01/20/2024
This is what they call an 'embarrassment of riches.' A growing one, at that. For those who haven't noticed, Erich Schiffmann has created a fresh online offering (on Vimeo, and some now on YouTube) of scores of his talks at classes and workshops. He's been putting them out and sharing on social media in recent weeks, and the collection is like Christmas every day.
If you don't know who Erich is, I'll suggest it's worth your time to get a sense of him through these videos. If you already know Erich, you already KNOW what a phenomenal gift this is. Freely available to all, these teachings are gleaned from his insights from many decades of dedicated practice and authentic inquiry.
For what it's worth, here's how I tried to succinctly describe Erich in something I penned some years back:
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Erich Schiffmann’s discoveries about self-practice have influenced and empowered thousands of yogis teaching and practicing today, culminating in a style he calls Freedom Yoga. This unpretentious teacher has left an enduring mark on a generation of yogis and teachers inspired by his take on making the shift from doing someone else’s yoga to doing your own.
Erich dismisses any notion that the term is proprietary to him. He winces at the idea that anyone might dub it “Schiffmann’s Freedom Yoga.” The term is a shorthand one he fashioned after growing dissatisfied with the elaborate answer he used to give to the “So, what kind of yoga do you teach?” question.
It’s not on Yoga Alliance’s list of choices in the “I Teach ______” menu dropdown. It’s not a flashy or a headline-attracting practice. Most freedom yogis are too occupied enjoying and learning from their practice to talk about it much. It’s an approach that’s made all the difference for me. In part because its specific expression varies so much from one practitioner to the next (that’s the freedom part), and also because its only canon is that ongoing inquiry is paramount (that’s the yoga part).
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Find this generous teacher's online offerings here - and enJOY: https://vimeo.com/erichschiffmann
Erich Schiffmann/Freedom Style Yoga
