Spring 2008

Calling all Calendar Yogis!
As we gear up for our tenth anniversary, we need your help putting together a calendar that reflects the history and diversity of our registrants.  Individual or group photos are welcome.  To submit your photos, please email them to calendar@yogaalliance.org with 2009 Calendar in the subject of your email.  Don’t forget that photos must be horizontal.  All submissions must be high resolution or print quality – 300 dpi at a size of 8.5” x 11”. 

Also, please send us your favorite quote – it could be from a yogi, your favorite author, or even your mom - along with a completed release, which allows us to use the photo.  Please feel free to look at previous calendars for inspiration.  For more details on photo requirements, please go to www.yogalliance.org.

Continuing Education
As you may know, we’re in the process of updating our method of accepting Continuing Education (CE) documentation.  In the meantime, we want to make sure our records are current.  If you initially registered in 2005 or prior and haven’t submitted your CE information, please fax or mail it to us when you renew.  Our fax number is 301.868.7909 or 240.846.0898.  Already renewed this year?  That’s ok.  Just submit your information at your earliest convenience.  Read more  

Changes to the Board
During our annual Board Meeting in April, we welcomed two new Board members – Lynn Bushnell and Joanne Perron. Both are RYTs - Jo is a medical doctor focused on integrative medicine and Lynn is a certified Ananda yoga teacher and a certified meditation instructor.  Read more about Joanne and Lynn. 

Two new officers were elected -- Virginia Cowen as Vice Chair and Felicia Boyd as Treasurer, who will join Bob Patrick and Terri Kennedy on the Executive Committee.

We’ve also said goodbye to five dear Board members who have each offered dedicated service to YA - David Caswell, Shakta Kaur, Pashupati Steven Landau, Jaime Stover Schmitt and Veronica Zador,.  We will greatly miss their energy and insights. While they’ll no longer be active with the board, we look forward to their continued role as valuable resources to YA.

We’re Growing
Our office staff has also grown to support our upcoming 10th anniversary initiatives and other activities. We’re excited to welcome Danielle Tergis, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University with over 14 years of marketing experience, as our new director of marketing and communications.  Brenda Hunter has joined us to oversee accounts payable, Dana Queen has joined our teacher registry staff, Cherice Jacobs is our new customer care representative and Martina Hood is YA’s new marketing administrative assistant.  We are also pleased to tell you that former teacher registry staff member LaToya Jones has been promoted to office manager.  Read more

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Yoga Matters Archives
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January/February 2008

Yoga Day USA a Hit Once Again

Yoga Day USA 2008 is history and once again, thousands of participants from coast to coast discovered yoga through the more than 250 workshops sponsored by the Yoga Alliance community.  We’d love to hear about your workshops. Please send your stories and photos to share@yogaalliance.org.

Calendar Call

The 2008 Yoga Alliance calendar is out and receiving rave reviews.

Congratulations to the extraordinary RYTs who photos appear in the 2008 calendar.  They include:

• Susan Abenilla-Brown, RYT 200,  Del Ray Beach FL
• Tanya Boigenzahn, RYT 200,  Minneapolis, MN
• Lara Bontempo, RYT 200, Annapolis MD
• Carolyn Burke, RYT 200, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Margaret Burns-Vap, RYT 200, Bozeman, MT
• Rebecca Hewes and Thomas Thompson both RYT’s 200, Norman, OK
• Lauri Hoffman, RYT 200, Ketchum ID
• Sarajoy Marsh, RYT 500, Portland, OR
• Joseph R. Roberson, E-RYT 200, Columbia, MD
• Katrina Rogers, RYT 200, Dallas, TX
• Dolly Stavros, E-RYT 200, Charlotte, NC
• Adnan Tahirovic, RYT 200, Taipei, Taiwan

If you would like a copy, please let us know by emailing your request to ssumner@yogaalliance.org.

This year’s calendar is complete but it’s time to start thinking about the 2009 edition.  We would love to see your best photos!  Please submit your entries to

calendar@yogaalliance.org.  We need photos with a horizontal orientation.  All submissions must be high resolution print quality…. 300 dpi at a size of 8.5 x ll”. To get a good idea of what works, take a look at the wonderful photos in  this year’s calendar.  Along with your photos, please send us a favorite quote –  it could be from a yogi, a literary figure, a politician or even your mom!  We’ll also need a completed release allowing us to use the photo in the calendar or possibly on the YA site or in YA publications.

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November/December 2007

Yoga Day USA Is Just Around the Corner!

How is your event planning coming?  Hopefully it is well underway. 

We’d love to have a record number of events for Yoga Day USA on Saturday, January 26.  You will find all the help you need at www.yogadayusa.org.  Join us and help introduce more people to the benefits of yoga while growing your own community of yogis. 

From coast to coast the list of workshops is growing.  In Palmer, Alaska Georgia Stansell’s event will benefit local libraries and in Greensboro Mona Flynn’s program will benefit her church.  Much farther south, in sunny San Diego Kris Ward’s Yoga Day events will benefit kiva.org, an organization that funds micro loans for entrepreneurs in developing countries.

On the opposite coast in West Palm Beach, Florida Therese Abair and Jerry Jefferson (featured in our last issue) are deep into planning for their day-long event.  They team-up with other local teachers and the city to create an outdoor event that attracts experienced yogis as well as beginners.

Those in the Midwest can enjoy classes in Oak Forest, Illinois where Anita Castelli’s event will benefit Hope Children’s Hospital and in Wabasha, Minnesota, Christina Mroz’s program will help out the Wabasha Food Pantry. 

Farther east in Pennsylvania,  perennial Yoga Day USA participant, the Carlisle YMCA is planning classes for all ages and fitness levels, while in West Virginia teachers from all around the Charleston area will work together to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  

In the northeast, Bryan Russell’s program in Keene, New Hampshire will raise funds for the HCS Hospice and in Northport, New York, Nancy Owens is concentrating on programs for beginners. 

Even in Australia, Yoga Day planning is in full bloom with John Ogilvie’s event in Byron Bay that will benefit Rainforest Rescue. 

If you are planning an event, don’t forget to enter the details www.yogadayusa.org. If your plans haven’t gotten off the ground, don’t despair, there’s still time to draw some inspiration from your colleagues and host an event that could benefit an organization in your community. 

And, of course, thanks to all who plan to participate in Yoga Day USA 2008

Injury Survey Update

Last  August, many of you took part in a survey being conducted by IAYT about yoga injuries.  The complete results are not yet available, but the survey’s authors did respond to an October Time magazine article, “When Yoga Hurts,” in the November issue of LA Yoga.  Read more

Did you know? 

Owners of hybrid vehicles are more than twice as likely to practice yoga as the general population.

Source: Scarborough Research Dec. 2007

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September/October 2007

YA Opens Search for Two New Board Members

Nominating Committee Chair, Dr. Jaime Stover Schmitt has issued a call for Yoga Alliance Board member candidates interested in serving for a three-year term beginning April 2008.  Yoga Alliance will welcome new Board members at the next face-to-face meeting set for April 4-6, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

The committee is searching for yogis and yoginis who are dedicated to the YA mission –  “to lead the yoga community, set standards, foster integrity, provide resources and uphold the teachings of yoga.” 

“In order to help Yoga Alliance move forward in its next stage of growth we are seeking RYTs with a variety of skills,” said Dr. Stover Schmitt.  “We are particularly interested in individuals who have non-profit board experience and expertise in one or more of the following areas: public policy or financial expertise, a degree in the field of medicine, and leadership in an authentic yoga tradition.”

Because Board members are located across the U.S., it is essential that those interested in serving have e-mail access and computer capability for Word, Excel and Power Point and can read PDF-formatted documents. Please e-mail a letter of intention stating your commitment to serve along with your resume to non-com@yogaalliance.org.

Applications will be accepted October 15, through December 1, 2007.

YA Welcomes New Board Member

The YA Board welcomed Felicia Boyd, PMP, RYT as its newest member during the September meeting in Estes Park, Colorado.  She will serve a three-year term on the Board.

Felicia is an Information Technology executive, business consultant, writer and yogini who partners with government and non-profit organizations to plan and translate strategic visions into successful programs, policy and solutions.  With over 20 years of experience in corporate and public service, Felicia seeks to expand awareness of yogic principles in addressing work-life balance issues and in influencing public policy to national and global problems.  Felicia has been a student of the eight-fold path of yoga since 1979 and combines community service with her interest in yogic philosophy and quantum physics through teaching yoga and meditation to individuals and organizations throughout the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Felicia has held management positions at Digital Equipment Corporation and Lucent Technologies, and is presently a program manager with the U.S. Department of Transportation. Felicia completed a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and holds Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute. She is a certified Sampoorna yoga teacher, a Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) Kriya initiate and is a co-owner of a retreat center outside of Fayetteville, North Carolina. She is married with three wonderful daughters and lives in the Washington, D.C. area.

Felicia Boyd

The 2008 Calendar Is Coming!

Many thanks to all who submitted photos for the 2008 calendar.  Our 12 yogis and yoginis have been selected and the photos are beautiful!  The 2008 edition features and expanded size to allow more room to jot down engagements and notes.  Limited quantities will be available.  To request one of your very own, please send an e-mail to:  calendar@yogaalliance.org.

Important Advertising Reminder

As you know, as a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher, you may use the initials RYT following your name. You also may use the RYT or RYS designation (in the case of schools) in your marketing materials and on your website.

We do see some confusion, however, in the use of the words “certified,” “approved” and “accredited” in some advertisements, brochures and websites. Please remember that Yoga Alliance does not “certify,” “approve” or “accredit“ teachers or schools. You may not use these words in your advertising and marketing materials in reference to Yoga Alliance or to Registered Yoga Teachers or Schools.You may not say, for example, that you or your studio has been “approved” by Yoga Alliance. You may, however, say that an RYT or RYS  “meets Yoga Alliance standards.”

If you have made an error, it is important that it be immediately corrected. We also appreciate your help in locating those who are making the error so that we may contact them and ensure that corrections are made.

As always your assistance is very much appreciated.

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