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AM I A YOGI? “I am not the body. I am not even the mind.” - Sadhguru  (This week's newsletter was composed by our dynamic on-demand teacher and full time writer Elinor Cohen. Check out her Instagram HERE and her amazingly empowering advanced & intermediate sessions on our on-demand archives.) Have you ever thought to yourself, “Am I a yogi?” It might seem like a loaded question. What constitutes calling yourself a yogi? What do you have to do to earn that title? Is someone who practices yoga once a week a yogi? Do you have to practice every day to qualify? Do you have to sit for hours in silence and abide by all of the yogic principles in order to be worthy?
The answer is that you have to define it for yourself. One could practice asana every single day, know the Bhagavad Gita inside and out, have memorized all the yamas and the niyamas... but if they get rattled every time a beginner comes to class, or if they get irritated when things aren't done their way, are they a yogi? Perhaps not yet. To be a yogi is to practice unity. To practice yoga is to yolk, to unite; uniting body, mind, and breath with your inner spirit. How this looks could change each day. Some days you may be more yogic than others. There is no definite answer to the question of, “Am I a yogi?” Instead, see it as an opportunity for thought. Am I a yogi? Well, do you want to be one? If so and if you feel that you're not one yet, what steps can you take to become one? Maybe it's practicing a bit more kindness towards others on a daily basis. Maybe it's fostering a sense of community within your yoga studio. Maybe it's practicing asana more often. With this question, don't stress. Just get curious. PRIVATES: ONE-TO-ONE WORK! If you want to set up any private sessions or events, please contact me through email. You can learn more about privates: CLICK HERE! SINGLE CLASSES We've added single class purchases to our on-demand offerings. How does it work? A $17 payment will give you access to a single pre-recorded class with Victor or anyone on his staff. The private link with unique access code will give you entry to that class, which you can load anytime you want. You'll have 24-hours of unlimited access to that class. No refunds, returns and you must use that class within 24-hours of receiving it before it expires. You can request a teacher on our on-demand options... featuring Demetra Kentrotas (@d_meetch), Leanne McDermott ( @leannerays ), Elinor Cohen ( @elinorraerigby) and others. ON-DEMAND ACCESS OPTION Now you can subscribe to on-demand only and get access to our ever-changing archive of pre-recorded sessions. For $70 you get 30-days of on-demand accessibility. This package does not include live scheduled sessions. Upon payment, class access begins. COMING SOON... Yoga with Victor's mentorship program for teachers looking to sharpen their tools and hone in on varying skills that will make you more proficient at sequencing, teaching anatomy, or widening their skill set to become a successful instructor and craft your own business model. YOGA AT OHHHMMM LIVE VIRTUAL SCHEDULE: MONDAY: 9/18/2023 6:30 am -- Sunrise Vinyasa TUESDAY: 9/19/2023 6:30 am -- Sunrise Vinyasa 12:00 pm -- Flow Yoga WEDNESDAY: 9/20/2023 6:30 am -- Sunrise Vinyasa THURSDAY: 9/21/2023 6:30 am -- Sunrise Vinyasa 12:00 pm -- Flow Yoga FRIDAY: 9/22/2023 6:45 am -- Vinyasa 12:00 pm -- Flow Yoga SATURDAY: 9/23/2023 8:30 am -- Sweat Fest Yoga SUNDAY: 9/24/2023 9:00 am -- Vinyasa Yoga *ALL CLASSES EST *SESSIONS 45/60 MINUTES *WAIVER STATEMENT: I understand that I must be in good physical health to participate in these classes, that my participation may cause an injury and that I should consult with my physician before I take a class. I am taking these classes at my own risk. I waive any claim for personal injury and any other damages that I may have against the school, studio and/or the teachers who are offering these classes. REGULAR RATES:(when submitting payment, in note section state email for delivery of services)
PAYMENT: VENMO -- @Vicyasa Paypal -- Victor@YogawithVictor.com NAMASTE, Victor Cotto www.YogaWithVictor.com Instagram: CottoVic Facebook: Yoga With Victor - Vicyasa™
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 Studies of the last 30 years of clinical trials suggest that yoga can significantly improve pain, decrease disability and enhance mood in people with persistent pain. For decades, scientists and doctors thought that pain could be exclusively only by damage to the structure of the body. They looked for the source of chronic pain in bulging spinal discs, muscle injuries, and infections. More recent research, however, points to a second source of chronic pain: the distinct real biology of your thoughts, emotions, expectations, and memories.
Most chronic pain has its roots in a physical injury or illness, but it is sustained by how that initial trauma changes not just the body but also the mind-body relationship. There are stages to pain response: sensation, stress, and suffering. All three can be debilitating and cause ailing. The initial sensation can be pain, muscle aches, a cut, burn... these threats are detected by specialized nerves and sent through the spinal cord and up to the brain [Central Nervous System] where, among other things, the threat signals are transformed into pain sensations. To help you take action, the threat signals have been simultaneously routed to the areas of your brain that help the body launch an emergency stress response, coordinating the actions of the nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system. The emergency stress response triggers a cascade of physiological changes that give you the energy and focus to protect yourself from life-threatening danger. Even after the threat is gone, the pain response is not over. The mind and body are very interested in making sure you know how to protect yourself from this threat in the future. So the nervous system begins the process of learning from this experience. Any kind of injury or illness, even one that is short-lived or appears to be fully healed, can change the way the nervous system processes pain. The best way to unlearn chronic stress and pain responses is to give the mind and body healthier responses to practice. Relaxation specifically has been shown to be healing for chronic pain. It turns off the stress response and directs the body’s energy to growth, repair, immune function, digestion, and other self-nurturing processes. The relaxation response unravels the mind-body samskaras that contribute to pain and provides the foundation for healing habits. Consistent relaxation practice teaches the mind and body how to rest in a sense of safety rather than chronic emergency. Practicing restorative yoga poses turns on the healing relaxation response by combining gentle yoga poses with conscious breathing. Use Props: include the wall, a chair, a couch, pillows, blankets, towels, or bolsters designed especially for restorative yoga practice. The right support in a pose will make it feel effortless, so your body can fully let go. Although these poses may look as though you are doing nothing, this is far from the truth. Restorative yoga rests the body but engages the mind. The breathing elements of each pose make restorative yoga an active process of focusing the mind on healing thoughts, sensations, and emotions. Yoga can teach you how to focus your mind to change your experience of physical pain. It can give you back the sense of safety, control, and courage that you need to move past your experience of chronic pain. YOGA AT OHHHMMM VIRTUAL SCHEDULE: MONDAY: 4/10/2023
*ALL CLASSES EST *SESSIONS 45/60 MINUTES *WAIVER STATEMENT: I understand that I must be in good physical health to participate in these classes, that my participation may cause an injury and that I should consult with my physician before I take a class. I am taking these classes at my own risk. I waive any claim for personal injury and any other damages that I may have against the school, studio and/or the teachers who are offering these classes. REGULAR RATES:(when submitting payment, in note section state email for delivery of services)
PAYMENT: VENMO -- @Vicyasa Paypal -- Victor@YogawithVictor.com NAMASTE, Victor Cotto www.YogaWithVictor.com Instagram: CottoVic Facebook: Yoga With Victor - Vicyasa™ “Embrace your journey and look for the lessons. Believe in divine timing and know that what’s for you will not pass you.” -- Cara Alwill Leyba, Author of Girl Code  (This week's newsletter was composed by our wonderful on-demand teacher and full time writer Elinor Cohen. Check out her Instagram HERE and her amazingly empowering advanced & intermediate sessions on our on-demand archives.) Happy Spring, yogis! We’re officially in the season of what promises to be warmer weather and new beginnings. With that may come a reinvigorated yoga practice and the desire to challenge yourselves in new and interesting ways, both on and off the mat.
Something that often gets tossed around in yoga is the concept that everyone can do every pose if they just work hard enough. While there are some poses that can be achieved through perseverance, patience, and practice, this isn’t true for all of them. That begs the question: Is every pose for every body? The short answer is no. The long answer is no…and that’s a good thing. Part of the physical asana practice is learning how to do the postures that challenge us, whether physically, emotionally, or mentally. But another critical aspect of yoga is learning to accept that some poses are simply not meant for everyone. This isn’t about judgment or aesthetics; rather it’s about anatomy and an understanding that every yogi is unique. For example, some people’s legs will simply never bend into lotus pose (padmasana) no matter how hard they try. There’s nothing wrong with them – this is just how their bodies are made. Yoga is about learning to accept the poses that fit your body and riding the wave of emotions that come up as a result of the ones that don’t. In the same vein, there are some who may say “You’ll get it eventually” to practitioners who haven’t yet achieved a certain pose. While for some that may be motivating, for others this notion could be discouraging. The harm in saying “You’ll get it eventually” is that some people might not – and again, that’s okay. There is nothing wrong with your practice, whether or not you eventually nail that pose. In fact, your practice is perfect exactly as it is. It’s perfectly fine to want to get into physically demanding poses – doing so can feel empowering and satisfying! Still, remember that it is not a failure if you don’t get there, now or ever. YOGA AT OHHHMMM VIRTUAL SCHEDULE: MONDAY: 4/3/2023
*ALL CLASSES EST *SESSIONS 45/60 MINUTES *WAIVER STATEMENT: I understand that I must be in good physical health to participate in these classes, that my participation may cause an injury and that I should consult with my physician before I take a class. I am taking these classes at my own risk. I waive any claim for personal injury and any other damages that I may have against the school, studio and/or the teachers who are offering these classes. REGULAR RATES:(when submitting payment, in note section state email for delivery of services)
PAYMENT: VENMO -- @Vicyasa Paypal -- Victor@YogawithVictor.com NAMASTE, Victor Cotto www.YogaWithVictor.com Instagram: CottoVic Facebook: Yoga With Victor - Vicyasa™ “The more the heart is sated with joy, the more it becomes insatiable.” —Gabrielle Roy  Certain core teachings of Yoga can forever shift the way you see the world in an acute way. “Joy is within you” is one of them. In the Yoga Sutra’s Chapter 1.33, Pantanjali gives us a 4-part process to help us clear our hearts of negative energies as a means for quieting our minds.
Four keys to nurture joy within... Maitri [friendliness]: Kindness and friendliness to those who are happy, instead of being jealous and resentful of their mode. Rather than living with mental scarcity thinking one person’s happiness will cause us to run out of happiness we must appreciate their joy, realizing the potential for all of us to be happy at the same time. Karuna [compassion]: Compassion for those who are in pain, those that are suffering including yourself. The practice means no longer self-sabotaging oneself nor catastrophizing but instead learning how to self-comfort. It implies you see yourself as deserving of compassion. This applies outwardly as well, that we cannot choose towards whom we have compassion but it is universal and unconditional. Mudita [joy]: Respect, admiration and honor for those who embody noble qualities. In practice this means eliminating envy towards those that are living honorable lives. We must genuinely celebrate achievements. This reminds us that we can be inspired by others' greatness to then be inspiring. We all have innate greatness. Upeksanam [equanimity]: towards those who hurt us. Peacefulness towards those whose actions oppose our values. Instead of choosing the “like” button or even the “dislike” button choosing neutral. There will be some people that purposefully will try to harm you or people you love. Your choice is not to engage them in a fight. You can simply stop struggling. This is where the idea of “would you rather be right or be happy” comes from. We encounter many people in life; Happy people (sukha), Unhappy people (dukha), Honorable people (punya), Malicious people (apunya)... Our approach, the way we cultivate and navigate through relationships, choosing to constitute a path that leads us to happiness cannot be shaken if we nurture ourselves with the above 4 keys. QUEENS SCENE... Interview. CHECK IT OUT! Queens Scene magazine is a community publication that is devoted to the lifestyle and trends of neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City and Western Queens, NYC. "The soul of the community in terms of nightlife, adventure, fun, and art," Queens Scene contacted me for an interview about yoga, my approach to the practice and places to visit in Queens. Featured in their Health Section, check out the online feature (CLICK HERE). OH.... YES! As the weather warms, we'll have announcements regarding our wildly popular and fun outdoor classes in Long Island City, Astoria... and Manhattan, in some of NYC's most scenic parks. Check out Queens Scene online HERE. LOADS OF NEW ON-DEMAND CLASSES... Victor, along with Elinor Cohen [IG: @elinorraerigby] and Leanne McDermott [IG: @leannerays], have added NEW advanced/intermediate yoga sessions to the on-demand section. We've also added 60-minute sessions, along with 40-45 minute vinyasa classes for you to flow to any time of the day. To get on-demand, just subscribe to any of our UNLIMITED packages. Demetra Kentrotas [IG: @d_meetch] has fusion yoga/pilates classes, and loads of power classes of varying duration. SALE... Get multiple months of LIVE & On-demand yoga... for $155! If you're currently inactive, you can grab 2 months of UNLIMITED live sessions and access to our on-demand classes. Membership will activate upon payment. Grab this great deal NOW... it'll only last 48-hours upon receiving this email. YOGA AT OHHHMMM VIRTUAL SCHEDULE: MONDAY: 3/13/2023
*ALL CLASSES EST *SESSIONS 45/60 MINUTES *WAIVER STATEMENT: I understand that I must be in good physical health to participate in these classes, that my participation may cause an injury and that I should consult with my physician before I take a class. I am taking these classes at my own risk. I waive any claim for personal injury and any other damages that I may have against the school, studio and/or the teachers who are offering these classes. REGULAR RATES:(when submitting payment, in note section state email for delivery of services)
PAYMENT: VENMO -- @Vicyasa Paypal -- Victor@YogawithVictor.com NAMASTE, Victor Cotto www.YogaWithVictor.com Instagram: CottoVic Facebook: Yoga With Victor - Vicyasa™ It's Yoga Practice, Not Yoga Perfect |
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