Before yoga my life was a wasteland of imbalance and dissatisfaction. I felt dis-empowered in my corporate job as a paralegal and frustrated in my personal relationships. My emotions were in constant tumult, which further escalated the issues. At the heart of it all was a disconnect from who I was.
I took my first yoga class in 1993. At the end of one class I was exhilarated and completely hooked. I bought a yoga cassette tape, moved the furniture around in the living room and began a daily practice. In the years that followed I took every class I could in the lush offerings of the New York City Yoga world. In 1997, I landed at the Jivamukti Yoga School. Jivamukti is a comprehensive and rigorous method of hatha yoga which integrates the physical postures with study of ancient texts, the mysticism of sound and yoga, practices of bhakti or devotional love, meditation and non-violence. It became my yoga home. I immersed myself in the Jivamukti experience. I practiced, studied, trained to teach, was mentored by their amazing yoga masters, taught teachers and students and was awarded Advanced Board Certification. My group practice was nourished by my personal practice and the two flowed together like a beautiful deep river. As my body became calmer my mind followed suit. As I studied the ancient texts and applied the teachings and discipline, my body and mind began to work together. The yoga postures became real for me in a new way. My yoga practice transformed from a “calm down tool” into a “heal deep and love” tool. My mind, my heart and body blossomed. During those years I taught yoga to hundreds of students in many locations. In 2012, I transitioned to the Bay Area, and found my practice and teaching was shifted into a whole new level.
What to expect in class
Using classical postures in a flow sequence we will explore the principles of yoga as illuminated in the ancient texts and schools of mysticism spiced with a little anatomy and common sense. We’ll integrate stillness and flow, breath and muscular engagement, structure and freedom, and effort and ease through instruction and sequencing. We will nurture the clarity and centered wisdom to create an empowered life in alignment with our personal truth.
What to expect after class
The journey of yoga is a personalized evolutionary process. In a practice geared towards re-balancing and empowerment we will likely notice immediately the effects of the parasympathetic nervous system (ease, relaxation and a better night’s sleep). As we re-balance and realign, it’s not unusual to notice strong sensations after the practice where parts of the body, mind and spirit become stronger or are opening into greater flexibility. Sometimes we feel giddy and sometimes we need to cry. If we are quiet, we may begin to feel talkative, if we are talkative, we may feel inclined to quiet. If we are somber, we may find ourselves laughing more, if we are “laughers” we may discover in ourselves a quality of somber reflection. We are reclaiming parts of ourselves that we have forgotten. We are remembering our wholeness. To embrace that experience of realignment and re-balancing is to move with the flow of the transformative power of the practice of yoga.
Natalie Ullmann 