Excitement is building with Katie Manitsas' latest book, The Yoga of Birth to be launched this week.
Katie is giving the lucky readers of Obaitori a chance to win a signed copy of the book.
Katie Manitsas is a co-director of Jivamukti Yoga Sydney (formerly Samadhi Yoga). Katie is the first certified Advanced Jivamukti Yoga teacher in Australia and has also studied extensively with the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda under the guidance of Swamini Mayatitananda, as well as being a qualified Kundalini Yoga teacher. Katie grew up in the English countryside surrounded by nature and animals and at the age of ten became a vegetarian; today she is a vegan and along with her business partners opened Earth Vegan Café in Sydney in 2010. Katie’s previous books are 'Spiritual Survival in the City' and the more recent ‘Yoga Off the Mat’. Katie is mother to four-year-old Christos and to Ziggy who was born at home. Katie is a trained doula (birth companion) and is currently studying the Montessori education method for pre-schoolers.
Obaitori ~ What do you feel is the most significant change in you since practicing yoga?
Katie M ~ This is a very difficult question for me to answer because I started practicing yoga at such a young age. So the practice has seen me through adolescence, various jobs and relationships, marriage and into motherhood. It’s been the foundation of my life and it’s very difficult for me to remember functioning without yoga. What I do know is that at all times in my life where there has been a challenge, some confusion, some suffering, yoga has been there as a faithful support and guide. I’m so grateful to have this practice in my life.
Obaitori ~ What is the role of ritual and prayer in your life?
Katie M ~ A yoga teacher recently suggested to me that the reason we chant OM at the beginning and end of the asana practice is to define the yoga practice from the rest of our lives – to set the sacred time aside in a ritualistic manner. I think that ultimately all sadhana (conscious spiritual practice) is immersed in ritual and prayer. Ultimately as spiritual practitioners we are working towards finding ritual and prayer in all that we do whether making a cup of tea or sending an email. Our only job is to serve God. And of course that is very true of parenting. A wise soul once told me as a new mother to think of life with a newborn in terms of rituals rather than routines. That was very helpful advice for me.
Obaitori ~ What for you would be real surrender?
Katie M ~ To quote my friend and fellow Yogini Jasmine Tarkeshi (Laughing Lotus School of Yoga in San Francisco) ‘I’m always happy to go with the cosmic flow, so much easier to surrender to it than struggle against it.’
Obaitori ~ What is the biggest source of tension in your life? What do you do to minimize it?
Katie M ~ So called multi-tasking is the curse of our time. We see it as a skill but truly it’s a curse. I’m doing a puzzle with my four year old but I’m also trying to send a text message. I’m playing peek-a-boo with my one year old but I’m also checking my email. Modern technology has a lot to answer for! The feeling of overload and overwhelm that has arisen as a result of being ‘plugged in’ so much of the time is a great source of tension for me. Our contemporary fixation with technology supports a way of being that is the antithesis of residing in the present moment which is what yoga is all about. I’ve taken some steps towards addressing this – I don’t have a TV, the mobile phone is off from 8pm – 8am and I really try to define family time and work time as completely separate. But it’s tricky and sometimes I slip up and have to remind myself of coming back to ‘now’.
Obaitori ~ Do you have a family sankalpa? How do you formulate it?
Katie M ~ That’s a great question! People ask me about this kind of thing all the time because my husband is Greek Orthodox and a motor mechanic by trade and not interested in the teachings of yoga at all. There are many incongruous aspects to us as a family. We don’t even all look alike (my first son is the mirror image of me and my second with his olive skin and brown eyes exactly like his father). But actually despite all this it’s very simple. In our home and in our lives we are all aspiring to be kind. Paul is a very kind man. The kids are growing up in an atmosphere of cultivating integrity and kindness. When you remember this the differences are just surface.
The book can also be purchased here at lulu.com and is available at the official book launch in Newtown on Saturday. Katie also writes for Natural Parenting Magazine, her articles can be read here. The blog tour will continue and you can also see more at Jodi's blog, Che and Fidel, on Sept 22 and Gaby's blog, this little port, on Friday the 23rd September.
'The Yoga of Birth' Book Launch @ Jivamukti Yoga Studio Newtown
Saturday 24th September
10am
There will be kids face painting, healthy snacks, a family friendly vibe, free pregnancy goody bags, a short introduction to the book from Katie and book signing. Copies of the book will be only $15 on the day. Everyone welcome!
Jivamukti Yoga Newtown, NSW Australia
(76A Wilford Street, Newtown 02 9517 3280)
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To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close next Tuesday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post on Tuesday evening.
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The winner is:
Tasmananian Minamalist
"Would love to be a winner xx"
Congratulations, you are!!!
