As we are ending one year and looking towards a new one, many of us are taking time to reflect on the past as well as set goals for our future.

Reflecting back over at the past year so much has been happening at the AH! WE moved into our new location and began offering more classes than we ever have in the 8 years we have been open. We offered 3 Rocket yoga trainings and over the course of the year we had 3 different teacher training groups. We began posting more video on our Yoga ah You Tube channel and began to embrace the new age even more with beginning an Instagram account and every Wednesday at 5:00 eastern time we are broadcasting live Rocket 2 on Periscope. We have had a big year and a lot of growth. As we reflect we want to thank all of our amazing yogis that come back to the mat year after year and all the new ones that keep walking thru the door. There are so many politics about signage on our building that we still don't have our official signage and map quest sometimes directs students to our old location but somehow everyone finds Yoga ah. Of course, I think that not having a sign and how yogis just know where to show up is really cool and auspicious even tho this coming year we are hoping to have our sign up! 

In today's life, technology is moving faster and faster and we have an opportunity to expand the way we communicate we must keep in mind that nothing can replace human interaction, and clear direct communication with the people we surround ourselves with on a day to day basis. Yoga instructors at Yoga ah have to develop a positive script to communicate the instructions of the poses to the students. The heart of communication begins by being present with the people in our life, so even tho it may be easier to send a text, in the new year let's pick up the phone to hear the genuineness in someone's voice. 

One of our yoga friends in San Francisco reminded us that "there is more Ashtanga happening in Cincinnati then in San Francisco," and they are right. We are blessed, so lets practice together and have an attitude of gratitude in everything we do. Lets be present with our loved ones, lets express our wants and needs to each other and most importantly lets be grateful for our yoga community and this beautiful practice that keeps bringing us together. Practice, practice, practice ALL IS HERE!!

Feeding the seed of Rocket Vinyasa Sequences

Rocket Yoga Training can begin after you have completed a 200 hour yoga training and would like to learn more advanced yoga sequencing and transitions. Rocket yoga training is based in Larry Schultz's Rocket Yoga.

"Our training school has met the stringent requirements set by Yoga Alliance Professionals, demonstrating that our courses are of the highest standard and that our graduates may register with Yoga Alliance Professionals to use their relevant membership level designation, as a sign of quality training.

Module 1 Rocket Training 60 Hours - 5 Days - 40 contact hours - 20 non contact hours - Overview of the Rocket system, learn to instruct Bottle Rocket, develop home practice of all Rocket sequences, learn the Larry Schultz Philosophy

Module 1 and 2 Rocket Booster  - 60 Hours - 5 days - 40 contact hours - 20 non contact hours - Focuses on Rocket 2, if you have been instructing Rocket you will have an oppurtunity to instruct and refine your Rocket 2 script.

 Daily lead practice

-Bottle Rocket/Modified Rocket
-Rocket 1
-Rocket 2
-Rocket 3 or Mixed Levels

Learning “The System”
– History of the Rocket
– 6 day a week practice schedule
– Larry Schultz Philosophy
– Pacing and tempo

Journaling
– Keeping a practice log to record hours
– Keeping an instructing log to record hours

Scripting
- Writing out a Rocket class including breath and Rocket transitions

Asanas
-arm balances
-bakasana/crow
-eka pada bakasana/one legged crow
-koudinyasana/grasshopper
-ashtavakrasana/eight crooked limbs
-parsva bakasana a,b,c/side crows
-pincha myrasana/elbow stands
-hasta sirsasana/handstand

Rocket transitions
– from headstands to arm balances
– arm balances to handstands
– mula bandha check up into arm balances

Core training
-dolphin
-Pilates
-boot camp

Deep stretching
-hips
-splits
-partner work

Learning the “Mechanics of Flight”
-weight transfer into the hands
-floating back and forth in the Sun Salutations
-jump backs from seated postures
-inversions and handstands from standing postures
-arm balances and inversions from seated positions
-creating fluid movement throughout your practice
-floating with control vs. ballistics

Rocket Finishing Poses
- raja kapotanasana, pigeon
– ardha matsyandrasana, bhardvadrasana
– passchimottanasan/forward bend

Backbends
– shalabasana/locust
– danurasana/bow
– ustrasana/camel
– kapotanasana/ advanced camel

Modifications and assists for all postures

 Bad Man Story

“Do your practice all is coming” Pattabi Jois

 Pattabi Jois said there were three kinds of student: good students, medium students and bad students. Good students all is coming 7 years. Pattabi looked around at his students and looked at a young lady and said, “you good lady, you practice every day, very strong lady, all is coming 7 years.” Pattabi continued to look around the Shala and he began to speak to a male yogi and he said, “you are doing good, practice is coming along, you medium student, all is coming 10 years.” 

Then Pattabi looked at Larry and he said “you bad man, all is coming 25 years.” Larry’s eyes got big and he thought to himself, I’m 30 years old now, when I’m 55, I’ll know what he’s talking about,” and what Larry found out was late in life you could have love, health, and happiness late in life no matter what. He also realized how long this practice is!! It’s a very long practice and if you’re good, medium, or bad student, all is coming, just keep practicing.

What can we learn from this story? Larry left his physical body over 4 years ago and during that time many of his students have been searching and wondering, where is their practice going? what did Larry teach us? and ultimately the big question is what were Larry's deepest wishes for the Rocket and his beloved students? The story reminds us that this is a long practice and sorting all this out takes time, time for our Rocket yoga community to heal and get organized.

When Larry was alive we all sat in the same circle and as David Kyle of Ashtanga Yoga Puerto Rico reminded Amber Gean , "why can't we all sit in the same circle again?" 

Larry wanted us to be working together to keep the dream alive, so after four years Larry left his physical body Amber Gean and David Kyle sat in the same circle last week and are hoping that this is just the beginning, allowing the circle to grow. New yogis are coming in that have never met Larry and for those that studied with Larry feel it is more important than ever to have someone in the circle that studied with Larry to share the good word of the Rocket. 

This is a mountain and we must climb, Larry taught us well and he left his closest students with the teachings inside of them and he gifted them to share the Rocket freely, at It's Yoga San Francisco Larry would have free hand outs of Rocket sequences available for anyone coming through the door.

Larry's closest students have been working around the clock to refine materials to make Rocket yoga training's, available to the masses. They do this with great reverence to their teacher Larry. They believe " do you practice and all is coming" even if it takes 25 more years to organize a Rocket yoga alliance to give creditability to all of the yogis who have given their life to the Rocket yoga practice and for Larry so his legacy may live on for many many many more years.

15 Years Blog 

Grief: One year after Larry had passed and one month after one of my boyfriends never woke up and we were supposed to have a date that day I found myself in grief counseling, that was almost 3 years ago. I wanted to take grief counseling to help myself but also as a yoga instructor to be self-responsible so I could help others. I find myself moving into the 5th stage which is acceptance. Acceptance is the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. It's harder than any of the other stages. Larry was a person in my life that actually got me, he pushed me in positive ways to work hard and practice yoga, we had a spiritual bond that exceed any type of physical relationship and that can be hard for other people to understand. Since he's gone I've bounced around other male relationships and I'll admit I'm a tough cookie to crack, I'm pretty deep and if I do let you in and you hurt me then I close myself off to the world because it's hard to match the love you have for your teacher. When I was down Larry would pick me up, there were no conditions of his love and no crazy exceptions relationships tend to bring out in people. Accepting that, that person isn't there on the other end of the phone to pick me up, accepting that they are not there to protect me and stand up for me is one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Accepting that today I begin at the beginning again. Accepting that loss is a part of life and we have it to become stronger better people from it. So I really don't care anymore what other people think of me, Bob Marley talked a lot about not judging other people until you've walked in their shoes. As I walk through the door of acceptance the story will begin to change and shift for me, the perspective will reflect more of my story and how it has shaped me to be the person I am and the person I am becoming. I want to thank the yoga community that has been there for me and continues to be there for me. The Yoga ah yogis are amazing, all the instructors that have taught selflessly at the studio and my new mentors that are rising like the phoenix from the ash and my family that keeps me going and has stuck it out with me in the really bad times and of course my two beautiful sons and I want to thank all the angels that look over us. Mostly I want to thank Larry for sharing such a powerful experience with me, I guess we are always together now, so thank you!!! May I hold my head high and accept this is my path, this is my heart, this is me.