Laura's Roots
Biography
A certified professional-level Kripalu Yoga teacher
and mentor, Laura has been teaching Yoga since 1995.
She has led Yoga workshops at the Kripalu
Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, at Quaker
Center in Ben Lomond, California, and at the Michigan
Women's Music Festival. She is on the faculty of the
Yoga Certificate program at The
California Institute of Integral Studies, where
she teaches "Yoga for Women's Health" and
"The Ecology of Yoga."
Laura graduated with a degree in physics from Swarthmore
College and an MA in East-West psychology from the California
Institute of Integral Studies, where she is completing
a doctoral degree. Her articles on Yoga have appeared
in The International Journal of Yoga Therapy
and The Kripalu Yoga Teachers' Association Bulletin.
Laura draws from training in several body-centered
modalities including Kripalu Yoga, Integrative Yoga
Therapy, Vinyasa Yoga, Integral Yoga, Circlework, and
Hanna Somatics. Her personal spiritual path is deeply
rooted in both Eastern and Western traditions and she
has been graced by the presence of many important spiritual
teachers in her life. She has been active in Quaker
(Friends) Meetings since 1986.
In addition to her work as a Yoga teacher,
Laura has over 15 years' experience working in public
and private schools. She is founder and director of
Peaceful Schools Project, providing conflict resolution
program implementation and training for teachers.
About Kripalu Yoga
In a Kripalu Yoga class you will find a sanctuary
that invites you to reconnect with body, breath, and
soul. Class time includes breathing practices, warm-ups,
classic Yoga postures, posture-flow, relaxation, and
meditation. Kripalu is a Yoga of the heart, helping
to develop compassionate self-awareness. Students become
more flexible and strong, peaceful and energized.
Kripalu grew from the Tantric lineage in India.
It is named after Swami Kripalvananda, whose name means
the bliss of compassion. Kripalu Yoga awakens the prana
(life force) in the body and sensitizes the student
to that prana.
Kripalu's main teaching center is located in Lenox,
Massachusetts. It is the largest Yoga retreat in the
United States, housing over 300 guests. Kripalu is the
birthplace of many important innovations, including
Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Integrative Yoga Therapy,
the Moon Salutation, Kripalu Danskinetics, Kripalu bodywork,
and The Wave Integrational Breathwork, .
Kripalu is unique among American Yogas in its inclusion
of time for self-directed posture-flow in its classes.
The posture-flow affirms the teacher within and acknowledges
the healing that comes from following our own inner
guidance.
Kripalu Yoga takes into account all aspects of the
body: physical, energetic, emotional, and spiritual;
its mission is to create a more conscious and compassionate
world. May all be healed and blessed by this Yoga and
by all Yogas.
About the Name
Yogeshwari (Yo-geh´-shwah-ree)
Laura was given the name "Yogeshwari" in
2001 by a spiritual teacher. She began to use the name
in association with her Yogic work in March of 2003.
"Yogeshwari" is one of the ancient names
of the Divine Mother. With this name we honor the living
presence of the Divine Feminine in the world as a guiding
force for healing, reconciliation of all people, and
a renewed human relationship with the earth.
The arts of Yogeshwari are all the healing
arts of Yoga: physical postures, breathwork, ecstatic
dance, music, sacred poetry, story telling, communion
with Nature, and meditation.
Yogeshwari may be visualized as a tree:
With Her roots deep in the earth and a strong
trunk, She flowers in the world and provides shelter,
community, and food for many.
Yogeshwari may be visualized as a lion-rider:
Fearlessly battling injustice, She protects children,
the elderly, and infirm, and speaks on behalf of the
Earth.
Yogeshwari may be visualized as a serpent:
Reawakening in this age, She reconnects us with Earth
and sky, with intuition, and with the healing power
of the life-force.
Dedication
Prayer
May our Yoga bear great fruit.
May it bring us health, happiness, and freedom.
May we be gentle, compassionate, and truthful.
May we live at peace with all beings and with the earth.
May we realize our sisterhood and brotherhood with animals,
plants, rocks, water, and air.
May all beings and the body of the earth
be happy.
May all beings and the body of the earth be peaceful.
May all beings and the body of the earth be free.
-- Yogeshwari Laura Cornell
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