![]() Portland Ashtanga Yoga is proud to partner with the Trini Foundation to support the recovery community in Portland and surrounding areas! Through the Trini Foundation's scholarship program, we offer monthly tuition assistance to individuals in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. We understand that when a person first gets sober it is just the beginning of a life-long journey. We are committed to providing the guidance and resources necessary to promote the growth required to maintain a healthy, sober lifestyle. If you are a scholarship candidate, please email info@trinifoundation.org or visit trinifoundation.org/programs to apply. More About the Trini Foundation The Trini Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to sharing Ashtanga yoga with those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. It's our mission to provide yoga as a tool to aide in the recovery process and help those who are suffering maintain long-term sobriety. For more information about their programming, please visit www.trinifoundation.org.
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![]() The Ashtanga opening chant asks us to bow to the lotus-feet of the teachers who have came before (“vande gurunam caranaravinde”). This singular moment on the mat often brings me a strong sense of gratitude for the people who have brought greatness to my life. Gratitude is the inevitable residue of the deep appreciation of the intricate and improbable chains of relationships that stretch back (and forward) that make, and have made, all this possible. One of those people is Alice Joanou. The other day I fell down the Internet memory rabbit-hole and ended up landing on her old, since-deactivated Tumblr. She was my San Francisco Ashtanga teacher from back in the day. I saw the picture posted above — I may have posted it before? — and she'd posted some great poetry and quote, from Miller, Kafka, Le Guin, and Meister Eckhart. Seventeen years later and she’s still teaching me! As the opening chant's last om fades, I am aware if it weren’t for her (and countless others), I would not have met my wife, had our children, traveled the world, moved to Portland, started Portland Ashtanga Yoga — or met you! There are countless people in my life for whom I feel gratitude, and that time on the front of the mat is a great moment to acknowledge them. We do led Primary Series on the last Friday of the month. Usually the classes are at 6 a.m. The last led class of December, however, was at 7 a.m. I asked my wife Tara if she wanted to attend this more "compassionate" start time.
Her reply: "Can you make it at 1 or 2 in the afternoon? That's the most compassionate time." A few days earlier she had said, "I am officially over practicing yoga in the morning. It feels terrible.” Studio member David D'Andrea has created an exquisite calendar for 2018. It also features moon days! Pick one up at his website Samaritan Press.
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AuthorJason owns and directs Portland Ashtanga Yoga. Archives
February 2018
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