Yoga Classes
Hatha Yoga
Hatha yoga practice is designed to bring the body into alignment and balance while calming the mind and nourishing the spirit. This practice can be a gentle combination of poses (asanas) and breath work (pranayama) or more energizing and vigorous or somewhere in between depending on the level of class, the practitioners skills and the instructor. The class is 60 minutes and ends with a relaxing final pose (savasana). Please always be mindful that while practicing any yoga poses, you never force your body into a shape or tolerate pain. Some postures are meant to challenge your physical body and mind, but experiencing pain in the joints, muscles or connective tissues is never part of a well-rounded practice. Be kind to your body and compassionately and lovingly move through your yoga practice.
Yin Yoga
Yin yoga is a slow-paced, introspective practice of yoga. The poses are held for longer periods of time allowing you to create the space to turn inward and notice the physical sensations in the body and tendencies of the mind. This practice targets the connective tissues, fascia, ligaments, tendons and joints and is incredibly liberating. The practice is based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) of moving qi (energy or life force) in your body by consciously focusing on the meridian lines (Nadi) that correspond to our internal organs. The ancient wisdom of yoga, recognized that the health and wellbeing of a physical body is well-tied to the health of the internal organs and through conscious compression and elongation, we are opening the blockages and allowing the energy to flow freely to the targeted organs.
Yoga Nidra
The meditative practice of yoga is a sweet, restful and powerful practice that is accessible for all levels. Nidra meaning sleep is a non-rem stage 3 sleep where your mind and body is at complete rest, but you are still aware and awake. Yoga Nidra is a guided practice and is done lying on your back preferably on the floor and not your bed or the couch. You may use props like blanket or pillow under your head and knees to get comfortable with the intention to stay awake through the entire practice. The teacher will systematically guide your through steps to reach a state of complete relaxation between waking and sleeping. The practice will help you release stress and relieve anxiety, heal psychological wounds and leads to a sense of overall wellbeing and balance. The complete practice can be 30-40 minutes long, although your teacher may begin with a physical practice giving you the ability to relax easier in Yoga Nidra.
Balance & Posture Yoga
Good balance and posture are required for optimal breathing, body awareness, and the prevention of falls. Yoga asanas, pranayama and mindful practice principles will be used to increase the ability of students to maintain balance and correct posture. If you like, a metric will be provided to measure your increased sense of balance. Practices will stress warm up, mindful opening of shoulders, back, legs, hips and strengthening of the core. Balance poses will begin with toe raises and mindful walking, standing Warrior poses, moving onto crane, tree and eagle poses, standing knee to chest and ardha chandrasana. Students will improve balance and posture, increase self-efficacy, body awareness and confidence. Suitable for all levels of yoga experience.
Prenatal Yoga
Prenatal yoga can help reduce stress, improve sleep, increase strength, flexibility and mobility in the muscles and connective tissues involved in childbirth and release tension from shoulders, upper and lower back and the leg and calf muscles. Most importantly, you’ll experience more mental centering by focused breathing and learning breathing techniques that help reduce or manage shortness of breath during pregnancy and childbirth. The practice of prenatal yoga can be gentle with more focus on breathwork with functional movements in the body to ease tension. If you have been continuously active and practicing yoga regularly, your practice can be more energizing utilizing yoga postures for building strength and mobility. It is important that you consult your physician before starting your prenatal practice and always be mindful that the practice feels good. This is not the time to challenge your body into going deeper or trying new poses. The intention for prenatal yoga is to support you and the health of your baby during changing phases of pregnancy.
Healing Yoga Therapy
All yoga practices are therapeutic and healing but a yoga therapy session focuses on specific conditions using yoga techniques to improve function and special needs of the student. A yoga therapy teacher is trained to assess clients through observing and appropriate adjusting, looking for ways to help students reduce or manage their symptoms & improve their form and function. A yoga therapy class can focus on healing, strengthening, functional mobility and release from long-held tension in the body and the mind and can greatly impact the students’ attitude toward the health condition empowering them to heal from within.
