An SCK Chakra Studio Workshop

Empower your practice, your teaching and your everyday awareness with a deeper understand-
ing of the body’s mechanics in this exciting workshop. Whether you teach or practice Yoga, Pi-
lates, dance or fitness, or you are just a serious student of movement, you are invited to:

• Explore the human body and systems, especially our bones, joints, muscles, connective tissue
  & nervous systems and the mind-body connection.
• Learn how to practically apply the latest scientific research & functional movement best prac-
  tices with the ancient wisdom & art of Yoga & Pilates.
• Better understand posture, movement, injury & rehabilitation.
• Review how modern lifestyles and today’s demographics have made the demand for Yoga and
  Pilates swell with predictions of continued growth.
• Learn about yourself!

Sunday
October 30
11 am – 2 pm
MEMBERS: $40.00
NONMEMBERS: $45.00

Jeff Sims is a Lahaina-based licensed massage therapist and certified massage therapy teacher, specializing in or-thopedic massage, structural bodywork and functional movement. He is a certified Yoga teacher and Pilates teacher. His teaching style is fun and inviting, in-depth and informative.

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What: A Deep Back-bending Workshop, With Ray from The Chakra Center in West Maui

Where: Sports Club Kahana, Chakra Center

When: Sunday, October 9th 11am-2pm

Move deeper into your heart with this three-hour practice designed to explore the physical and energetic alignments of the heart center.

Honor the current place of the heart and learn how to make adjustments to enhance and expand your practice.

Shoulder and upper back principles and alignments, along with a light hearted, fun asana practice.

All levels welcome!

$40 members

$45 non-members

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Creative Power
In the soft, joyous state of being in which we are at one with Source, you may feel the creative power that permeates everywhere.  This creative power is Shakti and She appears in many delightful forms!  You may notice Her as  inspiration, happily putting ideas and dreams into reality; union, gratefully bringing people together; passion, fervently unleashing the soul and connecting us to life’s purpose; communion, kindly fostering  friendships and forgiveness, and compassion, tenderly preparing the way for peace and understanding.

Go to this soft, joyous state daily to be renewed and to connect with Shakti, the creative power that permeates everywhere.

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Add some spark to your practice!  Energize your body and illuminate your soul as you plug into Source.  Julie will guide you through an energizing sequence as you discover your inner light and awaken your spirit. 

Electric Yoga taught by Julie Mitchell is on Tuesday mornings from 9:40-11:00am. 

Classes are held at Sports Club Kahana in West Maui (Lahaina side). 

Interview with Julie
How did you get into yoga?

I kind of stumbled upon yoga at a gym in 1991.  I was hoping it would open my body and be a compliment to all the Belly Dancing I was doing.  Little did I know that yoga was going to take me on a fantastic journey opening much more than just my body.

Why did you start teaching?

It was natural for me to want to share and guide others through this life changing movement, yoga.  I feel deeply blessed for the opportunity to guide people through something as special as themselves.

Who are your most influential yoga teachers and how did they inspire you?

Ateeka showed me how movement is poetry in motion and how to live my truth as love and light.  Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein showed me we can do anything with practice and intention and how we can dive deeper into our selves with the support of a partner in AcroYoga.  Sharon Gannon and David Life inspired me to play music that evokes our spirit.  Shiva Rea inspired the dancer in me to move through Vinyasa as a fluid dance – fun and creative!

What is your teaching style?

I teach many different styles such as restorative, gentle, vinyasa, dynamic and AcroYoga.  First of all, it must be fun and full of Bhakti (devotion).  I guide all classes with a deep sense of intuition and the knowledge of what has worked for me over the last 20 years of practicing.  I encourage your heart to open wide as you discover your inner light and awaken your spirit as you listen to your inner Guru, the breath.

Do you think yoga is for everyone?  Why or why not?

Absolutely YES!  You always feel better after yoga!!  There are so many different styles of yoga that you can find one that matches your needs,  whether it be to rest and restore, to strengthen and tone, to unwind gently, to chant and sing, to be silent and meditate, or even to do acrobatic yoga.  There is something for everyone.  Yoga will take you on a wonderful journey deep inside of who you really are - beautiful, peaceful, whole and complete.

What do you think the overall message is for yoga?

Metta (unconditional love) for everyone and everything.  Be present, here and now.  It is such a gift, that’s why it is called PRESENT.  Peace to you and everyone.  Om shanti, shanti, shanti Om.
      

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For those who love yoga, Sports Club Kahana in West Maui is the place to go.  We have the best yoga teachers on Lahaina side working at our fitness facility including Julie Mitchell, Claudia Micco, and Tiffany Langley.   Not only do you get great yoga, but also all the additional amenities of a health club including infrared saunas, showers, tanning, and equipment.  For a fabulous spa experience, take a yoga class and finish with a massage in one of our beautiful massage rooms.  You get it all at Sports Club Kahana.

Interested in a Maui yoga retreat?  We can plan one  for you or ask your favorite yoga teacher to contact us to coordinate a retreat.  We can also host yoga workshops and mind/body continuuing education courses.

Contact Monica at monica@sportsclubkahana.com for yoga questions.

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Yoga vs. Cardio

Is doing yoga enough exercise?  The answer depends on your purpose or intention for doing yoga. 

Are you training for a specific sports event or do you simply want to get fit?  If you are training for something specific such as a marathon or a canoe race, then yoga is not enough.  One should use the same muscles in training that one uses for the event: Meaning if you are training for a marathon, then use the treadmill in the gym.  If you are training for a canoe race, then use a rowing, elliptical, or upper body ergometer.  Yoga will best serve as an adjunct to the sports specific training by keeping the muscles supple, preventing injury, improving breath control, and focusing the mind.

If a person simply wants to get fit, yoga can be the answer.  Many people around the world practice yoga as their main source for fitness. The five areas of fitness are body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility.  In dynamic styles of yoga such as Ashtanga, Power Yoga, and Flow all areas of fitness are getting addressed.

Total fitness gains however are not completely addressed in all forms of yoga.  Some styles are too gentle to achieve improvements in body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or cardiovascular endurance.  Nearly all forms of yoga in studios or health clubs produce flexibility gains.  The gentler forms of yoga are also good for muscular rehabilitation and stress reduction.

Before stopping your exercise regiment to hop on the yoga train, be clear about your intention.  If your intention is solely fitness, it will require taking intense and challenging yoga classes that will both challenge the mind and work the body.  It will also take time and patience to build up the endurance for this powerful style of yoga.  It would be best to make the change gradual.  Start with one or two classes a week and add more classes slowly over the course of many months.  

Many people in the United States start taking yoga purely for physical reasons – to loose weight, to become more flexible, to get a stronger core, etc…  What they discover is that yoga is so much more than a physical practice.  Yoga also has the remarkable ability to calm the mind, illuminate the soul, and open the heart.

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