<![CDATA[YOGA WELLNESS WITH KIMBERLY

Please see my schedule for May 2022 yoga classes. A few changes to note:

No class on Wednesday, May 11 due to a day job commitment.
No classes on Sunday, May 5/29 and Monday, May 5/30 for the Memorial Day weekend holiday.
A new 4-class session, Foundational Hatha Yoga (great for beginners and those working on strengthening their practice!), will start at the Olean Meditation Center on May 25; details below.
Full moon is Monday, May 16 and it coincides with a total lunar eclipse this year. Feel free to attend my Monday, May 16 class at 6 pm at Olean Meditation Center where I'll offer variations on moon salutations and Yin Yoga appropriate for all levels. More info below.

May certainly feels like a transformative month for sure! The hints of emerging blooms and buds from April become out-loud expressions throughout May. May represents just about everything that we absolutely love, except not lasting long enough.

May's full moon, the Flower Moon, occurs Monday, May 16 at 12:15 am EDT and nearly at the same time as a total lunar eclipse! Loads of lunar influence headed our way! To honor the receptive and intuitive lunar influences, I'm going to offer a series of moon salutations and an introduction to Yin Yoga during the Monday, May 16, class at 6 pm at the Olean Meditation Center. If we get enough people we could even try the group circle rotation of the moon salutation. If the weather cooperates we might even be able do a silent walking meditation to the pond after class - that's a big maybe depending on weather, bugs, bugs, weather, bugs, weather And if you didn't know it, there's a lovely short walking trail that leads from the Center's parking lot, over the trellised bridge, and down to a sweet little pond with a small dock and seats. All are welcome to visit this trail, especially great for forest bathing, sunset viewing, and contemplative walking.

New class alert! I welcomed a wonderful group of students to the new 4-class session of Yoga for the Very Beginner that started in mid-April at the Olean Meditation Center. It has been so refreshing for me to share the tradition, philosophy, and practice of hatha yoga with these wonderful people. My intention for this class was to create a welcoming, inclusive, validating, and supportive space so that everyone could approach yoga's benefits in ways that supported them at the point from which they were starting. They've asked great questions, and I'm so appreciative of their engagement and enthusiasm. Several asked if the classes would continue beyond the 4 initial sessions and I thought, "Why not?" I have now added a new 4-class series called Foundational Hatha Yoga that will begin on Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 - 6:45 pm. The design for this 4-class series will continue to build on the knowledge and practice of the very beginner class with increasing exploration of the poses, modifications, breathwork, and relaxation. Foundational Hatha Yoga will also be a great class for anyone of any level of yoga experience seeking to become more grounded and comfortable in the 3 "A's" of hatha yoga: alignment of the physical and energetic bodies, activation of prana (energy), and awareness of the subtle self. See my flyer for details and RSVP to hold your spot; class size will be kept intentionally small.

Class level descriptions / website You might notice on my flyer that the hatha classes now are described with a level number. I realized that I was long overdue at adding this information as a way for people to gauge the class experience with their expectations and capacities. The full description of the Hatha Level 1, Hatha Level 2, Hatha Level 3, and Yin Yoga can be found here. Here's a summary of the levels:

Hatha Level 1: Appropriate for non-experienced/very beginner/beginner/emerging students. Poses will be introduced and demonstrated with modifications and variations offered to provide accessible options for all capacities. Vinyasa movement (breath synchronized movement) will be introduced.
Hatha Level 2: Appropriate for students with some previous experience with yoga (even if from way way back!), an adventurous beginner student, or the continuing student practitioner. Postures will build on the basics from Hatha Level 1 for deeper exploration of the physical, energetic, and mindful elements of ourselves. Through a mix of comfortably held postures and gentle vinyasa flowing sequences, the student can explore increasing confidence, strength, and stability in their yoga practice.
Hatha Level 3: Practice new and more challenging postures to build strength, stability, balance, and flexibility and longer vinyasa flow sequences. Additional emphasis on core awareness and strength building, standing balance poses, and breathwork and mindful practices to increase energy and focus the mind. Not recommended for the very beginner student.

As we start rolling into the warmer (and upcoming sweltering) days of summer, I'll adjust our yoga sequences to offer more cooling postures that help disburse the body's heat: but this doesn't mean that our practices will be any less effective for all of the strength, stability, flexibility, and relaxation qualities that we seek from yoga. Learning to read our body's reactions to seasonal changes contributes greatly to informing the optimal approaches to our strength and mindful movement practices. Thanks to yoga's sister science of Ayruveda, we know how to make shifts in our movement patterns, nutritional intake, wake/rest cycles, and even what parts of the day we are primed for creative or productive output (and when we're not, too!).

I welcome the opportunity to provide private in-person or online Zoom sessions with yoga, mindfulness, guided relaxation, and full meditation. I'm also available to conduct workshops or offer presentations on these beneficial practices for all ages. Just contact me and we can talk more about your needs!.

I remain ever grateful for the awesome participation of my students and the diverse ways that each contributes toward building our yoga community, whether it's in person or on Zoom. Please feel free to share my class schedule with people who might be interested; I welcome new students at all times.

With ever gratitude,
Kimberly