jessica j9 Coulter, Neighbor

  The practice of yoga is an art and science dedicated to creating union between body, mind and spirit. Its objective is to assist the practitioner in using the breath and body to foster an awareness of ourselves as individualized beings intimately connected to the unified whole of creation. In short it is about making balance and creating equanimity so as to live in peace, good health and harmony with the greater whole. This art of right living was perfected and practiced in India thousands of years ago and the foundations of yoga philosophy were written down in <i>The Yoga Sutra </i>of Patanjali, approximately 200 AD. This sacred text describes the inner workings of the mind and provides an eight-step blueprint for controlling its restlessness so as to enjoying lasting peace.

         The core of Patanjali’s <i>Yoga Sutra</i> is an eight-limbed path that forms the structural framework for yoga practice. Upon practicing all eight limbs of the path it becomes self-evident that no one element is elevated over another in a hierarchical order. Each is part of a holistic focus which eventually brings completeness to the individual as they find their connectivity to the divine. Because we are all uniquely individual a person can emphasize one branch and then move on to another as they round out their understanding.

       In brief the eight limbs, or steps to yoga, are as follows:

<b>Yama :  </b>Universal morality

<b>Niyama :  </b>Personal observances

<b>Asanas :  </b>Body postures

<b>Pranayama :  </b>Breathing exercises, and control of prana

<b>Pratyahara :  </b>Control of the senses

<b>Dharana :  </b>Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness

<b>Dhyana :  </b>Devotion, Meditation on the Divine

<b>Samadhi :  </b>Union with the Divine

9. My Life.

9. J9 a.k.a Jesica9names, a.k.a  Poet, Divorced Single mother, Lover, Fighter, Disabled Veteran, and light being wandering this sphere we call earth.

Yes, the 9th Limb of yoga is my life.

I practice yoga in its everyday form.  I can see it in how I choose to not (or try to not) react when My 10 year old bugs out at school or when the Social service agency makes me jump through hell and highwater for simple assistance?

OR…when I am at the Veterans Administration…..

The 9th Limb of yoga is accepting my autistic child by allowing him sto be who he is. The 9th Limb of yoga is how this 30 year artist, Yogini, Mother embodies her teachings through the 8th Limbs.

The 9th Limb of yoga is how I live, learn, love, laugh and cry. It is Loving myself EXACTy AS I AM..

now about me…..

“My journey to becoming a yoga instructor has been as non-traditional as you can get, learning yoga at home, at gyms, at free community classes, and honestly I didn’t like it at first, but, I did like the 20 min relaxation at the end (corpse pose)…the nap, the nap is what got me hooked. My intention for all my students is to learn how to let go of our ego, long enough to reconnect with how awesome we are even when it’s hard for us to believe it. Even if you are not sure yoga is for you, everyone deserves a good 20 min nap!”

Jessica-Patrice D. Coulter has been practicing yoga for over a decade. She discovered the healing and restorative power of yoga while she was recovering from an injury while she was in the United States Air force. As a disabled 30 year old veteran with PTSD, and a single mother of two young sons, one with whom has autism, Jessica knows that the stillness found within the practice of yoga is the truest way for peace, both internally and externally.

Trained in The Amrit Method of yoga, under Yogi Amrit Desai, Jessica uses specific sequencing in combination with meditation throughout every class to ensure that all participants have the invitation to practice relaxing with what is, however it is showing up in that moment. She is trained and is well adept to reach all people, no matter their ability or their experience level. In addition to her 250 hour training with the Amrit Yoga Institute she holds a certificate in pre-natal yoga from Finding Inner Peace Yoga School.

Aside from her official yoga training, she holds a BA in Liberal Arts form Thomas Edison State College, and has worked in the Social Service field both within the military and with the civilian sector. She is also an accomplished spoken word poetry artist in the New England Area, performing as Jessica9Names or J9, and with the female artist collective, Isis Storm. In poetry she uses her words to open minds, tell her story, and usher in a healing, as with her yoga practice.

Jessica has a passion to bring yoga to all people, and teaches several free of charge community classes on Aquidneck Island, where she currently resides.  More information about those classes is below, or follow Jessica at http://www.J9yoga.org