Winter – Spring Yoga Class Schedule 2019

Happy New Year, Yogis!

The new schedule is finally ready.  We’ve got a combo schedule this time with winter and spring sort of smooshed together.  There are some break weeks that seem random but coincide with my kids’ school schedule, as well as a few changes and additions:

The classic, Power Yoga on Monday nights, remains, as well as Tuesday’s Gentle Flow and Chair Yoga.  But I’ve needed to drop Wednesday morning’s Power class, as well as Tuesday’s Lunchtime Flow.  Monday’s Gentle Yoga will be offered a little earlier this session, at 9:30am, and there will be opportunity for Christian Yoga Practice once a month on Sunday afternoons.   As always, free Veterans Yoga every Saturday.

The schedule and details are listed below.  Please email amy@thecatholicyogi.com to register or to ask questions.

Remember, friends, always be gentle with yourself, and use your power for good.

Happy Practicing!

The Catholic Yogi

“I cannot bear this world a moment longer.”

“Then, child, make another.”

~Circe & Trygon
from Circe by Madeline Miller


 

Yoga Practice with Amy Secrist

Winter – Spring 2019


The Class Schedule for Winter – Spring 2019 will offer yoga classes in two 6-week sessions, but with some breaks thrown in to coincide with my kids’ school schedule. There will be weekend workshops and benefit class opportunities forthcoming.  

Also, with winter weather approaching, please check out the class cancellation page and sign up to receive notifications so you stay in the loop.

Classes will be held at more than one location, so when considering attending a class, please make sure you’ve got the right place. Private classes, small groups, and special events can be scheduled by writing to amy@thecatholicyogi.com or by visiting the contact page.


Christian Yoga Practice
Sundays, 1:00 -2:30pm
Feb. 3, Mar. 3, & April 7
No Limits Studio
$15
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Christian Yoga Practice is just like a regular yoga class, but with a focus on spending time in Divine Presence through Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Practice begins with biblical scripture and ends with silent meditative prayer.  This is a gentle yoga class.  All levels are welcome.  No prior yoga, prayer, or meditation experience necessary.  Feel free to bring a journal and pen if you would like.

Gentle Yoga
Mondays, 9:30 – 10:30
Session 1: Jan. 7 – Feb. 18; no class Jan. 21
Session 2: Mar. 4 – Apr. 15; no class Mar. 25
$55 for one session or $10 drop-in
Butterfly House
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Gentle Yoga will explore mindful breathing and moving, foundational yoga poses, and breathing practices, as well as deep relaxation. Easy-going, invigorating, & restorative. All levels welcome!
To ask questions or to register, please email: contact@thecatholicyogi.com or visit the contact page.

Power Yoga Practice

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30pm
Session 1: Jan. 7 – Feb. 18; no class Jan. 21
Session 2: Mar. 4 – Apr. 15; no class Mar. 25
$60 for one session or $15 drop-in
No Limits Studio

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Power Yoga Practice is a 90 minute class of mindful moving, conscious breathing, and gratitude meditation that will strengthen the muscles of our bodies, minds, and spirits. We will be supported in our weaknesses and challenged in our strengths. Everyone will be encouraged to work at their own pace, ask questions, and stay curious. Power Yoga Practice is a practice, not a performance, and all levels are welcome, beginners and beyond. Come experience the energizing, calming, and healing effects of yoga for body, mind, and spirit.

To ask questions or to register, please email: contact@thecatholicyogi.com or visit the contact page.


Gentle Yoga Flow
Tuesdays, 9:30 – 10:30am
Session 1: Jan. 8 – Feb. 19; no class Jan. 22
Session 2: Mar. 5 – Apr. 16; no class Mar. 26
$55 for one session or $10 drop-in
Butterfly House
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Gentle Yoga Flow is a 60 minute practice that will utilize the principals of vinyasa (moving and breathing at the same time on purpose). We will allow ample time for connecting to the breath, warming the body, and providing options for individual poses, as well as transitions. Gentle Yoga Flow really is gentle, and you really will find your flow! All levels welcome.
To ask questions or to register, please email: contact@thecatholicyogi.com or visit the contact page.

Chair Yoga
Tuesdays, 10:45 – 11:45am
Session 1: Jan. 8 – Feb. 19; no class Jan. 22
Session 2: Mar. 5 – Apr. 16; no class Mar. 26
$55 for one session or $10 drop-inButterfly House
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Chair Yoga is a 60 minute gentle yoga practice of mindful moving and breathing using the chair as a prop, just as we might use a block, bolster or strap. We will explore seated postures in the chair to keep the spine supple, open the chest and ribcage, stretch the neck and shoulders, and strengthen the core and back muscles. Standing poses will provide an opportunity to tone the muscles of the legs and feet, as well as maintain and improve balance. All poses will be guided using the chair as a support if needed. Each practice will end with a guided relaxation seated in the chair or using any restorative resting posture supported with props, as well as a short gratitude meditation. This class is open to all ages with or without any prior yoga experience.
To ask questions or to register, please email: contact@thecatholicyogi.com or visit the contact page.

Yoga For Veterans ~ Mindful Movement for Resiliency
Saturdays, 11:00am – 12:00pm
Jan 5 & 19, Feb 16  23, March 16 & 30
Free
Butterfly House
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Veterans Yoga in Richland County was founded by Dale Warren as a way to support veterans and their families. Area teachers take turns leading free, ongoing weekly classes every Saturday for veterans, active military, and their family members. My specific class dates are listed above.

Yoga for Veterans ~Mindful Movement for Resiliency classes will focus on mindful breathing and moving, the relationship between the body and mind, and the ways in which a regular yoga practice can help relieve stress and uncover a sense of balance and ease in daily life, as well as in particularly stressful circumstances.

We will explore various breathing practices, gentle movement and postures, deep relaxation, and gratitude meditation. All are encouraged to move at their own pace, take breaks, and ask questions. A variety of yoga props and supports are available, as well as chairs for those who would benefit from a seated practice. Yoga for Veterans Mindful Movement for Resiliency offers students the space and time to explore, remain curious, challenge themselves, be gentle with themselves, and ask for and receive support. This class is open to active military, veterans, and family members.

To find out more, please email questions to Dale at veteransyoga@aol.com and keep in touch with veterans yoga via facebook.

 


Benefit Classes:
Yoga for Life
April 23, 9:30 – 10:30am
Butterfly House
Monetary Donations for People Helping People, Mansfield, Ohio
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Yoga for Life
April 29, 7:00 – 8:30pm
No Limits Studio
Monetary Donations for People Helping People, Mansfield, Ohio
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Yoga for Life is an easy-going all-levels donation-based class. We will engage in a mindful exploration of breathing and moving that will not only benefit our bodies, minds, and spirits, but will also benefit the members of our local community through our donations. Take your yoga practice off the mat and join in the giving!

Keep in mind, you need not donate to attend the class, and you do not need to attend the class in order to donate.

 



Pre-registration

Pre-registration is required specifically for workshops as there is a minimum number of students needed to hold the event. Pre-registration also procures an ideal rate for ongoing weekly classes, ensures that you will be contacted if class is cancelled for any reason, and is encouraged to secure your place. You may pre-register by mailing your payment to Amy Secrist. Please email contact@thecatholicyogi.com for mailing address.

Free Classes for First-time Students and Veterans

Students who have not taken a class with me before are welcome to attend any weekly class for free before committing to a full session or before planning to drop-in a second time. Veterans and active military may attend at no cost.

Drop-ins

If you plan to drop-in to any weekly class, it is encouraged that you email in advance to be sure there is room, and that the class has not been cancelled for any reason.

Special Events & Requests

If you are interested in private yoga lessons, small group yoga classes, or hosting a yoga class for a special event, please email me at amy@thecatholicyogi.com.

Locations & Parking

No Limits Studio:
Upper Level, 106 Delaware St., Lexington, Ohio 44903
419-545-1148; nolimitsstudio.com

(Keep in mind, the studio is located at the top of a large flight of stairs.)

Free parking is available on site in the shared lot with BP Electric.

Butterfly House:
20 N. Mulberry St., Mansfield, Ohio, 44902
mindbodyalign.com

(This location offers handicap access.)

Parking at the Butterfly House

The Butterfly House has four available parking spaces next to the building. During the week, on-street metered parking is 25 cents an hour, 50 cents for two hours. (There is a dish inside the Butterfly House with extra change for the meters.) The Library parking lot, located at the corner of 3rd Street and Mulberry Street, is available for free. Please do not park in the adjacent restaurant lot, respect all “no-parking” signs, and refrain from parking in the covered library lot as it is for library customers only.

During Saturday and Sunday classes all spaces in the lot across the street are available, and on-street metered parking is free.

Mansfield Art Center

700 Marion Avenue, Mansfield, Ohio 44906.
mansfieldartcenter.org
Phone: 419.756.1700.



Contact

To inquire about classes or to sign up, please use the form below:

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Stay Curious

I repeat myself in class, constantly. I have no idea whether or not this bores my students, as no one has told me so. Incidentally, no one has told me that my class keeps them on the edge of their mat, either. Can you guess that the title of this piece is something I say over and over again?

“Stay curious!”

At home, I reply to my children’s complaints of feeling stranded in a sea of boredom with, “You’re bored? Wonderful! It’s great to be bored! It allows you to do so many wonderful things like think, and imagine, and not think, and pretend, and do nothing!”

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Bent leg Uttanasana (Forward Fold) with blocks for support.

Staying curious on our yoga mat is a beautiful way to access our muscles, to listen to our bodies through the language of sensation.  Consider what it would be like to twist away from the bent/front leg rather than toward it.  Try exhaling in cow pose and inhaling in cat pose.  Staying curious is also a sweet way to access the muscles we use to suspend judgement, the muscles of gentleness, kindness, patience, and benevolence.  Consider what it would be like to laugh when you fall out of Twisting Half Moon Pose (Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana), or out of Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana) for that matter(!)  Try waiting for the pose to unfold and open the body in its own time, and feel what that’s like to feel that.

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Moving into Virabhdrasana III (Warrior Pose III) with blocks for support.

Off the mat, we might stay curious about our reactions to our circumstances, such as the way we bristle at a friend’s comment, or realize our vanity is alive and well when we wish someone hadn’t posted a specific picture of us on social media.  Additionally, we can try out really listening to the person who is talking to us, being attentive to what they are saying without thinking about our own next word, sentence, or thought.  We can be curious about responses we label as negative, and we might learn something new about ourselves.  Conversely, when we look closely at things we categorize as positive, at what brings us joy, we might end up finding more of it.

This kind of curiosity has the capacity to bring us into new experiences of ourselves, and new wisdom, and I’m all for that.

May you be blessed with enough in all things.

Happy Gaudete week, Happy Rejoicing, Happy Practicing!

The Catholic Yogi

A Note From My Teacher

Holiday Greetings, Yoga Friends,

One of my teachers, Bryan Kest, leads a Holiday Sanity & Wellness Challenge. I always appreciate his practicality, authenticity, and encouragement toward holistic health (taking care of our body-mind, our wholeness). I especially love his orientation toward benevolence.

 

Please enjoy Bryan’s latest post below, and visit poweryoga.com for tons of great videos and his “Absurdity Series” blog posts.

Remember that your asana yoga practice enhances your life; it is not your life.  So if your current circumstances happen to allow for a mat-based practice, awesome; but if not, enjoy lots of rest and lots of fun, and know that all the hours of work you’ve put in on your mat will sustain you when you need it most.  Feel your feet.  Find your breath.  Being present to the joys and the hardships is yoga; noticing what is happening, now, is yoga; wishing yourself, others, and the world safety, health, and happiness is yoga.  It doesn’t all happen on your mat — or, at least, it shouldn’t stay there!

Happy Practicing, one way or another,

The Catholic Yogi

P.S.  When you find yourself back on your mat, it’ll be sweeter than ever.


Aloha everyone,

I hope this message finds all of you doing well. Life is full of ups and downs yet through it all “I shall breathe”…stay with your breath. As you move through your days start noticing when your mind drifts into thoughts and pull your attention back to that quiet place. Then see if you can direct your mind to thoughts of kindness and appreciation. Send love to all you see and send compassion to all, as we all are dealing with so much.

 

Keep directing your mind to this benevolent place. Jesus set the example of compassion in the most difficult moment and the next holiday is meant to honor him. His example is for all of us if our goal is wellness. Happy Holidays :)))

Aloha bryan

Tip: For inspiration this week, check out our new blog post,Loving Kindness and Yoga.