Congratulations, Elizabeth

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Congratulations to Mystic Yoga Shala Baptiste teacher Elizabeth Johnstone for receiving her 500 hour certification from the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute!
Elizabeth is dedicated to sharing her love of yoga by teaching safe and empowering classes at the Shala and at York Correctional Institute where she volunteers on behalf of her non-profit Recovery Yoga organization.

Dechen & Jim in Boston; We're officially Baptiste Inspired

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Dechen and Jim finished an amazing experience assisting the All Day Immersion in Boston with  teacher Baron Baptiste this past weekend. More than 100 people were exposed to Baptiste Power Vinyasa for the first time.
And
CONGRATULATIONS to the entire Mystic Yoga Shala for becoming the most recently recognized member of the Global Baptiste Yoga Community!
Mystic Yoga Shala is now a Baptiste Inspired studio. This is a great honor and responsibility.

 The Shala's staff is committed to empowering each and every person and must hold each other to the highest standard for delivering safe, effective, and powerful yoga instruction to our community.

We acknowledge each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication towards your own growth and that of the Shala's!

Auction - Spend the Day with Baron Baptiste

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Hey all, 
Be sure to visit our Facebook events page for a chance to bid on an All Day Immersion with Baron Baptiste.  Proceeds will benefit three very worthy causes. 

More info:

Bid on this All Day Immersion with Baron Baptiste in Boston and spend the night at The Westin Boston Waterfront (location of event). $500 value with proceeds to go to the Africa Yoga Project, Boston Children's Hospital AND Recovery Yoga to support the matching grant awarded by the Frances and Forrest Lattner Foundation.

Saturday, May 5, 2012 • 9 am- 8pm

Don't miss this amazing opportunity to experience an empowering all-day immersion with Baron Baptiste. You will leave feeling lighter, focused and more POWERFUL than ever...AND what better way to show your support for the yoga community and those in need.

Bidding to begin at just $100. Bids can be placed under "comments" on this events page. Bidding closes at 6pm on Thursday, May 3. The lucky winner will be announced on the MYS Facebook Page and Events Page. Or call MYS Thursday evening. (860) 536-0237.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL!!!

YOGA FLOW & GONG BATH with Elizabeth and Stephanie

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RELEASE...UNWIND...CONNECT...
Release and unwind connecting the mind, body and spirit through movement and breath with certified Baptiste teacher  Elizabeth Johnstone as she guides you through an hour-long Baptiste flowing class with emphasis on gentle deep hip openers, yeilding more comfort in your pelvis and back. You will feel cleansed, refreshed and relaxed.  Then melt into a deep sound relaxation while waves of gong tones wash over your mind, body and spirit during the Gong Bath with Stephanie Marisca.  Stephanie is  a sound healing artist who  facilitates vibrational  gong baths for healing, ceremony and ritual.  The gong is a primordial tonal instrument used to reconnect your consciousness to the place of timeless meditation within. Release subtle tensions held in the subconscious. Restore and renew your being by re-establishing connection with all parts of you.
Saturday,  May 19th 4-6
25.00 • 35.00 day of 
preregistration recommended

Workshop: Introduction to Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga

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Come and see what everyone is talking about in this FUN WORKSHOP! 
Taught by Certified Baptiste Yoga instructor James Conlan, this workshop will provide an introduction to the foundation and basic principles of the Baptiste Power Vinyasa Flow for students of all levels. James will lead a heated Baptiste Power Vinyasa with time for discussions and alignment principles that will leave you cleansed, peaceful, and inspired!
The workshop takes place Saturday, April 28, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
$20 Early registration
$25 Day-of
$12 Students
PRE-REGISTRATION SUGGESTED

On Meditation Workshop this Weekend. Message from John Halpern

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Dear Friends of the Mystic Yoga Shala,

It’s a special occasion when a meditation teaching is offered at any center. I want to thank Amy Dechen Zezulka and the Shala staff for making this weekend workshop possible.

Here are the latest developments for the weekend.
1.    WORKSHOP SYLLABUS: The Saturday workshop will introduce participants to “Shinay” or calm abiding meditation. We will explore conducive, mental attitudes and motivation for meditation. Correct, alternative sitting postures, length of meditation sessions for beginners, following the breath practice, energy channel purification and yogic breath retention, outer and inner concentration techniques and a check list for maintaining a pure and alive meditative experience. Further, we will explore “Tonglen” or a compassion meditation practice that enables us to send healing and nurturing energy to others, through our altruistic intention and the actual awareness of our universal connection with all living beings.

2.    GROUP FEEDBACK DURING THE WORKSHOP: Over the past 2 years, in New York, we have had more than 200 hours of Shinay practice sessions. We find that individual feedback after each meditation session (3-7 minutes of shinay practice) empowers each of us to learn from each others’ experiences and questions. Everyone has an authentic experience to draw from and to contribute. Collectively, this group feedback supports each of us to hold our concentration and develop meditative skills when we practice. Because our normal grasping minds project an infinite display of thoughts, emotions and sensations when we attempt to meditate, these feedback sessions help us to use these “distractions” as tools for sharpening our minds. The "post meditation" experience in daily life is very much enhanced, as a result.

3.    REGULAR ONGOING MEDITATION SESSIONS: I’ve asked my friend, Lama Rachael Wood, to join the 2 workshops as an observer, with the intention of initiating ongoing meditation practice sessions at the center. Rachael is an ordained Tibetan Buddhist lama and a Boston resident. If the Shala community expresses interest in an ongoing supportive meditation routine, this is an opportunity to start.


Dechen has sent an email asking everyone to please bring a comfortable blind-fold to be used for a short time during the workshop, and a postcard or two of personal value and meaning. For those attending both days, the price is reduced from $60 to $50. Thank you.

If anyone has any questions about the workshop, please feel free to call or write me: John Halpern 917.991.9279 / john@mdsfilms.com

I’m very much looking forward to the opportunity of sharing Shinay with you.

All the best!
John 
A clip from John's Film "Refuge" with the Dalai Lama

Dechen in Chennai (with a really cool lion)

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Here is a photo of Amy "Dechen" Zezulka at the Sri Ram Chandra Mission in Manapakkam, Chennai India where she spent time meditating with people from all over the world under the direction of Master Sri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (His photo hangs in the top right hand corner of the studio). To hear more about Dechen's meditation practice, the yoga shala will offer an informational meeting on Saturday March 24th at 1:45pm to anyone who may be interested in starting the practice.  Please feel free to visit the website.
“Turn within. All Knowledge, all powers, everything is within. Your destiny is within, your future is within, and the ultimate is within."

John Halpern Meditation Two-fer

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Students who wish to take "Learn to Meditate" classes with John Halpern on Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 1, can now register for both days for $50. 
Currently the Saturday session, which includes lessons in Shinay mediation, constant presence, small vase breathing, and compassion breathing costs $35.  The three-hour session runs from 2:30  p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The Sunday class includes a group practice and a review session and costs $25.  The class begins at 2:30 p.m. and goes to 4:30 p.m .
More on John Halpern 
John Halpern is an award winning artist and filmmaker. He has trained in yoga, meditation and healing arts since 1978. He is a meditation instructor in the Dudjom Tersar tradition at Yeshe Nyingpo, a Tibetan Buddhist temple in New York City, under the direction of His Holiness Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche.
Register Here

Learn to M E D I T AT E !

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Learn to Meditate with John Halpern...
































           ABOUT  John Halpern:
John Halpern is an award winning artist and filmmaker. He has trained in yoga, meditation and healing arts since 1978. He is a meditation instructor in the Dudjom Tersar tradition at Yeshe Nyingpo, a Tibetan Buddhist temple in New York City, under the direction of His Holiness Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche.
Click to Register for LEARN to MEDITATE