My passion for Anusara® yoga started in 1998 when I met the founder, John Friend. I have been teaching this practice of Hatha yoga for 17 years and each day that I come to my sticky mat I experience gratitude for this heart-filled path of yoga.
I recently returned from a gathering of 230 Anusara yogis and teachers in Merano, Italy. There were yogis there from all over the world. The gathering was filled with light, joy, Shakti, and the bliss of each other’s great company.
What is it about Anusara yoga that I find so life enhancing and supportive of my Sadhana (spiritual path)?
What are the Benefits?
- It encourages me to Open to Grace (the first principle of Anusara yoga) and to accept this day as a gift.
- It is based on the Tantric Philosophy that guides us to see the intrinsic goodness in ourselves and others.
- By tuning into the highest place within my heart before taking an action on the mat, I become less judgmental, more supportive and compassionate to myself and my students.
- The Universal Principles of Alignment (UPA) of Anusara teach us to soften and listen before we take action. To tune into our own source of wisdom and grace.
- UPAs are effective in getting folks out of pain and helping to build resiliency and stamina that translates into everyday actions and movements.
- The practice of AY helps align folks to their Dharma. Their spiritual path.
- AY emphasizes a deep and authentic connection to community. All are welcome to participate in the new Anusara School of Hatha yoga from student to master teacher.
- An Anusara yoga class incorporates the wisdom teachings of yoga in the physical practice. The teachers weave a metaphysical teaching tale into the sequence of asana so that the students are uplifted and their hearts opened. They take this teaching off the mat and into their lives.
- AY is transformational in that not only is the body strengthened and opened, the flow of Shakti/Prana is enhanced, the mind is cleared, and the heart is uplifted.
A little History
Since joining this community, I have been invited to participate on the Certification Team and have led and trained a group of certification assessors for the past 4 years. We now have over 800 licensed teachers. I am so happy to pass this torch on to a wonderful teacher, Denise Hatch. I will continue to work to grow our international school. I will continue to assess students’ classes for certification and also participate with the Marketing and Operations Teams. Since 2012 we have become a teacher-led organization and recently become a not for profit. Our goal is to serve our students and community all over the world. There are Anusara teachers and students in the US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela , Ecuador, Brazil, UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, German, Greece, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Denmark. We have had gatherings in Arizona, Martha’s Vineyard, California, and Italy. We will have another gathering in North Carolina this summer and one in Mexico in March 2018.
Several teachers collaborated recently in writing a 300-hour Advanced Teacher training curriculum. We now have both a 200-hour and 300-hour curriculum. There is more amazing growth in store for this school, including a plan to start an outreach program called the Adhikara Project that sends our trained teachers into prisons, homeless shelters schools, and senior centers to take care of underserved communities.
There is much work to be done to organize this, so if you are inspired to pitch in please contact
Kim Friedman at [email protected].
Also, our school needs creative folks who are knowledgeable in fundraising to join our team. To find an Anusara yoga teacher near you go to our teachers’ directory on our website at www.anusarayoga.com