Yoga in Tribeca

Products Available

Carolyn Oberst — 2009-02-05T19:33:56Z

Products Available

We are now carrying a wonderful Masala Chai tea mix made fresh here in the US. This is the best chai that we've found outside of India and only takes 3 minutes to make. It's a rich, authentic Indian blend of tea and spices and is traditionally mixed by hand. The smell is amazing. It comes in a small 4 teaspoon box (perfect as a stocking stuffer) for $3.00 and 1/4 lb. bags for $8.00.

Also available is a wonderful brand of incense imported from India. It is hand-made by a woman's collective in Mysore, chemical free and imported under strict fair trade rules to help these poor women support themselves. It is Sairanjani, very much like Nag Champa, only smells even better. The Sairanjani comes in a 50 gram box of sticks and is $6 a box.

All prices listed above do not include postage.

Photos

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-04-06T17:00:00Z

In these photos you can see the artwork described in About Our Teachers and the pleasant, well equipped space mentioned in Our Location. As you can see, while the class is all working on the same pose, each person is doing the version of the pose that is right for them. Some people use props, others don't. The way someone is instructed to do a pose depends on their ability and personal needs as described in Middle Path Yoga.

Corporate Yoga Services

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-04-03T17:00:00Z

On-Site Corporate Classes

Yoga In Tribeca provides experienced Yoga teachers for on-site corporate classes which can be tailored to meet the corporate client's needs. They may be held in the morning, before work, at lunch time, or in the early evening, after work, at the company's request. Included in the instruction are physical exercises, as well as breathing and relaxation techniques. Classes are offered in a course form of 4 to 8 weeks duration which can be held once or twice a week. Participants are required to sign up and pay for the course in advance. Payment is based on a per person fee of $16.00 with a minimum requirement of 10 people. Employers have had success in keeping their employees healthy by introducing programs like yoga classes as preventative practices. Stress release is an important component of the yoga practice and helps prevent illness in a stressful corporate atmosphere. Yoga increases energy and vitality, deepens levels of concentration and promotes healing of many disorders. These techniques can enhance all areas of life in both subtle and dramatic ways.

Yoga at the Desk Workshop

This workshop takes place in an hour to an hour and a half and offers suggestions for the busy corporate employee on how to relieve stress and prevent the health problems associated with long stretches at a computer screen or sitting at a desk. We discuss how to prevent hand-arm injuries and eyestrain, and what to do about backaches and fatigue. The course goes over techniques and exercises that are accessible to most people regardless of their physical fitness and can be performed during the work day. The workshop is a one time class. Participants are required to sign up and pay for the course in advance. Payment is based on a per person fee of $20.00 with a minimum requirement of 10 people.

For more information about on-site group classes or Yoga at the Desk Workshops - e-mail carolyn yogaintribeca.com or call (212) 966-4554.

Pre-natal & Post-partum

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-03-31T16:59:00Z

Pre-natal and Post-partum

Yoga in Tribeca does not offer separate pre-natal and post-partum classes. Instead, we include these women in our regular classes and give them special attention. As each pregnancy and recovery is different, each student is given the postures appropriate to their condition.

I do advise that pregnant women who have not done yoga before or have not exercised recently, to begin before the end of their first trimester. The Basic 1 class would be the best class for someone new to yoga or out of shape. If you are new to yoga, but exercise regulary, you can take any other classes after the initial class. A pregnant or post-partum woman who has been practicing yoga regularly can start taking classes here at any time, and can come to any class they like.

Our Location

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-03-28T16:59:00Z

Yoga in Tribeca is located at 38 Walker Street in lower Manhattan.

Walker Street is two blocks below Canal Street between Church and Broadway on the North side of the street, just three doors up from the corner of Church Street.

It is close to every subway line since they all stop at Canal Street.

There is an exit of the A, C, and E trains that is right on the corner of Ave. of the Americas and Walker Street, which is less than a full block away.

The IRT west side trains #1 and 9 stop both at Franklin Street and Canal Street. Both stops are just a few short blocks away.

The N and the R trains stop at Broadway and Canal Streets. Walk down Broadway to Walker Street turn right and number 38 is on that block, close to the corner of Church Street.

The IRT east side train #6 stops at Canal and Lafayette Streets. Just two blocks over to Broadway and down to Walker Street.

Classes are held in Carolyn Oberst's loft where she also lives. The yoga space is three flights up. The bell says "Yoga". (Photos)

Benefits of Yoga

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-03-25T16:57:00Z

Benefits of Yoga

The practice of Hatha Yoga is a system of exercises and breathing techniques that was developed in India many thousands of years ago. These exercises produce certain effects on the body such as: improved flexibility, range of motion and increased strength, and on the mind, such as: increased concentration, calmness and feelings of contentment. Due to these effects the regular practice of hatha yoga helps to relieve stress and prevent disease. Energy and vitality are increased, and it promotes the healing of many disorders.

Yoga practice is also a plus for the pregnant and postpartum woman. The breathing techniques and the poses generally make the birthing process easier and the recovery faster. The inner strength gained by yoga practice allows a woman to feel more confident in her abilities and instincts when faced with the challenge of labor and delivery.

Yoga teaches self-awareness and self-knowledge. It develops sensitivity first to oneself and then to the world around you. It teaches compassion and how to open the heart center. So in addition to the physical and mental benefits, there are emotional and spiritual ones as well. These effects of a regular practice enhance your life in both subtle and dramatic ways.

About our Teacher

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-03-22T16:56:00Z

About our Teacher

Carolyn Oberst began her practice of Hatha Yoga in New York City at the Indo-American Yoga-Vendanta Society with Swami Bua. She studied herbal healing and meditation techniques at the Harihar Yoga Center with Swami Harihar Das, author of the Healthy Body Handbook. After practicing for five years, she trained to teach yoga with Alan Bateman, of the Bateman Institute, in his intensive teacher training program. In addition, she studied metaphysics and healing techniques with Julie Winter, healer and psychic, for six and one-half years.

In the years since her yoga teacher's training, Carolyn has studied with a variety of teachers in many styles including Iyenger, Jivamukti, Anasuara and Ashtanga. In the Summer of 1997, she went to Mysore, India to practice Ashtanga yoga with the master guru, Patahbi Jois and continues her daily practice of his style.

Carolyn has been running her own Yoga studio and teaching privately since 1981. She is certified by the Yoga Alliance as an E-RYT 5000 teacher; the highest, most advanced rating possible. In her private practice she has worked with people of all ages, people with back, shoulder, knee, elbow (etc.) injuries and various chronic ailments. She has also taught many pregnant and postpartum women.

While teaching classes and studying yoga, Carolyn is also an artist. It was as an art student that she became interested in meditation and yoga as methods of improving her concentration and stamina. She has had three one-person shows and has been included in many group shows in various galleries over the years. Her work is in both corporate and private collections.

In the yoga room in her loft where she teaches, she has placed paintings that she has made that are aligned with the feeling of the yoga practice. Some are intricately detailed floral still lifes painted in dresser back frames which give them an "altar piece" feeling. While devoid of the usual Hindu iconography, they suggest the spiritual and make a fitting backdrop to the yoga practice they overlook. Over the years her students have enjoyed practicing in a room with artwork made by their teacher. (Photos) This adds to the feeling of personal attention that is a hallmark of her teaching style.

Workshops

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-03-19T16:55:00Z

No date set for next Yoga for the Creative Soul Workshop - email Carolyn if you're interested.

Currently RESTORATIVE YOGA is being taught as a class on Friday nights, instead of as a workshop - email carolyn yogaintribeca.com or call 212-966-4554 to register. It doesn't run every Friday, so check schedule before coming.

The class has a limited enrollment. The level is appropriate for anyone. Time: 6-7:30, Price: $25.

What is Restorative yoga?

Restorative yoga poses can be called "active relaxation." By supporting the body with props, and resting in the poses, we both stimulate and relax the body to move into balance. Some poses have an overall benefit. Others target an individual part, such as the lungs or heart. All create specific physiological responses, which are beneficial to health and can reduce the effects of stress. The calmness of the practice helps to enhance the immune system.

Restorative yoga helps you understand the effects of poses more thoroughly, so the restorative practice enhances your general knowledge of yoga, which supports you when you do your more vigorous yoga practice.

Restorative yoga can also be used for those times when you feel fatigued or stressed from your daily activities. They are important to learn, as they are beneficial when recovering from illness, injury or emotional distress.

Yoga for the Creative Soul

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-03-16T17:00:00Z

Yoga for the Creative Soul

Looking for inspiration? Discover how your yoga practice can connect you with your artistic source

by Carolyn Oberst. Article from FIT Yoga Magazine, July 2007 Edition.
Download the complete pdf of the article (7 MB).

As a yoga teacher and an artist who makes paintings and collages, I have searched for ways to combine both art forms. At the end of my yoga practice one morning, the words “cut into it” came to me. What did that mean? Later in my studio, while looking at my newest painting, I thought, “Cut up the painting?” But I liked it. Suddenly, I realized I could make a drawing of the painting, photocopy it a few times, cut into that to create a collage, and use the pieces as a basis for another painting. This was a breakthrough for me. I finally figured out a way to connect my two artistic loves. Frames

It was not the first time that a creative idea had come to me during yoga in my 30 years of practice. Yoga is being used in everything from weight loss to sex therapy, but one of the ways where yoga's power is greatest is in opening creative capacity and unblocking regressive mental attitudes for profound changes in careers, relationships, and health.

Creative work increases blood flow to the brain and triggers the same sort of positive changes in brain chemistry as doing meditation and asana practices. Other studies show that when we're thinking creatively, the emotions generated create a coherent internal electromagnetic field. That electromagnetic field is broadcast throughout the body, creating a synchronicity that correctly regulates the body's various systems. Healthy people are locked into these rhythms; ill people are not.

The “gut” instinct

More and more scientists and doctors are concluding what yogis have known for at least hundreds, if not thousands, of years: The body is not a collection of unconscious organs ruled from on high by the brain. It is endowed with sentience apart from the brain. A “gut feeling” implies that this area, which includes the intestines, the stomach, and the colon, contains instinctual knowledge. Or consider that “but-terflies-in-the-stomach” feeling you get before having to do something fearful. Both examples have a physiological basis.

The intestines and stomach, along with the brain, originate from the same clump of tissue called the neural crest. During fetal development, one section becomes the central nervous system, and another piece becomes the enteric nervous system located in sheaths of tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon. Some researchers say that the body has two brains—the one in our heads and the one in our guts.

This proven physiological link strongly suggests the gut area has an emotional and instinctual capacity. This area is included in the second chakra region, which yogis consider a strong emotional and creative center. The other chakra area considered as a center for creativity is the fifth chakra area in the throat; the esophagus, as part of the enteric nervous system, is intimately related by tissue cells to the brain and the central nervous system in early fetal development.

Current research shows that the body, not the brain, controls many physiological processes. One example, discovered by Harvard neuroscience researcher Herbert Benson (author of The Relaxation Response, 1975, and The Breakout Principle, 2003) and other neuroscientists, is that working with the body through meditation, controlled breathing techniques, and exercise stimulates the release of nitric oxide. This chemical, in turn, releases endorphins and dopamine, which are the brain's neurotransmitters responsible for inducing pleasure, relieving pain, and arousing happiness. These chemicals also heighten creative thinking and imagining.

Given all this information that the body transmits to the brain, it seems logical that we can affect at least some of how we think and feel and create through direct manipulation of the body.

Unblocking the blocks

When you realize how much the body affects the brain, you can begin to understand how damaging it can be when creative energy is blocked. If, as the yogis believe, creative energy is housed in the body, when it gets cut off or stifled, the brain is deprived of some of the stimulus it needs to solve problems, find answers to difficult questions, and develop original approaches in all areas of our lives. We need creative energy to help us to break out of negative habitual patterns of behavior, thoughts, and relationships. Creative energy is the apostle of change.

And because it's in the body, creative energy gives us the sensation of being physically alive. It helps us to feel energized and excited about life. With it, we feel connected with others and the planet on which we live. It helps us understand how we fit into the flow of life. Enabling our creative energy to flow results in better health, feelings of well-being, and sharpened intuition. With this heightened awareness, we can shape our lives more positively and have greater insight into why things happen as they do. This improves our chances for making better decisions and choices in our lives.

By connecting our spirit consciously and directly to the body through yoga practices specifically designed to enhance this alliance, the separations between mind and body disappear. The “inner” realm and “outer” realm merge, just as they do in the creative process.

Chakra assistance

Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning “wheel,” or vortex, and it refers to each of the seven main energy centers believed to be within the human body. These chakras function as pumps or valves regulating the flow of energy through our body's systems. They occur along the midline of the body up the interior face of the spine.

The four chakras most connected to creativity are:
1. The first is the muladhara chakra, which is Sanskrit for the “root” or “source of our support.” Our connection to the earth, the element associated with this chakra, gives us the feeling of confidence we need in order to freely express ourselves.

2. The second chakra, called svadhishthana, means “dwelling place of the self.” This area is the source of your sexual and creative energies. In the cultures that use some form of the chakra system, the second is always considered a powerful center of creativity.

3. The fifth chakra, located at the throat, is associated with creativity and verbal or artistic expression. Called vishuddha, which translates as “pure,” the fifth chakra is the main area by which we express ourselves and communicate directly with the world through the voice. In some texts, it is also associated with the arms and hands, which are also transmitters of our expression. This chakra is closely associated with listening to one's intuition and internal guidance.

4. The sixth chakra, located in the center of the forehead, is frequently referred to as the “third eye,” connoting an internal “eye” of inner wisdom and awareness. Called ajña, which means “authority,” “command,” and “unlimited power,” it is believed to be the area of interaction between the mind and the psyche. The stimulation of the energy here can lead to intuitive insight and wisdom. Ajña chakra is associated with that deeper part of our being that Western traditions consider the subconscious or unconscious mind. It is the place where our true motivations are found, and is the level of consciousness that directs our actions and, in fact, our lives.

Dancing with your breath

Manipulating the breath through exercises, called pranayama, is another way the body can affect the mind and creative abilities. The way we breathe can affect the pulses of our brain waves and can be used as a means for clearing the mind and promoting awareness, two attributes needed in the creative process. Use our featured exercises on the following pages, either alone or in conjunction with any yoga practice to stimulate the chakra areas involved in the creative process. By consciously using yoga practice to activate creativity, we can enjoy a further dimension of benefit and joy that comes from integrating yoga into our lives.

Try to use the three bandhas whenever possible in your yoga practice. These “locks” stimulate the energy in the chakras most connected to creativity:

• Mula Bandha: Exhale and pull up by contracting the muscles of the perineum, which stimulates the first chakra.

• Uddiyana Bandha: Pull your abdomen toward the spine and up, which stimulates the second chakra.

• Jalandhara Bandha: Lower your chin toward your collarbone, which stimulates the fifth chakra. Close your eyes, and gaze upward toward the sixth chakra.

Whenever you need some inspiration or an answer to a problem, you can do any of these poses and breathing practices to stimulate your creativity.

Start by sitting in a comfortable cross-legged position, with a blanket under your tailbone. Close your eyes. Bring your hands into Anjali Mudra (Prayer Position), and chant OM three times. Then, relax your hands, keeping your eyes closed. As you press your tailbone downward, imagine energy flowing upward along your spine, allowing you to sit tall and straight. With shoulders back and down, lengthen the back of your neck and let the top of your head rise.

Take a breath in, and, as you exhale, open your eyes.

Article extracted from FIT Yoga Magazine, July 2007 Edition, out June 2007.

Restorative Yoga

Carolyn Oberst — 2008-03-14T18:21:00Z

Up-coming Restorative Yoga Workshop

1/29/10 - 6-8:00 pm (See our Schedule Page)

What is Restorative yoga?

Restorative yoga helps you understand the effects of poses more thoroughly, and allows you to see where you hold habitual tension. In these ways the restorative practice enhances your general knowledge of yoga, which supports you when you do a more vigorous yoga practice.

Restorative yoga can also be used for those times when you feel fatigued or stressed from your daily activities. These poses are important to learn, as they are beneficial when recovering from illness, injury or emotional distress. They become another way to learn to heal yourself.