Morningside Yoga and Fitness

Our Technical Methods

We should have enough imagination to do effective practice without any external devices. Bare feet on a bare wood floor with an atmosphere of silence will always be the standard for a pure, unencumbered yoga experience. However, the modern Hatha Yogi has every reason to avail his or herself of any kind of equipment or technology which promotes mastery of body mechanics. With that in mind, on occasion we will employ the familiar props to help an individual achieve a new position. We also employ free weights, ankle weights, pull up bar, and other devices to keep the training interesting and effective. Whether doing basic push-ups with ujjai pranayama, or loading up an asana with hand weights, it's all Hatha-yoga to us.

We offer a repertoire of traditional and modern movement sequences which will be familiar to many. We encourage students to attempt to master these sequences as they would a kata from Karate:

Sun Salute
Jump Back Sun Salute A and B
Moon Salute (Developed at Kripalu Center)
Earth Salute (Developed by M. Smith of Morningside Yoga)
The Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation
Slow Kata from Washin-Ryu Karate (Tai Chi- like movement sequence)

We offer a broad base of calisthenic movements absorbed from dance, karate, and other sources. These movements are employed as foundational to the construction of precise asana. They can also be seen as ends in themselves for their inherent value, and are especially important in terms of their adaptability for populations (e.g., seniors) who can not necessarily perform full- blooded asanas with success. We see strength and flexibility as two sides of the same coin and train them as intimate aspects of the same exercise. Our paradigm is to maximize development of muscle and tendenous fibers throughout the range- of- motion around a given joint.

We offer a comprehensive repertoire of asanas and always seek new ways to link them in meaningful sequences. We will incorporate a new asana into the system only after it has been carefully analyzed. We offer the Pattabbhi Jois vinyasa method (Astanga)once per week in Syracuse, NY. All other classes approach asana from the perspective of the Morningside style of Hatha-yoga.

We offer several pranayamas which are taught as stand- alone exercises or incorporated into asanas or movement sequences. We are very influenced by the Kundalini approach to pranayama with its emphasis on vigorous movements. Our Wednesday morning class is one- half hour of Kundalini and one- half hour of meditation. We definitely include bandha (specialized muscular locks) where appropriate.

Our system of applied kinesiology is the result of a twenty-five year investigation into the relationship between breath and movement. We teach movement and asana according to the following seven principles; each one is a way to breathe in relation to the flexion and extensions of the joints:

Expansion
Contraction
Projection
Reverse Projection
Reverse Expansion
Compression
Expression

If you want to see what these are all about, you'll have to come take class!



	Our Technical Methods We should have enough imagination to do effective practice without any external devices. Bare feet on a bare wood floor with an atmosphere of silence will always be the standard for a pure, unencumbered yoga experience. However, the modern Hatha Yogi has every reason to avail his or herself of any kind of equipment or technology which promotes mastery of body mechanics. With that in mind, on occasion we will employ the familiar props to help an individual achieve a new position. We also employ free weights, ankle weights, pull up bar, and other devices to keep the training interesting and effective. Whether doing basic push-ups with ujjai pranayama, or loading up an asana with hand weights, it's all Hatha-yoga to us. We offer a repertoire of traditional and modern movement sequences which will be familiar to many. We encourage students to attempt to master these sequences as they would a kata from Karate: Sun Salute Jump Back Sun Salute A and B Moon Salute (Developed at Kripalu Center) Earth Salute (Developed by M. Smith of Morningside Yoga) The Five Tibetan Rites of Rejuvenation Slow Kata from Washin-Ryu Karate (Tai Chi- like movement sequence) We offer a broad base of calisthenic movements absorbed from dance, karate, and other sources. These movements are employed as foundational to the construction of precise asana. They can also be seen as ends in themselves for their inherent value, and are especially important in terms of their adaptability for populations (e.g., seniors) who can not necessarily perform full- blooded asanas with success. We see strength and flexibility as two sides of the same coin and train them as intimate aspects of the same exercise. Our paradigm is to maximize development of muscle and tendenous fibers throughout the range- of- motion around a given joint. We offer a comprehensive repertoire of asanas and always seek new ways to link them in meaningful sequences. We will incorporate a new asana into the system only after it has been carefully analyzed. We offer the Pattabbhi Jois vinyasa method (Astanga)once per week in Syracuse, NY. All other classes approach asana from the perspective of the Morningside style of Hatha-yoga. We offer several pranayamas which are taught as stand- alone exercises or incorporated into asanas or movement sequences. We are very influenced by the Kundalini approach to pranayama with its emphasis on vigorous movements. Our Wednesday morning class is one- half hour of Kundalini and one- half hour of meditation. We definitely include bandha (specialized muscular locks) where appropriate. Our system of applied kinesiology is the result of a twenty-five year investigation into the relationship between breath and movement. We teach movement and asana according to the following seven principles; each one is a way to breathe in relation to the flexion and extensions of the joints: Expansion Contraction Projection Reverse Projection Reverse Expansion Compression Expression If you want to see what these are all about, you'll have to come take class!