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About Me:
Ray Iasiello has been practicing Hatha Yoga for 30+ years and
teaching in the Boston area for 25+ years. Ray's commitment to
exploring this path has led him to experience its benefits and has
inspired him to share this knowledge with others who are seeking to
improve the quality of their lives.
Ray's involvement in Siddha Yoga Meditation was significant in
inspiring him to become a Hatha Yoga teacher. His own practice and
teaching unfolds from a synthesis of his understanding and employing
different styles of hatha yoga based upon the essential principles of
Siddha Yoga Meditation.
Initially, his training with Patricia Walden was in the style of BKS lyengar
(1984 - '89). Between 1984 and 2004, Ray offered seva ( service ) as a
Hatha Yoga teacher in the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center, Boston and
Shree Muktananda Ashram, South Fallsburg, NY where he attended
trainings, retreats and meditation intensives as well as teaching. In
1993 @ SMA, Ray met and began studying with John Friend who was offering
seva training Siddha Yoga hatha yoga teachers. During this time,
John was also in the process of formulating the principles of Anusara
('Flowing with Grace')
Yoga.
Ray also studied extensively with Barbara Benagh in Boston (1993 -
present ) and acknowledges her as a major influence on his teaching. In 1993, his video "Hatha Yoga for Home Practice" was first published. In 1997, he completed certification as a Mind-Body Yoga Teacher at Finding Inner PeaceYoga/Stress
Reduction Center in Abington, MA. Joining the faculty
there, Ray contributed his skills in the training and
certification of subsequent classes of yoga teachers until 2001.
In 1999, Ray began studying Holographic Repatterning
®
( now renamed Resonance Repatterning™).
Developed by Chloe Faith Wordsworth, RR is a system that empowers
individuals to shift their resonance in relation to problems, issues and
challenges, transforming them through positive change, often with
extraordinary outcomes. In 2002, Ray achieved certification as an
HR practitioner. Since then, he has merged aspects of Resonance Repatterning™
with the practice of Hatha Yoga, allowing individuals to further
transform their experience of day to day reality both on and off the
yoga mat.
In 2005, Ray began studying with Bo
Forbes, Phys. D. integrating the exploration of the 'core body'
including the role of the psoas muscles, engagement of the 'bandhas'
(energetic 'seals' or 'locks' ) and the practice of 'ujjayi'
(upward, expansive or transcendent) breathing as essential components of
the 'inner architecture' that give substance to the external forms of
the 'asanas' (yoga postures).
Ray teaches privately at his own studio in Brookline, MA. He also
teaches at Harvard University, the Rowe's Wharf Health Spa of the Boston
Harbor Hotel, Belmont High School's Physical Education Program and other
Boston area fitness centers and programs.
Teaching Statement:
I believe that Hatha Yoga is a valuable practice that is an excellent component of any
physical fitness training program. I also believe that it can be adapted to suit the age and condition of each student. My approach focuses upon each individual's exploration of the process as a means to reduce stress and fatigue while enhancing vitality and inspiration. Building upon the foundation of comfort and steadiness, we learn how to create and sustain a balanced experience of energy, joy and focus.
While paying attention to the outer form of poses, students are asked to be aware of its 'inner contents', i.e., spinal alignment and the movement of one's own inner energy (prana), and how these manifest outwardly. The intention is to encourage trust in the clarity of one's own perception and 'to make the poses one's own'. Key elements in this process are the use of bandha (locks) and vinyasa (sequencing).
We begin each practice session and each asana by Remembering Our Awareness ~
our own Self, referred to by Baba Muktananda in his teaching " Meditate on your
Self ."
John Friend's contribution is experienced through
the attitude ( celebrating the heart ), principles of alignment and
moving into action as a balanced expression of energy ~ of the Anusara system of Hatha
yoga.
Drawing upon the inspiration of Barbara Benagh we practice breath awareness
and employ passive traction.
Class format ranges from being dynamic and formally structured to gentle,
subtle and spontaneous.
Moving into 'Hasta Padangustasana' ~ Ray Iasiello, 2004
photocredit: MelindaBruno
http://www.melindabrunophotography.com |
