john schumacher

"Grief, expressed out loud, whether in or out of character, unchoreographed and honest, for someone we have lost, or a country or home we have lost, is in itself the greatest praise we could ever give them. Grief is praise, because it is the natural way love honors what it misses.” - Martin Prectel

We are reconciling what we have collectively witnessed with regards to racism and injustice in our society. We stand with our brothers & sisters of color in solidarity and will continue to educate ourselves and foster work that helps tear down the walls of inequality in our communities. Yoga is a gift to humanity that helps us dissolve ignorance and brings us closer to uncovering the fact that we all come from the same Divine source. We are all one race - the human race - and these horrific events have the potential to wake us up and bring us together in collective action.

Does this heat make it feel as if the summer could go on forever?  As we start the month of August, we are entering into the late summer period, the fifth season, recognized in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine. BUT before we get ahead of ourselves, I wanted to share some final insights from the end of the summer season. As we mentioned last month, the element associated with summer is fire, which shows up in the external environment, but internally as well.

I made it through another Mother’s Day, but this year was different.  I have been inspired by women around the world who are sharing about their struggles with Mother’s Day; mothers who have lost children, women who have lost mothers and women who are not able to be mothers. Mother’s day has always been difficult for me, since I lost my mother, tragically, 28 years ago, just months before my thirteenth birthday. Once I recovered from the shock of the loss, which actually took about 5 years, I finally started to grieve. That grief, for me, has taken the better part of the last two decades. Thankfully, however, for about the last ten years, I have been deeply committed to healing that pain.

"The Three Months of Fall are called the period of tranquility of one's conduct... The mysterious powers of Fall create dryness in Heaven and they create metal upon the Earth."At the end of October and for some of us not until November, we transitioned from the late summer energy of early Fall into the true Fall Energy of Metal or the quality most closely associated with the Ayurvedic element of Air. Air and Metal energies concern mental and spiritual activities, including the workings of the mind, the intellect and communication.

As we enter the much beloved summer season, we are quickly reminded of the quality which dominates it. Summer is evidence of the Fire Element which gives us the capacity for great joy, passion and compassion, but can also ignite irritability and anger.

The last month of the year is time to review the work accomplished and congratulate ourselves on our progress and lessons learned. We take inventory and plan for the new year ahead. December is a time of taking stock and being still with what is, positive and not so. When we have done well, we take the time to give back. iHanuman gives back at least 5% of every sale in our store because we BELIEVE in the power of the practice of yoga, which includes selfless service towards others. 

Charitable Giving to Focus on the Philippine Islands. Introduction to Asana Series with Lois Steinberg in honor BKS Iyengar's 95th Birthday!

 "Where women are respected, there god dwells. Where women are disregarded, there all deeds go in vain." - Manusmriti Tomorrow, March 8, is International Women's Day. On this one day we honor the achievements of women around the world. We also recognize the unfathomable violations that women and girls still face to their basic human rights. Please take some time to acknowledge and appreciate the women in your life - mothers, sisters, grandmothers, daughters, yourselves.

Happy New Year! It is going to be another fantastic year for Yoga Media and Technology. We have so many new classes to share with you in the coming months. TODAY, Enjoy over 50 new Iyengar Yoga Classes with John Schumacher AND his free quarterly discussion on the question, "Is Yoga A Religion?" Look out for more yoga media coming soon.... Until then, be well. 
Sara Miles Pope Agelasto 
Love. Service. Devotion. Yoga.

When I first began teaching yoga in 1981, yoga wasn't exactly entrenched in the mainstream as it is now. I had been meditating for four years and doing asana out of a book daily. There was never a thought about becoming a yoga teacher, as I had four children, ages 7-14, and it was all I could do to stay afloat and meet my commitments as an Air Force wife and mother. My daily meditation practice helped more than anything else to keep me on a fairly even keel during those challenging days.

The February issue of Yoga Journal includes an article by John Schumacher.
Regular readers of the magazine look forward to the monthly Home Practice feature for fully illustrated sequences of ten poses. This month's sequence is designed to build the strength and flexibility needed for arm balances, such as Bakasana (Crane Pose). Each pose is photographed, with John's precise descriptions guiding readers through the work in each asana.

We Are Under the Hood of the NEW iHanuman Website. We have a little more work to do, but we have DEFINITELY been Out and About recording new Yoga Media! This summer we Dreamed and Grew. Now it's Time to Reap, Harvest and Let Go! The Autumn season reminds us that we CANNOT do EVERYTHING and We CAN let go of our own timeline to open to something BIGGER. We need a little more time to unveil our NEW site, but we hope you will PRACTICE PATIENCE with us.

Credit: Lululemon Athletica Love is in the air this month. And if it's not, we need to ask ourselves, 'Why not?" There have been many a February in my life where I did not have a significant other and often felt lacking and inferior in the days leading up to Valentine's Day. What I discovered is that sense of lack was usually due to missing self love. I had not learned to love myself, so how could I expect to someone else to love me?

After a month of gratitude, it is time to answer the question, What Impact can the practice of Yoga have on the World? In the spirit of giving, we have several Complimentary Pieces of audio for you to help answer this question. Our feature this month is a discussion with Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher, John Schumacher. John tackles the question, " Can Yoga Save the World?"

Last night I listened to an interview and meditation with Susan Piver. And it made me grateful for people who are walking a peaceful path. This is not necessarily the path of least resistance, but a commitment to listen to your own truth while being compassionate to another's. In Buddhism, All Life Is Suffering. But I have been working with one of the Yoga Sutras that was introduced to me by Judith Lasater and was repeated this past weekend in John Schumacher's workshop.

Today I am thankful for experience because it is rare and somewhat miraculous to be in the presence of a teacher with more than 40 years experience. You always know an experienced teacher because they are not always trying to provide you with the answer. They often want to know, "What is your experience?" Last night with John Schumacher, we worked on fundamental standing poses, because it was the only class in the workshop that was open to all levels of students. But we addressed the standing poses from a completely different perspective.

Happy Summer Solstice! Just as we asked you to invoke the goddess last month, the longest day of year begs us to inspire the fire inside that is masculine energy. Yang energy is strong, aggressive and passionate. It is the fiery energy of summer. Spiritually, we can practice tapas or discipline, austerity and consistency. Burn your internal fire to overcome difficulties and purify yourself to cleanse the toxins and feel your personal best level of health and vitality.

People who have never practiced yoga before often ask me to teach them a yoga pose. The Iyengar student in me cannot help but start by teaching Tadasana. People are often astounded by how much integrity and poise there is when conscious attention is brought to the simple act standing. They are amazed at how much attention can be brought to the four corners of the feet, the inner line of the legs, the lift of the knee caps and the release of the tailbone. Once we build the foundation. we move to the upper body and take a deep inhale to engage the abdomen, lift the sternum and lift and roll the shoulders back.

BRRR! It sure is cold out. Winter has finally arrived and looks like it is here to stay. Wintertime is a time when we are asked to be particularly smart and intelligent. Why? Because if you are not, you can freeze to death! Now, thankfully, most of us are not likely in a position to freeze to death but we do run the risk of leaking heat into the cold outside and therefore losing precious energy. Our immune systems can be easily taxed so we must preserve our energy to sustain us through the cold months ahead. We are no longer graced by the bounty of the summer harvest, so we must dig into our root cellars and preserved foods to carry us through.

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon in Greece. As a novice traveling in Europe, everything was magnificent. I have been fortunate to have traveled extensively in Southeast Asia and Africa over the last decade and always knew I would explore Europe later in life.

Ahhh August! Summer begins to come to a close; a bittersweet feeling. But this also means the cool winds and vibrant colors of Fall are on their way. iHanuman is busy upgrading our website to offer our teachers and students new web features and communication tools, We hope to roll out our new features next month, September, so please stay tuned.

This month we offer you a special interview with California Yogini, Heather Tiddens. Listening to her Interview and viewing photographs of Heather reminds us of the goddess energy present within all beings. And with Mother's Day just passing, Heather's gentle spirit is reminiscent of the nurturing energy provided by women, mothers and Earth sisters. She helps us remember the importance of being kind to ourselves, to our friends and family, and to the Earth, the ultimate nurturer.

Namaste and Happy New Year Friends! The New Year brings the opportunity for shedding the old aspects of ourselves and our lives that no longer serve us. This allows us to make room for the new growth that comes with the warmer winds and longer days of Spring. iHanuman has been in hibernation this Winter to develop our media platform which will be released later this summer. Stay Tuned!