Sufi-Yoga

A poem from Hafiz...
When the Sun Conceived a Man

What could Hafiz utter about that day
When the Sun conceived a Man,
Gave birth to Itself
As Reality and Truth?

What justice could all the speech in creation
Ever say
About that resplendent morning
When the Eternal Handsome One
Let His face
Reappear by grace in form?

There is something I have seen
In the interior of Muhammad
That is the luminous root
Of all existence,
Independent of space and time’s
Novice dance
Across a single lute string
Of the Infinite.

What can even the love of Hafiz express
For the Ancient Sweet Man
Who forever begets compassion
And divine playfulness?

What can the vortex of my sublime wit,
Insight, and gratitude ever say
About the Father of the Perfect Ones,
When they, themselves,
Can turn you into God?

I carry gifts today
Fromthe kings of fish, beasts, birds,
And angels.

I carry gifts today
From rivers, seas, fields, stars,
And from every soul,
From every soul--
That will ever
Be!

Beloved
Let us know
What light first saw and said
When it discovered
You,

Then leaped and swooned
In such a wonderful laughter
That light became
This earthen floor
And sky.

O, Eternal One,
On this ever present holy day
Forget your divine reserve--

Throw wide the Tavern doors,
Give all your thirsty loyal rogues
A drink of your sacred vintage,
Free us from ourselves a while

With the blessed consuming knowledge
Of your Onmipresent Being.

We are you yearning brides, why hide it?
We are singed dervish moths.
Our souls know
Of that immaculate fire you keep
That belongs to us!

Even death now will have no power
To quiet your Name
From beating wildly in our hearts.

Wayfayer,
Now is no time to sit still

For nothing but a great clamor of joy
And music.

Can make any sense
Today!

I'm so grateful to be teaching Sufi Yoga. Thank you to all 16 women who attended. Here are some comments from my students in Sunday's class:

“Thank you for a beautiful event. We all had the most amazing time. I would love to host another session in my home.” --ZK

“Salam and thank you so much for the beautiful awakening experience. How amazing it would be to feel like that all day long.” --KK

“Elissa, thank you so much for the most beautiful spiritually nourishing Suif Yoga event. I still feel the positive effects.” -- GM

I'll be teaching Sufi Yoga monthly. I can also come to your home for a class or private.

What an exquisite event at Sufi Yoga yesterday. Special thanks to Zakia for bringing her family and friends.

Live the Light

Dear Beloved,

I’m excited to teach a live Sufi Yoga class on June 9 at 11 am. We will be exploring the connection between sound and light as we do breathwork, yoga and invoking Divine Qualities as a meditation. Then a fun potluck to follow.

Many spiritual teachers from different paths tell us that light and sound originate from the same cosmic vibration of the Divine All, God, Allah, Elohim, Om or whatever name you call that essential consciousness of the multiverse. It is in this unified principle we can discover how both light and sound can transform our state of consciousness into the experience of Oneness, which is the goal of both yoga and Sufism. Even if we’ve never chanted spiritual words, we know how certain pieces of music affect us deeply. When we evoke specific sounds that are not just nouns, verbs and adjectives but actually are specific vibrations to effect transformation, we can experience transcendance. I can attest to this as I have chanted many powerful chants in sanskrit, gurmukhi, hebrew and arabic since I was 14 years old.

But what of light? It is my experience that through spiritual practices of invoking sounds, Divine Light can descend into us. We can receive a downpouring of Divine Light at the speed of light to purify our hearts of past wounds and negativity. Then we can radiate the pure light of love and transmit it to others just with our presence.

I invite you to join me for Sufi Yoga on Sunday, June 9 and experience your light through sound.

From that experience, what possibilities open to share your light into the dark shadows of this world?

See you on the mat.
Salaam alaykum and Namaste.
Elissa Amina

Sunday, June 9 at 11 am
$20 in advance, $25 at door, $15 new students

Potluck to follow. Please share healthy food and drink. Address will be given upon booking.
Space limited to 15 participants. Book Here: Live the Light Sufi Live Yoga Class

Sufi Yoga Live Group Class, Sunday, June 9 at 11 am Come join me for a transcendant experience of your Divine Light through breath, yoga asana and invoking the Divine Qualities of Light. 1 & 1/2 hours. Then dialogue and potluck

Come join me for:
Live the Light Sufi Yoga Live Sunday, June 9 at 11 am
$20 in advance, $25 at door, $15 new students

Potluck to follow. Please share healthy food and drink. Address will be given upon booking.
Space limited to 15 participants.
Book Here: Live the Light Sufi Live Yoga Class
https://www.sufi-yoga.com/store/products/livethelightsufiyogaliveclass

Dear Beloved,

Presence. Everyone talks about it.
Question: But what is the highest version of being present?

Answer: Put your life into it. Make it your intention to put your life into the presence, so that you are not ducking in any way from being completely aware and receptive. You jump into presence, intending to create more life, so that is what you find. The gift in presence.

Through breath, yoga and zikr (chanting), we’ll be exploring the Divine Quality of The Ever Living in the next Sufi Yoga class.

See you in class.

Love,
Elissa Amina

Online Sufi Yoga Class $15
Wednesday, April 17
7:00 - 8:30 PM
Book Now

Sufi Yoga Online Group Class In the comfort of your own home, enjoy a explorative, relaxing, deepening awareness class to move from the outer to the inner resources of feeling sublime in your body, connecting

No Expectations
By Rumi

A spirit that lives in this world
and does not wear the shirt of love,
such an existence is a deep disgrace.

Be foolishly in love,
because love is all there is.

There is no way into presence
except through a love exchange.

If someone asks, But what is love?
answer, Dissolving the will.

True freedom comes to those
who have escaped the questions
of freewill and fate.

Love is an emperor.
The two worlds play across him.
He barely notices their tumbling game.

Love and lover live in eternity.
Other desires are substitutes
for that way of being.

How long do you lay embracing a co**se?
Love rather the soul, which cannot be held.

Anything born in spring dies in the fall,
but love is not seasonal.

With wine pressed from grapes,
expect a hangover.

But this love path has no expectations.
You are uneasy riding the body?
Dismount. Travel lighter.
Wings will be given.

Be clear like a mirror
reflecting nothing.
Be clean of pictures and the worry
that comes with images.

Gaze into what is not ashamed
or afraid of any truth.

Contain all human faces in your own
without any judgment of them.

Be pure emptiness.
What is inside that? you ask.
Silence is all I can say.

Lovers have some secrets
That they keep
مولانا جلال الدین محمد بلخ

https://partiful.com/e/tVVrwKWOJqBovNuA7nZ7
Going to this fabulous event tomorrow. Want to join me?

RSVP to FREEDOM: A Benefit Gathering | Partiful Welcome to the official Benefit Gathering for FREEDOM- a fundraiser for Palestine. On Sunday March 31st, join us in Santa Monica, Los Angeles to support the families of beloved Palestine through the power of music, art & culture. Doors open at 5 PM. Opening prayer with our Palestinian community and....

Dear Beloved,

Presence. Everyone talks about it.
Question: But what is the highest version of being present?

Answer: Put your life into it. Make it your intention to put your life into the presence, so that you are not ducking in any way from being completely aware and receptive. You jump into presence, intending to create more life, so that is what you find. The gift in presence.

Through breath, yoga and zikr, we’ll be exploring the Divine Quality of The Ever Living in the next Sufi Yoga class.

See you in class.

Love,
Elissa Amina

Online Sufi Yoga Class $15
Tuesday, March 5
7:00 - 8:30 PM

Sufi Yoga Online Group Class In the comfort of your own home, enjoy a explorative, relaxing, deepening awareness class to move from the outer to the inner resources of feeling sublime in your body, connecting

Attaining Peace in a Warring World
By Elissa Kerhulas
Sufi-Yoga Class January 9

Dear Beloved,

In the many cultures that live on this earth, there is one thing in common: the desire for and honoring of peace. For centuries, different cultures have demonstrated peace in how one greets another. In fact, there are several greetings of peace that you may already know, such as:
Shalom aleichem: A Jewish greeting that translates to "Peace to you."
Salaam alaikum: A Muslim phrase that translates to "Peace be unto you.”.
Peace be with you: A greeting used by Jesus in the Gospels.
Kiss on the cheek: A greeting used in the New Testament times to imply friendship and acceptance.
It’s amazing to me that these cultures, these Abrahamic religions represented above are now suffering in war. And it can seem so overwhelming. For no matter what side we believe is the perpetrator or the preyed upon, there is no real winner here. Because everyone suffers, especially the innocent. And the media, if you can trust the reporting as unbiased, only shows a small portion of what is actually happening.
I have my own opinions about this state of affairs, but more importantly, I look at the overriding trends. I believe we are witnessing the historical, timeless power strategy of: “divide and conquer.” Isn’t that strategy the original cause of war?
But what can we do about it? I see people unfriending others on Facebook by disagreeing with a comment that is different than their own. It’s as if we’ve lost the art of debate or even the curiosity to learn about how someone arrived at that perspective. In David Brooks’ How to Know a Person, he cites statistics that we are becoming a nation of people who growingly mistrust and don’t listen to each other. Scarier than the wars that rage, is the sense that we have many mini-civil wars going on within our families and communities and unprecedented mental illness. And certainly in 2024, we face an election that is not just about who we want as president, but a deep questioning of our collective identity of who are we as Americans.
So how to find peace in this warring world? How do we get out of divide and conquer?
I don’t have the big answers, but for me I believe it starts with what we can do here and now. It starts with self-love. Caring for ourselves is crucial if we are to ever allow love to flow to others. Then as we take good care of ourselves through holding to good habits in nutrition, exercise and attitude, we can then find more patience and compassion in dealing with the outside world.
In Sufi-Yoga finding peace within means to love ourselves in our bodies, minds and spirits, as we address all levels of our wellbeing. Using breath, we can actually change our state of mind and rest in our parasympathetic nervous system. Asanas, or yoga poses, invite us to open the energy blocks in our bodies, allowing circulation throughout while relieving annoying aches and pains. When you feel good, you do good. And by invoking Divine Qualities as our meditation, we can access deeper states of consciousness and proximity to the Divine Source.
From that sense of peace, we can take a further step similar to the Indian Buddhist and Hindu greeting of “Namaste,” which can connote "I bow to the divine in you.” Let us gather in class to experience each other as individual cells in the vast body of the Divine All. We are all one in the One. When we can realize our interdependence and connection, we have come to a higher truth to live by…in peace.
Please join me on Tuesday, January 9 for the next Sufi Yoga class where we can tap into the infinite well of peace that is available to us all.
Meanwhile, Happy New Year. May you find the joy, light and peace that is your true nature.
Peace be with you,
Elissa
Online Sufi Yoga Class $15
Tuesday, January 9
7:30 - 9 PM
Book Now
https://www.sufi-yoga.com/store/products/sufi-yoga-online-group-class

Attaining Peace in a Warring World
By Elissa Kerhulas

Dear Beloved,

In the many cultures that live on this earth, there is one thing in common: the desire for and honoring of peace. For centuries, different cultures have demonstrated peace in how one greets another. In fact, there are several greetings of peace that you may already know, such as:
Shalom aleichem: A Jewish greeting that translates to "Peace to you."
Salaam alaikum: A Muslim phrase that translates to "Peace be unto you.”.
Peace be with you: A greeting used by Jesus in the Gospels.
Kiss on the cheek: A greeting used in the New Testament times to imply friendship and acceptance.
It’s amazing to me that these cultures, these Abrahamic religions represented above are now suffering in war. And it can seem so overwhelming. For no matter what side we believe is the perpetrator or the preyed upon, there is no real winner here. Because everyone suffers, especially the innocent. And the media, if you can trust the reporting as unbiased, only shows a small portion of what is actually happening.
I have my own opinions about this state of affairs, but more importantly, I look at the overriding trends. I believe we are witnessing the historical, timeless power strategy of: “divide and conquer.” Isn’t that strategy the original cause of war?
But what can we do about it? I see people unfriending others on Facebook by disagreeing with a comment that is different than their own. It’s as if we’ve lost the art of debate or even the curiosity to learn about how someone arrived at that perspective. In David Brooks’ How to Know a Person, he cites statistics that we are becoming a nation of people who growingly mistrust and don’t listen to each other. Scarier than the wars that rage, is the sense that we have many mini-civil wars going on within our families and communities and unprecedented mental illness. And certainly in 2024, we face an election that is not just about who we want as president, but a deep questioning of our collective identity of who are we as Americans.
So how to find peace in this warring world? How do we get out of divide and conquer?
I don’t have the big answers, but for me I believe it starts with what we can do here and now. It starts with self-love. Caring for ourselves is crucial if we are to ever allow love to flow to others. Then as we take good care of ourselves through holding to good habits in nutrition, exercise and attitude, we can then find more patience and compassion in dealing with the outside world.
In Sufi-Yoga finding peace within means to love ourselves in our bodies, minds and spirits, as we address all levels of our wellbeing. Using breath, we can actually change our state of mind and rest in our parasympathetic nervous system. Asanas, or yoga poses, invite us to open the energy blocks in our bodies, allowing circulation throughout while relieving annoying aches and pains. When you feel good, you do good. And by invoking Divine Qualities as our meditation, we can access deeper states of consciousness and proximity to the Divine Source.
From that sense of peace, we can take a further step similar to the Indian Buddhist and Hindu greeting of “Namaste,” which can connote "I bow to the divine in you.” Let us gather in class to experience each other as individual cells in the vast body of the Divine All. We are all one in the One. When we can realize our interdependence and connection, we have come to a higher truth to live by…in peace.
Please join me on Tuesday, January 9 for the next Sufi Yoga class where we can tap into the infinite well of peace that is available to us all.
Meanwhile, Happy New Year. May you find the joy, light and peace that is your true nature.
Peace be with you,
Elissa
Online Sufi Yoga Class $15
Tuesday, January 9
7:30 - 9 PM
Book Now

Sufi Yoga Online Group Class In the comfort of your own home, enjoy a explorative, relaxing, deepening awareness class to move from the outer to the inner resources of feeling sublime in your body, connecting

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I was lucky to attend a party with...
thousands of dolphins.

Dear Beloveds,

At at time when the world seems more divided than ever, I like to hold on to the threads that bind us all. One powerful amazing thread is GRATITUDE. In every religion, in every spiritual teaching and practice, gratitude leads the way.

For our next Sufi Yoga class, we will stretch and breathe and express gratitude into every cell of our being and beyond to reach all of our brothers and sisters around the globe.

Meanwhile, enjoy the quotes below from Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and Yogic texts to inspire you to greater states of gratitude as you come together in love during this month. I’m grateful you’re in my life.

Love,
Elissa Amina

Sufi Yoga Class
November 7 at 7:30 - 8:45 PM
Book Now: https://www.sufi-yoga.com/store/products/sufi-yoga-online-group-class
Judaism - From Rabbi Sacks:
“There is a beautiful Jewish practice that done daily, is life-transforming. The first words we say on waking are ‘Model Ani Lefanekha’, which means ‘I thank you, living and eternal King.’ We thank, before we think.”

From the Bible:
18.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

From the Qur’an (31:12).
“Anyone who is grateful does so to the profit of his own soul…”

From Gautama Buddha
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”

From Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga:
“The attitude of gratitude is the highest Yoga.”

Sufi Yoga Online Group Class In the comfort of your own home, enjoy a explorative, relaxing, deepening awareness class to move from the outer to the inner resources of feeling sublime in your body, connecting

A Prescription for What to Do in a Disaster: Love

Dear Beloveds,
I decided to hold the next Sufi Yoga Zoom Class on Monday, September 11 to commemorate and reflect on this historical September 11, 2001 day. And to keep healthy during this reflection, we will be engaged in some great breathing, yoga postures, rest, meditation and prayer. We will be focusing on self-love and how that relates to love of the Divine All, or God, Allah, Elohim, Hu, Presence, Universal Life Force, etc. And how the love extends to others to create real peace.
We are clearly faced with more challenges than when I grew up. Multiple natural disaster threats prove our fragility on this planet. Not to mention the economic disasters, the political disasters, the ecosystem collapse, the effects of the warming throughout the world, the various possible global pandemics whether by climate change or bioweaponry, the effects of A.I. in every aspect of our lives, and the still ever present possibility of nuclear war. But the worst disaster by far, is the worrisome dissidence between us humans at a time where our survival depends on our cooperation, community and compassion. Whether people have opinions labeled far left or far right or anything in between, it seems many are so righteous in their beliefs there’s no room for debate or contemplation from a higher perspective. And if we can’t get along during these times, how can we even navigate the storms to come? I have to wonder: have we evolved at all?
I was lucky to have parents that served as great examples of how to treat others during a disaster.I was in high school, living with my parents when the big 1971 earthquake hit the San Fernando Valley. I remember praying to get out of a test the next day. Early next morning, the earthquake shook us hard. First thought: get to a door jamb with Mom. Second thought: No school, so no test! Third thought: Oh my God. Did I pray for the wrong thing and cause a disaster?
But I digress.
Our home was intact after the earthquake, a few cracks in the ceiling. And yes, there were aftershocks. But my cousins' Northridge home got hit badly. So my parents invited them to stay with us until they could figure out their next steps. As a teen, I was a bit put out. Afterall, they wanted to watch their TV shows and not mine. But all in all, I remember feeling impressed with Mom and Dad. They had the generosity and love to extend our home to our cousins. They are family and we take care of each other. It was a great lesson to witness. It is my intention to continue their legacy of being service to others in a crucial time.
So how to honor this day of 2001, I am focusing on the quality of Divine Love, Al-Wadude. I know of no other quality that is most needed right now in our external world. We address it by beginning with our internal world: our hearts.
In this class, you will learn a breath technique that helps to calm you and get you out of your head. And yoga postures to open the heart, loosen the neck and ease tight shoulders. You will also explore hand positions and their positive effects on the brain. Then dive deeply into asanas (yoga postures) while invoking (spoken or silently) the quality of Divine Love into every cell of your body. Imagine what may come up? Perhaps only love. Or perhaps everything unlike love.. But then imagine the healing of the Divine Everlasting Love melting all discord, disease and pain.
As the heart opens to love, we can ask ourselves broader questions:
If there was such a disaster today, how would I respond?
What would be my next step?
How and who can I serve?
How can I feel secure in the Presence of Divine Love?
Ultimately, love is what brings us to true lasting peace. So let’s dive in together. Because we’re all swimming in this soup together.
See you in class: September 11 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Love,
Elissa Amina
Online Sufi Yoga Class $15
September 11
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM PST
Book Now

https://www.sufi-yoga.com/store/products/sufi-yoga-online-group-class

Baby peacock! Who has ever seen one?

Beautiful It's not everyday you see a baby Peacock!

Thank you all the students who attended Sufi Yoga Monday night. It was a deep dive into the heart as we stretch and breathed in the light.
Love,
Elissa Amina

Open Your Heart, Open Your Life with Sufi Yoga

Dear Beloved,
One of the best tools to get out of anxious patterns and physical pains is to do yoga on a consistent basis. The breathing, the stretching and gentle moves all help to release tension and calm nerves.
Yoga was created to prepare a student for meditation to experience deeper states of consciousness. Yoga means "to yoke," to bring together as one.
In Sufism the goal is to achieve oneness with the Unity, a state where you can tap deeply into your heart and touch your soul's connection to the Infinite.
Bringing Sufism and Yoga together isn’t new. I am following a historical tradition that the Sufi’s and Yogi’s came together to learn from each other. The combined lineages create an extraordinary experience that helps you enter into Oneness more easily. In every class we work with the sound codes of the Divine Names, which work as prescriptions to meet the exact needs for healing in the moment.
As the body melts into relaxation, the mind calms and the heart expands, you’ll release negativity and pain, and enter into Oneness with the Essential Reality no matter what name feels akin to you: God, Divine Spirit, Elohim,Yeshua, Allah.
I'm again teaching Sufi Yoga classes once per month on Zoom beginning Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30 pm. - 8:45 PM. $15
Venmo: -Kerhulas
Paypal: [email protected]
Zelle: [email protected]
To RSVP with a YES, please make your investment using these addresses above and fill out the attached two forms below, if you haven’t done so already. This is to help me help you better and to know any concerns or limitations that might reveal contraindications to certain poses. But always know, you are the ultimate judge of what you should be doing during a yoga class. The whole goal is to become more aware, in body, mind and spirit.
Please either eat lightly prior to class or postpone eating so that you have no obstructions to breathing and moving. Wear comfortable loose fitting clothes.
Sufi Yoga is an integral part of my coaching/healing programs to address emotional and physical healing and anxiety.
Please visit http://www.sufi-yoga.com for more information.
I look forward to seeing you on the mat via Zoom on March 14. Please feel free to share this email with others. Should you have any questions, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or text or call 805-330-1299.
Thank you so much for taking the time today!
To your holy health!
Elissa Amina

"When you find the love, you find yourself. The secret is in the love. You are the love, not another. Everything is in the love, and everyone needs the love. If you find this, what more could you want? The jewels are inside you."
-- Sufi Shaykh Sidi Al-Jamal As-Shaduli

Happy New Year of Abundant Love!

Why Do We Fear Surrender to the Divine?

When you think of surrender what images come up for you?

Often, it involves a battle between one person or group who wins and another person or group who loses. And losing means surrendering power to the winner. The loser is at the mercy of the winner that may not consider or care about their needs.

During the many sessions I offer as a Spiritual Coach, I have discovered that clients experience much fear in truly surrendering to the Divine. They fear letting their guard down as if they may be victims of a tyrannical God. But to understand the value of spiritual surrender first requires an acknowledgement that we have very little control over much of our lives.

I have discovered that surrender in my spiritual practice has been my greatest blessing. It will bring you far more support in achieving your goals than just winging it alone.

I remember experiencing surrender when as a teen I had a mad crush on an adorable boy who had all the girls chasing him. I was too insecure to ask a boy out. But it was my secret desire to have him as my boyfriend. I prayed that I might have this relationship. The evidence in my environment didn’t look good. Various girls were spending time with him and it was impossible to get close to him. What was worse was my best friend wanted him for herself. So I surrendered my will to the greater Will of God. And I made no further actions to get to know him. About a week later, we all attended a birthday party where the boy was invited. Again, I made no actions to get close to him, but then something happened. We ended up sitting next to each other as the band played. Despite the other girls’ strategies to keep him engaged with them, he ended up hanging with me. A month later, we were an item. My girlfriend wasn’t too upset because she saw that he was choosing to pursue me. It was the perfect Divine resolution to my problem and my desire. This experience taught me so much about trusting in the Divine Order.

On the Sufi path, we surrender to the Will of God (or Allah). It is aligning our desires with the larger Will of a compassionate God Who has our best interests always in mind. Surrender helps us release from old patterns and belief systems to embrace a larger perspective that can steer us in the right direction. In yoga the goal is also communion with the Divine as we surrender our bodies and minds to commune with the Divine.

But how do you actually surrender to the Divine? And how do you know when your prayers are answered? There are many teachings I can offer in a spiritual coaching session, but here’s a simple practice you can embrace right now:

Steps to Surrender to the Divine:
Identify the problem or desire you want to address.
Take some deep breaths into the heart.
Have an honest dialogue with the Divine about your issue.
Be patient while the Divine addresses your request.
Look for signs (both inside you and outside) that give you a clear answer.

This simple practice is not always easy. Sometimes it takes a spiritual coach to help you:

Unveil what the real desire or problem is;
Learn powerful spiritual prescriptions that quickly move you to experiencing the blessings of the Divine;
Discover how to enjoy the practice of patience when you want to force your will on the situation;
Learn how to read the Divine signs inside you and around you that answer your most pressing questions.

Surrender is not about surrendering your power. It’s about surrendering the forceful ego-driven will to a greater Divine Will so that you are in alignment and can access greater power and wisdom. This is why a Sufi-Yoga spiritual coaching session can really help. As you discover the many benefits of surrender, you’ll find that you have more ease, peace, trust, energy, love and wisdom to follow the Divine guidance that leads you to a fulfilled and happy life.

Let’s talk! Book a complimentary 30-minute Freedom session today:

https://www.sufi-yoga.com/store/products/freedom

Oh, thank you so much to all my beloved sisters who attended the Sufi Yoga and Dance Women's Circle yesterday. Here's what my students said afterwards:

"Thank you for being the most charming and hospitable host - what a rejuvenating day!"

"It was great spending time with you ladies and sharing our stories. Special thanks to our beautiful host."

"Thank you, Elissa, again for hosting us and for such a beautiful and therapeutic experience!"

"Beautiful experience I had. I hope we ban meet soon again Inshallah. Thank you, Elissa, for such a beautiful gathering."

Why Learn Kundalini Yoga?

I was lucky to have an extraordinary experience at four years old when a woman came and taught at my preschool some fun, feel-good movements. I remember curving my spine and holding my feet. I didn’t know it was yoga’s bow pose until years later.

As a teen when I didn’t know where to find yoga classes, I took my mother’s book Richard Hittleman’s 28 Days of Yoga and began my own practice. I noticed many physical benefits and that my recurring headache would go away.

In 1969 I heard about Kundalini Yoga, but still couldn’t find anyone teaching it. It wasn’t until 2000 that I met my teacher Gurmukh at Golden Bridge Yoga. During my first class of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, I found tears rolling down my face. I had connected to something beyond the physical that was so healing for my heart. I not only began my practice of Kundalini Yoga but I took the teacher training and began teaching.

I have no regrets.

I learned that Kundalini Yoga is a “technology of awareness.” It is to understand that our reality is both finite on this earth and infinite in time and space. I learned to elevate my energy (which had been stuck in my lower chakras). This allowed me to attain more wisdom in making decisions, more harmony in my relationships and a deep peace in connection with the Divine.

I’m excited to return to teaching Kundalini Yoga at The Yoga Channel. It is a powerful system that not only keeps the body strong and lythe but also strengthens the immune system, vital glands, nervous system, and increases circulation. This affords the energy and mental and spiritual capacity to handle the many facets of our increasingly changing lives.

Through breathwork, mudras, asanas (poses) and meditations, you can calm the mind and develop your intuition to walk in the direction of your highest fulfillment and happiness. I often incorporate Kundalini Kriyas as part of my Sufi Yoga classes as well.

www.sufi-yoga.com

I look forward to seeing you on the mat.

Warmly,
Elissa

Mondays at The Yoga Channel in Oxnard and Zoom beginning July 16 at 9 am.