Welcome to Autumn!  The summer flew, and its intense heat seems like a dim memory this week with intense rain and cooler temperatures.

It’s been a great entry into fall, with the “Autumn Abundance” Yoga Retreat at Snowbird’s Cliff Spa (photos below). I’m grateful to current Mindful students who joined, as well as former yoga teacher trainees, some of whom brought family members! We had a lovely afternoon in the bright, spacious, serene studio. It was just cool enough to enjoy the rooftop pool and hot tub as well. I’m currently planning for the next retreat, and will update you all soon.

The Lifelong Learning Snowbird retreat is coming up on Nov. 11. It usually fills up quickly, so check the link here if you’re planning to attend.; there is usually a wait list.  This will be the 10th and final time that I will teach this retreat. It’s been a pleasure teaching for the University of Utah’s Lifelong Learning program!

Speaking of the University of Utah, the 20-minute video here was taken by a trainee during an introduction to yoga in the Iyengar tradition for the 200-hour yoga teacher training program. This demonstration is of a sequence created by Geeta Iyengar for the 2017 International Day of Yoga.

I had the opportunity today to speak with first-year medical students at the U. They interviewed me for their final project in the “Beyond the Diagnosis” class. It was an honor (and kind of a life goal) to talk about “ikigai” (life purpose), wellness (whatever that is), pratipaksha bhavana (cultivation of opposites), differences between the U.S. and Japanese medical systems, compassion, depression, and how eastern and western medicine can work together.  I hope to have more chances like this in the future!

I still teach 200-hour teacher trainees at Salt Lake Community College, and with both 200-hour yoga teaching and 500-hour yoga therapy trainees at Inbody Academy.  Inspired and inspiring, it’s a challenge and honor to help develop the next generation of practitioners!

Inbody Academy is growing by leaps and bounds, and the 200-hour Mindfulness Teacher Training program kicks off in a few weeks. We’re delighted to have several participants from Japan for the online component. I’ll be teaching “Mindful Asana” for the program, and will teach at the 5-day silent retreat, to be held at Hidden Springs Ranch in Altamont, Utah, from May 2-5, 2019. Please join us of the retreat, or for the Mindfulness Teacher Training Program!

On Oct. 16, Inbody Yoga Academy is hosting my “Basics of Adjusting” workshop from 7-9:30 pm. In this workshop, I will teach the basics of correction and adjustment in several key poses, from observing common mistakes to verbal, demonstration, and hands-on techniques which will enhance students’ understanding of the asana. Use of props as a corrective tool will also be addressed. To join, you must be a 200-hour yoga teacher training graduate or current trainee, and be comfortable working in groups/pairs. The cost is $35/general public, or $30 for Inbody graduates or current trainees (contact me directly for the Inbody discount coupon code). Register here!

Weekly classes and Sunday Monthly Restore classes continue; the schedule is listed here, and the next Sunday Restore class is on Oct. 12. Hope to see you there!

In 2019, I’m looking forward to attending my first Iyengar Yoga National Convention to study with Abhijata Iyengar, senior Iyengar teachers, and my own teacher, Dominica Serigano from Japan. What else might 2019 hold?  Stay tuned.

Thank you for joining me on this path of yoga. As it is said, “Yoga is the journey to the center of the soul”. That being said, we do not stay there, in the depths of the soul. Rather, we move outward again to share our learning with others.  May we have peace, may we remember to take right action. May we live life purposefully, joyfully, and bodymindfully!

Sincerely,

Dana

Photo: Charla Bocchicchio