Nourishing the Life Force Yoga Etiquette

Studio Etiquette

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To ensure that you enjoy the yoga class without interruptions please follow the following rules of conduct:

Plan on arriving 10-15 minutes early.
Take some time to settle in and center.
Turn off cell phone and beepers.
Follow the instructions that are given to you in the class.
Introduce yourself to the teacher if you are new and let her know how much experience you have, and if you have any injuries, or illnesses.
Maintain a meditative atmosphere while practicing yoga.
Focus your attention on yourself, and/or the teacher.
Enjoy and have fun with the poses. Respect where you are in the moment. There is no benefit in competing with yourself or with others.
Ask for help at any time from the teacher during class.
Respect and be considerate of the other students in class and extend the same courtesy to yourself.
Refrain from wearing perfumes or colognes in class.

In the Yin/Yang symbol there is a white spot on the black part and a black spot on the white one. This is to illustrate the balance in life, for nothing can survive long by going to either extreme, be it pure Yin (gentleness) or pure Yang (firmness). Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survive by bending with the wind

Bruce Lee

Short Takes

The Practice

Persevering practice is the effort to attain and maintain the state of mental peace.

Such a practice is firmly established only if one engages in it seriously and respectfully over a long and uninterrupted period.

Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, I . 13 and I . 14

Why We Chant AUM or OM

All things in existence are made up of vibrating, pulsing energy at their most essential level. This pulsing energy enters our awareness as a humming vibration; it is the sound of the universe itself.
“AUM” is composed of:

“A” represents our waking state, the upper curve in the symbol

“U” is the dreaming state, the lower curve in the symbol

“M” is the dreamless state of deep sleep, the curve issuing from the center of the symbol.

The crescent shape above the upper curve stands for the veil of illusion and the dot for the transcendental state. When the individual spirit passes through the veil and rests in the transcendental state she is liberated from the three states and their qualities.

Chanting “AUM” leads to meeting the Divine within ourselves.

Contact Information

Helen T McCarthy,Ph.D.
PO Box 135
Alplaus,NY 12008

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