An Abundance of Spring Offerings!!

This outward spring and garden are a reflection of the inward garden.
– Rumi

Greetings Yogis!

Hello it’s spring!! And we come to you with an abundance of new offerings – a repeat of our popular shatkarma cleansing workshop, a free class for returning students, a 3-month discount for the Spanish-language class, another Hatha class starting in mid-May, a new database of audio relaxations, work exchange / barter options, and more regular newsletters for those who choose it.

Free Class for Returning Students

As a thank you to our regular students, we’d like to offer one FREE CLASS during the month of April to those continuing on a monthly contract, signing-up for a new one, or purchasing a 5er or 10er card.

Yoga Clásico 3-meses Descuento

¿Quieres establecer una rutina personal de yoga y meditación? Este es el mejor  momento! Como una oferta super-especial, te ofrecemos tres meses de Yoga Clásico por 90 euros. 25 horas de clase donde aprenderas las técnicas más importantes del yoga tradicional. Valido hasta el 30 de abril.
Tell your Spanish-Speaking friends: Three months of regular yoga classes for  €90.

Hatha Yoga 6pm Thursdays

Due to popularity of the Hatha 6pm Tuesday class, we are adding an additional Hatha class on Thursdays at 6pm. The new class begins May 15.

Cleansing Workshop

Due to popular demand, we are offering a second Shatkarma workshop. Join us for two-days of deep cleansing, where you will learn a wide range of yogic detoxifying practices to bring balance and remove from your body and mind some of the stuff that makes you sluggish. Read more about the Shatkarma workshop.
When: May 17-18, Saturday and Sunday
Time:  10h – 13h (10am – 1pm) both days
Price:  35-50 € sliding scale

Audio Database

If you read our blog, you will have noticed that we’ve opened an online streaming library of spoken visualizations/relaxations taken from English Yoga Berlin classes. We are recording and adding new stuff every week, and we’re happy to share these tools, free of charge, to all EYB students, and anyone else who is interested! To access the library, click here.

Barter / Work Exchange

We are looking for a few helping hands in the next few months in exchange for some free yoga classes. 1) A photographer to take some nice portrait pictures of us, 2) a few people to distribute flyers, and 3) some help in cleaning.

Newsletter Subscription Options

If you are not on Facebook, but you’d like to keep abreast of our activities, we now offer more regular newsletters – 1 or 2 per month – shorter updates about new blogs or pages, schedule changes, etc. SIGN UP or UPDATE your subscription settings here.
We continue to be thankful for your support and your practice ….. We wish you a healthy, happy spring, full of fun and sunshine!

2 ways to get free yoga classes this Springtime…

photo by fernTo celebrate the longer days and the budding green leaves, we are offering a special Springtime gift to all people looking for English yoga classes in Berlin!

1) When you purchase a 5er / 10er card or a monthly membership, you will get a free class. You can use your free class anytime before April 31, 2014, to attend any of our Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Classical Yoga or Restorative Yoga classes in our Berlin Kreuzberg studio. You are also welcome to donate your free class to a friend–just let us know!

Check out our schedule, and a map of how to find us.

2) Additionally, we are searching for some friendly and enthusiastic people to help us with leafleting, photography and cleaning in exchange for classes. If you are interested, send us an email explaining why you would be a good work exchange yogi and your dates and times of availability, and we’ll get in touch!

Yoga for Jaw and Neck Tension: Finding and Relaxing your Atlanto-occipital Joint

jaw tension

jaw tension

The atlanto-occipital joint is the joint at the very top of the cervical vertebrae: where the spine meets the skull. The very top vertebrae on the spine is called the atlas, and the two little curved, kidney-shaped bones that it meets at the skull are called the occipital condyles: hence the name, atlanto-occipital joint. It’s between your ears, at the back of your head—the spot where your head balances on your spine. Here is a cool 3D picture to give you a visual.

This is the joint that you use to nod your head (like you’re saying ”yes”). It’s connected to the upper back, to the shoulders, to the jaw and to the arms. So, if this joint is restricted, it can cause all kinds of chaos: headaches, shoulder ache, jaw ache, poor posture and overall difficulty balancing and moving freely. If you spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen, you probably have some rigidity in this joint. Equally, if you grind your teeth or have jaw or shoulder pain, you should probably learn to relax your atlanto-occipital joint—it will help! Conversely, when this joint is relaxed and stable, you will hold your head properly and your posture will be ”up” and ”open”.

Like with all bodywork, the first step is awareness. This joint is a very fine and subtle one. To find it, you need to gently explore, with small movements, the spot where your spine meets your skull. You can try making small circles with your head—imagine drawing little circles on the wall with your nose. You can also try making figure of eights (infinity symbols). Make sure you release your jaw and tongue intentionally as you do this. And, most important: these movements should feel good. They’re helping you bring fluidity and space to an area that is probably very tight. Just doing these movements for 5 or 10 minutes every day will help you bring awareness to the area, and that will begin to change your posture and habitual movements. Here is a cool video that shows you some ways to gain awareness of your atlanto-occipital joint.

As your awareness of the joint builds, you can start to build ”softening” it into your yoga practice. Every time you catch yourself glaring, setting your jaw, wrinkling your forehead—you’re probably contracting your atlanto-occipital joint, too. Make those little head movements a part of settling into every static pose, and release your jaw and tongue whenever you can remember to! Particularly good asana for feeling the state of the atlanto-occipital joint are Standing Forward Bend (Uttasana—please keep your knees a bit bent, especially for those of you with disc issues!) and Downward Facing Dog (keep that head loose!).

Audio Relaxations: Free, Online, Accessible. Enjoy!

Enlish Yoga in Berlin

As yoga teachers, we see a lot of stressed out people, and we have the privilege of watching the profound transformation that can be brought about by an hour or two of practicing yoga. People leave our Berlin yoga classes with brighter eyes, straighter posture, deeper breathing, an easy smile and a calm, clear mind. Guiding people through this transformation is one the best things about teaching Yoga.

One of our goals, as teachers, is to offer students tools that they can use throughout their daily lives–not just in classes or on the yoga mat. We believe that intentional relaxation tools can be learned in classes and then practiced regularly at home, to the great benefit of the practitioners and everyone around them! Once we have learned the skills, we need to practice them, just like a new language or musical instrument. The more we practice, the easier it gets, and the more you practice intentional relaxation techniques, the more you will notice subtle but powerful changes in your everyday life and in your body.

To this end, we have developed an online library of audio recordings that you can use in the privacy of your own home, to practice your intentional relaxation skills. The recordings are taped copies of 20 minute relaxation sessions that we give at the end of our English-language yoga classes in Berlin. Each recording consists of a short introduction, a progressive relaxation exercise, a visualization exercise and some aural stimuli. Every recording is different and they are all the products of our own creative processes, dreams, lives and yoga practices. They are anti-copyrighted: you are welcome to share them, but please do not make money off of them—a lot of personal energy and time has gone into each visualization and we’d like to keep them separate from the money economy!

The first page contains 5 free recordings and is available to everyone online, free of charge.

After that, if you are interested to have more, send us an email and we’ll send you the password to the password-protected page, where you can access the entire library. If you are a regular English Yoga Berlin student, then you are automatically entitled to access the library: listen out for the monthly password after your next class!

March 1st: Embodied Kundalini for the Glands Workshop

This 2.5hr yoga workshop is a great opportunity to get to know your own body in a different way, learn some Kundalini techniques and give your endocrine system a supportive boost as the Springtime arrives! Poet, dancer and bodyworker Laressa Dickey will use embodied anatomy techniques from BMC (Body Mind Centering) to guide participants through a non-dogmatic, highly personal exploration of what Kundalini Yoga can offer for the glands. For more information, click here.

English Yoga, 10997 KreuzbergWhen?  Saturday, March 1st, from 11h until 13h30

Where? English Yoga Berlin’s Kreuzberg yoga studio, Goerlitzerstr 39 (map here)

How much? sliding scale, 15 to 30euro

The workshop is limited to 10 participants; please get in touch if you would like to reserve a space.

Laressa Dickey teaches a Kundalini Yoga (inspired) Workshop

The Endocrine System: Glands & Balance

Chances are, some of us may have come across Kundalini Yoga before. And chances are, some may have walked away with definite opinions and reservations. While there is a brand of it that is perhaps over-the-top for many of us, Kundalini Yoga as a practice has much to offer in terms of kriyas (set of exercises) that target and promote health and balance in particular body systems.

This workshop will offer the chance to experience Kundalini Yoga in a non-dogmatic way, and instead through an embodied anatomy approach. We’ll work using techniques from Body Mind Centering (BMC) to learn about the endocrine system: where these glands are, what they do and why they are important for our health and well being. Then, we’ll integrate this new body awareness into our practice of the Kundalini kriyas.

Why glands? Why now? The endocrine system is an underlying support for so many of our human cycles: metabolism, sexual development, immunity, mineral and hormonal regulation, menstruation, sleeping/waking, digestion, survival instinct, etc. This system regulates the function of the body’s organs, and its job is to preserve our balance (homeostasis). This time of the year in the transition between Winter and Spring is a great time to promote balance in the body; we are not quite finished hibernating and not quite ready for blooming yet, even though we may feel the coming new season. With emphasis on the glands, we give time to really be where we are, and we “tune up” so we can maintain balance as we transition.

Come with your imagination and curiosity! Come with loose clothing and a willingness to try new things. 

About me:

As a yogi, I come to the mat also as a dancer, a poet, and bodyworker. I come from a perspective of movement, having studied dance since I was a child, and I teach (and try to live) from my experience working with the body in the study of dance improvisation and somatics. I also come with a keen interest in health and healing, and my own life experience of working with the limits of the body using yoga, expressive arts, and alternative medicine. Kundalini Yoga as a modality has been a big support to my health and development as a person, without me having had to adopt any of the perceived dogma of it. I now understand what my own Kundalini teacher used to say: “We don’t do Kundalini yoga because of how it makes us feel while we are doing it. We do it because of how it makes us feel afterwards.” It is the benefits Kundalini Yoga offers that make it meaningful to me.

  • Date: 1st March 2014
  • Time: 11 AM – 13.30 PM
  • Cost: 15-30 on sliding scale
  • Where: English Yoga Berlin

Please email englishyogaberlin@gmail.com to reserve your place.

Endometriosis and a Personal Approach to Healing

It wasn’t until my 30s that I started realizing there was something off about my menstrual cycle. I’d always had pain during the first few days accompanied by heavy bleeding, and often experienced what is called ‘breakthrough bleeding.’ But it gradually started to get worse, until there were months when I was bleeding every day of my cycle. With the advice of a friend, I went to see a naturopath, who prescribed homeopathic medicine (specifically, venom from the snake, Lachesis). I was open to trying it, but after about half a year, I felt no change for the better, and out several hundred dollars. In the meantime, I moved 5000km to another city for graduate school.

At this point I’d had a yoga practice on & off for about 8 years. After I moved, I made an effort to continue my yoga practice and
discovered many more different teachers and styles of yoga than I had before. I felt that my practice had been good for me ‘physically.’ I became more aware of the pain I was experiencing and was able to ease it a little during my menstrual cycle. But I didn’t recognize the healing benefits until much later on. I continued to struggle with menstrual cycle problems, and had now built up a lack of trust towards naturopathy. So I tried allopathicremedies – the birth control pill was advised for hormone balancing, even though I didn’t need it for contraception, and I had several invasive surgeries. After the second surgery to remove ovarian growths, a biopsy showed that it was endometrial tissue. That was when I got the diagnosis of endometriosis. But the hormone therapy didn’t seem to work: the tissue kept growing, albeit perhaps slower.Endometriosis is a rather common illness, affecting approximately 10% of people with female reproductive organs, and perhaps more who show no symptoms. The allopathic methods of treatment vary from mild hormone treatment to organ removal surgery. Sadly, I know several people who have had full hysterectomies, and yet still experience the return of growths. Growths root down onto other organs or muscles, making them difficult to remove completely and can cause lung collapse, kidney failure and/or extreme pain. Endometrial tissue can often even grow on the scar tissue from previous surgeries! Hormone therapy such as IUDs or contraceptive pills can slow the growths and relieve some pain, but not always. Sometimes androgen hormones are recommended to induce menopause. One person I know had tried this method twice and still experienced the return of the growths and painful menstruation.Often, pregnancy and subsequent breast-feeding can act to “re-set” the adrenal system so that endometriosis may not return. Menopause may see an end to more growths, but the ones that have already rooted down may continue to grow. There has been some evidence to show that even people without ovaries and a uterus may develop endometriosis on the prostate. It is seen by the medical system as a woman’s disease, making it difficult for male-identified people to receive proper treatment.

Having no success with allopathic or naturopathic methods, I began to investigate the alternatives. My personal approach to healing began when I decided to become a yoga teacher and delve deeper into my practice. I read this book that recommended a strict endometriosis diet and followed it dogmatically for one year. And I tried out many other modalities – body talk, the sadhana practice of kundalini, myofascial massage, acupuncture, mindfulness meditation and medicinal roots. I sought advice from elders and spiritual practitioners. A couple years ago, I had yet a third surgery – recommended because of something that looked cancerous but turned out not to be. All of the methods I had tried became too much for me to keep up a regular practice with, it became a stress to try to keep up the discipline of the diet. And I wanted to do other things than focus on my body all the time! But I learned an awful lot through experimenting with different things and I eventually found what worked for me.

Endometriosis is an immunodeficiency illness, attacking the body when it’s low on other resources, so I focused on trying to keep healthy. I also became convinced that stress causes endometriosis by the physical tightening of muscles around the pelvis. The practice of mula bahnda (the root lock) brought more awareness for me about what was going on in my pelvic area. During menstruation I now try to focus on letting go of any tightness, sometimes even doing exercises to push out any stuck endometrial tissue. And I am also careful not to do inversions during heavy days. I continue to make smoothies out of spirulina (for immune boosting properties), maca root (for adrenal health), and trying to not let stress overtake my life, while keeping a balance of having some fun, expanding my limits and moving beyond my comfort zone once in awhile. I occasionally get some pain and breakthrough bleeding, and then I know it’s my body telling me to slow down. So far, the growths have not returned, and I’m still years away from menopause! It may not take becoming a yoga teacher for you, but I know there’s a way that you can heal yourself too.

Juli teaches Vinyasa Flow Yoga and Restorative Yoga in our Berlin Kreuzberg studio. She continues to explore self healing with yoga and encourages her students to do so, too.

LEARNING IN ENGLISH IN BERLIN

..A view of Kreuzberg

Perhaps you’re a native German Speaker wanting to improve your English, or maybe you’re a foreigner whose German is not yet up-to-scratch; either way Berlin offers many options to learn something new or simply to explore an interest with English-speaking classes.

First there are all those CraigsList postings for guitar, singing and art lessons. AngloInfo Berlin also presents a good source for all sorts of courses for technical, artistic and higher education. And ToyTownthat most important resource for English-Speakers in Germany, gives you the possibility to post asking about specific courses you cannot seem to find in English.

Here’s but a small selection of some of the most interesting places in the Hauptstadt where courses are being taught in English:

DRAMA

If you prefer being on the stage rather than in front of it, check out Inka-Charlotte Palm’s drama courses in English. A trained drama educator, actress and singer, Inka-Charlotte has been running these courses since 2009, which have given rise to the International People’s Theatre Berlin Project, a weekly theatre training that culminates in a performance. She is also a director and drama educator at the English Theatre Berlin.

GLASS BLOWING

Berlin Glass is a dynamic and friendly studio offering English classes in glassblowing, painting on glass, and soon, glass fusing and casting. Classes are suitable for beginners and more experienced blowers. They also offer studio space rental for artists and hot glass professionals. The studio team is composed of graduate-level international artists who are excited to share their knowledge and skills. artconnectberlin has a wonderful post about this initiative with excellent photos.

SEWING

Each month Linkle Nähinstitut offers a varied program of courses and workshops, many in English and even some in Spanish. There are courses for complete beginners and for very experience sewers. Here you can learn how to sew almost anything. They also offer intensive customized courses and access to their studio space for those who want to work on their own. Read some independent comments about classes at the Nähinstitut in Maria Joao’s blog.

FILMMAKING

Met Film School is one of Britain’s main provider of practical filmmaking courses. Given their success in London, and the preeminence of Berlin at the heart of independent filmaking, they have opened a Berlin campus at the BUFA Studio in Kreuzkoelln. Classes are primarily in English, but since last August they have been offering some short courses in German. Like in their London campus, the Met in Berlin prides itself in offering “an intensive practical filmmaking experience taught by industry professionals in an active film studio”. Expat Blog has an interesting discussion comparing the Met Film School with its rival London Film School.

SWING DANCING

Swing Patrol Berlin offers English courses and workshops in Lindy Hop. They also organize social dances and events all around Berlin. Check their schedule for more details.

FOR THE SMALL ONES

Berlin Kids is a International english-speaking playgroup in Schöneberg. They organise a regular playgroup for kids up to 5 years of age. They also host classes and workshops for children and their parents at Farida’s comfortable and child-friendly cafe/activity centre, Kids Corner Berlin.

The Center is Berlin’s English performing arts school. Since opening its doors in 2005, it has steadily grown to offer a truly diverse range of activities for people of all ages, imparted by professionals in the fields of dance, drama, music and other performing arts. Their concept is to keep it small, cozy and intimate, bringing a personal touch to all their classes. See their web site or checkout some photos and a little more information at Working Berlin Mum.

Top 10 Tips for Freelancers in Berlin (Part Two)

Last week we presented you with the first part of this blog.  Here is the eagerly-awaited conclusion with the rest of the top tips for low-income freelancers in Berlin.

3) If you are a broke-ass freelancer and you’re registered with a German Health Insurance (a gesetzliche Krankenkasse) company, you may be eligible for a reduced rate.  As a freelancer, they’ll usually assume that you make lots of money, so they’ll give you some heart-attack-inducing monthly rate (usually around 300euro). Don’t cave and pay it! Rather, tell them that you’re broke and they’ll send you a form about your income (Einkommensermittelung), from which they will calculate a monthly rate (a legally-defined percentage of your income). They have to charge you a minimum of (for 2014) 158e per month; it starts to rise when your take-home income goes above 927euro per month. Sometimes health insurance companies only offer these reductions for freelancing that is part-time (which they define as less than 19,5 hours per week, on average, and is considered nebenberuflich).

4) You’re not obliged to pay into the German pension scheme, unless you’re a teacher, midwife, crafts person, journalist, care worker or artist. The pension scheme is 19% of your monthly income, before tax. There was a proposed law last year to force all freelancers to pay in; it got struck down.  If you have the money to pay in, it’s a great idea; it also is very important if you are trying to qualify for residency or citizenship here. You can see a more detailed list of which people are obliged to here.

5) You have to have more than one client. A lot of German businesses tell their employees to become freelance, so that they can employ them without paying benefits for them. It is a really dirty tactic and very widely practiced. Unfortunately, it is the freelancing employee who is penalized for this so-called Scheinselbständigkeit (apparent freelancing). If, during a calendar year, you make more than 83% from one client, you are considered to be scheinselbständig–and therefore are required to pay into the public pension scheme, which is gonna cost you a whack of cash. (They can make it retroactive for up to four years, too!)

6) If you’re here on a visa, make sure your paperwork shows you doing work that your visa allows. Not all freelance jobs are created equal–if your visa is for freelance teaching, you can’t just toss carpentry into the mix (well, not with a receipt, anyhow). Here is a blog on the issue , and another one.

7) You don’t pay tax on the first 8,130e you make (if you’re unmarried). If you’re married, your income is taken together and your partnership gets a tax-free amount of 16,260e. As a single person, it works out to about 670e per month of profit, before you have to start paying income tax. Your insurance is tax-deductible, and so are your pension payments. You can learn more here.

8) As a freelancer, it makes sense to learn about what you can claim as business expenses. For example, if you have office space at home, you can claim a part of your rent as a business expense–but make sure you get your landlord’s permission first, because it could be grounds for eviction otherwise!  You can also make deductions for travel costs, further education, meals with clients–hell, even your bike. Learn about the tax regulations –it pays off!

9) Accountants are really expensive. The cheaper alternative is to join a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein–an association for helping people with their taxes. They’re non-profit associations, and the membership fee is usually pretty low.

10) When everything seems too much and you feel at the end of your rope, take a break, come to one of our classes for a yoga session where you can regroup, relax and take stock before going back into the thick of it.

Wanted: Community Feedback Yogis!

IMPORTANT: We’ve already found our Community Feedback Yogis for this round. Thanks for your interest, but we’re not looking for any more people right now! This post has been left up for reference about the initiative. 

As part of our collective’s commitment to accessibility, we are always interested in gathering feedback and having dialogue. We strive to be as accountable, inclusive and accessible as possible, and we want to know how and where we can improve. So, we are looking for 3-5 people who are willing to help us with an accessibility and quality review.

And it goes a little somethin’ like this…

We are looking for people to take a total of 6 free classes at English Yoga Berlin,  and provide us with feedback forms about their experience. You don’t need to have much experience with Yoga, although it is also fine if you do–your interest and honesty are more important factors, as well as flexibility in your schedule. Since we are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere in our yoga classes, we especially want feedback from people who feel marginalized by mainstream Western yoga (people who have chronic pain, are differently abled, queer or trans*, a person of colour, working class or poor, elderly and/or otherwise). To keep the feedback as neutral and impartial as possible, we are limiting this initiative to people who are not current students or friends. (Current students and friends are welcome to give feedback, with or without forms, anytime they want!)

After each class, you will be asked to complete a feedback form and give us your opinion about the teaching, class, space, accessibility and general vibe. Your feedback will be used to make English Yoga Berlin a more welcoming and accessible space. 

In addition to the free classes, you will get a gift certificate to an awesome local collective/alternative business! If you are interested, please send us an email with a short explanation of who you are, your availability, why you’d be great as a feedback yogi and a representation (CV, portfolio, statement, link to website or blog, etc.) of what you’re all about! Please note: Applications are now closed (as of Feb 1, 2014) for this initiative. Thanks for your interest!

Thank you!