to make very conscious choices!This will be from April 7th through April 13th and will be a cleansing and detoxifying experience for the mind, body, and spirit.Sunday April 7th to Saturday April 13thWe meet on Sunday April 7th at noon for a detox cleanse private yoga class specially for our group at noon.The price is $150 for the week and this includes:-seven (organic) juices or smoothies from Superfood Bar Register HERE -seven large organic salads from Superfood Bar -unlimited yoga at Shanti Yoga plus a private group detoxifying class to kick us off -guaranteed access to the classes of your choice for the week -two consultations / meetings with the whole group to discuss the cleanse and our experiences - we will be journaling each day to share experiences -access to support and guidance throughout the week with Nathalie In our meetings and throughout the week we will explore and talk about sensations we feel by the food we eat, what we drink, how to process toxic emotions in our body and minds, processed foods versus organic, being mentally healthy, exercising and being active regularly. Balancing all the pulls of life. The power we have to make conscious choices on a daily basis. As well as relaxing and many different ways to promote stress relieves to live a well rounded all year long life style. This is a $295 value! Rejuvenate yourself and be the best you can be with this amazing opportunity. Email shantiyoganola@gmail.com with any questions or to sign up!

June 13-18 2013

Rejuvenate

Come swim on the beach and join us for a transformational week.

Awaken Your Soul, Body, Mind and Spirit with this awesome team of adventurers healers in a magical fun experience on the beach in Baja Mexico.

Nathalie Croix has partnered up with Rise and Shine’s drummer Kurtis Parsons, surfer Mario Beceril, Chef Joella and Kim Wexman Retreats for five days of Vinyasa Yoga and Surf at El Pescadero Beach.

Wake up to yoga with Nathalie every morning and live drumming music by Kurtis before we all head to the beach.

Daily Fresh juicing by Kim Wexman.

Breakfast and dinner daily with private chef Joella of Pura Vida health foods.

www.puravidahealthfood.com

Beautiful property on the beach with newly built yoga studio.

Yoga in the mornings followed by breakfast and surfing on the beach.

All surf boards and surfing equipment included plus beach chairs and umbrella.

Three complimentary surf lessons with Mario Beceril and his surf instructors from Mario’s Surf School.

Massage therapists available upon request.

Closing Ceremony: We will complete our six days retreat with a fire circle and fire dancers celebration.

This retreat will fill up fast!

Save your spot today!

Call 310-435-6098

or email

shantiyoganola@gmail.com to reserve

Prices -

Includes: six days and five nights of lodging plus daily yoga, three surf lessons, drummer, fresh juicing, breakfast, dinner, fire dancer, airport transportation (to and from airport) and beach chairs/ umbrellas/ surf boards. Property on the beach.

* except airfare – flights are not included.

Early Bird if paid in full by May 10th, 2013

Double Occupancy Luxury Yurt

$850

Double Occupancy Room

$1200

Single Occupancy Luxury Yurt

$1400

Single Occupancy Room

$1600

Deposit $500 to reserve your spot (non-refundable )

Late Bird after May 10th add $200 for each of the prices listed above.

We accept all major credit cards.

Join Us! Many many smiles

BIO’s :

Mario Beceril was raised in Baja California and has surfed every single break along it’s coast.

He is widely respected within the surfing community not only for his surfing and teaching skills but his work within the community with helping children and young adults. Mario’s surfing school has been featured on many Surfing Magazines.

For more on Mario visit www.mariosurfschool.com

Nathalie Croix is 500 hours Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher.

She has a strong background in modern and classical ballet. With an undergrad degree in dance and kinesiology from Southeastern Louisiana University. Nathalie attended and completed Studio Harmonique’s professional dancing program in Paris, France.

Having completed several teacher trainings all over the world including YogaWorks 300 hours professional yoga teacher program and Annie Carpenter’s SmartFLOW.

During the last 10 years Nathalie spent significant time in India studying yoga primarily under her teachers Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute.

Nathalie has assisted SmartFLOW teacher trainings at Exhale Center for Yoga in Los Angeles and taught yoga classes at Yogaworks while she lived in California.

Currently Nathalie teaches SmartFLOW yoga classes at her studio Shanti Yoga Shala in New Orleans.

She believes teaching yoga is a blessing and it gives us the possibility of realizing our full potential.

For more on Nathalie visit www.nathaliecroix.com

Namaste!

Welcome Valued Costumer! 

Dear Yoga Students,

We recently ran a Groupon.

Please note that the deals are for first time students only. No exceptions. Meaning if you have ever taken a class at Shanti you will not be able to redeem your Groupon or Living Social voucher.  This information is located on the fine print of  the website of your deal.

For students who accidentally purchased a voucher and are not a first time student – we will be happy to work out a special discount for you on a regular class series package and you will be able to use your voucher value as a credit towards one of our class packages or our 2 weeks unlimited for $40. If this is your situation you need to email us at shantiyoganola@gmail.com  - You may also transfer your voucher to a friend or family member who have never been to our studio as a gift but you will need to email us first.

Here are instructions on redeeming your Groupon vouchers for yoga classes.

For your first visit you need to show up at the studio 10 minutes before class to sign up for a class.

You may also come by the studio on any day 10 minutes before or after any of our yoga classes (see class schedule online) and ask the teacher to redeem your voucher so you may start pre-registering for future classes online. Come ready with your voucher and $2 dollars for taxes.

We highly recommend students pre-reserve for classes online.

Our studio is open for vouchers redemptions, class series sales and gift certificates sales,  Monday through Friday from 1:30-2:00PM

Please bring your voucher printed or show it to us on a smart phone to redeem your 20 classes.

You have 3 months to use the 20 class series after your first visit.

There is a $2 dollars tax and processing fee, please try to bring cash for this.

If  you use a credit card for the taxes, the charge will be $3 dollars.

After your first visit we encourage you to sign up for classes online through our mindbody system to reserve your spot for class.

Please read our studio ” Policies” tab on our website to be comfortable and familiar with our system.

Shanti Yoga Shala Team

image from Ashtanga Yoga by SHRI K. PATTABHI JOIS (Foreword), JOHN C. SCOTT

“… let me repeat that no asana practice is complete without sun worship. Without its focusing of mental energies, yoga practice amounts to little more than gymnastics and, as such, loses meaning and proves fruitless. Indeed the Surya Namaskara should never be mistaken for mere physical excersize –for something incidental, that is, that simply precedes the asanas of yoga. Therefore, it is necessary, before beginning the sun salutations, to pray to Surya [...] to bestow upon us the good fortune of having only good thoughts, of hearing and speaking only good words, and of attaining a sound and strong body, so that we may have a long life and, one day, achieve oneness with God.”

-Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, “Suryanamskara”

For thousands of years Hindus have revered the sun, which they call Surya, as both the physical and spiritual heart of our world and the creator of all life itself. One of the means of honoring the sun is through the dynamic asana sequence Surya Namaskar(better known as Sun Salutation). The Sanskrit word Namaskar stems from namas, which means “to bow to” or “to adore.” The familiar phrase we use to close our yoga classes, namaste—te means “you”—also comes from this root. The essence of its meaning is “the divine in me honors the divine in you.” Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart. This placement is no accident; only the heart can know the truth. Surya Namaskar, or sun salutation, is included in a regular morning ritual of prayer and worship. It is the prayer of Lord Surya, the god of health.

The Sun Salutation is a prayer in motion. It allows us to use the body as an instrument of higher awareness, so that we can receive wisdom and knowledge. The ancient yogis taught that each of us replicates the world at large, embodying “rivers, seas, mountains, fields…stars and planets…the sun and moon” (Shiva Samhita, II.1-3). The outer sun, they asserted, is in reality a token of our own “inner sun,” which corresponds to our subtle, or spiritual, heart. Here is the seat of consciousness and higher wisdom (jnana) and, in some traditions, the domicile of the embodied self (jivatman).

There are twelve names for the sun in Sanskrit. The Sun Salutation consists of 12 positions done in succession. When one round ends, another one begins in a perfect circle. Surya Namaskar is a general tonic and complete warm-up for the entire body, which can be done just as is, or as a warm-up before yoga asanas. The Sun Salutations are said to remove bodily and mental tensions, improve circulation, stimulate the nervous system and raise the body heat. All joints are loosened and lubricated. It offers great flexibility to your spine. The muscles of the abdomen, pelvis and spine are toned and strengthened. The breathing is regulated, thereby calming the mind. If practiced slowly, it has a calming effect. If practiced briskly, it is invigorating. There are many variations on Surya Namaskar, but here is one version:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGXgoW70IB0]

History and Practice

Surya Namaskar is as rich in symbolic and mythic overtones as it is in physical benefits. There’s some disagreement among authorities over the origins of the form. Traditionalists contend that the sequence is at least 2,500 years old (perhaps even several hundred years older), that it originated during Vedic times as a ritual prostration to the dawn, replete with mantras, offerings of flowers and rice, and libations of water. Skeptics of this dating maintain that Sun Salutation was invented by the raja of Aundh (a former state in India, now part of Maharashtra state) in the early 20th century, then disseminated to the West in the 1920s or 1930s. However old Sun Salutation is, and whatever it may originally have looked like, many variations have evolved over the years.

In Hinduism, Surya is the chief solar deity, son of Dyaush or Indra. He has hair and arms of gold, three eyes, and four hands holding water lilies — the flower that longs for the dawn. He is the only Indian god ever known to be always shown wearing knee length boots and in some cases distinct metal (copper) gloves. The boots are an invariable rule in his sculpture as is the atibhanga posture, the immobile erect stance of perfection, the god who is the Cosmic Pillar and support of the universe. In Hindu religious literature, Surya is notably mentioned as the visible form of God that one can see every day. Furthermore, Saivites and Vaishnavites often regard Surya as an aspect of Shiva and Vishnu, respectively. For example, the sun is called Surya Narayana by Vaishnavites. In Saivite theology, Surya is said to be one of eight forms of Siva, named the Astamurti. His names depicting his aspects, offspring and functions are many. He is Savitur, the stimulating and animating Power of the Sun; Pushan, the Messenger and Knower of the Ways; Vivasvat, the Brilliant; Bhaskara, the Light-maker; Dinakara, the Day-maker; Loka-Chakshuh, the Eye of the World; Karma-Sakshi, the Witness of the Deeds; and Graharaja, King of the Constellations. He is also extolled as Aryaman, clear, discerning aspiration, and Bhaga, happy spontaneity and the right enjoyment of things which dispels the dream of error, sin and suffering.

The Sun is the vision of the divine, whose light fills all the worlds; it is also the cosmic symbol of the Supreme. Surya is possibly the most popular Vedic God. In Rig Veda III 62.10 he is worshipped as Savitr, the source of life and light. He is also the source of inner enlightenment as the famous gayatri mantra suggests:

Om bhur bhuvah suvah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Diyo yo nah prachodayat

“O splendid and playful sun, we offer this prayer to thee; enlighten this craving mind; be our protector; may the radiance of the divine ruler guide our destiny; wise men salute your magnificence with oblations and words of praise”.
Sun worship is often mentioned in the Ramayana. Before Rama goes to fight Ravana, sage Agastya advises him to worship Surya and chant the Adityahridayam, which destroys enemies, gives victory, removes all sins and sorrows, and gives light to the world. In the Mahabarata, the Sun is described as Deveshvara, the God of Gods.

Aloft his beams now bring the god
Who knows all creatures that are born,
That all may look upon the Sun.

A way like thieves the stars depart,
By the dark night accompanied,
At the all-seeing Sun’s approach.

His beams, his ray’s have shown afar
Athwart the many homes of men,
Flaming aloft like blazing fires.

Swift-moving, visible to all,
Maker of light thou art, O Sun,
Illumining all the shining space.

Thou risest towards the host of gods
And towards the race of men: towards all,
That they may see the heavenly light.

The broad air traversing, the sky,
Thou metest, Sun, the days and nights,
Seeing all creatures that are born.

The seven bay mares that draw thy car
Bring thee to us, far-seeing god,
O Surya of the gleaming hair.

The Sun has yoked the seven bright mares,
The shining daughters of his car:
With that self-yoking team he speeds.

Athwart the darkness gazing up,
To him the higher light, we now
Have soared to Surya, the god
Among the gods, the highest light.

Rig Veda 1:50

foreword by  Sadhana Center for Yoga and Meditation

Declare December a time of change.

Discipline your mind, stop the story and be grateful

Make December a GREAT December.  Help other people.

Be kind to yourself and to others.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”  Mahatma Gandhi

Watch the wonderful December message from Gurmukh.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/17437134

12-02-10 Stop the Story Be Grateful from Gurmukh Khalsa on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays!

Om Shanti

NEW-YEAR RETREAT

Come join us in an environment of peace, beauty, reflection, acceptance, joy and fun.

Journaling, guided and process meditation, yoga, breathwork, and self-reflection will be available in a relaxed format to experience your desired outcome.

The retreat will be held in the beautiful surrounds of the Retreat Center at St. Joseph’s Abbey outside of Covington, LA.  This wonderful retreat begins with registration at 9:00am on Thursday, December 30, 2010 and concludes on Saturday, January 1, 2010 around 3:00pm.  An all inclusive price of $385.00 non-refundable must be paid in full by December 17, 2010. After December 10th, please call to inquire about availability. All sessions, meals, private room and bath are included.  Enrollment is limited.

For more information on St. Joseph’s Abbey please click here.

Paulette Lucas and Jack Anthony Fontana are the facilitators.

For more information and registration call:

Paulette at 320-203-7928

* All major credit cards accepted

Make checks payable to:

Jack Fontana

PO Box 7218

Metairie, LA 70010

Or

Paulette Lucas

1051 29th Ave N

St Cloud, MN 56303

Hope you can make it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Join Lululemon Ambassador and Shanti Shala teacher, Nathalie Croix for free yoga in the park on Sunday, 12/12, from 10:00-11:00AM, Audubon, across from Tulane and Loyola. All levels are welcome!

What a beautiful way to start the day!

Namaste!

Shanti Yoga Shala is currently and graciously, housed by our dear friend The Yoga Room and it’s owner – ashtanga yoga certified teacher Melanie Fawer.

Malanie is one of a handful of certified ashtanga teachers by our beloved Guruji, Ski. K. Pattabhi Jois. She currently teaches Mysore style morning classes and is a gem of this city.

We are blessed and very thankful to be welcome by The Yoga Room.

At the moment our team of lovely yogis and yoginis have been driving around the city looking for the right location for a permanent home for our shala.

We are looking forward to an amazing time ahead and many yogic adventures. We hope you can join us along this ride.

Much love and many blessings to you,

Nathalie Croix