Alexandra Corazza - Yogi of the Week

In this Yogi of The Week feature I will be attempting to sum up the complex being that is Alex Corazza, no easy task. She is a yoga enthusiast, photographer, world traveler, Inwood dweller, tea drinker, and…and…I could just go on forever so, lets just hear what she has to say about herself and her yoga practice, shall we? Alex, what is your favorite yoga pose? I don't have a favorite pose…I like to keep it moving...so least favorite is any [pose] that I have to hold for too long. What’s your take on yoga? The role yoga plays in my life is it keeps my challenges and goals in check. Encourages me to aim high but be real; to try and stay focused at the task at hand while dreaming big. Strengthen front of the body and the back and the sides. Keep the four corners of my feet spread wide and reeeaaach!!!
Alex is a freelance portrait and event photographer (www.aecphotography.com & www.sweetpeaphotographers.com) who also believes that yoga has helped her gained the strength needed to carry heavy camera bags all over creation and maintain good posture and balance which helps her shooting technique. In her own words, Alex believes that “yoga as a philosophy helps me find beauty which is very important for photographers to do on command.”

So Alex, any photography tips for YIP? What’s our good angle, right, left, or should we just give up and go for panoramic?

Yogi of the Week

Laura Martinez is an awesome awesome yogini. She has been supporting YIP from the very beginning both as student and Yoga teacher.  As an uptown girl (but a Texan at heart), Laura cares greatly for our community and her efforts to create a positive impact extend beyond the Manhattan borders and unto the Bronx where she volunteers as a Yoga Teacher for Mothers on the Move, a program that provides health and nutrition education to low-income mothers.  I didn't get a chance to ask Laura all of the usual Yogi of the Week questions, but I can tell you this much (and I think she would agree), that at the moment she likes all poses that feel good after a long run because Laura is training to run the New York City Marathon this year!!
So if you see Laura biking, running, or doing Yoga next to you at the next YIP day, give her a wave, a thumbs up, and (if its well intentioned) a shoulder massage :-)

Yogi of the Week - Masumi Kishikawa

Recently we caught up with Masumi Kishikawa, a veteran of YIP, last Sunday.  Aside from being a dedicated yogini, Masumi has been an invaluable contributor to the YIP initiative, including designing the ubber cool and cute logo and flyer for YIP displayed here on the blog. She is a graphic desginer with great sensitivity and YIP is very grateful for her lending us her talents. So Masumi, what is your favorite yoga pose?  Wheel, because I feel very stretched and open after I do it.  What is your least favorite yoga pose? Parsvottanasana, because those muscles for me are very tight and I get shaky when I do it.

Why do you like to do yoga outdoors?  I really respect the idea of free yoga class.  It's good for people who never had any yoga experience; it is a great opportunity for the community and I wish to be a part of it.  I also feel so free taking a yoga class on the grass with the smell of flowers! 

Its no surprise that Masumi loves wheel, she has a big open heart!

Yogi of the Week

Alright! I am kicking off the Yogi of the Week section of the YIP blog. Yippy!

I am Grisel Olivo, many of you may already know me as Gri or Gris. I love Yoga, the outdoors, Japanase manga and animation, and travel to remote places. When I am not doing neither of the afore mentioned activities then am at work writing grants and aiding the development of new programs for New York City's elderly population (or am chilling with my homies).

Currently, I am also founder and volunteer teacher of YIP and loving it! Volunteering in this initiative has transformed my Sundays into a meaningful vortex of Ohh soo many good feelings! don't even know where to start. Let's just say, I really like teaching this community class (and taking this class when someone else is teaching), laying in the green grass, listening to the birds chirping, and feeling connected to so many wonderful and amazing people.

What is your favorite yoga pose? At the moment, it is forearm stand. I am at that stage where the pose is unfolding within me. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't, but I am witnessing a forward moving procession that fascinates me. I think this is why I love Yoga so much, being both the witness and the doer.

What is your least favorite pose? Locust (variation with chin on floor and legs overhead). I find that this post is next kin to torture for me, my chin always gets bruised after practicing it, but I am confident that there is still within that pose some peace (that I am yet to find).