Yoga for Beginners, 4 pm, SPRING TERM 2020 SERIES OF CLASSES
March 31, 2020 May 26, 2020

Join us for  YOGA FOR BEGINNERS, a strong & inspiring 8-week course for Spring Term 2020.  Have you been wanting to try yoga?  Ready to feel more mobility and ease, working to energize as well as relax?  This is just the thing for you.  

This course has been crafted and refined for a full 8-weeks of luscious yoga, especially for those totally new to yoga  and looking to build a yoga practice from the ground up while also helping the body and mind to systematically relax and refresh.  

This strong foundation is also appropriate for those already passionate about yoga who want to review the basics.

   

All are welcome; even if you have been at yoga for a while, this series will likely deepen your practice with renewed commitment and even new knowledge and focal points.

What do you receive?
Each session begins with a centering exercise to soothe the mind for a better practice, warm-ups that sync the breath and movement, and pleasant, slow-paced routines ensure the safety and stability of joints.

Each class you will be introduced to new “Poses of the Week” where you are taught yoga postures slowly and in detail, and learn how to make each pose gentler or more challenging for your body. Each of these is demonstrated, practiced, and repeated for any questions. We will also return to various practices over time, often reviewing techniques from the previous week, so these motions become accessible and ease-ful, happy habits. This empowers you to really get a feel for them in your body and these new movements and stretches feel more natural and worthwhile.

You also receive a study sheet each week with pictures, names of postures, and tips to help you remember and inspire you to practice at home.

You will practice basic seated, standing, and supine yoga poses, and how to put them together. These include well-known asana (postures) such as Virabhadrasana (Warrior Pose), Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose), and more. Each posture is cued so you know exactly what to do, and we even learn different ways to get into each pose so you can find the right movement for you. Together we explore detailed alignment--where you place different body parts as well as your awareness and focus the breath--so you can experience firsthand how it is your increased attention and focus that facilitate that incredible sense of spaciousness of peace that yoga unearths. We explore not only where and how to place the body, mind, and breath, but also the scientific reasons of why we do what we do in yoga, and how this corresponds to natural, healthy anatomical structure and physiological and neurological processes.

Every session includes cool-down and a guided systematic relaxation. You will also experience breath training (to strengthen the diaphragm & increase lung capacity), diaphragmatic breathing (to regulate the nervous system), & yogic breathing techniques (pranayama, to access more calm and energy). You will learn simple exercises for body awareness, proprioception (recognition of the body as it moves through space), and how to integrate the sensations of calm into your everyday routines. You will be provided a strong, steady, and comfortable foundation to begin a systematic and therefore rewarding meditation practice.

It cannot be emphasized enough that, hand-in-hand with breath work, guided systematic relaxation is THE most important thing a well-rounded yoga practice provides, and these should be approached with great care, enthusiasm, and methodical training to reap and savor these precious fruits.

You will complete this course with a well-rounded knowledge AND experience of foundational postures AND many creative variations--simple ways to make each position more accessible, challenging, or refined for what your specific body needs and to address different focal points and goals. Such variations are especially helpful because your needs always change over time, and depend upon your environment, routine activities, and what you aim to accomplish. You will complete the course with a firm understanding of how to gently yet effectively adjust your body, thoughts, and movements to regulate your physical habits and nervous system, all so you have the simple, do-able tools you need to access more of your best self each day.

We will also have fun with yoga props such as blocks, bolsters, blankets, sand weights, pillows, and straps. You will learn how and why each is used, and how adding yoga props to your practice refines your alignment and makes your physical sensations more comfortable or challenging so your yoga is the most beneficial it can be. You will also learn what basic household items you can use at home for the same results.

We start off slow and simple then delve deeper each week, learning and moving simply yet progressively:

WEEK ONE:  Strong Foundation of Calm and Stability; Breath Training, Subtle Core & Pelvic Awareness and Warm-Up; Lunges, Props & Modifications;

WEEK TWO:  Building Focus & Working with your edge; multiple Warrior Poses; Agni Sara (working the abdomen and core-building); Using exertion to deeply release;

WEEK THREE: Safety in Forward Folds & Seated Postures; Making Downward Facing Dog Fun & Easy; Smoothing your Transitions;

WEEK FOUR:  Synthesis and Integration:  Sun Salutes made Simple yet Strong

WEEK FIVE:  Hip Health & Releasing the Psoas; Pigeon Poses, Locust Poses; & Sciatic Health; 

WEEK SIX:  Lateral Stretches; Squats; Triangle Pose, Gate Pose; & Movement; Balancing Eagle Pose;

WEEK SEVEN:  The Supple Spine & Movement; Twists; Balancing Tree Pose;

WEEK EIGHT:  Moving with Confidence:  Mandala & Vinyasa Flow.

You will learn so much, and learn to love yoga and be prepared to begin meditation as well, should you choose to continue...and most Yoga for Beginners student DO!  

Every session builds on the previous week, so it is important you commit to the series. We learn the components of vinyasa (coordinating breath with specific movements) over the term, so what once may have seemed intimidating is not only do-able, but fun and easy to understand and accomplish. Over 8 weeks of practice (and encouragement!), you build strength and stamina, become adept at modifying poses so they feel best for you, experience different balance poses and how to make them adjust to your body so it feels spacious and open, and feel confident in doing different Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). You will also be introduced to simpler variations that you can do at home or on the go, in your regular clothes, at any time.

IN 8 weeks you will begin to feel better on different levels of your being, and be supplied with the knowledge and clarity to keep your practice strong, adaptable, and easier to sustain. You will feel good practicing yoga, so you are more likely to continue and, over time, enhance your calm mind and happiness as well as your physical health.  You will use MANY of these skills in your daily life, not just in yoga class.

By the end of the 8-week term, you will have a firm grounding in how to warm-up, how to move into and out of basic, well-known yoga postures, how active practice and breathing exercises enable deeper relaxation, and how and why relaxation response is the most important tool for the healing benefits of a regular yoga practice. You can feel firsthand why yoga is touted by doctors and wellness experts alike. Mobility, breathing, sleep, and even mood can be improved. Want to know more about clinical trials and other research on the benefits of yoga practice? Then check out my resources page here, “WHY YOGA?”

You will surprise yourself with what you can achieve in just 8 weeks!  You'll feel the progress and find pride in what your body can do and the nuances you discover as you begin to watch your thoughts.  You can feel your own strength in a nurturing environment that pushes you to grow, while also supporting you with understanding and all sorts of resources to deepen your understanding of how best to move forward in your goals toward overall, integrated well-being.

Your investment for this course is $144 ($28 for EARLY BIRDS, ...or $120 for VIPS, a full $64 tuition savings!) and includes EIGHT 75-minute yoga classes as well as the much-loved take-home study guides each week.  You'll feel great, and be prepared to practice at home on your own and feel confident enough to join any public yoga class, knowing you can adjust comfortably and with stability, empowered to do what is just right for your needs.

To receive the best results and keep you motivated & inspired, commitment is for all 8 weeks of the course term.  

Due to popular demand for all this series has to offer, this course is offered at two time slots: Together, we'll practice each Tuesday, (either 4 to 5:15 pm OR 6 to 7:15 pm). This course registration includes EIGHT 75-minute yoga sessions for SPRING TERM 2020:  March 31, April 7, 14, 21  [NO session April 28]; and May 5, 12, 19, & 26.

Class time is 75 minutes; please arrive early to be ready to go and experience your full practice!

Community-building and creation of a safe, stable space is part of this delicate yet important process of learning the basics.  All offerings at AHA Yoga are about  turning inward, so progressively designed courses are central to this process.  As the series has been specially planned with great care, each class builds upon the previous classes.  

Each session, we meet at our beautiful, serene space at 305 East Duval Street, Suite 101, in Lake City Florida, which is always curated with thoughtfulness to prepare it for rich practice. Ample parking is steps away form the front door, and additional public parking is available across the street on Duval.  Great care has been put into this course as well as the design and maintenance of this studio space -- even fresh flowers! -- and ample props so that it is an inviting, nurturing container for you to explore and develop your own inner capacities.

Please BRING YOUR 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 other props (bolsters, blankets, blocks, hand weights, eye pillows, straps, etc) are provided; if you have preferred personal props, feel free to bring those.  

To reserve your place, your investment for the full series must be received prior to attendance. THIS IS THE MOST POPULAR COURSE ON THE TERM SCHEDULE, SO BOOK NOW IF YOU WANT TO ENSURE YOU GET A SPOT!  Yoga for Beginners usually sparks a waiting list.

Purchase of the tuition pass below for "Yoga for Beginners, 4 pm, SUMMER Term 2020" confirms your agreement to AHA Yoga's 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.  Should you prefer to pay in cash or check, let me know.  Should you prefer a payment plan, be sure to check out the other options for Spring Term courses, or speak with me directly so we can arrange something that serves both of us and allows you to partake of these unique courses. 

Connect with me if you have any questions; I would love to hear from you.  

Looking forward to seeing you on the mat.  I am so blessed and grateful to be able to bring yoga and meditation to our little neck of the woods; it could not happen without you, so thank you for being a part of this yoga community!  

In service,

--Virginia Hill, AHA Yoga Teacher

 

Want to learn more about me and why I am so passionate about sharing yoga & meditation? You can find out more about me, my practice, and other yoga & meditation offerings here.  

Want the full Spring 2020 Schedule? You can explore many delightful options here.

Have more questions? Reach out!  We'd love to support you in feeling your best through yoga, and have you as part of our shining yoga community.