Frequently Asked Questions
You can reach me at yogagrasp@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
I refer to myself as a traditional Yoga teacher, but I teach in a very non-traditional setting.
Allow me to explain.
I teach Raja Yoga, which encompasses all 8 limbs of Yoga. Rather than focusing solely on the physical postures, Raja Yoga simultaneously emphasizes the Yamas and Niyamas, or the Don’ts and Dos. The 1st 2 branches which are the foundation not just of a stable Yoga practice, but of a stable life.
I teach Yoga as a content-based EFL course, for credit, at a major university in Seoul. It's a 2-hour course, once a week, for 15 weeks. So I have a little over 20 total hours of class time with my students if you subtract holidays and exams etc... I teach this course in a classroom setting, where we must move and replace desks to make room for our yoga mats. This is what I mean by a non-traditional setting:)
I also spend a little time, but not too much (since my students are learning about Yoga in a 2nd language) on probably the most overlooked branch of Yoga, the 5th branch of Pratyahara, or Detachment. Managing What We Allow to Touch Us is a more nuanced definition.
I started doing Yoga right after high school, in northern California, in 1981. So my whole adult life. I've lived overseas for more than half of my life: S. Korea (28+ yrs), Panama (2), Germany (3) & New Zealand (2).
The one constant thread throughout all of these places has been my Yoga practice. First done as a way to stay limber and injury free during my college and overseas basketball career. Then later, after discovering Raja Yoga, it transformed from a physical practice to an energy-based practice. This is what I've been teaching to over 100 students a year since 2017.
Raja Yoga generates very different outcomes from what most people assume about Yoga. That’s why I prefer to view my students' writings and drawings more as after-effects, because the class deals with Yoga as a Science of Life.
Or more precisely, the Science of the Control of Life.
But Yoga offers such benefits only if it is practiced in the traditional way, with an emphasis on stillness both in the poses and equally important, between the poses. This is how we can learn to generate and control our energy body, by creating a Sattvic condition where our 2 types of rising and falling/expanding and contracting energies come into balance.
The physical poses or Asanas require mental effort to stand still. This can’t be achieved without concentration and focus. Neither relaxing nor moving in the poses. Using your mind to control the urge to move. With this harmony between the physical and mental bodies, the spiritual body awakens. You are then a holistic human being: energized, active, harmonious.
Detachment or Pratyahara stands alone as the 5th branch, equal to all the others, with very good reason. There is always a period of instability that comes from developing a traditional Yoga practice where your subconscious mind comes to the surface. This is all part of the healing process that Yoga promises, if done with the goal of stillness in and between poses.
To detach, we must first confront and face the experiences and memories that are subconsciously controlling us, and then we can deal with them and close the curtains on them.
Some common definitions of the 5th branch include 'withdrawal of the senses' or 'detaching from material possessions and money'. What do these even mean? How do we do this? There must be a process in place, some steps to follow, in order to attain such meaningful changes, no? These definitions are both too simplistic and too abstract. A more practical way to think of Detachment is:
Managing What We Allow to Touch Us
The increased self-confidence and inner strength that traditional yoga generates boosts our ability to detach from disturbances, annoyances, and distractions, etc.... This stability enables you to confront the inherent instability that arises when faced with unpleasant memories and experiences. We need this because as conscious Yogis, we become more sensitive, more affected by energy disturbances. So these disturbances occur more frequently, which is why Pratyahara is SO important. The deeper your traditional Yoga practice becomes, the more important Pratyahara becomes. That’s why it’s its own branch, equal in importance and necessity to the other seven.
In Person: 1-to-1 and small group classes.
Online: individual and small group classes of just 30 mins. are also offered online.
You can also join asynchronous courses anytime on a 3rd party platform, kajabi. This self-contained course come in 10 modules and can be accessed anytime, anywhere for a set amount of time. A EFL-targeted course is also available.
I recommend wearing comfortable, breathable clothing that allows you to move freely. Avoid wearing anything that may restrict movement or be a distraction. . Removing jewelry, hats and glasses are highly recommended.
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