Workshops, workshops, workshops!

Tis the Season: A Joyful Meditation Workshop

Saturday, November 12 from 4:30 - 6:30 at Three Trees Yoga

There are countless benefits to daily meditation which include reducing stress, cultivating better focus, living more mindfully, as well as healing and preventing disease. Especially with the holidays fast approaching, who couldn’t use more of this in their lives?

And yet, how many of us dread sitting down to practice?

This workshop is for anyone who wants to find more joy in quieting their mind. Karissa is passionate about teaching simple techniques which help you to build a strong foundation for meditation. Whether you have an existing meditation ritual or want to, this workshop will give you more tools to strengthen your practice. Re-awaken to your center, your place of constant peace, which can be found through meditation. Gift yourself this time and prepare for a joyful season!

- $25 in advance, $30 at the door
register here

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Just announced new Kids Yoga dates!

November 17th and December 19th 4:30-5:30pm. Register with Three Trees Yoga

Fall 2011 Teaching Schedule

Come do yoga with me in Kirkland, Federal Way, or Seattle!

All classes start the week of September 11th and are Drop In unless otherwise noted:

Sundays:

3:00-4:15pm - Prenatal Yoga Series @ Three Trees (begin anytime)

4:30-5:30pm - Discussions on Yoga Philosophy (free class - donations accepted) @ Three Trees

Mondays:

4:30-5:30pm - Hatha Yoga @ Federal Way Public Academy (contact me about this class)

6-7:15pm - Hatha Yoga @ Three Trees

Tuesdays:

7-8am - Hatha Yoga @ NW Community Yoga

7:30-8:45pm - Yin Yoga @ NW Community Yoga

Wednesdays:

7:45-8:45am - Hatha Yoga @ Studio East - Kirkland (contact me about this class)

10:45am - noon - Hatha Yoga @ Studio East - Kirkland (contact me about this class)

Fridays:

7-8am - Hatha Yoga @ NW Community Yoga

6:30-7:30pm - Discussions on Yoga Philosophy @ NW Community Yoga (donations only)

It's been amazing to teach in the Seattle area the past 6 months. Thank you for your support and I look forward to seeing you in a class or two!

Contact me at bryantka55@hotmail.com with specific class questions.

Love and light,

Karissa

Teaching Schedule - Now in Seattle!

Here is my current teaching schedule. I hope to see you soon!

Sunday: Three Trees Yoga, Federal Way

9:30am Community Yoga (donation only)

11:30am Prenatal Yoga Series (enroll anytime)

4:30pm Discussions on Yoga Philosophy (donation only)

6:00pm Gentle Yoga and Meditation

Tuesday: NW Community Yoga, Seattle

7:00am Hatha Yoga

7:30pm Yin Yoga

Friday: 7:00am Hatha Yoga

Teaching Schedule will change and expand in mid-September.

Summer Yoga Classes

Summer Yoga Retreat at Harmony Hill with the amazing Nancy Medwell! Read on...

One of the best gifts we can give to ourselves and the people around us is to be conscious and intentional about what we do, who we are, and thus, how we show up in the world. However, in our fast paced lives it is easy to become distracted from our true selves and the beauty within and around us. Reconnecting to that awareness is an important practice for a healthy mind, body and soul.

I invite you to nourish yourself and those gifts by joining me for a weekend of conscious seeing and wellness learning which is enhanced through embodied experiences that will cleanse and nourish your whole being. Harmony Hill is a peaceful destination that inspires deep relaxation, reflection and rejuvenation.

Nancy will be hosting Discover the Unseen: a Weekend Yoga Retreat August 5-7th. I will lead the yoga practice for the weekend. Go to Nancy's website for more details. I hope to see you there!

I now have a schedule of summer yoga classes at Three Trees Yoga in Federal Way so come see me! Okay, so it's mostly Sundays but you can still find a time...

Friday, July 29th
Tuning in With Pranayama 6-7:15pm

Saturday, July 30th
Mixed Level Yoga 9-10:15am
Beginner Yoga 10:45am-noon
Prenatal Yoga 12:30-1:45 (last class at this time slot)

Sunday, July 31st
Community Yoga (Donation based class) 9:30-10:45am
Yoga for Stress Relief 1-2pm
Discussions on Yoga Philosophy 4:30-5:30pm (non-physical class)

REGULAR SCHEDULE AUG. 14th - SEPT. 11th
Sundays:
9:30am Community Yoga
11:30am Prenatal Yoga
4:30pm Discussions on Yoga Philosophy
6:00pm Yoga and Meditation

All Classes are Drop-in and available to any level of student (but you should probably be expecting if you come to prenatal!)

More info at www.threetreesyoga.com.

Yoga Bio

Since 2005 yoga has brought consciousness, connection and compassion to Karissa's life. She started practicing with her sister in Federal Way and since then has studied yoga in five countries, recently finishing a 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training with Agama Yoga in Thailand. She is happy to be back in the northwest after almost three years in Asia teaching, studying, and exploring yoga intellectually and experientially. During her two years teaching English in South Korea, she offered weekly community yoga classes and also taught yoga to parents, students, and teachers. Karissa has explored many different styles along the way, from hot yoga to restorative, traditional Thai yoga, Tantra, Vinyasa, Kriya, and many styles of meditation. Through yoga Karissa has found a deep sense of peace and hopes to share this in her teachings. Her focus is helping students explore the three different dimensions of being - body, mind, and spirit - for positive growth and transformation in every area of life. She teaches yoga to kids and adults with a focus on developing an internal calmness, a constant place of stability and quiet surrender to which they can always return.

Yoga for Hope

The city of Seattle is hosting the 3rd Yoga for Hope on July 9th at the Seattle Center. This wonderful charity event benefits City of Hope, one of the nation's leading cancer research and treatment centers. I will be there and I hope you will be to! Click here to go to the Yoga for Hope website. You can either donate to the cause or sign up to join in the yoga! The details are listed below. Click here to donate to or register with Pure Vita Yoga, a Seattle team hosted by the beautiful Cosetta Romani.

Yoga for Hope
Saturday, July 09, 2011

Time:
Registration: 9:00am-10:00am
Presentation: 10:00am-10:30am
Yoga: 10:30am-12:00pm

Vendor booths open from:
9:00am-1:00pm

The first 100 to register online will receive a swag bag at the event!

Registration fee: $35

Online registration closes at midnight on June 30th, 2011. Registration the day of the event increases to $45.

Start Location:
Seattle Center
North Fountain Lawn
Seattle, WA

Upcoming Events

I'm pleased to be working with Three Trees Yoga who will be hosting my next few offerings...

Diving Deep: Yoga for Opening the Heart with Karissa Bryant
Saturday June 18 from 2:00 - 4:00 PM

This class could change the way you see and practice yoga! In this workshop you will learn several poses that work directly with opening the heart, inviting compassion and surrender into your life. We'll learn specific alignment, healing benefits, and mental focus for each posture, giving you a deeper understanding of how the poses work in your body. All experience levels are welcome, whether you are brand new or have practiced yoga for years. This 2-hour workshop will give you the tools and knowledge to start or continue a home practice with confidence.
- $25 in advance, $30 at the door as space permits. To register click here.

Gentle Yoga & Meditation with Karissa Bryant
4 week series:Sundays June 19 - July 10
from 6:00 - 7:15 PM

Meditation has been proven to reduce stress, promote emotional and physical healing, and lead to a better quality of life. Most of us don't really know how to meditate and therefore don't see many results in our practice or can't stick to a meditation practice. In this 4-week series we will begin each class with hatha yoga to move, stretch, and open the body, focus the breath and calm the mind. Then Karissa will teach students the age-old technique of Mantra Meditation which can be found in many of the classical yoga texts, in addition to Music Meditation, a contemporary practice. This class will help you to lay a strong foundation to your a meditation practice and prepare your body specifically for meditation. All experience levels and physical abilities welcome.

- $48 in advance, $53 at the door for the 4-week series. To register click here.

Discussions on Yoga with Karissa Bryant
Sundays from 4:30 - 5:30 PM

This class is an on-going study of the history, philosophy and metaphysics of yoga. Yoga is much more than postures and we'll discuss the many traditions, teachings, benefits and aspects of yoga. Whether you are brand new or have practiced for years, this class will help you to understand how yoga can take you deeper, unfolding the many mysteries of life. Each class will begin with a presentation of the day's topic and lead into a group discussion. Drop-ins welcome.

Donation only.

Come Do Yoga with Me!

Now that I'm in Seattle I'll use this blog to post my teaching schedule. I'm mostly teaching at Three Trees Yoga in Federal Way for the next month or two. I've found a beautiful, welcoming home there amongst the FW yogis and yoginis. Classes are drop-in unless othewise listed. The drop-in fee is $15 per class or you can buy a 5 or 10 class pass or a month unlimited pass.

Check out www.threetreesyoga.com for a full schedule, class descriptions, and registration. Namaste!

Register now for Diving Deep: Yoga for Opening the Heart, a 2-hour workshop on June 18th!

Register now for the Gentle Yoga & Meditation Series, a 4 week class beginning Sunday, June 19th!

** Sunday, June 5th 10:15-11:00am - Gentle Yoga & Meditation **

Free Weekend of Yoga at Three Trees Yoga!

Sunday, June 5th 4:30-5:30pm - Discussions on Yoga - Free class

Monday, June 6th 12:30-1:45pm - Gentle Yoga

Saturday, June 11th 9:00-10:15am - Mixed Level Yoga

10:45am-12:00pm - Beginner Yoga

12:30-1:45pm - Pre-natal Yoga

Sunday, June 12th 3:00-4:15pm - Vinyasa Yoga

4:30-5:30pm - Discussions on Yoga - Free Class

Tuesday, June 14th 7:30-8:45pm - Vinyasa Yoga

Saturday, June 18th 12:30-1:45pm - Pre-natal Yoga

** Diving Deep: Yoga for Opening the Heart Workshop 2:00-4:00pm **

Sunday, June 19th 3:00-4:15pm - Vinyasa Yoga

4:30-5:30pm - Discussions on Yoga - Free Class

6:00-7:15 - Gentle Yoga & Meditation: a 4 week series

I'm also available for private or small group classes. See you soon!

Home and Pictures up!

It's been 5 days since I landed safely in Seattle after about 2 days of travel from Koh Phangan. I'm staying at my mom's in Federal Way for a bit which I'm so grateful for. It's quiet, peaceful, and pretty luxurious here, a comfortable landing place while I make some plans for my next year in Seattle. This week has been about cooking, practicing, unpacking, and uploading pictures. To view my albums go to www.kodakgallery.com and sign in with the email address: karissabryant55@yahoo.com and password: 123456. Then go to "friend's albums" and take a look at my 1000 pictures! Or you can wait until I see you and we can go through them together. Love you wherever you are, hope you are well.

Erin's India Pictures (October)

Emily's India Blog (Dec)

Emily's Thailand Blog (Dec-Jan)

kodak gallery

Almost finished, finally and already

Tomorrow is the final exam for our teacher training program at Agama. What an amazing journey these last three months have been. I know I haven't blogged in a while and it's both because I've been extremely busy with classes and studying and because I don't know what to say about this experience. I could tell you more about the weather (rainy), the food, or the intense classes but that doesn't hold a candle to the internal process of 550 hours of yoga. I've connected to a place in myself that I knew philosophically existed but I can now begin to feel. Yoga is an experiential science of looking inward to find the great union of the one with the all and can only be confirmed with practice. I'm grateful for Agama yoga and this program, for our incredibly devoted teachers, and for my fellow students and seekers. Of course this isn't the end, it's only the beginning...

Week 8 and a little fun

I finally made it to the beach. Over 2 months in Thailand and yesterday was the first time I actually laid by the shore and relaxed thanks to a surprise visitor from Jeju who stayed with me for the last week. And today I stopped at 7-11 and got an ice cream bar, also a first. So what the heck have I been doing?! Studying. We have a 4 hour break during the day and after eating lunch and walking back to my guesthouse, it's just enough time to study and practice for a few hours before heading back to afternoon practicums. You may think I'm nuts, but I can assure you I'm not the only one in the program who uses most spare moments to cram my body and mind with yogic knowledge. Last Tuesday was my second practicum, which went really well, and next Wednesday is my third. In addition to teaching an asana class, we also teach other aspects of yoga. Next week I'm giving a lecture on sauca (purity or cleanliness) which is one of the niyamas of the Yoga Sutras. I'm very passionate about this topic and really look forward to giving the lecture to my peers in the TTC. In addition to preparing an asana class and a lecture for next Wednesday, we have our second test Saturday morning which covers everything we've learned in our second month right up through Friday morning's class. I think I know most of the material, but another review of cardiovascular and respiratory physiology couldn't hurt. On the fun side, I've borrowed a friend's guitar and will be singing a song at the final ceremony Saturday night which always makes me happy.

Besides the mental knowledge, I'm getting heaps of experiential knowledge. Doing this much meditation and hatha yoga is incredible and, for me, leads to a deeper cultivation of calmness and peace, a sense of being closer to the truth of my being on and off the mat. Yoga is a spiritual practice which infuses into every aspect of life. So whether I take the time to go to the beach or not, it's all the same in the big picture.

Another few weeks in Beautiful Thailand

On the one hand I am excited to come back to Seattle in less than 2 months. On the other hand, I love Thailand! I'm sure anyone who has spent some time here - outside of Bangkok - will agree that this beautiful country is an ex-pat's dream. I'm back into Thai food, scarfing my fair share of Tom yum, pad Thai, noodle soups, sticky rice, Thai rice soup, and the occasional spring roll. Unfortunately my belly doesn't love those thick coconut curries or soups, even though my mouth does, so I have to steer clear of that category. 

But enough about food, what about the yoga you are surely wondering. The teacher training program continues to be wonderful. We're currently immersed in the subtleties of being a yoga teacher, plus anatomy classes, giving proper corrections, and continuing to learn new asanas and other yogic techniques daily. Last Monday was my first teaching practicum and I so enjoyed it! It is nice to get to teach yoga again after almost 6 months. My second practicum will be next Tuesday. The program here is organized in a very succinct way so that each practicum we get to experience a different aspect of teaching a yoga class but all the classes are complete in themselves. I'm certainly grateful to have taught yoga before, it makes the basics easier but there is still so very much to learn. "Slowly, slowly" as is the common expression around here, we accumulate all this new information. 

My 60-day entrance stamp to Thailand is soon to expire so Sunday will be a long trip to the Malaysian border and back for a new stamp on my visa. I'm going with 5 other students in my program and we're going Sunday, our only day off every week, so as not to miss any class. Hopefully that won't mean a tired week since I'll miss my usual day of doing nothing. 

On a completely different topic, my hair has suddenly grown out of the boy-phase! It's long enough to look like an intentionally short haircut and thanks to the hair wax I've been lugging around for the past 6 months I can style it. It's a little thing but it makes me smile. So unless I get a wild itch in the next 6 weeks I'll have hair when you see me again. 

May this Lunar New Year bring you happiness and peace. Heang-bok-han sol-nal!

Week 3 in Koh Phangan

Things are much better than my last post fortunately! It took me almost 2 weeks to get over the food poisoning with the help of a homeopathic remedy and lots of rice (did an impromptu version of the brown rice fast) but I am very well now and eating like crazy. I'm actually not so much into the Thai food. I like it and ate it every day with Emily but I'm really hungry from the many hours of yoga and classes every day and it just doesn't satisfy like western food or other Asian food. There are a lot of good, healthy restaurants here because of all the yogis so my needs are surely being met. The yoga is great and I'm learning a whole-heck-of-a-lot. Tomorrow is the end of the 3rd week which means I'll be back in America in 9 weeks. It's been a long time! I'm trying to stay focused on this teacher training and unique yoga style and not get caught up in what it'll be like to be in seattle again. Of course Koh Phangan is beautiful which makes it easier to stay present when I wake up to the sunrise over coconut trees and mountains and sit on the beach watching the sunset over the ocean. These little pleasures are temporary, though, (like everything, really) as our course gets even more intense next month and I won't be able to do either of this things. I think I've decided to stay in my guesthouse for another month and forego the beach bungalow simply because it's so nice here, I can walk to class every day, and I really don't mind just eating out when it's so quick and healthy. Plus, I'm hardly ever home! I'm trying to practice contentment and nonattachment. I know these will take more discipline in the US where there is so much choice and opportunity for food, housing, socializing, you name it. Staying simple and on a meager budget will be perhaps my biggest goals. For now, time to study, meditate, and go to bed.

The first week in Koh Phangan

It's been a crappy first week here. Food poisoning struck Emily and I upon our arrival in Koh Phangan on New Years Eve and I just started feeling better today. My classes started on Monday, 6-8 hours of yoga lecture and practice per day. I didn't have the time or energy to find that great beach bungalow so I'm staying in a guesthouse for the next month which has a cute little restaurant, really sweet owners, hot showers (!!) and is quite new and clean. I can be very happy here until I move to a beach bungalow at the beginning of February. Hopefully my regained health lasts and I can enjoy my first day off of the program with some beach time on Sunday. Well, if the rain clears up for a few hours. Apparently we're still getting a late monsoon season which would explain the almost endless rain. Lots to learn, experience, and absorb in the months to come.

I hope your New Years was better than mine. Love and peace in 2011!