Photos by David Young-Wolff

Before she became a yoga therapist or even a fitness and wellness professional, a friend asked Kathleen Ross-Allee to substitute teach for her aerobics class, even though at the time, Kathleen was a fitness enthusiast with no experience actually teaching fitness. Her argument, “You’re an actress right?  Pretend it is a role you are playing,” convinced Kathleen to just do it.

What began with a spontaneous “yes” revealed Kathleen’s passion for helping people regain their health and fitness commitments—and led to a subsequent change in career path. Kathleen began training people and became an ACE certified personal fitness trainer. She started studying yoga in the 1990s, first with Jasmine Lieb and Erich Schiffmann; yoga influenced both her personal practice as well as the way she worked with individuals in her fitness business, Leen Bodies. Words from Kathleen’s late father, a university professor who would read Greek mythology in the evenings, “Once you stop learning, you stop living,” influenced her passion for education.

She enrolled in the 200 hour teacher training program at the Center for Yoga on Larchmont and in 2001, she completed the training, joined the center’s staff, and interned with her mentor, Fred Miller. When Liberation Yoga opened, they asked her to join the staff. There she taught Gentle Yoga and developed and continues to teach a free Yoga for Parkinson’s class in the garden studio, supported by the studio’s owners Christine Burke and Gary McCleery, along with generous donations from her network of friends, family, and students.

Becoming a student in the Yoga Therapy RX Program on campus at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), under the direction of Larry Payne, felt like a natural progression and being on a college campus felt like home for her. There, Kathleen’s fellow student, kindred spirit, and business partner Alison Crowley were inspired to find their own niche to implement yoga therapy in the community. In 2007, they launched The Yoga Prescription with a focus on supporting people through the recovery and healing process in dealing with cancer, even after treatments have concluded or after the medical establishment has seen evidence of remission. Kathleen and Alison believe that healing continues long after treatment is over. Through The Yoga Prescription, the duo and their trained yoga therapists and assistants teach a total of 42 monthly classes throughout Los Angeles. While many of these specifically address the concerns of cancer patients and survivors, they also offer classes for people with Parkinson’s disease and other conditions. Their vision is to see these programs “become permanently placed in these wellness centers and hospitals side by side with Western medicine as a viable source of recovery.” Their model is influenced by their certification in the Yoga Therapy RX program which trains students in the practice of integrating yoga therapy with modern medicine; as well as their continuing study with Jnani Chapman, RN, in Chapman’s Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness Training (YCat).

No matter the title of what she is teaching, Kathleen says, “I design each class to meet the needs of my students. I am able to do that no matter what the situation is.” She does this by choosing sequences based on what is presented to her in the room. Kathleen holds the following intention for working with her students, “In the time they spend with me, something can happen that will allow them to have a different perspective on their day.”

As a teacher, there are times when she draws on lessons from her acting background. She is comfortable presenting in crowds, groups, or at the front of the room. And she prepares for her classes with the same attention she would dedicate to script analysis as an actor. She combines this preparation with the ability to both be spontaneous with and to pay close attention to her students, as though they are her scene partners. In class, “It’s constant improvisation, she says.” In addition, Kathleen believes being a teacher and a yoga therapist also includes a commitment to ongoing education. She lives the advice given by her father that guides her: keep learning to keep living.

Between teaching private clients, daily classes, volunteering whenever she can, and serving as the Managing Director of the Yoga Therapy RX Program at Loyola Marymount University, Kathleen is a heartfelt workaholic. She even admits to it, “I am officially a workaholic, but I insist that it’s only in the best sense. I love and am passionate about all of the work I do.” Kathleen even enjoys the driving which is a necessary part of the life of a nomadic yoga therapist in Los Angeles. “The drive home at night allows me to decompress before I see my husband. And I just sing Broadway songs all day long!” She finds time for balance with a membership at Burke Williams, a standing Saturday morning Fryman Canyon hiking date with friends, and a husband who keeps her accountable to personal and social commitments. Somehow she also fits in cuddle time with her friends’ pups.

When this show tune singing compassionate yoga therapist is asked for the advice she would give potential students of yoga therapy, she offers, “To learn and absorb from those who have preceded you. To ask questions. To embrace what comes your way. When you are open to what comes your way, then you will serve the needs of the people who are seeking you. And in this way, you will have found your authentic voice.”

It sounds like advice that Kathleen could have given her younger self, the one who was acting and working at the Gaucho Grill on Ventura when she said yes to a random request from a friend asking if she could sub her class. Kathleen was open to what came her way.

For more information on Kathleen Ross-Allee and The Yoga Prescription, visit: theyogaprescription.com

For more information about Yoga Therapy RX, visit: http://academics.lmu.edu/extension/programs/yogatherapy/

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling. Check out her newest adventure on narrowhips.com

Jessica Malloy

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.

The post Teacher Profile: Kathleen Ross-Allee appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Nicola Strother, the Sender One Fitness Coordinator, understands the uniqueness of each person’s practice.  “Every instructor will give you the most basic modification and a higher modification, depending on where you are.” Before the studio opened, Nicola invited prAna cofounder and owner Pam Theodosakis to add the prAna touch, including props and products as well as a large and impressive photo of Shiva Rea.

Sender One offers different types of all-levels power and flow-based classes. As a whole, the studio’s aesthetically pleasing environment is created by tall, colorful climbing walls with streaks of LED lights, adding a fun, modern vibe.

Sender One offers a creative space for yogis to practice on the mat or the wall.

Sender One

1441 S. Village Way, Santa Ana

senderoneclimbing.com

714.881.3456

Jessica Malloy is an Orange County-based Yoga teacher. During her time away from practicing and teaching, she often finds herself outdoors hiking, paddling, or climbing. A book can almost always be found in her bag. Instagram: @itsjess_yoga Website: itsjessyoga.wordpress.com/about/

Jessica Malloy

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.

The post Sender One’s Yoga Studio appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

compiled by Beth Shaw

Sequoia Records

If you have been looking for something to freshen up your yoga playlist, or something to turn on when you want to unwind at home, the new compilation Yoga Moods 2 offers a solution that cultivates an chill ambiance.

This album flows with songs that are perfectly suited for almost any style of asana or meditation practice. Each track was hand-selected by YogaFit founder Beth Shaw with gentle rhythms and calming beats that contain just enough of a hint of electronica to create a feel both both modern and playful.

The opening song “Water” evokes a combination of both spiritual openness and mental rest. In this particular track, the vocal talents of Helene Horlyck are featured with high notes that deeply penetrate the heart.

Throughout the album, the aptly titled tunes provide clues to their intended mood. For example, the upbeat tempo of “Asana Lounge” offers a groovy lift to build the practice while “Savasana Glow” features twinkling chimes and calming flutes that support transitioning into a state of bliss.

The well-sequenced playlist culminates with brothers David and Steve Gordon’s “Entering the Now (Yoga Nidra Mix).” My students loved it when I chose this album as a recent class soundtrack as the humming notes and soothing beats serve as a guide to help the listener travel down their yogic path.

Reviewed by Jessica Malloy, who teaches in Orange County at a number of studios including Aesthetic Yoga at Aesthetic Climbing Gym in Lake Forest: aestheticclimbinggym.com.

Jessica Malloy

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.

The post Yoga Moods 2 appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Caroline’s attraction to the path of living and breathing Yoga was apparent at a young age. Born in Germany to her Austrian father and American mother, she lived her early years in Vienna and moved to the US when she was 10. At the age of 14, she made the decision to be a vegetarian, and at 18, she found Yoga through the only Yoga teacher in Breckenridge, Colorado. “I had heard that to learn Yoga it was necessary to have a guru. I wanted to find my guru, my teacher.”

It was an immediate fit. “Asana practice is very tangible. It’s quite physical, it’s very real. Over time you can see the improvement of the yoga postures. Unlike the various styles of meditation practice, where one may be uncertain of the result. When I practice, I’ve always had an incredible experience. You feel energetically, physically, and psychologically much better. I never stopped. The first time I practiced Yoga I loved it. I loved the experience.”

Even though her first teacher may not have been the guru Caroline was looking for, the power of that experience planted the seed that grew into a passion.

In 1999, she felt a need to pursue something greater than herself. Caroline followed that passion to Mysore, India, where she studied under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois for four and a half months. “I was on a quest to find higher states of consciousness. At the time, I was inspired by Samadhi and acquiring Siddhis or special powers. I was always interested in philosophy and psychology and different types of spirituality and I wanted to experience some of the things I read about.”

Although Caroline was able to study under one of the most noteworthy teachers of our time, it didn’t always mean her setting for learning was always ideal. “It was quite difficult in India at times, it was not necessarily a serene environment. People were processing their own life experiences.”

When she returned to the US from India, she started to focus on teaching Yoga. Caroline wanted to share the very positive experience she had practicing Yoga. She developed courses and taught led and Mysore style classes and taught her first workshops in Europe in 2002. During this time she also explored other styles of Yoga and learned from reputable Viniyoga and Iyengar Yoga teachers. She felt that the Ashtanga Vinyasa practice was very effective and that her asanas had improved quickly by practicing Ashtanga Yoga.

Caroline continued her Mysore practice diligently and soon returned to India to continue her studies with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. In the last few years of her teacher’s life, the main Shala, where increasing numbers were making the pilgrimage, became crowded. With Pattabhi Jois, his grandson, Sharath; daughter, Saraswathi Rangaswamy; and all the Yogis in the space, the atmosphere of class could sometimes be confusing. The master then invited Caroline to learn from him in a different part of town where he had a smaller number of students so he could teach her advanced asanas. “At this time I began to notice his moral strength and dedication to teaching Yoga asana….I think that was when I finally felt I found the teacher I had been looking for.”

After learning from Pattabhi Jois, she continued her studies by earning a doctorate degree from the India University of Alternative Medicine. Caroline’s thesis became her book, Ashtanga Yoga: the Primary and Intermediate Series. “I always wanted to write a book. It took me about seven years of it being in the back of my mind and I wanted to put it together.” She had previously presented the idea of writing a book on Ashtanga Yoga to Pattabhi Jois.

“He encouraged me to write the book. He also encouraged me to practice Yoga asana and to teach it. As a traditional Indian man, he also valued the importance of marriage. He asked me once, ‘When are you getting married?’”

Caroline hopes her book can be an inspiration for aspiring students, but emphasizes that no book or video can take the place of a real instructor. “You need a connection with a teacher. It’s a lineage in which the practice is passed down from teacher to disciple. After learning from Pattabhi Jois, I feel like I have the strength to assist people who come to my class with their own practice. I feel like I can pass on that same strength that he had. He was connected to life, and how to live correctly. His connection to the asana practice was simple and direct and definite. I can offer that to my students now.”

Caroline takes what she has learned and continues to apply it and share it as she teaches the 200- and 500-hour Yoga teacher training programs she developed. She knows the body is strong and capable of more than what most of us — even some of us Yogis! — realize. She teaches students from all over the world through retreats and teacher trainings, which she conducts in Los Angeles and in beautiful tropical retreat destinations. Her path of teaching and practicing yoga continues to push her to climb each limb, respect each discipline, and reach towards the tender fruit of Samadhi.

Five Pieces of Advice for New Teachers:

1. Keep up a daily/regular yoga practice. As it is mentioned in the Yoga Sutras, “Sthira Sukham Asanam.” Asanas should be steady and comfortable or provide enjoyment.

2. Do not teach too much or overwork. From an Ayurvedic perspective, it is important not to use the body faster than the seven dhatus or tissue layers can be nourished. This can be accomplished by maintaining a healthy diet, not relying on stimulants to start or complete the day’s tasks, and getting enough sleep.

3. Ahimsa – Do not harm other beings.

1. Santosha – Continuously strive to maintain a content mental state.

5. Svadhyaya – Contemplate the sacred texts on Yoga, such as the Yoga Sutras and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

For more information on Caroline Klebl, visit: sourceofyoga.com.

Jessica Malloy

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.

The post Caroline Klebl: Returning to the Source appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Shala Santosha offers Ashtanga classes of all levels, including morning and evening classes that encourage self-practice while incorporating the benefits of working one-on-one with the teacher. This allows students to have a space for yoga, while having a guiding hand to refine their asanas even further.

In Ashtanga, you will find yourself pushing your body and finding release in your muscles and bones that can otherwise be difficult to access. But Christina is a full believer in the power of the practice going beyond the material body. “This particular practice, even though it’s rigorous and physically challenging, can actually bring you back into peace and contentment,” she explains. At the end of the class, your body feels purified, and your heart feels calm. You leave the space feel-ing as though you were in a house of contentment, and your heart yearns for more.

Shala Santosha Yoga
19815 Esperanza Road
Yorba Linda
714-488-0623
Shalasantoshayoga.com

By Jessica Malloy, an Orange County-based writer and avid climber with a B.A. in English and emphasis in creative writing and journalism.

Jessica Malloy

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.

The post Shala Santosha Yoga, Yorba Linda appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

With this in mind, April created a Yoga Basics workshop that allows students to go deeper into their practice. As she says, “I have a lot of beginning students, and they always want to know, ‘What can I do?’ or ‘How can I do it?'” In these classes, April goes over asana in detail, offers modifications, and reviews philosophy.

Her family life serves as an inspiration; after she realized how much her own daughter loved it when they practiced together, she began a Yoga for Toddlers class where parents and children can move together. April even works in a little coloring time at the end of the class to keep the toddlers busy while parents take a break in savasana.

Unfold Yoga offers vinyasa flow, restorative, Hatha, and pre- and post-natal classes, as well as a variety of workshops. For a warm, friendly vibe, a feeling of community, and the desire to bond with your current or future children, Unfold Yoga offers a fulfilling place to practice.

Unfold Yoga

512 S. Brea Blvd.

Brea, CA 92821
(714) 455-9642

Unfoldyogaoc.com

By Jessica Malloy, an Orange County-based writer and avid climber with a B.A. in English and emphasis in creative writing and journalism.

Jessica Malloy

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.

The post Unfold Yoga Orange County appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

In both rock climbing and Yoga, there is always a possibility of losing one’s balance and falling. Both practices allow us to push our limits. We can see the world from upside down or from high places and return to our child-like fearlessness — as kids, if we fell, we often got right back up and tried again.

Yoga provides a safe space for us to learn from our falls, whether in a studio, on the beach, or on the grass. We can play with what intimidates us and keep practicing to grow stronger and face our fears.

While we need to be aware of our limitations and exercise caution when it comes to safety, many of us let that caution marinate so deeply that we end up too afraid to move forward at all. Climbing pushes the body’s limits.  Arms and legs may tremble as we continue higher, awakening a mortal fear of falling, but there is no greater reward than reaching the top of a climb. We might choose not to try because we want to avoid grass stains on our jeans, bruises on our knees, or being made fun of by our friends. But fear leaves a mark on our psyche that is far more difficult to rub out than grass stains.

In the pursuit of adventure, we interviewed athletes devoted to the practice of scaling the rock. While their reasons for climbing varied, they all shared a youthful attraction to thrills or the love of movement.  Each person we spoke with believes in pushing themselves and facing fear with lightheartedness. They all strive for the summit, enjoy the climb, and sometimes take the leap even though they know they may fall.  They allow their passions and desire for play to override their fears, and listen to the voice of their inner child who says, “Let’s try that again!”

Interviews with Climbing Yogis

Courtney Sanders

Claim to fame: Yoga Instructor for Core Power Yoga. Professional, competitive and sponsored climber. Married to professional climber Daniel Woods.

LA YOGA: What came first? Yoga or Climbing?

Courtney Sanders: Climbing.  Unless doing headstands while watching TV as a kid counts.

LA YOGA: How has your personal practice strengthened you as a climber?

CS: It has helped me focus on every movement and experience rather than the end result. I enjoy climbing more and I take the pressure off of myself.

LA YOGA: What is most challenging about climbing?  

CS: Letting go of my ego. Climbing is the only sport that requires finger strength, and it takes time and commitment to be good at it. It’s not like riding a bicycle. You can’t just start climbing, stop, and then pick up where you left off five years later. You have to continuously climb and train to maintain or improve your level of ability.

Comparing myself to others who have been climbing for years was just irrational. As soon as I stopped caring about everyone else’s level and accomplishments, I enjoyed it a lot more.

LA YOGA: What words of wisdom would you offer a Yogi/Climber? 

CS: Don’t do one without the other.

Image of Sonnie Trotter by Ben Moon

Sonnie Jason Trotter

Claim to fame:  Patagonia climbing ambassador. Married to Lydia Zamorano. Gets to climb rocks for a living.

LA YOGA: What originally drew you to climbing? 

Sonnie Trotter:  The freedom of it all. I was able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  It’s not a sport where people judge you, like gymnastics. It’s more about how you feel than how you look.  It’s a creative activity.  After that, I was drawn to see more of the world and try to climb the biggest and boldest lines I could.  And small adventures led me to big adventures. That’s where I’m at now, looking for big adventures.

LA YOGA: What drives you to keep climbing?  

ST:   It’s a combination of things. Exploration: It fills up my spirit to be outside, searching for something new, something that captures my imagination.  Movement: When I’m climbing well and flowing smoothly, I get the same sensation as when I’m surfing, or carving into a deep powder turn.  It’s about flow and rhythm.  Friends: We go climbing together, make jokes, have fun, laugh a lot and enjoy being outside.  Last: It’s the traveling. The unique and beautiful places that climbing always brings me to are the places most people will never go.

LA YOGA: How does your yoga practice influence your climbing? 

ST:   My body was getting to a point where I wondered how much longer I could climb professionally or at such a high level.  I was training and climbing so much that by the time I hit my late 20s, my body was unbalanced and I found myself in pain a lot of the time.  I was too tight in some places and too open in others; it made for some bad habits.  Once I started doing more yoga, I could feel my body restoring itself back to a neutral position of alignment.  That has been the biggest difference for me.  Now, I can see myself climbing long into the future, the way my mentors have.

LA YOGA: What advice would you offer?  

ST:   For a climber I would say, climb the lines that you are drawn to, the climbs your heart wants you to do, not the ones you think you should do.  That will make all the difference.  There is a yogi in all of us.  We all want to find balance in our lives, physically and emotionally.  And that to me is what the practice of yoga is about: seeking and maintaining that balance.  It’s a fundamental truth to longevity.  My advice is to make time for it, do whatever you have to do to block out a little bit of your day, and your future self will thank you.

Ryan Nadlonek

Claim to fame: Yoga Instructor, avid climber, and writer

LA YOGA: What came first? Yoga or climbing?

Ryan Nadlonek: I found climbing first when I was very young.  I was attracted to the danger and excitement of it.  But as I’ve grown older, the joy is the meditation in the climbing.

LA YOGA: Who are some of your biggest inspirations? 

RN: My yoga teacher, Shiva Rea, because she is grounded in the roots of Hatha and Raja Yoga and has taken them to a new place through her creativity and divine inspiration — the way she brings healing into the yoga community through linking the traditions with what we really need in the present modern yoga community.

Image of Heidi Wirtz by John Llyod

Heidi Wirtz

Claim to Fame: Professional and sponsored climber. Yoga instructor. Known for philanthropic work.

LA YOGA: What drives you to climb?

Heidi Wirtz: I love experiencing the vastness.  It’s also challenging. It never ends; you are always pushing yourself harder. Being up with the birds, feeling the rock and the physical contact with nature — that’s what I love.

 LA YOGA: Do you wrestle with the rock, or are you one with the rock?

HW: I prefer it when I’m one with the rock. (Laughs) If I feel like my mind is starting to wander and I’m getting too physical with the rock, I come back to the breath. Climbing for me is a meditation.

LA YOGA: What words of wisdom would you offer?

HW: Connect with your breath, with the rock, and with the earth rather than allowing your brain to take over and run away with you. Be happy with where you’re at. Come back to gratitude.

Olivia Hsu

Claim to fame:  Sponsored climber.  Married to Corey Richards, mountaineer and photographer. Yoga Journal Magazine Cover Girl. 

LA YOGA: What is your biggest inspiration?

Olivia Hsu: The human desire to move forward, to keep trying, and to persevere.  For example, there’s a guy that comes to my Ashtanga class who has a beautiful practice. When you watch someone who is dedicated, you can see it. He has that.

LA YOGA: What words of wisdom would you offer a Yogi Climber?

OH: Rest!

Jessica Malloy is pursuing her shared passions of climbing and yoga at Aesthetic Yoga in Orange County: aestheticclimbinggym.com.

Jessica is wearing clothing from Patagonia in Santa Monica: Patagonia.com.

Jessica Malloy

Jessica Malloy is a freelance writer torn between the California Coast and Kentucky Countryside. Aside from Yoga, she spends as much time as she can in the sunshine rock climbing, water skiing, and traveling.

The post Climbing Beyond Fear appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.