Yoga for ENERGY, Spring Term 2020
March 30, 2020 June 1, 2020
SERIES OF CLASSES
Total # of Classes
8
Class length
75 minutes
Location
305 East Duval Street, Lake City, FL
Need more ENERGY & Peace of Mind? Join this ALL LEVELS yoga course, perfect for absolute beginners or long-term students.
You will strengthen the body, release tension, AND learn skills to energize AND relax.
***FOR SPRING TERM 2020, FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE'LL ALSO BE EXPLORING MORE IN-DEPTH GUIDANCE ABOUT CHAKRAS AND HOW EACH RELATES TO THE OVERALL SYSTEM AND MEANS OF ENERGY BUILDING, CONTAINING, & DIRECTING.***
Did you know that you can use simple breathing and movement techniques to immediately change your energy levels and emotional state?
Would you like to feel more relaxed and confident by applying simple grounding techniques and easy strengthening exercises?
Would you enjoy up- or down-regulating your sense of energy reserves just through syncing movement and breath?
Want to find out more about how your physical body can playfully uplift your mood and lessen mental chatter?
Then this yoga series is for you.
This course, Yoga for Energy, includes EIGHT one-hour sessions, on Mondays, 10 to 11:15 am: March 30, April 6, 13, 20 [NO session April 27], and May 4, 11, 18 [NO session May 25], and June 1. Registration is for the full course.
Yoga for Energy meets Monday mornings at 10 am.
The NEW 8-week format will empower you to work the physical body progressively, from the bottom up, AND you will also be introduced to how to lessen the force of the "Kleshas," or roots of suffering. So your energy reserves will be nourished and supported on every level.
Each session incorporates classic yoga postures and motion, organized weekly to focus on 4 different body areas in ascending order: pelvic floor, lower abdominal muscles, upper solar plexus, and then the chest, neck, and throat. Additional weeks will be dedicated to techniques to calm and increase energy levels. Each session will also include 5 minutes of our usual diaphragmatic breath training ("belly breathing" as well as sandbag breathing); in addition, this series adds a different breath technique at the end of class. Each of these pranayama (breathing) practices are used to energize, balance, or relax. (If you'd like to explore an example, visit our article about Bee's Breath here.)
Yoga for Energy helps you build, contain, and better direct your energy levels and overall sense of openness and vitality.
Many of the practices in the first half of the course--as we learn to access the muscles of the pelvic floor and isolate abdominal regions--are very subtle indeed, though they are very profound. These exercises set the foundation for all hatha yoga practice and are the key to using yoga practice wisely to regulate energy levels. More classic postures will be used to work the hips and shoulders. Combinations of classic practices, movements, and innovative strengthening will be incorporated when we are ready to focus on the muscles of the throat and neck.
ADDITIONALLY, SPRING Term 2020 Yoga for Energy fully integrates yoga philosophy alongside knowledgeable guidance about anatomy. This course will also introduce sequences designed to introduce what yoga philosophy calls the "nadis," or energy currents, what tends to distract our mental energies and focus, thereby expending excess energy on just "getting by." Instead, yoga provides techniques to keep the mind present and clear, with an attitude of openness with a sense of spaciousness, so these obstacles can be overcome, all contributing to a wise use of energy, physically and mentally. We'll learn how the energy (prana) travels through nadis (energy pathways) and converge at chakras (wheels) or points within the subtle body, and how the physical body helps us access this awareness, though it far surpasses the physical.
Yoga for Energy mindfully uses the body to access deeper states of being, including our emotional awareness and subtle sense of overall, permeating vital energy. By synthesizing classic yogic postures, breath, and motion, focusing each week on different bodily regions while allowing the breath to lead, the mind stays anchored, inviting in more clarity and more spaciousness. This course is crafted to enhance the flow of energy and sense of emotional well-being throughout your entire system. The work is subtle, so not always easily recognizable. What is certain is that these time-tested techniques will help you increase awareness and encourage more freedom of physical movement and, with time and committed practice and attention, the more subtle results emerge like dawning jewels.
The most important technique for energy enhancement, circulation, and regulation will begin with contraction and release of the abdominal wall an, over the course term, advance into a fuller practice of "Agni Sara," or "Fire Essence," wherein breath work is synced with isolating and contracting then releasing various abdominal muscles in succession. This is a master practice in the Himalayan Tradition and will always put a little pep in your step and clear your head!
You will also, each week, build upon strengthening exercises and focus techniques s\to gradually improve upper body strength and the capacity to focus gently at precise points in the body while refining the breath to be effortless and efficient. All of this leads to healing, replenishing energy reserves, healing, and even thriving.
You'll learn the 5 optimal details to attain yogic breathing, and deeply and quickly feel how this soothes the nervous system.
If you choose, you can even work up to headstand--though this is OPTIONAL! Many other choices will also be demonstrated and made available with detailed instruction. You'll also be able to practice what is known as "Aharana," or the collecting power to gather attention back home to your core, to sensitive your powers of discernment and free flow of energy,
And, did you know that relaxation is as important as exertion? In this class you will learn about the integrated health and transformation that yoga practice provides, and soon you’ll begin feeling that calm and contentment deep in your body and mind, 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.
All levels are welcome, whether you are a beginner or have years of experience. Even those totally new to yoga can enjoy this series and take these skills into their daily lives.
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). Chairs and other props will be provided.
If this series Yoga for Energy sounds enticing--or if you simply need more Yoga in your life, or want Not sure if Yoga for Energy is the class for YOU? Check out what others have to say!
The dedicated practitioner investment for this course is $144 with advance booking (OR $128 with Early Bird Special, OR just $120 with VIP)!
The $18/class rate ($16/class for Early Birds!) is made available for dedicated folks who are ready for the transformation made possible through the entire 8-week course. Regular practice is what helps regulate the nervous system and enable you to feel the deepest benefits, including enhancing your inner awareness and fostering a calmer mind.
All Yoga & Meditation offerings offered by Virginia Hill 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 (and prior to March 22 for EARLY BIRD rate).
All courses are designed for intelligent progression and turning inward; this turn is advanced practice, a a refinement of the mind that cultivates discernment, inner peace, & joy, so you notice and feel more of the beauty in, around, and through you.
AHA Yoga offerings are not designed to be fitness classes (though fitness is one ancillary result). Instead, all AHA Yoga classes are more traditional yoga courses geared toward mastery of the senses and mind. Hence, all offerings are developed as courses or specialty workshops to this end, and thus full course registration is recommended as only dedicated practice achieves the best results.
Purchase of the tuition pass below for "YOGA for ENERGY" confirms your agreement to the following Terms & Conditions as well as the Waiver and Release:
Terms & Conditions of Registration & Attendance:
- If you have any medical concerns, injuries, allergies, are pregnant, or have any changes in such conditions, it is your duty & responsibility to inform your teacher prior to class. You have received permission from your licensed health care provider prior to attendance.
- Your place is held only upon receipt of tuition payment for the full course ($144 investment; OR $128 for Early Birds; or $120 for VIPS) or for the one-class casual rate ($23).
- Payments for Yoga & Meditation classes are non-refundable, unless your class is taken off the weekly schedule due to low enrollment, dire teacher emergency, or unavoidable natural disaster.
- Commitment is for the entire 8-week course to receive the dedicated practitioner rate of $144(or $128 for Early Birds; $120 for VIPS). There are NO pro-rated tuition fees for absences and NO make-up classes or substitutions for missed days.
- Payments for this series are not transferable to a future class, series, term, or event. All course passes expire the last day of the course in the series; all one-day casual class registrations expire the day of the reserved class session.
- Advise your teacher with 24-hours advance notice if you are unable to attend (text message or e-mail are preferred).
- The teacher holds the right to cancel or reschedule any classes, sessions, or events due to extreme illness or emergencies. Students will be notified of the rescheduled date and every attempt will be made to accommodate each student’s schedule.
- Credit-debit payments are completed online. Cash or check (made out to “AHA Yoga”) is paid in person or mailed (305 East Duval Street, Suite 101, Lake City, FL 32055).
- Turn off or put all cell phones on silent.
- Do not leave valuable personal items in your vehicle; personal items may be stored in the prop room.
- Bring your yoga mat; shared mats are available for an additional $2 rental fee and must be cleaned after use (supplies provided).
- Words and energy matter! This is your time to turn inward, and much care has been given to cultivating a sacred space. You and your colleagues are doing deep work when you undertake yoga. Please be respectful of your peers and teacher and maintain the calm, peaceful, and quiet space. This means this is not the time for gossip, complaining, or leftover conversations from work, or any less than tender-hearted, well-intended speech. Take this time and space to breathe and transition into your practice and allow your best self to shine. Speak quietly and take loud conversations outside.
- Please take your shoes off at the door of the studio to keep the floor clean and sanitary.
- Be on your mat and ready to go at the starting time.
- It’s best not to eat one hour prior to yoga; for some people, 2 hours are required.
- If anything can be done to make your experience more comfortable, secure, and successful, please let your teacher know (temperature, bathroom needs attention, you need to leave early, special concern, etc.). Suggestions to improve your yoga & meditation experience are always welcome.
- A separate Waiver & Release for AHA Yoga must be completed and signed prior to practice on your first day (unless you are a returning student and have already completed this). Hard copies are provided at the studio.
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 $ 77 each, due March 30 and May 3), let me know and we can arrange something that serves both of us and allows you to partake of this unique series. 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 this practice? You can learn more about me, my practice, AHA Yoga studio, and other yoga & meditation offerings here.
Looking forward to supporting you so you can feel and realize your best through yoga practice! Come join an inspiring group of folks in our shining yoga community; would love to have you be a part of our little yoga family.
The class takes place on...
- March 30 at 10:00 am (Monday)
- April 6 at 10:00 am (Monday)
- April 13 at 10:00 am (Monday)
- April 20 at 10:00 am (Monday)
- May 4 at 10:00 am (Monday)
- May 11 at 10:00 am (Monday)
- May 18 at 10:00 am (Monday)
- June 1 at 10:00 am (Monday)
Reservations
This class series has already finished. Please check our schedule for more classes.