Chakra Workshop - The Three Granthis

After a week of silence and transformation at the Magical Zendo, I was so happy to teach a Chakra Workshop the next day. The irony was after returning from silence and serenity, I made my way through literally the chaos of the NYC Marathon FINISH line crowd, to make my way downtown to The Lovely OM Factory, it was so fun. This workshop was particularly special as the "teaching" was energetically shared it with my Sensei/Friend/Student, Joseph. Actually, while I was away at the Zendo (away from internet and phone) Joseph took the lead to arrange and invite all the people to participate for the workshop, thank you so much Joseph!!! It was lovely to see some familiar faces at the workshop. Joseph being an amazing Yoga Instructor & Reiki Master, provided Reiki Hands On Adjustments, did a remarkable Crystal Grid of the Room, and brought his magical energy to the room. Some people were lucky enough to get some impromptu Psychic Readings from Joseph after the Workshop.

The energy in the room was absolutely magnificent. With Candles light in front of the Yoga mats arranged in a Circle (Chakra/Wheel). Our workshop worked its way through the Granthis (Knots), highlighting the power chakras: The Root, The Heart, and the Third Eye. With Yoga Asana work, Chanting, Meditation and even a Stomping where we transformed our bodies into drums to awaken the Kundalini at our Muladhara Chakra (Root Chakra). The reality is, our subtle body is so deeply connected to our development of our Yoga Asana Practice. The Subtle body connection illuminates a deeper understanding of our emotional, mental and spiritual connection to our physical bodies. We are limitless, and once we experience this reality in our body, we can soar.

While we had two amazing live musicians who were eager to play, they had prior gigs so were unable to play. Since we had promised Live Music, I played guitar with an original take on a chant "Om Namo Narayana", Narayana being a common name for Vishnu, the 8th avatar of Krishna, who is the Lord of the Heart Chakra. The chant led people into a candle lit Savasana.

It was a magical evening, and it was so lovely to be in the room with the Yantra for the Heart Chakra painted on the wall of the amazing Om Factory. Thank you to all who participated, sharing in the collective consciousness of the room, thank you to Joseph for sharing the incredible energy. For those of you who signed up and missed the magical energy, there will be more to come!!! ~ Om Shanti

Heart Chakra fun for Valentine's Day

Bamboomoves had our Heart Chakra Workshop this Valentine's Day weekend. The Heart Chakra (Anahata) which translates to become unstuck, is one of the most powerful of all chakras. This governs our energies of love, compassion and forgiveness. We must let go in order to restore balance to this energy vortex, and then energy can flow freely from the lower chakras to the upper chakras. With the amazing Sitar playing of Giann, we went through meditation, chants, and yoga asana to open, balance, and heal the heart chakra. Many participants experienced the power of this chakra with visions, warmth, and an increase of love in their hearts. Our back bending practice becomes stronger, our ability to smile becomes more frequent, and our love shines when this chakra is harmonized. To witness the look in their faces before and after was enough to decipher that the workshop was incredible! Special thank you to Gian for the amazing music! Thank you to everyone who participated. Thank you Denise for capturing some lovely photographs.

Heart Chakra Workshop

Thank you to all the participants who came to our Heart Chakra workshop at Bamboomoves. For those of you who signed up & paid but couldn't come out, we will see you at the next workshop. The Heart Chakra (anahata) allows love and compassion to flow freely. Anahata translates to unstuck. When we work on balancing this chakra we are able to forgive, let go, and love. Last Saturday, many of the lovely folks at Bamboo joined me in an evening of healing and exploration. We did pranayama (breath work), dhyana (meditation), asana (yoga poses) all related to the heart chakra. With Live Music from the brilliant sounds of a fantastic Sitar Player, Gian, we had a lovely night. We concluded our evening with Vegan Chocolate Cake called "Death By Chocolate" (deliciousness), green tea, and gorgeous red roses. Tears were shed, stories of forgiveness & healing was shared, some participants shared how yoga has inspired their lives, and joyful smiles. The exploration of the subtle body is such a beautiful thing, as it can deepen the yoga practice. The heart chakra is also a powerful chakra to explore. We are all made of love, and made to give and receive love. Forgiveness is a fundamental reality for us to work towards to experience true bliss, and Santosha (happiness/contentment), which is one of the niyamas of Patanjali. Thank you all for sharing in such a beautiful chakra workshop. Special thanks to Gian for playing lovely Sitar music for us, and Denise for taking such nice photos. Hope to see you all at the next workshop. If you would like to attend the next workshop, be prepared as we will explore the Throat Chakra (Vishudda) which governs how we express ourselves and our gift of communication. Live Music, Yoga, Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake and something very new and exciting! My love to you all!

Root Chakra Workshop @ Bamboomoves

Every month at Bamboomoves, I have the honor of guiding people towards deeper understanding of the subtle body and the chakra system. Our chakras expand our yoga practice and bring us closer to enlightenment. The other night a wonderful group of gorgeous ladies gathered together and explored the Root Chakra with me at Bamboomoves. The energy of the evening was phenomenal! We were delighted to have the brilliant Tabla playing of Tripp Dudley. The drums is the instrument related to the root chakra, and the rythms that Tripp played echoed vibrations in every person. We did asana (yoga poses), pranayama (breathing exercises), dhyana (meditation) and chanting. There was discussion and explanation about the chakra & chakra system. The turn out of people for the workshop was wonderful. Our circular, (chakra like) positioning of our mats keeps getting bigger and bigger, and based on the feedback from the participants our monthly workshops will continue to grow. Every person had a special experience that some of them chose to share such as visions, warmth, liberation, acceptance and more. Many of the ladies felt a collective energy of woman power. The root chakra is related to grounding to the earth, accepting support, finding focus & balance in life, and initiating the awakening serpent of kundalini rising. Special thanks to Carissa for sharing the glorious "oneness blessing" at the end of the workshop! We concluded our workshop and enjoyed delicious VEGAN RED VELVET CAKE (red being the related color to the root chakra), along with yummy vegan coconut ice cream that was brought by Michelle (thank you Michelle). Every person that came to the event contributed to the positive energy that we all left with, and I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to all the lovely participants! As always, working with you, deepens my practice.

Every month we will continue to explore each chakra, resonating at higher vibrations with live music, asana, meditation, breathing exercises and something yummy! If you are interested in participating call Bamboomoves BX to reserve a spot for you & your friends: 347 281 9700

Early registration is $35, the day of is $45 and if you sign up for the package (series of all the chakra workshops) you get one workshop free!

Chakra Pants - Chakra Workshop

One of my favorite pairs of yoga pants are from "Bali Dog". They are hand painted in Brazil, and people literally stop me everywhere to ask me where I got them. I love them!!! They are cotton and artistic. The pants that I have been sporting lately are the Chakra Pants, that have the chakra symbols hand painted on the sides of each pant leg. Today after a private session in Manhattan, my client snapped a picture for you all to enjoy.

This Saturday March 27 at 6pm, is the Root Chakra workshop. We will explore the Root Chakra, find balance, focus, structure, and experience healing. We will also have the bonus of LIVE MUSIC!!! YEA!!!! A brilliant Tabla player has agreed to come to Bamboomoves and play for our workshop, before a gig that he will have to run to afterwards. Drums are the instrument that relates to the Root Chakra. We will also feast on some Yummy Vegan Red Velvet Cake (red is the color related to the Root Chakra). Come and join us at Bamboomoves, BX, and explore the subtle body which will enhance your yoga practice. ~Peace & Hugs, Ambria

Valentines Heart Chakra Workshop at Bamboomoves

Last night a gorgeous group of ladies signed up for a special Valentines Heart Chakra Workshop at Bamboomoves. The heart chakra is the energy point at our heart center that governs the energies of love and compassion. This chakra creates balance between all the chakras, and is a vital component in restoring the mind, body and spirit to harmony. From my studies of Ayurveda, Shiatsu and Yoga, I understand how the subtle body is key to both physical and emotional healing.

With our yoga mats arranged in a chakra (wheel formation), together we found love. We went through a night of heart opening pranayama (breath work), asana (poses) dhyana (meditation) chanting (bhakti/yoga of devotion). We dove deep into our hearts, and exposed ourselves to love that brought out emotions that some of us didn't know were there. We cried, laughed, chanted, and broke a sweat while we flowed through a heart opening vinyasa (yoga flow). One of the best ways to open/heal the heart chakra is through forgiveness which is not always easy to do. When I led the ladies in a Kundalini Heart Opening exercise which I like to call a "Yoga Hugs" where we did a breath inspired chest fly like movement with our arms outstretched, I was reminded of how when I was a little girl I did something similar with my mommy. My beloved mommy who passed away six years ago used to ask me "how much do you love me?" and I would respond "I love you this much" with my arms stretched out. So just like I used to do as a child, I had this amazing group of ladies do the same movement offering this "Yoga Hug" to someone they love, and then to someone that may have caused them grief. Some ladies admitted that offering that second round of "Yoga Hugs" to the person who caused them grief inspired some unexpected teeth gritting. When we offer love to someone who may have caused frustration in our lives we liberate ourselves from the negative strongholds and experience healing and connection with Divine. Forgiveness is Love. We progressed our wonderful evening into an emotional "Oneness Blessing" by the lovely Carissa. With open hearts and the energy of love in the air we feasted on the most yummy, delicious Vegan Chocolate Cake called "Death by Chocolate",and a variety of Organic Chocolate Candies with some Green Tea.

All in all the Valentine's Heart Chakra Workshop was a tremendous success and we are hoping to have a Chakra Workshop each month due to the demand. Thanks ladies for making the night an amazing experience of LOVE. ~ Peace & Hugs, Ambria