Online Winter, 2025 Practices ~ Growing Endurance
January ~ Joint Stability & Mobility ~ Combining the Art & Skill of Alignment
12-Week Series ~ January 8 – April 2, 2025
No Class
January 29, 2025
Wednesdays
10:30-11:45 a.m. Pacific Time
Pay what you can for multiple practices or pay per practice.
Incorporate asana, breathing, and a pause into your daily routine for dynamic aging or as restorative breaks during your work day to counter the effects of sitting for long periods. Chair practices will be dynamic, gentle, and nurturing, easing joint pain and developing resilience, strength, and stability. You are not required to transition to and from the floor, however, practices will include standing forms, inviting your body through its full range of movement, with the potential to restore this capability.
In yoga we aspire to soften and release the intensity of our identification with the outer body. Each practice is an inner pilgrimage in which we allow all aspects of ourselves (tissues, nerves, marrow, organs, attention . . . .) to be soaked in the deep tides of the asanas, breath, and vibratory pulses of the subtle body. Tias Little refers to this experience as “the alchemy of silence”, when “in the midst of our overburdened lives we connect to that still, quiet place inside.”
Growing Endurance ~ January ~ March, 2025
We’ve crossed the threshold of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and although we won’t immediately see the increase of light, we have begun a cycle of renewal that will build momentum toward spring.
However the holidays may have overshadowed your sense of well being, the first word of many yogic texts reassures us that at anytime we can begin again ~ NOW (atha) yoga begins, opening spacious ground to grow endurance for challenges we will encounter in the New Year.
This definition from Clarissa Pinkola Estes describes endurance as an organic and integrated process, a process that is nurtured with care and respects the wise use of the life force (prana):
“Endurance can mean “to continue without cessation” but the word also means to make sturdy, to make robust, to strengthen. It implies a generative feature, meaning we don’t just go on to go on. Endurance means we are making something . . . One aspect of endurance can be a flowing backward or a step backward, that can be a heartfelt return to a workable value or a deeply held idea that then flows forward in a different form.”Join me for the upcoming Winter Series! We’ll approach growing endurance from different perspectives.
According to both science and yoga teachings, endurance is often a combination of physiological and psychological factors. As you age, a consistent practice of challenging yourself mentally and physically can enhance your capacity to meet daily functional movement requirements and not only engage in activities you enjoy, but expand your tolerance for intensity and challenge with the right balance of stability (sthira) and heart-felt ease (sukha). ‘Right’ balance requires turning to present awareness, deepening Self discovery, and understanding what is required in the moment.
In January we’ll focus on alignment for joint stability and mobility, integrating structural and engaged alignment, as a way to grow endurance. By understanding cooperative relationships between parts, and animating the body through energetic flow and directional intent, we combine the art and skill of alignment.
We’ll hold this question as a practice and daily companion ~ “In this moment, what is required for me to endure whatever is arising?”, allowing the yoga to reveal possibilities.
“The ability to be content with life’s circumstances, the skill of seeing the sacred nature of the world as it is arising and of being patient as the world discloses itself, is a profoundly deep capacity that we cultivate, and it is also one of the keys to the entire practice of yoga. This does not mean that you have to agree with everything that arises, nor does it mean that you should see everything as perfect and wonderful, or that you disengage from your responsibilities in life. Instead it means that you are present with the raw truth–good, bad, ugly, smelly, or sublime–of whatever is arising. It means that you cultivate a clear and compassionate space within which life unfolds, and that your actions reflect this clarity and compassion.”
~ Richard Freeman, The Mirror of Yoga
The online ‘live’ practices will include recordings that you can use at home, OR attend by recording only.
Love and justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change; without collective change, no change matters.
~ Rev. angel Kyodo williams
Payment Options
I offer 3-tiered Sliding Scale Payment Options based on your current financial status.
Choose the level that is best for you now.
- Regular: This is the cost that I would charge all students in the absence of a sliding scale. If you choose a level below this tier, you are receiving a discount. This level of payment is for you if you have access to financial security and spend little time worried about securing necessities.
- Discounted: This level of payment is for those who are able to meet their basic needs but have little-to-no expendable income. Paying at this level may qualify as a sacrifice but it would not create a hardship.
- Supported: This is for those who struggle to meet basic needs such as housing, food, child care, health care, etc. Paying above this level would be a significant hardship. Please contact me if this level is still prohibitive.
Pay per Class
Practice Series
Sliding Scale Payment Options
Sliding scale is a tool that allows my services to be obtained at multiple price points based on the circumstances of my students and clients. The sliding scale addresses economic justice and represents the idea that financial resources, including income, are not and should not be the only determining factor in whether or not someone can access services/care/etc. I’ve made a commitment to offering a sliding scale model as a way to contribute to a more equitable world.
For a sliding scale model to work, it relies on truthfulness, respect for complexity, and accountability. I trust you to be honest in your assessment of your financial reality. I do not receive any outside funding to supplement sliding scale discounts. This model is an attempt to balance the fair value of my time and energy and the multiple realities of economic access and privilege that exist within our community. I’m open to ongoing communication about our economic experiences and this model.
Please choose a level that is best for you now.
Other Options use the Contact Form to:
- offer an exchange
- use a scholarship
- purchase a recorded session
Proceeds Contributions
A portion of class proceeds will be contributed to organizations that are centering marginalized voices, at the intersection of spirituality and justice, and committed to creating a beloved community of mutual care.
Contributions in 2022 include:
- Lake City Partners, Seattle WA mission is to end homelessness by providing shelter, respite care, work opportunities and other services, so that people have increased opportunities for stabilization, recovery, and permanent housing.
- Young Women Empowered (Y-WE), Seattle WA cultivates the power of diverse young women to be creative leaders and courageous change makers through transformative programs within a collaborative community of belonging.
- Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble, NYC, is on of New York City’s most highly regarded volunteer choral ensembles. It is known for its eclectic repertoire, interpretive depth, and technical expertise in many styles. In 2023 the ensemble will collaborate with The Unsung Collective. Since 2011, the ensemble annually offers world premiers from its Emerging Composers Competition.
- Social Justice Fund (SJF), Seattle WA, is a foundation working at the frontlines of social change. SJF funds organizations led by people who are most directly affected by the problems that the organization or project is addressing. SJF uses Giving Projects, a unique participatory model which provides significant financial resources to organizations that work toward long-term progressive social change.
Inquiry is the art of questioning all of one’s assumptions, beliefs, and interpretations as a means of opening up space in the mind for intuitive wisdom to arise. Once space is opened up, simply rest the question in the stillness of conscious being. Watch. Keep faithful vigil with the unknown. The vital moments of breakthrough come when you least expect them.
~ Adyashanti, The Way of Liberation
Pay with PayPal
I offer 3-tiered Sliding Scale Payment Options based on your current financial status.
Choose the level that is best for you now.
- Regular: This is the cost that I would charge all students in the absence of a sliding scale. If you choose a level below this tier, you are receiving a discount. This level of payment is for you if you have access to financial security and spend little time worrying about securing necessities.
- Discounted: This level of payment is for those who are able to meet their basic needs but have little-to-no expendable income. Paying at this level may qualify as a sacrifice but it would not create a hardship.
- Supported: This is for those who struggle to meet basic needs such as housing, food, child care, health care, etc. Paying above this level would be a significant hardship. Please contact me if this level is still prohibitive.
Drop-In
- single drop-in class
Multiple Sessions
- 4-week multiple classes
Sliding Scale Payment Options
Sliding scale is a tool that allows my services to be obtained at multiple price points based on the circumstances of my students and clients. The sliding scale addresses economic justice and represents the idea that financial resources, including income, are not and should not be the only determining factor in whether or not someone can access services/care/etc. I have made a commitment to offering a sliding scale model as a way to contribute to a more equitable world.
For a sliding scale model to work, it relies on truthfulness, respect for complexity, and accountability. I trust you to be honest in your assessment of your financial reality. I do not receive any outside funding to supplement sliding scale discounts. This model is an attempt to balance the fair value of my time and energy and the multiple realities of economic access and privilege that exist within our community. I am open to ongoing communication about our economic experiences and this model.
Please choose the level that is best for you now.
Other Options use the Contact Form to:
- offer an exchange
- use a scholarship
- purchase a recorded session
Proceeds Contributions
A portion of class proceeds will be contributed to organizations that are centering marginalized voices, at the intersection of spirituality and justice, and committed to creating a beloved community of mutual care.
Contributions in 2022 include:
- Lake City Partners, Seattle WA mission is to end homelessness by providing shelter, respite care, work opportunities and other services, so that people have increased opportunities for stabilization, recovery, and permanent housing.
- Young Women Empowered (Y-WE), Seattle WA cultivates the power of diverse young women to be creative leaders and courageous change makers through transformative programs within a collaborative community of belonging.
- Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble, NYC, is on of New York City’s most highly regarded volunteer choral ensembles. It is known for its eclectic repertoire, interpretive depth, and technical expertise in many styles. In 2023 the ensemble will collaborate with The Unsung Collective. Since 2011, the ensemble annually offers world premiers from its Emerging Composers Competition.
- Social Justice Fund (SJF), Seattle WA, is a foundation working at the frontlines of social change. SJF funds organizations led by people who are most directly affected by the problems that the organization or project is addressing. SJF uses Giving Projects, a unique participatory model which provides significant financial resources to organizations that work toward long-term progressive social change.