It's New to Us by Jean Stratton

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Spanda: The Yoga of Movement Blends Traditional and Personal

So often, today's high tech world compels us to adapt to the rhythm of the machines. The fax, the computer, the voice mail, the e-mail – instead of freeing us, many times they burden us with the need for instant decisions, immediate response, allowing no time for reflection or thought.

As people seek ways to relieve the high tech stress, they turn to exercise, spas, and more and more often today, to yoga. Some 6 million Americans now practice yoga – many in an effort to find a quiet haven away from all the craziness!

Yoga, which means "union" or "in conjunction with", can help in many ways, but is especially noted for three aspects, says Jaime Stover Schmitt, Ed.D, director of Spanda: The Yoga of Movement, a teacher-training certification program.

"One, it helps physically, at the body level; two, it helps with energy, by increasing and moving energy around; and three, it helps the mind, by helping you to focus more thoroughly. You come away not just relaxed, but improved."

Ancient Tradition

Dr. Schmitt has been a practitioner of yoga for more than 30 years, having been introduced to the ancient scientific tradition as a very young girl in Pennsylvania.

"My mom wanted to take a yoga class in Quakertown, and couldn't get a baby sitter," recalls Dr. Schmitt. "I was five, and I went with her to the yoga class. Later, she stopped going, but I kept on, even though none of my friends were involved in it.

"I liked it that I could come home from school, which is so demanding socially, emotionally, and academically, and I could be myself. It was a way to feel good about myself."

Ms. Schmitt started teaching yoga at a recreation program when she was still in high school. At that time, she explains, no certification was necessary.

"I later became certified by the Himalayan Institute of Yoga, Science, and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pa., and I also studied in India," she reports. "I started to do a lot of research and was under the direct tutelage of Rajmandi Tigunait, the director of the Himalayan Institute."

Ms. Schmitt went onto earn a doctorate in movement education and dance, as well as certification in other modes and techniques of body work. She is also the author of Every Woman's Yoga, published in 2002.

As she explored the tradition and theory of yoga more deeply, Dr. Schmitt developed her own specialty, based on Hatha yoga, Spanda: The Yoga of Movement.

"Spanda, which translates to 'movement' in Sanskrit, is my own approach and designation," she explains. "We bring movement to the process of yoga. Yoga is stillness, but also vinyasa – moving poses.

Integral Part

"Spanda evolved when people came to me with various conditions, such as back problems, arthritis, injuries, and others," she continues. "So, it really evolved with a therapeutic focus. Spanda emphasizes awareness, understanding, and improvement of your body and yourself through an original holistic health methodology. Breathing, postures, and meditation are all an integral part.

"There is a lot of different body technology, and I also teach anatomy and body awareness. I incorporate western as well as eastern techniques, and I also have one-on-one classes for people with specific needs."

Dr. Schmitt has been teaching in Princeton for 15 years at such locations as the YWCA, Momentum Fitness, Westminster Choir College, The Institute for Advanced Study, and the Jewish Center. Many of her students have been with her from the time she started her program.

In recent years, she has also offered a teacher training certification program. As she says, "The goal of our program is to provide all the resources, teaching skills, and information necessary to teach traditional yoga and hybrid classes for diverse needs and interests. Unlike programs offering only a sequence without educating as to the value of each practice, or how to adapt poses, we offer the underpinnings necessary to comprehend yoga's view of health and the human experience from both eastern and western perspectives."

Dr. Schmitt points out that her graduates have gone on to offer yoga classes for such diverse groups as cancer survivors, at-risk teens, women-in-recovery, seniors, and people in chronic pain.

She adds that a strong motivation in designing the Spanda training program was the lack of qualified yoga teachers and the divergence in some classes from the true meaning of yoga.

Self-Awareness

"As yoga has gotten more popular, there has been a risk of it becoming competitive. This should never happen. The real essence of yoga, which is about self-awareness, was getting lost. We don't want that to be lost. I was appalled at what was currently being taught under the name of 'yoga.'

"The first and most profound teaching of yoga is non-violence or ahimsa, but I saw people in classes hurting their bodies in order to compete and impress others. This emphasis also scared away many people for whom yoga could have great benefit."

She points outs that there has been a rise in yoga-related injuries in the past years. "The problem facing yoga teachers is that of supplying safe yet challenging classes that meet a variety of needs."

Dr. Schmitt, who continues to study yoga herself, emphasizes the need for further learning and exploration in order to gain a deeper understanding of yoga's essence and benefits. It is this she wishes to share with her students.

"It's wonderful when students make a breakthrough and gain an understanding of themselves. Then they can see the value of yoga in their entire life. They may have come because they wanted a quiet time or some exercise, but they learn that it is really all about their whole life.

"Those who come to us will find our teachings are from an authentic lineage, gong back several thousand years. It's very classic training, from a world tradition."

New sessions of teacher training classes will begin in October at Momentum Fitness.

For more information about one-on-one private sessions and locations and hours for other yoga classes, call Dr. Schmitt at 921-0262.