28 December, 2014

WINTER/SPRING
COURS COLLECTIFS / OPEN CLASS SCHEDULE:
lundi / Monday 12h30-13h45 - Hatha Flow, workshop series (M° Porte Maillot) by reservation
lundi / Monday 19h45-21h00 - Vinyasa Yoga, all levels in English (YYP, beginning January 5)
mardi / Tuesday 12:30-13:30 - Hatha Integral Yoga, all levels (M° Arts & Metiers, CYM)
jeudi / Thursday 10:15-11:30 - Hatha Flow, all levels (M° George V, PYS) NEW TIME!
samedi / Saturday 11:00-12:15 - Vinyasa Yoga, all levels in English (M° Ecole Militaire, YYP)


STAGES / UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

8 mars 2015: Equilibrium / Balance ce Deuxième dimanche
10:00-12:00, pour tous niveaux, 25€
en français/anglais, drop-ins welcome
à Espace Oxygène (M° Gambetta)
4 Impasse Cordon Boussard, au niveau 247 rue des Pyrénées 75020


10 December, 2014

Ellora Caves

From extraordinarily ornate and elaborate Hindu temples….


With more private spaces, like this quiet and hidden temple to Shiva…



As well as Buddhist temples where you can hear sound, not echo but pour through the arc of the space like a living stream...

Quiet and simple spaces for the Buddhist monks to sleep


To study, to chant and to eat

A place to root and grow...











All photos © Ann Moradian. All rights reserved.

26 November, 2014

09 November, 2014

Forming a New Class -- all levels

I would like to propose a Monday lunchtime Yoga class near Porte Maillot. This would be a small group class (maximum 8 people) open to all levels, and in the format of a Workshop Series. This class can be conducted in English or in French, according to need.

The first series would be for 3 weeks:
December 1st
December 8th
December 15th

The price would be 60€ paid in advance.

Please contact me if you are interested.

Photo of Ann Moradian by Alex Vanagas. Copyright Alex Vanagas, 2014. All rights reserved.

18 October, 2014

All classes (including Tuesday 12h30-13h30 at CYM)
will continue during the Toussaint vacation period.

Sunday, November 9th, 10h-12h at Espace Oxygène
Workshop theme:
The Lower Back



12 September, 2014

DEUXIEME DIMANCHE à Paris

STAGES à THEMES (en français, with English as needed)
chaque deuxième dimanche, 10-12H
septembre 2014 à juin 2015

Prochaine stages, 14 juin
Full flow Asana Practice
Let your breath and body flow through your practice, with freedom, ease and stability
à Espace Oxygène (M° Gambetta)
4 impasse Cordon Boussard, 75020
pour tous niveaux, 25€

Drop-ins welcome. Bring your own mat if you have one. Sweaters & socks recommended during the cooler months.


14 septembre - Detox & Dètendre
12 octobre - Foundations of Asana
9 novembre - Healthy Lower Back
14 décembre - Chill Out!
11 janvier - Core Strength
8 février - Flexibility
8 mars - Balance
12 avril - Opening the Heart into Life (Backbends safely)
10 mai - Hips
14 juin - Full Flow Asana Practice

25 August, 2014

La Rentrée à Paris

Please note NEW contact information: moradian.perspectives(at)gmail.com

COURS COLLECTIFS / Group Classes
from September 1st:

Vinyasa Yoga (all levels):
Mondays at 20h30 at Make Me Yoga (M° Oberkampf)
Saturdays at 11h15 at YogaYoga Paris (M° Ecole Militaire)

Integral Hatha Yoga (all levels):
Tuesdays at 12h30 at Centre de Yoga du Marais (M° Arts & Metiers)


LES STAGES MENSUEL / Monthly Workshops
Chaque Deuxième dimanche (every 2nd Sunday)
10:00-12:00, pour tous niveaux
en français, 25€
à Espace Oxygène (M° Gambetta)

COURS COMMUNITAIRE / Community Class
Sunday, October 5, 2014
11:30-13:00, by donation
Hatha Integral Yoga, all levels
in support of Families for Children
at Centre de Yoga du Marais (M° Arts & Metiers)

29 April, 2014

SPRING WORKSHOPS - STAGES DU PRINTEMPS


WORKSHOP: ANAHATA (HEART) CHAKRA in English
Sunday, June 29, 2014
11h30-13h30, 40€ (reservations required)
M° Porte Maillot
The heart energy center, anahata chakra, is that beautiful space in each of us in which our material and spiritual aspects meet -- the animal and the soul, earth and sky, finite and infinite. In this workshop we will work with breath, yoga postures, sound and guided meditation to cleanse and replenish, to release blockages and to open to that infinite nourishment that is always available to us through the breath and through the heart center.

Si vous preferez d’assister ces stages en français, c’est aussi possible.
Contactez Ann à annmoradian(at)gmail.com ou 06.89.70.23.58



08 March, 2014

Shiva - The Hindu God of Dance and Yoga

"Shiva is Trilochana, the three-eyed One. The third eye is the eye of wisdom. The other two represent love and justice." (Swami Tejomayananda)
Photo from Hubble spacecraft

"Every subatomic particle is an energy dance; pulsating process of creation and destruction... without end... For the modern physicists, then Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter." (Fritjof Capra)

"Shiva is the ultimate outlaw. You can't worship him, but you are welcome to join the gang...

"Shiva has such an impossible character; all contradictions included. In acceptance of this character one will have no issue with anyone in the world including oneself. The idea is to show divinity as all inclusive, no one against the other, as in identifying good and bad we also divide the world and make the ultimate union unattainable...

When we say 'Shiva', there are two fundamental aspects that we are referring to. The word 'Shiva' literally means 'that which is not'. Today, science is proving to us that everything comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. The basis of existence and the fundamental quality of the cosmos is vast nothingness... At another level, when we say 'Shiva', we are referring to the Adiyogi or first yogi, who is the bases of yogic science. Yoga does not mean standing on your head or holding your breath. Yoga is the science and technology to know the essential nature of how this life is created and how it can be taken to its ultimate possibility...

This being who is a yogi and that non-being which is the basis of existence are the same, because a yogi is someone who has experienced the ultimate union -- who has experienced existence as himself. To contain the existence within you even for a moment as an experience, you have to be that nothingness. Something can never hold everything. Only nothingness can hold everything. When we talk about Shiva as 'that which is not', and Shiva as a yogi, in a way they are synonymous, yet they are two different aspects. India is a dialectical culture, so we shift from one aspect to another effortlessly..."

--Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

From The Speaking Tree, The Times of India
www.speakingtree.in

13 January, 2014

Yoga's Ancient Ethical Framework -- 10 Yamas & 10 Niyamas

The yamas and niyamas are the ethical foundation of Yoga. In Patanjali's Yogasutras (which is an important study for many a yoga teacher), the list has 5 of each (see the bottom of this page), but in the much older Varuha Upanishads, Gorakshanatha's Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Tirumular's Tirumantiram there are 10 of each referred to. I thought I would share this older version of the Yamas-Niyamas with you -- I was happy to see included compassion, faith, patience and generosity. 

The 10 Yamas - ethical restraints

1) Ahimsa - "Non-injury": Not harming others by thought word or deed.
2) Satya - "Truthfulness": Refraining from lying and betraying promises.
3) Asteya - "Nonstealing": Neither stealing, nor coveting, nor entering into debt.
4) Brahmacharya - "Divine conduct": Controlling lust by remaining celibate when single, leading to faithfulness in marriage. The proper use of sexual energy.
5) Kshama - "Patience": Restraining intolerance with people and impatience with circumstances.
6) Dhriti - "Steadfastness": Overcoming non-perseverance, fear, indecision and changeability.
7) Daya - "Compassion": Conquering callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all other beings.
8) Arjava - "Honesty, straightforwardness": Renouncing deception and wrong-doing.
9) Mitahara - "Moderate appetite": Neither eating too much nor consuming meat, fish, fowl, eggs.
10) Saucha - "Purity": Avoiding impurity in body, mind and speech.

The 10 Niyamas - ethical practices

1) Hri - "Remorse": Being modest and showing shame for misdeeds.
2) Santosha - "Contentment": Seeking joy and serenity in life.
3) Dana - "Giving": Giving generously without thought of reward.
4) Astikya - "Faith": Believing firmly in God, Gods, guru and the path to enlightenment.
5) Isvarapujana -"Worship of the Lord": The cultivation of devotion through daily worship and meditation.
6) Siddhanta sravana - "Scriptural listening": Studying the teachings and listening to the wise of one's lineage.
7) Mati - "Cognition": Developing a spiritual will and intellect with the guru's guidance.
8) Vrata - "Sacred vows": Fulfilling religious vows, rules and observances faithfully.
9) Japa - "Recitation": Chanting mantras daily.
10) Tapas - "Austerity": Performing sadhana, penance, tapas and sacrifice.

In Patanjali's more recent (but still ancient) work, his list of yamas and niyamas were updated to only 5 of each:

Patanjali's Yamas:

1) Ahimsa - "Non-injury": Not harming others by thought word or deed.
2) Satya- "Truthfulness": Refraining from lying and betraying promises.
3) Asteya - "Nonstealing": Neither stealing, nor coveting, nor entering into debt.
4) Brahmacharya - "Divine conduct": Controlling lust by remaining celibate when single, leading to faithfulness in marriage. The proper use of sexual energy.
5) Aparigraha - Non-covetousness.

Patanjali's Niyamas:

1) Saucha - "Purity": Avoiding impurity in body, mind and speech.
2) Santosha - "Contentment": Seeking joy and serenity in life.
3) Tapas - Intense and continued effort, austerity or sacrifice for (spiritual) transformation, discipline or exigence.
4) Svadhyaya - Self-reflection, scriptural study.
5) Isvarapranidhana -"Worship of the Lord": The cultivation of devotion through daily worship and meditation.

For the most part, I have kept the language found in Dancing with Siva, written by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in 1996, which reflects more purely than I could the culture and time in which the original works were written -- or, at least the culture.

--
Ann Moradian