Have you heard the good news? We’ve added 8′ straps to our props collection! To make it easy to choose the length of strap that you need, just pick by color: the olive green ones are 8′, and the purple ones are 6′.
One of our generous students recently heard another student suggest that longer straps would benefit taller yogis, and she promptly ordered some for the studio! We appreciate this donation for our props closet—and, as always, folks are always welcome to borrow mats and props at no charge.
If you’ve been looking for a longer strap to use in class, please select a green one when you next visit… after all, they are Bigfoot-approved!
P.S. Don’t forget our August Yoga Social on Thurs., Aug. 1, where we will visit this Bigfoot sculpture in the alley next to the Capitol and meet its artist, Andee Rudloff. Join Heather for the 4 p.m. Basics class at the studio, or just stop in the alley at 5:30 p.m.
For more information about the Bigfoot Mini-Con and all its associated events, check out the Warren County Public Library’s website.
In this installment of Training Thursday, we highlight a trauma-sensitive workshop that Maria French completed on June 2, 2024. This 3-hour, in-person event was hosted by Yoga Society Nashville. Cortni Sanders led the workshop, which was held at Mindful Motion Yoga Studio in Goodlettsville.
For readers who have not yet encountered the terms “trauma-sensitive” or “trauma-informed” in a yoga context, check out this post from the Cleveland Clinic to learn more.
Maria notes that the workshop “focused on how to tailor your teaching to be more trauma informed, [including] how to change the way you speak to students and offer more options to make a class a more inclusive, safe and trauma sensitive.” She expects to use the lessons from the workshop “to create a safer space for all students in our yoga community.”
Maria has also recently completed advocacy training at Hope Harbor. In addition to the benefits this workshop provides to her in-studio teaching of yoga, Maria expects to apply its lessons to her future advocacy work with survivors of sexual assault.
In July, we are highlighting the second niyama, santosha or contentment. Our yoga practices—including physical poses, breathing exercises, and meditation—can all help us remain present and, as a result, be more content. Another powerful tool to help develop santosha is to remind ourselves of things for which we are grateful, perhaps as a way to begin or end each day. Recognizing and being grateful for what we have helps keep us from being as easily distracted by disturbances that interfere with our contentment.
We are excited to share these highlights for the month and hope you can join us for them:
Independence Day class. On Thurs., July 4, we will offer our traditional holiday class—please join Uta at 9 a.m. for that day’s practice!
Donation class. Join Beshka on Sat., July 6, at 9 a.m. for this month’s donation class! Our monthly donation classes serve our community in two ways: 1) they provide an opportunity for folks to attend a yoga class without paying a class fee—donations are entirely optional; 2) they support a local non-profit with the fees that are donated. Beshka has chosen the Barren River Animal Welfare Association (BRAWA) as the recipient of her class’ donations.
Two Sunday 10:30 a.m. classes. In a new edition of a Basics class, Heather and Maria will provide a “slow flow.” This class will include breathwork and sequences, including variations of sun salutations, that move from one yoga pose to another while still allowing for a focus on healthy alignment. Heather and Maria will also provide and demonstrate variations to help students to practice at their own level. Join Heather on Sun., July 7, and Maria on Sun., July 21.
Yoga nidra. Do you find yourself looking for strategies to relax deeply? If so, please join Angie for a yoga nidra session on Sun., July 7, at 5:30 p.m. For yoga nidra, participants arrange themselves in a comfortable—often reclining—position and listen as the teacher guides them through a series of meditation practices to relax both body and mind. (For more information about Angie’s yoga nidra training and what motivated her to learn more about this style of conscious relaxation, see this 2021 post on our website.)
Two Tuesday noon Chair classes. If practicing from and with a chair suits you this month, join Angie at noon on Tues., July 9, or Tues., July 23. This 60-minute class may especially benefit you if you are new to yoga or if you would prefer to focus on poses that are seated (in a chair) and standing.
Yoga social to see Mt. Victor Revue at Mellow Mushroom. To spend time with other yoga folks, head to Mellow Mushroom on Thurs., July 11, at 6 p.m. to see Mt. Victor Revue, a local band that plays a variety of music “with a bluegrass frame of mind.” Join Heather for her 4 p.m. Basics class that afternoon and then travel with fellow yogis to Mellow Mushroom, or just meet up at the restaurant.
For a complete copy of the July schedule, please check our online calendar or pick up a printed copy at the studio.
August book club preview: please remember to pick up a copy of The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, our next book club selection. Then plan to join us for our summer meeting: Sun., Aug. 4, 1:30 p.m. (See this post or RSVP to the Facebook event page for more details.)
Holiday greetings from our friends at The Capitol July 3, 2024
As we begin June, we hope to welcome you to the studio for a social opportunity, a regular class, an occasional class, or even a workshop—for more details, see the list below!
Having finished our month-by-month study of the five yamas in May, we will be exploring the first niyama—saucha—in June. Saucha is often translated as “purity,” and practicing saucha asks us to be deliberate about the quality of products and attitudes with which we surround ourselves and that we take in. Can we nourish ourselves by decluttering our homes? by honoring our word? by eating more fresh food? by reducing distractions to our mind? Practicing saucha can lead to an increased sense of lightness and enhance our ability to be compassionate with ourselves and others. If you explore saucha during June, please let us know what you discover!
June’s highlights include these classes and special events:
Summer open house on Wed., June 12. Stop in at the studio between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. on Wed., June 12, to meet teachers, students, and potential students. We’ll have snacks and beverages—and, of course, a beautiful view of Fountain Square! Bring yourself, bring friends, or bring questions about the studio or yoga in general. To help us plan, please RSVP to the event’s Facebook page if you can.
Two 7 a.m. weekday classes. If you would enjoy an early morning practice, join Heather as she experiments with a 7 a.m. class on two days this month! She’ll offer this option on Thurs., June 13, and Fri., June 21, and looks forward to seeing you.
Two Tuesday Chair classes. If practicing from and with a Chair suits you this month, join Angie at noon on Tues., June 11, or Tues., June 24. Chair classes may especially benefit folks who are new to yoga or whose balance is challenged, and they last 60 min.
Yoga for Seniors workshop on Sun., June 30. Thank you to everyone who has requested an opportunity to find out more about what Angie learned at her Integrative Yoga for Seniors training at Duke! Having provided a continuing education workshop for fellow 4yoga teachers, she is excited now to offer a workshop directly for students. This workshop will occur on Sun., June 30, from noon to 2 p.m. with time afterward for coffee and conversation at Spencer’s. Pre-registration is required, and the investment is $35. If you are looking for strategies to adapt your practice as you age, please join Angie: register here.
Looking a couple of months ahead, we hope you can join us for the next book club meeting, which will discuss The War for Kindness on Sun., Aug. 4 at 1:30 p.m. Read more about this upcoming gathering on our website; to share your early thoughts on the book and to receive reminders about the meeting, RSVP to its Facebook event.
As you may already know, June brings the return of BG’s Duncan Hines Days (June 3–9), and many of its celebratory events take place downtown. To check the Duncan Hines Days’ schedule, including traffic impact maps, see the event’s website.
For a complete copy of the June schedule, please check our online calendar or pick up a printed copy at the studio.
If your Memorial Day Weekend plans have you spending time in Bowling Green, why not add yoga to your schedule? We would love to see you at the studio—just drop in for any of these three classes:
Fri., May 24: 5:30 p.m. Yin with Maria. (Yin classes use props and target the connective tissue, often along the spine and around the hips. Students often appreciate their slower pace and meditative approach.)
Sat., May 25: 9 a.m. Basics with Maria.
Sun., May 26: 4 p.m. Basics with Shigeko.
Mon., May 27: 9 a.m. Holiday with Uta. (Holiday classes are mixed-level classes that welcome students who usually attend different categories of classes.)
If you are visiting our studio for the first time, you may either use the front door of The Pots Place (the one facing Fountain Square) or the back door (ring the buzzer so the teacher can unlock the door remotely). Walk through the store itself and then climb the stairs to our second-floor studio space.
We encourage new students to arrive about 15 minutes early, and everyone is welcome to borrow mats and other props (e.g., blocks, blankets, straps) at no additional charge.
Our classes last 70 minutes, and the class fee is $10/class. If you have any questions, just drop us an email (4yoga.me@gmail.com) or send us a Facebook message.
Ready to develop more empathy for yourself and others? Then check out the book for our summer 2024 book club—The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World.
Join us on Sun., Aug. 4, at 1:30 p.m. to discuss Jamil Zaki’s research that encouragingly indicates “empathy is less like a fixed trait and more like a skill—something that we can sharpen over time and adapt to the modern world” (15).
Check out the book’s website to learn more, and RSVP to our Facebook event to receive reminders.
Everyone is welcome to attend book club gatherings—the only requirement is an interest in the book and discussing it!
For each meeting, we provide a couple of snacks and plates/napkins/utensils. If you’re able to bring a snack to share, we would appreciate it, but contributions are not necessary.
As May gets underway, we are happy to share our month’s focus and schedule and to invite you to come practice with us.
This month, we continue our journey through the yamas and niyamas with a focus on the fifth yama, aparigraha, often translated as non-possessiveness, non-covetousness, or non-attachment. To explore and practice aparigraha this month, then, we might identify something in our lives that we can release. Specifically, we could select and let go of a physical item, an attitude or belief about ourselves or others, or a role we have held—and then notice how it feels to have one fewer attachment.
May’s special events and classes
See the chronologically ordered list below for several special opportunities to gather together at the studio—we hope one or more of them piques your interest!
Back Care Yoga with Heather: Fri., May 10, 5:30 p.m. Sitting all day? Are you feeling it in your low back? Join Heather to stretch and strengthen while keeping your low back happy!
Donation Class with Uta: Sat., May 11, 9 a.m. We thank Uta for offering this month’s donation class, which provides an opportunity to practice without a class fee (donations are completely optional). If you do choose to donate, Uta will forward donations to her selected organization, Feeding America—Kentucky’s Heartland.
Sound Bath with Beshka: Sat., May 18, 11 a.m. We hope you can join Beshka for this special event that allows participants to relax into a meditative state while they are “bathed” in sound waves. To save your space, register using this brief form. (Pre-registration is required to ensure that everyone has ample space.) If you’d like to learn more, check out our post. And, if you’d like to join Beshka for a yoga practice prior to the sound bath, drop in for her 9 a.m. Basics class.
Memorial Day Class with Uta: Mon., May 27, 9 a.m. Join Uta for this morning practice, our traditional, single class for the holiday.
Move and Meditate with Iajahnni: Wed., May 29, 5:30 p.m. Curious about meditation and seeking an accessible introduction? Or looking for an opportunity to practice meditation with others? Then join Iajahnni for this monthly session that can be completed comfortably either seated on a chair or resting on the mat.
Gentle class update: while Frances and Trudy each enjoy a summer hiatus from teaching, Angie will offer all of our Gentle and Chair classes. What does this mean for you, whether you are an ongoing or potential student? That these classes will be based upon the specialized, evidence-informed training that Angie has completed at Duke Integrative Medicine. Specifically, the classes will reflect what she has learned in both her Integrative Yoga for Seniors training in 2023 and her Mindful Yoga for Cancer training in 2019. To find out more about Angie’s experiences, see these posts: Integrative Yoga for Seniors, Mindful Yoga for Cancer.
Looking for an opportunity be soothed with sound into a state of relaxation? Register to join Beshka for a summer sound bath on Sat., May 18!
Whether you have already had an opportunity to enjoy a sound bath or are curious about the experience, we invite you to join Beshka at the studio for this hour-long event, which will take place 11 a.m.–noon.
What is a sound bath?A sound bath is a total body experience that allows the listener to relax into a meditative state where they are “bathed” in sound waves. In response to the ambient and acoustic sounds, participants may feel a range of physical, emotional, and mental sensations. The leader creates the sounds using a variety of healing instruments such as gongs, singing bowls, percussion, chimes. and tuning forks.
How do I sign up? To provide participants with ample space, this event requires pre-registration using this brief form, which also lists the ways in which to submit payments. The fee for this special experience is $25.
Welcome back to Training Thursday, a series that shares updates on the teacher training workshops and programs in which 4yoga teachers enroll!
Today, we’re bringing you news from Maria French: in late March, Maria traveled to Sanctuary for Yoga in Nashville to take a series of workshops with Nicki Doane from Maui. These sessions focused on Maya Yoga, the style of yoga Nicki developed, and they count as electives for Maria in her 300-hour yoga teacher training program at Sanctuary.
During these 10.5 hours of in-person training, Maria learned “more language around helping students safely and correctly get into poses.” She noted that Nicki is a challenging teacher but offers clear instruction on alignment. In addition, Maria found the language Nicki used “helpful for feeling in my body” and “believe[s] this will be useful in my own practice as well as teaching others.”
To practice with Maria in April, join her for either the ongoing Friday evening Yin class at 5:30 p.m. or for this month’s donation class on Sat., April 27, at 9 a.m. (donations are optional and will benefit Hope Harbor in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month).
This month, as we continue our exploration of yoga beyond the physical poses (asana), we will be exploring the yama of brahmacharya, or non-excess. Deborah Adele explains that this yama provides “a call to leave greed and excess behind and walk in this world with wonder and awe, practicing nonexcess and attending to each moment as holy.”
Class updates: providing a Men’s class, continuing Move and Meditate, and offering a donation class.
New Sunday 5:45 p.m. class for men. On Sunday evenings in April, join Iajahnni for a new Men’s Yoga class! Some men, especially those who are new to yoga, may prefer taking a class with other men—if this describes you, then this class is for you! The class meets weekly throughout the month, so drop in for one or all four of the sessions.
Move and Meditate on Wed., April 24: Are you curious about meditation? Maybe already practice some? Or perhaps have developed a long-standing practice? Whatever your current relationship to meditation, this monthly class with Iajahnni will give you a chance to explore accessible meditation strategies and techniques and to discuss your experiences with fellow meditators.
Maria teaches the monthly donation class on Sat., April 27. This month’s donation class meets on a Saturday morning to allow those of you looking for a weekend practice to attend without a class fee (donations are completely optional). If you do choose to donate, Maria will pass along those donations to her selected organization, Hope Harbor, in recognition of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Book Club: discussing Awe on Sun., April 21, 1:30 p.m.
Appropriately for a month in which we are studying brahmacharya, for our spring book club meeting we will discuss Dacher Keltner’s book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. The Warren County Public Library holds both physical and e-editions of the book.
Everyone is always welcome to attend book club and to share their thoughts. If you are able to bring a snack to share, we would appreciate it, but your attendance and insights are the most important contributions. Please also keep up with the book club meeting on its Facebook event.
For a complete copy of the April schedule, please check the calendar page. We look forward to practicing with you this month!
Fountain Square Park is beautiful in spring! March 28, 2024
4yoga 