new opportunities in the new year
 Street Yoga Happenings - Seattle Branch, January 2011

Dear Street Yoga Seattle community,

Happy new year, and welcome to the first official 2011 newsletter of the Seattle Branch! I hope you enjoy the new format. This format should be easier to read and will facilitate the quick gathering of the information you care about most.

We are using the same program as Street Yoga's headquarters in Portland, so the two newsletters will look similar. As we navigate this transition, the newsletters you receive from headquarters will contain information about Street Yoga overall, while the Seattle Branch newsletters will contain Seattle-specific information. Keep a look out for "Seattle" in the email subject line, so you know you are receiving a different newsletter and don't delete it thinking it's a duplicate.

I hope that everyone's transition to the new year went well. My intentions for 2011 are to grow the Seattle Branch of Street Yoga at a sustainable pace, provide excellent service to a greater number of Seattle youth (perhaps reaching 600 youth this year), reach a wider spectrum of potential volunteers through increased outreach, and provide opportunities for everyone who is interested to become part of this vibrant community.

Thank you for all of your support thus far. I hope you will continue with us on the next phase of our journey.

With warm wishes,

Stephanie Toby, Seattle Director of Operations

and the rest of Street Yoga

Potlucks

The 2011 potlucks will take place the first Thursday of each month, from 6-8 pm, at my house (3917 Midvale Ave N, Unit A, Seattle 98103).

The next potluck will be Thursday, February 3rd. We are fortunate to have Caroline Goodell, Founder and Director of the Institute for Body Awareness (http://www.instituteforbodyawareness.com/aboutiba.html), speaking to us. Although we are still working to determine the exact topic, it will likely be related to using youth-appropriate language to teach body awareness. Caroline is trained in the Rosen method of bodywork, but had to develop a way to teach body awareness without using touch when she worked with youth who had suffered from severe abuse.

As always, please bring a dish to share. RSVP's are greatly appreciated but not required.

Hope to see you then!
 

Therapeutic Yoga Class

The Center for Yoga of Seattle is starting a Yoga for Special Needs class this Friday, January 14 from 6 - 7:30 p.m.The course is taught by Richard Schachtel and he is assisted by one of our own Street Yoga teachers, Kate Koester. For more information, click here. 

Circus Yoga Training **UPDATE**

Come experience the playful side of yoga!

Circus Yoga is holding TWO events at the Samarya Center in Seattle this February - a workshop on a Friday night and a 2 1/2 day teacher training from Friday to Sunday. They are offering a discount to Street Yoga volunteers who attend one or both events. The discount will be based on the number of Street Yoga volunteers who attend, but I believe it will be at least 20%. 

Here are the details:

(1) Workshop:

Date - Friday, February 18, 2011

Time - 6:00-8:00pm

Place - Samarya Center, Seattle

Cost - $25/adult, $10/kid ages 7 and up (plus a SY discount!)

More information can be found here.

(2) Teacher training

Date - Friday, February 18 - Sunday, February 20, 2011

Time - Friday 6-9 p.m., Saturday 11:30 a.m-5:30 p.m., Sunday 11:30-          5:30

Place - Samarya Center, Seattle

Cost - $240 (plus a SY discount!)

There are two 50% training scholarships available for people involved in social change work. Applications are due January 18. More information can be found here.

Please let me know if you are planning to come to one or both events so I can RSVP to the organizers and they can set the final discount rate. Thank you!

We are starting a new Executive Committee session in March and are looking for new members!
 

The Seattle Executive Committee serves as an advisory board for the Seattle Branch of Street Yoga. The Executive Committee has space for up to 8 members and we currently have 5. Each member chairs an activity area, such as yoga studio outreach, social service outreach, and broad-based fundraising, among others. Each committee member agrees to work in these areas outside of meeting times and to serve as a goodwill ambassador for the Seattle Branch and overall organization. In addition, each committee member agrees to raise or donate a self-determined amount of money for the branch each session. We also report to the Board of Directors in Portland (via phone/Skype) as needed.
 
The Executive Committee meets once per month for two hours. Currently, we meet the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:30, although the day and time could change depending on what's best for the whole group. The initial commitment is to serve for 6 months.
 
 

If you are interested in joining the committee, please email me at stephanie@streetyoga.org and we can talk more! Thank you.
 

If a child lives with criticism

 He learns to condemn.
 

If a child lives with hostility

 He learns to fight.
 

If a child lives with ridicule

 He learns to be shy. 

 But...
 

If a child lives with tolerance

 He learns to be patient.
 

If a child lives with encouragement

 He learns confidence.
 
 If a child lives with praise

 He learns to appreciate.
 

If a child lives with fairness

 He learns justice.
 

If a child lives with security

 He learns faith.
 

If a child lives with approval

 He learns to like himself.
 

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship

 He learns to find love in the world