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Clear Yoga
6423 Montgomery St
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
Uber
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Schedule
Practice
About
Schedule
This is our regular schedule. For Holidays, substitutes and weather related cancelations, please check our home page
Tuesday
Level I/II with Jess
Time: 9:00 – 10:30
Intro to Iyengar Yoga with Jess
Time: 12:30 – 1:30
Level I with Cher
Time: 5:30 – 6:45
Wednesday
Level I with Jess
Time: 8:30 – 9:30
Chi Kung *
Time: 12:30 – 2:00
Level I/II * with Jess
Time: 6:00 – 7:30
Thursday
Level II with Jess
Time: 9:30 – 11:00
Intro to Iyengar Yoga with Cher
Time: 12:30 – 1:30
Level I with Tricia
Time: 6:00 – 7:15
Friday
Level III with Jess
Time: 8:30 – 10:15
Level I with Susan
Time: 10.30-11.45
Level I/II with Cher
Time: 12:30 – 2:00
Sunday
Meditation (free class) with Cher
Time: 8:30 – 9:30
Level I/II with Tricia
Time: 10:00 – 11:30
Intro to Iyengar Yoga with Tricia
Time: 12-1pm
Weekend Workshops
Sunday December 11th: BKS Iyengar Birthday celebration class with Jess. 2-4pm. Sunday December 18th Winter Solstice class with Cher. 2-4pm.
Info
Intro Class: For beginners
Level I: Basics
Level II: Intermediate class
Level III: Advanced practice
Which class is right for me?
Which class is right for me?
Iyengar Yoga is a progressive practice. All practitioners begin at level I. The knowledge gained at Introductory and level I builds upon itself over time, and lends itself towards a deeper understanding as one progresses in the method
Introduction to Iyengar Yoga:
Beginners in Iyengar Yoga. Even those with a yoga practice will find this class helpful in understanding how Iyengar Yoga works. It is designed to acquaint students with the fundamentals of yoga postures to develop a strong yoga practice. Specifically for complete beginners. (1 hour class)
Level I
The basics of Iyengar Yoga method. Standing poses and shoulderstand. Those new to Iyengar Yoga are recommended to take this class or the Introductory class. (1 hr 15 minute class)
Level I/II
This level is for those who are confident in their knowledge of the poses in level I and who are ready to learn the fundamentals of headstand (sirsasana). This level is designed as a bridge between level I and II. (90 minute class)
Level II
For students who are well practiced in Level I. Standing poses are refined and Sirsasana (headstand), full arm balance, backbends and pranayama are taught. (90 minute class)
Level III
For students who are strong level II practitioners. Should be able to do Sirsasana (headstand) for 5 minutes is expected, and ability to push up into Urdhva dhanurasana (full wheel pose). Pranayama is also taught at this level. (1 hr 45 minute class)
Why does Clear Yoga have classes at different levels?
Iyengar Yoga is a progressive practice.
This means that each class builds upon your knowledge of the last class. Each level builds upon your knowledge of the poses at the previous level. Every new action learned is a small step rather than a huge leap as you develop strength, flexibility and above all, self-knowledge
Iyengar says we learn when we have an open heart and an open mind.
The practice of yoga is about "stilling the fluctuations of the mind". We use the body as physical therapy to help us do that
Why does Iyengar Yoga not do general level classes?
Our teachers are trained to work from a syllabus that comes from the Ramamani Memorial Institute of Iyengar Yoga in Pune, India designed by BKS Iyengar
Science shows that we learn through repetition and progressively.
The Iyengar method is designed to teach in this way so students can learn maximally
Beginners are overwhelmed, can get injured, and learn more slowly.
Regular practitioners of Iyengar yoga cannot progress.
The progressive nature of the practice and its beneficial effects is slowed down.
Classical Medical Qigong with Paul Bloom
Classical Medical Qigong with Paul Bloom.
Qigong is the Chinese art and science of breathing and moving exercises that move the qi to strengthen our internal organs and nourish the body, mind and spirit. By practicing qigong, we can increase energy, detoxify the body, relieve stress, calm the mind, and prevent illness. Classes are held on Wednesdays at 12.30
*suitable modifications can be made for pregnancy
The Three Gunas
Prakriti
Is the Sanskrit word for Nature. Nature's characteristics are that of:
Tamas
Stillness, inertia, dull, dense, immobile. eg: water in a state of tamas: ice
Rajas
Dynamic, energetic, hot, virbrant, quick, mobile. e.g.: water in a state of rajas: waterfall
Sattva
The ideal balance between tamas and rajas. Luminosity, detachment, indifferent to the oscillations of life. e.g.: water in a state of sattva: a lake
Nature is comprised of these three characteristics
All three of which express and re express themselves continuously. Sometimes there is more rajas, sometimes more tamas, there are always elements of sattva in nature. Air at it's most rajasic is a hurricane or tornado, at it's most tamasic perhaps on a hot, humid, windless day. Sattva is the in between – the cool summer breeze. Nature consists of all that exists in our phenomenal world, including our consciousness. The mind is seen as rajasic, the body, as tamasic, Here are notes that I took from a lecture given by Manouso Manos in San Fransisco at one of his Intensive study weeks, and us thus paraphrased
"When we talk about the gunas
We all seek that sattvic state and yet our culture produces a pseudo sattva state of "sweetness" where blemishes are removed, never saying no, where a state of happiness is desired above all else. New age – rhymes with sewage. We are a culture that indulges in narcissism. Especially in yoga we are meant to be laid back – what is that? Yoga does not mean laid back, so where does that idea come from?
We co-exist with rajas and tamas constantly.
Sattva is the ability to look from a perspective of objectivity, of distance so we don't get too involved with the small picture and our small place in it. What if we could see the big picture and make everything our responsibility and see our lives from a position of objectivity where our ability to discriminate becomes less subjective and more objective
When you put your hand in front of your face
It is all blurred, and little further and you see the lines, a little further and you see each individual finger and further still you see the whole hand. We get stuck on the way and mistake what we perceive in front of us as being the whole picture when it is only part of a bigger picture
Time and comparison are the equivalent of understanding tamas and rajas
But when you start to seek out the in between ie: have some perspective – the space instead of the form, the silence instead of the sound, then you start to see everything as connected – that you, as an individual are part of the universal consciousness. When we exist in tamas and rajas we can get into a habit of avoidance. The obstacles come thick and fast, as we continue to perceive that it is not our responsibility
A journalist in Canada wrote an article about yoga
All different kinds. She described them in detail and asked why the other yoga classes were full and the Iyengar yoga classes were not. Her conclusion, after taking all the classes, was that Iyengar Yoga makes you responsible for your actions
Yoga is skill in action
This is it's original definition. That skill evolves from perspective and the ability to see the picture objectively. It is our separation that makes it NOT our responsibility. We back away (tamas) or fill our lives with other things; busy busy (rajas). Both are ways of avoidance
Those who are able to see the big picture and not get so flustered but life
We consider that there is something wrong with them – they are stupid (the holy fool) and non discriminating. It is our intolerance of things that makes life interesting that allows to become subjective, separate from the other – that allows us to say to the person who doesn't care what kind of wine they drink, or food they eat. Imagine if we all didn't care – not in a superficial or flippant manner but because we are not attached to the outcome, because we are part of what makes the outcome. Life would be boring in a certain way
The Yogi's called it a game
Life as a game. We oscillate between tamas and rajas because it feeds our attachment to the past and the future. They called it a game because, out of this game, we develop "skill in action" to become less attached to these oscillations of tamas and rajas – this the evolution of a sattvic state
Sattva
Means that we see the big picture, not the small. We are able to be objective, not subjective. We see ourselves totally integrated into the world around us and that any piece of garbage is our garbage, every child is our child, every problem is ours to solve, every pet is our pet etc. Imagine seeing the world like this
Tolerance
Tolerance is a fair, objective and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc. differ from one's own
We may even experience intolerance towards ourselves. Practicing tolerance begins with ourselves. We are all prejudiced about something – whether it be buying organic milk as opposed to nonorganic, to turning our back to someone whom we didn't want to see. Tolerance is composure of mind and heart in the face of adversity and differences. It's the ability to restrain oneself from acts of aggression and insult, and instead practice acts of patience. Through tolerance, we begin to move beyond the afflictions of our own mind, and end up in a place of compassion toward others, where we can clearly see our similarities and investigate our differences
Tolerance is not the denial of feeling or thought
but rather the opening of our hearts and minds. It comes through the hard work of mental training, and asana and meditation practice
I was reading an article in Yoga Samachar written by Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh
A long time student of B.K.S. Iyengar who teaches at his own yoga centre, Iyengar Yogabhyasa in Mumbai. The subject of the article was Tolerance. He writes: "We all tolerate a lot in life, but that does not mean that we are evolving. Tolerance increases and becomes a virtue not if you tolerate more but if it synthesizes itself with other qualities like patience (titiksha), forbearance (sahana shakti), peacefulness, calmness (shanta guna), forgiveness (kshama), knowing, determination, and compassion."
We live in a world of comparisons but after a while have to recognize that
If we see them as only comparisons, then we are in a state of avidya, ("not knowing") and become quickly intolerant of what we perceive as our own shortcomings, or the shortcomings of those around us. If we chose the words – This is a good day, or a bad day, worse or better, right or wrong, or I wish I was better, more flexible, smarter, kinder etc. then we need to take another look, to observe why we have assigned this label to ourselves on this day, and with it, the obstacles that ensue. My teacher, Manouso Manos often tells us to look at the wall – notice where our eyes are drawn. For nearly all of us, our eyes are drawn to the mark on the wall, the chip in the paint, the blemish. We live in a society that is intolerant of blemishes, and constantly seeks to erase them. We seek to erase them in ourselves. What if you took the opposite view to see the differences as teachers, as guides, as opportunities for change. Imagine how strong and empowered you would be?
B.K.S.Iyengar used the practice of asana to explore complex emotions like tolerance.
He said that Yoga begins when we become aware of oppositional dualities, and begin to balance these opposites. For example, in asana, what presses down, what lifts up, what moves back, what moves forwards? Finding the balance between these makes us understand more clearly, and with that we become more tolerant
Patanjali says in sutra : 2:48 tatah dvandvah anabhigatah
From then on the sadhaka is undisturbed by dualities.
Being undisturbed by dualities requires that we be tolerant.
Our asana practice offers us a daily opportunity to work this out.
This week, we have been working on Manouso's instructions in tadasana to press the thighs back and take the tops of the buttocks down. Too much of one, throws the thighs forwards, too much of the other, lifts the top buttocks up. The middle ground, the balance of opposite actions, is an investigation of the back and forth between these two directions until the movement between both is so subtle, and we are able to stand on our legs. Iyengar wrote, in The Tree of Yoga, that our practice is trial and error and "as the trials increase, the errors decrease". This is the essence of our practice. It is through this that we cultivate knowledge, discrimination, and a more tolerant acceptance of ourselves
As we seek to find the balance between the oppositional actions in our asanas
The journey takes us out of the" I can't, I can, this side is good, this side is bad, this is wrong, this is right, I hate this pose, I love this pose" prejudiced to one of recognizing the differences between our right and left side for example, as a place to investigate again and again and again
Zubin concludes: "In the 25th Yoga Sutra of the third chapter
Patanjali says, "Balesu hasti baladini, " which means that by samyama (the union of focus and concentration) the yogi will develop the physical strength and endurance of an elephant. Now as you all know, elephants, in addition to their physical attributes, are also known to have perfect memory and tolerance. Strength is normally taken only in the physical dimension, but the same being (the elephant) also embodies a perfect memory."
We should be humble within.
We are all intoxicated with our own confusion.
If the mind is made to be still, the eyes must be still.
If the nerves are still, then the Self is still.
The mind must not stop at one point and say, this is enough.
It must go further, the Self must be everywhere
To live in the moment is spirituality.
To live in the movement is divinity
Be a fanatic with yourself while practicing Yoga.
When you are fully in the body, you meet the soul.
Freedom starts inside
freedom from the dualities of mind and body, spirit and material
Training of the mind and body leads to awareness of the soul.
You say "mind over matter" I say, "matter over mind"
B.K.S. Iyengar. Wisdom from the Master
What is Iyengar Yoga?
What is Iyengar Yoga?
The Iyengar method of yoga is "meditation in action" according to BKS Iyengar. As a former dancer, I was impressed with the mental discipline required to pay attention for the duration of a class. At the same time I was fascinated by the effects of following the precise instructions on alignment. This was yoga with a clear purpose, no ambiguity! It taught me how to pay attention for an extended period of time. It is a beautiful awakening of body, consciousness and soul
Info
Clear and Precise instructions
Teachers are taught to articulate and have the ability to describe what to do in a pose and how to make that happen. Teachers demonstrate the poses being taught. Teachers are taught to closely observe what is practiced to see what we missed. Alignment improves, understanding evolves, and concentration deepens
Rich Diversity of Poses are Utilized
Iyengar Yoga has a rich, diverse collection of poses that are practiced over time. No two classes are the same. Each week there is a different emphasis. Standing, Seated, Back bending, Twisting, Inverted, or Restorative. The creativity of the teacher is well exercised and a student can focus on different parts of the body each class
Home Practice is Cultivated
As one moved through the various levels of classes, new sets of poses are learned and students cultivate the ability to develop a home practice. Levels are important because they offer a sound, safe, and solid understanding of the poses, and confidence builds and the evolution of the yogi continues for years and years. There is an ineffable quality to Iyengar Yoga and one must try it to truly understand the uniqueness of the method. It is best to attend a few consecutive classes to investigate the teacher, the variety of sequences and the effects created. As an educated consumer you will be able to describe the differences for yourself. Do come……
About the classes
Precise alignment is a hallmark of Iyengar yoga.
Standing poses, basic twists and beginning inversions are introduced first. Beginners learn the geometry of the poses and are taught to cultivate the ability to concentrate. The intensity of Iyengar yoga comes from the mental attention required practicing the poses
As one continues and the basic poses are learned
Then seated extensions, back bending and inverted postures are introduced. The practice matures and awareness of the organic process develops. Actions (internal movements) are learned to refine alignment of the poses and practice becomes more penetrating, more inward, and more meditative. At this point the spiritual dimension of hatha yoga is amplified
The New York Times points out that because Iyengar yoga "focuses meticulously on proper alignment" and its teachers undergo "rigorous training, "
It allows instructors to cater to students' individual needs and to minimize the risk of injury. Certified Iyengar teachers undergo a minimum of three years of intensive training and testing which they begin after at least six years of study with a senior teacher (whose training period normally runs fifteen to twenty years). WebMD states, "Analytical in its approach with a constant attention to detail, Iyengar yoga is great for learning the subtleties of correct alignment in each pose. The use of props — belts, blocks, and pillow-like bolsters — help beginners get into poses with correct alignment, even when they're new to the poses, injured, or simply stiff."
About Teachers
Jessica Becker
Jessica Becker is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher at the Junior Intermediate 2 level. She has been a student of yoga since her early twenties and has taught Iyengar yoga for 18 years in the Hudson Valley. She began her yoga practice in England to balance her study of classical ballet. She is committed to the teachings of BKS Iyengar and the Iyengar Yoga system. Manuoso Manos is her main teacher. She has also studied with James Murphy, Mary Dunn, and Genny Kapuler. She is currently enrolled in a 3 year Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics training with Manouso. Jessica works with detail, focus and humility. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her two children, her husband, and three cats
Sheila Bunnell
Sheila Bunnell started studying yoga in 1998 and soon began training with Joan White, one of Iyengar Yoga's senior teachers. She became certified as an Iyengar Yoga Instructor in 2007. Sheila has continued to pursue her education, studying with senior Iyengar instructors at classes, workshops and training events. She has also attended several classes with BKS Iyengar as well as Prashant and Geeta Iyengar in the US and/or in India where she studied for a month in 2010. She also attended several lectures with Edwin Bryant on the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and studied Anatomy/Physiology and Kinesiology at the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. Sheila is currently enrolled in the next level of the Iyengar teacher training program with Joan White. www.sheilabunnell.com
Susan Tveekrem
Susan Tveekrem began her yoga studies in 1997 with Sandra Kopell in Middletown, CT, and since 2005 has studied with Barbara Boris in Woodstock, NY. She has taken intensive workshops with Peentz Dubble, Joan White, Francois Raoult, and Kevin Gardiner. She holds a teaching certificate from the Yoga Institute of Houston and has been teaching Iyengar yoga for the past decade
Cher de Rossiter
Cher de Rossiter began yoga classes when she was in treatment for breast cancer. She has practiced Iyengar Yoga for 7 years and has completed her Introductory 1 level assessment. As part of her PhD studies, she has analyzed the effects of yoga for the treatment of trauma. The Iyengar method gave her the freedom to practice to the limit of her body's capability without injury. Now at 63 she credits this approach for stronger and more flexible body with much less pain. Cher takes regular classes at Clear Yoga with Jessica and workshops with visiting teachers. She is part of the Iyengar Yoga teacher training with Joan White and has taken workshops with Manouso Manos and training with Ray Long, the author of the Yoga Mat Companion series
Tricia Scott
Tricia Scott is a student of yoga, meditation, and healing arts since 1988, and a teacher since 1997, exclusively in the Iyengar method since 2005. She is Iyengar Certified at the Introductory II level. Tricia has traveled to Pune, India for extended study with the Iyengar family, and regularly studies with Theresa Rowland & other gifted teachers. Through a cultivated, sustained practice, Tricia has experienced the profound healing & transformative power of yoga, which continues to inform her teaching & dedication to sharing this method for others' experience, exploration and Self discovery. Tricia also works as a Thai Bodywork Therapist and as a Chef, and enjoys living with her partner on their homestead, growing food & medicine
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General Info
Hours
Monday:
9:30am - 6:00pm
Tuesday:
9:30am - 6:00pm
Wednesday:
9:30am - 6:00pm
Thursday:
9:30am - 6:00pm
Friday:
9:30am - 6:00pm
Saturday:
9:30am - 6:00pm
Sunday:
9:30am - 6:00pm
About Us
Clear Yoga is set up to support your need for healthy exercise based around the precise Iyengar yoga framework and the expertise of teachers deeply trained in this globally standardized method. This safe, supportive and non-judgmental space allows you to build your own expertise and practice, guided by experienced teachers and focused on what really works for you.