Maya Yoga Immersion with Nicki Doane

Merging of the Mind & Body Maya Yoga is a time tested practice that respects and honors both the body and the mind, cultivating a quality of seamless union and helping us lead more productive and full lives. Nicki’s unique offering weaves the philosophy of yoga into the asana practice while keeping the tone light and reminding students to not take themselves too seriously.Nicki combines asana, pranayama, philosophy, and poetry into her strong yet accessible workshops. This weekend immersion with Nicki will offer the deep psychological teachings of the yoga sutras though the asana practice. Sign up for one session or dive into a weekend of immersing yourself in the rich timeless teachings of yoga.There will be attention placed on how to do the postures safely with clear alignment directions while observing how the mind reacts to them. Investigating how we are spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. It is comforting to know that we are all in this together as human beings and that we are not alone. We are more similar than we are different.According to Patanjali who is widely considered to be the author of the Yoga Sutras, the source of most of our suffering is in our mind. These sutras tell us that yoga is the path to Self Realization, the practice of getting to know yourself better. The process and practice of learning to love ourselves more. Yoga is the yoking or joining of seemingly opposite forces, like the sun and the moon, or the mind and the body. Being holistic beings we cannot separate or compartmentalize ourselves into either a body or a mind. They are intertwined and deeply connected. Yogis believe that a link between the two is the breath. It is important as yogis to also understand that an asana is not only a posture of our bodies, but also a posture of our mind.The poses are fascinating in and of themselves, and our reactions to them are deeply personal and even more interesting. The poses have an uncanny ability to delve deeply into our psyche and we all react to them differently. Some poses we love and some poses we do not. Some of us only practice the poses we like and that can make it hard or challenging to grow and change. It is getting through the difficult stuff that makes us stronger and more resilient in our lives.As we react to the various postures we practice, it is helpful to have tools to navigate the twists and turns of our consciousness and that comes in the form of the yoga sutras of patanjali. Nicki teaches that most of our suffering in this life is between our ears. The mind is a fragile thing and it is just as important to take care of it as it is to take care of our body.More about Nicki…From her first class, she knew she had found something special and deeply familiar. While she began to practice yoga on a purely physical plane and because it felt good, it became apparent some years later that there was more to Yoga than she originally thought. In 1991, Nicki traveled to Mysore, India to study with Sri K Pattabhi Jois, the master of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. She fell in love with the practice and continued her studies with Pattabhi Jois until his death in 2009. What she experienced on that first trip was a radical realization that yoga is much more than a physical practice. The yoga affected her deeply on an emotional and spiritual level. As she delved deeper into the Ashtanga practice she became curious about her teacher’s teacher and his lineage. She learned that Tirumalai Krishnamacharya had been Pattabhi Jois’ teacher and also the teacher of BKS Iyengar. This led her to study Iyengar Yoga with Mr. Iyengar, his children and with many of his senior teachers as well including Gabriella Giubilaro and Patricia Walden, at his institute in Pune, India. Nicki has always believed that her practice continued to grow and evolve due to her study and practice of both of these systems of Yoga. Nicki continues to study to study yoga with senior teachers and believes that a great teacher must always remain a dedicated student. Nicki’s teaching has grown out of her practice and her deep faith in yoga and she chooses to honor her students as individuals first and foremost. Nicki uses humor in her teaching to set her students at ease and she is considered to be very relatable and down to earth. She is known as a Teacher’s teacher and loves igniting the spark of yoga in her students. Nicki lives on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii, where she owns and directs the Maya Yoga Studio on the North Shore of Maui. Nicki teaches workshops and teacher training courses at her studio on Maui and travels all over the world conducting workshops, teacher trainings, and retreats.Sign up for one session for $100 or dive into a weekend of immersing yourself in the rich timeless teachings of yoga for $400.VIP Members, students and seniors receive 15% off