yoga

“You are in life, how you are on the mat”

In any physical exercise; you are bound to have experienced physical, mental, emotional and spiritual obstacles. Physical exertion is completely parallel to your mental and emotional capacity for discipline and responsiveness in every day life. If you constantly let go in physical postures, drop out on the same ones each time, never test your limits or take risks on the mat, odds are that is how you live your life.

On the mat, we work to create action not response. We physically act on what we feel in our bodies is needed, digging past the muscle fatigue or negative self talk about overcoming injury, instead of responding to the muscle fatigue and saying “okay I’m tired. I’m done” before our bodies get a chance to assess whether or not we can actually move past it.

Vinyasa

Literally meaning “breath synchronized movement”, this kind of practice is often criticized by “traditional” yoga practitioners as being just another form of “mindless exercise”. Claiming that Vinyasa turns Yoga into an aerobic style class based on physicality alone.

It is my goal as an avid Vinyasa Practitioner to obliterate this ignorant view. Vinyasa teaches that with physical movement, we challenge our minds. This is a “meditation in motion” that is much more relevant for many seeking a sense of calm and energy in the West. Vinyasa incorporates challenging Sun Salutations at a faster pace, however the pace does not forgive more technique and alignment. This kind of practice challenges your upper body strength and core stabilization. I often blend Pilates with Vinyasa as they tend to be such beneficial partners.

When I first began practicing Vinyasa Yoga, I did a 2 week kind of mini immersion. I practiced 5x/week approximately. By the end of the 2 weeks, I was visibly noticing my arms, legs, and ability to move with control getting much more strong and toned. I was actually sleeping better, and the symptoms of my Patello-Femoral Syndrome were slowly starting to melt away, due to the thigh strength involved. I am so passionate about this practice. Come join me!

*Please visit the “Contact and Locations” and “Programs and Training” pages for class details

Resotorative and Yin

I use these forms when working with injuries, and high stress individuals who cannot readily enter a Hatha or Vinyasa practice, as well with absolute beginners who need to gain a better sense of coordination before moving into more active flows. These classes are meant to work on a deep level; into the ligaments, tendons and connective tissues of the body. They deeply open areas such as; the shoulders, wrists, lower back, feet, neck, ribcage, hip flexors and fibrous bands of tendons at various locations around the body. Often times, people of extreme inactivity, suffer from shortened mobility in these tissues, which causes tightness and loss of flexibility, muscle tone, and poor lymph and circulatory function.

Yin and Restorative practices are done with a series of long held passive postures (3-5 minutes). These classes also use the help of bolsters, blankets, pillows, straps, and blocks in order to focus certain postural effects on specific areas, and to create complete relaxation during the postures.

*Please visit the “Contact and Locations” page for class details

Hatha Flow

“Hatha” is the word used to describe all that encompasses Asana or Posture practice. It simply refers to the physical aspect of Yoga, rather than other forms of mental and spiritual Yogic philosophy. Hatha Yoga is interpreted differently by teachers all over the world, and I am no different. I incorporate the key philosophies of Hatha Yoga, and apply them to practices that I believe are at times more relevant to my students and their needs.

In my classes, I combine Hatha Yoga “Flow” with Yin to create a class suitable for anyone wishing to move at a slower pace, but still have the option to challenge and advance themselves. These classes offer many variations and freedom within a given Posture, and are always changing from class to class. On a physical level, these classes offer a great opportunity to anyone wishing to ease back into a physical routine; whether from stress, injury or inactivity.

*Please visit the “Contact and Locations” page for class details