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Quick Notes

• Street Yoga Benefit Kirtan at the Bhakti Shop, This Sunday, Nov 9. 6PM-8PM, 2500 SE 26th Ave, Portland
• Moving Through Trauma with Hala Khouri and Mark Lilly, tomorrow night, Thursday, November 6, Santa Monica, CA.
• Street Yoga Teacher Training in Huntington Beach, this weekend. Two spots remain.

more below on both of these. thanks!

Update from Mark Lilly, Street Yoga Founder, President

Dear Ones, 

We hope that the change in not only seasons, but larger ages that come your way are gifted with the cleansing of November Breath.

Last month in New York, Katie Arrants and i taught two workshops at the Omega Institute's Being Yoga Conference.  One workshop we called “Portable, Compact, Real and Immediate: How to Teach Yoga to Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime”. Sounds simple, yes?

Well, three quarters of the way into it, Katie noticed that we might have made a mistake, a possibly grave error. We might be suggesting to these folks that anyone can teach yoga to anyone, anytime, anywhere. I probably was intending just that, but Katie came to me and said that we might be putting people at risk by encouraging them to go teach at a place where they might not feel safe!!

Ahhhhh!!! Not good at all. I was abashed big-time. I accept that teaching yoga in prisons, or to Iraq War vets, or to kids recovering from severe abuse will come with risks to myself –mostly psychic vulnerabilities, but i see all that coming, and am willing to grow with the challenge. But, and this is huge, i don't seek out situations where i don't feel grounded and true to myself. I rarely teach in prisons myself, b/c i am hugely claustrophobic. I panic that the electricity will fail and the doors will never re-open to let me out. There are plenty of places where i can share the beauty of yoga without putting myself into a highly vulnerable situation.

The solution we came to on the spot in New York was quite elegant and an evolution of our understanding.

Everybody deserves the chance to practice yoga, and each of us who has sipped from the bounty of this wonderful, ancient practice has something to share and teach others. But, we who would teach must find our students, the right and correct students for our soul's own divine unique nature.

So yes, yoga can be taught to anyone, and anyone who practices yoga, in my opinion, can grow to teach yoga to others. But not everyone can teach to anyone, and i am very grateful to Katie for feeling that out and giving us a chance to make things more truthful in New York. 

Recognition

• Thank you very much the folks at Omega, for hosting an excellent Being Yoga Conference in NYC this October.

• We are so grateful to all the students who showed up who are sharing yoga in more and more quiet corners of this world

• Special thanks to Mehera and Torie at Smyrc for providing an excellent Bridge 13 training, a fun and educational workshop on the issues faced by LGBTQQ communities. 

• We want to especially give gratitude to Guayaki Yerba Mate for donating drinks to the fall fundraiser and making our party literally buzz with excitement. Their Soft Landing recipe is worth trying if you like Mate and tequila.  Drink responsibly.

Upcoming Events

Street Yoga Benefit Kirtan at the Bhakti Shop

• Sing, Chant, Celebrate November 9.  6PM-8PM

Join us to sing, chant and celebrate life and love! Satsang is keeping good, like-minded company, and kirtan is just one form of Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. Practicing call-and-response singing and chanting age-old mantras helps open our hearts and connect us to source, the One who orchestrates All. Together you can sing, dance or just listen to the deep well carved out by joining your voices together with millions of others in this heart-opening practice. THe Bhakti Shop does this on the Second Sunday of every month and offers donations to good causes. We are November's good cause, so please come and chant with us! 2500 SE 26th Ave, Portland 97202

Trainings

Street Yoga Teacher Training: We offer a  weekend teachers' training for community members interested in learning how to teach yoga to homeless youth, and youth at risk of homelessness.  This training provides information on how to weave yoga and mindfulness practices into therapies and other youth-focused activities. It also offers solid background information about issues of youth homelessness, and how offering wellness practices to youth can help them overcome their challenges and learn how to care for themselves. The training is open to experienced yoga teachers as well as those with little to no experience with yoga. In the past we've had massage therapists, nurses, social workers, teachers and many others join us for a weekend of connection, learning and soul-building. 

Upcoming Training

Street Yoga Teacher Training

• Huntington Beach, California, USA: November 7-9, 2008. There is still space for one or two more and we would love to have you!

• Portland, OR: December 5-7, 2008. Sign up now.

• Philadelphia: February 6-8. Sign up now.

• Coming Soon (Seattle in April, New York City in May, San Francisco in June, Washington D.C and Portland, Maine in July.

Space is limited-make your reservation today at www.streetyoga.org. 

Other workshops Coming Soon

Moving Through Trauma with Hala Khouri and Mark Lilly, November 6, Santa Monica, CA.

This workshop will blend mindfulness and yoga with a deep appreciation for the path of healing we all hold within us. Hala Khouri is amazing and has done wonderful work around trauma and yoga.

To Register: email hala@halakhouri.com or 310/663-4644 or click here to register online.

Click to read about Hala and an amazing organization she leads, Off the Mat and Into The World.

Note from A Teacher

Erin participated in the Ontario Street Yoga Training in September. She writes:

“Ironically when i returned home, one of the studios I teach at asked me to teach every Wednesday in the studio to a group of kids from 2 local group homes.  It has actually been the single most rewarding thing I've ever done in my entire life, and I've only taught two classes.  I wish I could say this is a selfless act but I feel so amazing after these sessions I feel like I should pay to be there!

I didn't really realize how much I learned until I was home.  The skills that we learned together are invaluable and I feel very empowered to know that I have some tools to bring a little bit of peace into the lives of people who probably need it most.  Many millions of thank yous to you and all the people who work with you for dedicating your lives to such immense goodness.  i am forever changed!”

Street Yoga Board Members

The Street Yoga Board meets monthly to determine the future of Street Yoga. If you are interested in joining us, please send an e-mail to adrienne@streetyoga.org, and tell us your motivation and what you would bring to our board. Active Street Yoga volunteers are also welcome to attend board meetings, if you give us advance notice. We would like to introduce you to current members. 

President, Mark Lilly 

Treasurer, Tomas “TJ” Wildenborg RYT 

Secretary, Veronica Swanson M.D. 

Board Member, Catherine Fixe-Chapin MNW RYT 

Board Member, Sarah Patterson Esq. RYT

Board Member, Martha Corona LCSW,

T-Shirts for Sale

Check out and order a Street Yoga T-shirt online www.streetyoga.org. They are available in raspberry (women’s) and dark blue (men’s). We also have tanks for women. 

Donating to Street Yoga

As always, if you are so moved, we welcome donations so that we can continue offering the amazing gift of yoga with those in need. Click here to be quickly directed to our online donation page. Thank you. 

Namaste

We hope you find gracious blessings this season. Remember, we're all in this together, and to quote Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa as you spoke in New York, "We are the ones we've been waiting for!"

Blessings,

The folks at Street Yoga.