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| I was thinking of taking a workshop with Shiva Rea ... has anyone ever been? i would love some feedback ! thanks. |
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| i went to a short workshop at Exhale Spa in NYC with her--it was a three hour workshop. I enjoyed it and found the sequencing (and music) great, but it wasn't continuous vinyasa, which kinda got to me.
she would demo a sequence, then we'd do it. then, she'd stop, demo again, and then we'd do that. then she'd demo again, and we'd do that. Then she demoed and we did partner work. then there was another demo and then we did that part. No one section connected to the other--but they did build upon the other (eg, open the hips in the first sequence, open theshoulders in the second sequence, open the hamstrings in the third sequence, forth sequence consisted of a lot of arm balances that used these elements, final sequence was back bends and restoratives). But, when i tried to make the sequence a continuous stream, it was really difficult--i had to add in a lot of transitional steps between sequences. So, that kinda 'bothered' me because it seemed to 'break the flow' of the class.
now, this was a workshop, i don't know if her classes are continual sequences. One of my friends goes on many of her retreats (week long) and enjoys them. He does the trance-dance-yoga stff and loves that, and he says that her classes during the workshop are 'very fresh' and that they also do things like we did in the workshop above.
she's also a very down to earth, kind person. people treat her like a celebrity, which makes me very uncomfortable (i just don't behave that way, everyone's the same to me), but she takes it with a great deal of grace and is definately a 'normal person.' |
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| thanks for replying... this will be a week long seminar, and I am really looking to learn something.
I have never taken a workshop with someone who has a dvd out, so I'm glad to hear she is down to earth. thanks for your comments.
speaking of NYC my next stop is Dharma Mittra. |
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| Dharma is my new dude! 
i took a workshop from him in December and i'm starting up with him again in september (i missed the july workshop because my good friend and apprentice who is going with me had wrist surgery; he takes august off). I can't wait! |
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| one of my senior teachers(who is Iyengar trained) took a teacher training with him, and she thinks he is just what you want in a yoga teacher- he is amazing.baron and rodney got nothing on him.
when you have to spread out the workshop $, you want to be sure it will be worth it.next year i hope to do a TT at either White Lotus, Yogaville or Dharma Mittra. I haven't decided yet.
I am such a workshop junkie! |
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| Shiva is great. Although, I don't personally like the trance dance stuff and some of her Kriya stuff...I know a lot of people that do like it and benefit from it. I love her vinyasa classes and her flow and sequencing. She is a great teacher that makes you feel cared for and inspires you.
Her flowing vinyasa classes are excellent. A workshop is just that a workshop. It breaks things down so you can understand them. Over the course of the week, however, you'll get to see lots of different sides to Shiva's syle and teachings. Some of it will be amazingly wonderful and you'll love. Some of it you'll probably not like and will not do again after you leave. That's okay. The experience as a whole should be amazing. I say go for it.
Dharma is Da Man! Truly awesome. Definitely take classes with him if you come to NYC.
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| I might just skip the Shiva Rea workshop and try to get ot the city for Dharma instead! especially with these replies! |
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| i just love DM, because he's definately 'true to form.' he's very traditional.
perhaps i'm just smug smug, but here's what happened that made me fall in love with him besides his teaching and such.
in my area, vegetarianism is poo-pooed. there are very few yoga teachers who are vegetarians, and i'm constantly being 'trounced' for being one. people will exclude me, say 'you don't need to be vegetarian to practice yoga' and all that--and i *never* bring up vegetarianism. i just eat what i want when we go to dinner!
so, after going through a session of this with other teachers the nite before (also getting made fun of or called judgemental for not drinking--i just don't like the burn!), we went to the DM workshop. It was about 50 or 60 teachers in the workshop, and he gave a whole long talk on vegetarianism. he talked about how it was important and why it was important in the tradition. The one line that i loved best is when he said "If your heart is God's temple, you need to be there to worship God. If you eat meat, you are making a grave yard in your stomach, right next to God's temple. How can you worship God in his temple, if you are always burying things in your graveyard? vegetarian food grows a garden in your body, a garden around the temple. you don't need to tend it, God does for you--you get to worship in your heart then, and this is the path of yoga!"
now, i've been to other places where they talk about vegetarianism, but never this beautifully. one studio i went to used a guilt process. while people were in savasana, they would read about the treatment of animals in factory farms--horrible message and method i think. I know other teachers who talk about how vegetarianism is important for this or that, and then try to push their students into it.
i teach a vegetarian workshop that discusses vegetarianism on a number of levels--as a traditional practice in the vedic culture and how it functions (history and philosophy), as a spiritual discipline related to saucha and ahimsa, as a method of fasting for the purpose of spiritual development, as a practice of simplicity--you get the idea. I never, and i mean never, mention animal suffering or 'how horrible it is to eat meat.' (also because i know that, in the tradition, it may be appropriate for some people to eat meat some of the time for various reasons). I have no problem with a person *not* being vegetarian, particularly if they are thoughtful about the whole process.
but, i felt really great that day, because my lifestyle--for which i usually get harassed--was completely uplifted. in other scenarios where they talk about vegetarianism, i am not uplifted. talking about factory farms doesn't uplift me. guilting people into vegetarianism doesn't uplift me. but talking to me about the temple of God in my heart, now that's uplifting.
after that, too, my vegetarianism classes shot through the roof in attendence and people have chilled a bit in the making fun of me part. i don't know exactly what i do to invite this behavoir--but i'm looking into it.
Anyway, praciticng with DM was great too. i just really enjoyed his whole seminar from start to finish. he's a very generous and kind person--'the real deal' i felt. I also like traditional teachers, and he's traditional. i've also never read a negative thing about him--so i really feel that he's 'walking the talk.' this is another reason why i'm drawn to him.
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| that is a great story... makes me want to go even more.
when i want to learn asana, i can go to any teacher, good or bad,and i think i learn something everytime. however, when i want to learn yoga, IMO, a traditional teacher with out a marketing strategy is the way to go.
One thing about me, I do not like zealots.even if they agree with me.
I know the place that you are talking about... and though i have been a strict vegetarian for years, and all about animal rights, I do not think savasana should be interupped by anyone elses agenda, period. but,That's great that your classes are doing well.
thanks for your feedback and time. It put in in the right direction.
Respectfully,Anya |
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Opinions on Shiva Rea wksp pls
