For the past few years, I’ve been searching for a new name for my website. I felt uncomfortable with the term yoga and I didn’t like having my name be central.

I came up with some different names including:

Aligned and Playful Movement
The Movement Well
Micromovement for a Macro Life
Move Better, Feel Better, Live Better

Because nothing seemed quite right, I decided to stick with RAZIYOGA until I could find something better. While I love teaching, marketing and building a brand are not my strong suits.

Now I’m considering keeping RAZIYOGA for the following reasons:

Razi is the first 4 letters of my last name. You can read more about the history of my whole name in “How I Became Italian.”

In Hebrew, the word “raz” means mystery or secret. It’s an old literary Hebrew word and is used in Kabbalah—Jewish mysticism—in reference to the ineffable which could be defined as God, the divine, or simply the lifeforce.

In Hebrew, an ‘i’ at the end of a word makes it possessive so Razi can mean, ‘the mystery force that is with me’ or ‘God is within me.’

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that has historically meant ‘to yoke’ and is now also understood to mean ‘union.’ Today the term yoga connotes a wide range of practices which span a spectrum from esoteric traditions that are related to Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism to physical practices intended to improve health and well-being. One thread that goes through all the definitions is that Yoga connotes practices that originated in the Indian subcontinent.

Physical Yoga practices were my entry into teaching conscious movement and Asana (physical postures) and Pranayama (breath practices) continue to be central to my teachings. I hold certifications in a number of movement modalities including Modern Postural Yoga, Restorative Exercise and Z-Health (a neurocentric approach to wellness and movement.) I share what I have learned from these techniques and also incorporate other forms of movement that I have studied such as Feldenkrais, Middle Eastern Dance, Body-Mind Centering and Qiqong as well as what I have learned from being a soccer player for over 30 years.

Considering the etymologies of Razi and Yoga as well as my experiences with them, I loosely interpret the meaning of Raziyoga to be, “the mysterious force that dwells within me supports the experience of union and wholeness.” This union can refer to different parts of one’s being or being in union with something greater than oneself such as the divine, god, or the life force of the universe.

On a more prosaic level, RAZIYOGA is a quick way to suggest that I am sharing physical practices that go beyond sheer exercise.

RAZIYOGA can also be an acronym for:
Restoring Alignment – Z-Health – Integrating Yoga

And last but not least, it’s also fairly easy to remember.

As my learning and teaching is continually in process, I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions.