Register for Classes at Positively Yoga

Meditation and Movement

Steeped in tradition, this class will draw from the foundations of yoga poses, breath and meditation practices to guide the practitioner toward deeper states of mind, leading toward clarity, peace of mind and heart.

Wednesdays from 4 - 5:30 PM
Instructor: Sita Michelle Baker, C-IAYT
Schedule: January 9 - 30
Price: $65 - 4 classes  **A minimum of 5 students is needed.  Show your commitment by registering early.

https://gretchenmallios.com/class-registration

Yoga for Back Health

Join Yoga Therapist Sita Michelle Michelle Baker, C-IAYT for an 8-week series on managing low back pain. Learn how to keep yourself safe in a Yoga class, as well as the right poses to assist your back’s return to healthy function. This class addresses generalized low back pain or discomfort. 

Saturdays from 11-12:30

Instructor, Sita Colucci, C-IAYT

Schedule: February 16 - March 22

Price: $195 - 8 classes

**This class requires registration.  Please see Class Description for more detailed information as this is a Therapeutic Yoga Class.

https://gretchenmallios.com/class-registration

Just added SUNDAYS at Copley YMCA - Mat Yoga (all levels)

I'm excited to announce I just added a new class to my weekly schedule on Sunday mornings. In November this class will be 9:15-10:30, and starting in December it moves to 9:30-10:45 (and continues at that time moving forward).

This will be an all levels mat yoga class combining many different yoga influences (hatha, vinyasa, restorative, iyengar) into a fun, flowing, full body experience. The class is for YMCA members (but if you aren't a members see a member specialist about a day pass or joining!). A limited number of mats are available for use (but I recommend bringing your own).  The YMCA also provides straps, blankets and blocks and I make good use of them too I; whole-heartedly believe that props can be the key to finding your own personal expressions of poses that might otherwise be inaccessible.

As always, there will be focus on Pranayama (breathing), good natured jokes, stories, music, and encouragement of questions as we explore our yoga paths.

If you need a class with a chair, try my Monday morning Copley class at 11:05. Both classes are upstairs in Room 3.

Yoga and Jewish Spirituality

Tonight I'm honored to be teaching a yoga class with some Jewish flavor for JewishXperienceWeek, part of the http://www.ShabbatSanDiego,org celebration this 2018.

My yoga prep for this class has come in the form of reviewing my Yoga 101: the Chakras, the Yamas and Niyamas, personal reflection on what drew me to and keeps me doing yoga, and basic pose review. But the difficult part has been diving into Jewish philosophy more than I've ever done before. A friend gave me this amazing book (also recommended to me by a Rabbi in Chicago, called The Jew in the Lotus. I have to say, after two months of flipping pages it is already so well worn it looks like I've had it for years. This has been the most rewarding part - that *I* am benefitting from this experience, from delving into the spirituality and finding my connection to my community and perhaps even to the divine, especially when I need it most. I will be sharing my thoughts on this tonight, and I hope to see some of you there.

The book, written by Rodger Kamanetz, is a dense with lessons on Judaism in the common era, kabbalah, an Indian travelogue, a Tibetan history lesson, and a comparison of different Hebrew traditions: Orthodox, Hasidic, Reform and JUBUS (Jewish Buddhists). Delegates, Rabbis and other scholars, from different factions traveled to India to visit the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, to discuss the plight and future of Tibetan Buddhism, using the Jewish experience as an example, and compare practices, spirituality and even meditation.

The contrast/comparisons between Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism are fascinating. I'm still scribbling notes in margins just hours before the class, and writing in a notebook as I consult my training books and the world wide web for refresher information on yogic practices. I'll add more information after class as this blog post was just a teaser.

There are fundamentalists that might strive to cleave apart Buddhism, or in my case yoga practice, from Judeo-Christian traditions, saying the Jews should only look to Torah for information. In the book, the author, Mr. Kamenetz, speaks of a disenfranchisement from his Jewish community/identity due to dogmatic absolutes like this. I myself was turned off at a young age by the fear mongering about people going "astray" because they were trying to learn more about the world around them and their own path to true spirituality.

But I think it's marvelous to try to find similarities between two ancient traditions that both are based in the notion of practice for the sake of bettering oneself and bettering the world. Mindfulness, practice, and finding a deeper sense of meaning in this life are, for me, and it seems for Mr. Kamenetz, part of the journey toward enlightenment, toward At-One-Ment, toward knowing god.

P.S. Here are a few links (some are on my nightstand waiting to be read!)

Yoga Sutras of Patajali
https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B009WETVA0&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_IQ7ZBbKBVN33X

The Jew in the Lotus:
https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B000Z4JQNS&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_3O7ZBbS8CZSY6

Who Wrote the Bible
https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B00EHN47EG&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_bQ7ZBb3WSC6YF

http://torahveda.org/

Yoga Nidra for Veterans 11/11/18

In memoriam

Saturday morning 9/22/18 my first cousin, a woman that I grew up with like a sister died from her injuries from a domestic violence attack. No one thought something like this would ever happen in our family or in our quiet Jewish community. She leaves behind two amazing teenage boys. Our family is coming together to support one another and find a way to take care of them, and muddle through this tragedy. Hundreds of people have reached out to say how my cousin touched their lives; it’s heartwarming. I’m so privileged to have developed such a close friendship with her; my heart is broken. I’ll be flying back to Chicago tomorrow morning. Life is so fragile; hug your loved ones tightly.