YOGA lineage & BIO

     Yoga, from the Sanskrit root “yuj” means yoke: to unify. Its goal is reuniting us with who we truly are. The path may be surprising and unpredictable, but always exciting, if we follow it with courage, curiosity, and even a smidgeon of faith in ourselves and in the Source that calls to us.  

     My Yoga lineage ISHTA means individual in Sanskrit. I honor each individual’s path, offering the tools Yoga has given us over 6,000+ years, from every teacher I’ve been blessed to know and continue to meet. ISHTA also is an acronym for Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, & Ayurveda.

     Yes, this includes asana and pranayama. It includes mantra and other nada, the yoga of sound. Also bhakti, devotional yoga. It includes yantra, visual images, and chakras, tantra and ayurveda, yamas and niyamas. 

     Yes, it draws from Pilates core work, from functional strength training, from Iyengar alignment principles, from physical therapy techniques.

     Yes, it utilizes ancient kriya, purifications, soothing Restorative Yoga, and meditation from many traditions. To these, I add the metta, lovingkindness, from Thai Yoga, and the dynamism and joy of AcroYoga.

     Yes, the layers continue to grow and flourish. Yet there is no rush or hurry. No timeline except to never cease evolving. 

     “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Lao Tzu

     Wherever we are on the mountainside, the view is glorious and ever-changing. As for the pinnacle, where we shall see the panoramic view of all the trails we have trod, laid out as a map before us, we will laugh quietly at how long it took us, and what adventures we had ... so, well, why hurry? 

     Why be in a rush to cease the journey? We are all bound to reach it.  

     Meet you at the sweet scenic sites on our way!

Mary Aranas is an ISHTA 500-hour E-RYT, a YACEP teacher trainer, C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, and Reiki Master. Coming from a theater acting background, Mary was 500-hour certified in 2002 by ISHTA YogiRaj Alan Finger (ISHTA: Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda) and has taught Yoga full-time since then, with private clientele, in health clubs, studios, corporate classes, retreats, festivals, teacher trainings, and AcroYoga Immersions. Her eclectic, joyful styles include: Vinyasa, Meditation, Restorative, Yin, Yoga Nidra, Reiki, Thai Bodywork, AcroYoga, YogaSlackers Slackline Yoga. Mary is also an HCI dual certified Transformational Health Coach and Life Coach.

Mary teaches weekly at Pure Yoga and Equinox Clubs in New York, and workshops, retreats, and immersions live and online. Mary lives in NYC with her performing artist husband Raul and son Raphael.

THANKS:

Respect, acknowledgement, appreciation, and gratitude to my many teachers ("gu-rus", meaning simply from "darkness to light"), all of them:

ISHTA YogiRaj Alan Finger and ISHTA teachers Sarah Finger, Rachel Zinman, Beverley Murphy, Kara Sekular, Lois Nesbitt and Jean Koerner. AcroYoga International teachers Jason Nemer, Jenny Sauer-Klein, Adam Rinder, SeattleLux, and so many others. My Thai Yoga guru Jennifer Yarro. Restorative teachers Rita Comiskey, Jillian Pransky, Judith Lasater. My Yin teacher Kate Kuss. My YogaSlacker teachers Jason & Chelsey Magness, Adi Carter, Dan Norgard, Sam Salwei. All my students at every session, so patient about my challenges with names! My mamas: Mom, Louise, Judy, Betsy, Lisa, Regena, and my yogini goddess sister tribe. My authors/spiritual teachers: C.S. Lewis, Paramahansa Yogananda, Marshall Rosenberg, Thom Bond, Marianne Williamson, Louise Hay, Neville Goddard, Regena Thomashauer, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Tosha Silver. Lisa Ludovici, Abraham-Hicks, Brené Brown, Marianne, Gabby, Patty Wipfler, Gabor Maté, Raphael Cushnir, Jay Earley, Richard Schwartz. My HCI coaches Stacey Morgenstern and Carey Peters, and the HCI dream team coaches. My skills lab partners, my clients! Om shanti shanti shanti. Peace, peace, dynamic peace!