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April 2021
Healing through stillness.
We often forget the importance of pausing and giving ourselves permission to be still and rest, pushing ourselves with our endless list of to-dos and busy-ness. When we finally have the opportunity to slow down, we are often exhausted or our mind continues to race. Sometimes we need a little help to quiet the chatter.
What’s my favorite antidote? Restorative Yoga. I have been practicing restorative yoga for over 15 years and have been teaching Restorative Yoga for as long as I have been a yoga teacher.
What is Restorative Yoga?
Restorative Yoga is a calm yoga practice which makes use of props to fully support the body in order promote relaxation, release tension, calm the mind and soothe the nervous system. This practice is perfect for those of us who feel the need to decompress, relieve stress, and restore the body and mind to a state of health and inner calm. This practice is beneficial for reducing stress and anxiety, promoting the health of spine and the organs as well as assisting with digestion, circulation, fertility, menopause, promoting sleep, as well as many other health conditions. It is different from sleep. Have you ever gone to bed only to wake up tense? During restorative yoga, your body is supported by blankets and bolsters to facilitate deep relaxation. Practiced consistently relaxing is much easier and over time we become less reactive to things that cause us to become agitated.
Restorative Yoga is a great way to find balance in our busy lives or for those looking for a healing practice which promotes rest.
Practice Supported Bound Angle Pose (or Supta Baddha Konasana) after a long day or to soothe stress and anxiety.
A favorite in restorative yoga, this pose creates a sense of calm as it opens up the chest, hips and inner thighs. It also improves general circulation.
If this pose is uncomfortable for your hips or knees, extend your legs straight and place a rolled blanket underneath your knees for support. Stay in this pose for 10-15 minutes.
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March 2021
A Season to Renew
As we move into this new season, we begin the processes of change, growth, renewal, and re-emerging with the opportunity to emerge into the world mindfully.
Spring invites us to de-clutter not only material possessions, but also our ways of thinking and being. Spring invites us to soften and to embrace a fresh start with intention.
Take a moment and ask yourself what in your body is asking for attention? What needs to change? Are you feeling stuck? Overwhelmed? Tired? Are you feeling anxious? Depressed? Agitated? Is your body tight and achy?
If you are acknowledging and recognize that you may benefit from a regular and sustainable yoga practice, this offer is for you! Join us for only $108 a month! This offer is for new and returning students!
This is an offer to help you get on the mat regularly to cultivate balance and strength and to guide you toward inner peace. It is only through a consistent yoga practice that we can begin to find openness and spaciousness in our body and mind!
Just as our practice teaches us, we can keep indulging distraction and “busy-ness” or we can release it and begin again.
How can we re-emerge in a way where our next steps make a meaningful difference? Both in the quality of our lives, and the lives of our loved ones?
As we re-emerge from our cocoon, may we learn to move slowly and with clarity.
February 2021
The Importance of Simply Being
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As I get older, I appreciate slower-paced, mindful, and sustainable yoga classes. Especially in times of stress!
To me, yoga is not exercise or a workout. Yoga is the one form of movement that I love and have practiced consistently for the past 15+ years. It has made me stronger body, mind and heart. And while many view yoga as a form of exercise, yoga encompasses movement, meditation, breathwork and mindfulness. The word yoga means to "bring together" or "unite" mind, body, heart and breath. It has the ability to energize and the ability to bring peace and calm.
Many times, we approach our exercise and mindfulness practices with the mindset that we need to change or fix something about ourselves. Or we strive to achieve the perfect pose or shape. In doing so, we aren’t able to fully enjoy “being” in the pose or “being” in the practice.
If you have been to our studio, all of our teachers have one thing in common. We all appreciate slower-paced classes. We love the benefits of a slow, mindful, sustainable yoga practice. Our intention is not to turn you into a pretzel when you arrive. We just want you to feel good when you leave. We want you to breathe better, move better, and feel better. And we also want you to enjoy “being” in the practice by proving a space that is nurturing, inclusive and non-competitive.
If you are used to attending Vinyasa Flow classes, try a calming Yin, Gentle, or Restorative Yoga class. These classes can be just as advanced as they ask you to be with yourself fully and unconditionally.
“I reflected on the fact that my previous yoga practice had been motivated by a constant desire to change myself. Although this seemed like a healthy interest, and of course is in many ways, I began to realize that I was so busy altering the landscape that I failed to pause and enjoy the view…I was unable to simply value my body, or my life for that matter, in its current condition just as it was…” Sarah Powers
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January 2021
Quiet Mind, Peaceful Heart with Yin and Restorative Yoga
As we move into the autumn season, we become overly busy. Perhaps we feel anxious, disconnected and even ungrounded. As a remedy, we practice yin and restorative yoga as a way to become grounded, more settled, and to cultivate peace and calm in the body and mind.
Restorative yoga can be practiced by everybody regardless of experience level and physical ability. Students are guided into supportive yoga poses using bolsters and blankets to encourage rest and relaxation. Restorative yoga is a practice of restoring, receiving, and letting go so that we can allow the body and mind to rest and we achieve the desired benefits of this soft, peaceful practice.
Yin yoga is a slow, quiet and meditative practice and is designed to stimulate the connective tissues to improve flexibility, range of motion and joint health. By finding stillness in these long-held postures, we are regulating the nervous system and allowing ourselves to heal physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Both styles of yoga have become increasingly popular during the last decade. Even if yoga isn’t a part of your self-care routine, restorative yoga and yin yoga are a wonderful complement to our over-scheduled lives. We are often sleep deprived, stressed and anxious. An accumulation of stress and sleep deprivation can contribute to depression, anxiety, illness, and a weakened immune system. By allowing the body to slow down, rest and restore, these healing practices relieve stress and anxiety to prevent illnesses from occurring.
As we move into these fall and winter months, it is important that we take special care of ourselves by acknowledging that we are overly busy, perhaps slowing down and restoring the body and quieting the mind. A sixty-minute practice will relieve muscle tension and leave you feeling rested and well-nourished.
"To rest is not self-indulgent, to rest is to prepare to give the best of ourselves, and perhaps, most importantly, arrive at a place where we are able to understand what we have already been given."