Beginning the week of August 30th~
Hoyt Cory will teach his popular class Yoga for Everybody at 9am every Monday & Friday morning.
Christian Dameks Inner Fitness yoga classes will continue to meet on Monday nights @ 6, Wednesdays & Saturdays @ 9am, with a new duration time of 90 minutes.
All of Cherie Newman’s Columbia College classes will meet at the Yoga Loft.
Yoga journeyers! Explore! Deepen your practice with Yoga Level 2. This class is offered by Columbia College and meets at the Yoga Loft M/W 3:45-5:10pm. Class starts 8/30/10. 16 weeks of asana, pranayama, philosophy, chanting, 16 weeks of exploring you thru yoga.
Register in August for 30 days of unlimited classes, $65.00. Take classes with Sonora’s finest instructors in Yoga and Belly Dance.
This offer available for new students only.
209 536 0503 yogaloftsonora@yahoo.com
$65.oo for 30 days of unlimited classes will be offered beginning August 1st. Our well trained dedicated staff of instructors are extending this offer to new students. Our intention is to introduce ourselves and our studio to those in our community who have yet to explore the Yoga Loft. We hope this offer will tempt those who have been curious yet relunctant to open our door.
We have weekly yoga classes, belly dance and cardio hoop class. We are friendly, we love what we do and we are anxious to share our love with you!
River Vibes: A Yoga, Rafting, and Musical Delight” Aug. 28th and 29th 2010 – $200/person (ages 13+) Immerse your senses on a two day and one night rafting, yoga, and musical delight. Explore the scenic Stanislaus River by raft while making your way down to Sunshine Rafting’s private river haven! Experience three sessions of yoga on a blanket of green grass by the river, two days of rafting on Sat. and Sun, and a beautifully eclectic music festival at our gorgeous outdoor theater enveloped in a canopy of trees. Nourish your body with three catered meals and touch-up with an optional massage. Join us on this unforgettable “River Vibes” extravaganza! We will dive into our 14 miles of relaxing current on Saturday morning launching from historic Knights Ferry. Within the first mile of this stretch of river you will come upon the exhilarating Russian Rapids, which is a class II thrill. As we continue down the river you will have the opportunity to hop in a refreshing river bath to cool off and beat the heat. Our first stopping point will be at Horseshoe Camp where we will have a light snack and rest. Then we will board our rafts again and continue down to Orange Blossom Park where we will enjoy a full session of yoga on the beautiful green grass, which will include an instrumental accompaniment. After we complete our yoga practice we will then eat a delicious lunch and set out on our next journey down to our private river haven! This exclusive location is an outdoor wonderland that includes two acres of manicured green grass, perfect for yoga and tent camping. There is a full stage under a canopy of trees where the musical festivities will be held. This location also includes a sauna, horseshoe pit, bathrooms, showers, hammocks, two rope swings and a private beach. Once we make land on Saturday afternoon we will enrich our experience with another session of yoga and then an exquisite dinner under the trees. After everyone is settled at the gorgeous camp we will then begin to bring out the music!!! There will be several bands performing at this event with many styles of music. In addition to the musicians there will be professional fire dancers that will ignite the show once the sun goes down. There will be an opportunity for optional massages out there under the stars. On Sunday morning we will begin our day with a morning meditation and full yoga class. We will then have a full catered breakfast together and then begin to prepare for our final raft for the day. The final stretch will begin mid-day on Sunday and will end at the Oakdale Recreation Area. If you desire a natural backdrop for your yoga practice this is the time! Each yoga class will be constructed to easily suite the beginner yogi or the versed. There is no experience necessary to participate in these classes and there will be instructors that walk around and assist each student in finding the perfect pose for them. The classes will be held on the green grass at both Orange Blossom Park (one on Sat. afternoon) and the Stanislaus River Haven (one on Sat. evening and Sun. morning). The yoga styles will consist of Vinyasa Flow and Himalayan Yoga-Meditation Tradition. Each instructor will put their personal twist on each pose which allows for you to find the one that resonates the most with your individual practice. The classes are always offered to all attendees but at any time if you feel like you need to sit out from a class that is always an option. We use yoga to elicit a beautiful balance within our lives. This is a time for personal discovery of what really makes your body sing and feel blissful. Yoga mixed with the elemental forces that you will be surrounded by offers a perfect time to tap into your inner self! The peaceful techniques to living that are introduced and experienced on “River Vibes” will be applicable to your daily lives on and off of the river. To offer a special treat to our guests we will have onsite certified massage therapists working at our River Haven Massage Village. In this village you will have an option between chair massage or table massage. You will be able to pre-determine the length of the massage you wish to receive and also whether you would like to have it take place on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. The professional massages will be an additional fee that are very reasonable for the experience you will receive by relaxing in a gorgeous outdoor setting while taking care of your mind and body and allowing them to become fully synchronized. Each massage will be customized to maximize your relaxing and healing experience. We will also be providing you with three catered meals and snacks throughout our two day exploration. Our first snack will be provided a Horseshoe Camp along the route, which is about 4 miles down the river. Lunch will be served at Orange Blossom Park and dinner will be served at the Sunshine River Haven. On Sunday morning you will be provided a nourishing breakfast in order to send you on your way with lots of energy. After you have finished the trip and have been shuttled back to your cars we will be providing another snack for you to depart with. While you are at the Sunshine River Haven the music will be astounding. Clear sounds of musical talent will get your body ready to move. To share music with the magnificence of nature at our outdoor theater will give you that vibrant feeling of magnificence that you can carry out with you into your lives. by booking your reservations now! No experience necessary! Call Sunshine Rafting Adventures @ 1-800-829-RAFT. Trip Includes: – 2 days of rafting and 1 night of RESORT STYLE camping with 3 catered meals (lunch, dinner, and breakfast) – 3 full sessions of yoga by the river (Vinyasa & Himalayan) – 5 audible delights at our outdoor music festival (The Trespassers and more!) – An abundance of campfire entertainment: professional fire dancing, hoop dancing and more!!
A rational, linear construct in the mind will inform the intuitive, organic functioning of the body. Imagine a vertical line extending form the exact center of the Earth to the zenith of the heavens; off this line fall perpendicular (90 degree angle) lines extending in all directions (360 degree from center) – there are an infinite number of these intersecting lines. Now run the vertical line through the exact center of the body, and imagine (visualize, feel, sense) all the structures of the body in this perpendicular relationship to it. Moving with this mental directive will facilitate natural alignment in your anatomy (symmetry, proportion and balance), release emotional holding patterns, and help restore optimal functioning in your physiology.
Remember, however, in the body there are no straight lines, no sharp angles. Therefore, never fully straighten (hyper-extend) a joint or become rigid/fixed in the time-space of your experience. Firm, yet flexible, energized yet relaxed…these are the hallmarks of “effortless effort” in the practice of yoga, leading to presence and poise in life.
New students will be offered a $65.00 30 day unlimited access to our classes. Offer good thru August
Looking for words to help define the feelings I was experiencing, this morning, while updating the June Yoga Loft schedule, I googled quotes on change. Not disappointed , I found this from Bruce Barton :
“Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change- this is the rhythm of living.”
At the time the Yoga Loft opened in August of 2004, I was the lone name on the schedule . Nance Spence ‘s Soto Zen meditation groups action of joining the Yoga Loft began the first wave of interest. The flow began. Yoga instructor Hoyt Cory’s gift of a jade plant resulted in his staying to teach for a while. Others followed. Newly certified teachers, dancers emerging from their chrysalis and events of dance and movement began to contribute to the studio. The flow coming into the Loft was high until the tide changed. Teachers like Hoyt, Kira, and Carly moved on. My first experiences in editing the schedule to reflect omissions left me feeling sad, alone, afraid and mostly surprised. By the time Christian Damek joined the Yoga Loft in 2006 I had began to understand the ….”Rhythm of living “and trust my connection to the planetary tide flows.
“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. “
Ellen Glasgow
I still grapple with changes that have not benefited the Loft . Nance Spence’s group continues to leave a void after 4 years at the Loft. I wish that Forrest could have stayed forever. I was bitter when Yoga Level 2 Spring Semester was cut. I was sorry that the Columbia College budget cuts effected Terrie’s Wilderness Women Within group. I continue to be discouraged by the lack of participation that some classes have been met with, despite the enthusiasm, effort and monetary cost put forth by their teachers.
“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. “
Anatole France
Some changes to the Loft’s schedule are exciting. Hoyt who left the Loft in 2005 returned in 2010. Ebb and flow. Darca the only Capoiera teacher in Sonora is pregnant with twins. She’s cancelled her class (temporarily). Susie Lawrence, our Cardio Hula Hoop instructor, in keeping her weekends free, moved her Sunday class to Darca’s spot. Ebb and flow. Christian, earlier this year, took time off to heal from a serious bike accident. Onto our shores was swept Nora, from Ibizia , she graciously covered his classes. Ebb and flow.
Steven Espinoza has left his Friday am spot to teach at Sonora Sports and Fitness, not a great change for the Loft ( great for yoga students at the Fitness Center). Danielle will begin to offer healing Reiki treatments at the Loft, starting June, on Fridays. Ebb and flow. While the Loft will pine the loss of Marguerite’s nia class, I am excited to see what Marguerite will offer next. Ebb and flow, I trust so.
“All things are transient”
My teacher and wise friend Patricia Harrelson
Melancholy, movement, excitement and trusting, these are the emotions pulsating thru my energy channels this morning. Much appreciation to all the teachers who have shared their wisdom, trials and efforts at the Loft over the years. From them I have learned to trust the tides. The June schedule is ready for printing.
When Christopher de Mars and Laura Wilcox went public this Spring with their new romance the Yoga Loft was tagged the Yoga Love Studio. A well earned nickname as The Love Studio is credited, in part, with uniting 3 pairs of lovers. The studio is a comfortable place. We have small classes, loving teachers and we all gather together in an effort to improve our lives. It’s an unintimidating space which lends itself to the cultivation of a serene and open inner space.
Within that inner space we explore our vulnerability & strengths. We see how far we can stretch, how deep we can breath, how steady we can balance, how present we can be. We struggle with patience and acceptance. We balance effort and ease. We learn to see ourselves without judgement, we move closer to our true selves and we begin to love who we are, who we truly are. Once we see the good within we can see the good in all.
Yoga, the natural process of integration ( Shiva Rea’s definition), takes time, it’s lifelong, if you believe in reincarnation it’s a many lives long process. It’s not hurried. A dedicated Yoga practice is the incubator for physical and spiritual growth. The 3 romances that incubated @ the loft were unhurried, they were allowed to grow as each individual evolved. Laura and Christophers romance incubated for more than a semester.
Matt Buckingham a rugged firefighter and Cassey Cook the sultry diva, both long time Sonora residents and Yoga Lofters, have been practicing in the same room for over 3 years. They “hooked up” early early Spring.
Jessica and Adam Robertson (married!) did not meet at the Love Studio but are involved in the Loft. Adam was a Columbia College student of mine as was Jessica. Jessica developed our Yoga Tots program and Adam became the Loft web designer. Their friendship started outside of the Loft but they studied their growing relationship with the skills they learned from Yogic self study. A little meddling on my part expediated them into the romantic phase. A teacher has to know when its appropriate to push a student out of their comfort zone!
Best wishes to all our lovers, namaste.
If you have any comments on your own Yoga romance leave a comment here.
Yoga Loft friends adam and jessica robertson have a new addition to the family. averie star robertson was born on jan 20th at1 in the morning. he was 9 lbs 7 oz. during birth, jessica announced that she “DID not want ANY more children” , but adam feels this may have been spoken in the heat of the moment.
