Allie Yoga

Are you a yoga teacher or an experienced practitioner who is interested in participating in a grassroots style program designed to help you get the most out of your movement practice while offering a concrete approach for preserving and passing on these time-tested teachings?

Each one of us in the driver’s seat of our own lives!
So, it’s appropriate to seek the knowledge and understanding needed to take responsibility for our health and wellbeing. The most important vehicle we have is the one that houses the mind & spirit. If we take care of it, we can get out of pain, express ourselves fully and freely, and focus on better problems together..like creative constructive solutions for improving our communities. Like giving yourself premium fuel and the best mechanic out there..it’s You! It’s gotta be. You’re the only one in there, and it’s your own brain and nervous system that is most equipped to do the work of healing and changing the condition of your body and mind.

Here I am at my apartment in North Portland sitting in the middle of a community that desperately needs change. The condition of the people right outside is concerning, to say the least. I don’t know what to do about it besides to work to be the best version of myself and connect with others who are doing the same. Because we have to work with the people who are willing to do the work. To me, this is the source of the greatest joy and fulfillment. It gives me a sense of purpose, which is foundational for the construction of a happy & healthy life.

Here..one of my favorite quotes:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

-Margaret Meade (American scientist & anthropologist)

Standing Bow Pulling Pose (Dandayama Dhanurasana) Using the “Principle of Equal & Opposite Tensions”—

This is one of my favorite principles of functional biomechanics. It’s so much fun. If you’re into this kind of learning, reach out or let me know in the comments. Let’s connect!

We explore this principle and more in the Raksana Method (TM) Continuing Education Program for Yoga & Healthcare.

Next cohort starts the second week of September! The program is designed for teachers and medical assistants. That said, seasoned yoga practitioners have taken the course and they do great. This content holds the stuff to enable you to uplevel in your yoga practice and enable others to do the same. Take your practice to the next level.

Let’s go!

“Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now” 🎶

-The Youngbloods

I was talking to one of my clients about the 1960s and 1970s a few days ago. Some kind of portal of creative life opened at that time—the music that emerged from the hearts & minds of the people had the power to inspire waves of change. Music moves us and unites us. There’s a real lesson for us all in that—regardless of how you contribute and create in this life.

It’s truly wonderful what happens when people are inspired to come together and use their unique gifts and skills to add value and better our communities. What if Yoga and Wellness Professionals decide to harness the energy of unity, and organize for the sake of some wonderful purpose…like inspiring inside-out change, one person at a time.

I always looked at Healthcare System (especially when I was working in the chiropractic clinic!) and figured—Healing and change happens from the inside. We all know our Healthcare System could use to be revamped, so why not get in there and inspire change from the inside? Yea it’s a big project, but the ripple effect is also real.

It’s the nature of healing anything— a single individual or an entire ecosystem. The correct course of action is not resisting what is, or denying the need for change. Facilitating healing and change happens from the inside out.

The Raksana Method (TM) Educational Program is designed to offer the kind of training and structure to step up and be part of the greater conversation when it comes to Healthcare-and to participate in that change.

People in the PNW (in particular) are so intent on being their own individual person that I think we forget the value of coming together with a shared vision and purpose. True unity is not about being the same person as the one next to you—it’s about diverse people coming together with shared understanding and purpose so we can start to create ripples of change on the grassroots level.

Interested? Send me a message. Next cohort starts mid-September to accommodate the schedules of the participating teachers.

SHOUT OUT TO MY PEERS! This one is for my teacher friends who are also into winning together because anything worth doing takes a village.

The Raksana Method Continuing Education Program will uplevel & up-skill you to go to the next place in your professional life. Your confidence and ability to enable your students to really grasp the value of the yoga we know and love will develop. You’ll be able to easily put together workshops and seminars that will open your students’ eyes to why Yoga or Functional Movement Practice is a non-negotiable.

We want more regular practitioners in our classes, right? We have to deepen and expand our capacity to reach people who need to take the reins on their own health & wellbeing.

What a wonderful privilege, responsibility, and honor to be positioned as we are to pass the baton and to see the people in our communities empowered with right knowledge and correct technique. So they can be their own teachers & healers.

We pushed the start date for the next cohort to mid-September because that’s what works best for most of the people. DM me to secure your spot!

My own yoga practice these days is the 84 Asanas from the Ghosh Lineage. I started doing that almost daily during the pandemic and it stuck.

This is a tiny piece of how it starts. Pranayama Breathing to super oxygenate the body and the brain and a warm-up exercise called Salute to the Gods & Goddesses. I love the names of the asanas and exercises.

As a practitioner and a teacher, I do my best to make sure I’m carrying the energy of the lineage forward with the respect to the culture and the times we live in. Also, sometimes I listen to music I like because I’m an American woman with a dreamy side, and my practice is for me.

Many years ago, I took a yoga class & the instructor quoted something the Dalai Lama said(I think it was the last one and I’ve never actually fact-checked this one)-

“Know the rules so you know when to break the rules.”

Lineage & tradition are so powerful. People have been doing these practices for a really, really long time. And it’s important to do what works. And we know it works because it’s time-tested and evidence-based. It’s a tried and true strategy to exercise the freedom you have to change yourself so you can become more of who you truly are.

This means we give ourselves the opportunity to face internal resistance head on so we can use that stuff as a springboard for going in the direction of our hearts & our best lives. Embracing challenge ultimately means finding the clarity, courage, determination, persistence, confidence, and willpower to create a happy life for ourselves.

On top of that (wait—there’s more!), When we engage the wheels of our creative faculties in this way, it opens the way for others to do the same. By modeling the change and ourselves and by connecting with others who are also seeking joy, health, fulfillment.

And also, you know what?! It’s okay to take it down a notch and do your yoga and listen to music. Moral of the story is—make sure you have a solid foundation in your life on the physical, intellectual, and spiritual levels. Do the work, and from that place, you can really go places.

Treasure-hunting truly is an inside job ✨

HEADSTAND 101 ✨🧘‍♀️✨

Therapeutic benefits of Inversions include better blood flow, decompression of the spine, it moves lymph, high speed nutrient-rich blood goes straight to the brain. This is wonderful! Remember, if you have neck pain or a neck injury, make sure you seek guidance and support from a professional movement person before starting inversions like this.

If you are a beginner, remember to start your inversion practice against the wall.

Happy Practicing!

Here’s a little clip of Helen in action. Helen is one of the most inspiring practitioners I work with. She was diagnosed with MS at 26 years old. She’s so plugged in.

You can see her integrating the techniques I demonstrate in my other videos to plug into her own CNS to sync up her internal faculties and regulate her nervous system—to mitigate the symptoms of her condition. She has an amazing practice, incredible dedication, and a sense of “the good fight”—meaning she uses her challenges to go towards her mission to heal—so she is develop her nervous system, balance, mobility, strength, and stability not DESPITE her condition—but she uses her condition as a springboard for enabling her to develop.

Helen is model for what it means to hone a winning life condition. You can see here she has a pretty solid grasp on correct technique (with consistent practice!). She is able to focus on spinal traction, head and neck position, scapular elevation at the same time she is coordinating her breath, gaze, and movement.

This is what it means to take the reins, folks. Thank you, Helen..for your shining example!

This is my client, Helen. What an inspiring human being. I’ll continue to post and update on her progress.

She’s doing the work and getting the benefit. The proof is in the pudding (as she reminded me in our session today)!