Introducing Katonah Yoga

Katonah Yoga is a Hatha practice with Chinese Taoist philosophy and classical geometry deeply embedded in the theory and physical practice. While most yoga practices reference Hinduism and Indian culture as their philosophical matriarch, Katonah filters a practice through Taoist concepts.  With a western narrative, Katonah Yoga uses metaphor and the language of archetype.

There are three main principles found in Taoism. The first is yin and yang, the second is that nature reveals its intelligence through pattern, and the third is that pattern repeats. Repetition of pattern develops our capacity  for having a new insight.

For example, the repetition of a wave hitting a rock over and over, changes the nature of that rock. Taoism takes us from nature to our bodies and to our minds via a very pragmatic methodology. Katonah Yoga uses the poses to help each student move from first nature, ones's unconscious habitual patterns, to a second nature which is a conscious construction of a new more fully functioning self, to a third nature which involves conscious and unconscious integration and resiliency. 

This is the goal and the uniqueness of Katonah Yoga.

While Katonah Yoga poses are classically Hatha in nature, we use techniques of origami folding, geometric measure and the use of ancient numerical archetypes to infuse the practice with dimension, energy, and refinement. These techniques offer us a map with which to navigate a practice rather than overly relying on feelings or sensations. If a pose is measured well, if the geometry is correct, the body is supported by its own structure rather than relying on muscle. 

Real strength is not a muscular grip but a matrix that is consciously constructed in our minds and embodied through physical effort.

Reconstructing one's own container, one's body, through its structure, is the way to organically organize one's abode, thus re-informing

the function of one's organs and glands.  The poses are the tools with which to set up conditions in order to explore the magic of the practice.