Michele’s Appearances:

SEPT. NEW CLASSES:

Sun. 5:30 (60 min.)
DC Fitness, White House
“ROCK YOUR ASANA”
Yoga poses to funky, hip, and happening music. Be prepared to sweat, swoon, and swivel your stress away!


Tues. 7:15 (75 min.)
My Hot Yoga Place
HOT YOGA



COMING IN OCTOBER:
Totally Free Kid’s Yoga, AND Kids Yoga Workshop
Steadfast and True Yoga, Nashville check out:
www.steadfastandtrueyoga.com


Kids yoga
1st United Methodist Church in Hendersonville, Thursday’s 5:30 pm
(beginning Oct. 6)
merrilee.wineinger@hfumc.org

Mid Day Express – Yoga Opening
(All Levels Welcome)
Wed. 12:15-1:00
(beg. Oct. 12)
1st United Methodist Church in Hendersonville
merrilee.wineinger@hfumc.org


September is “Yoga Month”. In celebration Steadfast and True Studio in Nashville, is offering free yoga Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Check out their website for totally free KIDS YOGA with Michele. This is a great way to allow your child to preview yoga and decide for themselves. For detailsvisit:www.steadfastandtrueyoga.com




Living Your Yoga… Utilizing Yoga as a Therapeutic Approach

Regular practitioners of yoga continue to show up on their mat because of the benefits. We have enjoyed increased mental clarity, decrease in pain, increase in range of motion, flexibility and balance and reduction in stress and anxiety. With its increasing popularity, yoga is now getting the attention of traditional Western medicine. With increasing precision, scientists are able to look at the brain and body and detect the sometimes subtle changes that practitioners of yoga and meditation undergo. As yoga continues to grow and become more popular, it is getting the attention of medical practitioners. Attention has been given to using yoga as a therapeutic intervention for challenges relating to injury, illness or chronic health concern. In just the last few years, research has documented the efficacy of yoga for such conditions as back pain, multiple sclerosis, insomnia, cancer, heart disease, and even tuberculosis. Studies are also increasingly documenting how yoga works. Among its many beneficial effects, yoga has been shown to increase strength, flexibility, and balance; enhance immune function; lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels; and improve psychological well-being. One of yoga's most prominent effects, of course, is stress reduction.

All this is good; however caution needs to be taken when discussing yoga and therapy together. “Therapy” in its traditional sense, especially as practiced in our Western culture means the treatment to relieve or heal some type of disorder. Therapy traditionally addresses what has gone ‘wrong’. Yoga however tends to focus on maintaining and enhancing what is ‘right’. The healing of an injury or disease comes next, to this end yoga works in conjunction with the medical community and/ or traditional therapists such as occupational or physical therapist, or psychologist. Yoga assumes the body is always in the process of healing itself. But what is it that needs to be corrected and/or healed? Often a healing might be of our awareness or understanding. Healing according to Doug Keller describes not just a physical process, but a process of consciousness. When discussing yoga as a therapeutic approach it is important for the practitioner to participate in the process, there is a level of self-awareness necessary that assists the practitioner in his own ongoing process of self-healing. Yoga as a therapeutic intervention does not presume to “fix” anyone or anything within the person. Yoga encourages and relies heavily on empowerment. The practitioner is taught how to recognize and understand for himself the patterns of movement and muscular imbalances that set us up for injury. Engagement, self-awareness, and participation are necessary for any improvement. Whether you are struggling with a particular injury, illness or disability (physical or emotional ) or your are just interested in learning more about individual poses and how to enhance your own practice – consider booking a private yoga therapy session.



Focus on the Pose: the ‘Wave’ Breath… Here’s how:

Begin lying down on our back, place a pillow or rolled towel under your knees for support. Start with a continuous flow of smooth transitions; inhale in three stages, with a small exhalation or release between each stage of the inhalation.
• Begin the inhalation, feeling the breath move first toward the diaphragm and abdomen,
• Release some of the breath out, ideally from the center of the diaphragm, relaxing inside. Notice how this makes space for the next part of the inhalation;
• Breathe in some more, feeling the breath now move into the middle chest
• Release some of the breath out; notice if you can maintain the space of the chest, and elt the release come just from the center of the diaphragm
• Complete the in breath, feeling the breath move toward the top chest; relax your shoulders back as you expand, and be careful not to tense your neck or push back with your head to ‘pull’ the breath up to the chest.
• Pause for a moment, then steadily release the breath, first with a tiny release from the center of the diaphragm, and then allowing the whole body to relax and release symmetrically in one long, smooth, quiet exhalation.


KIDS CORNER:

Yoga for kids is a fun way for children to develop important skills in an energetic, non-competitive, low stress environment. Through the exploration of breathe, posture, and relaxation each session will be an exploration of movement and stillness. We will move through a balanced sequence of yoga poses, each designed to improve concentration, steady and relax the breathe, and improve well-being and inner peace. We will move into funky fun shapes individually, engage in cooperative practice with partner poses, and play group games. These classes appropriate for all children regardless of physical ability, inclusion encouraged.
Grades: K-5th
Thursdays: Oct. 6,13,20,27, Nov. 3, 5:30-6:00 pm
Cost: 5 week series $36.00, drop in rate $8.00 per class
Location: First United Methodist Church, Hendersonville