Yoga Center of Minneapolis by Yoga Center

Jan-Mar 2013 Magazine

Yoga Center of Minneapolis

Celebrating 12 Years!

Class Schedules & Workshops

Speaking with

FINDING BALANCE In the New Year

David Swenson Simple Practices For a Healthy Back

Cooking for the Senses 5 Steps to a Healthier & Happier 2013

Yoga Study Corner & Upcoming Events

On the cover This quarterly publication is assembled by the Yoga

FLY!

(9, 11, 15)

BALA

INVERT (11, 14)

Center of Minneapolis

NCE

(7, 16 )

T N E V PRE Y INJUR BOND (9, 13)

staff and community.

(7, 9, 12, 13)

Our studios are located on the west edge of downtown Minneapolis near the Twin’s Stadium (212 3rd Ave N. #205)

and between Lake

DEVELOP INTUITION

(17, 21)

X O T E D 19) (10,

Calhoun and Hwy 100 (4200 Minnetonka Blvd).

13 0 2 t Se ntions Inte (8)

Build Community (16, 20, 24)

A special thanks to Cana Potter, our cover model, as well as all who contributed articles, their time, and their talents to this issue. If you have an article or idea to contribute to a future issue, please email register@ yogacentermpls.com.

Director’s Note 2013, our 13th year of business. Who would have ever thought when I opened the doors in 2000, in a small run down health club, that the years would fly by and we would have evolved into a self sustaining business, leader in our industry and a strong yoga community. YCM has truly been a marvelous labor of love for me. It is filled with so much happiness, community, hard work, gratitude and an ability to do what

I love for a living. I am forever grateful for the past 12 years and am looking forward to a successful future. In this 13th year YCM will continue to grow and evolve. All businesses, yoga or otherwise, must continue moving forward. My vision for the future of YCM is grand. I believe that what we have built is wonderful and in future growth we will hold onto what has made it so: modest class sizes, high quality

Jan-Mar 2013

TABLE OF

conTENTS YOUR YOGA JOURNEY

Getting Started

Class Passes & Free Class Opportunities..............................................3 Personal Yogi Consultation...............................................................3 4 Class Categories and Descriptions....................................................... 4 Class Level, Sweat Factor.................................................................

Entry Level Practices 5-6 Beginner Class Descriptions and Session Dates................................... Continuing

Deepening

Practices View the Drop-in Class Schedule online at www.yogacentermpls.com 7-16 Workshops................................................................................... 17-18 Specialty Class Series......................................................................

Your Journey In Depth Trainings & Experiences 19-23 (Visiting Instructors, Special Events, Specialty Teacher Trainings)............... 24-25 230-Hour and 500-Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings.......................................

FEATURED ARTICLES

26 Yoga Study Corner .............................................................................................. 27-28 David Swenson Interview........................................................................................ 29-30 Finding Balance in the New Year.............................................................................. 31-32 Back to Health: Practices for a Strong and Balanced Back............................................... 33-34 5 Steps to Create a Happier and Heathier 2013............................................................ 35-36 The Yogiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen............................................................................................... 37 Stories From the Mat: At the Core........................................................................... 38 Coupons and more..............................................................................................

classes and programing, and a welcoming environment for both new and returning students. In order to do this with great success, I have taken on a partner in business. Neil Riemer and his wife Sharmane will be joining our YCM family this year. Neil and I share a common vision for YCM and I am honored to move into our next 13 years with both of them. Neil brings his business background to the table and will be running the business

side of things and I will now have more time to dedicate to evolving our programing as programing director. It is with great warmth and enthusiasm that I welcome both Neil and Sharmane to YCM! May your new year be filled with light and love, Jennifer Gray YCM Program Director

ÂŠ Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

NEW STUDENT DEALS METRO AREA RESIDENTS new to the Yoga Center of Minneapolis have the option of purchasing a $25 One-Week Unlimited Drop-in Pass at their first class.

YOGI REWARDS Did you know you can earn free class passes? Through the ‘Refer a Friend’ and the ‘Frequent Yogi Card’ programs you can earn free classes and vouchers to apply toward retail purchases. Visit the website under Class Info > Yogi Rewards for details on how to get started!

CLASS PASSES

Use at either Studio. Class passes expire 3 months from date of first use unless you are a member. Single Class: 4 Class Pass: 6 Class Pass: 12 Class Pass: 24 Class Pass: 36 Class Pass: 8 for 88! Pass:

$17 $64 $96 $169 $299 $414 8 classes for $88*

YEARLY MEMBERSHIP: $50 + tax All pass expiration dates will be waived for ONE YEAR from the membership start date. Receive 10% discount on all retail plus access to studio space for personal practice when available. See web for full list of benefits!

(*1-month expiration, membership not applicable) Student/Senior Single: $13 Student/Senior: 6 Class Pass $69 (Seniors=65+ / Student= a college/trade school student with current ID paying for own classes.)

Personal Yogi Consultations Helping you define your personal wellness needs, goals, and options Meet with one of our teachers to create a program of wellness services that is right for you utilizing YCM classes, workshops, programs and Dharma Wellness services. Each student’s needs are unique and we wish to help you find the path to achieving your goals in a manner that feels good, is affordable, and fits into your schedule. Call to schedule a Personal Yogi Consultation at either studio location. If you prefer, you may consult by phone. We request a $25 deposit at the time of your consult, which will be applied toward your first class passes, workshops, or intensives. −New to Yoga? For those of you who are just beginning, your first consultation will be spent determining your needs, goals, physical limitations, desires and experience to help place you in a class and/or recommend wellness services that are a best fit. Once you begin your classes or services, your Personal Yogi will follow up with you to answer any questions. −Have Yoga Experience? Take advantage of a consultation to determine how to deepen or create a consistent practice, weave wellness services and in-depth workshops into your practice, and explore other yoga opportunities. −Pregnant? YCM offers a variety of services and classes to help make this special time in your life meaningful, comfortable and help you to bring a calm state of mind to the birthing room. Your yogi consultant will help you design a program to support you in a yogic fashion during your pregnancy. We look forward to getting to know you! © Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

ANU...SHTANGA..MUKTI...ASANAAAAA?!

CLASS STYLES DECRYPTED

Although “Hatha Yoga” technically encompasses all physical practices of yoga, over time the yoga tree has sprouted variations of the physical practice. YCM welcomes all styles of yoga, so in order to help you find your best fit, we loosely categorize the styles we offer so even if you’re not familiar with the specific tradition or practice, you will have a better sense of what to expect in class. Specific class descriptions are available online.

Vinyasa

Hatha

Tantra

Vinyasa-based classes link breath and movement for a moving meditation. Poses are generally held for a shorter period of time so that transitions may become part of the poses themselves. This allows for more poses to be practiced during a class. Generally, our vinyasa classes are more rigorous than what we term ‘hatha’ classes and may involve sun salutations.

Our hatha-based classes generally involve holding the poses for a longer period of time to allow for more exploration of breath within a pose. This allows more time for focus on alignment.

Tantric yoga is the original yoga of ancient India in which all other styles of yoga are rooted. Tantra literally translates to “extend beyond all limitations.” Tantra class pays special attention to the whole person and works to intentionally help you move energy in a productive and clear direction, detoxify your body and mind, build your inner fire and through sequences that are both dynamic (repetitive and moving) and static (still), and help you create space and strength in your physical body while you gain a better sense of clarity and peace of mind. Pranayama (breath work) is the cornerstone of the practice.

Ashtanga Dharma Jivamukti Slow Flow Vinyasa

Aerial (Unnata) Yoga Big A#%! Yoga Hatha Flow Kundalini Mi-an Yin Yoga Restorative Twilight Yoga Yoga for Flexibility Yoga for Back Strength

Experience Level Pregistration required for beginner sessions. Register online or call 612.436.4700. Level 1/2: For those who have some yoga experience and are still working on gaining flexibility and need help learning how to modify poses for their bodies. Level 2:

For intermediates who have yoga experience and are ready for more challenging poses, pace, and concepts. For those who know how to and willingly will modify poses to suit their experience level and comfort.

Level 2/3: For yogis who are intermediates and up who are able to safely work into backbends & inversions such as Bridge Pose and Headstand.

DROP-IN CLASS SCHEDULE? By checking the schedule online, you see up-to-date changes and substitute teachers. You can also purchase class passes and reserve your spot in class. If paper is still your preference, pick up a print schedule at either studio or print from our website.

G ST ETT AR IN TE G D

Our weekly class schedule can be found at www.YogaCenterMpls.com.

Jan-Mar 2013

BEGINNING YOGA CLASSES

Call or check online for updated session dates. Register online or call 612.436.4700 If classes are not full, drop-ins may be allowed. Call the studio at 612.436.4700 to check availability.

Absolute Beginner Class (4-week series $50) The Absolute Beginner Class is for those new to yoga, and meets once each week for 4 weeks. This class will provide you with the tools to get started: yoga classes, fundamentals of yoga asana (poses), pranayama (breath work), and answers to your questions on the various forms of yoga or your personal practice. Whether you are coming to get in better physical condition or simply stop the chaos of your mind, there is a style of yoga that is right for you. Therefore, at the end of the four-week series, you will have the opportunity to consult with your instructor about your personal goals and choose the next yoga class(es) that will move you toward these goals. This series will likely skip holidays or holiday weekends. Please verify dates online or check with the studio. Mondays

12:00 - 1:00pm

MPLS Studio (1/7-1/28) (2/4-2/25)

Deirdre Murnane

Mondays

7:30 - 8:45pm

SLP Studio

Jessica Dunne

Tuesdays

7:30 - 8:45pm

MPLS Studio (1/8-1/29) (2/5-2/26) (3/5-3/26)

Deirdre Murnane

Wednesdays

11:15-12:15pm

SLP Studio

Jennifer Gray

Thursdays

5:00 - 6:00pm

MPLS Studio (1/10-1/31) (2/7-2/28) (3/7-3/28)

Ann Christian

Thursdays

6:15 - 7:20pm

SLP Studio

Angie Viehman

Saturday

9:30 - 10:30am

MPLS Studio (1/5-1/26) (2/2-2/23) (3/2-3/30)

Jessica Dunne

Sundays

9:30 - 10:45am

SLP Studio

(1/6-1/27) (2/3-2/24)

Theresa Hutch

Sundays

4:00 - 5:00pm

SLP Studio

(1/6-1/27) (2/3-2/24) (3/3-3/24)

Tara C. Sherman

Beginning Hatha Yoga

(1/7-1/28) (2/4-2/25) (3/4-3/25) (1/9-1/30) (2/6-2/27) (1/10-1/31) (3/7-3/28)

(6-week series $96 ~ *$90 if just completed 4-week Abs. Beg Class)

This 6-week class is for all beginners and anyone wishing to deepen their foundational knowledge of Hatha Yoga. Each class will help you to develop a safe understanding of basic yoga postures, their benefits and help you build confidence to move to the next level. This series will likely skip holidays or holiday weekends. Please verify dates online or check with the studio. Mondays

6:15 - 7:30pm

MPLS Studio (1/14-2/18) (2/25-4/1)

Jennifer Davis

Thursdays

7:30 - 8:45pm

SLP Studio

Theresa Hutch

Sundays

11:30 - 12:45pm

MPLS Studio (1/13-2/24) (3/3-4/28)

Beginning Big A#%! Yoga

(1/3-2/7) (2/14-3/21) (3/28-5/2)

Deirdre Murnane

(6-week series $96 ~ *$90 if just completed 4-week Abs. Beg Class)

This fun, challenging, and inspiring class is designed especially for bigger women and men who want to begin yoga but want to do it in a setting where everyone is similar in size and shape. Instructor and YCM owner Jennifer Gray (a Big A#%!™ graduate herself) and others will help all students find yoga poses that work for their current body type and create a beneficial yoga practice for all. In this class you will create a body mind connection, learn yoga poses that strengthen and tone, gain trust and find enjoyment in moving your body, and laugh and have fun!! Big A#%!™ yoga does not focus on losing weight and how you should look. This class strives to help you build self-trust and learn to reconnect and enjoy your body again. We call it Big A#%!™ Yoga so that everyone knows they are coming to a place where they can laugh and be comfortable with who they are. Any other name just wouldn’t be as fun! See web for more details and a note on physical limitations. This series will likely skip holidays or holiday weekends. Please verify dates online or check with the studio. Wednesdays

12:30 - 1:45pm

SLP Studio

(1/9-2/13) (2/20-3/27)

Saturdays

10:30 - 11:45am

MPLS Studio (1/12-2/16) (2/23-4/13)

Theresa Hutch Celia McCoy Jan-Mar 2013

Beginning Vinyasa Yoga

(6-week series $96 ~ *$90 if just completed 4-week Abs. Beg Class)

If you love the idea of a flowing, moving, yoga practice, this six-week session is for you! Classes will start with the fundamental ideas of linking breath and movement, developing awareness of Ujjayi Pranayama and other breathwork. We will go in-depth with the core poses of Surya Namaskara - the traditional Ashtanga sequencing, as well as other variations of Sun Salutations, and learn modifications for the different poses. In the following weeks we will learn how to move through standing and seated sequences, focusing on the alignment and technique needed to safely practice Vinyasa styles of yoga. Upon completion of the workshop, students will feel confident to attend mixed level Vinyasa classes and be able to work within their own limitations and potential. Mondays

6:10 - 7:15pm

SLP Studio

Beginning Ashtanga Yoga

(1/14-2/18) (2/25-4/1)

Thea Jensen

(6-week series $96 ~ *$90 if just completed 4-week Abs. Beg Class)

This six-week Beginning Ashtanga class is for anyone and everyone who is seeking to learn more about the fundamentals of the Ashtanga primary series. All levels are welcome to attend this workshop. If you love Vinyasa or are looking to learn more about how to safely practice in a more rigorous vinyasa style class - this six-week session is for you! In this workshop we will explore the great tradition of Ashtanga Yoga and how to put it into practice. New yoga students will learn how to attend any Ashtanga yoga or Vinyasa yoga class and work within their own limitations and potential. We’ll start with the core poses of Surya Namaskara then move on to the essential standing sequence. In later weeks we will address the seated sequence, proper breathing and pelvic awareness (bandhas), the history of ashtanga and philosophy. Tuesdays

9:00 - 10:15am

SLP Studio

(1/8-2/12) (2/19-3/26)

Emily Bauernfeind

Register online, or if you are unsure which class is appropriate, call us at 612.436.4700. SLP STUDIO 4200 Minnetonka Blvd. St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Located between Hwy 100 and Lake Calhoun on Minnetonka Blvd. FREE PARKING in the lot behind the studio and on the street.

212 3rd Ave. N. Suite 205 Minneapolis, MN 55401

MPLS STUDIO

FREE PARKING on NON-TWINS GAME DAYS: M-F before 8am or after 4pm, and weekends. Colonial Warehouse Lot is located behind the building and accessed from Washington Ave. Street meters available.

Come prepared for class:

• •

If you are new to the Yoga Center of Minneapolis, please arrive 15 min early to fill out a New Student Form Wear comfortable clothing to stretch easily. Yoga is best practiced with bare feet and on an empty stomach. (Avoid eating 1-2 hours beforehand.) Avoid wearing perfumes, colognes, etc. or smoking cigarettes before class. We encourage students to bring their own yoga mats, but we do provide free loaner mats and props (also available for purchase at either studio). Inform your instructor if you have injuries, are pregnant, or have any medical conditions that may require caution. Silence cell phones while at the studio. (You may leave your cell phone with the desk attendant if you are expecting an important call.)

G ST ETT AR IN TE G D

• • • • •

Jan-Mar 2013

JANUARY WORKSHOPS See web for updates. Register online or call 612.436.4700. Workshop Discount: Purchase a package of 3 two-hour or 3 three-hour workshops and receive $15 off. Workshop credits remain on your account until you decide to use them!

Ganesh and New Beginnings for 2013 with Tara Cindy Sherman Location: St. Louis Park Tue Date: 1/1/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Now is the time to look ahead and put into motion what changes you would like to create in 2013. The yogic term for a resolution is sankalpa, which is an affirmation, intention, and resolve all rolled into one. Invoking the archetypal energies of Ganesh is a powerful tool for manifesting your intentions. Ganesh is know as remover of obstacles, blesser of new beginnings, and relates to the earth mother which helps us stay rooted, grounded, and open to having all our needs met. Come learn more about Ganesh as we raise the energy needed to carry through with our resolutions. During this ritual, we will practice the profound meditation, mantra, and shakti flow techniques. Bring Mala or prayer beads if you have them. See web for full description. Cost $40

Yoga Nidra with Singing Bowls with Leah Golberstein Location: St. Louis Park Thu Date: 1/3/2013 From: 6:30 pm - 7:15 pm Quiet your mind and body as you relax with a guided Savasana journey accompanied by stunning crystal singing bowls. Students are led through a narrative which induces complete mental, physical and emotional relaxation, helping them achieve a state of conscious sleep, or ‘yoga nidra’. Detach from the business of your day and emerge refreshed, peaceful and calm. Cost: $17 or class pass

Partner Yoga Date Night with Holly Schramm Location: MPLS Fri Date: 1/4/2013 From: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Bring your sweetie in for a fun 1-hour class before you go out on the town. Join Holly for a laid-back class featuring partner yoga, some thai massage, and some fun yoga tricks to set you up for a great date night. Meets once per month. Cost: Use your class passes via the class schedule or purchase a drop-in ($17 each) to reserve your space.

Arm Balances with Jennifer Davis Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/5/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Learn to Take Flight! In this workshop, we will break down key elements such as core strength, hip and shoulder opening to help you successfully pivot into the balance. Go deeper in your current practice and explore more complex arm balances and exciting transitions. Ability to practice crow pose is recommend as is courage and playfulness. Cost: $40

Kundalini Yoga to Clear Karma with Nicole Nardone Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/5/2013 rom: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Stuck in a rut? Ready for change? Yogis often refer to “karma” as those lessons or mistakes we seem to make over and over again, the same holes in the road you seem to fall in even when you think you’re on a different street! Kundalini Yoga gives us fun and effective ways to break these patterns and set us free from past restrictions! In this workshop, we’ll practice a powerful Kundalini Yoga set (postures, movement, and breath) and end with a grand finale meditation to clear karma from your body and energy system. Come ready to embrace a new you! All are welcome. Cost: $40

Family Yoga with Angela Wethor Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/5/2013 From: 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm Yoga for kids is a time of building strength, imagination and concentration. For children of all stages of life, teaching them to calm and connect to their centers enhances contentment, emotional balance and love. From silly, wild dances, deep breathing, drumming, crafting, and © Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

singing at the top of their lungs, to quiet time and storytelling, this class offers children and families a life-long practice and discipline. Cost: $17 for 1 adult 1 child, $7 per additional person

Calm Mind/Healthy Spine with Camille Gage Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 1/6/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm This workshop is designed for individuals who would like to relieve low back pain and acknowledge the role that stress plays in pain and muscle tension. Calm Mind/Healthy Spine blends carefully selected poses, guided meditation and restorative poses to gently stretch and strengthen the entire back body, build posture awareness, and quiet the mind. Learn how to reduce tension in neck and shoulders; build strength in the lumbar region, and bring awareness to posture – both sitting and standing – which will help you to elongate the spine, reduce compression of the disks and build the core strength needed to sit and stand tall. Cost: $40

Yoga for the New Moon: Planting Seeds of Sankalpa with Moya Mathews Location: MPLS Fri Date: 1/11/2013 From: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Human beings are about 60% water and, like all things of a watery nature, are affected by the phases of the moon. Over time, practicing yoga makes us more attuned to natural cycles. Observing moon days is one way to recognize and honor the rhythms of nature so we can live in greater harmony with our own natural cycles and the whole created world. The energy of the new moon is the energy of apana, the contracting, downward force that makes us feel calm and grounded. In this workshop we’ll learn about the energy of the new and full moons and learn pranayama and hatha yoga practices to balance and honor those energies. We’ll conclude with an exercise to establish and plant seeds of sankalpa for the New Year. All levels welcome. See web for full description. Cost: $40

Big A#%! Yoga - Beyond the Basics 1 with Celia McCoy Location: MPLS Sat Date: 1/12/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Big A Beyond the Basics Workshops is a series of workshops designed for the Big A yogi who wants to expand their practice beyond what is learned in a 6 week Beginning Series. There will be three sessions, Standing and Balance poses, Back Bends, and Twists, Forward Folds and restorative. No need to attend in any order.) Beyond the Basics 1: Standing and Balance Poses: Go beyond warriors I and II, learn additional standing poses and standing balances such as pyramid, goddess, eagle and dancers pose! Cost: $40 (or $105 for a 3-workshop package for all 3 in the series)

JAI Prenatal Yoga for Birthing For expectant moms and their birth partners! with Jennifer Gray Location: MPLS Sat Date: 1/12/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm During this fun and interactive workshop with founder of JAI Prenatal Yoga, Jennifer Gray, couples will learn a variety of yoga based coping techniques for labor and delivery. Each couple will practice what they learn and will recieve a take home packet of information and tools for the birthing room! Breath work from JAI Prenatal Yoga is taught, along with labor massage, movement, relaxation, and visualization. Special attention is given to the birth partner, who will be mentored in labor support. Great for women who have goals of unmedicated birth, as well as those who are open to pain medication. Cost: $90 per couple.

Meditation 101

CO PR NT AC INU TI IN CE G S

with Tara Cindy Sherman Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/12/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Don’t know how to meditate or need some help getting started? The benefits of having a meditation practice are many, and doctors, psychologists, and healthcare professionals are learning that meditators live healthier, happier lives. Why? Meditation is a way of slowing down and can create a sense of peace and inner harmony. When you move into a state of meditation, your heart rate decreases and your body relaxes.Your brain waves alter and move from the normal waking wave patterns to slower, deeper waves, reflecting the deep state of relaxation of the mind. Emotionally, meditation brings calm and serenity if practiced regularly. Psychologically the benefits can be tremendous, bringing an increased ability to concentrate and hold a focus. Spiritually, meditation is the path to enlightenment, connecting with your higher self and your soul. Meditation can take you to states of bliss, peace and joy. Cost: $40

Jan-Mar 2013

Thai Stretch Class with Angie Viehman Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 1/13/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm In this special 1.5-hour class Yoga Instructor and Thai Massage Therapist, Angie Viehman along with several Yoga Teacher Trainees, will stretch and move you into deep relaxation. We’ll combine yoga poses with deep Thai Massage style stretches and adjustments to bring you into complete balance. Preregistration is encouraged to secure your spot! Cost: $17 Drop-in, or sign up online with a class pass

Yoga Nidra with Singing Bowls with Leah Golberstein Location: St. Louis Park Mon Date: 1/14/2013 From: 5-5:45pm See p. 7 for description. Cost $17 or class pass

Chakras and Asanas: Vishudda, Ajna and Sahasrara with Holly Schramm Location: MPLS Fri Date: 1/18/2013 From: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Vishudda, Ajna and Sahasrara chakras! Say that fast five times! Is curiosity getting the best of you? Join yoga instructor Holly Schramm in a two hour workshop about the chakras that govern self expression, intuition and Bliss. Meditate, chant and enjoy a lively asana practice to awaken the energetic body of the throat, third eye and crown of the head. Come explore the elements of these chakras and leave enlightened! Cost: $40

Preventing Common Yoga Injuries with Sarah Jane Wroblewski Location: MPLS Sat Date: 1/19/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Many factors contribute to the safe practice of yoga asana. In this workshop, we will explore how to be aware and prepare the body for movement through commonly overworked or misaligned poses. Common yoga injuries can affect the muscles, tendons and bursa, ligaments and vertebral disks. Pattern, habit and what feels familiar to the body can put even the most seasoned practitioner at risk to injury during practice. Come to this workshop to find a new way to approach your body, its limitations and strengths and insure a long and healthy practice. Open to all levels of practitioners. Cost: $40

Tantric Vinyasa Workshop Series: Vinyasa Krama with Betsy Weiner Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/19/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Tantric Vinyasa Workshops: deepening your understanding of yoga through the Sri Vidya (resplendent knowledge or understanding) tradition; these workshops do not have to be taken in any specific order but will help you gain more insight into these practices. Good for teachers and for practitioners looking to expand their knowledge of yoga and its aims. Take one or all in the series! Vinyasa Krama Sequencing of asanas for specific energetic outcomes. This class will break down the asanas into sections (forward folds, back bends, etc) and help you gain awareness of how specific sequencing can elicit outcomes for the most benefit for yourself and, if you are a teacher, your students. The word “vinyasa” means, “to place with intention”, so learn about how to intentionally sequence a practice based on your specific needs. Cost: $40

Intro to Aerial Yoga with Becky Stella Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/19/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Unnata® Aerial Yoga combines traditional mat yoga with postures aided by a soft, fabric sling. With the help of gravity and the fabric, we create space in our bodies and explore poses without compression © Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

of the joints and spine. Experience poses on and off the sling to find a more vibrant expression of each pose at your own level of comfort. Please wear sleeves that fully cover your underarms and no jewelry or metal clothing that might snag the fabric. Cost $40

Mom and Daughter Yoga Workshop with Angela Wethor Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 1/20/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm See web for description. Cost: $30 for two people

Thai Bodywork Adjustments for Yoga Teachers - Part 1 with Angie Viehman Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/26/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Learn how to fold the ancient art of Thai Bodywork/Massage into your yoga classes and private sessions. Thai Bodywork helps to create space and balance energy in the body using assisted stretching, acupressure and muscle manipulation. These techniques will allow your students to explore the full depths of their asana practice. Continue to build your adjustment vocabulary, examine alignment from a different lens and learn how to give a little extra love to your students in Savasana. No previous massage experience necessary. Workshop is suitable for current or aspiring yoga teachers. Cost: $40 or $75 for 1&2.

Winter Rejuvenation with Coleen Elwood Location: MPLS Sat Date: 1/26/2013 From: 3:30 pm - 6:30 pm Winter is a time in which the Inner light is kindled in spite of outer darkness, a time to connect to the feminine energies of creativity & intuition, a time to awaken to the higher self. Purify, rejuvenate & meditate with this luxurious 3-hour yoga workshop. A 2-hour gentle, meditative practice includes mudra, mantra, visualization, gentle movement & restorative yoga postures to kindle the inner light. An hour of breathwork, self accupressure facial & foot massage replenish and rejuvenate. Peppermint lotion for your feet and chilled cucumbers for your eyes enhance this delicious spa-like experience. Awaken to the forces of nature and embrace this time of stillness. All levels welcome. Cost $55

Yoga in the Dark! with Thea Jensen Location: MPLS Sat Date: 1/26/2013 From: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm See web for details. Cost: $40

Moving Meditations with Jessica Dunne Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 1/27/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Find the movement in the stillness and the stillness in the movement. Colder months are a perfect time to turn inward for reflection and growth, but often when the body is still the mind starts to reel. Using techniques from mind-body traditions like qigong and yoga we will find soothing movement patterns to quiet the mind and then allow these flowing movements to settle inside for a more peaceful mediation in stillness. Open to any level. Cost: $40

Partner Yoga Date Night with Holly Schramm Location: MPLS Fri Date: 2/1/2013 From: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Bring your sweetie in for a fun 1-hour class before you go out on the town. Join Holly for a laid-back class featuring partner yoga, some thai massage, and some fun yoga tricks to set you up for a great date night. Meets once a month. Cost: Use your class passes via the class schedule or purchase a drop-in ($17 each) to reserve your space.

ÂŠ Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

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with Jennifer Davis Location: MPLS Sat Date: 2/2/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Without proper release of toxins, good nourishment and well being, we prevent ourselves from being able to experience our full capacity to grow and bloom, even during the chilly months of Winter. Join Jenn to breath, move, sweat and stretch. Work through and release toxins from the entire system. We will start slow and continue to build heat in the body. As we warm up and increase our flexibility, we will have the option to move even deeper in our practice, releasing stored toxins, we will then wind down and end with a deep relaxation.You will leave feeling light, refreshed and renewed. Cost: $40

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Detox Workshop

FEBRUARY WORKSHOPS See web for updates. Register online or call 612.436.4700. Workshop Discount: Purchase a package of 3 two-hour or 3 three-hour workshops and receive $15 off. Workshop credits remain on your account until you decide to use them!

A Yoga Workshop for Anxiety and Depression with Moya Mathews Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/2/2013 From: 1:15 pm - 3:15 pm The stress of the modern world causes us to accumulate muscular tensions, emotional tensions and mental tensions which create blockages in the flow of our energy and life force. This workshop offers therapeutic yoga techniques to create greater emotional well-being by releasing tension and dissolving the emotional blocks that hold us back from living a happy, healthy life. Both active and restorative asana (postures) are explored, as well as breath work and yoga nidra (deep meditation). These practices serve as remedies for chronic holding patterns and powerful tools for transformation. Cost: $40

Intro to Aerial Yoga with Becky Stella Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/2/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Unnata® Aerial Yoga combines traditional mat yoga with postures aided by a soft, fabric sling. See p. 9 for description. Cost $40

Family Yoga with Angela Wethor Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/2/2013 From: 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm See p. 7 for description. Cost: $17 for 1 adult 1 child, $7 per additional person

Thai Stretch Class with Angie Viehman Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 2/3/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm A class of yoga poses and deep Thai Massage style stretches and adjustments brings you into complete balance. See p.9 for description. Cost: $17 or class pass. Reserve your spot via the class schedule.

Headstand - King of the Postures with Kevin Kortan Location: MPLS Sat Date: 2/9/2013 From: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm Curious about headstand? Afraid to do it or afraid of falling? Do you find yourself kicking or jumping into it? Headstand is often called the “King of the Postures” because of its many benefits but it can be a royal pain in the neck if not well understood. Confidence comes when you know what you’re doing. Step by step, learn how to embody a smooth continuous action towards creating a column of quiet. Learn to safely and effectively sequence for headstand: proper preparation and compensation, as well as alternatives for those who cannot or should not do full headstand. *All are welcome, but note that headstand may not be appropriate for individuals with neck or shoulder injuries, glaucoma, or detached retina. Consult your doctor if you are not sure. Cost: $40

Bringing Presence to Your Practice with Deirdre Murnane Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/9/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm What does it mean to be truly present? How does the practice of yoga help me find presence? Why is it that some days I have that blissful feeling after class and some days I don’t? How can I learn to be more present with myself and others? In this workshop we will address these questions with the help of the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hanh, Adyashanti, Arjuna Ardagh and Rick Hanson. Through discussion, mental exercises, yoga and guided meditation you can discover your true Self, deepen your practice and be happier and more productive in life. Cost: $40

Yoga Psychotherapy to Treat Emotional and Stress Eating with Rachel Allyn Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 2/10/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm This workshop will assist you in breaking the stress/food cycle, help you become more conscious with your eating, and provide tools for © Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

lasting changes to your eating habits. We will identify signs, symptoms and patterns of “emotional eating” and cultivate prevention techniques and intuitive eating habits. Discussion of ways to cope will be interwoven with yoga to address the issue holistically. Cost $40 - Participants in this workshop may schedule individual appointments with Dr. Allyn at a discount. See online description for details. Rachel Allyn, Ph.D., L.P., RYT-500, is a Clinical Psychologist and Certified Yoga Teacher.

Yoga Nidra with Singing Bowls with Leah Golberstein Location: St. Louis Park Mon Date: 2/11/2013 From: 5-5:45pm See p. 7 for description. Cost $17 or class pass

Valentine’s Day Partner & AcroYoga Class with and Rachel and Alyssa Location: MPLS Thu Date: 2/14/2013 From: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm See web for details! Cost: $30 for two people

Big A#%! Yoga - Beyond the Basics 2 with Celia McCoy Location: MPLS Sat Date: 2/16/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Back Bends and Twists: While not every back bend or twist is easy or ideal for the Big A body, there are still many poses that will work for you! Learn how cobra relates to locust, find an updog that works for you, and feel strong in bridge. We will also explore how to revolve common poses as well as learn how to make seated and reclining twists work for your body. Cost: $40

Tantric Vinyasa Workshop Series: Discovering Your Dosha with Betsy Weiner Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/16/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm In the sister science of yoga, Ayurveda, we learn about the doshas; our unique constitution both physically and mentally. In this workshop we will discover what dosha or doshas are most dominant and start to understand how these shape our preferences, what keeps us in balance, and the things that can lead towards “dis-ease”. Through balancing the doshas we begin to feel the effects of well being. Experience a short asana and pranayama practice for each of the doshas and leave with daily tools to increase your resiliency both physically and mentally. Cost: $40

Valentine’s Partner Yoga Workshop with Holly Schramm Location: MPLS Sat Date: 2/16/2013 From: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm “Feel the Love” in this special 90 minute class. Through partner yoga and meditation you’ll learn how having a partner can shed a whole new light on your usual practice. This workshop would only be complete with the option at the end to taste some of Holly’s fave red wines. This workshop is for yogis of all abilities. Warm up and feel the love! Cost: $55 for 2 people

Kundalini Yoga & L.O.V.E. with Nicole Nardone Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 2/17/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm “Open your heart!” We’ve all heard that before...but what does it really mean? What does it feel like to have an open heart? Find out! In this workshop, we’ll explore the heart center from an experiential perspective. Learn what an open heart feels like, from the inside out. Physically, an open heart center can feel like a lightness in the chest, lack of pain or constriction, and ease of breath. Other effects include deep self love, compassion, connectedness, and fulfilling relationships. We’ll begin with a unique set of postures, breath, and meditation for energizing and opening the heart center and finish with a powerful meditation to connect to your own unlimited sources of love and compassion. All levels welcome. Cost: $40

with Ann Christian Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/23/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm A workshop designed for all those affected by chronic or life threatening diseases including cancer, HIV, cardiogenic and neurological diseases. Open and heal your heart through breath work, guided meditation and gentle yoga to move life energy through your body. Explore the connection between body, breath and mind, moving through the focus of the © Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

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Healing Yoga

FEBRUARY-MARCH WORKSHOPS See web for updates. Register online or call 612.436.4700. Workshop Discount: Purchase a package of 3 two-hour or 3 three-hour workshops and receive $15 off. Workshop credits remain on your account until you decide to use them! illness to reconnecting with a sence of stillness and peace. This class is welcoming to patients, survivors, family members and caregivers of life-threatening illnesses, including healthcare providers. If you are a healthcare provider, you are eligible for 2.4 CEU’s upon completion. Cost: $40

Yoga for Your Joints and Glands with Crystal Hanson Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/23/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm By increasing the circulation to various parts of our bodies, especially the joints and glands, we begin to re-establish balance and harmony throughout the entire body. We will study the Endocrine System to get familiar with our glands and their functions in our body. We will stimulate our glands and joints as we work through a very gentle practice paired with Pranayama. This is appropriate for all Yogis as well as those brand new to Yoga. No Yoga experience necessary. Cost: $40

Creating Energetic Boundaries with Coleen Elwood Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 2/24/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm The World is changing for the better. Many of us are waking up to our gifts, becoming more sensitive, developing our intuition. This workshop gives practical tips, tools and techniques for creating and sustaining energetic boundaries. The first half explores meditations, visualizations and discussion on grounding, defining your aura, distilling heavy energy, protection and cleansing. The second half weaves in yogic postures and breathing techniques along with shamanic (Earth-based) tools for navigating the changing world. Ideal for teachers, healers, body workers or anyone interested in delving into the world of energy. Led by certified Yoga instructor, Reiki master and Shamanic healer Coleen Elwood. Cost: $55

Partner Yoga Date Night with Holly Schramm Location: MPLS Fri Date: 3/1/2013 From: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Bring your sweetie in for a fun 1-hour class before you go out on the town. Join Holly for a laid-back class featuring partner yoga, some thai massage, and some fun yoga tricks to set you up for a great date night. Meets once a month. Cost: Class pass or $17 each. Reserve your spot on the web schedule.

Spiral Flow with Kevin Kortan Location: MPLS Sat Date: 3/2/2013 From: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm The linking of postures in creative and inspired ways is one of the hallmarks of Kevin Kortan’s Evolutionary Yoga™. From the DNA of our bodies to the swirling of storms and galaxies, we live in a world that is turning, spiraling. This workshop is for those who love to move both quietly and dynamically through inner and outer space. Learn a series of spiral, spatially expressive, threedimensional posture flows. Explore how to move harmoniously, naturally aligned with your design of form and flow. Leave with tools for your own practice. Those who have some degree of experience in yoga, somatics, dance, or martial arts are heartily welcome to join in! Visit: www.tinyurl.com/spiralswan to see the Spiral Swan Sequence. Cost: $40

Ashtanga Workshop: Standing Series with Holly Schramm Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/2/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Let’s break down the first half of the Primary Series! Learn about the logic of the sequencing, the alignment of the poses, and maybe even reach that big toe in Uttita Hasta Padangustasana. With a focus on breathing, flowing, and mindful movement, this is your chance to dig a little deeper into this fast-paced practice. We will workshop any postures you like because remember with practice all is coming! Come with a playful attitude. I look forward to having some fun with you! (Look for the Seated Series Workshop held on 3/30) Cost: $40

Jan-Mar 2013

Thai Bodywork Adjustments for Teachers - Level 2 with Angie Viehman Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/2/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm In this workshop we’ll build on the techniques learned in level 1 to further integrate the ancient art of Thai Bodywork/Massage into your yoga classes and private sessions. Completion of Level 1 is not required to participate in Level 2. Thai Bodywork helps to create space and balance energy in the body using assisted stretching, acupressure and muscle manipulation. These techniques will allow your students to explore the full depths of their asana practice. Continue to build your adjustment vocabulary, examine alignment from a different lens and learn how to give a little extra love to your students in Savasana. Each person will have the chance to give and receive each of the techniques. No previous massage experience necessary. Workshop is suitable for current or aspiring yoga teachers. Cost: $40

Thai Stretch Class with Angie Viehman Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 3/3/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm A class of yoga poses and deep Thai Massage style stretches and adjustments brings you into complete balance. See p.9 for description. Cost: $17 or class pass. Reserve your spot via the class schedule.

Yoga Nidra with Singing Bowls with Leah Golberstein Location: St. Louis Park Mon Date: 3/4/2013 From: 5-5:45pm See p. 7 for description. Cost $17 or class pass

Transitions Workshop with Sarah Kalweit Location: MPLS Fri Date: 3/8/2013 From: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Some of the most gratifying moments spent on the mat can be those few moments spent moving or “transitioning” from pose to pose. These can also be some of the most difficult moments! We will spend the workshop literally “picking apart” the movement that occurs during transition time between the most commonly practiced Hatha asana. Each transition will take place with intense mind focus and the imperative support of the breath.Your practice will take on a new perspective and gracefulness as you slow the pace of your transitions.You may even become stronger and more BALANCED in the process! Cost: $40

Handstands with Jennifer Davis Location: MPLS Sat Date: 3/9/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm A few years ago I declared that within one year I wanted to be a master at handstand. A year came and went, even thought my handstand practice was greatly improving, I still had a long way to go. I have since given up any timelines and found much more enjoyment on my journey. There are so many different ways that you can work on handstand, so many fun tools to help you on your journey. I can now say that I love handstand, I love the feeling of power and freedom! Join me to learn effective tools to improve your handstand. Work with proper alignment to keep you safe as well as a lot of fun tricks to help you get up, stay up and have fun. Whether you are newer to handstand or a seasoned practitioner, this workshop is for you! Cost: $40

Yoga for Runners and Bicyclists

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with Ted Roseen Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/9/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Are you the type of person who feels compelled by the open road? Do you find your zen as you traverse along paths and trails, getting into your groove as you move your body through space? Although we love to push ourselves to find more endurance and strength through activities like biking and running, these repetitive motion activities can often take their toll on muscles, tendons and skeletons without our being aware. Join Ted - distance runner extraordinaire! - as he helps guide you through yoga techniques to give you flexibility, stability, and alignment to improve your favorite athletic past-times. Cost: $40

Jan-Mar 2013

MARCH WORKSHOPS See web for updates. Register online or call 612.436.4700. Workshop Discount: Purchase a package of 3 two-hour or 3 three-hour workshops and receive $15 off. Workshop credits remain on your account until you decide to use them!

Family Yoga with Angela Wethor Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/9/2013 From: 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm See p.7 for description! Cost: $17 for 1 adult + 1 child, $7 per additional person

Big A#%! Yoga - Beyond the Basics 3 with Celia McCoy Location: MPLS Sat Date: 3/16/2013 From: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Forward Folds and Restorative: Forward folds often point out to us places where we are tight-hips and hamstrings for example. And they can present challenges for the Big A yogi when the body gets in the way. We will work on alignment and use of props in standing and seated forward folds. We will also devote a large portion of this workshop to restorative poses, in which we find gentle opening of the body and quiet of mind. Cost: $40

Intro to Aerial Yoga with Becky Stella Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/16/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Unnata® Aerial Yoga combines traditional mat yoga with postures aided by a soft, fabric sling . See p. 9 for description. Cost $40

Kundalini Yoga and Vitality with Nicole Nardone Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/16/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Restore your vital energy system! Whether you’re feeling down in the dumps, anxious, fatigued, or just want to kick that caffeine habit...this workshop can help you balance your own energy the yogic way. Kundalini Yoga is a powerful energy-based technology that helps strengthen and balance the nervous system while balancing the glands of the body. You feel ready to take on any task, challenge, or opportunity.Your zest for life returns and you feel absolutely fearless. Experience a powerful series of yoga postures, movements, breathing techniques, and meditations from the Kundalini Yoga tradition that help build energy in a lasting and transformative way. No prior Kundalini Yoga experience necessary. All levels welcome. Cost: $40

Mi-an Yoga: Backbends with Monique Maxwell Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 3/17/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Drawing on her extensive experience with yoga, pilates, and bodywork, join Monique as she teaches creative techniques to control your body, strengthen your core, and maintain correct alignment in your asana practice. This workshop will focus on the fundamentals of backbending and heart opening. These bright and energetic poses can sometimes feel hard to achieve as we get caught up in the anxiety of our expectiations. Break through these mental barriers Mi-an style, through the practice of contemplation, laughter, and idea of trying, and trying again. Cost: $40

Yoga Nidra with Singing Bowls with Leah Golberstein Location: St. Louis Park Mon Date: 3/18/2013 From: 5-5:45pm See p. 7 for description. Cost $17 or class pass

Tantric Vinyasa Workshop Series: Intro to the Gunas with Betsy Weiner Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/23/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Tantric Vinyasa Workshops: Deepening your understanding of yoga through the Sri Vidya (resplendent knowledge or understanding) tradition; © Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

these workshops do not have to be taken in any specific order but will help you gain more insight to these practices. What the heck is a “guna”? There will be a discussion as to what the gunas are and how they affect the mind. These are energies that are changing constantly and through a better understanding of which one is pulling on us at any given moment, we can learn to utilize yoga techniques to alleviate imbalance and find ourselves happier, healthier, and less reactive to our lives. There will be short asana and pranayama practices to help define how our practices can affect the gunas and how we can balance them effectively. Cost: $40

Spring Cleanse and Renewal with Coleen Elwood Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/23/2013 From: 3:30 pm - 6:30 pm Throughout the spring season there is an impulse in nature to resurrect itself. As we learn to work with and embrace the forces of Nature we can tap in to this creative impulse and use it to begin anew. Celebrate this time of renewal with a cleansing, rejuvenating experience. A luxurious yoga class blends gentle & restorative yoga postures, mantra, mudra, guided imagery,and conscious relaxation to purify what doesn’t serve and embrace what does. Acupressure self facial and foot massage, chakra balancing, meditation along with peppermint foot lotion and chilled cucumbers for your eyes adds to the experience! Led by certified Yoga instructor, Reiki master and shamanic healer Coleen (Coco) Elwood. Cost: $55

Getting to Know Your Psoas with Crystal Hanson Location: St. Louis Park Sun Date: 3/24/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm The Psoas is a deep muscle, involved in complex moves and communications throughout the core and lower part of the body. A “tight” psoas is often the culprit of lower back pain, tightness of the hips, knees and inner thighs. We will focus on this complicated muscle system in our own bodies as we learn how to relieve tension and pressure. Gentle Yoga moves, pranayama, and restorative poses will allow us to open our bodies via the psoas. *Appropriate for all levels and Absolute Beginners. Cost: $40

Aerial Yoga for Back and Core Strength with Becky Stella Location: St. Louis Park Fri Date: 3/29/2013 From: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm No aerial experience needed. Building a strong core? Don’t forget about the back! Kick your ‘boat pose’ to the curb and embark on a practice that turns work to play in an intelligent way. Start with a warm up and dynamic movement to develop awareness in the different muscles of the back body. Use yoga (dynamic and static postures on and off the sling) along with breath to strengthen, create joint stability, and encourage coordination amongst muscle groups. Release the core with (optional) aerial inversions and finish with deep core and hamstring stretching. Please wear sleeves that fully cover your underarms. Cost: $40

Ashtanga Workshop: Seated Series with Holly Schramm Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/30/2013 From: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Let’s get warmed up doing the standing series and then spend some time exploring and getting into the postures in the second half. Should you try binding in Marichyasana? How the heck does one go about getting into Bujapidansana? They say to step or jump through to sit. Jump through? How do you fold forward in Supta Konasana? We will workshop any postures you like because remember with practice all is coming! Come with a playful attitude. I look forward to having some fun with you! Cost: $40

Yoga Lounge

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with Thea J & Amanda Location: MPLS Sat Date: 3/30/2013 From: 6:00 pm - 10:30 pm oga Lounge is back!! Center your senses and free your spirit with a night of yoga, dancing, tea and community. Join Thea Jensen and Amanda Brink along with our yoga community to celebrate the renewal of spring with this unique night! We’ll begin with drumming and chanting, moving into yummy yoga warm ups, then express yourself freely through yoga dance and open the energetic body with Shakti Flow, (inspired and started by local teacher Tara Cindy Sherman) all set to the sounds of DJ C-Los. Following yoga, the space will be transformed into a night of dancing and tea service from the Floating Tea Lounge with Brandon Lovejoy of Verdant Tea. Feel free to stay as little or as long as you like after the yoga class. Great for a girls night out or date night! Previous yoga experience recommended. See web for more information on Verdant Tea, a revolutionary Minneapolis-based business. Cost: $25

Jan-Mar 2013

SPECIALTY CLASS SERIES See web for updates. Register online or call 612.436.4700. Workshop Discount: Purchase a package of 3 two-hour or 3 three-hour workshops and receive $15 off. Workshop credits remain on your account until you decide to use them!

4-Week Peace Medicine Energy Intensive with Coleen Elwood Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 1/5/2013 - 1/26/2013 From: 10:30 am - 11:55 am Embrace who you are becoming. Awaken your unique gifts, connect to the Earth, cultivate unity consciousness. A 4-week intensive designed to navigate the changing world, deepen your awareness of the energy realm, open to that which is larger. Join certified yoga instructor, reiki master, musician and shamanic healer Coleen Elwood for a month of developing personal practices to set energetic boundaries, awaken intuition, balance the chakras and deepen your connection with your own nature and all of nature. Discussion, meditation, yogic and shamanic tools and techniques to nourish peace within. Ideal for teachers, healers, massage therapists, nurses, parents, and anyone interested in a path to higher consciousness. Energetic boundaries workshop recommended and at least 1 year of a yoga/ meditation practice. Cost: $100

4-Week Developing Your Intuition with Jennifer Gray Location: St. Louis Park Tue Date: 1/8/2013 - 1/29/2013 From: 7:30 pm - 8:45 pm This fun and intuitive 4 week workshop will help you to get in touch with your inner voice, begin to find clarity and meaning about your personal life path, help you to understand how to tap into and listen to your intuitive voice and explore your inner knowing. During the workshop we will cover the different ways of knowing , learn more about the energy body, manifesting your goals and desires and how to push through chaos to hear your inner voice. Please come with a pen, journal and an open mind! Yoga Study Students may use their PPD credit to attend this session. Cost: $100

4-Week Intro to Yin with Michelle Pietrzak-Wegner Location: MPLS Thu Date: 1/10/2013 - 1/31/2013 From: 7:30 pm - 8:45 pm Enter a quieter deeper practice.Yin Yoga is named due to it’s correspondence to the Taoist concept of “Yin and Yang”. Much of our lives are filled with the fast pace, fiery, and heat filled energy of Yang, including our regular yoga practices of vinyasa, power, and hot yoga. It is important to find a balance in our lives. We cannot have hot without cool; there cannot be light without darkness.Yin Yoga is a slower, quieter, deeper yoga that works to open up deep, dense, rarely touched areas of the body. It looks to stretch the connective tissues/joints rather than conditioning the muscles. This practice involves passive asanas held for several minutes allowing the practitioner to develop patience and to move into a deeper quietness.Yin Yoga is available to anyone practicing yoga at any level. Cost: $64

6-Week Peace Medicine Continuing/Advanced with Coleen Elwood Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 2/2/2013 - 3/9/2013 From: 10:30 am - 11:55 am Embrace your destiny, utilize your unique gifts, awaken and replenish! A continuing series for students to put into practice tools and techniques explored in the 4 week intensive. Deepen your ability to ground, protect, distill, cleanse and replenish. A unique blend of ancient wisdoms ( yogic and shamanic) with modern day applications to deepen your connection to nature, your spirit and your community. Earthbased, soul-centered practices and support for the changing consciousness. Continuing education for all students who have completed the 4 week intensive. Cost: $140

Jan-Mar 2013

4-Week Personal Practice Development Series™ with Rachel Hiltsley Location: MPLS Thu Date: 2/7 - 3/7 (skip 2/14) From: 7:30 pm - 8:45 pm © Whether you enjoy practicing at home or in your favorite class, this four-week journey will add depth and meaning to your yoga practice on and off the mat. The four-week session is limited to ten students who are ready to explore the challenges surrounding their yoga practice. The instructor will help each student identify their limitations while also recognizing and developing their strengths. In-class practice will be supplemented by weekly take-home assignments for contemplation and practice. This series is highly recommended for all Yoga Study students and anyone who has practiced yoga for at least six months and is ready to deepen their yoga practice. Cost: $100

4-Week Intro to Aerial Yoga with Becky Stella Location: St. Louis Park Tue Date: 3/5/2013 - 3/26/2013 From: 7:30 pm - 8:45 pm Unnata® Aerial Yoga combines traditional mat yoga with postures aided by a soft, fabric sling. With the help of gravity and the fabric, we can create space in our bodies and explore poses without compression of the joints and spine. No aerial experience necessary, but yoga experience strongly recommended. Please wear sleeves that fully cover your underarms and no jewelry or metal clothing that might snag the fabric. Not for those with glaucoma or unmedicated high blood pressure. If you have spinal injuries, please contact the studio to speak to the instructor before registering. Cost: $100

4-Week Personal Practice Development Series™ with Betsy Weiner Location: St. Louis Park Wed Date: 3/6/2013 - 3/27/2013 From: 11:00 am - 12:15 pm © Whether you enjoy practicing at home or in your favorite class, this four-week journey will add depth and meaning to your yoga practice on and off the mat. The four-week session is limited to ten students who are ready to explore the challenges surrounding their yoga practice. The instructor will help each student identify their limitations while also recognizing and developing their strengths. In-class practice will be supplemented by weekly take-home assignments for contemplation and practice. This series is highly recommended for all Yoga Study students and anyone who has practiced yoga for at least six months and is ready to deepen their yoga practice. Cost: $100

4-Week Personal Practice Development Series™ with Monique Maxwell Location: MPLS Thu Date: 3/14/2013 - 4/4/2013 From: 7:30 pm - 8:45 pm Whether you enjoy practicing at home or in your favorite class, this four-week journey will add depth and meaning to your yoga practice on and off the mat. The four-week session is limited to ten students who are ready to explore the challenges surrounding their yoga practice. The instructor will help each student identify their limitations while also recognizing and developing their strengths. In-class practice will be supplemented by weekly take-home assignments for contemplation and practice. This series is highly recommended for all Yoga Study students and anyone who has practiced yoga for at least six months and is ready to deepen their yoga practice. Cost: $100

4-Week Meditation and Manifestation

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with Coleen Elwood Location: St. Louis Park Sat Date: 3/16 - 4/13 (skip 3/30) From: 10:30 am - 11:55 am “Meditation is medicine for your mind” - Yogi Bhjan Stress is responsible for most illness and disease.Your thoughts create stress. Meditation washes your mind, re-directs your thoughts, alleviates stress, gives you greater clarity, focus and access to your intuition. Join Coleen Elwood for a 4 week MEDITATION/MANIFESTATION personal practice development series. Become a conscious co-creator! Open to abundance, self-love, radiant health and inner peace. Learn a variety of meditation practices to return you to your own power, embrace who you are becoming and connect you to the infinite abundance available in the Universe. No experience necessary. Cost: $100

Jan-Mar 2013

DEEPENING YOUR JOURNEY Commit to your practice through trainings and in-depth experiences.

IN-DEPTH EXPERIENCES & TEACHER TRAININGS Winter Detox Week with Jennifer Johnson and Jennifer Gray Location: SLP Studio Dates: 1/7 - 1/11/13 Time: Mon-Fri 7-8:30am Studio Cost: $250 ($615 for both YFT Month and Detox Week package. See web for Alumni discounts.) Join us for a week-long Detoxification program which uses the riches of Yoga, Chinese Medicine, herbs and whole foods to help cleanse the body, mind and soul. Winter is the season to restore and rest our body and mind. A winter detox is a great way to start off the new year and to recover from the holidays both physically and mentally. Reap the benefits of this season by spending a week with mindful eating, breathing and stretching. The group will meet every morning Monday through Friday from 7:00 - 8:30am at the St. Louis Park Studio. Acupuncturist Jennifer Johnson, Lic.Ac. MAOM, and yoga instructor Jennifer Gray will to provide you with all of the tools to help you reap the benefits of nourishing your body with food, acupuncture (optional), herbs, reflection, and specifically designed yoga practices. Register early as this class size will be limited. When you call and register you will be mailed your detox packet so that you can prepare your meals and head into your week with intention. Detox week includes: • Instructional booklet with 5-day cleanse, recipes, grocery list and journal • Week supply of detox support herbs • 5 yoga classes: 7:00 - 8:30am Mon-Fri at the St. Louis Park Studio • 2 Mini Detox acupuncture sessions during savasana with press balls (optional) • 20% off additional individual acupuncture appointments

Yoga and ‘The Artist’s Way’ with Thea Jensen Location: MPLS Studio Time: 6-9pm 4 Sundays: 1/13, 2/10, 3/10, 4/7

Cost: $200

In this workshop we will combine the art of yoga with ‘The Artists Way’, a book by Julia Cameron, that is intended to teach people to process and transform life through acts of creativity. As Julia says, “Creativity is like breathing – pointers may help, but we do the process ourselves. Creative clusters, where we gather as peers to develop our strength, are best regarded as tribal gatherings, where creative beings raise, celebrate, and actualize the creative power which runs through us all. “ This 12-week program will help you to recover your creativity from a variety of potential “blocks” replacing them with artistic confidence and productivity. We will practice linking creativity with spirituality through a variety of exercises and activities that spur the imagination. We will meet as a group 4 times, once per month, for 3 hours. Every student should bring their own copy of ‘The Artists Way’ by Julia Cameron and a journal. The book is available for pre-order from our boutique.

Visiting Instructor - GARY KRAFTSOW Special Evening Lecture - Registration Open Dates: Wed, 1/30/13

Time: 7:30-9pm

MPLS Studio Cost: $30 in advance, $35 at door

Optimal Health: A Viniyoga Retreat Week - FULL Dates: Mon-Fri, 1/28-2/1/2013

Time: 10am-5:30pm MPLS Studio

Cost: $700

Visit www.yogacentermpls.com/visiting_instructors.asp to read more about Gary, the retreat, the lecture, and to watch a short video.

Jan-Mar 2013

ABOUT GARY KRAFTSOW, MA, E-RYT 500 Gary began his study of Yoga in India with T.K.V. Desikachar in 1974 and received a Viniyoga Special Diploma from Viniyoga International in Paris, France. He graduated from Colgate University in 1976 and received his Masters Degree in Psychology and Religion from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1983. Gary is the Founder, Director and Senior Teacher of the American Viniyoga Institute’s Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist Training Programs. He is the author of YOGA FOR WELLNESS and YOGA FOR TRANSFORMATION; and educational DVDs Viniyoga Therapy for Low Back, Sacrum and Hips and Viniyoga Therapy for Upper Back, Neck and Shoulders. His DVDs, Viniyoga Therapy for Anxiety and Viniyoga Therapy for Depression were released in August 2011. Gary developed the Viniyoga Stress Reduction Program for the Aetna Mind-Body Pilot for chronic and high stress. His most recent article, A Living Healing Tradition, is published in the Winter 2010-11 edition of Yoga International.

Winter 2013 Yoga for Transformation Month with Jennifer Gray and Specialty Instructors Tuesdays & Thursdays 6-8:45pm

Location: SLP Studio Dates: 2/5-2/28/13 Cost: $325 (See web for alumni discounts)

Winter Yoga Transformation is the perfect opportunity to wholly dedicate yourself to making the changes you want to make in the New Year. Whether you are a fan of Detox Week, a YFT Alumni or are just ready to make lasting changes to your yoga practice with a renewed sense of well-being, this month long intensive is for you. Winter YFT is a 4-week intensive that meets 2 evenings each week and will help you to detoxify, clarify, feel better mentally and physically, and instill the practice of yoga into your body and mind. This winter’s YFT asana classes will continue to focus sound, energy, breath, movement, and intention which can help you to begin to lead a more balanced, meaningful and healthier life as well as transform the way you view and react to the world. The theme of the winter workshops theme will center on Sankalpa (resolution, will, intention) and we will learn how to weave this yogic philosophy throughout our daily life. In addition we will continue to focus on clean eating - adding to our recipe books throughout the month, and exploring mantra, pranayama and meditations. We recommend (but it is not manditory) that you also attend Fall Detox Week. Basic yoga knowledge is recommended but all levels are welcome. Each YFT session will meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings for: • 1.25 hours of special detoxifying and balancing yoga practices, followed by a 15 minute break • 1.25 hours of workshop Please note that if you currently hold a Yoga Center Pass and register for this program we will freeze your pass until after this program and extend your expiration date. Once you have completed this month-long experience you will be a YFT Alumni and will be eligible to register for the continuing YFT weekly classes, yoga practice homework assignments, priority registration and special future YFT and Detox Week discounts. Our wonderful YFT community is growing quickly and has proven that the fun, learning and practices do not have to end once the month is over. We even have a Facebook page! This class is limited to 15 students. If you wish to add Dharma Wellness Services to your month, please call to purchase and book your appointments after you have registered to recieve a $5 discount per service for the entire YFT Month. Want to make it into a three month course? + Add Detox Week (see description) to your YFT month - $525 total + Add Yoga for Transformation Weekly Classes (in November after YFT) - $390 total + All three (YFT, Detox Week, and Cont. Classes) - $605 total *Payment plan with automatic payments available for this option, with a deposit of $300. Call the studio to register for the Auto-Pay option.

Yoga for Transformation Continuing Classes (7-week) Dates: Thursdays 4/4 - 5/16 From: 7:00 AM - 8:15 AM Cost: $96 (See above for YFT package prices)

EP E JO NIN UR G NE YO Y U

These weekly classes are for those who have ever taken Yoga For Transformation or Detox Week and wish to continue their work with these practices. In this weekly class we will continue our to deepen our practices with pranayama, detoxification, the power of sound and space creation in the physical body. Minimum of 10 preregistered students to run and preregistration for 6 of the 7 weeks will be necessary; those who attend the first six classes will get the 7th free!

with Jennifer Gray Location: SLP Studio

Jan-Mar 2013

DEEPENING YOUR JOURNEY Commit to your practice through trainings and in-depth experiences.

Visiting Instructor: HAWAH Creativity, Freedom, Breath, and the Physical Temple Dates: Fri-Sun 3/22-3/24/13

MPLS Studio

Cost: $185 for all or listed by workshop below

ABOUT HAWAH Hawah is an artist, author, educator, and non-profit leader. He tours nationally and internationally facilitating interactive workshops, performing poetry, and teaching yoga. Hawah holds certifications in both Jivamukti and Sivananda Yoga. He is a Vipassana Meditation practitioner and also practices Tai Chi and Baguazhang. Hawah has authored 4 books, produced 3 documentary films and 2 musical CDs; and is the creator/ editor of “The Poetry of Yoga” book anthology. www.ThePoetryOfYoga.com & www.Everlutionary.net. Pranayama, Trataka, and Psychic Development Techniques - Fri 3/22 from 7-9:30pm, $50 Pranayama is the science of breath control that roots the harmonious flow of energy in the body. The breath is one of the most important parts of a yoga practice and is the gateway to freedom and transformation of your life, on and off the mat. In this workshop, you will explore a range of ancient breathing and psychic development techniques passed down by sages for thousands of years.You will discover the revitalizing affects Pranayama has on your central nervous system, stress levels and overall condition and health of your heart. Clear the mind, calm the body, and gain more mental focus and alertness through this powerful and invigorating practice. The Poetry of Yoga, All Day Intensive - Sat 3/23 from 9:30am–12pm and 2-4:30pm, $100 Hafiz, Gibran, Rumi… their yoga mat was a blank piece of paper… they did asana with pencils between their fingers… their pranayama was inverted metaphor… and their Samadhi was uninhibited, naked poetry. In this workshop, you will write your own poetry, inspired by heart opening & spine lengthening asana. The creative writing prompts will then be used to guide dialogue and share back circles. Sweaty palms from invigorating asana will help to make sure your pencil doesn’t get stuck on the paper! Fun, uplifting, challenging & releasing, the day is ideal for those wanting to connect creativity & freedom into their yoga practice and find time for reflection upon life’s purpose. Open to all levels of students. Remember to come with a journal & pencil tucked into your yoga mat. Master Class with HawaH - Sun 3/24 from 9:30am-12pm, $50 For the blossoming and serious yoga student, this Master Class will be a balanced flowing asana practice integrating breathing practices that will challenge you to dig deeper into your potential. The class will invigorate your body and help you develop a calm, less anxious mind, and greater sense of body awareness. It will incorporate deep twisting, backbends and arm balances.You will be encouraged to focus on the process and not the end result. For intermediate and advanced students, or yoga practitioners of 1 year or longer.

Yin Yoga Teather Training with Michelle Pietrzak-Wegner Times Fri 6-9pm, Sat & Sun 1-7pm

Location: MPLS Studio Cost: $275

Dates: 4/5-4/7/13

Yin Yoga is a complementary yoga that focuses on fascia and the body’s fascial network. When the fascia of the body is nourished and healthy we experience better mobility, structural alignment, healthy joints, emotional balance, and a deep spaciousness physically, mentally and emotionally.Yin Yoga promotes yielding into postures for longer periods of time allowing the deep fascial tissues to slowly lengthen and open. Steeped in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoism,Yin Yoga works with opening the pathways for chi to flow in the body. The deep quiet of the practice allows the student to fine tune inner-listening skills and mindfulness. Yin Yoga Teacher Training is geared towards yoga teachers who have completed their 200 or 500-hour teacher training requirements and are seeking to teach Yin Yoga or fold Yin Yoga into their current style of teaching. A certificate of completion will be presented for those attending all 15 hours of this training. Continuing education credits with Yoga Alliance will be granted. See web for required reading and participation details. All hours must be attended for completion and to receive a certificate of completion. No make-ups available.

Jan-Mar 2013

Yin Yoga Teacher Training Program includes: • 15 contact hours (intensive weekend) • Taoist philosophy/Chinese Medicine basics • Foundations of Yin Yoga and the postures • Finding your Yin Yoga Voice/Holding Space • Fascial anatomy/Meridian line theory • Integrating Yin Yoga into the classroom • Practice teaching/sequencing • Take-home manual ABOUT MICHELLE Michelle has completed her 200-hr Yoga certification in NYC at Atmananda Yoga in 2006 and 850 hours of training in the Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy tradition 2009-10. She has completed Level I Anatomy and Yin Yoga with the “Father” of Yin Yoga, Paul Grilley. She has also studied with the “Grandfather” of Yin & Yang Yoga, Master Paulie Zink. With a deep passion and interest in Taoist philosophy she has studied with author/translator of the Tao Te Ching William Martin and traveled to Wudangshan, China to study Taoism with Taoist Philosopher and Master Li Si Ming. She is a part of the Yoga Center of Minneapolis teaching faculty in both the 200 & 500 hour programs teaching anatomy, philosophy, and yoga therapeutics.

JAI Prenatal Teacher Training (85-Hour) with Jennifer Gray and Jennifer Colletti Fridays 9am-4pm

Location: MPLS Studio Dates: 4/12-6/21/13 Cost: $1400 (Payment plan available)

This training led by Jennifer Colletti and Jennifer Gray follows the 85-hour standards for Prenatal training put forth by Yoga Alliance. This unique training will cover everything from anatomy of a pregnant student, yoga for pregnancy, yoga for birthing, sequencing and so much more. To receive certification through YCM, each student must have 200 hours or equivalent in Yoga training and a passion for working with the prenatal community. If you wish to register with Yoga Alliance as a prenatal teacher, you must be an ACTIVE RYT upon starting the training. Once you have completed your JAI Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training you will be a part of a growing Prenatal Teacher Community! To register, please download and complete our JAI Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training Application or call 612-436-4700 to have one mailed to you.You must include proof of your completed 200-Hour training, or Yoga Alliance registration number.You will be notified by writing of your acceptance into the training. Deposit of $300 reserves your space - payment in full is due by first day of training. For payment plan details, call the studio at 612-436-4700.

Visiting Instructor: THERESA MURPHY

4 Ways to be in Practice Dates: Mon-Sun, 8/19- 8/25/2013

Location: MPLS Studio

Cost: $55 each or $200 full weekend

Yoga is a state of balanced, integrated being. The skillful practice of Yoga is varied, sensitive and constantly reconstructed to meet each unique moment as it unfolds. No one way of practice, action or inaction will meet the ever-fluxing nature of things in an on going way.Yogins must constantly calibrate their energy bodies to adapt and consciously cultivate the inner state of being in order to flow with wakefulness and grace in this life time. There are infinite ways to practice the art of yoga and the school of Prajna Yoga represents this fully. See web for workshop descriptions below: Ways to be in Practice with Your Feet - Fri Date: 5/3/2013 Ways to be in Practice with Your Psoas - Sat Date: 5/4/2013 Ways to be in Practice with Your Breath - Sat Date: 5/4/2013 Ways to be in Practice with Your Belly - Sun Date: 5/5/2013

From: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm From: 9:30 am - 12:00 pm From: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm From: 9:30 am - 12:00 pm

EP E JO NIN UR G NE YO Y U

ABOUT THERESA Theresa Murphy, E-RYT-500, is a senior Prajna yoga instructor under Tias Little, has been a student of yoga for over 20 years, teaching yoga since 1998. Her studies under Tias Little span over 12 years and she is the first to receive the Prajna Yoga 500 hour certification. She has assisted Tias at his workshops and teacher trainings since 2005. She currently studies Iyengar yoga with Patricia Walden and Peenz Dubble, as well as Taoist Yoga,Transpersonal Psychology, and Buddhist philosophy with Sarah Powers and the Insight Yoga Institute. Additionally she is a student of Amy Matthews and Paddy Townsend studying the Mind Body Centering work of Bonnie Banbridge Cohen.Theresa presents yoga workshops and trainings all over the country and trains teachers in addition she owned and ran a yoga studio for 10 years. Her classes offer a synthesis of physical rigor, precise alignment, anatomy study and contemplative inquiry. Learn more at www.TheresaMurphy.net and www.PrajnaYoga.net.

Jan-Mar 2013

DEEPENING YOUR JOURNEY Commit to your practice through trainings and in-depth experiences.

Thai Yoga Bodywork Therapist Training (Level 1) with Angie Viehman Wed-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 1-5:30pm

Location: MPLS Studio Dates: 5/8-5/12 Cost: $575 (Early Bird Discount: $525 by 4/10) or $1100 for Level 1&2

This course teaches principles of the ancient healing art of Thai Yoga Bodywork (Nuad Boran).You’ll learn techniques to administer a traditional 60-90 minute client session along with proper body mechanics and alignment. We’ll also discuss and experience the rich history, philosophy and benefits of Thai Yoga Bodywork. In addition to being the catalyst to a new career, the Level 1 Thai Yoga Bodywork Training is a great way for Yoga Teachers to gain comfort in physically adjusting students and will provide a deeper understanding of how bodies move and function. This training is also fitting for massage therapists who would like to broaden the services they offer or integrate Thai Yoga Bodywork into their current modality. Each student will have an opportunity to give and receive each of the techniques and we’ll spend a good amount of time working one on one to learn the techniques in depth. All levels welcome. No experience necessary. Level 1 is required of any student interested in completing Level 2. See web for details.

Visiting Instructor: DAVID SWENSON Ashtanga Teacher Training/Yoga Immersion (Interview on p.27) Dates: Mon-Sun, 8/19- 8/25/2013 Location: MPLS Studio Cost: $995* (*Early Bird: $895 through 2/1/2013. Payment plan available.) Time: Mon-Fri 9am-12pm and 2-5pm, Sat 9am-1pm and 3-5pm, Sun 9am-1pm This is a 40-hour intensive immersion into the teaching techniques of the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series. ABOUT DAVID SWENSON David began practicing yoga at a very early age. His older brother Doug was his first teacher.They practiced hatha yoga from whatever books they could find. David’s introduction to Ashtanga came in 1973 when he met David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff in Encinitas, California. In 1975 David and Nancy brought K. Pattabhi Jois to the U.S. for the first time and Swenson was fortunate enough to be there. He then initiated studies directly with the master. Swenson made his first trip to Mysore in 1977 and learned the full Ashtanga system as it was originally taught by K. Pattabhi Jois. David Swenson is recognized today as one of the world’s foremost practitioners and instructors of Ashtanga Yoga.

During this 7-day training, participants will learn safe and effective hands-on adjustments through partner work for all of the asanas, yoga theory, and practicalities of conducting a class. This is a deep immersion into the details underlying the practice and teaching of Ashtanga Yoga. One need not be a teacher to attend or even desire to be a teacher. Many students have attended this course to merely enhance their personal practice. Those that do wish to teach however will find a wealth of invaluable tools to share with their students. Participants should have a consistent personal practice of Ashtanga Yoga and understand the flow and sequencing of the asanas. The course is not designed as an avenue to learn the sequence but rather to learn to teach Ashtanga Yoga or to deepen an existing practice. As in all courses run by David Swenson there is sure to be plenty of laughter and fun woven into the experience. You are sure to learn more than you ever imagined possible in a weeklong course and have a great time in the process. Don’t miss this opportunity!

MORE VISITING INSTRUCTORS (Information available online) EOIN FINN,

BRIOHNY SMYTH

BLISSOLOGY

& DICE IIDA-KLEIN

Coming June 21-23, 2013

Coming Oct 4-6, 2013

Jan-Mar 2013

TEACHER TRAINING 230-Hour Yoga Study Teacher Training How it works:

The 230-Hour Yoga Study/ TeacherTraining Program is designed for any student wishing to teach or simply deepen their experience of yoga and its philosophies. This comprehensive program is registered with Yoga Alliance and payment plans are available. Yoga Study students will learn from a variety of experienced instructors from different backgrounds and yogic philosophies. This program not only helps prepare you to teach what they know -- it is experiential and therefore allows each student the time they deserve to absorb and integrate what they learn.

INFORMATION SESSION Sunday, Jan 6th or Feb 3rd | 4-5:30pm | Minneapolis Studio | RSVP online or call 612.436.4700 Curious about Yoga Study? Whether you want to teach or are simply interested in deepening your knowledge of yoga philosophy and asana, join us at the Studio to meet our staff, participate in Q & A, and check out the studio. Program Director Jennifer Gray will be speaking. Free parking is available in lot behind the studio.

What makes Yoga Study different from other teacher trainings? Many trainings around the Twin Cities offer study in only one specific tradition of yoga or sequence of poses. The Yoga Center of Minneapolis offers one of the most comprehensive yoga study and training experiences in Minnesota and exceeds the requirements of Yoga Alliance. Our instructors and facilitators for these groups are amongst the most senior teachers in the area and have provided the quality and foundation of this program for many years. This program will introduce you to a variety of styles and prepare and empower you to teach yoga in the style of your choice. Upon graduation, not only will you have experience in creating your own sequences and understand the principles of creating a balanced class, but you will also have a deeper understanding of Sanskrit, anatomy, yoga philosophies and traditions.

UPCOMING TRAININGS Year-Long Groups: (meet bi-monthly) :: Sunday Afternoon

-Starts Feb 24

9-Month Groups: (meet weekly) :: Wednesday Evening -Starts Jan 9 :: Tuesday Daytime

-Starts Jan 22

:: Monday Evening

-Starts April 8

What are the Yoga Study time commitments? The program will meet for trainings either weekly or bi-monthly in a variety of core subjects exploring Philosophy, Alignment, Anatomy (physical & energetic), and Methodology. Attend elective workshops and special events of your choice as your schedule allows and weekly 1.5 hour Technique Sessions. (See web for list of program components.) Conclude your training with a 15-hour mentorship with a YCM program instructor of your choice. Each Teacher Training/Yoga Study group will plan and run a community outreach event for a population that would not otherwise be able to access yoga classes. This rewarding experience is often the highlight of each group.

EP E JO NIN UR G NE YO Y U

The Yoga Center of Minneapolis is licensed as a private career school with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 141.21 to 141.32. Licensure is not an endorsement of the institution. Credits earned at the institution may not transfer to all other institutions. Minnesota Office of Higher Education: 1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55108 | 651-642-0567. Grading Policy: Students earn hours for participation under the guidelines of Yoga Alliance. Students graduate once they have completed sufficient hours to satisfy the Yoga Alliance RYT200 standards, and earn a passing evaluation from their mentor and the program director. Per Yoga Alliance, no credit can be given for previous trainings toward a 230-hour program certification. See web for current faculty and additional program information.

ÂŠ Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

TEACHER TRAINING Advanced Teacher Training Program For RYT-500 Registration or Continuing Education How it works: If you have already graduated from a 200(+) Hour Program (or are RYT200), the Yoga Center of Minneapolis offers 6 Advanced Training Modules that can be taken as stand-alone trainings for continuing education, or may be taken together for your 500-Hour Certification (Yoga Alliance Registration, RYT500). You may complete your advanced certification in 18 months or take the modules piecemeal at your own pace (to complete within 3 years). Modules available on weekdays AND weekends and can be taken concurrently. Payment plans are available. Call 612.436.4700 to speak with the director to learn more about the progarm.

Module Topics: Program includes technique, philosophy, anatomy, methodology and practicum. Practicum in emphasized in each module. Curriculum includes but is not limited to:

Module A - Working with Special Populations Teaching Pre-natal, Chair Yoga, Senior Students, , Big A#%!, and those affected by Cardiac Disease, Cancer, Scoliosis

Module B - Yoga Therapeutics for the Physical Body Working with temporary physical injuries and healing (e.g. sports injuries, accidents, recovering from illness), permanent injury or disability (e.g. arthritis, carpal tunnel, individuals with replacements)

Module C - Yoga Therapeutics for the Emotional Body Yoga for emotional health and healing (stress reduction, general anixiety and fears),Yoga for deeper emotional disability (depression, anxiety, anorexia, OCD, ADHD)

Module D- Advanced Alignment, Cueing, Adjusting, & Sequencing Teaching the above topics to beginners, intermediate and advanced students, sequencing notation, physical and verbal cuing and adjusting

Module E - The Philosophy, Science and Mystics of Yoga Ayruvedic Science, Chakras, Koshas, Energetic Movement, Transformative Yoga, Tantra, Mantra, Bijas, Mudras

Module F - Working with Pranayama, Meditation, & Teaching Practices Yoga Nidra,Various Pranayama practices, Upper Level Meditations

WEEKEND MODULES

(MPLS Studio)

Meets Fri 6-9pm, Sat & Sun 12-6:45pm, ONE weekend each month for 3 months. (Module F is 2 months.) 2013 Module D - Jan 4-6, Feb, 15-17, Mar 15-17 Module E - April 19-21, May 17-19, June 14-16 Module F - July 12-14 & Aug 2-4 Module A - Sept 21-23, Oct 18-20, Nov 15-17

MONDAY MODULES

(SLP Studio)

Meet 8 consecutive Mondays 9am-3:30pm per module (Module F is 5 Mondays) 2013 Module A - Jan 14 - Mar 11 (No class 1/21) Module B - April 8 - June 3 (No class 5/27) Module C - June 17 - Aug 5 Module D - Aug 19 - Oct 7 Module E - Oct 14 - Dec 2

ÂŠ Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

YOGA STUDY

Aveen’s Story

Sarah Jane Wroblewski, YS Coordinator

This time of year always coaxes me to turn inward and listen. As the cold days set in and the wheel turns to winter, I recall my Experience over the past year with yoga. Late last winter, I felt called to learn more about this ancient practice and was fortunate enough to enroll in Yoga Study 41 at YCM. My dear friend Amelia has been a constant for me on this journey and we have logged countless hours making the pilgrimage from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We watched the trees on I-94 change with the season and came to notice the cycles of the moon on that drive. Given that we each have 4 kids and that our roundtrip drive time is almost four hours, perhaps the real shout out has to go to our amazing husbands who held it all together at home! You Minneapolis folks don’t know how good you have it with the Yoga Center in your backyard.

CORNER

Dear Friends, For many, the path between the first day of Yoga Study and graduation just 9-12 months later, is a labyrinth to the soul. As we delve into yogic philosophy, meditation, pranayama and asana, we discover that the tools have always been there to reveal deeper layers of our selves. It all starts with one down dog, and before you know it, you have 20 new friends and a whole team of teachers gently coaxing you with ancient wisdom, to become the best version of yourself you can be. Thanks to all those who are brave enough to take the leap and to everyone who walks along the way. This Yoga Study student reflects on her experience in the program this past year. -Sarah Jane

Yoga Study has been an exciting time of study, self-reflection and growth in my life. If I am being completely honest however, it has also been at times difficult, nudging me out of my comfort zone and forcing me to wrestle with some of my “stuff” that perhaps I had been trying to avoid or forget. This “stuff” is known in yoga as a samskara, imprints or patterns of behavior that color how we see the world and experience life. “Yoga for transformation” with Jen Gray seemed the perfect way to wrap up my time of study at the Center. The month was a real gift for me. By eating clean, practicing daily meditation and breath work, and participating in specialized asana sessions, I was able to kick a decade-long love affair with Diet Coke. Most importantly, I came face to face with some of that “stuff” which was making it difficult to see my way forward, burn thru it, and watch the way open before me. Yoga literally means, “to yoke, unite or attach.” While this time on my mat has helped me in countless ways to unite with my Self and my Source, another true gem of this whole experience has been uniting with other beautiful souls to walk this journey together. The luminous Irish poet John O’Donohue said, “One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own.” To Ameila, each soul in Yoga Study 41, my Yoga for Transformation group, and all of my teachers: Thank you! You all occupy a special place in my heart. You collectively held a space for me and encouraged me to cross that threshold which alone I would not have crossed.

FE AR ATU TI R CL ED ES

In the end, each of us longs to be seen. My love of yoga led me to the Yoga Center. Once there, my fellow yogis saw me. That beautiful connection has made all the difference. ~Namaste, Aveen Banich of YS41

Jan-Mar 2013

Speaking with

DAVID SWENSON

avid Swenson is one of the most in-demand yoga teachers on the planet. In just the past few months, he’s zipped from London to Austria to Hawaii with San Franciso and New Orleans next on the schedule. In August, he’ll be arriving at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis to lead an Ashtanga Teacher Training. We caught up with David to ask him about his practice and his teaching. What made you choose Ashtanga over other yoga practices? And what made you stay with Ashtanga through the years? I began practicing yoga in 1969 at the age of 16 when I was living in Houston, Texas. My first encounter was due to my older brother Doug. He is 5 years older than me. He became interested in yoga while on a surfing trip on Southern

California. When he returned home I was inspired by what he was doing and I also took up the practice. At this time there were not yoga classes or yoga studios and very few books. The first book we had was Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation by Jess Stern. Then we found Integral Yoga by Swami Satchitanada and also BKS Iyengar’s Light on Yoga. We would practice outdoors in a small park at the end of our street. Neighbors found this activity so strange that they would call the police on us for stretching and flowing through our asanas under a tree. When I was 16 I left Texas and took up residence in Encinitas, CA. A friend of mine that also practiced yoga was going on and on about some system of yoga he had encountered and out of curiosity I went along with him to class one morning. We entered an old wooden building without any heating in it and as I walked in to the room I was immediately struck by the

sound of full deep breathing like I had never heard before. There were maybe 30 students flowing, breathing and sweating and they actually had steam rising from their body from the internal heat they were generating! I had never encountered anything like this. I was mesmerized. There was a young couple teaching the class. It was David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff. David Williams and Norman Allen were the first Americans ever to practice Ashtanga having found Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India around 1971. They became my first Ashtanga teachers and then hosted K. Pattabhi Jois on his first trip to the US in 1975. From my first Sun Salutation of Ashtanga I felt like I had come home. It was a difficult practice for me yet I felt energized in a new and powerful way. My first class consisted of 3 Suryanamaskara A, 3 B and the final three closing postures

Jan-Mar 2013

that took about 10 minutes yet it was magical! I still have that same feeling when practicing. For me Ashtanga fills me with a life force that acts as a universal tool for my life. How do you feel your own practice has evolved over time? In the beginning I was hungry for more and more asanas. I was fascinated with the flow, energy and dynamic nature of the system. It has now been 40 years since my first Ashtanga class and my fascination continues. The evolutionary process of practice for me is growing into the direction of efficiency and prana. I view the practice like a Zen calligrapher preparing to create a drawing. They have a small bowl of black ink, a canvas of rice paper, and a brush. The goal of this artist is not to see how complicated, convoluted and difficult they can make this calligraphic image but rather what is the minimal amount of ink is it possible to touch to the paper while at the same time conveying the most beauty, elegance and poetry. That is how I view my practice. An artist once said to me that a painting is only as good as a single brush stroke. I believe the practice of yoga is only as good as a single breath -the one we are taking at each moment! When did you start teaching, and what was the move into teaching like for you? I never really wanted to teach. Teaching just sort of happened without my thinking about it. I was 16 when I taught my first classes. It was part of a Continuing Education Program for adults in Houston, Texas. I taught the classes with my brother and the participants seemed to love it and we also felt good about sharing something positive. For the next 3 decades or so I could not make enough money from teaching to support myself so I have worked all manner of jobs in my

life. I have done construction work, landscaping, dish-washing, I have been a waiter, a car salesman and the owner of a small art gallery and myriad other methods of bringing in money to support my yoga teaching habit. Yoga practitioners in the early days for the most part were hippies without any money so teaching was just a labor of love and giving. As yoga moved more in to the mainstream of society it has become more reasonable to be able to teach yoga solely. What do you bring to teaching, either in the content of your courses or in your personal philosophy (or both)? I want to make yoga accessible to anyone that is interested in practicing. I have taught people from all walks of life and everyone finds benefit. I have worked with elite athletes and those with great physical disabilities. I watched Pattabhi Jois teach a quadriplegic young boy in Mysore, India in 1977. It was fascinating to see how he worked with him. I feel it is the duty of the teacher to find a way for anyone interested to feel the benefits of yoga. Within this philosophy of inclusion I also want to present the yoga with joy and humor. Those characteristics are part of the heritage of yoga that I have felt and attempt to pass along. I believe that deep knowledge and practice can be conveyed in a joyful and fun manner. Also I attempt to keep things simple. It is very easy to make things difficult and very difficult to make things easy. We as humans have a tendency of making things much more complicated than necessary. The greatest teachers I have encountered have all had an incredible ability to convey complex ideas in simple easy to assimilate terms. I strive for this same trait.

it is now; how do you feel that popularity has affected yoga in general? And Ashtanga specifically? I believe that yoga is like some sort of universal medicine for the challenges of life. It does not matter why or how someone comes to the practice it still works. Yes, it is certainly mainstream today. You can see car commercials and all manner of advertisements with people doing yoga. Celebrities and high profile people practice. There are many new styles of yoga popping up everyday. For me all of that is fine. Mainstream popularity just simply means more people hear about it. The presentation of the yoga is the same. The benefits are the same. It does not matter why someone comes to practice or how they heard about it. Once they are on the mat the practice begins to work. So even if someone comes to the practice because they think it to be the latest fad or because a celebrity is doing it does not matter. Yoga practice is a tool for life and they will soon feel real benefits. Think of it like eating an orange. It does not matter why you chose to eat it you will still gain nutritional benefit. More people know about oranges today!

Elizabeth Millard is a yogini and writer living in Minneapolis.

When you began your practice, yoga wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as accepted in the mainstream as

ÂŠ Yoga Center of Minneapolis www.yogacentermpls.com | 612.436.4700

Jan-Mar 2013

Finding Balance in the New Year

ife is a balancing act. We are all working to balance schedules, time, eating, relationships, work life, and home life. The variables are constantly evolving: seasons change, work loads increase, families have needs and demands, and underneath it all we are craving some kind of freedom from the cycles of continually seeking this balance. Every New Year many of us try to start anew. We want change. We crave a clean slate. Our health begs for a shift.

We yearn to set forth resolutions to resolve what feels out of whack in our lives. However, the goals and resolutions for the New Year set forth more efforts, more doing, more constant reaching towards this â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfectâ&#x20AC;? life of balance. In order to truly experience balance in our lives we must first begin to define what balance is and how it might look and feel to us. Of course, balance for everyone will be different as we are all individuals at different phases in our lives; however there is a balance out there for everyone.

To begin the journey towards our individual definition of balance, consider this basic concept: Life consists of two elements, strive and yield. Strive is the doing, the efforts, the reaching. Yield is the being, the effortless, the letting go. One cannot exist without the other. One cannot live in strive continuously, nor can one be in a constant state of yield. If we take a careful look at all the facets of our lives we might be able to find that

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Jan-Mar 2013

some areas contain excessive striving where other areas contain excessive yielding. We might also change that perspective slightly and recognize that some areas of our lives are lacking yield or even lacking strive. Stepping back with this concept let’s look at the larger picture of strive and yield in the cultural fabric of society. Technology is changing so fast we can hardly keep up with the latest smart phone or download of software. Our conversations are moving at lightning speed with texts, emails, and instant messaging. The “conveniences” of life allow us news headlines nearly instantly, a Facebook -Twitter-world of reporting all of our comings and goings while they are happening, and ipad-tablets with extreme multi-tasking features so that everything can get done. Culturally we are a striving society, not a yielding one, and we wonder why we are exhausted and depleted at the end of the day. Yield is a little more difficult to find in our culture these days because often yielding is considered a luxury rather than a necessity in life. Taking time out for ourselves with massage, a nap, or a yoga class is looked at as self-indulgent rather than replenishing or recharging. We also don’t believe that yield plays any role in getting us ahead. Our yields unfortunately become forced as we burn the candle at both ends and then find ourselves so run down we end up spending our evenings collapsed zombie-like in front of the television or worse yet run-down and sick with the flu. But if we took the time to invite into our lives consistent moments to yield, replenish, restore, and even rest more fully, we’d actually find that we aren’t in need of as much doing or striving to get things done. Individually, when we are able to balance our strives and our yields we begin to create health in our bodies, our

minds, our relationships, even in our communities. We live more efficiently, we are not as burnt out, and we discover that balance is less about doing and more about being. How can we begin to let go of our cultural norms and come back into ourselves to create our own individual balance of striving and yielding in our lives? As a tool for learning, discovering, and defining balance, yoga proves to be a successful way of exploring the elements of strive and yield. As individuals we can begin to choose what nourishes us, grounds us, allows us to find strength and what allows us to experience expansion while practicing yoga. Yoga can be a safe, non-judgmental way in which to explore what YOU are really needing in your life. It’s not a place where you need to perform, get something done, or perfect any part of you, rather a place for you to BE, discover parts of you, and recharge from life. Yoga combines breath, movement, stillness, and mindfulness into one practice that gives you the space to come just as you are. Whether you come to a gentle moving flow class, a quiet restorative or yin practice, or a vigorous and strengthening vinyasa session, what you find is the time to explore, where you can mindfully choose strive and where you can mindfully choose yield. This practice in the classroom reflects life and the choices we make out in the world. When we get to know what it is we really need to feel well, balanced, and at our full potential in yoga, these skills will naturally carry over into our daily lives. This results in breathing more easily through the stress, decisions that include what WE need balanced with what others need, and tasks that feel less rushed and more intentional. Rather than setting resolutions

this year, consider 2013 as a time to experiment with balance. Step back and take a look at where you might pull back to leave more space and where you might extend forward to create more momentum. You can’t fail at this experiment; it is simply your path of discovery. Consider the stumbles along the way as lessons in uncovering balance in your life. When we learn to choose our strives and our yields with intention and grace, we create truly balanced and fulfilling lives.

Michelle Pietrzak-Wegner is an E-RYT 500 Yoga Instructor 950+ hours of yoga training and over 2000 hours of teaching experience. Michelle is a certified Yoga Therapist in the Phoenix Rising Yoga -Therapy tradition working with clients one on one to help create emotional, mental and physical release through yoga. Michelle teaches Drop-in and Specialty Series Yin Yoga classes at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis.

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Jan-Mar 2013

BACK TO HEALTH Practices for a Strong and Balanced Back Cobra with Varied Intensity Start lying on your stomach. On the inhale draw the shoulder blades down the back and contract muscles of the upper back. Peel the shoulders up and back. As you exhale, sink back to the floor. Keep tops of feet pressing to floor. Three arm variations: hands crossed on chest, hands tucked under chin, hands extended in front of you. Repeat 8-10 times. Cobra with a Twist Lie on your stomach. Lift your torso up, and twist your torso to the left. Then lower and raise your torso again but twist your shoulders to the right. Try 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. Trunk rotation (Marichyasana B) Sit on the floor keeping your left leg straight and cross your right leg over left. Bracing your left elbow against the outside of your right knee, twist and stretch to the side. Hold for 15 seconds. Repeat this stretch 2-3 times on each side. Hip Extension From hands and knees, engage muscles of the buttocks and lift one leg off the ground 8 inches. Variation: Bend knee 90 degrees. Hold there for 5 seconds and repeat 2-3 sets of 5-8 repetitions per leg. Core Stabilization Lie face down on your mat. Lift one arm and the opposite leg straight in the air toward the ceiling. As you lift, reach the arm and leg long. Hold for 30 seconds.

ack surgery: is it necessary? Certainly surgery is an unfavorable option, and in the majority of back pain cases, surgery is not needed. Lower-back pain is one of the largest causes of time off of work and is the most expensive work-related cause of disability. The highest percentage of back problems can be healed not through surgery, but through conservative options such as massage, yoga, ice, heat, and low-weight, high repetition exercises.

Regular Yoga Sustains a Healthy Back What is the number one risk of injury? Having had a previous injury. Most people stop the rehabilitation process when they’re pain-free instead of when they are able to function correctly. The second highest risk of injury is an asymmetry between the right and left sides of the body. Yoga serves to restore function and correct asymmetries. Back pain could have certain biomechanical causes, including injury to the muscles or ligaments in the back, compression of the nerves in the spine, and damage to the discs that cushion the vertebrae, or the facets of the spinal joints. Whatever the contributing factors, it’s safe to say that the real cause is almost always a failure to adapt. Adaptation represents the contest between the ‘load’ and the tissues handling the load. Tissues adapt to the load imposed on them (think of running a marathon, performing a high jump, gardening, working on a production line, or painting a ceiling). After an initial reaction where stiffness and soreness are experienced, the soft tissues (muscles, connective tissue, tendons, etc.) start to adapt and you no longer experience the discomfort. This is the adaptation phase, which continues until the

Jan-Mar 2013

load (the stress demand) reduces, or the tissues themselves can no longer adapt, at which time the “breakdown, or ‘exhaustion’ phase starts and symptoms of pain and dysfunction become apparent. As physical therapist Gray Cook puts it, “When life throws you a curve ball, a little ache or pain, you’ve learned how to work around it. You’re running with a limp but your knee doesn’t hurt. The minute the warning light comes on in your car, you pull over, but if your knee hurts, you work around it. If you have a bad pattern, any strengthening you do in that pattern serves to make the pattern worse.” It’s important to realize that not just muscles of the low back are involved but also the abdominal muscles, psoas, and the muscles of the buttocks. An effective massage plan or yoga practice is one that will target these areas to resolve the discomfort quickly and possibly eliminate the need for back surgery.

A Breathing Practice to Heal Mind, Body, Spirit Establishing a regular breathing practice is an important element to healing chronic back pain. Pranayama (Sanskrit for ‘extension of life force’) is a breathing practice that helps us open ourselves to deeper spiritual wisdom, insight, and nurturing. The breath helps us tune in to the subtle cues of the body and the patterns of the mind, liberating us from habit and easing anxiety and depression. This breath, combined with mobility and stability exercises, can improve core stability, motor control, balance and pain perception. Moving with the flow of the breath allows us to explore our fullest potential, in athletic performance, endurance, longevity, and in aging gracefully.

Knee-to-Chest (Modified Supta Padangustasana) Lie on your back and bring the knee up towards your armpit and hold for 15-20 seconds. Variation: Gently rotate your hips forward so your tailbone moves toward the floor and your low back raises away from the floor. Repeat each stretch 2-3 times. Crescent Lunge Bring your hands to the floor and step your left foot back into a low lunge. Keep front knee at a 90 degree angle. Drop the back knee and lay the top of the foot on the ground and lower the hips. Lift upper body and reach arms and heart to the ceiling. Palms should face one another. Breathe 30-60 seconds each side. Seated Cobra Sit on a chair, clasp hands behind head and contract upper back. Extend backwards to the point of gentle stretch. Repeat 5-8 times. Seated Roll Down (not pictured) Sit on a chair with feet wider than chair legs. Tuck your chin, and let head release forward. Flex your upper back, mid back and lower back as your curl yourself into a tight ball. Hold for a few breaths and return to the upright position, one vertebra at a time, head up last. Equal Breathing Practice Instruction for this breathing practice found at left. Practice this breath throughout the day while seated, or as pictured below in savasana (corpse pose).

Sama Vritti Pranayama (Equal Breathing Practice) In this pranayama (breathing) practice you will evenly inhale and evenly exhale through the nose to create space in the abdomen and allow room for a full breath in the lungs. Find a comfortable seat or reclined position. Turn your arms outward, palms up. As you slowly exhale,

Kristin Wilk is a Holistic Healer, Massage Therapist, and Fitness Coach at Dharma Wellness and Spa at the Yoga Center. Visit www.yogacentermpls.com or email Kristin at krstnwlk@gmail.com with questions about whether massage therapy or a custom fitness routine may be the right fit for you.

Jan-Mar 2013

Example of a ‘vision board’ collage created by the author.

Five Steps to

Create a Healthier and

Happier 2013 We have all set wellness goals and New Year’s resolutions at one time or another. Just think of Mark Twain’s famous quip: “It’s easy to quit smoking. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” It begins with that overzealous burst of energy and excitement, and tends to quickly and quietly fizzle out. A few weeks, months or perhaps years go by, and we do it all over again, circling around this enticing yet seemingly unattainable goal or dream. So once again, as the great poet Langston Hughes says, it becomes “a dream deferred”---”festering,” “crusting” and “stinking like rotten meat.” It’s time for a new approach! Here are five easy and yet essential steps to creating resolutions that stick.

Jan-Mar 2013

1. Begin With a Vision The old adage rings true: ‘You can’t get to where you want to go if you don’t know where you are going.” Visualization is therefore a key first step. Begin by painting a picture of the life you want to be living in any way that resonates with you. Sketch, journal, create a vision board or do a visualization meditation. Pick the medium that allows you to be most creative so you can access what truly brings you joy and fulfillment.

2. Find Your Purpose Second, consider what matters most in achieving a particular goal, or resolution. Connecting your goal and life vision with a core value or purpose will give you more motivation to achieve it. Ask yourself, “what really matters about this?” What core value are you honoring here? Security, connection, love, freedom?

3. Get Moving! Get started with a clear action plan that leads you towards your desired outcome. Begin by writing down the desired outcome you’d like to achieve in three or six months time. Then, create two to three SMART goals (goals should be specific, measured, action-oriented, realistic and timed) that will bring you closer to your desired outcome.

4. Overcome Barriers Take time to address any barriers or challenges that you may encounter along the way. What do you need to do to overcome these challenges? What will be your “plan B” if you encounter the unexpected? Make a list of all the possible barriers that may get in your way and then come up with some possible solutions for each one. Consider how your inner critic or saboteur may be showing up. Find ways to quiet the gremlin voice and replace it with a positive mantra or intention.

Emily Kline is a Personalized Health & Wellness Coach and certified yoga instructor with an MS in Education and English Literature. Emily offers one-on-one coaching sessions via phone or in person at Tao Natural Foods in Minneapolis and provides individual and workplace wellness programs for busy professionals who are looking to restore balance, vitality and joy. She brings clear communication skill and over a decade of teaching experience to her work as an Integrative Health Coach and Workshop Facilitator. For more information about Emily and her coaching programs visit www. AnandaHealthandWellness.com

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5. Refresh and Re-evaluate What resources do you need to further support your journey toward optimal health and wellness? If things are getting stale, revisit your vision and purpose and use it as your anchor to move forward.Your goals and dreams are not distant glimmering stars but rather something alive and breathing that already exist within you!

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Jan-Mar 2013

The

Yogi’s Kitchen

Aromatic Cooking to Revive Health and Ignite the

Senses

Kate Scharenbroich is a Minneapolis -based Yoga Instructor and Private Natural Health Chef Specializing in Gluten Free and Aryuvedic cooking. www.GenuineGourmentChef.com

or me, cooking is a conduit to cloud nine. Cooking slows my everactive mind, awakens my senses, and allows my intuitive side to create. During the long Minnesota winter nights, spending time in the kitchen feels as tranquil as the rosy glow attained after a 5pm yoga class. In search of the science behind the bliss, I dove into the psychology behind cooking, exploring the power of the mind-body connection. Think about your last meal. Were you actually there? Were you at a table appreciating the aesthetics, smelling the aromas, enjoying the tastes, and feeling the textures as you

swallowed? Or was your mind in your car - mentally lining up an infinite to-do list, changing TV channels, or squinting to read your smart phone? We are rarely fully present while chewing, swallowing, and digesting the nutrients in our food. We too easily become distracted at meals. We’re rarely present while we eat. So, why is it so hard to be “in your body” when you eat? Sometimes being in your body just isn’t as interesting as being “in your mind”. When you are in your body, there’s no drama, no stories to play out. Being in your mind is more flashy, clever, entertaining. When our minds are active, we feel like we are in control and therefore safe. The body, on the

other hand, is more automatic and mysterious. Cooking with aromatic herbs and spices is therapeutic when we focus on those smells and tastes and calm our minds so we can be in our bodies while we cook and eat. The continuous stirring of a sauce or the repetitive movement of rolling out dough engages the midbrain and leaves the temporal lobe unable to focus on worry or stress. According to psychologist Robert Reiner, cooking decreases your heart rate and blood pressure, and even improves the quality of sleep. It is comparable to the rhythmically focused breath during a yoga flow

Roasted Fennel Soup with Sage Walnuts This creamless soup gets its silky texture from slowly roasting the fennel, which essentially melts once it is pureed. 8 large Fennel bulbs, trimmed, cut into 8 wedges each 3 large onions, cut into 8 wedges 4 rosemary sprigs ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 10 cups stock (see recipe at right) ½ cup walnuts 2 Tb fresh sage

1. Toss the fennel, onions, rosemary sprigs in olive oil salt and pepper, and roast in a 375-degree oven for 45 minutes until tender, making sure to turn after 20 minutes. Discard rosemary 2. Meanwhile, spread walnuts, chopped sage, and salt on a sheet tray and toast in the oven for 8 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Let cool and coarsely chop. 3. Place roasted vegetables and any tray juices into large soup pot. 4. Add stock and simmer on low heat for 35 mins 5. Once soft, and aromatic, carefully in batches, puree in a blender until smooth. 6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Jan-Mar 2013

class. Steady, mindful breathing helps us be in our bodies. As your breathing takes on a regular pattern, your body’s fight or flight response subsides. It improves our digestion, the immune system, the nervous system, and overall health. When your midbrain is absorbed in the task of creating something, the rest of your brain is far from idle. Think about times you have been confronted with a dilemma deemed unsolvable. You take a break to make some lunch and in the middle of chopping carrots, the answer appears. This is known as the ‘breakout principle.’ Psychologist Reiner explains that the brain gets tired after about 90 minutes of trying to figure something out. When you engage in a pleasurable, relaxing activity, it gives the conscious mind a break from solution searching,” allowing the rest

of the brain to create solutions. When cooks are asked why they devote so much time to their art, many answer “because it makes me happy”. Cooking can also be an immense source of pleasure by turning mundane things, a parsnip or onion, into something delicious and sensual, like a silky soup. Cooking provides a sense of accomplishment, which activates the nucleus accumben, a pleasure center in the brain, says psychologist Robert Maurer. If you share the cooking process with others, you can experience a second form of pleasure. “Doing something for others can light up the posterior superior temporal sulcus,” details Maurer. Similar to the nucleus accumben, this is also a pleasure center region. When stimulated, it signals the release of dopamine, a happiness-producing neurotransmitter.

The good news is you don’t have to have an award winning wild mushroom risotto to get a happiness boost. Just the process of cooking, working with your hands, rolling dough, or chopping vegetables soothes your brain. Looking at something aesthetically pleasing, such as tenderly roasted wedges of sweet potato, distracts your brain from worries and literally crowds out negative images. Even if you’re a novice cook, or intrigued beginner, what matters is not so much the quality of the end product, but rather the sensory activations that happen during your time in the kitchen. This season, try a new approach to health and wellbeing by engaging your senses through cooking and being present in your body while you eat.

Aromatic Vegetable Stock Makes about 3 ½ cups 4 medium shallots, left unpeeled, then quartered 3 medium carrots cut into 1-inch pieces 2 medium onions 1 rib celery, chopped coarse 10-12 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 3 leeks, white and light green part only, chopped coarse Half of an acorn squash or bulb end of butternut squash (seeds removed and cut into ½ inch thick pieces) 2 bay leaves 1.5 tsp salt 1 tsp, peppercorns 1 stem bunch parsley 10 sprigs thyme ¼ cup olive oil 2 quarts water Half of a lemon

pan, and add remaining herbs and water. Simmer for 20 minutes. 3. Add the half of lemon, and simmer for another 10 minutes. 4. Final step is to strain the vegetables and herbs from the stock. 5. Use as a soup base or freeze for later.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coast the prepped shallots carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and squash with olive oil, salt and pepper, then on a lined sheet tray, roast for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. 2. Once vegetables are roasted, place into a large soup

Jan-Mar 2013

STORIES FROM THE MAT: I

t was the year 1994. I was in my early twenties and my brother, a real life Indiana Jones and a hard core yogi living in Hawaii doing his doctoral work in Archeology, gave me a Kathy Smith VHS tape on yoga for Christmas. I was a self-described gym rat and a distance runner/marathoner at the time. Kathy Smith did give the video a little “credibility” - at least in my mind - as she was a leader in the fitness industry. So, I was genuinely excited to receive it. I’m certain I was naive to the fact that yoga had been around thousands of years and that, no offense to Kathy Smith, but she probably added about as much credibility to yoga as McDonald’s adds to healthy eating. I believe I tried the video at least once and quickly decided this slowmotion, “workout” on a mat was not for me. Fast forward fifteen years to 2009. I am a married mother of four with twenty-five marathon medals and a very full and active life when suddenly significant back, neck and arm pain sideline my life. I had experienced back pain before while training and carrying four kids around in various ways (in utero, in car seats, on my hip, two at a time, etc.) but not like this. I quickly got myself to a physical therapist so I could get back to my life. The therapist happened to be a close friend of mine and after a couple visits she informed me “you have a weak core”. By my reaction, you would think she told me I was dying of a rare disease. I was sad and outraged. How could I, in my high level of fitness and activity, have a weak core? She and I met weekly for a month and I had “stretches” to work on at home. I felt like a caged animal as I was unable to resume

my usual level of activity. She sensed my frustration and suggested that I go to someone who could teach me Pilates, because that is a “workout”. What I found was someone who was knowledgeable about Pilates but whose passion was yoga. This teacher was a true gift to me as she was nurturing, open and strong- inside and out. There was the practical side of my sessions with my new, amazing teacher. I was finding my core, lifting my pelvic floor and awakening back muscles that had been curled forward and asleep after ten plus years of carrying kids and running. While I was creating space in my body and mind, I was also opening my heart. Lying in savasana, my mind was forced to follow my body’s cues to lie still and just be. This was the most difficult pose of my new yoga practice. I had been on both a real treadmill and a virtual treadmill for years. To stop the running both literally and figuratively was very difficult. It was not a love for yoga that I had at first- it was discomfort in the lengthening, discomfort in being stretched in new ways, discomfort with the space and therefore the room for the mind to just listen. I told myself I would give this “yoga thing” three months and then I could stop. It is now 2012 and I have not stopped. By learning that it’s not about how deeply we get in a pose nor how perfectly we can get there, I have only gone deeper. There are many paths on the journey of Yoga, and one path I discovered leads

At the Core

to the journey inside (Pratyahara). I have learned that the deeper I go, the more discomfort can arise. Life is not all about ease and comfort, but I’ve learned it’s also not all about running and pushing. Yoga has taught me to find some balance, to have a strong center, to keep opening my heart, to create space for quiet, and to feel discomfort. Discomfort affects us all, on and off the mat. It creeps into all areas of our lives: in the deeply seeded pains of our past, in conflicts that arise in the workplace or at home, in the difficult conversations that need to take place, or even in the weather. It is part of the journey. If we stay in the present to face it, see it, and embrace it, we will grow. I have had a year of challenges off the mat, but yoga has been an honest place I come to root down while trying to rise back up. Ironically, in the midst of pain and discomfort, yoga has been a constant comfort and reminder that I will indeed rise back up.

Amelia Daniels is a yoga practitioner and Twin Cities native now living in WI with her husband Rick and their four kids.

Have a story about how yoga has affected your life? Submit your story in next season’s publication. Email your story to Register@YogaCenterMPLS.com with the subject line “Stories From the Mat Submission.”

Jan-Mar 2013

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Continued from ‘Back to Health’ p.31 let your pelvis roll back and allow the spine to fall into ‘C’ –shape. The neck and head should follow. As you inhale, roll your pelvis slightly forward to produce a small degree of arching of the lower back. Imagine the spine extending, the sternum easing forward and up. With your first set of five breaths begin by imagining your rib cage moving in a long line toward your head. With your second set of five breaths imagine your rib cage expanding, widening towards the

sides of the room. And with your last set of five breaths deepen your rib cage on the inhalation to move the sternum upward and the mid-back downward at the same time. Steady in-breath, steady, even out-breath. Imagine your breath is synchronized with the rhythm of the ocean.

Practice Yoga to Thrive Exercise is the best move you can make for a healthy back. By taking measures to adapt readily, to respond to physical signals of pain through massage, breath

work, and yoga we restore our health, perform better, and improve our lives. As Albert Einstein said, “the measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” If you have experienced back pain, receiving regular massages and attending yoga will restore your body’s innate power to heal. The exercises listed in this article are a great start to recovering from your back pain, but not a complete set of movements. It is best to seek professional assistance when beginning any practice.

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