Celebrating Frances and the publication of her first novel!

Posted on November 10, 2023 by 4yoga

On Wed., Nov. 8, we were honored to host a book launch for the publication of A Long Way Home: A Soldier’s Story, the first novel written by our teacher Frances Strickler! (We say “first novel” because we have learned that she is already hard at work on her next one…which makes us both admire and envy her discipline.)

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special event! Whether you dropped in for a bit or were able to stay the whole time, we appreciate your participation in the celebration.

Want your own copy of A Long Way Home? Some folks have asked about purchasing a copy of the novel. You can do so in one of two ways: order from Amazon (Kindle version also available) or contact Frances to pick up a copy from her.

Studio ready for the guest of honor and her guests.
Frances gives her book talk.
The assembled audience learns about the book’s path to publication.
Fans wait for their books to be signed.
Have to get a photo with the author!
Attendees enjoy socializing in the lounge.
Attendees in the lounge share conversation and refreshments.
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November (2023) schedule: 37 classes, book launch, book club

Posted on November 2, 2023 by 4yoga

As we leave Halloween behind and move toward the next holidays, we may also find ourselves outwardly focused on other people, events, and activities.  If so, we have an ideal opportunity to remind ourselves of the value of reducing external distractions and looking inward.  Yoga helps us develop interoception, the ability to sense what is happening in our bodies.  Whether we are noticing physical sensations at the beginning of a class, exploring our breath through pranayama exercises and in poses, or resting in silence in savasana, our yoga practice reminds us to pay attention to ourselves. *

To provide an additional weekday chance to practice, we have added a fourth weekly Gentle class.  Frances is the primary teacher for this class, which meets on Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 p.m.  Thinking of trying yoga but looking for a chair-supported class?  All of our Gentle classes are also customizable to incorporate chairs into the practice.  While there are several reasons folks may prefer having a chair available, two common ones are to avoid navigating down to the mat for seated poses and to provide additional stability in standing poses.

In addition to our usual, drop-in yoga classes, this month our schedule features two special events, both of which are book-focused, free, and open to the public! 

  • Book Launch on Wed., Nov. 8, 4 p.m.  Did you know that Frances has written an historical novel?  Would you like to learn more about the book and celebrate its release with other members of our community?  Then come join us for the book launch on Wed., Nov. 8, at 4 p.m. at the studio!  We’ll begin with a short talk from Frances, enjoy a Q&A session, and then move to the lounge for beverages and snacks!  For more details, see this post.
  • Book Club on Sun., Nov. 12, 1 p.m.  Are you wondering how to age as successfully as possible?  Grab a copy of Daniel J. Levitin’s book Successful Aging, and join us in the lounge for a discussion about its ideas and advice!  Our October discussion was a lively one (how many ways can you think of to use a wine bottle?!), and we expect the November conversation to be just as engaging!  Check out this website post for more details.

For a complete copy of November’s schedule, please see the class calendar page.  We look forward to practicing, celebrating, and discussing with you this month!

Fall view of the studio from Fountain Square
Nov. 2, 2023

* To learn more about interoception and how to cultivate it, see this Body Electric story, where a neuroscientist and psychiatrist notes that we are “bombarded by sensory signals in our environment” and calls silence “an increasingly endangered species.”

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Farewell, studio yoga mats—and welcome, new mats!

Posted on October 31, 2023 by 4yoga

If you’ve ever visited the studio, you know that the anchor of the props closet has always been our substantial collection of mats, both the original, purple set and the additional ones that have been donated over the years.

Providing plentiful props to loan at no charge supports our mission as a community yoga studio to make yoga affordable and accessible. Even folks who typically bring their own mats have found occasion to borrow studio mats, whether to double up for additional cushioning or to substitute for personal mats that have been left at home or in another vehicle.

A generous donation of new mats from longtime community member Susan James has given us the privilege of donating our existing mats to a new organization! Whitney Jenkins, a social worker and trainee in the yoga teacher program at Steadfast & True yoga studio in Nashville, is working to launch a nonprofit organization that focuses on yoga and mental health. Whitney will be taking mats and props to various locations to reach the people she is serving, and we are grateful to have been able to donate our mats to her program.

On Thurs., Oct. 26, Uta Ziegler and Angie Jones cleaned all 17 of our studio mats and loaded them in Uta’s car for their trip to Nashville. We appreciate Uta for connecting us with Whitney and for delivering the mats to her!

[Full disclosure: since Aparigraha (non-hoarding or non-attachment) is still a work in progress for Angie, she may have stashed one of the original purple mats in her campus office for workplace use.]

Angie then wiped down the first set of the new mats and made them available—they have already been used by several students in the last few days. We much appreciate Susan’s generosity in purchasing and donating a collection of new mats, and we look forward to practicing with them for many years to come!

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Fall book club, continued: Successful Aging, Sun., 11/12, 1 p.m.

Posted on October 28, 2023 by 4yoga

Thank you to everyone who made our October book club meeting a success! Because Daniel J. Levitin’s Successful Aging is so rich and so conversation-provoking, we decided to add a second fall meeting to continue discussing it. Please join us on Sun., Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. in the lounge for that meeting.

As a reminder, everyone is always welcome to join for our conversations—whether you’re a yoga student or not, whether you’ve ever attended a book club meeting or not. We enjoy seeing both familiar and new faces at these gatherings!

If you prefer to buy the book, it is available for $10-18 online and typically in stock at Bowling Green’s Barnes & Noble. If you prefer to borrow it, Warren County Public Library has two copies in its collection.

We provide a couple of snacks and always welcome other contributions if you’d like to bring something to share. Mostly, though, we are eager to gather together and hear everyone’s perspectives on the book.

Finally, if Facebook events help you keep up with your calendar, please RSVP to the event page, where you can also ask questions and see updates.

Photo credit: Heather Kessler.
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Come celebrate Frances and her novel! Wed., 11/8, 4 p.m.

Posted on October 28, 2023 by 4yoga

We have long known that Frances Strickler is a woman of many talents—with “teaching yoga” as the one from which we most directly and regularly benefit! But did you know that she has also written and published an historical novel?

Whether you’ve already picked up a paperback or Kindle copy of A Long Way Home on Amazon or want to purchase directly from Frances, we hope you will join us at the studio on Wed., Nov. 8, 2023, at 4 p.m. Frances will share a brief talk about the book, we will have time for Q&A, and then we will enjoy snacks and beverages in the lounge. If you have a physical copy of the book and would like it signed, please bring it, too!

To keep up with the book launch or ask any questions about it, please mark “going” or “interested” on its Facebook event.

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October (2023) schedule: 40 classes + 3 special events

Posted on October 3, 2023 by 4yoga

Thank you to all of you who celebrated our 12th birthday with us in September, whether by attending class, joining us for a post-class event, reaching out via email, or connecting on Facebook!  We deeply appreciate your support of our ongoing community yoga adventures.

For October, we are excited to announce 40 regular, drop-in classes!  In addition, for the final Monday-night class of the month, we are experimenting with a slightly later time:  if your schedule has made it challenging to make it to a 5:30 p.m. class, please mark your calendar for Mon., Oct. 30, at 6:30 p.m.  We are also offering two yoga nidra sessions on Sundays at 5:30 p.m.—one with Angie on Sun., Oct. 8, and another with Shigeko on Sun., Oct. 29.

In October, we are also looking forward to three special events.  Although book club is a free and drop-in gathering, the sound bath and meditation workshop both require pre-registration and pre-payment to reserve your space, so please sign up for them soon.

  • Fall book club meeting:  Since we are all aging, why not figure out how to do it as well as possible?  Join Heather and Angie on Sun., Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. for the fall book club meeting, where we will discuss Successful Aging by Daniel J. Levitin.  Book club sessions are always free and open to everyone, whether or not you are currently practicing at the studio.  We will provide a couple of snacks and beverages along with plates and napkins, but if you are able to bring something to share, please do.  For more details about the meeting, check out its Facebook event.
  • Sound Bath with Beshka:  Fall is a perfect time to slow down and relax—come allow Beshka to help you in that process with a sound bath on Sat., Oct. 21, at 11 a.m.  Wondering what a sound bath is?  It is a total body experience allowing the listener to relax into a meditative state while they are “bathed” in sound waves.  Participants may feel a range of physical, emotional, and mental sensations in response to the sounds of a variety of healing instruments such as gongs, singing bowls, percussion, chimes, and tuning forks.  For more details, see the Facebook event.  To take part in this 60-minute experience, for which space is limited, use this link to register:  tinyurl.com/4yoga-sound-bath
  • Meditation Made Easy workshop with Danny Brewington:  To learn more about the chakra system, about meditation, or both, join Danny Brewington for a Zoom workshop on Sat., Oct. 21, at 11 a.m.  This 90-minute session will review all seven of the chakras and explore how they relate to each other.  If you have attended previous Meditation Made Easy workshops, this one will help you synthesize what you’ve learned; if you have not attended previous workshops, it will provide a helpful overview of the chakra system.  Danny’s instruction is informed by more than 35 years of meditation experience and study; for more information about Danny and the workshop, see its Facebook event.  Sign up here to participate:  tinyurl.com/med-made-easy-Oct 

For a complete copy of the October schedule, please see the calendar page.

Enjoying these new seasonal banners around downtown!
Oct. 3, 2023
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October meditation workshop: Meditation Made Easy with Danny Brewington

Posted on October 2, 2023 by 4yoga

We are excited to offer another of our occasional meditation workshops this month as Danny Brewington returns to help us explore the chakras and their role in our lives.

Register now to join us on Sat., Oct. 21, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (central) for this Zoom session!

Topic: The human psyche is packed with unprocessed data and unresolved emotions. It is easy to become weighed down by guilt, shame, anger, and apathy. All this unconscious material is stored in the chakra system. 

Our journey here as humans involves us learning how to find this unprocessed data, finally face it, and release it from the individual chakras. This is often referred to as “The Path of Liberation.”

This 90-minute workshop will review all 7 of the chakras, their function, and how they relate to each other, allowing integration of all the material we encountered in each of the individual workshops. 

Join us as we revisit the journey through the chakras and the path to enlightenment. 

About the workshop leader: Danny is a Tennessee native who discovered meditation in 1987. Now, with over 35 years of study and practice, he enjoys great powers of concentration, breathing control, and expanded awareness. His understanding of meditation comes from a combination of philosophies, technologies, and life experiences. He hopes to inspire others to transform their lives with the power of meditation. 

Investment: The investment for this workshop is $25.

Registration: Register at this link: tinyurl.com/med-made-easy-Oct 

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October preview: sound bath with Beshka returns!

Posted on September 28, 2023 by 4yoga

Whether you have already had an opportunity to experience a sound bath or are curious about the experience, we invite you to join Beshka on Sat., Oct. 21, for her next sound bath offering! This event will take place 11 a.m.–noon, providing a relaxing respite in a fall weekend.

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 throughout their journey. The leader uses 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. The class fee is is $25.

Photo credit: Beshka Moore.
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Celebrate our 12th birthday in September: 32 classes + 12 special events!

Posted on September 4, 2023 by 4yoga

Although our yoga practice reminds us to remain in the present, we will begin this month’s message by glancing back, for a moment, to the summer of 2011.  Several local yoga teachers, many recently graduated from a teacher-training program led by Debbie Marquette and Heidi Crocker, started exploring the possibility of opening their own studio.  We could not have foreseen either that those conversations would result in the founding of 4yoga or that the studio would be fortunate to be sustained by our community for 12 years!  

Eventually our larger group became Kim Herald, Erica Jacknin, Kelly Reames, and Angie Jones.  With a decorated shoebox to collect class fees, we launched our vision of an accessible and affordable yoga studio on Sept. 27, 2011, at Dance Images—thanks to Kathy Wise-Leonard, who welcomed us to her studio.  A year later, Kathie Downs generously invited us to move downtown when she purchased The Pots Place, renovating the living room of an upstairs apartment into a yoga space overlooking Fountain Square.

We appreciate all of you who have practiced and taught with us over the years—and we hope to see you in September as we celebrate our 12th birthday with 12 special events!  See the attached PDF for the full schedule, and read below for highlights.

Special classes:  drop in for either of these special September offerings!

  • Pink Power Yoga: Wed., 9/13, 5:30 p.m. Feeling inspired by the blockbuster Barbie movie, Heather is offering a new yoga experience this month. Wear your pink and join her where yoga meets cardio: think 80s aerobics class style. It’s sure to be a fun evening! (Edited to add: Heather has created a Facebook event for the class—check it out to let her know you’re interested!)
  • Mindful Yoga: Sat., 9/16, 10:30 a.m.  Join Carmen to focus on mind-body awareness, including an emphasis on breath and breathwork as ways to remain present. Beyond the breath, we’ll learn how to redirect attention back to focus when our mind wanders and how to infuse mindfulness into gentle poses.

Post-class outings:  join us as we gather at some of Bowling Green’s wonderful “third places”!

  • Coffee with Beshka, Carmen, Frances, Trudy, and Angie at Spencer’s and The Harvest Bakery and Café.  (See schedule for specific dates/times/locations.)
  • Happy Hour with Heather on the patio at Micki’s on Thurs., 9/7, at 5:15 p.m.
  • Lunch with Carmen at Café Kindness on Sat., 9/16, at 11:45 a.m.
  • Night Y’all at Community Farmer’s Market with Angie on Thurs., 9/28, at 5:15 p.m.

October preview:  fall book club meeting.  Our book club will next meet on Sun., Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. in the lounge at the studio.  We will discuss Daniel J. Levitin’s Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives, a book that tackles a subject relevant to us all. For more information, please see this previous post or the Facebook event.

We look forward to practicing and celebrating with all of you in September!

Flowers at the base of the arch on Main Ave.
Fountain Square Park
Aug. 29, 2023
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BG Gallery Hop Pop-Up Event: visit downtown on Sat., Aug. 26!

Posted on August 25, 2023 by 4yoga

Our studio is excited to participate in a 2023 “reboot” of a community favorite: the Bowling Green Gallery Hop! Beginning at noon on Sat., Aug. 26, come stroll around Fountain Square to see work by 40+ local artists—and to chat with us as we staff a table next door to The Pots Place.

Heather and Angie will set up in front of Cedar + Sage (the hair salon), where they will be happy to chat about yoga, answer folks’ questions about 4yoga, and give tours of the studio for those who would like to see our space. And, let’s be honest…they will probably also be taking turns visiting Spencer’s for coffee and Meltdown for ice cream during the afternoon!

Because we will need to pack up our table before the event officially concludes at 5 p.m., please make us one of your early stops. We look forward to seeing familiar faces and connecting new folks with our yoga community.

Special thanks to Kathie Downs, owner of The Pots Place, for organizing this event and giving us an opportunity to participate!

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