Yoga For Healing By Allen Barkus www.AshtangabyAllen.com #Yoga #YogaForHealing #MedicalYoga #Ashtanga #AshtangaHealingTherapy

If your doctor has recommended yoga to you for relaxation and/or to help with the healing process of physical and medical issues, I have 22 years experience with teaching yoga for healing. My students have had back problems, with/recovering from cancer, rehabbing from spinal surgery, seeking to lose weight (one lost 70 pounds in 8 months), and with other issues.

My exclusive teacher for Yoga Healing Therapy is Manju Jois. Manju, along with his father, brought Ashtanga/vinyasa yoga to America and the Western world.

Unfortunately I've observed yoga is almost always taught wrong. The three key elements that should be learned first are proper breath, Pranayma; internal locks, Bondhas; and focal points, Drishtis. Beyond those first elements, alignment is most important since bad alignment can cause injuries. I recently taught a student who was taught by a teacher "certified" in India who had bad alignment, leading to a shoulder problem.

I've learned you have to be careful of 'certification" programs. In India people have been granted certifications for just showing up, never actually learning to teach. Many yoga studios have teaching programs that are also very basic, often accepting students that do not have a strong personal practice. I will train teachers who have at least five years of daily practice.

I am currently only accepting private students and doing clinics in the Philadelphia area. https://www.ashtangabyallen.com/

Non-Attachment And The Connection To Emotional Healing In Yoga. #MeToo #Yoga #Ashtanga #YogaHealing

Aparigraha, non-attachment in yoga is something I have been thinking about a lot lately in how we deal with emotional healing both on and off our mats.

The Western perspective of  yoga largely misunderstands that yoga is a healing practice for both mind and body with too much focus on the physical practice.


As I get older, now 60, my physical practice has me in as good or better shape than in my 20s. On the other hand my emotional perspective has evolved to understand how attachments, both material and emotional can have negative effects on our lives. Personally I have let go of many of my attachments, things that I thought I needed.

Unfortunately many people I know have suffered from some sort of trauma in their lives from injuries, disease, physical and emotional abuse. In a lot of those cases that trauma becomes a part of who they are and affects them and how they treat others in their lives, even in some cases becoming abusive themselves without even realizing it.

In yogic healing we need to realize the need for non-attachment before being able to move on to healing. One of the ways that has worked for me and my students is acceptance that there are things that we ultimately have no control over and focus on the things we can control like how we treat ourselves and others.

Our bodies also hold emotions and stress in different places, reminded of a student who had very positive emotional releases when doing asanas/poses that worked into his lower back. In our practices we learn to connect to and listen to our bodies to focus on our healing needs.

By Allen Barkus. Allen has been practicing Ashtanga yoga since 1998 and teaching since 2004. His initial teacher training was with David Swenson and has been the student of Manju Jois since 2004. Manju, along with his father, introduced Ashtanga/Vinyasa yoga to America in 1975. His studies focus on Healing Therapy. He is available in Philadelphia for private lessons and clinics and travels around the world teaching clinics. www.AshtangabyAllen.com

Yoga For Healing Of Sexual Abuse. #MeToo

When I talk about Yoga for Healing the eyes of  most yogis glaze over, even teachers that have their own studios. What I've learned is there is a fundamental misunderstanding what yoga is, an ancient practice for healing both the mind and body. Western thinking has turned the practice into mostly physical training. My specialty, influenced by Manju Jois who brought Ashtanga yoga to America in 1975 with his father, is healing.  I've worked with students recovering from surgeries, cancer, emotional problems, emphysema and other issues. Of course I've also worked with people just interested in the physical side too including training athletes at the University of Pennsylvania, some have advanced into deeper exploration of their practices.

One of the things I find most disturbing in our society is how prevalent sexual abuse is, somehow to the point that the U.S. elected a president with many accusations and we have a serving senator accused of child abuse. There are even accusations against influential people in the yoga community.  Of course accusations do not prove guilt or intent so I expect some accused are innocent.

One of the more important things that yoga teaches us is non-attachment, the things that happen to us, disease or different forms of abuse, are separate from who we are. Once we allow
those things as part of us, in my view they create a barrier to the healing process. When my 80 year
old mother was diagnosed with  cancer I found it interesting that she had a yogic view that she saw it as not a part of her, but an invader that just did not belong.

I encourage further exploration of of healing aspects of yoga and welcome questions on this forum, privately via my website at www.AshtangabyAllen.Com , and with your personal teachers and therapists. I am also available via Skype for life coaching and consultations, email directly at AshtangabyAllen@att.net .

Donald Trump As The United States President And Our Need For Yoga And Other Healing Practices #Healing, #Yoga, #KeepMovingForward

In our democratic process the people have spoken and have elected Donald Trump president. I suggest we dedicate our yoga and other healing practices to bring people together for unity. We need to reach out to people with open hands and hearts and focus on the future and what we can achieve. In the big picture the next 4 years will just be a hiccup and we really do not know what to expect. Remember it was not that long ago that Donald Trump praised Hillary Clinton for doing a good job.

Private Traditional Ashtanga Yoga Lessons In Philadelphia In Home Or Office, Clinics And Teacher Trainings Worldwide. By Allen Barkus #Yoga #Ashtanga #AshtangaYoga #BestInPhilly #BestInPhillyYoga

https://www.ashtangabyallen.com/

One of the greatest misconceptions of yoga is that it is meant purely for fitness. The actual purpose of yoga is for healing both mind and body and, yes, in the process one can become very fit. I, Allen Barkus,  the publisher of the Travelore Report, was introduced to yoga in 1998 and became a teacher in 2004. My exclusive teacher since 2004 years is Manju Jois, whom along with his father introduced traditional
Ashtanga yoga healing therapy to the U.S. in 1975. While Ashtanga has become known for being the most
difficult physical practice to master, more senior teachers focus on the healing aspects of the practice. In one
case I helped a 31 year old man lose 70 pounds in 8 months, along with also healing a serious breathing problem and a back problem; all with just yoga and no other life changes. From a healing perspective I've also worked with others including those recovering from cancer and others types of surgeries, with people including a child with arthritis and with a woman whom had emphysema. On the fitness side I've worked with athletes at the University of Pennsylvania, a baseball player, and people training for events including marathons. I also teach teachers.

On my world travels I've many times been asked about doing yoga healing clinics for hotels, resorts, and cruise lines and  am now scheduling clinics and wellness programs. I am also consulting with properties on creating wellness programs as profit centers and how to market those programs, utilizing my many successful years of experience in the advertising and marketing business.

 My philosophy is to focus on the individual needs of my students rather than on size fits all, teaching Mysore style, guiding them on developing a personal practice suited to their healing and physical needs. I think it is also important to note that healing includes emotional.

For more details you are welcome to contact me at a.barkus-tbc@att.net or at www.ashtangabyallen.com.


Appreciating positive feedback from my recent Ashtanga Yoga Healing Therapy Clinic in Philadelphia's Main Line attended by people ranging in ages from 20's through 70's, with all body types and different physical issues. Most of the people attending had no yoga experience and a few were very experienced including a woman whom has been practicing and teaching for 30 years. 

"Dear Allen,

Just wanted to thank you for the fantastic yoga session you taught and led yesterday. You were wonderful the way you explained everything fully and were patient and receptive to novices (like ME!!).

Everyone felt so terrific after the class. I was totally energized--even after I stood on my feet cooking for 3 1/2 hours!!

Thank you for sharing your expertise with us!!
Best Always,
Andy"