Welcome to February, and thank you to all of you who have already completed our student survey! Because we have heard that some of you would still like to provide feedback, we are sharing the link to the survey again here. If you haven’t had a chance to complete it, please take a few minutes to do so—we look forward to reviewing your responses as we plan for future months!
Pose of the Month
Salamba Bhujangasana (Sphinx Pose)
Salamba = supported
Bhujanga = cobra
Asana = pose
Sphinx pose is a gentle and beginner-friendly backbend that can be used to strengthen the muscles along the spine and between the shoulder blades, continuing down to the glutes, depending on how active you make this posture. It stretches the front of the body and opens the space around the heart and throat, energizing the heart and throat chakras—perfect for all the I Love You’s we’re preparing to give and say approaching Valentine’s Day!
The wonderful thing about Sphinx pose is that the intensity of the posture is entirely controlled by the practitioner. It can be performed actively for more strengthening in the back body and shoulders, or can be used passively to simply stretch and let gravity assist in grounding the hips and elbows as we lift the head and neck out of the shoulders. Even as a beginner-friendly posture, those with very stiff backs or spinal injury should avoid Sphinx pose, as should those who are pregnant, as it puts unnecessary pressure on the belly.
In our lives, as we spend many of our hours seated or bent slightly forward, an easily accessible backbend is a remarkable benefit to our spines.
On a personal note, thank all of you who have sent prayers and well wishes up on behalf of me and my husband. He is now safely home from deployment, and his coming home has been a beautiful reminder of what is truly important in this life. Tell those you love that you love them! Appreciate the time and soak in the beautiful little moments every day.
—Sydni
Special classes and events: In addition to continuing to offer our regular full schedule, we are delighted to provide these opportunities to practice together in February!
- Beginner Classes. Leslie will offer two additional Saturday Beginner drop-in classes this month: on Sat., Feb. 1 and 8, at 11 a.m., She welcomes anyone interested in beginning or re-starting a yoga practice to join her.
- Un-Super Bowl Party. On Sun., Feb. 2, join Heather and Angie in the lounge for a football-free gathering after the 4 p.m. Basics class concludes. We’ll provide a few snacks and order pizza when after the party starts.
- Monday Meditation. Beshka’s 8 a.m. Monday Meditation class continues into February. Join her for meditation only or make a double-feature of meditation and Beshka’s 9:30 a.m. Basics class.
- Wednesday Meditation. During the month of February, Leslie’s Wednesday 9:30 a.m. Basics class will be preceded by an optional meditation period. She invites students to arrive anytime between 8:45 and 9:15 a.m., put down their mats, and spend a few minutes in quiet reflection before beginning our physical practice.
- Wednesday Mat Pilates. Susan’s 7 p.m. Mat Pilates class continues into February. As with our yoga classes, this class fee is $5 and the class is drop-in.
- Post-class Valentine’s Party. On Thurs., Feb. 13: join Heather for a holiday opportunity to gather after the Basics class to enjoy chocolate and wine in the lounge.
- Partner-assisted class. Join Debbie M. and Leslie on Sun., Feb. 16 for this special class! Explore fun and safe ways to guide one another into alignment and fuller expression of basic yoga postures in this mixed-level class. This is NOT an acroyoga class or an all-couples’ class. Don’t have a partner? No worries. We will match you up when you arrive! (Note that this class replaces the usual 4 p.m. Sunday class on this date.)
- Monthly Meditation@the Studio. Alice welcomes both new and experienced meditators to the monthly Meditation@the Studio class at 11 a.m. on Sat., Feb. 22.
For a full schedule, please see the calendar page—or pick up a hard copy at The Pots Place. We also post an image version of the schedule each month and the day’s classes each morning on our Facebook page, where we also create events for special classes. We invite you to keep up with us there!
4yoga 
Interested in a weekday class
Beginners.
Is a basic class to advanced for 66 year old female who has never done yoga.
I do treadmill a few days a week.
Thanks for asking, Judy! We usually suggest that folks who have not done yoga before start with a Gentle or a Beginner class.
Basics may also work for you, but the Gentle and Beginner classes will move at a slower pace, allowing you more time to get comfortable with the poses and the teacher’s instruction. In terms of weekday options, we offer Gentle classes at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Please let us know if we can answer any other questions for you!