Author: Sharon

Walking on Earth

July 2, 2009
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There is a Chinese proverb that says that:

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.

This is the same with a yoga practice.  Over time and with intelligent stretching practices, the body will open and become more flexible.  With practice, beginning yoga students advance in their alignment and ability to do a greater variety of poses.  It is truly beautiful to see an experienced yogi express the spirit of a pose with a deep and profound expression of grace.  Advanced students create a flowing meditation through soft and easy breath and the control of balance and energy through bandha work and reflection on the philosophy and science of yoga. 

While these are all beautiful reflections on the potential of yoga to create balance, ease and strength and grace, I see the miracle in the beginners.  It starts with the honesty of effort and the realisation when new students see that even by drawing their awareness to the breath, without changing anything at all, everything changes.  The miracle is not the perfect pose after years of training, the miracle is that moment that new students have when they realise that it is just being present in this moment that has the power to change the course of a life.  The miracle is not a one-armed handstand, it is standing in tadasana–mountain pose—with weight balanced across the feet and the head, heart and gut one on top of the other.

The Miracle of Standing on Earth Practice:

Take your shoes and socks off and allow your feet to breathe and soften into the floor beneath you.  Wiggle and spread your toes and feel the pressure of your feet on the earth and the earth on your feet.  Evaluate the distribution of your body weight accross your feet and see if you can move in a way that allows you to equally balance the weight of your body across the pinky toe, big toe and heel of the feet.  Press your inner ankles towards your outer ankles and roll your thigh bones back as you tuck your sitting bones underneath you.  Feel the lift of the navel and heart as you relax your shoulders down and away from your earlobes.  Stretch the crown of your head towards the sky and slightly bring your chin towards your heart as you relax your forehead, neck and jaw.

Breathe here in this place of where you stand.  Notice sensation in your feet, legs, belly, lower back, lungs, heart center, shoulders, arms and hands.  How do the bones of your face, neck and jaw feel?  There are no right or wrong answers.  It’s just what you feel right now.  Each and every time you do this exercise you will feel different.  It’s the miracle of standing on earth.

With affection,
Sharon Rudyk
Director, Yoga Matrika
A beautiful yoga studio community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

 

Summer Yoga in Pittsburgh

May 21, 2009
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Sometimes, when it is cold and icy outside, it’s hard to motivate yourself out to your local studio for a yoga class—–too much to wear, too much to bring, too much to do to prepare the car.  Sometimes, when it is warm and beautiful outside, it’s hard to motivate yourself out to your local studio because it’s just TOO NICE to be indoors.

I was once told that the hardest part of any yoga class was putting down your mat.  This applies to all seasons—weather and life.  Once you are there, with your mat under your feet or your sitting bones, it’s a great accomplishment.  Then, after class, you feel SO GREAT that you start to yell at yourself for not coming more often and you may wonder exactly what it is that you have been letting get in your way.

This summer, Yoga Matrika is offering unlimited yoga in June, July and August for $200.  At this price, you can’t afford to not do yoga this summer.  Regardless of the season, yoga keeps your mood elevated, heart filled with joy and a spring in your step.  You can also use yoga as a way to prevent injuries from all the other things you love to do during the summer: golf, swim, cycle, hike, paddle, run and frolic.  Finally, keeping a regular practice can keep you grounded and mindful in the reality that every day, no matter the season, is a day when we have the opportunity to help others, support our community and BREATHE.

See you soon at Yoga Matrika,

Sharon Rudyk

Sharon Rudyk is the Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika and the Matrika Annex.

Yoga Matrika’s 2nd Anniversary

May 14, 2009
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We are celebrating Yoga Matrika’s 2nd Anniversary with a special edition karmic salon event:
Please see the official press release regarding this event here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2371294.htm

 

 

 

 

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INVITATION

 

Date/Time:
Friday, May 8, 2009  from 7:30 to 11:00 pm

 

What’s Happening:
Live music, door prizes and refreshments.  The party and concert will be held at 6520 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh 15217 so you can preview the NEW SPACE!

 Who’s playing?  Karmic Salon concert features local artists and bands including Emily Pinkerton, Brad Yoder, Chris Fennimore, Doug Blevins and Onda Brasil.

How much does it cost?  All Karmic Salon events are by donation and you do not need to buy a ticket or reserve a space.  Just show up and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

 

This link will take you to the official published press release regarding Yoga Matrika’s 2nd Anniversary Karmic Salon:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2371294.htm

 YOGA MATRIKA CELEBRATES SECOND ANNIVERSARY WITH KARMIC SALON
Yoga studio in Squirrel Hill/Point Breeze holds live music concert with door prizes and refreshments May 8 from 7:30 pm to 11:00 pm

April 30, 2009-Pittsburgh, Pa. – Yoga Matrika [https://www.yogamatrika.com/] celebrates its second anniversary with a live music event in its new studio space at 6520 Wilkins Avenue in Squirrel Hill on Friday, May 8, 2009 from 7:30 to 11:00 pm. Featured musicians and bands include: Emily Pinkerton, Brad Yoder, Doug Blevins, Chris Fennimore and Onda Brasil with Claudio Soloaga on guitar, voice, quena and charango/Melissa Alliston on voice and percussion and Roger Day on tuba. This unique Karmic Salon also offers attendees the opportunity to preview Yoga Matrika’s beautiful second studio space, set to open in mid-May. The concert is by donation and there will be a raffle (drawing on May 19th), door prizes and refreshments served.
Yoga Matrika hosts Karmic Salons regularly and they all feature local musicians, poets and writers. The Karmic Salon concept provides local artists with an opportunity to experiment with new work in a supportive environment that allows for intimate exchange between the artist and audience. Yoga Matrika was opened with the intention to strengthen the creative energies of the community and Karmic Salons are just one way that we have developed to support this goal. Each artist performs a 30-minute set and is available for questions and audience feedback. All Karmic Salon events are by donation and do not require reservations or tickets. Events are co-hosted and recorded by Chris “Lurch” Rudyk, owner of Broadcast Lane Studios.
For additional information contact Sharon Rudyk at   412-855-5692   or sharon@yogamatrika.com , or visit our website at www.yogamatrika.com.

About Yoga Matrika:
Yoga Matrika is a community-based studio located in Squirrel Hill at 1406 S. Negley Avenue and is owned and directed by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk. For two-years, Yoga Matrika has offered unique small-group yoga classes taught by one of the best trained and dynamic instructor teams in the city. In May 2009, Yoga Matrika will open a second studio space at 6520 Wilkins Avenue. Sharon is a certified yoga instructor and is currently working on a PhD in Medical Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Contact:
Sharon Rudyk, Owner and Director
YOGA MATRIKA
  412-855-5692  

Hello There

YOGA MATRIKA BIRTHDAY RAFFLE

We are holding a special birthday raffle to support the BLISS EXPANSION PROJECT.  Raffle tickets will go on sale on Friday, March 13th at the Karmic Salon.  Tickets are $25 each and you can buy 4-tickets for $75.  The raffle will be held prior to the kirtan with Dharmashakti in the NEW studio space on Tuesday, May 19th.  You do not need to be present to win.  There are many great prizes and they are 100% transferable—so if you win something you can’t use, then you can give it away.  The retail value of prizes are listed so you can see what a fabulous deal it is for your $25 ticket!

Here are the prizes (so far!):

Grand Prize: 1 Year of Unlimited Yoga (value: $2,400)

Additional Prizes:

One 2-hour knitting lesson for 2-people with Cosy (value: $50)
A package of 2-1hr. therapeutic  private sessions for women with Tara (value: $200)
One private session with Max Hurwitz for up to two people (value: $200)
One 1-hour private session with Erin Commendatore (value: $75)
One “new mom” package of 1 nursing bra, 1 birth skirt, 1 ring sling, 1 book (value: $140)
Series of 3-individualized MP3 deep relaxation classes by Elsie Escobar  (value: $100)
Dream Basket: Handmade book by Leslie Wright and lavender eye pillow by Anita Alfonsi  (value $150)
TEN 3-class cards  (value $45 each)
FIVE 5-class cards  (value $70 each)
THREE 10-class cards (value $125 each)

You can purchase a raffle ticket at the studio or call Sharon  (412) 8… to make arrangements.  Everyone except for current instructors is eligable to purchase a ticket.  If you would prefer to make a donation, please write a check to “Yoga Matrika” and write “Bliss Expansion Project” in the Memo and send to: Yoga Matrika, 1406 S. Negley Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.

Bikini Season Yoga

May 12, 2009
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It’s that time of year again Pittsburgh!  Shake out that box of shorts and t-shirts, bathing suits and sandals and expose your pale flesh to that yellow orb in the sky that many people know as THE SUN. 

In honor of the more revealing attire of this fast approaching season, Erin Commendatore will be offering a “Bikini Season Yoga” class on Wednesday nights at 5:45pm.  Yes, we’re being a bit cheeky at Yoga Matrika!  You don’t need to be a woman or even consider wearing a bikini to take this energetic and core strengthening class.  Erin will focus on using yoga poses and movements that shape the arms and legs, help you lose weight and tone the belly.  Yoga tones and creates long and lean muscles so you look great in and out of whatever you decide to wear this summer.

This is also a great class for new moms (3+ months post-partum) who would like to use yoga to shape up and feel more energetic and fabulous after birth and any new dads who might have added a bit of pregnancy weight themselves.  We are also starting to offer two pilates classes every week—-Mondays at 6:00pm at the Annex and Thursdays at 7:30pm in the Main space.  These and our regular Yoga for Athletes and creative movement classes all combine to provide more cardio benefits and strengthening and toning options for yogis.

Yoga for Balance: Anusara Yoga with Elsie

May 12, 2009
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For a couple of months, Yoga Matrika has had the great fortune of the addition of an Anusara Inspired class on Mondays at 6:00pm.  This is a great fortune not only because of the value of Anusara yoga in terms of style and content, but also because the instructor, Elsie Escobar, is just such a beautiful person and fabulous teacher!  But, we’ve noticed that not many Yoga Matrika students are coming to check out this new class. 

Anusara teacher training is one of the most thorough available and it demands that instructors commit to a significant number of hours of training and experience.  There are levels of teacher training and this system ensures that any instructor who is permitted to refer to themseleves as an Anusara Inspired or Anusara instructor is highly trained and has a great deal of experience.  This training requirement means that there just aren’t that many Anusara instructors in the world and our opportunity to study in Pittsburgh is limited to the TWO instructors that are trained in this way and live in our region and when KK Ledford blesses us with a visit from California.  So, there’s a reason why you might not have heard about this kind of yoga.

Elsie is going to be offering some small group private lessons teaching the basics of Anusara and also offers a class, Yoga for Balance, every Monday night at 6:00pm.  This class is based on the Anusara principle of “Balanced Action”:

This would be the balance between Muscular Energy (conscious flow of energy originating from the inner body that creates stability, strength and physical integration in the pose) and Organic Energy (this energy carries the expansive qualities of heart, it creates expansion, length and breadth, opening the body, and freedom of movement in the joints.

“Balanced Action is the secret of yoga’s power to create radiant health. When combined with good alignment, balanced action optimizes flexibility and strength, accelerates healing, and brings radiant health to all parts of the body. In addition, the circulation of blood, lymph, oxygen and prana is optimized. Both the connective tissue and the internal organs become healthier due to imporved circultation and a stronger internal pulsation”

The best place to find information about Anusara yoga is directly from the official website: http://www.anusara.com.  Here is a list of the things you can expect from an Anusara class:

The 11 Elements of an Anusara Yoga Class

 

1. The Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness underlies the methodology of teaching Anusara yoga. Consequently, Anusara yoga teachers, first and foremost, look for the good in all things, especially within themselves, their students, and fellow Merry Band members. Anusara yoga teachers help enhance and reveal the beauty and Divine qualities that are already present in the students’ poses. They do not try to “fix” or “correct” students’ alignment. Instead, they are dedicated to serving each student and helping them unveil their innate goodness, worthiness, and Supreme nature. Furthermore, Anusara yoga teachers are committed to helping build and empower each student’s self-esteem, while inspiring light-heartedness, playfulness, and joyful creativity within the yoga practice.
2. Each class begins with an invocation/centering as a devotional recognition of the grace-bestowing power of universal Spirit within and around us.
3. Each class has a heart-oriented theme, which has a meaningful connection to the grand spiritual purposes of the asana practice. The theme usually centers on cultivating a virtue—a quality of mind or heart, which is a microcosmic reflection of our Divine nature. Each theme gives a direction for the attitudinal energy that infuses every action and breath in the poses. Effectively, all the poses in Anusara Yoga are expressed from the “inside out.” The theme is intertwined with the postural instructions throughout the class.
4. Teachers apply an elegant, concise set of alignment principles called the “Universal Principles of Alignment” throughout an Anusara yoga class. A central idea within the Universal Principles of Alignment is the 3 A’s: Attitude, Alignment, and Action. This foundational concept within the Anusara method infuses every pose with a meaningful intention connected to the grand purposes of yoga, creates awareness of specific postural alignment, and fosters balanced action between stability and freedom. The first Principle is ‘opening to Grace’, while Muscular Energy and Organic Energy are the two complementary forces that provide each pose with balanced action between stability and freedom. Secondary alignment principles include Spirals and Loops, which help to bring refinement and precision to each pose.
5. Movements and actions within every pose are coordinated with the breath.
6. Teachers walk around the classroom observing attitude, alignment, and action of all the students. They check postural alignments in each pose in reference to the Universal Principles of Alignment beginning with the foundation and general form of the pose. The teacher first gives verbal adjustments and then physical adjustments to the students if necessary in order to enhance their poses. In addition, students may modify poses or support themselves with props if necessary to achieve the general form of pose.
7. Teachers offer succinct, clear postural demonstrations when necessary to either support the specific heart theme of a class or to clarify alignment instructions.
8. The Anusara yoga method is designed to serve students of any level of experience or ability, from children to seniors, and students with special therapeutic needs to advanced practitioners. Therefore, the philosophy, postural instruction, sequencing, and pacing of instructions presented in the class is appropriate to the level of students present. All students are guided to achieve the general form of the pose in order to ultimately experience some expansion of inner freedom and consciousness.
9. Although there are no set postural routines in Anusara yoga, classes are designed using principles of sequencing. One of the principles includes progressively sequencing poses to help students of all levels advance in their practice. Students are not given more advanced poses until they can perform more intermediate poses with good alignment.
10. Classes are concluded with Savasana and/or meditation in order to help better assimilate the teachings and honor the spiritual experience of the class. A concluding centering is used to reiterate the heart theme. Students are left with a blessing or a reminder on how to continue to embody the heart theme “off the mat” in their daily life.
11. Ultimately, each student leaves an Anusara yoga class feeling better about him or herself, empowered and delighted by the revelation of his or her Divine nature (Chidananda).

Krishna Das in the BURGH!

April 9, 2009
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I just wanted to send a shout out to HarmoniZing Pittsburgh for organizing a performance of devotional chanting by Krishna Das here in Pittsburgh.  You can purchase a ticket online for the April 27, 7:00pm performance in Oakland by going to http://www.krishnadas.com or in person at Journeys of Life in Shadyside.

Please consider going to see Krishna Das live—-it’s just FABULOUS!

New Location

March 31, 2009
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Yoga Matrika will be opening a second location at 6520 Wilkins Avenue in mid-May.  For some of you, this is a very welcome change.  For many others, you might be concerned that the warm feeling of the current studio as a home for your practice might be lost in the move.  I have complete confidence that this second location will just bring you more of what you love about Yoga Matrika and less of what you could do without (unpredictable schedule, crowded classes and tripping over that metal plate in the doorway to the back hall—-I know, I stubb my toe on it weekly too!).

Yoga Matrika is a community-based studio.  What does this mean?  It means that the space isn’t as important as the people who gather there—wherever “there” happens to be.   This is not a community defined by the neighborhood you live in.  We welcome everyone at Yoga Matrika!  This is a community defined by intention.  What do we intend?  We intend to practice with our full hearts, safely and intelligently.  We intend to be inclusive and offer support and kindness to everyone we share our practice with.  We intend to acknowledge that sharing the energy of our practice with one another is a gift that we give to one another.  We intend to learn more and expand our practice so that, in good times and bad, our practice becomes a source of calm and an oasis in these challenging times. 

A community studio also provides opportunities to support everyone in that community—families with young children, older adults, mothers, fathers, adults and children with special needs—everyone!  We must recognize that we are all connected through our humanity and acknowledge that our yoga practice has profound power in our own bodies and lives, but also in the lives of everyone we meet and those we may never meet.  This type of power needs to be created and supported by community. Sure, you can grab a class at your gym or drop-in and have an anonymous experience–but when you actively participate in a yoga community then you are really taking responsibility for the power of your yoga.   It’s not just a class you take–it’s a choice that you make!

The current location will become “The Annex.”  The Matrika Annex will be used for small-group classes, private sessions, children’s yoga classes, prenatal and postnatal classes and meditation.  In addition to a full schedule of drop-in yoga and pilates classes, Yoga Matrika will also start to offer advanced yoga training (advanced meaning anyone who has practiced yoga for 6-months or more) and a variety of teacher training programs.  Yoga Matrika instructors are some of the best trained in the city and continuing education keeps us creative and safe.  Yoga Matrika will also continue to offer regular Karmic Salon events so that we can have an opportunity to enjoy the creative efforts of our community and gather together “off mat.” 

Pittsburgh has many wonderful yoga studios and instructors.  We are so fortunate to have these resources here in the city and I am honored to be a part of this team of people and communities that support great yoga in Pittsburgh.

Welcome Elaine!

March 29, 2009
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To those of you who know our beautiful and creative prenatal Bellydance and yoga instructor, Deena Blumenfeld, we are honored to let you know that she has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl—Elaine Margaret!

Congratulations to Deena and her family!

Introduction to Meditation

March 22, 2009
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Introduction to Meditation

 

By

Bhante Pemaratana

Pittsburgh Buddhist Center

In our life we all need to maintain physical health. We need to build healthy relationships. We need to achieve personal satisfaction and inner happiness. We need to realize the deep sense of meaning of our life. What is essential for all the above things is a healthy mind. The ancient Greeks glorified the body, its wellbeing and health, as well as the mind. The Romans famously said that man’s ideal should be ‘mens sana in corpore sano”! Healthy mind in a healthy body.  And in China Lao- Tse spoke of harmony achieved by equilibrium of the mind. And the Buddha said that good health was the greatest profit, and contentment is the greatest wealth one could accumulate.

 Though many of us are aware of the value of a healthy mind, we rarely know the way to achieve it. Meditation is a systematic method to develop a healthy mind. Achieving a healthy mind is not only about eradicating viruses that make the mind sick but also about developing positive qualities of the mind. It is a mental culture, which has three phases: knowing the mind, shaping the mind and freeing the mind. 

 Let us systematically examine these ancient voices, which a few of us hear like the soothing rustling of the mountain winds, when we practice meditation. It is then and only then, that we begin to hear the voice of silence promising each of us peace, harmony, and insight.

 

ABOUT VIPASSANA:

see http://www.dhamma.org/en/vipassana.shtml

Summer Yoga Deals

March 19, 2009
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Yoga Matrika is offering the best summer yoga deals in Pittsburgh (and maybe ANYWHERE) for summer 2009!  You can pre-pay for unlimited summer yoga packages and the earlier you buy, the better the deal.  Yoga Matrika offers bright and air conditioned spaces for cool summer refreshment and restoration.

Here are the unlimited packages for June, July and August 2009:

Purchase by April 1 for $175 (unlimited yoga for $59 a month)
Purchase by May 1 for $225 (unlimited yoga for $75 a month)
Purchase by June 1 for $275 (unlimited yoga for $92 a month)

You can purchase your unlimited yoga summer package by calling Sharon at (412) 855-5692 or when you come by the studio for class.