Leslie Howard returns to SLC in October for another series of workshops on “all things pelvic”, plus one workshop for the knees, called “The Bee’s Knees”, and one for discovering the capacity of your glutes, called “Smart Ass, Dumb Ass”.

This time, Leslie will offer the two-day, six-hour “Yoga for the Female Pelvic Floor” workshops as she did in December, 2016. It’s a great time to review and refamiliarize yourself with the info, concepts, and practices, if you’ve attended previously, or to simply “demystify ‘down there'” (as she says) if you have never attended a pelvic floor workshop previously. The workshop is open to women only, no yoga experience needed.

In addition, she’ll offer a two-hour introductory mini-workshop. This is a way to get introduced to the pelvic floor ‘in a nutshell’, so to speak. Attendance is helpful for those joining the full workshops, or a great stand-alone for those who cannot commit to the full two-day workshop, or those who just want to know what this pelvic floor stuff is all about. Again, this workshop is for women only. Thanks for your understanding.

This pelvic stuff is SO important for the females, I cannot BEGIN to tell you how important it is to share this information. The experiential learning is enlightening and liberating, to use two overused words. So, please, please share this info with your gynecologist, your masseuse, your mom, sister, daughter-in-law, your nurse-practitioner, your lawyer, your mayor (!), your barista, and encourage them to attend. There’s no end to the learning, only a beginning, and knowledge helps make our journey so much better.

The knee and glute workshops are designed for those who currently engage in a yoga practice, but Leslie’s teaching is so very accessible, I recommend it even if you’re not a practicing yogi. Plus, the gents are invited to these workshops! Tell your friends and fellow yogis, especially if they have wonky knees or glutes.

Preregistration/prepayment is required–your payment confirms your place in the workshops. The workshops aren’t available for drop-in attendance, so please contact me if you have any questions.

Workshops are held at Mindful Yoga Collective and Vitalize Yoga Studio.

Workshop Details are here, with a link to the Workshop Payment page here!  

Learn about Leslie here!

Let me know if you have any questions at all, and I sincerely hope to see you and your community at the workshops in October.

Sincerely,

Dana

P.S. There’s talk of hosting Leslie’s Pelvic Floor Yoga Teacher Training in SLC in January, 2018–stay tuned!

Hello, everyone! Dana here.

I’m delighted to let you know that I’ve just received official notice of certification as a yoga therapist from the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Thank you to the generous teachers, students, clients, family and friends who’ve helped me to this achievement.

I look forward to continuing to teach and practice with each of you, now with “C-IAYT” after my name!

• July 3 (Mon.) 9:15am: Dana’s class held as usual.
• July 5 (Weds.) 9:15am: Dana’s class held as usual.
• July 6 (Thurs.) 7:30 am: Dana subs for Charlotte.
• July 7 (Fri.) 9:15am: Dana’s class is cancelled.
• July 11 (Tues.) 7:30am: Dana subs for Charlotte.
• July 13 (Thurs) 7:30am: Dana subs for Charlotte.
• July 21 (Fri.) 9:15am: Dana’s class is cancelled.

Thanks for your understanding, and I’ll see you in the cool studio in the morning to enjoy the hot summer days!

International Yoga Day is celebrated each year on the solstice, June 21.

This week, we practiced the sequence provided by the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, in all three morning classes at Mindful Yoga Collective. (By the way, the Institute was recognized in India on June 20, 2017, with the Prime Minister’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Promotion and Development of Yoga.)

• Monday, we worked on finding the midline of our limbs, and on focusing our efforts.
• Wednesday, we worked in silence as much as possible.
• Friday, we worked on what I call “the Goldilocks Factor”, which means paying attention to the quality of our effort, and finding the effective amount of effort in our practice. ‘Effort’ refers to the body, mind, and breath. Students were also instructed to pay attention to “when they were ready” to change, to move into or out of a pose.  We finished with pranayama (Viloma 1 and 2, and Ujjayi), and there was a sweetness and fullness to everyone’s voices in the final chanting at the end of class.

Below is the sequence; poses were modified according to students’ needs.

Below the sequence, you’ll find a fun video from Yogi Zain, an Iyengar teacher in California, demonstrating the entire sequence (in time-lapse)!

· Tadasana
· Urdhva Hastasana
· Urdhva Baddhaguliyasana
· Uttanasana
· Utthita Trikonasana
· Ardha Chandrasana
· Virabhadrasana I to Virabhadrasana III
· Parsvottanasana
· Parivrita Trikonasana
· Prasaritta Padotanasana
· Sirsasana
· Parsva Sirsasana
· Upavistha Konasana in Sirsasana or Eka Pada Sirsasana
· Adho Mukha Svanasana
· Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
· Chaturanga Dandasana
· Dandasana
· Navasana
· Ardha Navasana
· Urdhva Prasaritta Padasana
· Supta Padangusthasana
· Parsva Supta Padanguhthasana
· Parivritta Supta Padangusthasana
· Upavistha Konasana
· Parsva Upavistha Konasana
· Sarvangasana
· Eka Pada Sarvangasana
· Halasana
· Supta Konasana
· Parsva Halasana
· Paschimottanasana
· Savasana
· Viloma 1 and 2 Pranayama
· Ujjayi Pranayama
· Savasana

Recently, I’ve developed and taught a sequence in private and group lessons designed to address hip and back issues. It’s simple, passive, relaxing (because it’s supine), and lets each practitioner discover for themselves their own range of motion within a specific relationship to gravity.

By not bearing weight on the legs (standing), and by removing the effort of sitting upright, we can really kick back and check out our own legs, and see how they move (or don’t) from the hip joints all the way down to the feet.  For several students, it has helped them heal discomfort in their back and hips; hence the term “therapeutic”.

Please read the notes here before doing the sequence. (It’s 8 minutes long, with no narration.) Maybe watch it once to familiarize yourself with it?

Notes: “Therapeutic Reclining Series for Back and Hips”
-Be sure your entire back and backside/derrière rest on the floor with the legs up the wall during the entire series. You’r body should make an “L” shape, more or less. If your buttocks levitate, scoot further away from the wall. If you’re pretty limited in your range of motion to start with, you’ll have nowhere to go, so start simply at a distance.
-Skip any posture you cannot do without distorting the rest of the body. What’s in touch with the floor when you begin should stay so as you move the legs.
-Practice with discernment and intelligence. Value quality over quantity. It’s not a competition. If you just want to lie on the floor with the legs up the wall, more power to you! That’s a GREAT choice anytime!
-Not a substitute for medical care.
-Let me know how it goes, or if you have questions.
(Created by @danalevyyoga. Give credit if you share!)

Here’s the schedule for May 29 through June 2. Check out the photos of Mindful Yoga Collective’s beautiful new entrance sign, too!

• Monday, May 29 (Memorial Day): Dana will teach at 9:15 am, as usual

• Wednesday, May 31: Dana will teach at 9:15 am, as usual

• Friday, June 2: Charlotte Bell will teach the 9:15 am class

Come by and visit–we welcome you at the studio.

SUDDEN CANCELLATION:
Wednesday, May 10, 9:15am class is cancelled; Dana has been summoned for jury duty.
I’m so sorry, folks. Hope to see you on Friday. Thanks for your understanding as I do my civic duty.

May is upon us, and is a beautiful time to be in southern Utah practicing yoga and mindfulness. How about joining me and other wonderful teachers at the Mindfulness and Yoga Retreat at Boulder Mountain Guest Ranch, May 3-7? Spaces still available.

Details here!

What’s it like to work with Paul Linden?

Here’s a short clip from several years ago…while the teaching may have changed since then (become more effective, from what I hear), the essence remains unchanged!