SHAGBARK YOGA
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
“Life is only available in the present moment”
- Thich Nhat Hanh
From Deep in Human History...
Maybe 3,500 years ago ( or maybe longer ) the then-current residents of the planet had the opportunity to pay less attention to basic survival needs and developed greater awareness of the human condition. In many places across the Asian continent, people came to classify our daily existence as suffering. Beyond the struggle for survival as an organism, a more complex battle raged for being a human, replete with unfulfilled desires, with fear, with constant change, and finally wrestling with our own mortality.
Out of a group of tribes occupying the Indus Valley region of today's northwest India and Pakistan came a collection of principles and techniques that came to be known as yoga, the process of developing our capacity to improve our function, uplift our spirit and connect with our true self.
...To Modern Application
Through a broad spectrum of yoga practices, this ancient culture explored and addressed concerns still fundamental to the human experience today:
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Managing stress, anxiety and depression
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Overcoming illness and injury
- Affecting chronic pain or conditions
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Improving function and performance
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Discovering meaning and purpose
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Accepting Aging
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Contending with loss
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Overcoming dysfunctional habits and behaviors
What's Shagbark?
The Shagbark Hickory Tree is common to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Shagbarks demonstrate a marked capacity for growth and survival - mature trees reach well in excess of 100 feet and are known to live more than 350 years.
The magnificent example seen here in the background sits on the sprawling lawn of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health near Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
"Yoga is an ancient science providing a perspective on the challenges of being human, and offering techniques to understand, manage and overcome obstacles, to improve our condition, and ultimately to unveil our capacity for joy"
