New Chair Yoga Class at Bonita/Sunnyside County Library starts April 4 (but...)

I'm so excited to let all the local chair yoga fans know that we are FINALLY starting a library (= free) class again, in April. We will be at a completely new location to me, the Bonita/Sunnyside Branch County Library 4375 Bonita Rd, Bonita, CA 91902. 

Now the (big) but....This class will replace our Monday online meeting. 

Our online classes began as a replacement for the six in-person classes we had around East County. I felt terrible leaving everyone high-and-dry when the stay-at-home order began, so we started with five days a week classes. 

We had huge attendance for a long while, and even occasionally some donations (thank you again). As time went by (OMIGOSH it's been two years) we found that with other activities restarting, and people either losing interest or finding other ways to fulfill their movement needs, we had dwindling attendance. That and I started taking classes myself towards my PTA program. We therefore reduced to just three days a week (M, W, F).

Mid last year,  was asked to start another in-person community class and we went down to just Mondays and Fridays.

Because my school schedule is even busier this semester, I can't add more classes, but I can "replace" like for like. Since the online class replaced an in person class, now it's a chance to bring the in person class back to replace the online class.

I know this doesn't work for EVERYONE, so I will keep Fridays for as long as my schedule allows. I am also available for private lessons at a sliding scale cost if anyone is interested in that option. There is also the library of recorded classes at the sister website BYOMOYOGAvideos.com. If you don't live locally, please check out YOUR local libraries and rec centers to see if they are offering something in person, 

I am sorry that I have to schedule things thusly, but this keeps my instruction at optimal quality (otherwise I'm stressed out trying to serve too many people). 

I hope you understand, and I hope you consider joining me at Bonita branch. No sign up need, but please be on time, bring any yoga accessories you'd normally use, and spread the word!

Schedule Change for 2021 Summer

Zoom classes

After over a year of Zooming every weekday, I am changing the Zoom schedule this summer. Starting in June, we will be meeting (just) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday online (still at 11am PST). I have some other activities happening, and I'm trying to start a yoga non-profit project, and class numbers are reducing due to gyms opening back up, so I want to concentrate our time together efficiently.

The link will be the same. 

We have a short break due to the Memorial Day holiday (Monday May 31), and we will start our new schedule Wednesday June 2. If you aren't already attending, email me at byomyoga@gmail.com to register and get the link.

YMCA

I'm also teaching in person at the Copley YMCA at 9AM on Tuesdays and their classes are transitioning to be indoors next week. They also have two chair yoga classes on their schedule so check out your local Y classes too!

The Garden

I have an outdoor class at the Cuyamaca College Water Conservation Garden on Thursdays. Until the end of June it meets at 1PM. Starting in July it will change to 10AM (to avoid the heat). Classes are free with membership (that includes 5 other weekly classes plus a host of other bonuses and reciprocal membership at gardens all over the state and country).

Hope to see you around town (or the internet)!

Yoga for Mental Health

Cindy Beers and the Mental Health Toolbox

 I've written a bit about having a healthy mindset during not just these trying times, but I wanted to share with you an amazing course from a fellow yogi with training in anxiety, depression, and PTSD. She's offering this "Mental Health Toolbox" as an online course, normally priced $300, but now just for $25, with unlimited access so you can look up the information and recharges yourself any time you need it. Here's what it covers:

• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT/Tapping) – EFT is using acupuncture points with your fingers to help relax the central nervous system 

• Meditation –mantra-based meditation helps the mind from racing, keeps one present, and calms the central nervous system 

• Pranayama (breath) – there are three different breathing techniques to help simply relax the sympathetic nervous system 

• Chakras – understand what chakras are and how they can be used to identify issues within the body 

• Affirmations – using affirmations to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts 

• Body Positivity – and how you view your own body 

• Self-Compassion – how to have it and how to keep it

Click here to learn more and sign up for this amazing workshop.

Cindy also has a number of live online classes you can join https://redheadyoga.com/online-classes/ as well as online meditations and pre-recorded videos to tune up your practice https://redheadyoga.com/other-services/videos-guided-meditations/.

Diane Ambrosini talks about the "Now Normal"

Diane is a mentor of mine, a master instructor from my yoga school, and a friend. She sends out a newsletter for her yoga teaching practice and today's had some particularly poignant words that I'd like to share:

Not long after we received notice by the State to make mandatory changes to our daily lives due to Covid-19, I noticed a surge of people asking, "when will our lives go 'back to normal'?" Sheltering at home, limiting outings and wearing protective masks, to name a few, were/are so foreign to us as creatures of habit. Wishing for "normalcy" seems a pretty natural response considering the disruption of our routines, coupled with the fear of this new, invading organism. 

But - what exactly IS normal? Pandemic or no pandemic, every day we've been alive has been different from the one we lived the day before, and will live tomorrow. Sure, the structure of our daily patterns may have felt the same, but each and every day has been different in some way. Yet, here we are now, living in a time that is FAR different than what we expected, and were living at the beginning of this year. The topsy-turvy nature of our recent reality brings a great deal of uncertainty, as our human brains try to make sense out of what's happening and what might happen next.  

 

In "normal" times and in stressful times, yoga and meditation teach us the importance of presence, and of being as fully aware as possible in the here-and-now. Through mindfulness exercises, we practice acceptance of "what is" at any given moment. These important practices are a training ground of sorts, where we develop the ability to increase our capacity to handle the stresses and strains of living a human existence. Through our yoga, we learn to embrace the full spectrum of life as we live it. We find ways to create a space for ourselves (and others) to process the emotions and energies that surface in times of discomfort. We then can recognize that we have the ability to receive life as it comes to us, and accept that "now" as normal, even as it changes in the next breath. 

You can find Diane teaching streaming classes through A Gentle Way Joyful movement center, or reach out to her directly to arrange access and payment for the classes. The schedule is listed here: https://di4yoga.com/services/

She also does an fun "Wine Down Wednesday" activity that pre-Shelter-in-Place was at a local winery. Now you can enjoy a full yoga practice and your favorite beverage without having to worry about calling an Uber after. Next session is June 24 from 6-8pm; you can sign up here https://di4yoga.as.me/?appointmentType=14352961

Workshop: Accessing and Using Your Inner Wisdom with Shayna Kaufmann, PhD

This Saturday, May 16, in lieu of her postponed all day workshop, Shayna Kaufmann (https://www.embracethemiddle.com/about-shayna/) will be virtually hosting a gathering from 11-12:30 on Accessing and Using Our Inner Wisdom - something that can serve us incredibly well during challenging, unchartered times.  

To sign up, use this link. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/accessing-and-exploring-your-inner-wisdom-tickets-103954603016

Attendance is free (donations are optional). 

Here are some lovely words of wisdom from this wonderful speaker, therapist, meditation facilitator, and friend: 

SLOW DOWN

The greatest gift you can give yourself today

is the gift of slowness. Paying attention.

As if today were the last day of your life.

As if you wanted to remember it all.

Drink it in.

Absorb the morning.

Inhale the afternoon.

And when the evening comes,

rest in its cooling embrace.

See, today:

The way the breath rises and falls.

What it feels like to have a body.

What a tension feels like. An ache.

A wave of pleasure. Hunger.

What it feels like to have hands.

To feel sadness. To feel joy.

To be alive on this day.

Drench this day in awareness, friend.

Slow down. Pay attention to the small things,

which are not small when seen

through the eyes of God.

Out of the mind, and into the Now.

Out of futures and pasts,

regrets and anticipations,

and into this alive Presence.

Free Live Mindfulness Sessions with UCSD

Due to the current situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) evolving rapidly across the United States, the UCSD Center for Mindfulness, The Sanford Institute, and the Compassion Institute  will work together to provide daily streams and recordings of mindfulness and compassion sessions to provide resources and online support to those affected.

 

Video: Collaboration Announcement from William Mobley, Douglas Ziedonis & Thupten Jinpa 

To attend any of the sessions listed below, click on the session you want to access. This will bring you to the live online session. 

Click here to read more and see the complete schedule of events: https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/fmph/research/mindfulness/free-sessions/Pages/default.aspx