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 Workshop $$$Moderators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Yoga -> Yoga Workshops | Message format |
jeansyoga |
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| YogaGuy |
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098   Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Me either Jean. I used to do volunteer work at a Tibetan Buddhist Center in Atlanta. The Rinpoche was always saying there is no charge for their teachings and an offering would be appreciated. So, I received lots of teachings and I volunteered by answering the phones cause the monks did not speak very good English and I cooked and brought nice food and so on. I was SHOCKED the first time I ventured out into other centers. Even at the Hindu temple you can go visit and participate without the money factor being an issue. So, needless to say, I'm not sure what it is all about. I do know that when I went to NYC with the monks they got to see HH Dalai Lama for free. The teachings to Americans were not free. Anyway, since I am married to a Nepalis, I was able to attend the South Asian teachings that were held at a local church in Manhattan. That was the BEST time I ever had. I took a Tibetan translator and an entire Tibetan familiy with me and they translated all the initiations and everything...it was great! Didn't cost me but $5 for a small donation and me and my daughter were there in our Tibetan dress and all. Perhaps some of the centers use their money for good causes, but others just basically overcharge I'm afraid. I have my own ashram here in the mountains and I'm happy with that right now. I recently got my Yoga Journal Mag. and thought, oh it would be cool to go to their upcoming event...yea right!! I'd rather pay the $5,000 to visit a nice Health Spa in Montana with Yoga and Massage than deal with all that hoopla. The form to fill out was extremely intimidating to this Yogi  | ||
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| MrD |
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442    | Jean - we are also lucky to have a lot of good teachers come in but we also have world class teachers locally as well. I can afford workshops simply because I can write them off. I scrimp and save and go to one workshop "away" every year or so. I cannot figure out how people afford to go to India or some of the other major trips. I know someone who is going to Tuscany to a workshop this summer. All I can think about there is food and wine! I think it might be distracting to try to do yoga there  | ||
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| jeansyoga |
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Tourist - when can I come stay with you? I am a very good cook and can do your personal shopping!  I am only about 2 hours from Detroit, also about 2 hours from Chicago (smack dab in the middle!), but you would be surprised how few national yoga instructors will come to the Midwest. Detroit is pretty pathetic actually. Dangerous, unpopulated, corrupt - all the rumors have basis in truth. And, don't forget about Michigan being the fattest state in the U.S.! I used to live in a suburb of Detroit, and no one ever goes downtown except for major sporting events. There are some nice studios in the suburbs (especially Ann Arbor, where the University of Michigan is located) but nothing popular enough to merit a major visit. Actually Jonny Kest has a studio in Southfield, another suburb, but that is where I had the demoralizing Hot Yoga experience so I am not eager to return. Now, if his Hot Brother (Bryan Kest) would visit, I might reconsider!! Chicago is probably a better bet, they have a fabulous thriving downtown! Still, it is unusual for anyone to come to the Midwest at all. We have a reputation for being boring, fat, and closed-minded. Most of us have earned it. I REALLY like the idea of working in exchange for a discount. I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask, when I see something I am interested in attending! My husband seems to understand the whole tax write-off mechanism. It's just hard to come up with the $$ to go in the first place. I'm probably just biting off more than I can chew anyway! One of the reasons I'm so broke is that I am getting mat-certified for Pilates this year and starting my 500-hour TT in January. I guess I should count those, huh?? I also have to get my ACE certification in order to work in some of the nicer (hospital-affiliated) health clubs in West Michigan, which is another couple hundred. I just see so many workshops going on that I want to participate in, and hear of other instructors studying with the famous teachers. I feel like I'm missing out on something.  | |||
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| YogaGuy |
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| easternsun |
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| i am in the save the money category.....i was only back from india for two days before i started saving for my next trip. we (dh and me) are FAR from rich. i think that we have made travel/study a priority in our lives and we do without a lot of things to enjoy it. no cars - i have a bicycle and when we go out together, we take turns on the back! i think it is romantic, but that is me  i usually end up on the front because i like the workout!! we dont own a home and i am not sure that we ever will  real estate is not a good investment in japan. this year, we have some huge decisions to make regarding GASP! children. give up everything so that we can raise ONE kid.....(i want a hockey team but that is NOT possible!!) school (even primary) is going to set us back $10,000 per year. $20,000 if it is a private school. because we are an international couple, we want our kid to go to an international school -- but are not sure where we will get the money to do that! even japanese public school (which would be torture on little easternsun jr. ) costs money!! giving birth costs about $3000 with no complications, more if anything goes funky and it is not covered by medical. oohh, somehow i turned this into a rant about how i cant have both yoga travel and a baby!! ooops! i wouldnt say that we a cheap but we are definitely frugal - dh way more so than me  he is in thailand at the moment studying and living in a dormitory that costs 100 baht a night - that is about $2.50! his daily meals are even less than that. i guess our standard of living has really changed a lot to accommodate our wanderlust! is it clean? that is our main concern when looking for a place to stay most of the yoga retreats i look at are staying in resorts and that is what drives up the prices - that and paying for the ability to say that you studied with "....insert famous yogi name here..." it amazes me how much i can do without - and when i really want to buy something - i think fondly back to some of the amazing trips i have been on, and it is easy to turn around and walk away. i am hoping that i will fondly remember all the lovely trips and be happy if little junior comes along in the next couple of years. i think it is glenda who says "where there is a will there is a way". i would love to do workshops with some of the "great ones" but there are lots of wonderful teachers who arent famous -- like glenda, keith, soon bruce! -- add your own name here as i didnt mean to miss anyone!! if i was in canada i would love to attend glenda's classes or in ny, i would be at one of keith's classes in a heartbeat! hell! i would do anything for a good teacher in my city!!! i have no choice but to travel if i want good instruction. you are all so lucky!! i am convinced that i should take the last of my savings to import my mentor teacher from india to japan -- but he would hate it here besides i need to take one more trip before i start saving for my next adventure: college tuition for imaginary child......hee hee hee wow am i so scattered today...i think i better get out the mat | |||
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| Bay Guy |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 2479 Location: A Blue State | |||
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| jeansyoga |
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| Thanks for the link to Moksha! I did not even know about it! There is NO yoga community in my area - all people want to talk about is NASCAR. Saving money is of course the most practical way, but it's a little easier to stockpile it toward yoga and travel when your partner is interested in the same thing. I would love to save enough spare change to go to a retreat, but I would be going alone so it's hard to dip into the "family fund" when what my husband really wants is a big screen TV and tickets to an NFL game. I can't even drag him to my own yoga classes! But, I can't complain too much when he has desperately strived for promotions and raises so I could quit my awful office job and teach. I keep thinking one of those yoga vacation/retreats might be a way to do something together: "It's so beautiful there honey, there's great food, and you don't even have to take the yoga classes if you don't want to!" I don't really care if he takes yoga classes or not, I just want to be with him and I want him to enjoy himself too. We don't have children either, and that is a BIG money-saver (that's not why we don't have them, but it is a benefit). However, I do have a problem with adopting lots of dogs and cats. They aren't as expensive as children, but they do have the occasional unexpected medical bill! Our apartment was costing the same as our current house payment, unfortunately home ownership involves repair bills and upgrade costs - I'd go back to apartment life if I could find a landlord that would put up with all my animal friends. As for cars, we work 40 miles from our home so biking is not an option! We tried to survive with just one car, but working different shifts and me teaching in other towns at night left both of us working 18-hour days. We still carpool whenever we can, 2-3 days/week when our schedule almost syncs up. Nowadays we spend too much money on convenience foods because we're both too worn out to cook, but that will soon change. I will become the master of ramen noodle stir-fry! It just seems like these workshops are getting more and more popular every year, so someone must be going. You guys don't sound like you're in a much better financial situation than me, so I'm glad to know I'm not the only one stuck at home trying to find spare change under the couch cushions! YG, are you in Chicago? Have you heard of a studio called Bloom? I found it on the web and very much wanted to visit. I've been dreaming that I will go sometime this summer when I find myself with a free day. Moksha looks great too, and their prices are not unreasonable at all! | |||
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| easternsun |
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| hi jean, here is a thought - have you ever taken seperate vacations? i know it sounds weird but it works! last year i went off and this year hubby has gone. next one will definitely be together though and let me tell you how much we appreciate the reunion and the honeymoon that follows!! says kira, who is anxiously awaiting the return of her beloved  and the fun that will ensue! | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | Kira - You know, I recently realised that we have been taking "separate vacations" (a term which used to have similar connotations to a couple moving into separate bedrooms  ) for years. But when one partner is going to an event that the other is not interested in or which takes less than say, a week, it doesn't seem so drastic. Since Mr. Tourist is such a sporty type, he has always gone off to sailboat races, triathlons and the like either on his own or with a friend. And in the last 15 years or so I have done weekends with a friend or now yoga workshops and quite happily left him on his own. Last summer I went to a retreat centre while he went for some paddling trips with a group. That felt a little more like separate vacations. More than a week would be difficult for me, I think. Jean - **all people want to talk about is NASCAR.**  HOW do they sit there for 3 hours and watch those cars go around and around? Hour one - cars going around in circles, hour two, still going around, hour three - oh a crash and they have to go around slowly for awhile..... Just having the TV on that long makes me crazy. And talk about annoying noises for pranayama! When the NASCAR fan in my house gets really smart he tapes it and can watch the whole thing in less than an hour, I swear. | ||
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| LoraB |
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| jeansyoga |
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| This Moksha place sounds wonderful! I'll definitely go soon! I can't believe I never heard of it before now . . . Do you know if any of the locations have parking? Having been to Chicago before, I know this could be a problem. | |||
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| LoraB |
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| Well, there are three locations... The Gold Coast would be impossible to park in - too close to all the chi-chi shopping and Michigan Ave where all the surburbanites overtake the city on weekends... The Lakeview location would be somwhat easier, though plenty of time should be allowed to find street parking - and it's metered, of course. Depends on when you're there, too - weekends can be rough with all the little shops around, but it's still possible... And finally, the River West studio is probably the best one to try and find parking. Again, I think it's all street parking, and metered, but there's not as much going on around it so that helps. The River West location is also reasonably close to another studio in town, if Iyengar is your thing...Yoga Circle is the name, I think. Do a search for Gabriel Halpern and it should pop up - you could always park in one of the lots closer to that one, and then bus it or walk over to Moksha if you wanted to shoot for multiple classes. I think Yoga Circle also hosts frequent workshops,but they have fairly strict pre-reqs for them so I don't know how that would work for you if you're not hard-core Iyengar. Check out yogachicago.com as well - articles on all things yogic, as well as a listing of area classes and workshops, plus they have their archives online. | |||
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| Thushara |
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| Jeansyoga.. Excellent Question.. I thought all you guys are very very very rich.. when you talk about those posh workshops and the prices., I don’t think I can afford them as 1$ = Rs.100 to me. But I find quite a lot of Indian Ashrams which are reasonable, there the problem is time. Recently I had contacts with some of them and they said they are not interested unless I spend 1 month time with them., But I cant do that as my maximum leave per year is continuous 2 weeks. And I sometimes feel that Why wont I spend this time and money for my profession instead yoga., To me, Its an opportunity cost . If you are a Yoga professional then its different. I would like to know from yogis who have different professions for their living.. How do you select one out of other in a situation like this ? Do you spend such amount for your career advancement or do you go for a yoga workshop? Some times I can complete 1 year of a MSC in IT from a recognized university affiliate with UK for the money I have to spend for 1 yoga workshop… But some of the Ashrams in India are quite reasonable. And my airfare to India wont exceed $500 Yoga guy, how was your recent yoga retreat thing you went ? You didn’t tell us your experience… Did you ??? Yoga is not about money.. but why most of the Yoga teachers charge unbelievable fees ? Its always a question I have. | |||
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| jeansyoga |
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| Bay Guy |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 2479 Location: A Blue State | Thushara - 2005-04-25 7:34 AM Jeansyoga.. Excellent Question.. I thought all you guys are very very very rich.. when you talk about those posh workshops and the prices., I don’t think I can afford them as 1$ = Rs.100 to me. But I find quite a lot of Indian Ashrams which are reasonable, there the problem is time. Recently I had contacts with some of them and they said they are not interested unless I spend 1 month time with them., But I cant do that as my maximum leave per year is continuous 2 weeks. And I sometimes feel that Why wont I spend this time and money for my profession instead yoga., To me, Its an opportunity cost . If you are a Yoga professional then its different. Yoga is not about money.. but why most of the Yoga teachers charge unbelievable fees ? Its always a question I have. I don't think most people here are rich. A month off for a yoga training is something that I'd find almost impossible to manage. I can get away for 1 week in a year, if I plan ahead and if it is the right time of year. Most of these workshops are weekend deals, maybe within 200 km of your home. Others are just in your town. Some yoga workshops *are* aimed at wealthy people -- the ones held on tropical islands and so on -- so it's a vacation with yoga added in. I'm not really interested in paying a fortune for a yoga vacation, since the same money would take my whole family on vacation (and I could still do my practice.) I pick these things on the basis of the balance between what I will learn and the cost in time and money. I did a workshop with a hot shot yoga teacher not long ago. It cost....$200, I think...and ran a total of 10 hours, held near where I live. I got a chance to observe the hot shot, and I think that I learned a total of two things. Overall, it wasn't a great buy, mainly b/c I could have learned those two things in 15 minutes from a number of other people. I kind of liked spending the time in yoga, and my curiousity was satisfied, but there were points where I really felt that my weekend was wasted. | ||
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| YogaGuy |
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| I'm in NY, but I've heard of Moksha because all the big name teachers go there either before or after they come to NY and Boston. My retreat to Costa Rica was only for really rich people, therefore it was better than yoga for regular people! Seriously, it was great. Beautiful weather. Beatiful yoga. I know money is a very real issue, but if you are gonna go on a vacation, try to do a yoga retreat. They're so much fun. Practice twice a day, go to the beach, eat good food and relax with other cool yoga people.(898335114203_0_ALB.jpg) Attachments ----------------  898335114203_0_ALB.jpg (72KB - 192 downloads) | |||
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| Thushara |
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YogaGuy - 2005-04-26 11:43 AM My retreat to Costa Rica was only for really rich people, . AHHAA Seems you are one of them too.. In SL we have 100s of beautiful waterfalls like this.. So I must start a rertreat program place., You guys can pay $XXXXXXXXX and come... http://community.webshots.com/album/91845888qLNXoK Edited by Thushara 2005-04-26 1:15 AM | |||
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| LoraB |
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| Or you could just be like my step-sister, and find rich boyfriends. At least, that's what she's advocated for me. Kinda funny that she ended up a gold-digger and I ended up a yogini. It's funny because when she was growing up, she didn't have a lot so now she's seeking lots of material worth. On the other hand, while I certainly didn't have everything I wanted I did have a fair amount and now I'm the one that seeks experiences rather than material goods. Guess we're all looking for that balance. But a freakin' gorgeous yoga retreat in Costa Rica counts as an experience rather than something material, right? | |||
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| Thushara |
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| LOL : Thanks Lora But I still prefer my 1st option rather than your suggestion. .. hehehe Actually I have a friend here who is looking forward to open a place like this. Its cool | |||
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| Gruvemom |
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| jeansyoga |
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| Really??? That's not far from my parents house! Mmmm, Bryan Kest. He's hot. Is that an inappropriate thing to say on this forum? | |||
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| Bay Guy |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 2479 Location: A Blue State | jeansyoga - 2005-04-29 11:54 AM Really??? That's not far from my parents house! Mmmm, Bryan Kest. He's hot. Is that an inappropriate thing to say on this forum? Well, now that you mention it....would you be willing to bring him home to meet you mom? | ||
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