Yoga Workshops for Everyone

Friday, April 16, with Peter Blackaby
1:00pm-3:00pm ET, $45

When we practise Yoga, we are challenged to acquaint ourselves with our bodies in many ways. Often there is a perceived notion that it is the asana itself that is the challenge. In this workshop I will be arguing that this is not the case. It is how we notice ourselves while moving towards the asana that is significant. This in turn inevitably has an effect on the mind. As we become absorbed in our practice the mind, because it is of the body cannot help but become quiet too.

Peter Blackaby is a yoga teacher and osteopath based in Brighton, UK, and the author of the book, Intelligent Yoga…

Sunday, April 18, with Shari Stein
11:00am-12:30pm, $30

Osteopenia and osteoporosis are conditions in which – during the natural process of aging – bones tend to become more porous and susceptible to fracture. Exciting new research shows that yoga is a very effective tool for preventing and managing these conditions. Participants will be guided through practices that encourage grounding and weight bearing, as well as exercises and poses that facilitate balance, stability, range of movement and awareness. Written handouts, summarizing relevant science, will be provided.

Sunday, April 18, with Paola di Paolo
1:00pm-3:00pm ET, $40

Grow roots and soar with this delightfully energizing practice.

Paola di Paolo is certified through Esther Myers Yoga Studio and 3HO.  She teaches Kundalini yoga and Hatha yoga.

Sunday, April 25, with Tara Detwiler
11:00am-12:30pm ET, $30, drawing courtesy of Sandie Collins

When our nervous system works well, we can move between states of activity, rest, excitement or feeling safe and connected when in the company of others we trust. We can also recover from perceived threats without too much impact. Sometimes, overwhelming events, or lack of attunement from others in our early life can interrupt this natural regulatory system. This results in traumatic residue that is stored in the body and can impact our thinking, feeling, or sensing abilities. Sometimes this shows up as chronic tension, anxiety, insomnia, hypervigilance or a lack of presence.

In this class we will learn how the nervous system functions and explore ways to recognize the inherent healthy impulses that are geared towards regulation. These can be subtle and easily overridden. Please be in a room with a window and have a picture of a loved one, either human or animal.

Tara Detwiler was introduced to Rolfing when she was 20 years old…

Friday, April 30, with Monica Voss
1:00pm-3:00pm ET, $40

There are only four breath essentials: inhale, exhale, pause, and repeat. Breath practice is healthy; it’s a technique for focusing the mind; and it helps us adult humans feel, understand and accept that everything’s in continual flux.

In this workshop, we’ll explore relaxation, a bit about how and where, gentle movement and hands-on, pranayama, bandhas, mudras and sound.

Perfect for a spring afternoon! Please bring your questions. All welcome.

Saturday, May 1, with Donna Oliver
1:00pm-2:30pm ET, $30

Tiger Qigong Movements loosen the body, massage the internal organs and keep the Qi flowing. Very good workout for the whole body and mind. While no prior experience is necessary, this is a great review for those who have done the set previously.

Sunday, May 2, with Mar Jean Olson
10:00am-12:00pm ET, $40

Increase the range of motion in your neck, shoulders, arms and upper back with numerous and enjoyable exercises and sequences. Experience an enhanced sense of lightness and freedom.

Sunday, May 9, with Edward Brown
11:00am-1:30pm ET on Zoom, $50, sliding scale available

Curiously, regardless of the nature of mothering that we received growing up – good, bad, or indifferent – we all know implicitly what ideal mothering is. We know it in our bones, our marrow, our blood, our heart, so that when we are held with reverence, received attentively, greeted warmly, we feel seen, valued, and appreciated – sensing mothering. Our hearts blossom.  

We are held in a matrix of love that does not shame, belittle, or blame, but sees our capacity for growth, resilience, and strength in the face of challenges, mistakes, and setbacks. We are offered a template for how to structure our awareness to receive our experience and hold it with love – rather than correcting or fixing – bringing out the goodness implicit in every object.

Curiously as well, we often think that we will receive this genuine mothering, once we behave well enough. When really, much more realistically, we could go ahead and begin offering it to ourselves.  And others! And the world! We could practise the mothering we may not have had that we always wanted. We mother – as best as we can. 

A workshop for honouring mothers and the practice of mothering with some silent sitting, a bit of stretching, some speaking, and some conversation.

Saturday, May 22, with Maria Meindl
1:00pm-3:00pm ET, $40

Electronic devices have been a welcome window on the world during these pandemic times, but extra screen-time calls for extra care — especially of the delicate area of the shoulder girdle. These lessons will explore some key relationships — between the shoulders and eyes, and between the shoulders and breathing, and leave you with a few simple activities you can do to lighten up your shoulders in the course of the day. And even those who are not on screens much will still benefit from the breath of fresh air that they offer.

Feldenkrais^® and Awareness Through Movement® are registered service marks of the Feldenkrais Guild^® of North America.

Maria Meindl became fascinated by the simplicity and power of The Feldenkrais Method in the early 1980s.

Sunday, May 30, with Monica Voss
10:30am-3:00pm ET, $60/full day, $30/half day, included in your unlimited at the Studio, sliding scale available
morning, 10:30am-12:30pm ET, afternoon, 1:30pm-3:00pm ET

Together, we’ll ready ourselves for spring. Let’s prepare the soil of our mind garden with relaxation and visualization, pranayama and meditation; nourish our stable roots with foot and leg stretches; open our shoulder and arm branches to the sunlight of optimism; and blossom with hopes and plans while freeing the spine. Our energy, like Nature’s yearly miracle, will return!

Saturday, June 5, with Donna Oliver
1:00pm-2:30pm ET, $30

Incense Qigong is a 15 movement form that is reported to have tremendous health benefits. This is a very rare version and one that I much prefer to the standard forms that are more popular. As the name suggests, some may experience fragrant odours while practising but not always. Our focus will be on correct body movement and health and well-being. Can be practised sitting or standing.

Friday, June 11, with Tama Soble
1:00pm-3:00pm ET, $40

The psoas muscle is powerful and intelligent. It lies deep in the torso connecting spine, pelvis and legs. Understanding how to release, stretch and strengthen the psoas can help us to integrate and stabilize the entire physical body and free up the respiratory system. We will explore postures and breathing practices to deepen our awareness and understanding of the role of the psoas in a balanced, resilient and steady body and mind.

Sunday, June 13, with John Campbell
11:00am-12:30pm ET, $30

Yoga Nidra is a meditation practice that dates back to the time of the Upanishads. Today, yoga nidra is widely used both as  meditation and as a therapeutic tool for PTSD, other psychological trauma and distress. Yoga nidra is experiential and produces a state of deep relaxation, similar to sleep, in which we remain aware. From this place, we experience, notice and welcome the comings and goings of different aspects and layers of the self such as physical sensations, feelings, emotions, thoughts and beliefs. In yoga nidra, we are given the opportunity to feel past all these fluctuations and rest in the unchanging, peaceful, welcoming ground of our being.

John Campbell has been practising yoga at Esther Myers Yoga Studio for over 35 years and is a graduate of the EMYS Teacher Training Programme.