New Classes and New Website!

The last couple of weeks have been an incredible whirlwind of my yoga "career" coming together. I quote "career", because primarily it is a passion: to simply provide the remarkable space and guidance of a yoga practice, and from there, its all in the hands of the miracle of yoga itself. I have every intension of continuing on this path for the rest of my life, and I wake up everyday feeling infinite gratitude in being blessed to have complete access to such a wonderful, beautiful practice and art.

My website has just launched, please visit:  www.yogawithjenna.com

My class schedule in Santa Cruz is as follows:

Tues:  

10am - 11am Yin Yoga @ Zen Capistrano

Weds:  

12pm - 1pm Lunch Power Flow @ Pleasure Point Fitness & Dance

Thurs: 

10am - 11am Special Needs Yoga @ HOPE

12pm - 1pm Lunch Time Power Yoga and Core @ Zen Capistrano

6:30pm - 7:45pm Vinyasa Flow 1/2 @ Pleasure Point Fitness & Dance

I also am taking privates and small groups, which the rates will vary depending on size of group/time of class. 

Here are the links for Zen and Pleasure Point Fitness & Dance: 

http://www.zencapistrano.com/

http://pleasurepointfdc.net/

(My classes will being next week, and I may not be on their posted schedule yet).

Also I will be subbing classes quite a bit at Spa Fitness in Watsonville this summer! 

Here is the link: 

http://www.spafitness.com/aerobics3.php

My first class subbed there will be this Saturday at 10, then next Friday, June 5 at 10am. 

Top 10 Reasons to Give Yoga a Try

According to Yoga Alliance

1. STRESS RELIEF:  Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging 

relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits 

include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the 

immune system as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, 

fatigue, asthma and insomnia. 

2. PAIN RELIEF:  Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga 

asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with 

conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as 

well as arthritis, back and neck pain, and other chronic conditions.  Some practitioners 

report that even emotional pain can be eased through the practice of yoga. 

3. BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to 

improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response and increase the amount of 

oxygen available to the body. 

4. FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement 

and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga 

class. Gradually they begin to use the correct muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons 

and muscles lengthen, increasing elasticity, making more poses possible.  Yoga also helps to 

improve body alignment resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint 

and muscle problems. 

5. INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas (postures) use every muscle in the body, helping to 

increase strength literally from head to toe. And, while these postures strengthen the body, 

they also provide an additional benefit of helping to relieve muscular tension.

6. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts by 

reducing the cortisol levels as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga 

also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well being and 

self esteem. 

7. IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various 

poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body’s cells. 

8. CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING:  Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardio- 

vascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving 

oxygen uptake during exercise. 

9. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware 

and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordi- 

nation, reaction time and memory. 

10. INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help many to reach a deeper, more 

spiritual and more satisfying place in their lives.  Many who begin to practice for other 

reasons have reported this to be a key reason that yoga has become an essential part of 

their daily lives. 

For more information please www.yogaalliance.org and www.yogadayusa.com 

The Healing Program; Intro

In a 10 hour teacher training workshop with Mark Stephens "Working with Injuries", I was able to learn about and explore the path of working with physical injuries (as well as spiritual and emotional, though I'll save that for later) in a yoga class setting. 

Experiencing injuries as a yoga student, either within your practice, or outside of, can be looked at under a positive light. With a muscle tear or strain for example, rather that just the basic TLC that it needs, we can use this opportunity to explore, and learn about the anatomy, and physiological aspects, focusing on this area. Injuries in this way can be like teachers, in opening doors and guiding us towards finding something new, and understanding ourselves even further. 

As a teacher, it is first important to make an assessment, and work towards understanding how a student came to be a certain way, in a certain area of the body, or with yoga, in a certain asana.  With a student that comes to class with lordosis, overly inward curvature of the lumbar spine, the teacher should primarily investigate in way to understand the students history, lifestyle, genetics, past traumas, and the list goes on.  Assist the student at hand in discovering the cause. For example: perhaps the lordosis stems from long distance running and concentric use of the hip flexor muscles, eccentric use of the hamstrings. Its important also to be aware of when the pain/discomfort occurs, where, and the entire scope of circumstances under which the student faces their challenges. There are innumerable factors that can come into play here, including: daily activity, occupation (daily activity), diet, substance use, patterns of rest, as well as medication. 

Other considerations of "why?" May or may not include for you: Questions on your own karma, your current and past surrounding, all that may directly or indirectly affect your physical being. How we live, as far as overall lifestyle in general, is embodied within us, and results in physical condition; whether that condition is positive or negative.... again the question that depends in large part on our own perception.  

In order to fulfill my position as a yoga teacher, I’ll be happy to always share advice for healthy lifestyle, and more. With knowledge of injuries or challenges in students, friends, family, I’ll offer guidance and support according to specific needs, and my knowledge and teacher training on the particular issues. The space under which I will offer the practice, will be a welcoming one, a safe place for everyone, always. 

Its important for students to really acknowledge any pain they are feeling. Pain is a tool, a voice coming from the body, reminding us of our limits. Rather than fighting, or all together ignoring the inner voice of pain, we should explore. As a teacher, being aware of the 5 yamas, and in working with injuries, the yama: Aparagraha. Aparagraha is non-attachment, non-possessiveness, and towards our students, not pushing them to “go for it”, but explore on their own, at their own will, and by the will of their body. 

It is important to remember always, that as a yoga teacher, and though you may consider yourself knowledgeable enough to make these assessments and prescriptions, make sure that your student, or the person with injuries at hand is aware that you are not a doctor, and offer encouragement for them to seek outside, professional advice when necessary.  

I will continue over time, to write more on the valuable information I have to share on specific injuries. Coming soon.... The first assessment. (Followed by specific injury in ankle, knees, low back, etc, etc). 

Subjective Yoga; Beauty

As I have spent much of the last year in exploration of my self, the practice of yoga, and a greater picture life has to offer each and every being, I’ll work on these short write ups, and offer them to share with you. All that I ask is to read, hear, consider the point made which I feel myself growing even more so attached to. What I don’t want, is for you each to take my word. Disagree where and whenever you feel fit, but appreciate just the way your mind opens to discovery and question of something deeper than just  the ordinary ins and outs that many people tend to see day in and day out. A lot of what I write and share here goes beyond factual, into the realm of spirituality. Spirituality is unique for every person; subjective, and open to creativity and exploration individually, making it perhaps the most beautiful of all. That being said, I wont hold myself back from expression of all that I am learning, both in the outside world, but even more importantly in myself. Feedback, question, and even intelligent criticism is appreciated always. 

True Detox

I spent the evening in a deeply insightful, detox flow workshop with Seane Corn, and here's a brief recap of the message I feel lucky to have taken home: 

Detox begins with the question: not “What are you eating?”, but “What’s eating you?” What are you eating, and WHY. In the start of the detox workshop this weekend, I really felt connected to a few key points, and a larger message, all that came up in the topic of detox of the body.
When ‘detox’ is mentioned, most people tend to skim the surface of deeper issues, looking at what to eat and how to get healthy. Rather that asking, how to ‘get’ heathy, a better question would be: How to embody an optimal-health fullness of life, lifestyle. This optimal goal, once attained, will serve us in body, mind and spirit. Ideally, we’ll someday be able to find ourselves content, and gracefully accepting of our true self, at its rawest, barest form. We will trust and embrace all that we know, and from that centeredness and presence, shine from the inside out, holding nothing back in question, and just releasing the energy contained within, the confidence and surety we have in who we are. 

With a strong sense of self, we’ll find comfort and health in the 3rd chakra (chakras being 7 subtle energy centers found throughout our body, that channel vibrance of life when released and work from a healthy state). In our 3rd chakra, Manipura chakra, is where we identify with self, the ego. Insecurity, unsettling, and deeper emotions are stored here, and with lack of self acceptance, trust and acknowledgement, we tend to act out towards often harmful answers to solve these unresolved feelings inside of us, the feelings that live on in most of us under shadows. Harmful answers we come by may involve food, alcohol, drug abuse, sexual abuse, and tensions such as stress, all of which are toxins to the body. By our emotions, and all that we think and feel, our body holds on and remembers. Without the proper handling of, and surrender to emotions and inner voice, we’ll continue to act in resistance, by burying our fears, wounds and distress with harmful outside sources.
Until we can let go of that resistance, and surrender to what is, our body will be effected both in spirit and physically. Our nervous system, immune system, digestive system, hormonal system and the list goes on, are all directly effected by these toxins that exist due to our inability and unwillingness to release, accept and surrender to.
In every person, be ready to purify the shadow that lives within you, and surrender to all that comes up in a yoga practice. The practice of vinyasa, the dynamic movement of asana, is a practice to release toxins and reach lymphatic flow, the release of water retention of toxins in the body. Through this detoxifying movement, as waste leaves the body through sweat and breath, let go of resistance, and embrace the path that your intuition is directing you towards.

The only thing we are guaranteed to be undoubtedly capable of changing in the world individually, is our own perception. All that physically exists may or may not be altered by our efforts and karma, but our perception is the key and ticket above all other external events and influences. Perception is everything, and with that, we’ll find brighter paths.

A Vinyasa Flow Detox Sequence:

Begin lying on back, eyes closed, exploring with the hands, the lower pelvic area, stomach area, liver and kidney area. Increasing awareness of the location and existence of the essential, vital organs.

In each asana, spend at least a few minutes. In the vinyasa flow sequence between asanas and in the first sun salutations, move with the breath. In a detox flow, it is important to be aware of space in the pelvis area, very limited compression. Don't let yourself drop to what is regularly your deepest edge of the asana. Explore proper alignment, slow conscious movement into the pose, to keep the pelvis neutrally aligned with the rest of the skeleton, in order to maintain open space for the intestine to work to detox. 

Begin in easy twist, from back, legs together, knees bent. first twist to the right, then left.
(Do this twice, the 1st time more dynamic than the 2nd. The 2nd time giving in to the stretch).

Cat-Cow
Down Dog
Sun Salutations A and B, 5 times through each, moving with breath.

Plank, draw in one knee at a time toward forehead, drawing up and stabilizing through the core. Hold on each side for a few minutes.

Plank. Drop to forearms, walk feet in to dolphin.

Walk feet out to forearm plank. Hold for minute or two, then lift one foot at a time, holding each for a minute.

Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Side warrior
Triangle
Parsvottanasana: Intense forward (knee to forehead stretch)
Revolved Triangle
Revolved Cresent
Revolved Utkatasana

Bridge
Urdhva Danurasana (Upward Bow)

Happy baby
Easy twist

pigeon lying on the back

baddha konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

Savasana