Summer 2010 Newsletter

Dear Sangha,

Katchie and Joshua’s wedding

Saturday, July 10th, 2010, was a very auspicious day. Not only was it my late mother’s birthday, but this year Joshua, my partner of six years, and I got married.

To speak truthfully, I had my doubts about marriage. Julia Butterfly, who is known among her friends as the “B.S. detector”, recognized my hesitation and got me to focus on why I actually wanted to get married.

What came out of our discussion was a unique, unrehearsed and beautiful ceremony of two people who love each other and want to be in a committed relationship.

It was unexpectedly powerful, especially once Julia opened with a blessing that made us all aware of just how much Joshua had to sacrifice, since he would have rather eloped and gotten married on the sly. And there we were, in the midst of our community. To make it short – she got Joshua to cry. And as he himself remarked, this was perhaps one out of two or three times (the last time being when he was a child) that he cried in public. Needless to say, that got everyone else going too!

It was a short ceremony, with my dear friend angel Kyodo williams presiding as the wedding officiant. In addition, for me, the most powerful aspects were the blessings we received from my teacher Jack Kornfield, Julia’s opening and John Robbins’ wise words.

Milena Moser, my only Swiss family member present, since we are going to celebrate again in Switzerland, summed it up beautifully in her recent article in the Schweizer Familie. “Joshua embodies all of the virtues associated with Switzerland: he is loyal, dependable and real. He is Katchie’s piece of home away from home.”

Check out some wedding pictures here.

In other news, John Robbins has recently written one of the most viewed articles on the Huffington Post. It’s a worth-while read! Check it out: huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins

Geneva Yoga Conference
September 10 – 12 Soluna Paquis Geneve, CH

Yoga, Music & Inspired Action in Switzerland.
During this weekend you will sweat, meditate, dance, sing, inspire and be inspired with positive visions for our planet.
You will practice with unique and powerful teachers experienced in Jivamukti, Anusara, Iyengar, Hatha and AcroYoga.
Not just skilled teachers, but seasoned and constantly evolving practitioners who have cultivated the ability to transform their yoga practice into an effective tool for creating positive change.

Skill In Action
October 9 &10
Jivamukti Yoga Center
NY, NY
I am super excited to be teaching a workshop back at Jivamukti in NYC. This is where I really got my start so many years ago, Co-teaching with with Jules Febre. More details will be posted on my website as they become available.

Anusara yoga Immersion in the Fall
The Anusara Yoga Immersion program is a 100 hour training designed for the enthusiastic student who wishes to delve into the practice of Anusara Yoga in a playful and expansive way.
It also meets the pre-requisites of Anusara Yoga certification. In this comprehensive training, students will study every aspect of Anusara Yoga in detail. This includes: all asanas from the Level 1 and 2 syllabi, yoga philosophy, all components of the bio-mechanics and the opportunity to be with great company and in the circle of friendship.
Saturdays and Sundays 1 – 7pm
Dates:
Weekend 1: Oct 2 – 3
Weekend 2: Oct 30 – 31
Weekend 3: Dec 11 – 12
Weekend 4: Jan 8 – 9
Weekend 5: Feb 5 – 6
Weekend 6: Feb 26 – 27
Weekend 7: April 2 – 3
Weekend 8: May 7 – 8
The eight-weekend program will be held in Berkeley & San Francisco, CA at YogaKula

Upcoming workshops in Europe
Nov 8 – 13 Ansuara Immersion Level 1 w/ Michael Thurnherr Airyoga, Zurich CH
Montag, 8. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Diienstag, 9. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Miittwoch, 10. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Donnerstag, 11. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Freiitag, 12. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Samstag, 13. November 2010: 14:15 biis 17:45 Uhr
Nov 15 – 20 Ansuara Immersion Level 3 w/ Michael Thurnherr Airyoga, Zurich CH
Montag, 15. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Diienstag, 16. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Miittwoch, 17. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Donnerstag, 18. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Freiitag, 19. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Samstag, 20. November 2010: 14:15 biis 17:45 Uhr

Spring 2010 Newsletter

Dearest Sangha,

On Earth Day, I attended an event where my best friend John Robbins and his son Ocean gave an inspiring talk. Having so many activists as friends, I’m always clued into the newest state of bad things happening everywhere. It is a blessing to have these friends and to be involved in their work, but, at times, it is also very difficult to be aware. Often, I’d rather put my head in the sand and pretend that I don’t know – like many others.

Still, I have hope. There are so many people around the globe that are working on the different facets of the jewels resting on what is called, “Indra’s Net”. The Net represents our ecosystem and universal consciousness. At each junction there is a jewel, which stands for the individual. Some of these precious jewels work on justice, others raise a conscientious child, or clean up some garbage at the beach.

At this point I personally believe that we are close to mobilizing a critical mass. The consciousness and perception of Earth as a sacred place is growing. When this critical mass is reached, we will witness a shift of epic proportions! That truly gives me inspiration and makes me smile. In the meantime, we get to practice the healing we crave on a large scale, on ourselves. For example, we can do this through our asana practice. It makes a difference whether we come to our mats and to our lives in a competitive or dominating manner versus simply remembering to embody our inherent wisdom in all that we do.

What really excites me is that we get to do this together, in partnership! As we are all connected by the threads of Indra’s Net, the more we operate under a model of partnership, reflecting the world in which we wish to live upon each other, the quicker we will see this shift materialize.

In April I completed an Anusara teacher training at Yoga Kula. One young man said that I pulled him back from the brink of giving up during the training by following him down the hallway where he was retreating. Apparently I said to him just one phrase, but that made all the difference to him and helped him to continue in the program.

I said: “My dear, unless you are dying, you should not separate from the pack. When you are suffering you need the support of your community more than ever.”

Let us not separate from the pack and do what we can to help each other to create a better world!

Skill In Action
July 25th 2-5pm $35
Asha Yoga Sacramento, CA
The goal of Yoga is to be skillful in all our thoughts and deeds. Enjoy a unique Anusara workshop with internationally recognized Anusara Yoga teacher Katchie Ananda. Tapas, Svadhyaya and Ishvara Pranidhana – Learn to change what can be changed, accept what can’t be changed and the wisdom to know the difference.

Chili and Chocolate
July 31 DETAILS TBD
YOGA KULA SAN FRANCISCO, CA
A Yoga and Writing Workshop with International bestselling author and part time San Franciscan Milena Moser .

Anusara yoga Immersion in the Fall
The Anusara Yoga Immersion program is a 100 hour training designed for the enthusiastic student who wishes to delve into the practice of Anusara Yoga in a playful and expansive way.
It also meets the pre-requisites of Anusara Yoga certification. In this comprehensive training, students will study every aspect of Anusara Yoga in detail. This includes: all asanas from the Level 1 and 2 syllabi, yoga philosophy, all components of the bio-mechanics and the opportunity to be with great company and in the circle of friendship.

Saturdays and Sundays 1 – 7pm

Dates:
Weekend 1: Oct 2 – 3
Weekend 2: Oct 30 – 31
Weekend 3: Dec 11 – 12
Weekend 4: Jan 8 – 9
Weekend 5: Feb 5 – 6
Weekend 6: Feb 26 – 27
Weekend 7: April 2 – 3
Weekend 8: May 8 – 9

The eight-weekend program will be held in Berkeley, CA at YogaKula

The Sacred Thread of Yoga
Oct 15 – 17 Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
A week-long yoga festival and a book release all at once. The two-part festival is composed of a 5 day Iyengar Intensive (Mon-Friday morning), and a 3-day Open Festival (Friday aft-Sunday), with all different styles of yoga: Anusara, Astanga, Flow, Iyengar, Jivamukti, and much more. Teachers will be arriving from around the country and from across the world – so this is a great opportunity to study with wonderful teachers including me.There will also be a crafts and food bazaar set up with all kinds of goodies. Check it out. This is shaping up to be a really cool event.

Here are my class times:
Friday, Oct, 15th: 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Saturday, Oct, 16th: 8:30 am to 10:00 am
Saturday, Oct, 16th: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Sunday, Oct, 17th: 11:00 am to 12:30 pm

Upcoming workshops in Europe
Nov 8 – 13 Ansuara Immersion Level 1 w/ Michael Thurnherr Airyoga, Zurich CH
Montag, 8. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Diienstag, 9. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Miittwoch, 10. November März 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Donnerstag, 11. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Freiitag, 12. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Samstag, 13. November 2010: 14:15 biis 17:45 Uhr
Nov 15 – 20 Ansuara Immersion Level 3 w/ Michael Thurnherr Airyoga, Zurich CH
Montag, 15. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Diienstag, 16. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Miittwoch, 17. November März 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Donnerstag, 18. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Freiitag, 19. November 2010: 9:15 biis 11:45 Uhr und 13:30 biis 17:30 Uhr
Samstag, 20. November 2010: 14:15 biis 17:45 Uhr