john friend – Yoga with Katrina Ariel

Becoming A Certified Anusara® Yoga Teacher: A Personal Journey

August 19, 2011Katrina Ariel16 Comments

LoveBalance — Contemplating the journey...

I have described getting certified as an Anusara yoga instructor being like doing a Doctorate in yoga. However, it’s probably more accurately akin to entering into a Mastery Program.

There are many honourable and rich paths to the heart of yoga; truly, there are limtless ways to practice, study and teach yoga, so long as intent is pure and skill is cultivated.

I chose Anusara yoga because it completely aligns with my own truth and has helped me inspire others to live authentically, be happy, and feel good.

It is with bubbling excitement and humble gratitude that I can now call myself a certified Anusara yoga instructor. It has been a journey of many years and incredible growth, and so I offer you this story…

My First Taste Of Anusara Yoga: Finding My Teacher

My first Anusara yoga class was a weekend workshop with the founder, John Friend. I had no idea what the Universal Principles of Alignment™ were, or what order the 3 A’s are arranged in, because I didn’t know the concepts existed. I had been teaching for all of 6 months and a friend told me, from obvious joy and heart, that I absolutely had to try it.

John-Friend-teaching — John Friend teaching. Courtesy of Anusara.

So I drove 5 hours down to Seattle to get my first hit of Anusara yoga from the source. I had no idea what to expect, but I went and put my mat front and center.

That weekend I found my way; that elusive focus of what I wanted to do with my life and how I wanted to live.

John Friend spoke to my heart, in that first class and in so many others I have had the privilege of attending. He used many of the same concepts and poetic threads that had already

Shift Into Beauty: Wisdom From John Friend

February 17, 2010Katrina Ariel

“All actions are directed by one’s viewpoint.” – John Friend

This quote is in my notes from a training with my teacher, John Friend; the founder of Anusara® yoga. There is such wisdom to this. The way you perceive what you experience creates your understanding of it, as well as your feelings and actions.

One of the things that can become challenging about deepening your ability to be sensitive and open is that you can get rocked out of your center by the apparent horrors of the world. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The Anusara Yoga Invocation: A Story

December 7, 2009Katrina Ariel

My first experience with the Anusara Invocation mantra was a bit of a surprise, actually…

I’m referring to the Opening Invocation used by Anusara yogis all over the world. It’s a beautiful song that brings you into the energy of light and truth, and it has become my companion over the years.

But the first time I heard it I had no idea it was coming.

I’d just started teaching yoga at the request of my yoga teacher, who was moving away and asked me to take over her classes. I guess I’d been teaching for 6 months or so when I went to my first Anusara® yoga gathering.

Walk The Talk With John Friend

November 14, 2009Katrina Ariel2 Comments

I just came across this excellent video with John Friend, founder of Anusara® yoga. It’s an interview with Waylon Lewis from Elephant Journal in Boulder this past May. The video is fun and really light hearted, yet they touch on a lot of very important, serious topics while having a good time.

Watch The Video To Hear John Speak About:

What Grace actually is
How we can own our karma
Going green
Why community is so key
What is ‘real’ yoga
Read More “Walk The Talk With John Friend”

Spiritual Practice In The Most Bizarre Places

November 5, 2009Katrina Ariel4 Comments

Picture this: It’s Halloween night in New Orleans. Downtown is throbbing with music, laughter, costumes and a penetrating ‘ting’ of one elf looking creature walking along as if in meditation.

Yep, that would be me. Complete with forest green cloak and a bit of petrified wood in my hair. This is the story of my fantastically weird night out in the wilds of the French Quarter, and how I brought light into even the darkest places.

Deeper Into The Mystery: Anusara Yoga With John Friend

November 4, 2009Katrina Ariel

The magical light of Santa Fe was a constant companion as I went on retreat with Anusara® yoga founder, John Friend. The light from the sun, the sparkling blue sky, the radiant trees, the clear starry night; it was a truly illuminated experience.

Technically the event I attended was an Advanced Therapeutics training and Weekend Workshop. But I’ll call it a retreat because I stayed on campus, and wow did it feel like a complete shift from everyday life.

The Twilight Of The Year: A Talk With Anusara Yoga’s John Friend

November 1, 2009Katrina Ariel4 Comments

Let me paint you a picture.

It’s Halloween in New Orleans. Eminem, Kiss, and Lenny Kravitz are headlining Voodoo Fest. There are more parties in the city this weekend than you could possibly count. It’s famed the most haunted city in America, and notorious for wildness and playing the edge of having a good time. Even the cemeteries, ornate and prominent, seem to communicate that, yes, this is a place where anything is possible and the dead still hold presence here.

Into this scene steps John Friend, founder of Anusara® yoga and an all around totally profound, down to earth, highly educated good guy with a great sense of humor and storytelling ability. He has come to speak to a room of the curious about the magic and tradition of this time of year. Here is a summary of his talk…