Jamie Sullwold, MA, RYT-200 At an early age, Jamie began questioning the meaning of existence and became a student of life. In turn, she began to further pursue cross-cultural perspectives involving culture, religion and anthropological studies for both personal and academic growth. Later, she found her niche in helping others and obtained a master’s degree in clinical psychology in 2006. Simultaneously, she began working as a counselor and practicing yoga as a means for stress management. In doing so, she found a reverence for the joy and fun that yoga can instill while discovering peace and clarity from her yoga practice. Jamie believes that yoga can benefit individuals in their everyday life and is extensively studying yoga philosophy to find information to share with students. Her yoga classes encourage students to question their experiences on the mat and find personal relevance that can enrich their lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually while maintaining the freedom to enjoy the process. Jamie obtained her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Dave and Cheryl Oliver in the astanga tradition, but has had many significant teachers along the path from various traditions including Anusara, Iyengar, Power, and Hatha. Jamie is currently teaching in the psychology department at Rio Salado College and is pursuing her 500-hour yoga teacher training.

Ethics and Social Action: Taking your Yoga Practice off the Mat and into the World w/ Jamie Sullwold   Have you ever stepped off the yoga mat and went back into your everyday life asking the questions, “What does this all mean? What is the meaning and purpose of practicing yoga?” Everyone knows that yogasana is an awesome physical exercise, but there are so many other aspects of yoga that go beyond the physical realm. Yoga is not only practiced on the mat, but in everyday life, even in the seemingly mundane tasks of going to the bank and paying your bills. Yoga is a minute-by-minute personal and social practice, and a way of living one’s life more authentically. Social interactions pave the foundation for living your practice and being connected with something bigger than yourself. This workshop will begin with a brief overview of astanga yoga, the eight limbed path of yoga, followed by an in-depth discussion about the first two limbs, the yamas and niyamas. The yamas and niyamas provide a framework for living a more authentic, moral, and connected life. Then, a slow flow asana practice will allow for contemplation and integration of the yamas and niyamas. The workshop will conclude with a guided meditation and intention setting.   “…all of my actions have an effect, I need to pay more attention to the kind of effect I want to have in the world.”      ~Michael Stone