Ahh! Rx for stress

Restorative yoga is the antidote for stress.   We move the body into delicious stretches with the use of bolsters, sandbags, blankets , blocks and straps.  Guided meditation, light massage, breathing and gentle moves create the foundation to stimulating new neuropathways.   The class is suitable for beginners,  it offers muscle recovery for athletes,  it  helps to strengthen immune functions, it’s better than a glass of wine- I hope you will join us!

Cherie Newman

Cherie is currently intrigued by joint stability and mobility. Working with the concept of stabilize/mobilize, she has fun with poses that stabilize the shoulders and juice up the hips. For example in her beginning yoga classes, students are working on laying down pigeon while more advanced classes have been working on mermaid, which requires hip stability and flexibility, upper torso mobility, and shoulder girdle mobility and stability. Also, Columbia College Level 2 student Morgan Dees recently brought “breath of joy” to Cherie’s classes, which brings on the heat and raises the vigor of the body.

Christian Damek

Christian has recently been keen on Kapalabhati (lung cleansing breath). He relishes the powerful dance-like Sun Salute variations, which he makes even more complete with the side sequence, wonderfully elegant transitions that open and strengthen the thighs and hips and deliciously improve balance and flank mobility.  This sequence is powerful but doable and well balanced with restorative work. Christian ends each practice with students calling and responding to words which embody the practice.

Hoyt Cory

Hoyt’s classes are restorative in nature, developing whole body integrity and authentic presence through breath and attention to anatomical alignment. He infuses his classes with aspects of his professional background in personal development training, therapeutic bodywork, and holistic health practices. Hoyt’s intention is for students to be easeful in body, peaceful in mind and useful in life.

Quincy Yaley

Quincy likes to make sure parents know it is okay for a kid to goof off and be silly in class. It’s not disruptive. Having fun is easy for kids because they have fun doing anything. Quincy’s favorite part of family yoga is seeing the kids doing the poses. She loves watching them challenge themselves in tree pose, balancing on one leg, and also in corpse pose where the challenge is to lie still. Sweetest of all is seeing a child lay atop a parent during savasana.

Jenny Matkin

Jenny’s belly dance classes focus on three concepts: BALANCE: Without it everything falls apart.  RHYTHM: Where the joy of music gets expression. ALIGNMENT: to protect the body and give it strength and flexibility.  Here are Jenny’s warm up directions:  “Observe how your center of mass aligns with a vertical axis–a plumb line– that runs from the top of your head down through your pelvis to the spot between your feet. As you move through this step, follow the feet pattern first.  You will need them to support the displacement of the hips and then ribs as we layer the combination. Soften through the knees. LISTEN to the MUSIC.  Emblem?  Fringe!” If you would you like to see where Jenny’s training takes dancers her group Raks Arabika will dance at Earth Day in Angels Camp on April 22.

Steve Tripp

Steve has four areas of focus: breathing, movement, relaxation and posture. These four pillars of Systema are Steve’s passion, and he believes they are important keys to maintaining a healthy body and mind. When Steve sees an exceptional effort or great technique as the result of right practice, he says:”That’s who you are!” emphasizing and helping students see the greatness in themselves. He also tells students, “You can do this!”  This is a powerful statement coming from a teacher, a person that students respect.

A being unbirthed
quivering with potential in your belly
Growth is fostered by meditation
nurtured by breath
Light expands to the farthest reaches of human capability
Fingers sweep the stars
tracing along the depths of consciousness
What motivates the galaxies to be?
What continues the perpetual spin of existence?
Awareness floats further into space
swimming among the constellations
It drifts to a place where we can feel everything we can feel
and everything we can not feel
The mind transcends the body
In this moment
you are the breath of every living thing
the light in your soul
embodies all existence
and calculates the spin
Yoga is

]]> http://yogaloftsonora.com/yoga-is-by-kevin-greer/feed/ 0 http://yogaloftsonora.com/talking-jade/ http://yogaloftsonora.com/talking-jade/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:59:03 +0000 yogaloft http://yogaloftsonora.com/?p=1740 Continue reading ]]> One thing I can say, with 15 years of yoga experience, I have employed many a mat. My first mat love was purple. My instructor, Jennifer, purchased an industrial sized roll of mat material. From the roll she cut a mat for each of her students. She charged us $11. A hefty investment I thought. Just like lovers, you remember your first mat. I remembered rolling it up and tucking it under my arm with pride. I learned to stand on my head, bind my arms in parsvottonasana, I cried on that mat and laughed as well. We traveled and explored new yoga venues together I stretched, flexed and grew strong on that mat, so much so I wore it out.
I spent time after the break-up trying left over mats at the gym and studios. Like one night romances, not fulfilling, not practice sustaining. Years later, I began to invest in mats with fancy yoga labels, like Gaiam, Barefoot Yoga and Lululemon to name a few. None lasted, some I lost, some frayed and others weren’t able to keep up with my ever evolving practice. Then I found the one I wanted to stay with forever. The PrAna Eco Mat. Oh, I was in love. We shared environmental ideals. The color was green, like spring moss. When I was in down dog my hands and feet felt buoyant as if I was practicing on moss. Such a sturdy mat, yet light weight enough to travel anywhere. This was the height of my practice; I practiced 3 times a day, lots of sweat, lots of omms. Eventually, after tens of thousands of upward facing dogs, my toenails finally carved a path so deep in the moss, my feet would get stuck. Sadly, this mat began to bio degrade on the studio floors. It need replacing. I purchased a new PrAna. This was like dating your ex love’s sibling. Not quite the same but familiar. Something had happened, maybe PrAna had a new manufacturing credo. The purple/pink color was awesome, but this mat was flimsy, unlike the original.
Manduka was like a first marriage. Oh my! Environmentally manufactured, sturdy, sticky, name recognition- like dating a model, this was home. Manduka was there for me as my practice changed, ripened and began to mature, It met the needs of the yogini I had become, In a devotion act of love I washed Manduka, but not knowing this to be dangerous I left it out in the sun (never do that) to dry I was never forgiven, it was a reprehensible act. The mat began to peel away from itself and it’s edged fringed in dismay.
After I consoled myself with austere thoughts of not needing any one mat in my life. I began to mostly rely on my studio’s loaner mats. After the Manduka, I thought of all my previous mat loves. How we worked together, grew together and eventually grew apart. I was sad, I felt loss. Practicing on the Yoga Loft’s thin, ultra used but super sticky non-designer mats, was humbling. The mat was not inspiring, the inspiration had to grow from within.
I thought of starting a new mat relationship, but mostly I was content with practicing on those well worn ones at the studio.
Not long ago a newer company, Jade, sent me a calender and an email wanting to know if I wanted a demo mat. Sure.
It was the color of my old Manduka, the one I had ruined by hanging in the sun. I found it to be sturdy and sure of itself. I began to date it. I didn’t completely rely on it, but gradually got to know it and began a deep appreciation of it.
Like all my previous loves, the manufacturer’s source and produce the mat with minimal environmental impact. Very little packaging and biodegradable.
Today my Jade and I are together always. It’s the second marriage, the lasting marriage, the mat I will grow ever old with.
We now stock Jade’s Harmony mats at the Yoga Loft. They are $56. Yes, costly but FYI, cheaper than you can find them anywhere, anywhere!
The Jade is a mat for those with serious, dedicated practices. You earn a Jade! They are sticky, skid resistant, sturdy and thick but light weight. Great performance.
I invite you to meet mine, give it your best downdog and see what you think.
Cherie

Pre natal yoga class is offered at the studio by request.  If you are interested in being one of at least 5 attendees please leave your contact information in an email.

Umbilical cord