Lakulish Yoga in St. Augustine, FL

Several Upcoming Classes This Week

I am teaching many Yoga classes this week at CITY YOGA. Click the link for more info on where City Yoga is, rates, etc.

Upcoming Classes Are:

TONIGHT, Thursday June 17th: 7pm – 8:30pm Lakulish Yoga

Friday June 18th: 8:30am – 9:30am Gengle Yoga
10:00am – 11:30am Traditional Hatha Yoga

Sunday June 20th: 10:00am – 11:30am Lakulish Yoga
1:00pm – 3:30pm Chakra Workshop (must pre-register)

Monday June 21st: 10:00am – 11:30am Traditional Hatha Yoga

Hope to see you in class!!!!

NEW! Thursday Evening Yoga!

THURSDAY EVENING YOGA

DATE: Every Thursday Evening

TIME: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

LOCATION: City Yoga, next to Flavors in downtown St. Augustine.

COST: See Rates

MORE: This class consists of basic Hatha Yoga postures, Pranayama, and ends with OM chanting and meditation. The Hatha Yoga focus is on developing a healthy body, mind, and spirit through postures that are stable, comfortable, and yet challenging enough to help build a strong foundation in the body. This class builds energy and heat (tapas) in the spinal column and body and cleanses the body’s energetic pathways through a set sequence of yoga postures performed in combination with certain guided breathing techniques. In class, Jennifer draws attention to Yamas and Niyamas as an important part of building and maintaining Prana (vital life energy) built in the practice.

For class, bring a yoga mat. You may wish to bring a towel as the heat will be on just slightly.

City Yoga is located at 125 B King St. Saint Augustine, FL

Private yoga classes are always available. Call (904) 392-6588 for more information.

Learning the Science of Spiritual Evolution

Jai Bhagwan.

A lot of people ask me … what is Lakulish Yoga?  Who or what is Lakulish?

Lakulish is a Sanskrit name, and like most Sanskrit names and terms, Lakulish is a process. Lakulish is the very process by which Yoga happens. Lord Lakulish represents the very Energy into which all matter transforms through this amazing gift we call Yoga.
Yoga is very presicous and very sacred. It has been around since the beginning of time. Yoga is a lifetime commitment to certain eternal Truths.

We presently live in an age of darkness. The great texts of Sanatana Dharma (the Eternal Law that is Yoga) call this the age of Kali (Kali Yuga). This is the age of ignorance, for we have forgotten who we are. We have separated from God. We are hurtful to our own selves, our own systems, our friends, companions, neighbors, and our environment. We lie. We cheat. We steal. We possess. We covet. We exist with sickness, disease, and with rajasic (passionate, greedy, power-seeking, materialistic) and tamasic (dark, heavy, lazy, dull) negative imprints in our minds.

It is this negative mindset that causes the separation. It is the mind that makes us sick and diseased. It is the mind that hurts, that lies, that cheats, steals, possesses, and covets. What we are on the inside, we will project into our outside environment. Our world is on the verge of destruction because we are destroying ourselves inside our very beings.

What is worse than this, is that in this age, Yoga, the very means by which we undo this individual and global sickness, has been reduced to a fad. “False prophets” abound, and it seems there are gurus on every corner professing to teach spiritual enlightenment or transfer some kind of spiritual energy that will instantly “awaken” anyone. But I caution you: be very keen and careful. If anyone is going to sell anything having to do with Yoga, they should sell God 100% of the time. I encourage you to pay attention to any spiritual teacher’s actions, not just his or her fancy, charming words, spiritual powers, or supposed energetic state.

Sadly, in this day and age, Yoga has become “en vogue” and a cliche. Everywhere I turn, I am faced with this reality (or should I say illusion). We are so far into ignorance, that we have even forgotten what Yoga is. We have forgotten that Yoga is about Union with the energy of God (Consciousness, Source, Energy, Chi, Kundalini, Creator, etc). Yoga is about removing the negative imprints of the mind so that our vital life energy (Prana) will grow and build and take over our bodies.

Right now, our most negative mental tendencies control us. And look what has happened to us and to our world. We like to think we are decent people. Civilized. But the truth is we are all very uncivilized, barbaric people attempting to show some degree of outward decency. But we do not like to think of ourselves this way. We like living with our delusions and hallucinations.

The truth is, when we separate from God and we think we (our minds) can control the body God created and run it effectively and efficiently … we fail. We all get old, sick, diseased, frail, our bodies rot, and we eventually slowly decompose and die. But the truth is we do not have to. We don’t. It all depends on who is in control.

When we step foot on the path of Yoga and we awaken our vital life energy (Prana) to the point where it becomes stronger than our mental energy, God decends into the body. The body becomes a Temple. We become Living beings infused with Light. The mind becomes a friend. It becomes clear and sharp and slices away the negative energies that once ruled us. The mind becomes clear as crystal, and we become reflections of that inner Light, and we reflect that Light to the world.

Change happens one individual at a time, one Soul at a time. Right now we are experiencing an Energy crisis. We have strayed so far from our Maker that we have forgotten who we are. But we are never lost.

There is a science, a very precious science, that has been passed down from a Soul who has walked the path of Yoga successfully to a Soul who deeply desires to do so. That science is the path of Yoga itself. That science is Lakulish.

Yoga is not a religion. As a science, Yoga deals with the elements: fire, water, earth, air, and space/ether. It deals with physics and chemistry. It is the very science of learning how to convert matter into light. And this very science will bring you to the footsteps of God, should that be a place you wish to travel. If nothing else, Yoga will allow you to live a very happy, joyful, long and fulfilling life. God does not want us to be unhappy. God does not wish for us to live in a cave. God does not want us to suffer. God wants us to enjoy this life we have been given. Yoga enables us to enjoy life fully. When we live under the governance of our minds, we are not allowed to live fully and peacefully.

Yoga cannot be put into a box. It cannot be canned. It cannot be labeled. It most certainly is not exercise or mere postures and breath work and most certainly does not belong to anyone! While it may relieve stress and make a person feel peaceful, its purpose far exceeds these effects.

I am writing this to you because it is time. The way Yoga is depicted in this age is inaccurate and incomplete. The purpose of Lakulish Yoga is to bring change, individual change.

Yoga is a part of an Eight-Fold system:

1. Yamas
2. Niyamas
3. Asana
4. Pranyama
5. Pratyahara
6. Dharana
7. Dhyana
8. Samadhi

Yoga is meant to unfold systematically, in this exact sequence. If you practice Yoga, or think you are practicing Yoga, and you practice out of this order, you cannot practice and have what you are practicing still be called Yoga. Yet Yoga centers all around the globe do this every day.

This is a very important and key statement. The first two steps of Yoga are called “The Law”. It is the Dharma. It is the Code of Conduct, God’s Code of Conduct. The Law of building and maintaining Energy. A Niyama can only happen when a Yama has successfully happened. And an Asana can only happen when a Yama and a Niyama have successfully happened. Thus, the only way a Pranayama can occur is when the other 3 prerequesites have happened successfully (there is a Yama in Pranayama and a Yama in Niyama). All of these words may sound very foreign to you, and that is okay. The purpose of my classes is to help you understand and practice this Yoga system, to develop your own individual practice.

Meditation is 7th on the list. And we think we know what meditation is. Meditation happens to us. We cannot just sit down and meditate. Yet meditation has become a fad and is taught everywhere. We can practice and hope that one day meditation will happen to us. But that practice requires a lot of work.

Union is WORK. Yoga is WORK. It requires daily practice. It requires a constant, unwavering committment to certain Codes of Conduct, called the Yamas and Niyamas.

The Yamas and Niyamas are at the core of the Lakulish Yoga teachings because Yoga cannot even begin without them. They are not philosophies to be glanced over while we push ourselves through vinyasas and twist ourselves into pretzels in Yoga class. The very first phrase in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras begins with the word “atha”.

1.1 Atha Yoga Anusasanam
1.1 Now we begin Yoga

Atha implies that Yamas and Niyamas have successfully been implimented. Then Asana happens. Then Pranayama can happen. Then God appears in the body. Yoga postures are a gift to mankind. They are the very means by which the bodily energy channels and organs are cleansed of impurities in order for the body to become a Temple and for us to become Living beings of Light.

I teach Yamas and Niyamas in my Private Yoga classes. I also teach nutrition and diet, Yoga practices, scriptures, mantra, and postures. I tailor each class to my individual student’s needs. Each person is different. Each person is in a different place on his or her spiritual journey. I have been blessed with an amazing, out of this world teacher, Swami Sri Ashutosh Muniji (I call him “Bapuji”). He is the current lineage holder in the Muni Mundal Yoga line. Muni Mundal is an order has been around for a very long time. Lord Lakulish was a member of Muni Mundal. And so was Patanjali Muni.

Lakulish Yoga teachings thus rely heavily on teachings from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and from the Bhagavad Gita, as these texts are very dear to our Yoga Lineage.

If you are interested in learning Yoga as it was traditionally taught and should be taught, please contact me at (904) 392-6588 to set up a private session. If you have questions, I will be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss any concerns you may have.

I certainly do not have all the answers. And I do not profess to be a teacher nor a guru. God is the only Guru. I am a student, and like my Bapuji, I wish to remain a student. I want to walk this path of Yoga, and I aspire every day to do so. But it is time to pay it forward.

It is time for me to share what I have learned from my Bapuji. It is time for humanity to wake up. We have slumbered in ignorance far too long. It is time to reunite with that Energy from which we have strayed so far. It is our birth right. And it is our duty.

Jai Bhagwan. Jai means “victory” and Bhagwan is that Energy. Let us let the Energy of God prevail within our internal nation once more. Let us find our Freedom, our Liberty, and our Justice. Our Founding Fathers understood this Truth when our country was formed. May we too understand this Truth again.

In Love and Highest Light,

Jennifer Jacobsen (Urja)

$20 OFF Private Yoga Classes Through April 30th!

Have you wanted to try Yoga but do not know where to start?

Do you want to try something more one-on-one before moving to a group class?

Are you looking for more advanced, in-depth teachings?

Are you wanting to create a daily schedule and personal home practice for yourself?

Are you wanting to learn more about scriptures, meditation, pranayama or mantra?

IF SO, from now until the end of April, I am offering my PRIVATE YOGA CLASSES for $55!!

That’s a $20 savings!

SPRING INTO ACTION!

Call (904) 392-6588 for more information.

How Yoga Can Assist In Cancer Treatment

by Jennifer E. Jacobsen, LMT, RM
Owner, Lakulish School of Yoga
Saint Augustine, FL

YOGA is becoming more and more recognized as an accompaniment to cancer treatment. Mostly viewed and experienced as a way to relax the mind and to tone and shape the body, Yoga is a very ancient science that is misunderstood in today’s society. While the benefits of Yoga surely can include a calm mind and fit body, Yoga is a way of building and maintaining healing energy while removing the more damaging patterns and behaviors that otherwise drain this precious, healing resource. To be a Yogi, one must master one’s mind.

Mental, emotional, and physical stress stem from a mind that has become destructive rather than constructive. While most people live their lives in search of creativity, success, abundance, and a sense of accomplishment, they often do so at the expense of their own well-being. Most of the time, this is unconscious. Some people live very successful and creative lives, and then there are people who intend to live very successful and creative lives yet do not know how to. At the end of the day these individuals feel mentally, emotionally, and physically drained and exhausted.

Exhaustion, stress, and lack of energy all stem from behaviors and patterns of living that are in disharmony with the first two laws of Yoga: Yamas and Niyamas. The Sanksrit word Yama means “death”. The Sanskrit word Niyama means “death inside”. We must ask ourselves, what is it that needs to die in our external environments and in our internal environments? Of what can we let go? What is no longer needed? In which ways are we damaging ourselves, allowing our minds to drain our energy, and leading destructive rather than constructive lives?

Patanjali, a great Master of Yoga, has shone his light on a path we all must follow. In his legendary Yoga Sutras, he tells us that the reason our minds, bodies, and spirits are not at rest is because our minds are violent. It is the mind that seeks to hurt its own system and the systems of others. We are not truthful with ourselves. It is the mind that deceives its own self and attempts to be deceptive with others. The mind is a thief. It steals, covets, hoards, and eventually drains our energy in patterns of which most of us are unaware. Yet, for the Master of Yoga who has reclaimed his or her own energy through Yamas and Niyamas and the practices of Yoga, the mind is no longer an enemy, but it is a great friend.

The question that then forms in the mind is, what does Yoga have to do with cancer? Cancer appears in a body that is destructive rather than constructive. The internal cells are in a state of attack, and the body is a battlefield.

Science has been able to prove that cancer cannot exist in an oxygenated environment. Dr. Robert O. Young, head of the pH Miracle Center in Valley Center, CA, has demonstrated that when the pH of urine drops below 5, on the scale of 1-14, the chances of an individual developing cancer increase dramatically. A low internal body pH deprives the body of oxygen, and the blood becomes dirty. Our internal cells are like fish in a fish tank. If the cells are not bathed in pH balanced water, and if our “fish tank” is not kept clean, the body begins to lose more energy than it gains because it is forced to clean up a dirty internal environment. In a dirty fish tank, bacteria grow. The bacteria morph into yeast. The yeast morph into fungus. The fungus morph into mold. These toxins deprive the body of oxygen. The internal pH of the blood begins to drop, and the body goes into survival mode. The pH of the blood will only drop when the tissues in the body have become so toxic that they have entered a state of latent tissue acidosis. The degree of latent tissue acidosis is most commonly measured by urinary pH. A urinary pH of 5 or below signals severe latent tissue acidosis and a body that is severely deprived of oxygen. The state of the blood can clearly be seen in a Live Blood Cell Analysis.

How does a body end up in a state of latent tissue acidosis, and how can Yoga return a body to health? The world of Yoga practices spans every bodily system. A Yogic diet is an alkaline diet centered around pure, fresh, organic fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and low-acid grains. Making the body more alkaline is the key to eliminating latent tissue acidosis. Cleansing the body and bringing fresh oxygen into the system also makes the body more alkaline. Pranayama (building healing energy in the body through breath) brings fresh oxygen into the lungs, the blood, and the cells. Both Pranayama and Yoga Asanas (postures) cleanse the body’s internal organs, remove acidic toxins from the body, and cleanse and heal energy pathways in the body (refered to as Nadis in the Sanskrit language). The practices of Yoga are designed to clean the blood.

Aligning oneself with the Yamas and Niyamas destroys the damaging patterns and behaviors that make an individual more extrovert, stressed, and capable of draining the healing energy built through the Yogic practices of Pranayama and Asana. In fact, there is a Yama in Pranayama. It is therefore necessary to be mindful of one’s attitude towards oneself and others before the practices of Yoga can begin to heal the body. This is the reason Yamas and Niyamas are the first two steps in the eightfold path of Yoga.

It is exciting that Yoga has been recognized as a useful and helpful addition to cancer treatment. Yoga is currently being taught in conjunction to cancer treatment in Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, MC Anderson, and many other major cancer treatment centers. As a patient learns the ways his or her mind has become destructive rather than constructive, the practices of Yoga will naturally heal the body. The human body is remarkable by design. It contains everything it needs to heal itself, and the body is constantly amazing practitioners in the medical field. Unexplained miracles happen every day.

The practices of Yoga can bring a person who is out of balance into a state of balance. It can help an individual live a very long, happy, creative, and abundant life. It can assist a person to live free of sickness and disease, to move from a dark place into a place of love and healing light. This is my prayer for all of those who suffer with cancer or any dis-ease.

If you would like more information on how Yoga can help you with your internal battle for health, please contact Jennifer at the Saint Augustine Lakulish School of Yoga online at http://lakulishyogaschool.com or by phone at (904) 392-6588.

NEW! Beach Yoga!

NEW! Classical Hatha Yoga Classes

Who: Urja (Jennifer Jacobsen) of Lakulish School of Yoga

When: Beginning September 29, 2009, every Tuesday from 7:00am – 8:00am. We will meet on the beach at the 10th Street entrance.  There is free public parking on 10th Street.

Where: The Beach off 10th Street at St. Augustine Beach, FL

How Much: $5

What: This class consists of basic Hatha Yoga postures, pranayama, philosophy, chanting, and meditation. The Hatha Yoga focus is on developing a strong foundation, through precise alignment and form. This class builds energy in the spinal column and cleanses the body’s energetic pathways through a set sequence of yoga postures performed in combination with certain guided breathing techniques. In class, Urja draws attention to Yamas and Niyamas as an important part of building and maintaining prana (vital life energy) built in the practice.

WAKE UP WITH THE SUNSHINE! JOIN OUR MORNING YOGA CLASS AND FEEL GREAT ALL DAY LONG!

Classical Hatha Yoga Clases Start June 16th at PaKua!

Beginning Tuesday, June 16th at 10:00am, Classical Hatha Yoga classes will be offered every Tuesday morning at PaKua Martial Arts and Yoga in St. Augustine, FL.

Class cost is $10.00 at the door.

PaKua St. Augustine is located at:

233 W King St, Suite A
St Augustine FL 32084

We look forward to having you in class!

NEW! Changes to Class Schedules

Dirgha Meditation and Yoga Asana classes are cancelled this week.

I am working on a new class schedule, and new meditation and yoga postures classes at various new locations will be added soon.

Please stay tuned and check back for the new dates, times, and places!

Jai Bhagwan!

NEW!! Yoga Asana Class Begins Jan 8th!

It’s finally here!!!

Yoga Asana classes begin Thursday, January 8th! 

When:  Thursday evenings from 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Where:  Sphere – 40 Charlotte Street, downtown St. Augustine, FL (right next to Stogies)

How Much:  $10 suggested donation – all donations go to support the new St. Augustine Lakulish School of Yoga as well as Sphere for the use of their beautiful space.

Bring a yoga mat! Bring a small pillow! Bring a blanket! Bring YOU! Start the new year off to a relaxing and HEALTHY start!

Focus on your SELF and let’s build some prana!

For more information, see the Classes section of the website.  Contact Jennifer via the Contact page with any questions.