Cheryl Thomas, RYT
www.cherylthomas.com yoga@cherylthomas.com 415-308-3377 |
Do you really ever need to leave home? From the comfort of your Costco leather rocker recliner you can do/have most anything. Although Amazon's and Google's Delivery Drones Can't Get Off the Ground, I'm guessing it won't be long before the small "privacy" snafu gets pushed aside. With computer chips embedded in our purchases, your Tide Simply Clean and Fresh Refreshing Breeze Liquid Laundry Detergent(1) appears on your doorstep without even ordering it. I can't quite tell if this is a good thing or not. I'll have to think a bit more on it.
Like everything else, yoga is coming to you. It's not new a new concept as YogaGlo and YogaOnline have been around for some years. But, recently, there have been some new entries. A google search will bring up GaiamTV, YogaAnytime, DoYogaWithMe and scads more. A couple of weeks ago, NY Magazine offered a article on free online yoga classes..
Is this a good thing? Again, I'm not sure. I'm an enthusiastic proponent of community and it's a beautiful thing to join your fellow yogis in a class to move and breath together. It's how I like to practice. There are, however, many folks that don't have a access or time or money for a group class and get their yoga in other ways. I talk to some students who have built a very fine yoga practice on Gaiam's Rodney Yee videos. Bravo to them.
Besides classes just about the poses, there's an opportunity to learn more about not just the poses but anatomy, teaching, meditation, and ayurveda. I've spent a few bucks in my time attending workshops and seminars to study with senior teachers. It can get pricey, especially adding the cost of travel/lodging/etc. Now, they're coming to me.
Here are some notable sites:
1. YogaGlo is a subscription service payable monthly offering unlimited access to all their videos. The setup is classroom style with the video at the back. It feels like you're taking the class. Lots and lots of greats teachers offering ashtanga, vinyasa, kundalini and hatha yoga. Also, there's meditation with masters like Sally Kempton. Right now, I'm streaming the free class with ashtanga guru, Richard Freeman, on Building Strength. .
2. YogaUOnline has the tagline of Online Yoga Education for Every Body. It doesn't get any better than this with online classes under categories like Yoga After 50, Stress Relief, Deepening Your Practice and Beginning Yoga. Besides, it's an educational site with articles and videos on dealing with insomnia, depression and back pain, to name just a few. Right now, there's a free download from Canadian Yoga Therapist, Suzi Hately, entitled "Yoga, Healing and Transformation--It's Not About the Pose".
Ooops, this is getting long and I've got more to offer. Let's finish up next week. In the meantime, if you go to any of these sites and have some comments or you have some online classes to recommend, let me know, okay?
(1) Did they really call this product "Fresh Refreshing"?
Want to read some of my past articles?. They're archived right here. Enjoy.
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 This Friday (2/5), I'll be subbing Ann Austin's Fun Friday class! I'm so excited as I love Ann'e students. Thanks, Ann, for the opportunity!
Dana Davis offers a Neck and Shoulders at
Yoga Studio Ganesha on Saturday, February 13, 1 PM to 3 PM. Learn how to align your neck
and shoulders to relieve pain and feel more comfortable.To register, contact Dana (707)278-8718, or visit www.sonomabodybalance.com
Yippee!! Anne O'Brien offers Expansive Backbending on Saturday, 2/6 12:30 pm-3:30 pm $40 at POST in Petaluma. I'll be there. Come and join me.
Johnny Smith is back at Westside Yoga Studio in Sebastopol. This is stellar news to all of the local and not-so-local ashtangis. See Johnny's Mysore and Led schedule and marvel over Westside's new site right here.
Recently back from Pune, India, Ginny Taminia is offering a Valentines Day workshop inspired by the teachings of the Iyengar family. Open to all levels curious about Iyengar Yoga, she'll offer a variety of poses leading up to chest openers- observing our habitual patterns, and addressing them with discernment, courage and contentment! It's selling out. Questions?: ginnyrobinson@yahoo.com. Register: http://riverbedyoga.com/.
Tony Briggs and Liz Levy will pair up and offer Anatomy & Yoga Therapeutics starting in February. These two topics from these seasoned and brilliant teachers are a must for not just teachers, but students alike. Go to Westside's site for info.
On Feb 7, the lovely, Iris Lambert, will offer a free intro to her Irie Yoga Teacher Training program at the Dhyana Center in Sebastopol. There will be chanting, pranayama and asana. Hi, Iris!
We're lucky to have Judith Lasater in Northern California. She's offering a small group, Advanced Restorative Yoga series on 4 Wednesdays in March in Marin. I'm signed up!! Go here for more info.
Know about Yoga in Graton? It's hopping! Find 5 classes a week ranging from Gentle to Slow Flow to All Levels, featuring me, Corina Stoicescu and Denise Hammond. Time and places at YogaInGraton.com.
My weekly schedule is below (scroll down or click here!). Or, you can always go to my website and click on the always up-to-date calendar to find where I might be.
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 Saving Your Marriage with Mindfulness Whoa! We can all use this advice. Not just for intimate relationships, but our interactions with our children, co-workers, neighbors and friends.
"Mindfulness is not just a technique. It is a saving grace in all of our relationships. We talk about being mindful of our breath, of how we cut the carrots, of our posture. But the most important way we can practice mindfulness in relationships or in any other area of life, is being mindful that what we're experiencing is not a solid reality. It's an experience that we construct all day long, moment by moment." |
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You probably know if you have elbows that hyper-extend or if you have a carrying angle. This puts the arm in an awkward position during weight bearing poses, like downward facing dog, handstand and other arm balances.
Doug Keller has an illuminating video for dealing with hyperextending elbows in downward dog. It's worth a look. It's above.
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Take All Your Antibiotics
There are lots of reasons to avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics. But, if you need to take them, make sure you take them all. Many people stop when they start feeling better. Uh uh. Oh noh. Read NYT's Well section this week:
"The hardy bacteria left behind after you quit a course of medication can cause another bout of illness that may be tougher to treat because now the bacteria have had an opportunity to learn how to outsmart the antibiotic, developing resistance"
Those little buggers are crafty!
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Why Parents Sing to Babies
Research shows that music is critical to emotional and social development. Most parents, even those who don't normally carry a tune, sing to their babies. Here's some interesting information and studies from my favorite Greater Good Science Center. What? Don't know about Greater Good. It's out of UC Berkeley and lives to offer research-based tools to boost happiness, resilience and kindness.
"While it's easy enough to observe parents singing to their babies and to see the positive emotional impacts of that singing, it's harder to tease out whether singing itself is responsible for those effects-or some other factor, like a parent's attention or soothing touch. "
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 When to Exercise to Lose Weight
"There is some evidence that working out on a completely empty stomach - or, as scientists call this woozy, weehours condition, "in a fasted state" - prompts the body to burn more fat and potentially stave off weight gain, compared to exercising at other times." |
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Schedule of Upcoming Classes
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Class Schedule - Week of January 31, 2016
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Tuesday
5:00 - 6:00
Private, Healdsburg
Wednesday
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Restorative Yoga
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45
Graton Community Club
All Levels
5:00 - 6:00
Private, Healdsburg
Friday 9:15 - 10:45 Yoga Studio Ganesha Intermediate Yoga Saturday
All Levels Flow
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Wednesday
5:15 - 6:45
Yoga Studio Ganesha, Sebastopol
Restorative Yoga
5:00 - 6:00
Healdsburg, Private
Thursday 8:45 - 9:45
All Levels, Graton
Friday 9:15 - 10:45 Yoga Studio Ganesha Intermediate Yoga
Saturday All Levels Flow
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Graton Yogis Info:
Did you know your class pass (get these from your instructor) are accepted by all yoga teachers at Yoga in Graton?
We Gratonite Yogis have a place to call our own. It's www.
yogaingraton.com. There is information about current and new yoga classes offered in Graton.
Don't live in Graton? No problem. We want you to come anyway.
Quotes I Like
You cannot be lost if you don't care where you are.
Judith Lasater
When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.
Ansel Adams
"Not to have what we want is stressful; to have what we do not want is stressful."
Buddha
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
Dalai Lama
"Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it's not yet the end!" The Magnolia Hotel movie
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