Free Yoga with Tara B.
April 17th — 23rd, 2011
at New York Jiu Jitsu
666 Broadway, Lower Level

Paula Tursi

Paula Tursi and the lovely people up at Reflections Yoga are having an open house on Friday, December 10th. They’re starting a new 200-hour teacher training in January, and have recently upgraded their school for a 500-hour certification as well. Friday is a great chance to meet the staff and check out the space.

5:30-6:30 Free Class with Paula
6:30-7:30 Q & A with Paula and Reflections certified teachers

Paula is an awesome teacher; she taught part of my teacher training at Atmananda, and has a supremely informed understanding of alignment and adjustments. She’s also super friendly and warm, go check out her class.

(And bookmark Reflections for your next event — it’s a gorgeous space with a full kitchen.)

More info on the Reflections site or on Facebook.

If you’re an anatomy fan, you can also check out The Breathing Project — they’re doing open houses (i.e. free classes) on several dates in October. I attended last year’s open house, and really learned a lot. (It inspired me to take Leslie’s full Anatomy of Breath-Centered Yoga course!) Amy Matthews is also brilliant. Here’s the schedule:

EMBODIED ANATOMY & KINESIOLOGY COURSE
with Amy Matthews
1:00-3:30pm
Friday, October 1 class FREE!

YOGA ANATOMY
with Leslie Kaminoff
2:00-4:00pm or 6:30-8:30pm
Wednesday, October 6 classes FREE!

ANATOMY & BREATH CLINIC (ABC’s)
with Leslie Kaminoff
4:15-6:15pm
Wednesday, October 6 class FREE!

NEW! TUESDAY EMBRYOLOGY COURSE
with Amy Matthews
6:30-8:30pm
October 26 class FREE!

Enjoy!

FREE movement clinics with Amy Matthews
August 10 & August 12

Next week I’ll be offering two free movement clinics as part of a week-long workshop at The Breathing Project.
The workshop is focused on ways to re-organize patterns in the nervous system and muscles using an approach called “proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation”.

These clinics are open to anyone with movement questions, injuries or issues, and will be a chance for participants in the workshop to observe how I integrate the PNF approach with the Bartenieff Fundamentals and Body-Mind Centering to work with people. You are welcome to come with any kind of question or issue, or just to see what I do — I begin by asking what kinds of questions are in the room, and then choose a few ideas with which to work. No guarantee that everyone’s questions will be addressed, but I do my best!

Please pass the word on to anyone who might be interested – no reservations are needed.

Dates: Tuesday & Thursday, August 10 & 12, 2010
Times: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Cost: FREE
Location: The Breathing Project, 15 W 26 St, 10th Floor, NYC
Questions: spiralamy [at] gmail.com

about Amy Matthews:
Amy has been teaching somatically oriented classes and workshops in dance and yoga since 1994. She is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst, a Body-Mind Centering® Practitioner, and an Infant Developmental Movement Educator. She co-teaches with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen on the Embodied Developmental Movement and Yoga and the Embodied Anatomy and Yoga program in Berkeley, CA and NYC for the School for Body-Mind Centering®, and was on the faculty of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies for 10 years. She has taught embodied anatomy and movement workshops for programs in New York, Philadelphia, Berkeley, and Nebraska, and internationally in Canada, Switzerland, Ireland, England, Israel, Slovakia and Japan.

Amy co-authored with Leslie Kaminoff the best-selling Yoga Anatomy, and together Amy and Leslie lead The Breathing Project’s Advanced Studies Program. Amy also works privately as a movement therapist and yoga teacher, integrating Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, yoga, Body-Mind Centering and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF).

Amy has studied with a range of inspiring teachers: dissection workshops with Gil Hedley, neuro-muscular reeducation with Irene Dowd, Body-Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, full-contact karate with Michelle Gay, and yoga with Alison West, Mark Whitwell, Genny Kapular and Kevin Gardiner.

Are You Game?

Lots of sponsored classes at this event next month on Pier 46… Pilates, Martial Arts, Surfboarding, 80′s Dance, Hologram Yoga [?], Boxing, and Burlesque! Thanks to our friends at Flywheel for the heads up!

ARE YOU GAME for an unforgettable day of fun, complete with inventive workout classes, eat smart demos, workout-to-knockout makeovers, live DJ and more? Of course you are! So plan to grab your girlfriends and get in on the fun! If you don’t live in NYC, you can enter a chance to win a trip to the event.

Saturday 9/18/2010
Women’s Health ARE YOU GAME? Event!

Pier 46 Hudson River Bank
Charles Street and West Street
New York, NY

Registration Cabana is open from 10:00AM–4:00PM

Get a free tote bag when you register. Be one of the first 1,300 girls on site and receive a free Kulae yoga mat! ($40 value)

http://www.areyougame2010.com/

Here’s a great excuse to reconnect with nature: NYC Wildflower Week. Over 45 activities in all five boroughs, May 1–9. Most are free, but some require registration so check the calendar.

We’re excited for the free wildflower giveaways in Union Square :)

Sometimes we forget that NYC does actually have some nature right within its borders!

Lots of events in the air, it must be spring. Here’s one from Pure:

Come expand your nutritional knowledge at Pure Yoga’s Upper East Side location on Tuesday, March 16th. In celebration of National Nutrition Month, Pure welcomes area experts on healthy eating, drinking and living – including a private chef, juicing demos with recipes and samples, organic chocolates, beauty supplements and more!

Event details:

Pure Yoga Health & Wellness Nutrition Night
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
6:30-8:30 p.m.
203 E 86th St.

Please RSVP to Pure Yoga at (212) 360-1888.
http://www.pureyoga.com

Oh no no no

It turns out that yoga in the back of the office is the best idea ever! We’re going to keep it up through March.

The focus is “desk job decompression:” yoga poses to counteract all those ruinous hours at our laptops. We usually do 15 minutes of simple stretches to wake up the wrists, ankles and spine, then about 45 minutes of standing poses, and a guided relaxation at the end.

It’s safe for beginners, and my more advanced friends have enjoyed all the details. Slow flow yoga. Taught by me (Erica Heinz).

Come join us!

Monday, March 8, 15, 22, and 29
6:45–8pm, at GreenSpaces
394 Broadway, 5th floor
Pay what you wish. ($0–$10)

Retreat to The Garden

Who needs a getaway? We just received a really kind offer from the folks at The Garden (a restored 18th century villa in the Hudson Valley). The first Yogoer reader to register for their yoga / meditation / nutrition retreat next weekend gets a free spot! I’m holding myself back. It’s all yours…

Thawing Into Spring
March 12–14, 2010
With Yuval Boim, Sarah Barab, and Dages Keates
At The Garden, near Beacon, NY

Details:

It may not look like it, but spring is almost here! Join us for a getaway weekend retreat designed to unfreeze, enliven and nourish you for the upcoming seasonal change. Spring is a time of reawakening; the snow melts, scarves are discarded, and our focus shifts from the internal world to the bounty around us. It’s a perfect time to use our practice to melt and dislodge what’s stuck, let go of what we don’t need and make room for imminent sprouting!

• Four yoga practices with Yuval (two vigorous and two restorative)
• Daily meditation with Sarah
• Delicious organic vegetarian meals prepared with love by Dages
• A hands-on cooking class using ingredients that balance health, delight, and convenience!
• Free time to enjoy the land, as well as nearby attractions like the charming town of Beacon and Dia
• A very special opportunity to have half-priced astrology sessions with Sarah (a steal!)

The Garden is a restored 18th century Villa nestled into the lush Hudson Valley, only an hour and a half from New York City. Through intelligent yoga design, delicious whole food preparations and the peaceful landscape, each guest at The Garden develops a stronger awareness of the body and mind. Centered and ignited, we are able to radiate the fullness of our expression outward, effecting positive change in our environment, our community, our family, ourselves.

The Garden is easily accessible from Grand Central Station by taking Metro North to Beacon where you will be picked up by one of our staff members. You can always drive, or carpool with someone who is driving.

Accommodations  include two people per room. Most rooms have a double bed as well as a single bed. Beds are assigned on a first come basis.

Visit http://www.growinthegarden.com/#/registration/4535110800 to register!

There’s a new teacher training program in town. Om Factory, home of AcroYoga and Aerial Yoga, is launching its TT in six weeks. Holly Coles and Amanda Wentworth, two seriously experienced yogis, will lead it. (Holly is in the Tripsichore yoga/dance troupe, with the DVD so difficult that no one can do it, and Amanda has over one THOUSAND hours of certifications.)

The details:

The Om Factory School of Yoga Teacher Training program begins April 10th. A teacher training program is a transformative journey for the yoga aspirant and will strengthen one’s practice regardless of whether they wish to pursue the path of a yoga teacher. The Om Factory School of Yoga aims to encourage and support those on the path to deepen their knowledge and spread the benefits of this wonderful lineage.

Saturdays & Sundays, April 10 – June 27, 2010
9:00-12:30pm and 2:00-6:00pm each day

The freeness:

Join us for this 2-hour session, including demonstrations and hands-on classroom experience with Amanda & Holly, followed by a Q&A session about the teacher training program. Learn more specific information about the program and experience the lead teachers in action.

All are welcome to attend this free program!

Saturday, March 6th
1:30–3:30pm

(I learned from a new friend that Teacher Training intros are a great way to take free classes with senior teachers. Not that I’m suggesting you make it a habit or anything…)