Blog from Kim: Vivid Awareness

I had the honor of sitting with one of Tibet’s greatest teachers, The Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche. It was really unbelievable. The very simple, very straightforward teachings reminding me to rest in the nakedness of the natural mind. The program was called Vivid Awareness and though the ceremony was full of ritual, the practice was so sweet and effective. This teaching consisted of the essential points of mahamudra and dzogchen, both view and practice, for the benefit of all of us who strive to practice in challenging times. They included contemplations on the ephemeral nature of joy and suffering, meditations for resting the mind, and guidance for cultivating equanimity in any situation. Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche presented “Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet”, a profound oral instruction he personally received from Khenpo Gangshar. Read More…

Start Your Engines!

The first ever Baltimore Grand Prix is right around the corner, and as you all know, this is going to result in a mess of road closures. So to make your commute to yoga class a little bit easier, here’s the map of road closures. It goes into effect Thursday, September 1st at 7:30pm and runs through Tuesday, September 6th at 6am. Click the picture on the left to enlarge the map. While this is certainly an exciting event for Baltimore, don’t let it keep you from the mat! Unfortunately, our Federal Hill studio will experience some scheduling changes, but our other studios will remain unaffected. Click through for the updated Federal Hill schedule: Read More…

Blog from Kim: Sanskrit Class

This is Sascha, he is in my yoga sanskrit class and Richard training as well. He and his wife own a studio in Vienna.
There are several couples here who have lived yoga together, some practicing together, some teaching at the same studios and some owning studios. It is really nice to be able to talk about the joys and struggles of running a business while maintaining allegiance to the practice. We talked a lot about choices we have to make in balancing student needs with the demands of the tradition, while at the same time, making sure the business is financially fit. Fit enough to keep the doors open next year and the year after and so on. How else would the practice be accessible to so many? I remember Baltimore in the 80s and how, if you lived downtown, it was impossible to get a class, to find teachers, and to find community. How lucky we are now! Read More…

Ask Our Yoga Advisor…

Our Yoga Advisor, Kristina, is here to help you begin your yoga practice or to make your current yoga practice even better. She can answer any questions you might have about yoga or the studio. You can contact her at either yogaadvisor.charmcityyoga@gmail.com or call her at 443-670-2006. Click here to learn more!

Blog from Kim: Cadaver Lab

Kim relays her adventures while on a yoga retreat in Boulder, Colorado.

Today we went to the cadaver lab. We saw already dissected bodies, 4 of them. Each person had donated their body to education. Apparently you can do this online. All of the bodies were older individuals and all had died of natural causes. We had a little bit of a lecture on this process to prepare us for what we were going to see; to create safety and I have to say the process worked. I felt ok. I had dissected a frog, a pig, and a cat in high school. I remember the cat being a messy job and was thankful for my lab partner. Read More…

Blog from Kim: Meditation with Dr. Jules Levinson

This weekend, I practiced meditation with Dr. Jules Levinson. Jules is a scholar of Tibetan literature and is working to translate the texts under the guidance of his teachers before the elders pass away. He is also an avid practitioner rigorous in his awareness of the temporality of all things and relentless in his stance of being in the unknowing. I really appreciate his humility and his reminders to us that he is taking on the mantle of teacher even though, because of his glimpses of reality, he knows this is a job beyond what he feels ready for. One can feel that as a yoga teacher, when we are faced with the immensity of knowledge. This can feel like a good and uncomfortable place to be. Dissolving the I, again. Read More…

A Labor of Love: Kim & CCY Featured by Bmore

Bmore online magazine interviewed Kim and featured Charm City Yoga yesterday as a thriving business built from the love and passion Kim has for sharing yoga with the community. Baltimore is a city full of passionate entrepreneurs, building labors of love from the ground up. We are so proud not only to be a part of this eclectic city, but also to be featured as a leading business built out of love. Read More…

Kim’s Blog, Part VII

Charm City Yoga owner, Kim Manfredi is blogging from a yoga retreat in Boulder, Colorado.
Today is the end of our second week. We moved just as slowly and precisely through our practice as we did on the first day. I am grateful to be with such a wonderful group of practitioners. We are so encouraged and supported in exploring the inner alignment of the practice. From the golden crown of Visnu in headstand, to the thin straw of kundalini that travels through the center of the body. The mythology of the practice comes to the forefront as a means of establishing creativity in our exploration. Of making, in a sense, our own feature film that captures the imagination and trusts in the stories of those who come before. We have our teachers and they have found awakening through the practice  and their enlightenment is a gift. It is not that the slowness of the practice makes us any more precise but the mindfulness that comes with the continued allowing. Allowing of images, sensations, alignments, emotion, play, spaciousness and plenty of stillness. Read More…