Online Spring, 2025 Practices ~ Essence & Metamorphosis
May Series ~ Strong & Fluid Legs & Hips
May 14 ~ June 4
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.”
Essence & Metamorphosis ~ Spring, 2025
Witnessing nature come alive in spring, reconnects me to nature’s underlying web of connection or wholeness, reawakens joy, and offers inspiration to approach my yoga practice and life from different perspectives. May this season be an invitation to open to the creative impulse that is always at play.
Trees can serve as teachers and as a helpful metaphor for our bodies. The force of gravity through the heels like roots of a tree, empower growth through the crown. Our legs can serve as strong trunks and fluid tributaries for the blood flow, like sap, to feed the seed of the core. Skin serves as bark. And the breath, from the crown to the soles of the feet, expands and contracts into the leaves, flowers and fruit of the tree.
“As soon as a beech notices its crown is getting out of alignment, it grows specialized reinforcing wood to shore up one side of the trunk so it doesn’t bend any farther on that side. At the same time, it grows a different kind of wood on the opposite side that acts like the guylines on a tent to stop the trunk from leaning over any farther . . . The root tips feel, taste, test, and decide where and how far the roots will travel. If there is a stone in the way, the sensitive tips notice and choose a different route. ” ~ Peter Wohlleben, The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond With Forests & Nature
In May, join me in regenerating strength and flow in the lower body, tuning into sensation to grow tone and elasticity in your legs and hips.
Your feet, calves, hips, and glutes, as well as the quadriceps and the hamstrings, play a role in supporting your lower body. We’ll use the metaphor of trees to explore standing asanas, as well as postures to strengthen and open the hips, ultimately reconnecting us to the resilient power of the essence of nature.
Time will be given for deep rest in the relaxation/assimilation (Savasana) portion of class. We’ll focus on releasing tension held in the sensory organs, using the “art of listening” practices from the teachings of Jean Klein.
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.