On January 30th, Jews celebrated the harvest festival called Tu B’Shevat. Set on the 15th of the month of Shevat in the Jewish calendar, Tu B’Shevat marks the “New Year for Trees”, when the earliest blooming trees in Israel begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. Traditionally, we commemorate the day and season by eating some of the fruit mentioned in the torah: pomegranates, figs, dates, grapes and olives. But we can look beyond the joy of literally bearing fruit to lessons learned through the grandiosity and longevity of the trees themselves.

The principles of Anusara yoga abound with tree-imagery. In fact, vrksasana (tree pose) and its components are so inspiring that we utilize the metaphor and asana in almost every class. Each time we are instructed to ‘root down’ into the earth beneath us or ‘grow our branches’ toward the sun, we are nourished. The tree, in its depth, height, beauty and resilience gives us pause and insight into our lives. Within the first principle of opening to grace, we establish our roots through the foundation. Here our roots hold our intention. The roots are our faith in the Universal, consciousness, Divine, grace….whatever name you give for that which connects us to something bigger than ourselves. Roots, though unseen, are critical to the sustenance of the tree. A beautiful tree with shallow roots will eventually collapse. A person with an amazing intellect and expensive wardrobe, but with little grace is shallow and may more easily falter under durress. And then there’s my grandmother. She had little money and very little formal education. Yet she was wise and possessed an open, optimistic heart. She connected with others from an authentic, internal place. It was her faith in goodness that nurtured her and helped her persevere even the most challenging periods.

The trunk, branches and leaves are our intellect and emotions. We strive to nurture them in such a way that they not only are sustainable, but grow, give forth and give back. The fruit is a gift, yes. But it’s more than that. The seed inside, like our attitude, is the fuel that drives our intention. And for it to be received well, it should be sweet and nourishing, like the meat of the fruit.

Each component of a tree is necessary to its survival and its reproduction. For us, we look beyond mere survival.  As gregarious beings, we utilize our incredible composition to thrive in a world of connection. On this Tu B’Shevat, may we all take time to find shelter beneath a tree, recognize and nourish our gifts and talents; and give forth from a skilled, internal place. In that way, we will connect to something bigger than ourselves and help bring peace and joy to this world.

Aviva Black teaches a mixed level class on Thursdays from 12 – 1pm at YogaKula Berkeley.

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The Sanskrit word Vinyasa means “movement synchronized with breath”. It is often used to describe a style of Yoga class which focuses heavily on postures that flow together coordinating with the inhale and exhale. Vinyasa is also commonly used to refer to the Plank-Chaturanga-Upward Facing Dog-Down Dog series that is relied upon as the athletic “chorus” between the “verses” of the standing postures. Although you may know that this little series of poses is a small portion of the traditional Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) series, most of us are never taught the meaning behind these ubiquitous postures.

The traditional Surya Namaskar series is made up of 12 postures that correspond with 12 aspects of the Sun. Being essential to Life, the Sun has a special place of honor in many traditions, Yoga being no exception. Each posture in the Sun Salutation is meant to be a meditation on a particular aspect of Light. When taking the postures of a Sun Salute, one is mindful of the corresponding chakra/area of the body and is repeating the mantra internally three times. For example, in Plank, which arrives with an exhalation, the focus is on the throat chakra, and the mantra is “Om Khagaya Namaha”. Khagaya refers to “The One Who Moves Through the Sky”, or “The All Pervading Light”, signifying the unending passage of time and eternal light that pervades it. As we repeat the mantra, we meditate on our own Life and the Light of Consciousness – our eternal nature and also our impermanence in this bodily form. It might occur to you that this could take awhile to contemplate! That is why the mantra is repeated three times (to slow the movements down), and the Sun Salutation series is usually repeated 12 times, or multiples of 12.

Although ever present in modern yoga classes, Chaturanga – that clever yoga push-up – is not part of the traditional Sun Salute series. Instead, Eight-Point Pose (Ashtangasana) follows Plank, still on the exhalation, offering toes-knees-chest-chin to the ground. With the attention to the Solar Plexus/Navel, this posture honors the “Giver of Strength and Nourishment”. Repeating silently “Om Pushne Namaha” we honor the aspect of the Sun “Pushne” which is the source of all our food and thus all our strength.

Inhaling into Upward Facing Dog (or sometimes Cobra), we turn our focus to the pelvic chakra and open the chest, looking upward, honoring “Hiranya Garbhaya”, the Golden Cosmic Self. Signifying the absorption of the individual into the universal Ocean of Light, our small movement becomes a bigger offering to shining interconnectedness. “Om Hiranya Garbhaya Namaha.”

With Downward Facing Dog we repeat inwardly, “Om Marichaye Namaha”. Fingers and toes spread wide, hips reaching to the sky, we shift our focus from pelvis to throat. Like rays of the sun beaming through parting clouds, our limbs mimic the brilliant rays of the Sun. We become “Marichi” – The Light.

Understanding the meaning behind the movements, the Vinyasa becomes much more than just a means to get buff yoga arms, or spice up the practice with extra heat. Each movement becomes an opportunity to connect with an aspect of your self and the Natural Order of Things.

Ultimately, the Sun Salutation is a practice that honors the Inner Light that radiates from our own Hearts. Now maybe that Chaturanga will be a little more enjoyable. Better yet, replace it every once and a while with Eight Point Pose.

The Light in me recognizes the Light in you – Namaste.

Nicole Becker teaches yoga at YogaKula Berkeley on Wednesdays from 12:30 – 1:30pm – all levels and 12:00 – 1:00pm on Fridays – all levels.

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Yoga forged the way for me to be a strong support for myself when others couldn’t meet that expectation. Thankfully, yoga also led me to a community who want nothing more than to support each other, and explore together. Yoga led me to integrated connection, deep within, that created the magnetic pull of those who were also connected in this way. Yoga allows me to honor and REALLY experience “symptoms” of life in every shape ~ joy and pain, sunshine and rain (here we go, here we go). Yoga helped me heal from a painful injury in my cervical spine, and deal with the fusion that couldn’t be healed. Yoga reminds me of the unbelievable significance and sanctity of my breath, which was the single realization six years ago that allowed me to be a smoker one day, and a non-smoker the next, seriously! Yoga was my impetus to leave a high paying, glamorous career in favor of financial struggles coupled with pure contentment and true abundance almost always. Yoga is a practice for me to perhaps soften that almost into an always, perhaps not. And that’s ok. Yoga provides me with the capacity, every single day, to align in every sense of the word – in my body, with myself, with others around me and with nature’s most basic rhythm. And to forgive myself on those days when I don’t step in.

~ Jessica

Jessica Archer is the Studio Manager of YogaKula San Francisco and teaches yoga classes for all levels on Mondays and Fridays from 9:00 – 10:30am at YogaKula San Francisco.

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Written by Carmel Wroth | An excerpt from the August 2009 issue of ODE Magazine

Yoga Teacher Katchie Ananda Likes to Keep Spirits Up (and Dogs Down) in Class.

Yoga is a means of uniting body, mind and spirit. If laughter makes us relax and breathe, can its use in yoga stretch our minds as well? Katchie Ananda, a San Francisco yoga instructor, thinks so. “The true meaning of yoga is to hold the paradox” of uniting opposing energies, says Ananda, whose classes are routinely punctured by laughter epidemics as students wrap their arms and legs into various sweaty configurations. “What happens when you try to hold a paradox is that your mind has no other option but to expand.” And there is nothing more expansive than a big, hearty laugh.

Katchie teaches many classes throughout the week at both YogaKula locations.

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The East Bay is awash with yoga teachers offering every imaginable contemporary style of the ancient Hindu practice from sweat-it-out Bikram to the rhythmic repetition of Ashtanga, but there is no one quite like Katchie Ananda. Ananda means “bliss” in Sanskrit and Katchie’s classes provide an earthly taste of nirvana that yogis have been pursuing for millennia. Like many a great guru of yore, her wisdom and cultivated understanding of philosophy and alignment come swathed in humor with anecdotes from daily life interwoven with mythic tales from Hindu and Buddhist scripture. Her classes offer the perfect balance of a rigorous practice with a sharp eye on biomechanics to challenge the most advanced yogis, while still suiting newbies whose last stretch was from the TV’s remote control. As she is wont to say, “If you can’t get your nose to your knee you just don’t have as far to go.” Having taught for more than twenty years (she is certified in Anusara, Jivamukti and Integral), Ananda has timeless grace. In today’s yogapalooza world, her wisdom, whimsy, and rock-solid knowledge of the body and the human condition deliver with abundance on the age-old promises of yoga. – East Bay Express

Katchie teaches many classes throughout the week at both YogaKula locations.

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