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PAST NEWS
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Tsunami Relief Charity Classes, March 11 and March 14, 2012
Yoga Day & Week — March 11, 2012 to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Join us for charity classes.
March 11 marks the 1-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Many people are still suffering from the effects of these disasters. Please join Sun and Moon and Yoga Day on March 11 and March 14 for the following Charity classes. All funds will be donated to charities supporting those recovering from the twin disasters.
March 11th Sunday
10:30-12:00 Vinyasa Flow w/Em Bettinger
All levels vinyasa flow with Em in English, funky flow with great music & meditation. All money to charity.
12:30-2:00 Vinyasa Yoga w/Minako
Vinyasa Yoga for city dwellers. Open your heart, expand your breath, and stimulate your blood circulation.
Gentle vinyasa, core toning, and simple Thai massage synchronize mind, body, and spirit.
The self and partner massage with golf balls will leave you feeling great for a long time!
With Minako’s sunny, upbeat, and optimistic style, you can be a bit playful and enjoy both the energizing and soothing sides of the practice to get rid of stress.
2:30-4:00 Beginning Yoga w/Em Bettinger
Beginning Vinyasa Flow Yoga with Em, fun and energetic. All money to charity. English.
4:30-6:00 Ashtanga Basics w/Em Bettinger
Ashtanga Vinyasa Basics class, love and power. All money to charity. English.
6:30-8:00 Tibetan Heart Yoga w/Leza Lowitz
Tibetan Heart Yoga-ancient yoga with compassion meditation and heart-opening flow. All money to charity. Bilingual.
March 14th Wednesday
10:30-12:00 Vinyasa Flow w/Em Bettinger
All levels vinyasa flow with Em in English, funky flow with great music & meditation. All money to charity.
Come as a drop-in, with your class card or with a “Yoga Day Yoga Week” ticket.
Sun and Moon Yoga/Second Harvest Japan
2nd Charity Drive for Tohoku
May 29, 2011 at Sun and Moon Yoga, Meguro
12:30pm-5:00pm
Sun and Moon Yoga is pleased to team up with Second Harvest Japan again to gather supplies for those in shelters in Tohoku. Our first drive was the largest ever non-corporate donation received in Japan.
People in the shelters need our help more than ever before, let’s show them we are with them. Please bring the following items to Sun and Moon Studio.
Food and Drink
Rice (that doesn’t need washing) NO genmai, please (NO brown rice)
Water in PET bottles
Canned food (meat, fish, beans, vegetables, fruit, etc.)
Food in pouches (beans, vegetables, soup, dried fruit, etc.)
COOKIES, SNACK BARS and CEREAL BARS
Powdered milk
Baby food
Cutlery/Serving utensils, etc, for the soup kitchen.
Paper plates, plastic spoons and forks, disposable chopsticks, Saran wrap, etc.
Strong brown sticky-tape (the kind used for parcels, boxes)
And of course, money will always be gratefully accepted (yen).
Everything must be “in-date,” unopened and edible! A wide variety of foodstuffs is desirable, as is non-allergenic food, especially for babies.
Collection Dates/Times:
Sat, May 28th 10:30am-12:00pm/12:30-2:00pm –> Leza’s classes
Sat, May 28th 4:30-6:30pm –> Charity meditation/singing group w/Tomoko
Sun, May 29th 8:00-9:30am/10:30am -12:00pm –> Em’s morning classes
Sunday May 29th 12:30-5:00pm LATEST.
NOTE: Sunday May 29th 12:30-2:00pm, 2:30-4:00pm and 4:30-6:00pm
classes will be cancelled.
PLEASE DO NOT BRING ITEMS TO THE STUDIO AT ANY OTHER TIME. PLEASE
BRING ONLY THE ABOVE ITEMS. NO CLOTHING, BLANKETS, ETC., CAN BE
ACCEPTED AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
DRIVERS/CARS NEEDED:
We are looking for at least 10 drivers to take supplies from Meguro to
Second Harvest near Akihabara on May 29th. Please let us know if you
are available to help transport goods onthat day.
For more information, see Second Harvest Japan Website
http://www.2hj.org/index.php/news_j/disasterrelieffooddonations/
If you have questions, please email Em Bettinger at:
breathe@em-yoga.com in English or info@sunandmoon.jp in Japanese.
MANY THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME OF NEED. IT’S
WHEN OUR YOGA MOST SERVES THE WORLD!
April 30 Yoga Aid Challenge 8:30am-11:00am
Thanks to your generosity, team Sun and Moon raised over one million yen (over $10,000) at Yoga Aid for Japan Platform, to go directly to those affected by the quake and tsunami. Thank you all for living your yoga! Special thanks to Em Bettinger for her tireless fundraising efforts and teaching, and to Tomoko Kawahara for her interpreting and support. Over two million yen was raised in total for Japan.
Thanks to the fantastic Sun and Moon Yoga Aid team for helping to make a beautiful bamboo forest to open the event:
Tomoko Kawahara, Em Bettinger, Phil Bettinger, Goma Ramasubramanian, Yuri Kurita, Mari Hashimoto, Yukiko Ohta, Erico Watanabe, Etsuko (Eko) Smith, Akiko Tanimoto, Akiko Ando, Miles Maeda, Eric Korpiel, Nozomi Hasegawa, Shizuko Kobayashi, Mia Walker, Shannon Walker, Ikuhiro Nakamura, Kaori Suzuki, Kate Kamoshita, Mikiko Okada and Shoko and Koji Washida.
Sun and Moon in the News
Tomoko Kawahara’s article on YCIP (Yoga Classics Input Project)/GFP =Global Family Project) Japan appears on Yoga Generation; one of the most popular yoga portal sites in Japan. It’s bilingual, so for English, please scroll down to end of Japanese.
http://www.yoga-gene.com/0908/instructor/yogaoffthemat.html#content
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We are grateful to YogaYomu for introducing YCIP/GFP in their September newsletter, which will be distributed at YogaFest. Check out this special issue, out soon. Thanks to YogaYomu for their great article sharing this important work! Namaste.
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Leza, ACO, Masa and Shivani were interviewed about Women and Yoga in this month’s Yogini magazine. Check it out at your newsstands today!
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Leza talks about her journey from rebellious teenager to yoga student to teacher to studio owner in the Lohas Way Column of Bravo Music Japan, coming at the end of September:
http://www.yogamusic.jp/lohas_way/
YogaFest Japan 2009–3 Sun and Moon Teachers to Choose From!
Please join Leza for Tibetan Heart Yoga Series Four at YogaFest in Yokohama on Sunday, September 20th from 1:30-3:00pm.
Join Masaaki for Tibetan Heart Series 1 on Tuesday, September 22nd from 8:30-10:00am.
Join Sara-Shivani for Mantra and Moving Meditation on Sunday, September 20th from 1:30-3:00pm. For more information and to register, see: www.yogafest.jp
Yoga Aid Challenge Japan chooses YCIP as Charity Partner
YCIP/GFP has been chosen as one of three charity partners for Yoga Aid Japan Challenge this year. The purpose of the Yoga Aid Challenge is to raise awareness for the benefits of Yoga and to raise money for various charity projects. It’s really fun and great event and perfect opportunity to practice yoga both on and “off” the mat.
http://yogaaid.jp/?PK_CATEGORY_ID=636
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Tickets for this year’s Yoga Aid Japan Challenge are now on sale. The website is in Japanese, so if you need any help with registration, please let us know. We’ll be happy to help! Even if you can’t attend the event, you can still contribute to the cause. Namaste.
http://www.yogatown.jp/html/ya09.html
New Press
Sun and Moon appeared in “Metropolis” in June, “Yogini” in July, and “GLAMOROUS” in August, 2009. See Press page for articles.
Transform your life with “The Book”
THE BOOK is based on teachings by Geshe Michael Roach. It has now been translated into Japanese by Tomoko Kawahara and Masaaki Nakajima. Keeping the book will bring drastic changes to your life by reflecting your words and actions six times a day. Integrating asana practice (outer approach) with this introspective practice (inner approach), you will be able to gain a deeper understanding of yoga and yourself, and the world around you will transform. Yoga is so much more than what we do on the mat!
To download THE BOOK in Enlgish:
NEWS
We would like to send a deep bow of gratitude to Sri Pattabhi Jois, who passed away this summer. His entire life was dedicated to sharing Ashtanga Yoga, which he did, day in and day out for most of his almost 100 years. The great master brought this ancient tradition into the modern world with unwavering dedication and commitment. His teachings reached far beyond Ashtanga Yoga and helped to shape modern Yoga including Vinyasa Flow, as we know it. He has shattered the mirror and returned to Source. We are grateful to him for shining the light we all carry forward.
Namaste Guruji. You will never die.
COMMUNITY POTLUCK to LAUNCH YOGA CLASSICS INPUT PROJECT JAPAN AND GLOBAL FAMILY PROJECT JAPAN BRANCH
Sun and Moon invites you all to the first event in aid of YCIP and the Global Family Project Japan to aid Tibetan Refugees and save sacred ancient yogic texts.
Read all about the new Japan branch of The Global
Family Project in June 4th Metropolis:
http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/recent/globalvillage.asp
Saturday July 25th
6.30pm-8.30pm
Sun and Moon Studio, Meguro
Bring vegetarian or vegan meal to share and utensils.
See Workshop page for more information and to RSVP!
Also, see YCIP video.
New Press
Our wonderful teacher Em appeared in “Yoga Journal Japan” Spring, 2009. See Press page.
Read the January 23, 2009 INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE/ASAHI EVENING NEWS INTERVIEW on Expatriate Fiction in Japan with Leza Lowitz, Pico Iyer and Tracy Slater, founder of Four Stories, here:
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200901230040.html
FRIENDS OF SUN AND MOON NEWS AND EVENTS:
Leza Lowitz reading at Foreign Correspendent’s Club of Japan: May 16th for new critically acclaimed anthology, “Call me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Motherhood” edited by Suzanne Kamata.
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Temple University Japan Poetry/Fiction Reading with Leza Lowitz, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa and Alan Botsford Saitoh: Friday, May 22nd
See Workshop page for more information!
Foreign Correspendent’s Club of Japan Leza Lowitz and others
On Saturday May 16, SWET–The Society for Writers, Editors and Translators–will host Suzanne Kamata, editor of the new anthology “Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering,” along with contributors Leza Lowitz and Holly Thompson at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Yurakucho in the evening. Join these writers for readings and a discussion of raising children and writing across cultures. The presentation will be followed by dinner. Copies of the book will be on sale at the event.
Time: Saturday, May 16, 2009, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Place: Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
Fee: Panel Discussion and Dinner: 5,000 yen (includes makunouchi bento meal). Panel Discussion only, 2,000 yen. Reservations for meal required by May 12; email SWET Events or SCBWI Events , or fax 03-3430-1740.
http://www.swet.jp
Association for Women in Finance
Presents its Entrepreuners Lecture Series
Featuring Leza Lowitz, Owner of Sun and Moon Yoga, Tokyo
“Embracing Uncertainty: Finding Financial and Emotional Stability in Unstable Times”
The current financial crisis is giving many people an opportunity to reassess their lives, perhaps dusting off an old dream and pulling it down from the shelf again to reexamine it When we face a crisis, many of the structures we’ve come to depend on collapse, and we’re forced to turn within to find our own inner strength to carry us through.
By now it’s a cliche that the kanji for crisis also means opportunity, but how do we turn one into another? Find out from someone who turned her dream of sharing a love of yoga into a successful yoga studio with over 25 classes a week, 10 instructors, and hundreds of dedicated students.
Five years ago, freelance writer and university lecturer Leza Lowitz opened Sun and Moon Yoga with little more than a vision and a few yoga props. How has the studio become so successful and continued to grow in a saturated and competitive market? What makes Sun and Moon unique, and how does Leza balance a successful career as a small business owner with her “other life” as a writer (with over 17 books published), wife, and mother?
Come hear Leza’s personal story and receive powerful tips to help you survive–even thrive– in a time of uncertainty, perhaps even inspiring you to turn your own dreams into reality without fear or compromise.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Leza Lowitz M.A., is a former editor at a Japanese semi-governmental think tank, university lecturer (Tokyo University) and freelance editor (Tokyo University Press, etc). An award-winning author/editor of 17 books, including the best-selling “Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By” and “Green Tea to Go: Stories from Tokyo,” Lowitz opened Sun and Moon Yoga in 2003 and has not looked back since. In addition to teaching yoga, she leads popular courses on Creating Abundance and Manifesting Your Dreams.
Date: Thur Feb 19th
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Doors open 7pm, Speaker from 7:30pm
Place: Morgan Stanley, Ebisu Garden Place, 11F Meeting Room
Cost: 5,000 non-members, 3,000 Members
please check website to register and for venue/details.
Advanced Registration through AWF required.
Read the January 23, 2009 INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE/ASAHI EVENING NEWS INTERVIEW with Leza and Tracy Slater, founder of Four Stories, and more here:
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200901230040.html
JAPAN’S FIRST YOGAAID CHALLENGE A BIG SUCCESS!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the first Japan YogaAid
challenge. We reached our goal of 300 participants and had a fantastic
time doing 108 salutations for charity. Please see Yoga Generation;
http://www.yoga-gene.com/contents/member_blog/2008/11/yoga-aid-challenges-2008.html#more
YOGINI FRIENDS BLOG
Check out the new Yogini Friend’s blog in Japanese and read Leza and
Aco’s blogs, amidst other wonderful yoga teachers. Thanks to Dominica
for the recommendation– we’re all one community! And thanks to Tomoko
Kawahara for her translation.
http://www.yogini.jp/friends/item_122.html
YOGA AID CHALLENGE FOR CHARITY
The two-hour event will be held on November 9th in Yokohama at Pacifico
Yokohama. The concept is very simple-each participant
pays a 3,000 registration fee and then performs 108 sun salutations at
the event. All the registration fees are donated to charity.
Leza will be be one of the 12 teachers leading the salutations
and practicing them along with everyone else. I’ve pledged the support
of Sun and Moon, so let’s all rise to this challenge to plant seeds of
hope and love for these children and their families! Even if you can’t
attend or do the entire 108 salutations, you can contribute or come and
support and do what you can. There is room for 300 people, so come and
bring a friend and let the sun shine.
See Workshop page for more information!
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YOGA POEMS made a surprise appearance in Lululemon Aoyama’s Shop Window in downtown Tokyo. Thanks Lululemon for all the support! We will miss you!
New Press
Sun and Moon was featured in the magazine “An-An”. See Press page.