Yoga for BALANCE, with Jenna Lambert, Summer Term

Did you know yoga is ALL about balance, whether you are standing on one leg or NOT?!

In this course, we’ll examine how we are shaped by—and can shape—polar opposite forces and ultimately strike a balance. 

You'll practice every Wednesday in LAKE CITY. Your course includes ten 75-minute sessions, on Wednesdays, 6 to 7:15 pm:  August 7, 14, 21, & 28; September 4 [NO session September 11], 18, & 25; and October 2, 9, & 16. Registration is for the full course.

[NOTE:  Jenna also offers this session on THURSDAY mornings as well.  You can can that info here.]

Everything is cued for you, with many demonstrations, and you are encouraged to go at your own pace.  It is a very friendly, non-intimidating group & environment, with Jenna Lambert, a nurturing, patient, and understanding teacher.  

Your daily life is full of constant dynamic forces, often in multiple directions.  YOGA provides a time-tested framework to work skillfully with often opposing energies, the push and pull that, when masterfully addressed, can lead to more stability and ease.

All of yoga, when understood philosophically, is about better managing polarities, so the more we practice yoga, the easier our everyday lives. 

Yoga empowers you to ultimately strike a balance—physically, as well as mentally and energetically.  As a result, the push and pulls of your life not only co-exist more peacefully; the complex ups and downs also become the rich fodder that help you flourish.  The more you learn the component parts as well as the dynamism involved in balance, the less you react and are a victim to life’s opposing forces, and the more you realize these polarities are the wealth of life.  With practice, you even increase your capacity to harness and direct their power. 

 

This is an ALL Levels course; even absolute beginners are welcome, and enough variety is provided that yoga junkies will also find something to satisfy their hunger for a deep, rejuvenating practice.

Each session begins with easy warm-ups, helping you tune out everything from the day you no longer need, and tune in to how you feel and what you truly need to feel your best.

In Yoga for Balance, you will do all sorts of easy and a few challenging balance postures!

We will playfully practice all sorts of balance asana (yoga postures), such as Vriksasana (Tree Pose), Garudasana (Eagle/Mythological Bird Pose), Utkatasana (Chair/Fierce Pose), Eka Pada Utkatasana (standing figure 4/one legged fierce pose); Dandayamna Baddha Konasana (Restricting Staff/Balancing Bound Angle Pose); Urdhva Upavistha Konasana (upward Wide Angle Pose), Virabhadrasana III (Warrior 3), Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon), Natarajasana (King Dancer Pose), Padangusthasana (Hand to Foot Pose), and more.  

You do NOT need to know what these are!  You are gently guided through each sequence with clarity, as you learn to do what feels great for your body.

In addition, you will learn variations to make balance poses easier and more accessible, or more challenging.  You’ll know with confidence when and how to use yoga props (like the wall, straps, chairs, blocks, and more) for more support as well as deep release of physical and mental strain, allowing the body to feel more spacious, strong, and supple. 

Each week is a little different, as we enjoy basic yoga poses while also learning why we do them. 

This course provides you even more:  Yoga is more than physical exercise; it addresses the strong foundation and integration of body and mind.  

Using the body, breath, and movement, we’ll also work with balancing effort and rest, activation and relaxation, activity and passivity.  Some techniques work by exaggerating these opposites, and others work to integrate them.  You’ll stretch in opposite directions, work left and right asymmetries, and move up and down.  You’ll also learn to better manage the relationship between the inhale and exhale and how that affects your physical sensations, abilities, AND your mental and emotional states.  You’ll also gain core strength and enhance proprioception (awareness of the position of the body in space), all fostering better physical balance, mental confidence, and overall mobility. 

 

In addition to standing one-legged balance postures—the most obvious issues of balance—we will also explore how yogic wisdom of breathwork and the nadis (energy channels) provide focal points to become more aware of energy drains in our system, which, alongside strengthening exercises, help us better build, contain, and direct our focus and overall sense of vitality.  Yoga for Balance will create the body memory in your core so that you move more freely, leading to a healthy framework that supports your mind for success, lessening its distractions and confusion and move toward more calm, insight, and presence.

And, did you know that relaxation is as important as exertion?  In this course you will learn about the integrated health and transformation that yoga practice provides, and soon you’ll begin feeling that calm and contentment, in class and even off the mat.   

Each session includes a cool down segment once our bodies are ready for deeper release, and we use the weight and resistance of our own bodies in various supine poses.  This brings a sense of spaciousness and stillness to the body, getting you fully prepared for the final guided systematic relaxation. THIS is THE most important part of yoga practice, and the culmination of all the standing stretches requiring more physical exertion.  Sequences are designed to release tension in the body progressively, so that the nervous system and then the mind itself are ready to find more ease, support, and stillness, and--with committed, diligent effort--the mind becomes more one-pointed and better able to effectively discern, make wise decisions, and remain serene yet present in all of life's circumstances.  Now THAT is true balance and true yoga.

Please BRING A YOGA MAT.  If you use a shared studio mat, please note there is a $2 rental fee and it is your responsibility to sanitize it after each use (cleaning supplies provided). All sorts of yoga props, such as straps, blankets, blocks, hand-weights, & eye-pillows are provided. If you are not sure what those are--no worries!--you soon will; it is all in the service to making our yoga session more comfortable and RELAXING. If you have preferred personal props, feel free to bring those.

The dedicated practitioner investment for this course is $180 with advance booking (OR $160 with Early Bird Special, OR $150 with VIP Priority Booking!).  This course registration includes TEN 75-minute yoga classes. This course meets for 10 weeks.  NOTE:  This is a favorite and very integrated, well-rounded practice, so it is offered in TWO different course sessions, so make sure you register for the ONE you want! Wednesdays at 6 pm; (OR Thursdays at 10 am).

To get the most benefits, your commitment is for all 10 weeks of the course term so you feel results inside and out.  Success in yoga is dependent upon sustained, regular practice.  There are no make-up classes, transfers, or substitutions.  

The $18/class rate ($16/class for Early Birds!) is available ONLY for dedicated practitioners pre-registered and paid in full for the entire 10-week course.  If space remains after the beginning of the Term on August 5, 2019, a casual one-time class for YOGA for Balance is $23; reservations for casual classes must be booked directly with the teacher and payment is made in person, cash or check only.  Please note all attendance at AHA Yoga offerings require an advance RSVP.  

All Yoga & Meditation offerings offered at AHA Yoga provide a support to ignite your own inner capacities for transformation.  To reserve your place at the dedicated student rate, your investment for the full series must be received prior to attendance .  Because AHA Yoga classes are not designed to be fitness classes (though fitness is one ancillary and amazing result), and instead are more traditional yoga classes geared towards mastery of the senses and mind, all offerings are developed intelligently as progressive courses or specialty workshops.  Thus full course registration is recommended as only dedicated practice achieves the best results.  

Purchase of the tuition pass below for "YOGA for BALANCE" confirms your agreement to the following Terms & Conditions as well as the Waiver and Release. 

These policies allow me to continue offering you the best possible yoga teachings I can and ensure our community runs smoothly and this studio remains sustainable as well as sacred time and space to thrive.  Should you prefer to pay in cash or check, or require a payment plan  for the dedicated practitioner rate (available in two installments of $95 each, due August 5 and September 16), let me know and we can arrange something that serves both of us and allows you to partake of this unique series. Connect with us if you have any questions!  We would love to hear from you.  

So happy to be part of our growing yoga community. I can't wait to practice the joys and benefits of yoga and meditation with you. Your excitement and encouragement are the supportive foundation that keeps us going. Thank you for being an integral part of it all!

In service & joy,

Jenna Lambert, AHA Yoga Teacher

Want to learn more about the studio, its founder, and why we are so passionate about sharing traditional yoga? You can learn more about the studio, its founder, mission, and philosophy, and other yoga & meditation offerings here.