ABOUT CONNIE HABASH

Connie Habash, MA, LMFT, has a passion for spiritual and personal growth through the practices of yoga and psychotherapy.

She began her studies of yoga in 1991, at the same time she was earning her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at JFK University in Orinda, CA. Instantly, she sensed a calling to teach, and in 1993, while practicing counseling as an intern, she also began teaching yoga.

YOGA

Connie’s classes are inspired by yogic wisdom and the process of inner exploration that she has found so valuable through her training as a counselor. She integrates these principles in a way that allows each student to make their own discoveries, find ease in the body, and peacefulness in the mind. She is very eclectic in her approach, but mainly draws upon the Iyengar style for alignment and individual adaptation, the Vinyasa style for its flowing movement and emphasis on the breath, and yogic philosophy to apply the experience to our daily lives.

Her greatest influences have been her long-time teacher, Mark Horner, and his teacher, Shandor Remete, who developed the Shadow Style of yoga. She has also been strongly influenced by Judith Lasater, whom she did Restorative and Prenatal yoga training with, as well as Rama Jyoti Vernon and Diane Valentine. She completed an 18 month teacher training at Moksha Yoga Shala in Walnut Creek with Mark Horner, and has done numerous trainings and workshops with other highly respected teachers over the last ten years.

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

Since 2002, Connie has been involved in the mentoring and training of yoga teachers.  She regularly offers training programs as part of the Yoga Educational Seminars (YES) program with Joyce Anue in the San Jose area (see http://www.joyceanue.com),
the Advanced Studies and Teacher Training at the Yoga and Movement Center in Walnut Creek (http://www.yoga-movement.com),
and she is on the faculity of Mind-Body Zone in Fremont (http://www.mindbody-zone.com ).
Additionally, she mentors graduates of these programs as assistants in her ongoing classes.
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COUNSELING

A licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over ten years of experience, Connie has a unique method of intergrating body, mind, heart, and spirit in her counseling practice.

Over the years of studying various modalities of psychotherapy, including art therapy, visualization, subpersonality diaglogue, Enneagram, and dreamwork, in addition to traditional “talk” therapy, Connie has found that an intergration of these many therapeutic styles with body-mind wisdom has been an effective and transformative experience for her clients. She utilizes breath awareness, physical sensations, movement, and occasionally yoga postures in her work with counseling clients, and has been influenced by Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. As a Transpersonal psychotherapist, she sees the integration of one’s spiritual values and practices as essential to the process of personal transformation.

SANSKRIT

Along the way, the energetic language of Sanskrit, mantra, and chanting have awakened an appreciation of the power of sound in healing and spiritual awareness. This was first inspired by hearing the Sanskrit and Malayalam songs and chants of her spiritual teacher, Amma (see spiritual influences, below). She then did her initial Sanskrit studies with Vyaas Houston of the American Sanskrit Institute. Since 2002, her Sanskrit studies with Dr. Sarasvati Mohan, founder of Sanskrit Academy in San Jose, have been a great passion, and she enjoys sharing this magical language with others in workshops and private tutoring.

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AYURVEDA AND YOGA

Years ago, Connie realized that her understanding of yoga would be incomplete without some exploration of Ayurveda, the healing science of India and sister science to the practice of yoga.

Through her studies of Ayurveda, she has discovered the importance of developing the practice of yoga to address the needs of the individual based on their unique body/mind constitution and the current conditions and circumstances in their life. In addition to her own self-study, she has learned ayurvedic applications of yoga with Pratichi Mathur, an Ayurvedic healer from India, and continues this work with clients and Ayurvedic yoga workshops.

SPIRITUAL INFLUENCES

Over the past 19 years, Connie has explored many spiritual traditions of the East and West, being especially influenced by yogic philosophy, earth-oriented practices, Hinduism, and Taoism. In 1998, she found her spiritual teacher Amma, also known as Ammachi or Mata Amritanandamayi, and felt she was finally home. So inspired by this “living saint”, Connie traveled to India in early 2003 to spend some time at her ashram. Connie endeavors to follow Amma’s example by doing all of her work with love, compassion, and the attitude of service to the world. She humbly offers her gratitude to the teachings, inspiration, and blessings Amma has given her. To find out more about Amma, you can visit her website at http://www.amma.org.

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