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 Sandy Crinklaw's Next Adventure “The flexibility we gain in asana is the living symbol of the suppleness we gain in relation to life’s problems and challenges.” This statement is from the yoga sutras, second chapter. My husband Glen and I are near the completion of The Coastal Mountain Sport Haus. This is a project we started over a year and a half ago meeting with the county planning department and gaining approval for the first of its kind in Columbia County. Since that approval came we have been acting as general contractors for the Inn, and builders for the accessory building/garage. The construction of the Inn and reclaiming the land has been good for the soul. The project will continue to be a living symbol of what can be accomplished if one has the determination and flexibility to continue despite the ever present challenges, and to date it truly has been a wonderful experience and a test of our physical, mental, and spiritual dedication. The Coastal Mountain Sport Haus is a European style boutique Inn. Our goal is provide our guests an opportunity to experience a working farm on a pristine natural environment where elk, deer, eagles, osprey and coyotes are often sited. Nestled in the Nehalem Valley, The Coastal Mountain Sport Haus is located on the Nehalem River 10 miles north of Vernonia. The property has been in my family for seventy years and is listed as an historic site. Reminisces of the historic farm are in place, and the Inn is constructed in the style of the older buildings. My grandfather, a German immigrant, moved the family there in May of 1938. He farmed the land in accorandance with the natural environment which we too will honor. Following the natural cycle of the seasons, enriching the soil and following sustainable farming practices. We will offer a rural farm experience, and meals at the Inn will use the freshest local ingredients inspired by our European travel experiences and family heritage. Guests can participate in yoga instruction and we also will provide guided or non guided bicycle rides, road or off road. Exploring the local flora and fauna on the 100 acre site is great fun. A short walk will bring you to the river or creek where you can sit, listening to bird song or be memorized by the flow of the river or rippling of the creek that ramble thru the property. The Coastal Mountain Sport Haus is just an hour from Portland by car or you can bicycle out. We will have an open house for yogi’s this summer and a website will be developed soon so you can check in on our progress. With our intended opening scheduled for Memorial Day fast approaching there are many details to work thru. My time will now be devoted to the operations of the Inn, which includes rentals to small groups. We believe the site and yoga room will give yoga instructors another local option for workshops and weekend retreats, we have accommodations for 16. Finally, a special thank you to Nina, my peers and the students of Sunset Yoga for the opportunity and the support I have had during my tenure at here. I do hope to see you soon. Namaste’ Sandy Crinklaw Yoga Blog One of our students - "theyoginme" has started a personal blog about yoga. Click here to link to his fun, inspriring blog! Here is an excert from one of his entries: T'was an evening to remember. Today it was an advanced class by Nina, full of poses that hadn't been done in a while. It started with a classic Gomukh Asana (in sitting form), which I had performed only sparingly in the past. As we performed, she remarked "let go of your ego" and don't try to get your back foot straight. Let go of my ego? -- that is what I need to do in life I said to myself! This is a yoga pose. Eureka! Benefits of Yoga Yoga is supposed to improve flexibility. Six months ago, when I started taking classes my goal was to improve the flexibility of my hamstrings. They are tight. Really tight. Like, my teacher has never seen anyone have such problems with hamstrings. And, slowly but surely, my hamstrings are better. I’m making progress at a rate similar to that of glacial movement in Alaska valleys, but improvement. And, overall, I have seen improvement in flexibility and tone in every part of my body since I began yoga. Plus an overall improvement in how all of me feels. Surprising to me, however, was how quickly my hamstrings became of secondary concern. I am competitive. I go to a competitive school, work in a competitive field, come from a competitive family, and love to play competitive games. I hadn’t realized that it had gotten worse when I started law school until about a year ago. My partner and I were hiking and he stopped in the middle of the trail and said that he wouldn’t go a step further until I stopped racing him. I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing it. But, sure enough, on further inspection, even my leisure activities had turned into chances to be faster, stronger, better, smarter, cuter, or whatever- as long as I was more of it. The first day of yoga classes I noticed that I was checking not how my posture felt to me, but how was I doing compared to everyone else. Am I more flexible than her? Am I better aligned than him? However, the more yoga that I undertake, the more I realize that my competitive streak is not going to get me anywhere here. It is something that I struggle with every single class. Turning within and examining me is much harder than stretching my hamstrings. It has also been more rewarding and enabled me to maintain a more sane outlook the rest of the time.
What does it take to become a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher? Have you ever wondered about the process of becoming a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher? Deciding to take this step is making a commitment to self-discovery, focused asana practice, and intense improvement of teaching skills. Sunset Yoga Center has two certified Iyengar Yoga teachers, Nina and Nuvana. And now two more of our teachers at Sunset Yoga Center, Bud and Cindy, have started down this path so this article will attempt to share the details of the process. To become a certified teacher, a teacher must first have taught Iyengar Yoga for at least two years. Most will have apprenticed with another teacher or completed comprehensive teacher-training programs. The teachers will be readying themselves by using an assigned syllabus of poses, anatomy, yoga philosophy and teaching skills. Once a teacher feels ready, they must be recommended as ready for “assessment” by two more-senior certified teachers. The recommending teachers will watch the candidate teach, either in person or on tape to decide if the teacher is prepared sufficiently to pass the assessment test. When the candidate has the recommendations of the two teachers, they are assigned to be assessed somewhere in the United States. The assessment process takes an entire weekend and is mentally and physically demanding. First, a written test is given to test the candidate on the assigned syllabus topics. Next, each candidate must performing the asanas (poses) that were assigned for the test. These poses can number up to forty! The names of the poses are announced in Sanskrit and then the candidate must perform the poses. This portion of the test can take 90 minutes to two hours of steady asana practice. Finally, a sequence of about six poses is given to each candidate (from the syllabus). The candidate is expected to come back the next day and teach the sequence in 40 minutes to a group of strangers, while 3-4 senior teachers look on and observe every instruction and correction given. This is generally the most challenging part of the assessment. Once the assessment is complete, the candidate is notified whether or not they passed in the following week. To become certified, this process is repeated a year or two later with another more challenging syllabus, and higher teaching expectations. After the second assessment is passed, the candidate can call themselves a Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher!
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