Training Thursday: Angie completes 45 hours of Anjali Restorative workshops

Posted on July 27, 2017 by 4yoga

Thanks for checking out this new and occasional series on our blog, Training Thursdays!  One of the many amazing things about yoga is that we all continue to learn more about it every day, and this series highlights some of our teachers’ ongoing learning experiences.

In this installment in the series, we report on Angie’s training in a special style of restorative yoga.  Since December 2016, Angie has been studying with Shannon Paige, the creator of Anjali Restorative yoga, to learn how to share this style of intentional rest with members of our community.  As Alex Soojung-Kim Pang notes in his 2016 book, Rest:  Why You Get More Done When You Work Less:

Rest is not something that the world gives us.  It’s never been a gift.  It’s never been something you do when you’ve finished everything else.  If you want rest, you have to take it.  You have to resist the lure of busyness, make time for rest, take it seriously, and protect it from a world that is intent on stealing it.

Angie looks forward to completing the fourth and final module of the Anjali Restorative training in September; this module will certify her as an Anjali Therapeutic Yoga Provider.  As a provider, her training will also qualify her to work not only in class settings but also with individual clients to develop and guide them through personalized Anjali Restorative sequences.

In addition to immersing her deeply in the study of restorative yoga, these modules also count as electives toward Angie’s 300-hour training program at Sanctuary for Yoga in Nashville.

To experience the deep relaxation of Anjali Restorative for yourself, join Angie on Thursdays at 7 p.m. or one Sunday a month at 5:45 p.m. (July 30 this month, Aug. 6 next month).

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Registration now open: August’s @the Museum classes

Posted on July 24, 2017 by 4yoga

As we prepare the August schedule, we have opened registration for next month’s special @the Museum classes.  Because space in the gallery is limited, we require pre-registration to manage the class sizes and are unable to accommodate drop-in students.  Therefore, to join us for one or both of these classes, offered at our usual class fee of $5, use the link(s) below to reserve your place.

Yoga@the Museum, taught by Leslie:  Sat., 8/12, 11 a.m.—tinyurl.com/yoga-themuseum

Meditation@the Museum, led by Alice:  Sat., 8/26, 11 a.m.—tinyurl.com/meditation-themuseum

If you click on the link and discover that the class is full, email Angie at yoga.me@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.  Include your first and last names, your preferred email address, and whether you will bring your own mat.

If you register and later find that you are unable to attend, please email Angie immediately so that she can offer your place to someone from the wait list.

Should your August plans keep you from joining us, remember that we offer the yoga class on the second Saturday and the meditation and movement class on the fourth Saturday of each month.  And the folks at The Downing Museum welcome you to visit the museum and/or the arboretum any time they are open!

June’s Meditation@the Museum
photo credit: Cassandra Cantrell

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Kitten yoga classes: Aug. 5, benefit the Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society

Posted on July 19, 2017 by 4yoga

UPDATE: We are grateful for the amazing interest in these classes and the support our community is showing for the BGWCHS! Both classes are now full, but we will host a wish list drive the week prior to them so that we can supplement our financial donation with a supply one.

We are excited to announce a pair of special classes to benefit the Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society!  On Sat., Aug. 5, Cassandra will lead students in a yoga practice with our special guests, felines from the shelter.

Because the original class, at 11 a.m., filled very quickly, we have added a second one, at 12:30 p.m.  Please note that reserving a place in this class is a two-stage process:

  1. Register online at tinyurl.com/kittenyoga .
  2. Drop off your class fee ($15) at The Pots Place at 428 East Main (on Fountain Square) before Thurs., Aug. 1.

photo credit: Photography by Anz

Many thanks to Photography by Anz for taking beautiful pictures of the shelter kittens and allowing us to use them for this event!

We look forward to extending our support of the shelter and welcoming everyone to the studio for what promise to be fun and unpredictable Basics-level classes!

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Transmute: an August workshop with Raquel Bueno of Liberation Nashville

Posted on July 9, 2017 by 4yoga

We are delighted to welcome Raquel Bueno of Liberation Nashville to Bowling Green for a 2-hour workshop on Sunday, August 20. We invite students of all levels to join us at 1 p.m. for this opportunity to practice with Raquel!

Transmute_Raquel_Bueno_2017-08

We expect this workshop to fill in advance, so use this link to register!

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July 2017 focus (santosha) and class schedule

Posted on June 29, 2017 by 4yoga

When is the last time you could say you were content? Mid-summer seems like the perfect time to practice being content while enjoying the long, warm days. In July, the theme of our monthly Living Our Yoga class will be santosha, the practice of removing obstacles (such as being trapped in a mode of being that focuses on conquering “the next thing on the list“) to just being present with what is true in this moment and feeling gratitude for all that is in this “now,” contentment.

Santosha is indeed a practice, not a future goal. You can be content right now! Stop and check in with your thoughts. Contentment does not depend on anything external or to be obtained in the future; it is a state of acceptance and gratitude for what is, for your breath, for your senses, for what you care about, and for what brings your heart joy. Use your next class as an opportunity to practice contentment by feeling gratitude for the life force or prana that flows through your body and by being aware that your yoga practice can remove obstacles to this flow of life force. By practicing santosha, you can experience your true self, which is free of fear, feels connected to others and the environment, and is empowered and blessed.

July updates:

  • 4th of July weekend. During the holiday weekend, we offer eight opportunities to practice. All classes on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday meet as regularly scheduled. Then on Tues., July 4, join Cre at 9 a.m. for our traditional mixed-level holiday class.
  • Classes at The Downing Museum. In July we continue visiting The Downing Museum for our second-Saturday yoga class and fourth-Saturday meditation class. The class fee remains the same as at the studio ($5), and we are grateful for the demand for these classes and for the opportunity to practice in such a beautiful space twice each month. See this post for links to the online registration forms—which will be disabled when the classes are full—and instructions about how to be added to the wait list.
  • Santosha focus for Living Our Yoga. This month’s Living Our Yoga class, on Fri., July 28, focuses on the second niyama, santosha. Team-taught by Alice and Angie, this class combines the traditional yin asanas with thematic readings and teachings to enhance students’ experience and to create conditions that may take them deeper into the mind, body, and spirit aspects of their practice.
  • Sunday edition of Restorative class. In addition to the ongoing weekly Thursday Restorative classes, Angie will continue to offer a monthly Sunday-night Restorative class. This month, it meets on July 30 at 5:45 p.m. Create your own mini-yoga-retreat by taking Shigeko’s 4 p.m. Basics class that afternoon and then staying for the Restorative class.

For a full list of July classes, please see the the calendar page or pick up a hard copy available at The Pots Place. We also post updates each morning on our Facebook page, should you find it convenient to keep up with us there.

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Registration now open: July’s yoga and meditation classes at The Downing Museum

Posted on June 28, 2017 by 4yoga
In preparation for July, we have opened registration for our special monthly classes at The Downing Museum.  Because space in the gallery is limited, we require pre-registration to manage the class sizes and are unable to accommodate drop-in students.  Therefore, if you would like to join us for one or both of these classes, offered at our usual class fee of $5, use the link(s) below to reserve your space.

Yoga@the Museum, taught by Cassandra:  Sat., 7/8, 11 a.m.—tinyurl.com/yoga-themuseum

Meditation@the Museum, led by Alice:  Sat., 7/22, 11 a.m.—tinyurl.com/meditation-themuseum

If you click on the link and discover that the class is already full, email Angie at yoga.me@gmail.com to be added to the wait list.  Include your first and last names, your preferred email address, and whether you will bring your own mat.

If you register and later find that you are unable to attend, please email Angie immediately so that she can offer your place to someone from the wait list.

Should your July plans keep you from joining us, remember that we offer the yoga class on the second Saturday and the meditation and movement class on the fourth Saturday of each month.  Of course the folks at The Downing Museum welcome you to visit the museum and/or the arboretum any time they are open!

June’s Meditation@the Museum
photo credit: Cassandra Cantrell

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4th of July weekend: 8 opportunities to practice!

Posted on June 27, 2017 by 4yoga

Will you be in Bowling Green for the 4th of July holiday weekend?  If so, we invite you to join us for any of these 8 classes:

  • Friday, 6/30:
    • 9:30 a.m. Gentle with Angie
    • 5:30 p.m. Yin (monthly Living Our Yoga class focused on saucha) with Alice and Angie
  • Saturday, 7/1: 9 a.m. Basics with Leslie
  • Sunday, 7/2:
    • 8:30 a.m. Spiritual Warrior with Cre
    • 4 p.m. Basics with Nicole
  • Monday, 7/3:
    • 9:30 a.m. Basics with Leslie
    • 5:30 p.m. Flow with Nicole
  • Tuesday, 7/4:  9 a.m. Mixed with Cre  (We welcome all students to Mixed-level classes, where the instructor provides options to allow everyone to have an accessible but challenging practice.)

All 4yoga classes are drop-ins, the class fee is $5, and props are available at no additional charge at the studio.  If you have any questions about our classes, check out their descriptions, drop us an email (4yoga.me@gmail.com), or send us a message on Facebook.

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Nicole’s short film: “Not Just Another Grocery Store”

Posted on June 23, 2017 by 4yoga

Many of you know that, in addition to teaching yoga, Nicole Musgrave is a graduate student in the Folk Studies program at WKU. But you may not know that she has also added “ethnographic filmmaker” to her skill set!

In spring 2017, Nicole produced a short ethnographic film, “Not Just a Grocery Store,”  which centers on an Iraqi-owned international grocery store in Bowling Green. This business began in response to the lack of access to food products–such as halal meat–that are specific to the needs of Muslim immigrants and refugees.  The maintenance of traditional foodways practices is one way in which immigrants and refugees create continuity within changing contexts.

Using ethnographically-based research, Nicole’s film explores how the store and its owners foster a sense of community among the city’s varying immigrant and refugee groups. Additionally, it looks at the important role the grocery store plays as an informal social service center, with the store owners assisting newcomers in navigating the challenges of starting life in an unfamiliar place.

To see Nicole’s work for yourself and learn more about the Jasmine International Grocery Store, watch the film on YouTube.

Jasmine International Grocery Store
(just off Russellville Road)

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Yoga to treat back pain: study shows results similar to physical therapy

Posted on June 20, 2017 by 4yoga

A recent study of treatment options for lower back pain reports on the results of 320 participants in the Boston area:  participants were treated with physical therapy, yoga, or education.  The study concludes that the participants in the yoga and physical therapy options had similar amounts of improvement in both pain and functioning over time.

Specifically, participants who completed the physical therapy and yoga options reduced their use of pain medication substantially:

When the study began, about 70 percent of the patients were taking some form of pain medication. At the end of three months, when the yoga classes were wrapping up, the percentage of yoga and PT participants still taking pain medication had dropped to about 50 percent. By comparison, the use of pain medication did not decline among participants in the education group.

See this story from NPR’s Morning Edition for more information and links to several helpful resources, including the detailed manuals distributed both to the participants in and the teachers of the yoga option.  The participant manual provides instructions for accessible home practices that follows the protocol in the study.

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Training Thursday: Frances enrolls in extensive anatomy module

Posted on June 15, 2017 by 4yoga

Welcome to a new occasional series on our blog, Training Thursdays!  As yoga teachers, we are also always students, and this series will highlight some of our training experiences, both in-progress and completed.

To kick off the series, we are taking a look at Frances‘ enrollment in Yoga Anatomy Fundamentals, a 40+ hour hybrid class.  Taught by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews, the authors of the popular text Yoga Anatomy, this training helps yoga teachers establish a broad base of knowledge.  It provides analogies and stories and guides the instructor through physical experiments that make anatomical knowledge both accessible and meaningful.

Leslie and Amy are internationally recognized experts in and teachers of anatomy, breathing, and body work. They guide yoga instructors through more than 20 hours of online lesson content, using the text and lesson sheets, and 20 hours of in-class group training to discuss, share movement exercises, and further explore.

Frances notes:

I chose this training because I felt that this would give me additional tools to apply to my own practice and to access as an instructor. I would like to be able to use this material to make poses accessible for any student, to be able to know what to do when students have an injury and still want to practice, and be able to use simple cues to help each student to find success on the mat.

We all look forward to benefitting from Frances’ enhanced anatomy knowledge!

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