"Being present in the body through the connection to the breath and bandhas is the key which unlocks the blocks" - Kathy Cooper
The inherent wisdom of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga has led me on a transformative journey. Being present in the body through the connection to the breath and bandhas is the key which unlocks the blocks. This union is the place where the mental/emotional/physical bodies find their release and begin to unwind. Facing myself daily on the mat, I have opened to the deeper Self, releasing the conditioning of the body/mind. My love of incredible practice keeps me on the mat daily.
In my forties, especially, as samsara arose, my practice was the rudder that allowed me to face myself daily and feel safe to negotiate “my” conditioned existence and open to “the all” over and over again, day after day. Physically, I have worked sensitively and focused on healing consciously with support from acupuncture, chiropractic, emotional work, diet and more. I have not just been “lucky” to have had few “injuries.” Now I recognize that the nadis are clearing where I experience blocks.
"My healing path has shown me that the root of all imbalances in me originates in the mental/emotional body."
The main result of my long journey has been cultivating presence in life. My healing path has shown me that the root of all imbalances in me originates in the mental/emotional body. I have always been able to trust my body and trust that it will show me the way. I look at what arises and attempt to use awareness to see through “it” and experience the unwinding of “conditioned existence” to what is real.
I have experienced the power and truth of Ashtanga yoga path throughout almost forty years of practice, and have been deeply grateful for how it is able to encompass and meet whatever arises in me.
"Once we relax in that process, we recognize this is how learning happens."
I realize that we learned the order of the postures first through our bodies. Everyone learns at their own pace. There is no judgement about that. Once we relax in that process, we recognize this is how learning happens. The inherent wisdom in the series to unlock the blocks has produced awe in me.
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Kathy is a senior Ashtanga Yoga teacher of the first generation and has been practicing consistently since 1976. David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff were her first teachers, and David taught her all six Ashtanga series. Kathy also studied with Guruji (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois) many times over the years in the US and in Mysore, India.
In 2007, she began teaching in Sri Lanka for three months and continued each winter for the next six years. Out of that she began teaching internationally in 2008 and offers workshops in Europe, Brazil, Morocco and the US. She will be assisting at The Ashtanga Yoga Confluence in San Diego, March 2016.
Kathy Cooper (kathycooperyoga.com)