Yoga with Julie

The Sivananda Ashram Journey Part 2: Day 2 through Day 14: Day 2 was the official start of the Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy training, which in total was a 13 day course.  After that glorious 5:30 wake up bell and 6am-8am satsang, we had our opening ceremony, which included a puja (this is a traditional Indian prayer ritual to celebrate an event or deity).  It involved some chanting, being initiated into the training by the priest and teachers of the course.   After this the 14 or so enrolled in the course gathered with Dr. Marc Halpern and Marisa Laursen, as they explained what we would be partaking in for the next 13 days, as well as introducing ourselves.  I was feeling quite uneasy that morning and still felt like jumping out of my skin with this mysterious experience I was about to venture in to.  In fact, I was feeling so uneasy that after all the other students left, I personally approached Dr Halpern and Marisa in tears explaining to them how I was in a very fragile fear

Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Certification at The Sivananda Ashram in Nassau, Bahamas. March 9-23, 2016.       Greetings dear friends!  I wanted to share with you a blog post (yes it has been a while) about my experience at the Sivananda Ashram.  This is very much a free write/journal entry about my 2 weeks away...it is 100% a truthful telling about my thoughts, emotions, lessons I learned, etc.  Hope you enjoy.  Namaste! First, a little backstory... Rewind to the day after Thanksgiving, when I went home for a few days to not only celebrate the holiday with my family, but also I simply needed time home to collect my thoughts and be nurtured by my loved ones.  Since last summer, I have not felt like myself and my mind had been in constant planning, analyzing, worrying, doubting, etc mode.  For several months (and i know many of you noticed), I was both suffering from anxiety and mild depression. Looking from the outside - in, my life looked pretty darn good.  Perf