Our YogaZoomFest Classes
** Saturday, May 16 **
Gentle: Releasing the Booty
Self massage for the hips (tennis or lacrosse ball required). The lack of touch from others is a difficulty in this time of isolation. This is a class to give the body the needed touch and will help release some stiffness from sitting too much. This slow, deep sequence will increase the range of motion in the hips, help relieve low back pain, and allow for greater flexibility in the legs. Get down on the floor with Arturo and a tennis ball and find out how to make it “hurt so good”. Let’s find freedom in the booty. (Led by Arturo Peal, Saturday @8:00 – 9:00am EST)
Active: Alignment and Alchemy for Resilience
A yoga practice that invites you to connect the body, mind, heart and spirit in a way that feels authentic to you. The movements with the breath include skillful integration, alignment and opportunities for expansion all while creating more freedom and openness in your overall experience. I welcome you to the alchemy on the mat that supports our overall resilience in life. (Led by Sarah Wechsberg, Saturday @9:15 -10:15am EST)
Gentle: Gentle Yoga
Join Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, for a gentle practice designed to help you release tension, enhance energy, stretch and strengthen your body, relax your mind, and lift your spirits. No yoga experience is required! We do breathing practices and postures either lying down or sitting in a chair and—for those who are able and interested—standing up, holding onto the chair for support. For those who need or want to remain seated, a chair yoga option is offered. (Led by Carol Krucoff, Saturday @10:30 – 11:30am EST)
Meditation: Meditation and Healing
Tom’s Meditation and Healing presentation is for everyone, even people who believe they could never meditate. With over 40 years experience, Tom’s teachings are crystal clear and easy to follow. They combine profound meaning with light humor. You will learn:
- How our busy mind causes unrest by striving to control us.
- How to train our mind to serve us, creating calmness that enables us to experience our Inner Being with clarity and new insight.
- Effective healing techniques for relief from worry and pain.
(Led by Tom Spector Saturday @12:00 – 1:00pm EST)
Chair: Brain Hemisphere Balancing
Learn techniques to bring balance to both sides (upper and lower; left and right). Western and Eastern modalities are incorporated into this full body/brain experience. (Led by Lakshmi Voelker, Saturday @1:15 – 2:15pm EST)
Meditative Dance
Tap into your life force energy by connecting to your higher consciousness through movement. Awaken energies through mindful movement, slow rhythmic motion to align emotional, physical, spiritual and energetic bodies. (Led by Elaine Rodriguez-Buz, Saturday @2:30 – 3:30pm EST)
Gentle: Balancing Our Asymmetries
This is a grounded class, gently moving through the body as we find openness and awareness of our physical asymmetries. We work with our energetic and emotional sensations to address where we need to let go and where we need to connect to create balance. We will find softness and spaciousness for all sides of the body as well as length and lightness. The class will guide students in supported seated and reclined postures, with some low impact standing movement. Props such as bolster (pillows), blocks (books) and blankets are suggested. (Led by Mary Lou Bean, Saturday @4:00 – 5:00pm EST)
Mythology Storytelling: Hanumān the Hero and How Gaṇeśa got his Elephant Head
This is a one-hour story-telling experience. The mythology associated with yoga and the postures is perplex without a beginning and without an end. The lessons woven in the plots of these stories give the physical practice of yoga its deep and rich meaning. Let me share the story of Hanumān’s birth. Allow me to tell you the tale of how Gaṇeśa got his elephant head. Sit back and relax, open your mind and your heart, and invite the mystery and magic of the mythology in. (Led by Julie Tuomisto-Bell, Saturday @5:15 – 6:15pm EST)
Gentle/Active: Activating the Heart
Imagine a world where you could be seen and heard for who you truly are, where you could fully open your heart and self up to the world, where you could listen to others with compassion and love rather than fear and anger. Blending an active and restorative practice, this yoga class will guide you through a series of heart-opening poses, conscious breathing, and loving-kindness meditation to activate the heart. This class is open to beginners and intermediate students. (Led by Keegan Mills, Saturday @6:30 – 7:30pm EST)
Yoga Nidra: Yoga Nidra for Compassion
A sweet, guided meditation exploring loving kindness with the Maitri meditation. Yoga Nidra is best practiced lying on the bed or floor with support. We will move awareness through different parts of the body, breath, emotions, and thoughts to ease stress and open the heart to compassion. (Led by Cheryl Brown, Saturday @8:00 – 9:00pm EST)
Active: Vinyasa Flow
Flow classes are for those who enjoy a class that, as its name implies, “flows” through a sequence of yoga postures involving breath in/between movements. Sometimes it’s described as a moving meditation or a dance. These classes consist of safe, challenging, range-of-motion body movements and breathing techniques. Modifications and enhancements are offered. (Led by Lindsay Carney, Saturday @9:15 – 10:15pm EST)
Gentle: Recovery Yoga
Recovery Yoga is for anyone interested in an effective and reliable tool for changing their state. This format combines the wisdom of 12 Step Principles and basic Yogic Practice to create a tool for addressing daily challenges in a healthy way. This particular class will focus on Truth and the value of grounding practice. All of the poses included are accessible for most people and easily modified if needed. Learn more about how to set powerful intentions that can be applied to any practice. (Led by Marta Mrotek, Saturday @10:30 – 11:45pm EST)
** Sunday, May 17 **
Meditation: Loving Kindness Meditation
Loving Kindness Meditation practice is a method of turning up the dial on the heart qualities that we all possess, just by virtue of being human. It has the potential to make us more instinctively kind. Impulsively generous. Patient. Forgiving. Open. This is guided meditation beginning with light stretching and ending with seated yoga nidra. (Led by Lori Hernandez, Sunday @8:00 – 9:00am EST)
Gentle: Flow & Unfold
FLOW & UNFOLD is half seated flowy movement and half restorative. We can all benefit from taking time out of our days to chill out and let the body reset. In this class you will be guided into supported seated and reclined yoga postures after some short low impact movements for all levels . FLOW & UNFOLD brings deep relaxation and invites you to release and let go. The benefits of a restorative practice are endless. Some benefits can include: reduced cortisol levels, myofascial release, better quality sleep, less stress, and the list goes on and on. For this class, you will need a bolster, pillows, blankets and blocks, if you have them. If you don’t, then improvise with your props; get creative with what you have at home! It has no chaturangas and no impact. It can be done in a chair or on a couch if lying down is not comfortable or available to you. (Led by Kristen Rae, Sunday @9:15 -10:15am EST)
Chair: Sitting with Yin Mudra and Meditation
Warm up the major joints of the body. Move the spine in all directions. Practice breathing techniques and hand gestures (mudras). All in preparation to sit still for 10 minutes of Yin Meditation. (Led by Kiesha Battles, Sunday @10:30 – 11:30am EST)
Active: Fly Like an Eagle
Join Jen Fisher for an hour long flow honoring the spirit of the eagle. Eagles are the only bird that rises above the clouds during a storm. We are living in a collective storm and can get stuck in the clouds with all of the heaviness and gravity of the situation. Let’s practice together to give our brains and hearts a break from the situation, and liberate our bodies through movement and breath. The class will begin with sun salutation variations, continue in core work and build up to versions of Garudasana, Eagle Pose, and end in a nourishing, healing savasana. (Led by Jen Fisher, Sunday @12:00 – 1:00pm EST)
Meditation: Guided Meditation for Cultivating Peace in Times of Covid-19
Be guided by Cheri into a nurturing restorative pose, where she will take you on a meditative journey to find peace and relaxation. She will be accompanied by live healing ambient music by Avahara. (Led by Cheri Clampett, Sunday @1:15 – 2:15pm EST)
Gentle: Gentle Yoga
This all-levels class is the perfect blend of meditation and gentle movement. You will link body movement with your breath as you move through a series of postures with opportunities to modify or challenge yourself throughout. This class includes meditative breath work, modified sun salutations, standing and balancing poses, and calming finishing poses. It will end with a deep relaxation of the mind and body into savasana. Beginners welcome! (Led by Ali Bullano, Sunday @2:30 – 3:30pm EST)
Active: GYM Hoop Yoga
Traditional Vinyasa style with the GYM twist. Class does incorporate Hula Hoops, so be ready for anything. Be prepared to move, sweat, and flow with unique transitions, lots of core work, and balance poses. Let’s have fun! (Led by Briana Young-Roane, Sunday @4:00 – 5:00pm EST)
Chair: Gentle Yoga All Done in a Chair
In this class, JJ will take students through a variety of movements that are possible to do in a chair. She’ll start with a centering practice focusing on the breath, then transition to gentle movements increasing in strength and flexibility requirements. After the peak poses, she’ll begin the counter pose sequences to bring the body back to balance. Since not everyone will have the capacity to do all the movements (which is true for any yoga class), JJ asks students to please skip those movements that don’t feel possible and enjoy the ones that do. She’ll end with a guided relaxation with the desired intent to leave students feeling calm and quiet. (Led by JJ Gormley, Sunday @5:15 – 6:15pm EST)
Vedic Chanting: Learn the Vedic Health Chant
Vedic chant is a practice of prāṇāyāma (breathing) and dhāraṇā (concentration), both activities we can always benefit from, but especially now. The chant selected is a “health chant” from the Taittiriya Aranyaka, asking for the support and nourishment of all our human systems, so that we, in turn, may offer support and nourishment to others. Participants will also receive a video to support future practice. (Led by Cheryl Oliver, Sunday @6:30 – 7:30pm EST)
Yoga Nidra: Yogic Sleep
Join Ashleigh for yoga nidra or “yogic sleep”, a powerful technique to help you consciously relax. This rejuvenating practice begins with some gentle movement to prepare the body for stillness and continues with a guided meditation and visualization. Nidra, a state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleep, allows for deep rest and transformation. Take an hour to take care of you! (Led by Ashleigh Seiber, Sunday @8:00 – 9:00pm EST)
Active: Nourish & Open
Participants will be led through an intelligent sequence with skillful bio-mechanics that invites them to trust their own intuition and experience. Each will gracefully engage and expand their bodies, minds, and hearts through a balanced practice that creates an overall sensation of steadiness, clarity, and freedom. This workshop will explore a more grounding side of the yoga spectrum, incorporating fluid movement as well as standing postures, hip-openers, twists, and quieting shapes to create harmony within and without. (Led by Lila Brown, Sunday @9:15 – 10:15pm EST)
Gentle: Yoga for Everyone
Yoga for Everyone is an introduction to a basic vinyasa flow class. The is a flow class rated “E” for everyone. A return to the basics of yoga postures and breath. Great for beginners and advanced beginners with lots of opportunities to customize the flow to fit your body and skill level. This is a celebration of what your body can do through joyful movement. (Led by Dianne Bondy, Sunday @10:30 – 11:45pm EST)