Offerings at Yoga du Soleil

om bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yo nah pracodayat

You, who are the source of all power
Whose rays illuminate the whole world
Illuminate also my heart
So it too can do your work

Yoga du Soleil (‘of the Sun’): Maison (‘House’) of Healing Arts is a place for people to gather, share, grow, play, learn, heal, and create, located in the heart of San Francisco. It is a small studio with big dreams, full of shri (‘beauty, auspiciousness’) and shakti (‘creative power’).

Yoga du Soleil is dedicated to the principle that “The Healing Arts” like all the Arts, are not a product, but a way of life. To achieve Art you must be able to bring yourself fully into the present moment with an open heart. It is a fundamental principle of Yoga du Soleil that art heals. Whether it is the Art of Yoga or the Art of Song, Art teaches us to come into relationship with what we don’t understand, to be comfortable with not knowing. To be an artist is to include yourself in the dance of life - you create and you change. Art exists at the midpoint of joy and sorrow, love and hate, black and white. To balance seemingly unintegratable opposites is to create Art and to heal. Light and shadow. Form and emptiness. We dance. We balance. We wake up. We create catharsis. We find compassion.

B.K.S. Iyengar, in “The Art of Yoga”, wrote, “...the yogi refines his body and blends the subtle forces of this instrument with reverential devotion and uninterrupted practice as an offering to the divine. He has no canvas, brush, paints, stones, hammer or chisel, yet he chisels his own body with the asanas, develops the senses by ethics, stores energy through breath, and with superb and supreme beauty tones the consciousness of the inner cosmic rays, or with the radiant light of his soul. He and his abode become one and henceforth the body becomes his heaven on earth.”

Yoga du Soleil will offer yoga workshops with guest teachers, music concerts (Indian, jazz, world music), showing of independent movies, art exhibits, and other body/mind workshops. We welcome ideas and suggestions.

You are invited! Yoga du Soleil, Maison of Healing Arts, is presenting the first in a series of movie nights. Attendance is free. RSVP is required by email as space will be limited. The event will happen...

Friday, October 11th
Movie starts at 7:00pm
Doors will open at 6:30pm
Feel free to bring your own snack and beverage

Iyengar Yoga is universally respected, practiced worldwide and credited by multitudes as life-transforming, but because its founder B. K. S. Iyengar is famously reclusive, little is known about the man who invented this powerful practice... until now! Thanks to exclusive, intimate access to this legendary yogi, Jake Clennell's documentary Iyengar: The Man, Yoga, The Student’s Journey is able to showcase the profound spirituality embedded in his practice, which has led religions around the world including Catholicism and Islam to incorporate Iyengar Yoga into their ritual observances. Best of all is the extraordinary time spent with Iyengar, himself, including in the studio where he rules alternately with an iron fist and a velvet touch while demonstrating feats of flexibility and discipline that would be extraordinary if carried out by an Olympic gymnast, let alone a man in his 90s. This documentary is required viewing for anyone with an interest in yoga, wellness, spirituality, or the connection of mind and body.

Cornelius Boots: Shakuhahi & Taimu (Bass) Shakuhahi

Cornelius Boots is an East Bay composer, performer and instructor specializing in single-reeds and flutes. He is a dabbler in Tibetan mysticism and Taoist wizardry, and a devotee of the Respirational Arts. He has music degrees from Indiana University (BM Clarinet Performance '97, BS Audio Recording '97, MM Jazz Studies '99) and is currently working towards his shihan (master teaching license) on shakuhachi with Michael Chikuzen Gould. Recent projects include the composing, calligraphic notation and recording of a series of 27 etudes (mukyoku) for Taimu shakuhachi (large Zen bamboo flute) and performances and recordings with the elemental sound-structuring ensemble, Sabbaticus Rex. In 1996 he founded the world’s only composing bass clarinet quartet, Edmund Welles, for which he has written over 60 compositions and arrangements of virtuosic “heavy chamber music.” Edmund Welles has released 3 albums, had a handful of featured performances, awards and commissions from various arts organizations and shared the stage with Medeski, Martin and Wood, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and Extra Action Marching Band. Hear Conelius Boots at www.corneliusboots.com.

Mark Deutsch: Bazantar

Mark Deutsch can best be described as a 21st century Renaissance man. A professional musician since the age of twelve, he is a visionary artist with a background in non-linear mathematics, sacred systems and cosmology. As a classically trained bassist and sitar player he has gained extensive experience in orchestral ensembles, world music traditions, jazz combos, and solo sitar performance. Whilst studying sitar and North Indian classical music with the legendary Ustad Imrat Khan, Mark began delving deeper into the universal fundamentals of music and their underlying frequency structures. These studies culminated in 1999 with Mark being awarded the US patent for his ground breaking new instrument the Bazantar - a five-string acoustic bass fitted with an additional twenty-nine sympathetic strings and four drone strings. The result is a remarkable instrument that weaves a mesmerizing soundscape of resonance, and evokes all the power of Western classical music with the depth and nuance of Eastern traditions. Listen to Mr. Deutsch at: www.bazantar.com.

Yoga du Soleil presents
A concert of classical Indian singing
KHAYALS FOR PEACE
with Shweta Jhaveri
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010, at 8 pm

Shweta Jhaveri is one of the finest performers of the North Indian Classical vocal form Khayals. She began her vocal journey in Gujarat, India, at the age of 5 years old. She has performed Khayal throughout the major parts of the world since a young age, and is a song writer and performer as well. She founded Cosmic Khayals in 1998, a music company dedicated to preserving and exploring the rich tradition of North Indian / Hindustani vocal music. She also performs other North Indian classical song forms like Thumri, Tappa, Tarana, and Bhajans, with equal ease and precision.

Khayal, meaning idea or imagination, is a classical composition of romantic, historic or spiritual themes, sung in the language of Hindi or Sanskrit at times, sung with rhythm, composed in Raagas. Khayals are sung using voice techniques such as aalap (elaboration), taan (speed notes), sargam (notations), gamak (shakes), meend (glide), and murki (crisp embellishments). A khayal is a set of two compositions - the first is slow, followed by a faster khayal.
Khayal songs, along with raagas, express sentiments of joy, pathos, romance, and peace.

Where: Yoga du Soleil located at 224 Divisadero St (at Haight), SF
Cost: $20
Doors open at 7:30
Space is Limited. Prepaid Advanced Registration Required - No drop-ins!
Call Betty at 415-861-3055 for reservations
You can bring your own beverage for after the show if you wish - Merci.

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Free your Fascia & Align Your Spine Workshop
With Pain-free YogAlign™
Sunday February 15, 2-5 PM
Because yoga doesn’t have to hurt!

Master yoga teacher, body worker and author, Michaelle Edwards, has created a unique pain-free style of yoga combining self body work, breathing and yoga to free your connective tissue and reveal the effortless “kid” body from within.

Learn to live sustainably in your body with no pain
Do yoga poses and functional movements in natural spine alignment
Breathe from the core of your core – the psoas muscles
Recode your neuro-muscular patterning to reshape your fascia

To Sign up, call Michaelle at 808-652-3823 or email her at manayoga@yahoo.com

Cost is $60 in advance or $75 at the door
Yoga du Soleil
224 Divisadero St. at Haight
San Francisco 415-861-3055

“Yoga has been a useful tool in keeping my body and spirit balanced. I appreciate Michaelle Edwards showing me a safe and effective way to practice yoga. I highly recommend her YogAlign style of yoga with it's emphasis on neuromuscular balancing, natural spine alignment and core breathing." -Laird Hamilton

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Sacred Sound Ceremony
Friday, January 16th, 7 - 8:30 pm
Enjoy an Energy Medicine Circle for Transformation, Guidance, and Manifestion with a circle of friends

with Didgeridoo, Journey Drum & Rattle, Medicine Winds, Tibetan Gong & Singing Bowls, North American Rain Stick, Vocal Toning, Harmonic Tuning Forks & Flute.

Awaken yourself and transform your life with an empowering sonic massage with sacred and shamanic sound instruments within a energy medicine circle for the transformation of spirit, mind, heart, and body.

Where: Yoga du Soleil located at 224 Divisadero St.
Contribution: $20 by January 13th, $25 thereafter
Reservations: Betty @415-861-3055
Information: Xavier @970-769-1102

Francis 'Xavier' Caulfield is a self-taught expert in modern and ancient astrology in professional practice for over fifteen years. He is popular locally and nationally. His readings show depth, wisdom, humor and practical insight.

Xavier has a private practice in the healing arts with 20 years experience in energetic, alchemical and somatic therapies. His Sacred Sound Ceremonies have been conducted nationwide. Xavier is the creator of the highly praised Spirit Boat Journey CD.

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The Astrology & Alchemy of Transformation, Guidance, and Manifestation
Saturday, January 17th, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm

Opening Sacred Sound Ceremony - clearing the group field, activating the chakras, and invoking the presence of our guides, teachers, angels, and guardians.

Calling the Spirit of the Planets - a guided journey into the psycho-spiritual energies and essences of the traditional planets to co-create an authentic, enjoyable and succcessful life.

Planetary Vibrational Alignment - an attunement to the planets with astrological and harmonic tuning forks, archetypal imagination and alchemical breathwork.

Astrological Bodywork: preparing for 2012 - a presentation on the archetypal, transpersonal energies of the modern planets for Spiritual Awakening, Personal Transformation and Holistic Healing.

Where: Yoga du Soleil located at 224 Divisadero St.
Cost: $100 by January 13th, $125 thereafter
Registration: Betty @415-861-3055
Information: Xavier@ 970-769-1102

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Teaching Yoga to Youth at Risk
At Yoga du Soleil: Maison of Healing Arts,
located at 224 Divisadero Street at Haight in San Francisco, 94117

Wednesday January 30th 2008, 6-8pm

$15 (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Pre-registaration by January 28th call Catherine at (510) 496-6038

This lecture is designed to deepen our understanding of the suffering and the needs of the youth at risk population who, raised in violent environments, often suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), addiction, suicidality, and lack empathy for self and others. After a brief socio-culture discussion, including the role of faith and spirituality among youth at risk, we will use contemporary research in neuroscience to help us understand the neuropsychological effects of developmental trauma and learn how these findings support the idea that yoga and meditation are beneficial in managing symptoms underlying acting out behavior. We will discuss how the ancient wisdom of yoga interfaces with modern psychosomatic practices to bring calmness and strengthen feelings of self-control. You will also be given practical tips on how to create an environment of mutual respect, one in which volatile behavior is contained, exploring how the practice of yoga teaches wounded youth how to self-soothe, feel validated and safe so that they can meet their emotional, physical, and mental challenges.

Catherine Debon, MFT, RDT, has been working with mistreated/abused children since 1987 and at Alta Bates psychiatric services in Berkeley, as a drama therapist for the past 10 years. Originally a dancer and a yoga practitioner for over 20 years, she leads yoga groups with both adults and teenagers. She has extensive experience working with adolescents and eating disorder clients. In her private practice, she integrates body awareness and creative techniques. Since 1983, she has created and produced dance and theater pieces, which she performs at festivals and conferences.

Catherine will be teaching an extended version on this topic at JFK University, California on Saturday March 1st.
For more information go to www.jfku.edu/ce

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Yoga du Soleil and Ann Dyer Yoga present
THE YOGA SOUND EXPERIENCE
A Full-day Odyssey into the Mind-expanding Capacities of Sound
with Ann Dyer

Friday, Oct 5, 8:00pm -Film Viewing, " Touch the Sound"
featuring Evelyn Glennie
at Yoga du Soleil
Free. Space is limited. RSVP Required at 415/861-3055

Saturday, Oct 6, 10am-5pm - Sound Experience Workshop
Morning Session 10am-1:30pm, $60 by Sept 21/ $70 after
Full Session 10am-5:00pm $120 by Sept 21; $135 after
Registration: contact www.anndyeryoga.com or call 510-541-4803
No experience necessary

"Are you experienced," queried Jimi Hendrix almost forty years ago. True knowledge comes through direct experience. Like the mind-expanding capacities of the yoga of sound. Now you can take a trip into the mystical realm of sound with renowned yoga of sound instructor Ann Dyer and experience for yourself the infinite power of sound to broaden your perspective and deepen your insights.

The Sound Experience begins Friday evening with a showing of the provocative documentary " Touch the Sound," which explores the connections between sound, rhythm, resonance, and the body/mind as it follows internationally acclaimed (and legally deaf) percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

On Saturday we will experience for ourselves the principles at the heart of the previous night's film. That hearing is a form of touch. That listening goes beyond the function of the ears to affect and engage our entire body/mind. We will re-discover ourselves as instruments of sound working with both sound production through the voice and the receptive principal of listening. The psycho-spiritual power of sound will be engaged through chant, mantra, raga, silence and meditation.

Morning-only or full-day session options are available. A one-hour lunch break will follow the morning session, with the afternoon session running 2:30 to 5:00pm.

Please arrive on time. Due to the layout of the studio, doors will be shut ten minutes after starting time and late arrivals cannot be admitted. Please take public transportation if possible, or allow ample time to find street parking. You may bring a bag lunch or visit nearby restaurants during lunch break.

ANN DYER is known for her unique work that blends the practice of yoga asana with the mystic yoga of sound. Her extensive knowledge of yoga is supported by a over a decade of in-depth study of Nada Yoga, a twenty-year career as a concert vocalist and a lifetime devoted to art. She is a senior staff member of Piedmont Yoga in Oakland and presents workshops internationally on asana, chant and yoga for insomnia.

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Movie Night & Potluck Featuring:
YOGA UNVEILED: ITS EVOLUTION AND ESSENCE

Saturday, May 12th, 2007

5:30 - 6:15 pm - arrive
6:30 - 8:45 pm - movie (part 1)
8:45 - 9:30 pm - intermission
9:30 - 10:30 pm - movie (part 2)

For our students and friends! Enjoy a free viewing of Yoga Unveiled, a breathtaking journey of sight and sound that illuminates the essence of yoga as its creators understood it thousands of years ago. Harnessing the colorful commentary of prominent yoga scholars, teachers, and medical experts, Yoga Unveiled reveals how yoga began, tells the story of its passage to the West, describes its numerous branches, recounts the fascinating biographies of the foremost yoga masters, and explores yoga's astonishing medical potential.

Bring a tasty dish to share and, if you like, a favorite beverage. This is an event inspired by you! Come to learn, share, and celebrate the ancient art and science of yoga with like-minded and like-hearted beings.

Betty - 415.861.3055 / bettyroi@yahoo.com
Mark - 415.310.5686 / chshrecat969@yahoo.com

Where: Yoga du Soleil located at 224 Divisadero St (at Haight), SF
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Yoga du Soleil presents
Sri Louise returns to San Francisco!
KEEPING VIGIL OVER MY SACRED GROUND
Sunday, September 10, 2006, at 2:00-5:30 pm and stay for tea and treats afterward!

How to create and sustain a personal practice. In addition to sharing poses and physical sequences that we cherish or that challenge us, we will explore what it means to have a personal practice and what it suggests in terms of personal responsibility. This includes abiding in an ethical value structure, inviting prayer into your life and furthering your process of self-inquiring by exposing yourself to the texts and theories that govern all styles of hatha yoga. You will leave with a renewed commitment to keeping vigil over your sacred ground, which is fertile and forever changing! This workshop is for anyone who wants to deepen their relationship to their practice and is especially recommended for teachers.

Please bring whatever you are currently using or would like to incorporate into your practice; books, altar objects, props, pictures, songs, instruments, journals, mala beads, etc.

Sri Louise is an internationally acclaimed yoga teacher who has based her teaching career exclusively on her personal practice. This has given her a unique voice in the field of yoga and she wants to encourage other aspiring yogis to find their authentic voice in a field that is becoming ever more dominated by "globalized" or homogenized styles. Please view her website at www.undergroundparlour.com

Where: Yoga du Soleil located at 224 Divisadero St (at Haight), SF
Cost: $75 - please pay in cash
RSVP SOON AS THERE ARE NO DROP-INS AND SPACE IS LIMITED
Please arrive on time.
Call Betty at 415-861-3055 for reservations

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Yoga du Soleil presents
A book signing with
SRAVANIYA DIPECORARO
Sunday, August 20, 2006, at 4-6 pm

Sravaniya DiPecoraro, an experienced yoga teacher, astrologer and occult specialist, explains the basic principles of Vedanta, debunks popular myths and shows how an understanding of the five main subjects of the text helps the reader to penetrate the often mysterious workings of karma and fate, and understand the relationship between the self and the Higher Self.

This book deals with complex ideas clearly, provocatively and authoritatively and provides the reader with keys for understanding the essential spiritual teachings of yoga.

"In Basic Bhagavad-Gita we find a rare blend of masterfully crafted commentary together with a bounty of helpful background in yoga philosophy. Clear, precise and complete, Sravaniya DiPecoraro untangles the complexities and nuances of the Bhagavad Gita for yogis and scholars alike. Thorough and Engaging." - David Life, Co-founder Jiva Mukti Center, NYC

Sravaniya DiPecoraro has been a student of yoga since 1969 and is an initiated disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya-Sampradaya (Bhagavat School of Vedanta). She is certified by the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre and has been teaching yoga in the Far East since 1983. She is a registered Yoga Alliance 500 teacher and has conducted yoga teachers training and Vedanta seminars in Hong Kong since 2004.

Sravaniya has also been an astrological and psychic consultant since 1991 and her clients include people from all walks of life and diverse cultures. She has been featured in a variety of publications including The Asian Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Standard, and HK Magazine, and has appeared many times on CNBC as well as local television and radio. She was instrumental in having Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita As It Is translated into Chinese.

Sravaniya has just published a study guide called Basic Bhagavad-Gita: An Introduction to Bhagavat Vedanta. She is currently working on a volume presenting the sacred stories of the Puranas for the inspiration of a wider audience.

Where: Yoga du Soleil located 224 Divisadero St (at Haight), SF
Cost: FREE!
Advanced Registration Required - No drop-ins!
Call Betty at 415-861-3055 for reservations

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Yoga du Soleil presents
Readings with
SRAVANIYA DIPECORARO
Sunday, August 19, 20, 21, 2006

Tarot and Numerology Readings - $75 for 45 minutes - For clarity and direction, trouble shooting and general career and relationship questions.

Astro Tarot Combo Reading - $98 for 45 minutes - An accurate and popular reading for clarity and direction.

Karmic Lifepath - For Deeper Self-Understanding - Destiny, Challenges, Talents

Where: Yoga du Soleil located 224 Divisadero St (at Haight), SF
Cost: Varies, see above
Advanced Registration Required - No drop-ins!
Call Betty at 415-861-3055 for reservations