Skip to main content

Festival of Yoga 2017 - International Day of Yoga

Saturday June 18, 2017 was a celebration in San Diego for the International Day of Yoga. Sponsored/organized by local studio Pilgrimage of the Heart in conjunction with a number of other yoga studios and local/regional sponsors, 500 practitioners of yoga of the body/mind/spirit gathered to celebrate peace, unity, breath, sunshine, life and love!

Accessible Yoga Ambassador/RYT/Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner Jo-San Arnold and I partnered together for the second year to teach Adaptive Yoga for special needs, and this year we added Chair Yoga for Every Body. The festival asked us to offer four half-hour breakout sessions to coincide with their other workshops and we were happy to oblige.

Jo-San had friends from Great Paces come down to enjoy the morning sessions. We emphasize that our style of yoga is NOT just for those with the special needs but also for the caregivers as well, giving everyone and opportunity to stretch and strengthen, to take a break, to reconnect with their bodies, and to just BE.

I was tickled that some of my Silver Sneakers mates came out to celebrate the afternoon sessions and we also had a few other people stop by - "regular" yoga practitioners, a yoga therapist and a woman that specializes in yoga for recovery. What an honor to be able to share with them the joy and the authenticity of yoga "even" in chairs. We received compliments about how much more attention they were able to pay to individual subtle movements of the body!

What I found to be one of the most wonderful aspect of teaching at this event was that we were actually able to get our feet in the grass, to hear the sounds of environment both urban AND natural; rush of the wind in the trees, the birds in the sky, the ambient noise of traffic on the street beyond the park, and even the airplanes cruising overhead (yes, we were directly in the airport landing flight path). The contrast of the warm sun, the shade and scent of eucalyptus trees and the feel of the damp cool grass and earth were wonderful grounding sensations. In fact, when I went on later that afternoon to the group class practice, I found that my balance was actually better outside, on the uneven ground, with no mirror and no flat walls or floor, then it ever is in a studio.

Below are some pictures of Jo-San and me teaching the Adaptive Yoga and the Chair Yoga classes. We even received some coverage in the Union Tribune (thank you Karen Pearlman):

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/hoy-san-diego/news/sd-me-yoga-balboapark-20170617-story.html

Adaptive Yoga


Representing :)
First, Breathing with the Hoberman Sphere
Gentle Twists in Our Chairs
Arms Overhead
Side Stretch
Me, Randy from Great Paces and the amazing Jo-San Arnold
The Great Paces/Great Expectations Group

Chair Yoga


Lunge Pose in a Chair
Navasana (Boat) Pose Prep
Navasana (Boat) with a Block for Pelvic Activation
Low Boat with a Block
Twisting (Pavritta) Lunge on the Chair
Warrior 2 Stance Using Chair Support
Side Angle with Chair Support - W2 Stance
Easeful Pyramid Pose with Chair as a Guide
Child's Pose to Close Class

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Those Mysterious Hand Gestures - The Mudras! a link to a post by Blissful Body Yoga

From blissfulbodyyoga.com I love mudras. They are one of my earliest discoveries of yoga, dating back to my childhood when I would "play" with my hands. Bend them, press them together, make them soar like wings. I let my hands dance as the true expression of my anahata (heart) chakra that they are. As I grew into an artist, yoga teacher and healer, the magical emanations of energy from my hands became an even deeper part of my practice, and how I share healing with others.  The Kripalu tradition is part of my lineage as a yogi, and Swami Kripalu, like many yogis, was known to have eruptions of spontaneous mudras while deep in meditation. Mudras create powerful energetic "circuits" in our system on many levels, in all of our koshas (energetic sheaths.) They hold energy, heal, protect, enlighten and express. Over the years I have learned mudras from my teachers, but many, many more have simply come through my hands in a natural way. This is the point I want most to s...

Upcoming Reminders for Silver Sneakers

All the afternoon classes now meet at 1pm - 2pm (Monday in El Cajon, Wednesday Casa de Oro, Friday Lemon Grove). Other upcoming reminders - see the schedule at under CALENDAR and/or FREE YOGA No class Tifereth Israel 9/28, 10/5, 10/12 (Jewish Holidays) No class Lemon Grove 11/4 (MS Challenge Walk weekend) No class La Mesa 11/5 (MS Challenge Walk weekend) No class Tifereth 11/9 (family event) No class Casa de Oro 11/9 (family event) No class Lemon Grove 11/11 (family event) No class La Mesa 11/12 (family event) No class Tifereth 11/23 (thanksgiving week) No class Casa de Oro 11/23 (thanksgiving week) No class Lemon Grove 11/25 (thanksgiving week) No class la Meas 11/26 (thanksgiving week)

#PPOTD Two-week Recap (from b'yomyoga on Twitter)

b'yom yoga‏@byomyoga Feb 14 #ppotd first day teach yoga #stmadeleinesophiescenter and i'm awash in goodwill. #lifeisgood #inmydharma b'yom yoga‏@byomyoga Feb 17 #ppotd thank your body for all it does, forgive it for all it doesn't, support it growing strong with a positive mind and deep full breaths b'yom yoga‏@byomyoga Feb 18 #ppotd if a friend offers a shared activity - accept! companionship does the heart good (thank you Claire Young) b'yom yoga‏@byomyoga Feb 20 #ppotd @YMCASanDiego open to the public all day today - get your family activities on!! b'yom yoga‏@byomyoga Feb 21 #ppotd never underestimate the power of alone time. b'yom yoga‏@byomyoga Feb 23 #ppotd #worldbeatcenter our school's 1st & 2nd graders were enthralled learning west African drumming and dance - a joy and privilege 2 see! b'yom yoga‏@byomyoga 19h19 hours ago #ppotd never miss a chance to tell someone you care about them