I need yoga, and a 2025 New Class Announcement

It's been a long semester at PTA school and frankly. I'm tired. My brain is full and my path is clear, but my emotions are all over the place, and I'm looking forward to a long break this holiday season. What I miss other than "free time" is practicing yoga, as both a student and a guide. My home practice is non-existent except for deep breathing exercises I try to do when I wake up with anxiety in the middle of the night. 

I so enjoy taking a public yoga class; the energy from a room full of people focused on practice, the guidance of another voice, and the space carved out just for yoga are what my practice craves. When I am at home, there are thousand (or more) distractions not the least of which is my computer sitting there waiting for me to log on to study, or the piles of laundry yet to be done, or the groceries in the fridge that cannot assemble themselves into a meal.

What I should more accurately say is more than I miss yoga, is that i NEED yoga. I need to be in a room with people that have at least one thing in common with me: a dedication to yoga, whether that's with me practicing as a student or as a guide.

New Regular Classes at YMCA

You all are aware that I am an huge advocate for the YMCA; I've worked there since 2015 and always enjoy the classes I teach and attend there.

So without further ado, I would like to announce that starting this February 7, I will be teaching the following two weekly classes (at least until June) at the CopleyPrice YMCA on El Cajon Boulevard:

• Friday 11:20-12:15 PM Hatha (mat) Yoga
• Friday 12;30-1:25 PM Chair (gentle) Yoga

Special Class Series at YMCA

Additionally, I have a series of speciality classes that will soon be announced (but you get a heads-up here). Please note that these classes will be for a special cost for both members and non-members that is to be determined. The class descriptions are as follows

Sun Salutation Series February - May most Sundays 11:30AM -1PM

Deep Dive into the basic poses of a yoga practice with Y Instructor Jackie Gadd! Each month is a series of four classes each around a different asana that is part of the Sun Saluation. Sign up for one, two, or all five! We will finish the season with a flowing Sun Salutation series, and you’ll be able to take your new skills to practice in ANY yoga class. Focus in each class on limb placement, muscle engagement, pelvis and spinal alignment, breathing techniques, and as always, a savasana to decompress at the end.

Sunday February 2, 9, 16, 23: The Warriors

Explore Virbhadrasanas from the mythology behind the poses, as well as variations with props, progressions, regressions, reorientations, and even kneeling options (Plus, the all important differences between a Lunge and Warrior 1, and how to land each for your best flow.

 

Sunday March 2, 9, 16, 22: Up and Down Dog

They are both dogs, but the two faces (adho mukha = downward face, urdvha mukha = upward face) ave different purposes and actions. One is a forward bend, the other a backbend, but together they provide a wonderful synergy! Let’s wag our tails together during March, and embrace our inner canines.

 

Sunday March 30, April  6, 13, 27 Chaturanga (dandasana)  (no class 4/20)

More than a pushup, chaturanga is an intense half-lowered plank that requires excellent shoulder stability and core and leg engagement. Good form can be challenging to protect the joints as well as support the body weight properly. Learn about to engage the muscles to make this pose a little more accessible with props, changing your relationship with gravity, and when to modify your intensity.

 

Sunday May 4, 11, 18, 25:  Suriya Namaskara

By any other name this is a sun salutation, where we move through all the poses of the series. Vinyasa is the idea of flowing energy (not just how you do your pushup to down dog). Learn more about how to capture the radiance of the sun in your flow, whether you have “up at dawn” or “I slept in” energy.