SUGGESTIONS
(and gentle
understandings) FOR STUDENTS
1. We're
pretty easy-going, but we do request that you arrive 10 minutes early,
take
off your shoes when entering the
studio, turn off the ringer on
your phone, and avoid wearing strong perfumes or deodorants,
begin a giant purification process with 100% commitment, and become
aware of each present moment now and forever in infinite detail.
2. When you enter the practice space, settle
in and possibly sit in stillness.
3. Wear
exercise clothing. Form-fitting shirts are best so that during
forward bends or inversions your top won't fall around your face. We
practice barefoot (in general--that is--you can wear socks if you
like).
4. Bring
your yoga mat. If you forget or
don't have
one, you can rent
one for a dollar. If you ride a bike or walk and therefore you'd like
to
store a mat at Rubber Soul, we have a shelf for that (under the rental
mats). (Note: Having you own mat is most hygenic and
therefore recommended. What kind to get? Harmony
Rubber Mat .)
5. When returning the blankets, stack them neatly--the fringe side to
the wall. This
is very important. Otherwise
the wall becomes unstable. If you
unfold the blanket, here's the folding order: First long, then short,
then short again. Seriously!
HOW TO GET THERE
Rubber
Soul Yoga Revolution is located in the Leathers Building at 675
Pulaski Street (in Athens, Georgia). Pulaski runs alongside Phoenix
Health Foods, the 40 Watt Club, Snow Tire, and Athens Blueprint. Then
it crosses Prince Avenue and ducks into a neighborhood. The Leathers
Building is about three blocks into this neighborhood, just before the
railroad tracks. We are about halfway down the building, in suite
number 1200. Come in through the back door (near the railroad tracks).
here's a MAP.
The building looks
like this:
Walk
around the right side of the building, along the railroad tracks.
As a rule, we place a wooden sign on the railing right in front of our
door that says, "YOGA."
The
interior of Rubber Soul looks like:
We
lock
the doors once class begins so plan to come early.
WAIVER
All
students must sign a waiver. We have these at the desk. If you are
under 18, you need to have a guardian sign it. If your guardian isn't
coming to the first class, then print the waiver
out and bring it along.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I'm new to yoga;
what level class should I take?
Try
any
of the classes listed as "Yoga." You are welcome to join in. The first
few classes may feel a bit awkward, but soon you'll have a good sense
of how it is done. Why not give it a try and see how you like it? At
any time you can modify poses or rest. Also the Gentle Yoga class is an
excellent choice.
How
does the library work?
Our
library is entirely straight-forward. You deposit $20 (there is a cute
little envelope to put it in) and check out one book at a time. You can
keep it for 30 days. If it is still not back in 90 days, you lose your
deposit. Otherwise, you may have your deposit back whenever you are
ready to stop reading, move towns, or pay your rent. We keep the
check-out cards in a rather odd glass case with a strange fabric animal
housed at the base.
Is Yoga a religion?
Not
exactly--you can practice it alongside your religion (or atheism)
without conflict. You don't need to "believe in" anything. And yet
there are certain concepts and practices in yoga that are...
spiritual.... with metaphysical implications... Yoga Journal has an
interesting article
on this topic.
Does Yoga have
ethical imperatives?
Um...
basically, yes. The first and most important of these is Ahimsa or
non-violence. For thoughts on this see the non-violence
guide.
Also there is Satya, which means seeking and then speaking truth,
Asteya, which means interrogating one's behavior to be sure that one
isn't unconsciously stealing from others (maybe beings who live in the
future in a world filled with the consequences of our present
behaviors), Brahmcharya, which means being responsible in sexual
relations, and Aparigraha, which involves shifting from a materialist
focus to values based on community and connection.
How is Rubber Soul 100% carbon-neutral?
Our
power
usage is provided by wind sources, some of which are in India.
Therefore, when you notice the air conditioner blowing, that is breeze
coming from the birthplace of yoga, not a coal-burning power plant. You
can offset your
personal carbon footprint
too.
What music do you
recommend for deep
relaxation?
Snatam
Kaur's music is absolutely soothing. The recording called Prem is
really wonderful.
Is it safe to use community mats?
It would be wiser to use your own yoga mat.
I
think I'm ready to get a mat... what sort of mat ought I to buy?
I'm
most in
favor of the Jade/Harmony
Rubber Mat
because the
grip is excellent, the materials
are natural, and the price isn't too steep. This is the kind we have at the studio. I myself (this is
Cal talking here) use the Manduka
BlackMat which
is
quite sturdy and ought to
last *forever* but it is really heavy so if you are on a bike or
walking I wouldn't buy that one.
| INSTRUCTORS: All instructors
at Rubber Soul are volunteers. Therefore thank them after class with a
formal bow--or perhaps--if you are feeling especially expansive--give
them a giant hug.
Cal Clements
says it is normal to do yoga at least once a day--twice a day to
begin a revolution. Cal is certified in Ashtanga Yoga
from
Downward Dog in Toronto. He
has four university
degrees, including a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and a Masters of
Library Science. Cal is a raw foodist, joyful vegan, and adoptive father of Oscarina,
who is very cute. As owner and manager of
Rubber Soul, he has been
teaching yoga most days of the week for the last 6 years. He says, "Make
this your home page and help save the ocean's people:
http://www.care2.com/click-to-donate/oceans/ ."
While enduring a 10-day Vipassana retreat during
the summer of 2008, Jill Noble
realized the importance of the mind-body connection. As a
world-traveling Religious Studies major and self-help junkie, the
ego-crushing inablility to "sit" comfortably motivated her to
incorporate yoga into her less-than-active lifestyle. Jill is thrilled
to be back in Athens and attending Rubber Soul Adventure Club. She is
dedicated to overcome mental and physical ailments through yoga
practice -- centering on patience, discipline, and letting go of the
desire for perfection and control. She hopes to share her joy,
excitement, and discomfort as a first-time yoga instructor with new
students and seasoned yogis alike, and to always keep in mind the
Winston Churchill quote that "Success is the ability to go from one
failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
John Rogers is a yoga
junkie. When Sivananda yoga moved
into Athens like a summertime circus, he bought his ticket and found
himself a certified teacher of the Sivananda tradition, with absolutely
no inkling to teach whatsoever. Yoga was his personal journey
and
besides, he wasn't ready to teach, for crying out loud. But
the
universe had other plans for John. He found himself teaching a few
classes a week at Rubber Soul. Whilst teaching his first ever
class, John felt the welling up of an overwhelming joy and
exuberance. This feeling exponentially increased with every
pose
until he became a being of pure light. When Adventure Club
came
along the following winter, John's heart skipped a beat, and adventure
he did, among other things. He fearlessly took to the
unicycle,
founding the infamous, though short-lived, Palani Brothers Unicycle
Gang. He learned how to cook gypsy rice and beans to beat the
band. And
his capacity for
love and compassion knows no bounds. And
his yoga is uplifting. Skip
work today, and go to John's class. You'll be recognized as an
incredible individual, lead through a series of ever-changing poses,
and guided safely and compassionately, oh, and playfully, through the
yoga that John finds so much joy in.
Kate
Morrissey has been
practicing yoga and meditation since 2000. She began with a home
practice in Wisconsin before practicing Vajra yoga at Shambhala
Mountain Center, a residential meditation center near Ft. Collins,
Colorado. Vajra yoga, founded by Jill Satterfield in New York, combines
Buddhist mindfulness, meditation, and visualization practices with
Hatha yoga. Kate went on to study with Bikram yoga teachers in
Pennsylvania at Yoga in State College, working her way through Yoga
Alliances's now defunct "independent track" for yoga teachers in 2004
before moving to Georgia and continuing her practice here in 2005. She
has been involved with the Rubber Soul Revolution since its inception
and a teacher since 2007. She received
certification from Atlanta's Peachtree Yoga specializing in a mixed
style of Iyengar and Vinyasa yoga in 2009. She has helped with a
Shivananda teacher training and Rubber Soul's Yoga Adventure Club, and
continues to find fresh delight in doing yoga and practicing with the
Zen group. She also is a licensed master of social work, and offers
mind-body counseling at Rubber Soul.
Lindsey Lush's yoga
history traces all the way back to being a six year old in ballet class
where she first developed a love for music, expression and movement.
She studied ballet, jazz, lyrical and modern dance through college when
she began moving towards a regular yoga practice. Even now her yoga
style resembles her dance experience with a vinyasa flow style. After
practicing independently at home and in classes at Rubber Soul for
several years, she joined the fall Adventure Club in 2010 and trained
under Mr. Magical and Eternal himself. In real life she is an
elementary school teacher who loves her "kids" and enjoys sharing with
them the love and freedom that yoga is teaching her. Whether she is in
school or at the studio, her favorite thing about teaching is the
learning experience that occurs for everyone.
Meg Schreiber has been
practicing yoga since 2008 when she moved to in Athens, GA. Meg was
enthralled by yoga from her very first class. Since then she has been
compelled to try a variety of yoga styles and teachers. After years of
taking classes (and teaching some too) she received her 200 RYT
in Hatha Yoga from The Shravana School of Yoga with Christina
Sell. Meg's teaching style is predominantly influenced by the
traditions of Anusara and Iyengar Yoga. In her classes you can expect
to receive detailed alignment instruction and personal feedback. Her
classes are often sequenced to focus on a particular muscle group or
set of postures (e.g. “hamstrings” or “backbends”). Meg's intention as
a teacher is to utilize the technology of asana (poses) and pranayama
(breath work) to help her students explore the beauty and complexity of
this embodied life.
Maya Angelou said she doesn’t trust any revolution where love
is
not allowed. Luckily for Maya, love is abundant at Rubber Soul Yoga
Revolution! Sarah
Whitaker was
impelled, compelled, and propelled to make her home in Athens, in large
part due to the community and warmth she felt as an out-of-town visitor
to Rubber Soul. She strives to make her classes joyful and accessible
in the hopes of cultivating even more of that spirit in the
world. Her relationship with yoga has been seasoned with the
wisdom of her many beloved teachers but especially Gérald
Disse
and Linda Munro in Paris and Cal, Lorrie, and Lal here in Athens. On
the mat, her yoga practice centers on the themes of lightheartedness
and mindfulness. Off the mat, her yoga practice centers on bringing a
yoga-mind to her Ph.D. program in Educational Psychology, collecting
hobbies, and volunteering at Daily Co-op. The newest yoga posture she
is trying to master is to smile widely when startled out of her skin by
loud noises--like the train whistle out back.
Vena Kim is
from Atlanta and has spent a significant amount of the last ten years
traveling around the world. She has practiced hatha yoga since her
university days in Scotland, but has been pursuing a deeper Ashtanga
practice for the last couple years, alongside the magic Rubber Soul.
She recently finished yoga teacher training where she fell in love with
yin yoga and hopes that you will find as much peace through it as she
does.
Whitney Horne began
practicing yoga after college in 2009 when her mentor and primary yoga
influence, DeeDee Gaines, encouraged her to attend a class she was
doing with Clarke County’s firefighters. She found that yoga was
more of a workout than she expected! However, gained an overwhelming
cleansing of the mind and a peaceful disposition afterward.
Consequently, she found herself falling in love with yoga and the
balance it provided with her mind and body. She is certified with
YogaFit, Inc. and is half way to getting to her 200-hr RYT with her
Level 1, Level 2, Anatomy & Alignment, and Kids yoga
certifications. Her hatha and vinyasa flowing style encourages proper
alignment and is for everybody and every body. She is new to teaching
but feels that Rubber Soul Yoga is the perfect place for her to grow as
an instructor. She graduated from UGA with a Bachelor’s in Health
Promotion and Behavior and is also a certified Personal Trainer. Off
the mat, she can be found reading, cooking, tending to her flower,
herb, and vegetable gardens, and taking care of her 4 dogs! She also is
active in weight training, trail running, and biking, as she trains for
upcoming races and future goals.
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