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We are so grateful to our Teachers!
At the Crib, we do not ask our teachers to give us class descriptions. Instead we invite them to show up and share what is fresh and appropriate for the yogis who land in their classes.
We believe that this is how the Yoga happens. When we show up as our authentic selves, we give others the permission and space to do so.
Here you will find descriptions of the teachers and links to their websites, videos and books for further investigation.
Take a look at an overview of the schedule to help you design your flow.
If you are taking the Thursday Immersion, we ask that that you pick 1 teacher and an alternate. For the Main Event, we ask that you pick 5 top choices with alternates.
We try to provide some direction below, and we are more than delighted to talk with you and design the perfect schedule together. Meeting you is one of the reasons we throw this event every year, so do not hesitate to call us.
- Kira: 8O5.798.17OO
- Alana: 8O5.795.1376
- Erich Schiffmann: Practicing and Teaching Freedom Style Yoga
- Saul David Raye: Atma Yoga Immersion: Awakened Heart - Sacred Living in Powerful Times
- Laura Tyree: Necking: Making Out with the Cervical Spine
- Jill Miller: Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Ball Workshop: Strategies for Self-Care
- Ganga White and Tracey Rich. On Higher Ground: A day of Inquiry, Pranayama, Asana and the Meditation that is Your Life
- Gil Hedley: Integral Anatomy
Good Combinations
Just like when you create a good meal, we reccomend pairing spicey teachers with mellow ones, selecting favorites and trying someone new.
It is incredibly difficult and tricky to label teachers by "Levels". As many of you know, the ability to sit and relax can be more difficult and "advanced" than the ability to bring your toes to the back of your head. So we have done our best to generalize styles and approaches. All teachers of course could fall in any of the categories.
How much asana?
If you don't want to do any physical yoga postures, we suggest signing up with Gil, Ravi, Uma, Emil, and John.
If you want to do as much asana and physical movement as possible during your Crib Weekend, we suggest feeling into practicing with Jason, Elena, Jill, Sean, Saul, Ashley and Hemalayaa.
If you are looking for sessions that will blend of breath, meditation, asana and maybe even some discussion, investigate Patricia, Kira, Laura, Erich, Ganga and Tracey.
Of course, mixing and matching is recommended.
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Erich Schiffmann is Love. And when you are with him, you realize that you are too. His practice will most likely be a combination of easy effective asana, meditation and a talk.
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Patricia Sullivan generously offers powerful subtle details of the internal movements of the body allowing for personal insight and revelation.
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Laura Tyree's creative play with mantra, mudra and vinyasa directs you toward the deep and powerful source of healing within.
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Elena Bower's articulation of the details within the body, mind and heart offer a complete transformative opportunity.
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Gil Hedley is a teacher of love through his tender sharing of the phsyical depths of the inner human being. He will present a new view into yourself. Format is Lecture. Gil will only be teaching a Thursday Immersion.
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Jason Crandell is a mechanical yoga engineer. He removes the mystery of complex postures through his simple, clear, smart and entertaining communication of actions and details.
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Jill Miller's clear, technical and specific instructions invite you deep within the nooks and crannies of the body. Her style is creative, unique and helpful no matter what 'type' of yoga you usually do.
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Ravi Ravindra's astounding facility with the spiritual traditions of East and West allow him to weave a deep and powerful understanding of the meaning of the texts.
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Ashley Turner's practice emphasizes that happiness is an inside job. Blending a powerful vinaysa practice with radical self acceptance, Ashley's session will guide you towards the Turth of who you are.
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Ganga White is a jnana yogi with a hatha yogi's body. He has much wisdom and can save you a lot of time within all aspects of your practice.
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Emil Wendel blends Pranayama, Mudra and Mantra weaved with petals of philosophy and love.
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John Hickey's deep reverence for and intimacy with the meridian system of the body will allow the rivers of chi to be revealed within you.
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Kira Ryder offers the space and instruction to connect and feel the subtle currents moving within us encouraging a connection with the peace inside.
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Tracey Rich will take you on a poetic journey of your breath and mind bringing you into balance.
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Saul David Raye is a generator of warm fuzzy love. Soft and groovy and deep he holds the space to connect inside and dance and celebrate our beautiful lives.
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Uma Goswami weaves the ancient teachings of yoga with the modern understanding of the mind to present an accessible model of happiness. Her session will combine lecture, chanting, singing and dancing.
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Sean Johnson's bhakti-vinyasa practice will invite you to dive into your soul and allow your Self to wash up on the shores of your heart. His classes are accompanied by the funky grooves and mystic melodies of The Wild Lotus Band.
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Hema's playful and joyous practice will delight and lighten your heart. Combining classical and modern forms Indian dance, yoga and ayurveda, Hema's class will be fun!
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Click on the teachers' names to meet everyone. Pay attention to whom you feel drawn. Allow your instincts to help you pick. Connect in if you would like help.
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Erich Schiffmann has been practicing yoga for over 40+ years. He is his own teacher and gently encourages you to do the same. He is the author of one of the best modern books on yoga, 'Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness'
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in which he writes, "Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are...It's a matter of listening inwardly for guidance all the time, and then daring enough and trusting enough to do as you are prompted to do." He films, edits and produces his own collection of yoga videos, “The Backyard Series”. In addition to workshops, Erich will offer an Immersion on Thursday: Practicing and Teaching Freedom Style Yoga.
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Patricia Sullivan's teaching springs from a broad study of the yogic tradition. Breathing practices, Sutra study, directing the flow of energy through the body, and meditation happpen in her classes. Her style is is non-dogmatic and non-judgemental.
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She emphasizes process rather than end result, curiosity rather than "knowingness", and always brings to her classes a feeling that yoga is not only a vehicle for self transformation, it's fun.
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Ravi Ravindra, PhD is a spiritual visionary, scholar, and leading international speaker on religion, science, and spirituality. A native of India, he
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emigrated to Canada and is Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he served for many years as a professor in three Departments: Comparative Religion, International Development Studies, and Physics. He was a Member of the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, and Founding Director of the Threshold Award for Integrative Knowledge. He was a member of the Board of Judges for the presitigous Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Ravi’s spiritual search has led him to the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, G. Gurdjieff, Zen, and a deep immersion in the mystical teachings of the Indian and Christian traditions.
We adore Ravi Ravindra. You feel that you are receiving teachings directly from the Source. Facile between the Eastern and Western Traditions as well as within the field of Science, his lectures are generously and richly woven with poetry, heart and soul. He is a true Yogi.
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Teaching since 1990, Laura Tyree's personal approach to the eight-limb path, japa and meditation practice, and the study of ayurveda, anatomy, physiology, and psychology all blend beautifully with her life experience and teaching skills.
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Introspection and sincerity along with her warm humor encourage students to utilize the practice to deepen their awareness, and to open to their unique beauty and strengths. Her studio, Dragonfly Yoga Studies, is her home base. Laura’s love of music and chanting led to the release of “Amma Bhakti” CD in 2007.
Laura will be offering a Thursday Immersion: Necking: Making out with the Cervical Spine.
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Gil Hedley is here to teach you about love. Through his magnificent tender slides of his groundbreaking dissection workshops, he takes you on a gentle radical perspective shifting tour of the amazing human body.
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For nearly 20 years, Gil Hedley, Ph.D., has guided countless "Somanauts" on his Integral Anatomy expeditions of the human form. Gil has created the word "somanaut" to describe those who explore the inner space of the body, and discover there, the rich terrain of themselves.
Gil has produced four feature length DVD's documenting his innovative whole body, layer by layer approach to the study of anatomy. You can catch this riveting and respectful tour of the human form in The Integral Anatomy Series I-IV. You can also see the famous "fuzz speech" , as well as Our Sacred Hearts and Exquisite Lungs on his You Tube channel. These videos are as beautiful as they are informative, and a good learning tool for all.
Gil considers himself an eternal student of life. He studied at the IM School of Healing Arts and was certified as a Rolfer® in 1993. His formal schooling includes the study of religion and ethics. He went to Duke as an undergrad, and then to the Divinity School of the University of Chicago for an MA in the study of religion and later a Ph.D. in Theological and Philosophical Ethics. While in Chicago, Gil studied Tai Chi, which, among many other things, helped him to re-conceive his body and to write a book about that process.
Gil will only be available as an Immersion Choice on Thursday, October 27th. He will be teaching Integral Anatomy.
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Saul David Raye is an internationally acclaimed teacher, healer and spiritual activist known for his empowering and transformational approach to yoga, healing and spirituality. Saul’s teaching draws on the depth of the Yoga tradition, Bhakti, Tantra and all forms of universal light, love and wisdom.
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Through the grace of his teachers and guides he is able to bring alive the ancient wisdom teachings for modern seekers. The depth of Saul’s teaching allows students to connect deeply with their own authentic power, spirit and truth. A pioneering and inspiring presence in Yoga’s evolution in the west, Saul holds certifications in Yoga, bodywork and energy healing is an ordained minister and musician who infuses his classes with healing music and chants. He has been on the faculty of International conferences and festivals for years, has taught regularly at Esalen Institute and has presented alongside many luminaries in the Spiritual world including Ram Dass and Deepak Chopra. Saul shares this work through teacher trainings, workshops, classes, sacred journey's to ancient power sites and music.
Saul is offering a Thursday Immersion. Atma Yoga Immersion: Awakened Heart- Sacred Living in Powerful Times .
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Uma Goswami, MD, has practiced child psychiatry in Bangalore, India, for 14 years and is a pioneer of yoga psychology. During the course of her practice, Dr Goswami, an international lecturer, has conducted her own
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research on the transformation of emotions using yoga therapy, and has a forthcoming book on the subject. She is also an accomplished dancer of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance of India.
Uma is Lulu Bandha's Bhakti teacher. We are all completely in love with her. When she transmits the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Sutras, you Understand.
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Ganga White is the founder of the White Lotus Foundation and is recognized as an outstanding teacher and exponent of Yoga.
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Ganga is a free thinker who questions authority, outmoded beliefs, and dogmatic systems. His teaching empowers the individual while retaining the essential truths of Yoga. Ganga has stated, "I am very concerned with awakening the mind as well as the body. Yoga is far more than simply a healthful exercise system. The most important purpose of Yoga is to bring about a deep transformation of the individual - an awakening of intelligence that is free of dependencies and romantic beliefs and ready to meet the accelerating challenges of the 21st century." His latest book presenting a fresh, new and contemporary vision of yoga, is titled Yoga Beyond Belief - Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice.
Ganga and Tracey will be offering a Thursday Immersion: On Higher Ground: A day of Inquiry, Pranayama, Asana and the Meditation that is Your Life..
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Jason Crandell was recently named “one of the next generation of teachers shaping yoga's future” by Yoga Journal for his skillful, unique approach to vinyasa yoga. Jason's steady pace, creative sequencing, and
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attention to detail encourage students to move slowly, deeply, and mindfully into their bodies. Take a class from Jason and you will leave feeling grounded, clear, and content—and more informed of the nuancesand habits of your body and mind. Jason credits his primary teacher, Rodney Yee, teachers in the Iyengar Yoga tradition such as Ramanand Patel, and ongoing studies in Eastern and Western philosophy for inspiring to him bring greater alignment and mindfulness to vinyasa yoga.
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Jill is a yoga and fitness therapy expert with more than 25 years of expertise including the moving arts of Yoga, Modern Dance, Pilates, Bodywork and Shiatsu. Her teaching playfully integrates the nuts and bolts of human movement coupled
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with profound yogic philosophy. Jill teaches her unique style Yoga Tune Up® internationally and has educated and certified dozens of specialized Yoga Tune Up® teachers who help people to live better in their bodies. She has been featured in Self, Prevention, Redbook, Yoga Journal, Women’s Running, and on the Today Show; the LTimes calls her “kinetically arresting.” She is a “Contributing Expert” at Gaiam.com. Jill’s critically acclaimed DVD series include Yoga Tune Up®, the Pranamaya produced Yoga Link, and Gaiam's Yoga for Weight Loss.
Jill will be offering a Thursday Immersion: Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Ball Workshop: Strategies for Self-Care.
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Founder and co-owner of Virayoga, and Jonah's mama, Elena's been teaching for 14+ years. She is respected and beloved globally for her powerful teaching, compelling students to integrate yoga practice
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into the realities of daily life. Elena is also the quintessential multi-hyphenate: teacher, designer, coach, journalist, producer, writer and entrepreneur. From the Museum of Modern Art to the Great Lawn at Central Park, from the playa at Burning Man to the lawn at the Eiffel Tower, Elena is honored to offer larger-scale experiences of yoga, but her true service is in shifting awareness within the smallest interactions; one family, one household at a time. She's been featured in the New York Times, Yoga Journal, the Element Yoga for Beginners DVD series, FitYoga, ABC News, NBC News, and is one of the original teachers on YogaGlo.
Along with her own Art of Attention writing, Elena contributes to the Huffington Post and Kris Carr's CrazySexyLife. She's also the voice of Deepak Chopra's breakthrough video game project, LEELA, which blends meditation practice with game play. As the Executive Producer of On Meditation, she is curating a docuseries of short films about the relevance of meditation and its benefits, to be released in 2012. Elena's recently developed an essential oil blend called GIVE that proudly benefits her favorite global cause, Women for Women International.
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Yogi and kirtan musician Sean Johnson is the founder of Wild Lotus Yoga in New Orleans. He is also the founder of Soul School-- an interdisciplinary yoga and spirituality teacher training program that focuses on bringing soul and imagination
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to the art of teaching yoga, and the BHAKTImmersion-- a bhakti yoga intensive and kirtan training held in New Orleans twice a year.
Sean’s teaching seeks to weave the emotional power of bhakti yoga with the sensuality of hatha yoga to free the spirit and bring more love, creativity, and depth to our lives. His playful classes focus on opening the heart through ecstatic chant, storytelling, mythology, creative vinyasa flows, mystical poetry, and enchanting music. All of Sean’s sessions at the Crib will be accompanied by the live soundtrack of The Wild Lotus Band, percussionist Gwendolyn Colman and bass/guitar player Alvin Young.
Sean and the band are regarded as one of the guiding voices in western kirtan music and teach and play at venues worldwide including yoga conferences, retreat centers, yoga and music festivals, and studios small and large. They are the first kirtan band to ever play The New Orleans Jazz Festival. Sean and the band’s album Devaloka is on the Nettwerk/Nutone Music label, also home of Sarah McLaughlin, Barenaked Ladies, Krishna Das, and Jai Uttal. Sean also co-curated Putumayo World Music's recent release Yoga which features the band's music as well as inspiring songs from a variety of global cultures. Sean loves Ojai and is grateful and happy to be a part of the Crib family.
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Tracey Rich is a director of the White Lotus Foundation. She has been serving the organization through her teaching and in the design and development of their Santa Barbara Retreat Center since its inception in 1983.
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Tracey has been studying and teaching nationally since 1978, training teachers as well as students. She draws her teaching methods from all of these areas creating a synthesis of experience and hoping to inspire self-expression in the student, giving them the tools to develop well being and awareness in their lives. She focuses her teaching of Vinyasa Yoga on freedom, creativity and the importance of refining subtle energies and the breath. "The asanas become a dance with the dance moving out into all areas of life." Tracey is holder of the Yoga Acharya degree.
Tracey and Ganga will be offering a a Thursday Immersion: On Higher Ground: A day of Inquiry, Pranayama, Asana and the Meditation that is Your Life..
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Emil was born in Switzerland and has been living in Asia since the mid-seventies, studying first Chinese Classics and Taoism in Taiwan, and then Sanskrit and Indian Thought on the Subcontinent.
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This early research was made possible through a six-year grant by the Department of Education of his home country.
Making Nepal his home in 1980, he became a founder-partner of Machan Wildlife Resort, a safari lodge in the jungles of South Nepal. While continuing his studies and occasionally retreating in East Asia, India and Nepal, Emil had the privilege to come into contact with several remarkable human beings and teachings. Among them were adepts, representing different branches of Yoga. His own Sâdhana – the spiritual search began in earnest.
Emil's sessions will combine Pranayama, contemplative techniques, Mudra sequences and Mantra work, and perhaps even a Yantra construction. This all is accompanied with Yoga philosophy: the history, content and lineages of Yoga from the first stirrings to Modern Postural Yoga.
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A healthy mind, a healthy body, a joyous life, flow from an open heart.”
This is the outlook that makes the journey of yoga & dance with Hemalayaa so joyous and playful. A hallmark of Hema’s classes is the sound of laughter; her own and that of her students.
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Hema’s special gift is a teaching style that invites students to embark on a journey to their own inner joy. Fitness in the fullest possible sense.
She teaches in Los Angeles, Ojai, Santa Barabra and also offers frequent workshops in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto as well as retreats in some of the world’s most stunning settings. The daughter of Indian parents, Hema’s yoga training began at home at an early age. Her first teacher was her father. She then went on to study yoga philosophy and meditation as well as asana. Hema is also a student of India’s other great movement traditions. Her in-depth study and practice of classical Indian dance informs how she teaches.
A life devoted to yoga and dance animate Hemalayaa’s playful spirit. Many of her retreats and workshops culminate in a night of dance. Hema loves turning her students on to the vibrant styles of Indian dance, from the classical to the latest moves from Bollywood, Bangra and Indian MTV.
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Elevating personal growth as a lifestyle, Ashley Turner, M.A., MFTI brings a fresh approach to yoga as a modern day psychotherapist with a soulful bent on celebrating the body's wisdom and inner spirit. Deep, witty, and laser focused, she draws
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on the source texts of yoga while incorporating the best of Neurobiology, Jungian Psychology, Ayurveda, Tantra and Priestess work - vigorously challenging students from the inside out. She is known for her ability to translate complex themes into practical, real-life tools accessible to all.
Ashley's passion is to help people live with more fearlessness and freedom -- resulting in confidence, efficacy and empowerment. Her emphasis on physical, mental and emotional fitness centers on radical self-acceptance and owning one's shadow. Recently named by Yoga Journal as "Who's Who in Power Yoga", she is the creator of 3 best-selling yoga DVD's, Director of Body-Mind-Yoga Programming at Montage Laguna Beach and adjunct faculty member at LMU's Yoga Philosophy program. She lives in Santa Monica, CA and Aspen, CO and teaches worldwide.
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John Hickey is a licensed acupuncturist and has been practicing shiatsu massage and traditional Chinese medicine since 1980. He is one of the founders of the Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine (SBCOM), where he taught and served as the academic vice president from 1985 until 2001. John has a black belt in Shotokan karate and also teaches tai chi and qi gong.
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Kira Ryder, along with her amazing team, is one of the hostesses of the Ojai Yoga Crib. She takes inspiration from the incredible beauty and intimacy of the Ojai Valley in which she is fortunate to live.
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Fascinated by the opportunities of Relationship, her teaching style has evolved to help cultivate an understanding of the practicality and global necessity of Self Love. With attention to the subtle currents, Kira aims to be the FAT to allow your flavor to come through and be tasted. She is the Den Mother of Lulu Bandha's.
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Geoffrey is a musician, yogi, teacher and world traveler. He began playing music professionally in 1968 and has been performing, practicing yoga, and singing kirtan for over 40 years. He's featured as a drummer on albums with Robbie Roberston,
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Rita Coolidge & Walela, Gabrielle Roth, Krishna Das, Coleman Barks, MC Yogi, R. Carlos Nakai & Newang Khechog, Peter Kater, Steven Halpern, David Torn, and many others. Geoffrey helped pioneer the modern American kirtan movement with Jai Uttal touring, teaching, performing and recording consistently for over ten years from 1992-2002.
He's also been on many teaching faculties along with Ram Dass, Daniel Goleman, Stan Grof, Gabrielle Roth, Lama Surya Das, Emil Wendel, Jonas Westring, Shiva Rea, Krishna Das and many others. He's heard on film soundtracks with Cohen Bro's composer Carter Burwell, Elliot Goldenthal and appears in the film 'Rumi Poet of the Heart' narrated by Debra Winger featuring Coleman Barks. He appeared on Broadway, Lincoln Center, and toured internationally with director Julie Taymor.
He was an associate professor on the faculties of Sarah Lawrence College and City College of New York. Geoffrey is heard on many well known film soundtracks and over 80 published CDs. His solo kirtan album is titled 'Breath of Rama'. He's led kirtan at The Bali Spirit Festival, Bhakti Fest, The Beloved Festival, with Ram Dass in Hawaii and internationally at many conferences, yoga centers, yoga teacher trainings and retreats.
 See the Scheudle of Classes
We are so excited about the playlist of teachers this year. Each brings a rich and particular viewpoint and expression of the practices of yoga. You will not be able to make a "bad choice."
When you purchase your ticket, you will have the chance to handweave your own schedule, picking who you want to practice with on what day.
With the exception of Erich Schiffmann and Saul David Raye, you will be able to practice with your favorite teacher as much as s/he is teaching.
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