Current News
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Dharma Studio has arrived
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Loree
& I are both overwhelmed and thrilled by all the positive
response we've gotten at Dharma Studio in our first month of
operation... Our Grand Opening Party was a blast, we had
over 300 people stop by for a visit! I made huge pots of
dhal & quinoa, and it was gone so fast Trini I didn't even get a
chance to try any. All night, waiters from the Ivy
strolled over with countless platters of hors d'oeuvres, JC
poured 50 bottles of delicious wine, and we all enjoyed live
music by Jai in good company. We had free raffles
and gave away gift packages from Lululemon, Whole Foods, the
Coconut Grove Flower Shop, Knoll Landscape Design
and other local boutiques.
Thank you all so much for your support and all your blessings! For more details
about our studio, go
to our website:
dharmastudio.com
Dharma
Studio: 3170
Commodore Plaza, Coconut Grove, FL 33133
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Recent Events
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Free
Classes in North Beach
Mondays and
Fridays 7-8a |
This free community class
is sponsored by
the North Beach Bandshell Trust, the group that promotes
most of the family-friendly programs
in and around the Bandshell that you already enjoy.
It was so fun to teach the free Sunrise Yoga class in North
Beach, and it warmed my heart to see that class grow from a handful of
students to over 30 people... Now Diana Dalton is teaching
it, and it continues to evolve. Please join her Mondays
and/or Fridays in the Sand Bowl (the volleyball court directly
behind the 73rd St Bandshell on Collins Ave.),
from 7-8a, weather permitting. All levels are welcome.
So grab your sunscreen, something to drink and a big towel, and
please come!
To learn more
about Diana Dalton,
click here.
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Past Events
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Weekend Retreat
with Kate Potter |
Last
May, I did a
retreat with Kate Potter on Samish Island in Washington
State. She brought a group of students from
Vancouver, and I was faced with a fresh definition of the
"international" complexion, as compared to my hometown
Miami. We focused on asana, ayurveda, pranayama, wild
kriyas and mudra on the pristine Puget Sound overlooking the
San Juan Islands. Our schedule was full, but we had plenty
of down-time to reflect, to see Bald Eagles soar overhead,
to get dive-bombed by glowing Roufus Hummingbirds, and fall
into the mud laughing hysterically while thwarting a
potential bee attack. Kate was amazing, as usual.
Visit: www.katepotteryoga.ca
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Kate Potter
Weekend May '08 |
The weekend workshop with
Kate Potter was beautiful!! Thanks to Loree Shrager, Kate came
to Miami for a delicious weekend at the Biltmore hotel
in Coral Gables, we had an awesome time...
Even though I've had the pleasure of not owning a TV for seven
years, I've had the chance to watch Kate Potter's Namaste Yoga
Show, which now airs in over 20 countries. Of the countless
yoga videos I've seen/done, hers are by far the most beautifully
shot, most innovative and inspiring. To create them, she
remained true to her vision, inventing sequences that awaken the
body and make you feel alive. Kate's workshop took place in
three different ballrooms at the Biltmore, beneath towering,
ornate ceilings where little birds fly around in the
rafters all day. Especially enjoyable was her workshop on Yoga and the Doshas, where we learned how to tailor asana sequences for
different ayurvedic constitutions. In the Teachers'
Workshop we learned hypertonic stretching assists and did some
asana trouble-shooting. When Kate returns next year, it won't be soon
enough!
Visit: www.katepotteryoga.ca
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New Orleans
April'08 |
Being in New Orleans to witness Eve Ensler's
huge non-profit machine "V-Day" in action was amazing.
Countless products and services were organized under one
roof, all free for the forgotten women and girls of New
Orleans. There were poetry slams, art, music, salon
services, counseling, medical screenings, hula hoop therapy,
and of course waffle fries. Volunteers from everywhere
converged on the Superdome, a setting that churns up some
unsettling ghosts. To work in seva with the Karma Krew
volunteers was uplifting and humbling. Founders Scott
Feinberg & Amy Lombardo mobilized a group of yogis to teach
two days of continuous classes. As with many rewarding
moments, the experience was exhausting and unforgettable.
I spent a day with lovely Katie McDonnell,
who spearheaded a volunteer yoga & meditation program
Mid-May in New Orleans, in conjunction with Café Reconcile
and Hope House, two organizations dedicated to providing
locals with jobs and education. We drove through the
hard-hit Lower 9th Ward, stunned by the contrast of rows of
splintered houses tilting into the sky like a ghost town of
sunburnt dollhouses.
We stopped and talked to every person we saw: two. We
checked out Mack McClendon's Lower 9th Ward Village, and
watched his colleagues nod their heads and smile as he
described how he converted his industrial garage into a
community center. We also drove up to the levees and saw
one of the new houses built by Brad Pitt's "Make it Right"
Foundation, a slick but modest cross between high hopes and
denial, given its vulnerable perch on the weakened levees.
In St Bernard Parish we visited the tireless volunteers at
Habitat for Humanity. Katie and I
had lunch in the Bywater and coffee in the
Marigny before heading back to the Wild Lotus yoga studio
for an amazing class with Ellen. None of these images fades
easily.
visit: Karma Krew
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Otam March'08 |
Funyasa Yoga in the jungle at Otam Yogashala
was quite a memorable experience! Just a couple miles from
the beaches of Playa del Carmen, what Maru Garcia has
created in a lush forest is a vivid dream come true. Every
day began early, with a colorful walk through Playa del
Carmen to Java Joe's for coffee and the comedy hour with the
owners, New Yorkers Ronnie & Joel. It's never a dull
morning over there. Along the way I'd stroll by this
nightclub where about a hundred cute little Spring-breakers
could be seen flirting and vomiting outside on the street, a
memorable character-study. Maru would pick me up in her
pickup-truck and drive me through town and into the jungle
on winding streets of varying surface. Noting the rampant
construction in Playa these days, when you see Otam appear
amidst the trees, you think you're dreaming... Thank you
Maru and Torsten!!! Otam is proof of what can happen when
someone follows her heart and against harsh odds doesn't
stop until her vision is realized. To do yoga in such a
powerful and peaceful place must add years to your life.
I'm honored to have been invited, it was awesome to teach
there, and meeting sweet students from surprising places
never gets old. I can't wait to come back...
Visit:
Otam
Yogashala
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IDASH December'07 |
I taught a Yoga Workshop in Cancun at IDASH, the
Institute for the Harmonious Development of the Human Being...
and it was a blast! Founders Cecilia & Carlos gave me a warm
welcome, and introduced me to their sweet students and the local
cuisine, including chilis, grains, flowers and cacti I'd never
met. We ate at little shacks on the beach without walls, just
traditional palapas overhead, and famous powder-fine sand
underfoot. Eating in the breeze on sloping plastic tables was
pure joy. We had to resort to making up words because the
scenery and the menu left existing vocabulary in the dust. I
can't wait to see Ceclia & Carlos and their students again in
perfect weather, with delicious food and mind-blowing Maya ruins
on the side. Part of me is still there...
Visit:
IDASH
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