While researching for A Red Lotus, many activities, web sites, products, etc. are discovered that merit sharing but do not fit clearly within the theme of specific needs yoga resources for NYC. Therefore, this blog was started to share such ideas as well as to spotlight some great community ideas.
The Exercise Studio Fitness and Yoga Center Open House
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, The Exercise Studio Fitness & Yoga Center is having an Open House. Classes are free for new students! Please register at least 3 days before event
1:30 p.m. Belly Dance (Beginner) New! Plus Size Yoga
2:30 p.m. Meditation & Reiki Healing Circle
This studio also is planning to start regularly scheduled Plus Size Yoga classes! If you or someone you know might be interested, please contact the studio.
Here are two classes for a good cause. Note that they are hot yoga classes and not necessarily adaptive, so people with specific needs should make sure the class is appropriate before attending.
Charity Classes Friday, August 22 and Friday, August 29, 8:00 p.m. at The Yoga Room, Astoria with Wesley Collier
These two charity classes will benefit Service by the Water, a weekly soup kitchen which serves only vegetarian food to the community. A cash donation or any kind of non-perishable food product equivalent to a $10 donation will be greatly appreciated. Beans, rice, pasta, iced tea mix, hot chocolate mix, powdered juice, paper plates, forks, and spoons are all great ideas for donations.
Workshop participants will: deepen their yoga practice through image making, movement, and writing; be introduced to a variety of art materials that are safe for you and the environment; share their artwork in a supportive community setting; learn creative and collaborative activities to share with your community, yoga center, or family; and return home with completed artwork and a plan for daily yoga and art practice. Each session of the retreat will include Kundalini yoga, meditation, and creative work. The workshop is designed for everyone with an interest in the healing power of art and yoga. Seasoned artists, teachers, and healers will work alongside beginners.
Note this is not specifically an adaptive yoga workshop. Those with specific needs should make sure they can be accommodated prior to signing up.
As promised, here are some ideas for the main conference sessions at Omega Institute's Being Yoga NYC 2008 Conference. Although there are several sessions for people with an interest in specific needs yoga, non-instructors with specific needs might find it challenging to attend the full conference due to the scheduling of the sessions. These are just some of the obvious ideas. There are many other sessions that might be of interest!
Friday, October 10, 8:45 - 9:30 p.m. Keynote Speech: Yoga & Social Action with Russell Simmons and Seane Corn
Saturday, October 11, 7:00 - 8:30 a.m. Session 1
Greeting the Day in a Sacred Way: Morning Meditation with Lilias Folan, general level
From Body to Mind & Mind to Body (yoga therapy topics) with Kelly McGonigal, general level
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Session 2
Challenging Yourself to Be of Service: Choosing Compassionate Action Over Charity with Mark Lilly and Katie Arrants, general level
12:30 - 2:30 p.m. Session 3
Meditation on Light & Vibration with Swami Lalitananda, general level
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Session 4
Essential Poses for Women's Health with Bobby Clennell, general level
Yoga for Healing Upper Back, Neck & Shoulders with Gary Kraftsow, general level
7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Evening Panel Being Yoga: The Changing Face of Yoga
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Session 6
Awakening Yoga in Midlife with Lilias Folan, general level
The Front of the Back with Tias Little, intermediate level
Bridging From Yoga to Yoga Therapy: From Concept to Sustainable Career with Matthew Taylor, advanced/teacher level
Meditation Arising with Mark Whitwell, general level
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Session 7
Yoga for Emotional Health: Focus on Anxiety & Depression with Gary Kraftsow, general level
Shamatha: Calm Abiding (meditation) with Cyndi Lee, general level
Portable, Compact, Real & Immediate: How to Teach Yoga to Anyone, Anywhere with Mark Lilly, general level
Hawaii Winter Solstice Yoga Retreat with Ana Forrest
In case you needed an excuse to go to Hawaii or can't make the The Samarya Center's upcoming Hawaii trip, a portion of the proceeds from this workshop will be donated to YogaHope.
Note that this is not an adaptive-focused workshop, so people with specific needs should make sure that they can be accommodated before signing up.
Each morning begins with an invigorating 3 hour yoga practice. Afternoons are free for excursions and Hawaii adventures. Late afternoons offer 1 ½ hours of Q&A and light yoga. The workshop culminates with a powerful Winter Solstice ceremony.
About Forrest Yoga ... "... Forrest Yoga challenges you to heal, grow and welcome your Spirit home. Forrest Yoga does not require strength or flexibility; it only requires that you bring a willingness to learn how to feel authentically and respond honestly. Learning to work honestly at your edges, you develop effective tools to deal with fear and struggle. This makes it possible for integrity, self awareness and playful curiosity to become part of your daily life."
Omega Institute's Being Yoga NYC 2008 Conference will take place October 10 - 13, with full-day pre- and post-conference intensive workshops the 10th and 13th. Many well-known names will be presenting/teaching. There's a discount for registration prior to August 15th, so I'll be posting some of the options in the next few blog posts.
Anatomy Studies for Yoga Teachers offers courses in NYC. A&P I and II will be offered in intensive weekend format, Saturdays and Sundays 1:00 -6:30 p.m. (one weekend per month) , or afternoon format, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 - 5:00 p.m. Classes start in September.
For those of you lucky enough to live with a dog, Doga is a partner yoga class with Charlie (dog) and Kari Harendorf (person and instructor at East Yoga). Classes are the second Wednesday of each month from 7:00 - 7:45 p.m. at Bideawee. Here's the description: "Doga is all about bonding with your pet and giving the dog 45 minutes of undivided attention and praise from their favorite person in the world. The dogs do sun salutations and you’ll learn specific massage techniques to calm your dog and aid both circulation and digestion processes. And don’t worry: You’ll also get a workout, using your dog to assist you in traditional and modified poses." Click here for more info.
Note that this is not an adaptive class and those with specific needs should contact the instructor prior to class in order to make sure they can be accommodated.
It's been a while since I featured an option for free online yoga classes
Yoga Today offers free online yoga classes daily, keeping some them available (with the help of a variety of sponsors). These are not specific needs classes, but some of them are for beginners and/or can be adapted (if you're good at doing that). Therefore, the classes might be helpful for someone who does not need a lot of adaptation and wants options for home practice.
Yoga Ed. offers health and wellness programs, trainings and products for teachers, parents, children and health professionals that improve academic achievement, physical fitness, emotional intelligence and stress management. In short, they offer yoga education for school children and teachers that develops self-awareness, self-management and self-care.
They also have two training workshops this year. These workshops prepare yoga teachers to teach Yoga Ed. to children in schools and Yoga Tools to classroom teachers.
The Heart of Yoga Foundation Peace Project brings yoga to people living in active conflict zones and other troubled areas of the world. The Peace Project provides education and resources to current and aspiring yoga teachers so that they may better carry the seeds of positive change to the people and places they love. They teach classes, hold regional dialogues about creating peaceful change, and have a Sister Studio programthat matches yoga studios in peaceful areas with yoga studios in troubled areas to help them to build lasting relationships. They also work with people in peaceful areas, teaching them how to recognize and deal with violence and fear in their own lives.
Friday, June 13, OM Yoga NYC is offering two workshop classes to fundraise for Scojo Foundation, which provides glasses to people in rural India, often enabling them to continue working so that they can support themselves and their families. The first class is an open level Innersight Yoga class with Emily Conradson. (This is a fluid vinyasa flow class where students are given a cloth to tie over their eyes.) The second class is a special AcroYoga class with Becca Krauss, in which students will focus on the gift of sight through partner eye gazing, practice of non-verbal communication skills, and a yummy session of Thai Yoga Massage (a profession that is commonly practiced by the blind in Thailand).
Note: These are not specific needs yoga classes. Please check to make sure the class is appropriate for you prior to attending.
Yoga MonthSeptember, 2008 is Yoga Month—a global campaign to educate people about the health benefits of yoga and to inspire a healthy lifestyle. It includes the 10 City Yoga Health Festival Tour, involving millions individuals practicing yoga at thousands of yoga studios and homes around the world. Proceeds benefit Youth Health Alliance as well as other organizations. New York City will celebrate September 7. Yoga month campaigns to educate people about yoga's health benefits are ongoing year-round.
Their web site also has articles and links to articles about recent research showing the general health benefits of yoga as well as the benefits of yoga in treating several specific conditions. Click here to read more.
Lilias! Omega Workshop, Kripalu Workshop, and Free Online
Lilias Folan, well-known for her long-running PBS series, has made a handful of videos based on her new book, Lilias! Yoga Gets Better With Age, available free online.
Lilias - The 3 Rs The three Rs—resist, relax, restretch—are a creative way to observe and listen to your body. It is a safe, simple stretching technique that helps muscle and connecting tissue to lengthen and release painlessly.
Lilias - Bed Top Yoga Bed Top Yoga is a 10-minute preparation for hips, ankles, toes and feet. I enjoy doing some or all of these moves each morning before I meditate. I also use them to prepare for sitting on long plane or car rides.
Lilias - Warm ups There are no hard and fast rules for warm-ups. They are designed to enhance flexibility, increase circulation, loosen muscular connecting tissue and release tension.
Lilias - Postures for a Desert Island There are hundreds of Yoga postures. In my book, "Lilias, Yoga Gets Better with Age", I have chosen 44 as my "Postures for a Desert Island." Here are just a very few of my favorite Key Yoga Asanas.
Lilias - The Inner Smile The Inner Smile Relaxation, in the 6th century, was considered so precious and sacred that information was whispered in secret.
Lilias also is teaching workshops and holding a retreat this summer, including the following:
Bent on Learning offers instruction in yoga and meditation to students in grades K through 12 in New York City public schools and youth centers as a means of reducing stress and improving concentration, self-esteem and overall health. They also train public school teachers and staff in yogic techniques and exercises so they can assist students in focusing their energies.
Note: The Times Square yoga events will not be geared toward students with specific needs or adaptive other than by personal adjustment. Please make sure the event's activities are suited to your needs.
Learn the fundamentals of common yogic breathing (pranayama ) techniques. "You'll find the practices comfortable and joyful, and you'll learn to use the prana (vital energy) for healing, cleansing, and strengthening."
Learn about respiration and the anatomy underlying yogic breathing, including how the positioning and movement of the spine affect the breathing apparatus. Explore the breath in various asanas as well as in deep relaxation.
~~~
How the Body Breathes with Roger Cole, Ph.D. a Yoga Spirit telecast 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 9
Learn the anatomical mechanics of breathing. Manually locate many of the relevant muscles, bones, cartilages, etc. on your body, feel how they work, and use them to modify your breath. The class will not advocate a breathing method, but it will include instructions on how to keep your practice safe and comfortable, how to deepen your practice, and how to explore breath-based techniques.
Yoga Spirit offers tele-classes (workshops) for students and teachers on a wide variety of yoga-related topics. The classes are live, 60-minute, interactive sessions conducted over the phone. The general format is lecture-based with question and answer periods. Sometimes, additional materials are provided via download. A downloadable recording of the workshop also is included in the fee–and the recordings are available even if you cannot or do not "attend" the workshop. (and, yes, they obviously are fond of lotus symbolism, too. :)
Yogamazing provides weekly free, short videos and podcasts of yoga sessions. Ideas for the themed sessions come from viewers. The sessions span the full range of fitness and experience requirements, so watch first to see if a particular session suits you. Recent podcasts are available for download (and purchase) at Yogamazing; a wider selection of videos is available at this search page at Brightcove.
Karma Yoga: the "Food for Yoga" class returns! 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Friday, May 30 Co-taught by Angela and Steph Cost of class? Three cans of food
Even if you can't attend, please consider donating non-perishable food. Food will be donated to the Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church/Campaign Against Hunger, a food bank in Fort Greene.
Note: This class will be taught in the studio's tradition. It is not a specific needs or adaptive class.
This training is open to everyone, with a special invitation to every kind of teacher, administrator and caregivers. Previous Yoga or healthcare experience is helpful but not necessary.
Creative Yoga Therapy (CYT)™ is a unique, proven and effective method for sharing Yoga with those who are frail, fragile, assisted elderly, disabled, impaired (including Alzheimer's & dementia), at-risk, in chronic pain and last stages (dying)–and their Caregivers.
Training starts with an evening workshop, Introduction to Creative Yoga Therapy: How to Better Share Yoga with Those Who are Extremely Sick and Suffering, during which you will learn about the rewards, challenges and many possibilities for treating advanced sickness and acute suffering with this joyful, user-friendly therapeutic Yoga approach.
The Level 1 Training (21 hours) continues with Tools & Empowerment Skills for Better Sharing Yoga with Those Who are Extremely Sick & Their Caregivers. The CYT Level I Certification Curriculum includes:
Learning about the many rewards, challenges and job possibilities in this field.
Basic CYT class format & teaching skills.
Adapting Yoga for seemingly very challenging situations.
How to integrate CYT in current medical and educational structures.
Ways to maintain health, balance & longevity in this kind of service.
Discerning one's unique role in sharing Yoga with the very needy and their caregivers.
Note that the introductory workshop also will be offered at Integral Yoga Institute July 9. Click here for more information. Level I training also will be offered at Integral Yoga Institute in NYC in the Fall.
Reconnect with yourself via the essence and techniques of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy in both group and individual self-exploratory sessions. Daily gentle-moderate yoga classes, meditation time, supportive circles, private yoga therapy sessions, deep self-reflection, community, and outdoor activities combine to rejuvenate and soothe your soul while renewing your relationship to yourself and others. Open to all; no training in yoga or yoga therapy is needed.
