French philosopher Simone Weil defined prayer as “absolutely unmixed attention.” Such attention allows for multiple foci of awareness, as practiced during pranayama. It is somatically empowering to know how to hold space for more than one thing occurring simultaneously. This is useful practice for situations that are alarming. One goal is to stay inside of […]
Dages Juvelier Keates
Raised in Jackson Hole, WY, Dages Juvelier Keates began formal yoga studies in 2002, when she earned accreditations in both the Bihar and Kundalini lineages. Her syncretic teaching style has been profoundly affected and enriched by immersion in studies with her mentor Nevine Michaan, founder of Katonah Yoga. Today, Dages is recognized as a senior teacher within the Katonah Community, distinguished for her insight, her ability to push through the boundaries created by patriarchal thinking, and her empowerment of students with precision, empathy and strength. She currently residers in Paris and has recently released "Radical Acts of Embodiment: Teaching and Practices of Katonah Yoga."
http://www.dagesjuvelierkeates.com
Listening to the Orchestra of Now
Breath practice is a listening practice. We live in a visual culture, but we are part of a sonic community. You can close your eyes, but never your ears: hearing is just too precious for survival. There are animals who live and listen deep in the sea or underground with no need for eyes. Observe […]
Why Practice? My Manifesto
The political is personal. The personal is practical. The practical is related to embodied daily life: it is reflected in how you carry out your life and acts. Many of us go about our lives in a disembodied/dissociated way, feeling that our bodies are somehow split from our minds. We exist at different locations on […]
Why I Don’t Tell Students To Smile
When giving adjustments, I don’t tell people to smile. Why would I ask someone to perform in a yoga class? My goal in giving an adjustment is to support a student in going where they don’t usually go and helping them draw insight from a new experience. I don’t request an external facial expression in […]
Reading Bodies
Everyone has an angle. Each of us are only able to teach from our own subjectivity. While you may see common threads in student’s weaves or similar foibles in their forms, try not to universalize. You too are always only seeing things from your point of view. One of the reasons we practice in a […]
RADICAL ACTS OF EMBODIMENT
Self care is deeply altruistic. When I am able to attend to my life with focus and attention, I am less likely to go seek out what I might need in others. More specifically, when a person is feeling good and grounded in themselves, a seemingly natural empathy and curiosity about others tends to present […]
BASIC BREATHWORK: RECIPES FOR JOY
Many of us feel overwhelmed in our busy lives. We yearn for quiet, for stillness and for the space to reflect. Breathing practices can be very practical and very sneaky, as they can be done anywhere and for any amount of time. We train in class and then, with practice, many techniques can become so […]
What are we doing when we are “doing yoga?”
For me, a yoga practice is technical, durational and alchemical. The myriad experiences and distractions of daily life can leave me feeling scattered and disorganized. I turn towards structural habits to protect and potentiate myself. Many seek ways to define or describe yoga. I understand yoga to be a very broad category for many types […]