BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Let's welcome Huck!

The Mighty fold is growing. Tonight we welcome Mathew "Huckleberry" Ingles to our teaching crew! Huck, as he's known to most (read about how he got the name below), has been teaching yoga in Ithaca and Cortland for the past couple of years. He coordinated the Finger Lakes' first yoga festival this past August, and if you're a fan of roller derby, you may already know he is the official yoga instructor for the Ithaca SufferJets. Needless to say, we're thrilled to have Huck on the schedule! He'll be teaching Wednesday evenings at 6pm. Please join him at his first MY class tonight!


For now, meet Huck in our conversation with him below.
Mighty Yoga: How did you come to yoga?
Huck Ingles: In 1998 I was in a skiing accident that left me in pain. A friend gave me a book on power yoga and showed me some basics. I used sun salutations to deal with back pain and stiffness. But, it wasn't until about five years later that I started to take it seriously. I reached a point in my life where just easing back pain wasn't enough. I needed to take control of my physical and mental health. I began practicing regularly, and the results were so rewarding I have dedicated myself for life.

MY: What do you like about Power Yoga?
Huck: Power Yoga takes me to a state of humble surrender. For me, I need to the challenge, to find my limits. I live an active and intense life, and, as we know, yoga practice is life practice. We learn from yoga what we need to know for life. If my life is intense, active, and challenging, then my yoga practice should reflect that. Power Yoga does that for me.

MY: What do you like to do off the yoga mat?
Huck: I can't get enough of the outdoors. I love swimming, camping, hiking, mountain biking and snowshoeing. When I am at home, I like to garden, read, cook, and play guitar. In the summer, you will find me working at the local festivals and events. I travel when I can. I usually avoid the tourist traps and take local vacations, exploring the nooks and crannies of small towns, museums, and state parks.

MY: We can’t resist asking. Why the name “Huck?”
Huck: In 1995 I attended a festival in the Mark Twain Forest in Missouri. It was a hot summer, and I was wearing a large brimmed hat to keep the sun off. I had run out of clean clothing and borrowed a pair of overalls from a girl I was traveling with. They were a bit short on me and came just below my knees. I guessed I looked the part because people began calling me Huck. When I got back home, I had mail addressed to Huckleberry. The nickname stuck. People call me Mathew too. I'm okay with either.

Mighty AcroYogis a-flying

Some mighty yogis are still flying high after a dynamite workshop weekend at Mighty Yoga! Yogis from Ithaca, Binghamton and even as far as Toronto and Brazil came for a little AcroYoga. Friday featured an overview of the practice. Saturday had a nurturing focus with yummy Thai massage and therapeutic partner poses. Finally Sunday turned everything upside down (in a good way!) with some strength-building inversions and an intro to eye-catching partner acrobatics like Throne and Star (both pictured below).


The weekend sessions began and ended with everyone joining in a circle to share some yogi love and mutual support, a nurturing practice that celebrates the power of community. Because, let's face it, without teamwork, some of these poses wouldn't have been possible. Together, these mighty yogis hung in Folded Leaf. They flew in Bird. They sat in Throne, like the kind Ilana is waving from here (that's Nicole as base!).

And they shined in Star, like Zainab (flyer) and Chris (base) are doing here!

Thank you to all who participated in the fly fest and acrobatics in Mighty's first AcroYoga weekend! And our warm appreciation goes out to Chris Loebsack and assistant Gina Newlin for sharing their passion for flying with this community! For links to more cool pictures, check out the Mighty Yoga page and Ithaca Acro Yogis page on Facebook.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

MY AcroYoga weekend is almost here!

Thinking about joining us for our Mighty AcroYoga weekend? Space is filling up fast, so register soon! Remember all levels are welcome; no partner is necessary.

In the meantime, wonder how yoga, acrobatics, and therapeutic Thai massage came together? It turns out amazing things happen when people unite… and share a love for pyramid building with their bodies! Nearly seven years after the founders had their first impromptu contact yoga session, AcroYoga is increasingly distinguished for its celebration of interdependence and play (For a fuller history, check out the official AcroYoga web page).

It is easy to see this practice as child’s play. Remember hanging over someone’s feet, sitting on someone’s shoulders or leaning back to balance a two-person tug-of-war? In AcroYoga, typically a triad of players play—a Spotter assists a Base as he or she supports a Flyer in dynamic variations of yoga poses with names like Folded Leaf, Bat and Bird (like the one pictured here).

We’ve already mentioned how the principle of bone-stacking makes seemingly challenging poses increasingly effortless and allows people of varying sizes to fly or base with greater ease. One more thing to note is that the spotter’s involvement is vital. Think of the spotter as the safety net; with his or her watchful eye, the base and flyer can more fully, and freely, explore those eye-catching acrobatics.

When MY’s Gina was introduced to the practice, she remembers that though the visual appeal of the partner poses hooked her, the underlying elements of trust-building brought her back to fly. “This amazing practice was another place to explore relationship, explore the intricacies of community,” Gina says. “It was another way to have a conversation in a safe, nurturing, playful, fun environment.”

This weekend leading AcroYoga instructor Chris Loebsack, one of the first certified AcroYoga instructors (pictured below), will be assisted by MY's Gina in sharing the playful freedom and benefits of therapeutic flying, Thai massage, inversion training and an intro to partner acrobatics. We hope you can make it for part or all of the sessions!

BUT if you absolutely can’t make it this weekend, Gina also coordinates casual, weekly Ithaca AcroYogi practice sessions at various parks, weather permitting. You can feel free to check the Ithaca Acro Yogis Facebook page for the next play session, too. Let’s fly!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

So much yoga, so much time!

September is National Yoga Month! This can be another opportunity to explore and celebrate the many styles of yoga. In our September newsletter, we featured the Finger Lakes's first yoga festival at Greek Peak Resort last month, which offered sessions in several kinds of yoga and holistic services. In one weekend, people could experience the therapeutic benefits of Thai yoga and massage, the sensuality of belly dancing, the warming fires of Kundalini yoga or the exhilaration of flying in partner acrobatics yoga. That was a taste of what the entire scope of yoga offers any practitioner, at any level, and it was a wonderful reminder that while it's great when you find your fit in yoga, it can also be fun and illuminating to check out other styles and traditions, too.

For a quick lesson in the many faces of yoga, feel free to check out the Yoga Journal article below. There is no such thing as one kind of yoga. It is all encompassing! Happy Yoga Month!

Not All Yoga Is Created Equal, Yoga Journal

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Welcome to Mighty, Molly!

Please join us in welcoming our newest addition to the schedule, Molly Kornblum! A former New Yorker who trained at Laughing Lotus in Union Square, Molly is a wonderful addition to our Mighty family. Interested in getting to know her? Well, as all the magazines say, we sat down with Molly to learn a little more about why she loves yoga and her life off the mat. Check it out below!


Mighty Yoga: How did you come to yoga?
Molly Kornblum: I used to do yoga with my mom when I was little. She taught me fun poses with names I could relate to like tree, and lion, and downward dog. We laughed a lot when we practiced. It wasn't until I took classes in college, however, that I really got hooked.

MY: Why did you decide to teach?
Molly: I wanted to teach yoga for many years before I actually got certified. I was working for “Corporate America” in New York City when my company relocated. Instead of moving with them, I took the awesome severance package and used the time and money to attend yoga school. It was the best decision I ever made!

MY: Since you're teaching a Basics class here, any tips for someone new to yoga?
Molly: I know it's hard, but try not to judge yourself when your practice doesn't look just like the girl's next to you. Try to accept yourself where you are. As long as you keep practicing, you'll get exactly where you need to go.

MY: What do you like to do off the yoga mat?
Molly: I'm in nursing school; nursing is a passion of mine. I play old-time music. I swing dance with my sweetie!

Meet Molly tonight for her first class, Basics 7:30pm -8:30pm!