|
|
| |
T.J.
|
T.J. Peng was born in Taipei but his family moved to California when he was 4 years old. A graduate of the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, he is a licensed chiropractor in the state of California and a certified applied kinesiologist from the International College of Applied Kinesiology USA. He also obtained his Bachelor's degree in Biology and Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. It was during his studies at UCSC when he fell upon yoga accidentally. While trying to learn skateboarding and surfing, a friend suggested he try yoga to help his balance and coordination. Fifteen years later, he is sharing one of his passions and experiences in life with others.
T.J. has studied in the traditions of the late, great yogi Sri T. Krishnamacharya from South India. In this tradition the main focus of the yoga practice is the breath, because the quality of one's breath reflects the quality of one's mind. By combining breath with movement (Vinyasa) this form of yoga becomes a moving meditation. T.J's other Indian teachers have included SN Goenkaji, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, Srivatsa Ramaswami, K. Desikachar, and AG Mohan. He has also studied with American teachers in this lineage including Jasmine Lieb, Annie Carpenter, Julie Kleinman and Eric Small. T.J. is certified from YogaWorks in Santa Monica, California (Lisa Walford, Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller) and Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado (Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor).
| Qualifications & Certifications |
|---|
500-hr Teacher Training Yoga Works - Santa Monica - US
200-hr Teacher Training with Richard Freeman - Bolder, Colorado - US
Doctor of Chiropractic - Southern California University of Health Science- US
Licensed Chiropractor - State of California - US
Certified in Applied Kinesiology - International College of Applied Kinesiology - US |
View this week's schedule for T.J. at:
Pure Tower
|
|
|
| |
| |
T.J.'s Books
| Karma and Chaos
Dr. Paul Fleischman MD and Forrest Fleischman
This book tries to explain how Karma works using modern and scientific terminology. Beautifully written, it also connects the logical, pragmatic and reasoning thought process of the western mind with these ancient mystical teachings of the great eastern sage Gotama the Buddha.
| Yoga of the Yogi
Kasthub Desikachar
This is a biography of the greatest yogi of our time Sri T. Krishnamacharya - teacher of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, Sr. BKS Iyengar, and also the father of TKY Desikachar. This is a wonderful book filled with many photos and anecdotes of the great yoga master, the teacher of teachers.
| Yoga Therapy
AG Ganesh and Indra Mohan
This is a very well-written and concise book about yoga and its therapeutic applications and how to apply it to your day-to-day life.
| Ashtanga Yoga
Lino Miele
This is the only book that systematised ashtanga yoga as taught by S.K. Pattabhi Jois with every vinyasa and dristi - a great reference book.
| Namarupa
Eddie Stern and Robert Moses
This is a beautiful magazine that comes out bi-annually with amazing photographs and wonderful articles about the vast variety of Indian traditions and mysticisms. Its theme is the categories of Indian thought.
| The Clock of Vipassana Have Struck
Sayagi U Ba Khin
A collection of essays and stories about the late great Vipassana meditation teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin - the teacher of SN Goenkaji.
|
T.J.'s Tips
| As my first Ashtanga yoga teacher Chuck Miller would always kindly remind me during the early morning mysore practice: "Stop, before you start, don't hurry or rush, forget about achieving something, getting somewhere, it's not about what you can do but it's about how you do it, it's a process, a journey". So one can always just simply pause as John Lennon would say: "Life happens when we are in between planning.." Patanjali wrote "Nirodah Parinamah" Nirodah is the pause, or suspension, and Parinamah is the transformation that happens when we just stop and discover more about ourselves and uncover the layers of conditioning (the samskaras) from this life or the previous. Simply just come back to our breath - it is the only thing that is constant in this lifetime and it is also a tool for this yoga practice, for this yogic path. There is one truth but many paths just like there is one prana but many breaths. Use the quality of your breath to begin to learn about yourself (svadhyaya ) because the quality of your breath reflects the quality of your mind (hatha yoga pradipika prana=citta).
|
|
|
|
