Curvy Yoga™ class series at Lifespan Yoga®

I completed my certification in Curvy Yoga August, 2012. I really was not looking for another certification; I have plenty to keep me busy. I pursued the Curvy certification because I wanted to be very clear that my studio not just welcomed curvy bodied students, but was serious about their yoga education. I want my classes to feel safe and accessible for all people, and if someone has a round body I am committed to teaching yoga that will work for that person. Many curvy students have always wanted to do yoga but never felt welcome in a yoga class and this must change. Yoga has always been for every body.

It is important to break the myth that yoga is only for skinny, flexible, young people. You will probably never see an image in the media of a curvy yogi. The last advertiser I was working with could find no stock photo of a yogi over a size 4 to use for my ads. I asked them if they had a stock photo of someone with grey hair doing a yoga pose. They did not.

The main goal in Curvy Yoga is providing a comfortable and supportive space for Curvy students to explore yoga postures with other people like them, learning the same thing, and going through similar challenges. I found beginning Curvy students could completely relax with others in a no-judgment zone. We are now winding down the Curvy Yoga series this Tuesday (6:45-7:45 pm). All of the students finishing up the Curvy series are feeling confident about moving into Gentle Yoga. 

When I developed our Gentle Yoga classes, I did so for my students with chronic disease, chronic pain and/or severe stress. They wanted to slow down and relax, their health depended on it. They did not need to increase their stress with a fast paced or too hard yoga class! So the Gentle Yoga classes became a place to do yoga very slowly, with time in the pose and between poses. All poses are taught at a few levels of difficulty so any student can experiment, challenge or back off at any time. With their Curvy Yoga introduction, these students will blend right in. They can grab chairs or props at any time and now they know exactly when to use them.

We will resume our Gentle Yoga class at 6:30pm Tuesdays in October. If you want to learn about my next Curvy Yoga program at Lifespan Yoga in Jacksonville, FL go to www.lifespanyoga.com and sign up for our newsletter to receive announcements.

Chair Yoga Certification Program

Lifespan Yoga® Chair Certification in Jacksonville, Florida

September 23

When I began teaching yoga to cancer patients that were being treated with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, everyone was doing well in yoga class and many of the students were fit. But I had a nagging feeling that someone would come in that could not get up and down from the floor. This prompted me to learn Chair Yoga. I did my research, took classes, read up on it and finally put it on the calendar as a stand alone class. In the first class I had a woman who had suffered 7 strokes, a woman with dementia, two women who walked with canes and a few people with leg problems from diabetes. I realized this was going to be as challenging as the cancer classes and I loved it. I never looked back. I added another class the next year and now am offering a class to certify other yoga teachers to teach this very special yoga.  

To enroll in this certification you must have completed a Yoga Alliance Approved 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training and have a calling to learn how to teach yoga to people who cannot get up and down from the floor. This includes people of all ages. Younger people attend chair yoga classes if they have serious headaches or medications that make them dizzy. People with every type of disability, especially MS attend. People of all ages with knee and hip problems avoid floor yoga and move to chair yoga. Diabetics with neuropathy may feel safer doing yoga in a chair. Some people begin in chair yoga and after a few months transition to gentle yoga on the floor. This happens more than I expected. Of course anyone who sits at a desk can do yoga at work in their chair. Many yoga postures can be modified so everyone can experience the spirit of the yoga poses from a chair or with the chair as a prop. If you are interested in providing a transformational experience for these students, this certification is for you. Sign up at www.lifespanyoga.com.

YTT 200 Graduation

 

Today we graduated our first class of Lifespan Yoga® Teachers. These special gals worked hard all summer and with great joy we welcomed them into the circle of yoga teachers this afternoon. We are grateful for their dedication and to their loved ones who supported them all summer. Although Jessica’s mom is far away and could not be with us she posted this on Facebook:

Today I am one proud mom, my daughter Jessica graduates, she will be a yoga instructor...as many of my dear friends know she was diagnosed with brain cancer March 2011, and just finished her chemo May 2012. I am so proud of her, all that she has been thru...I can remember it like it was yesterday me pushing her in a wheelchair. Taking her around the rehab place and her yelling at me that I was going too fast...and then the rehab she went thru to regain use of her leg and arm, playing with coins to force her to use her hand and her being mad at me. I loved when she got angry at me…showed me she had the fight in her...She was a trooper. I want to Thank all of my friends who stood by me with private messages...and phone calls...Barb and Sandi, I cannot even begin to thank you. Barb...the gentle way you hit me in the head and helped me get myself together. My older daughter Jennifer who flew back and forth from California...my brother and his wife...putting up with my trials and tribulations...my sweet husband helping me thru it all. So many to thank...my husband's company who with compassion allowed him to take time off and get me back and forth to the hospital  and rehab places in Boston… Thank you so much, Jr…Of course a big thank you also to Jessica's dad...my ex husband who came up from Florida and got a hotel room so he can take Jess back and forth everyday for her chemo treatments. Jessica has come a long way...and everyday she faces challenges...I am so proud of her. Yoga has helped her so much thru this all...and now she will share her knowledge of yoga to others...

Lifespan Yoga® Yoga Teacher Training Testimonials

I recieved feedback from my current YTT trainees today and had to post their testimonials. They will graduate in two weeks and it is hard to believe the first YTT class is coming to a close!

Yoga Teacher Training at Lifespan Yoga® is a special type of teaching program. There is no other YTT program like it in or around Jacksonville. With small classes and individualized attention, the training is targeted to each student’s needs. It is gentle and flexible enough for those with health issues, like me. The teacher, and owner of the studio, Beth Daugherty, has many years of experience teaching and living yoga. It has taught me how to work with others like myself who have special needs. I highly recommend Lifespan Yoga® YTT if you are looking for a different way of learning to teach yoga.----Sandy S., YTT trainee

Yoga Teacher Training at Lifespan Yoga® has had a huge positive impact on my life. The individualized attention and small class structure made the training so enjoyable and informative. I not only learned how to be an instructor, but I improved my own health and practice greatly.----Jessica N., YTT trainee

Yoga for Cancer Survivors: Save the Date 10.13.12

Yoga in the Park

in memory of Christina Phipps

Date: Saturday, October 13, 2012

Time: 8am - 4pm
Place: Sea Walk Pavilion
Jacksonville Beach

http://www.yogainthepark4cancer.com

Come meet me and other volunteer Christina Phipps Foundation certified yoga teachers out at the beach in October. The proceeds from this event go to Jacksonville’s own In the Pink, a non-profit, one stop store that provides a variety of related products and merchandise specifically for cancer survivors. http://www.jaxinthepink.com

Things You Need to Know about Lifespan Yoga

Welcome new Living Social students!  The deal went off and we had a good response. It would be very helpful if you print the registration form from www.lifespanyoga.com , fill it out and staple it to your voucher. When you arrive just hand it to the teacher, sign in and get set up.  Bring your yoga mat and a bottle of water. There are props at the studio but if you like to use your own, feel free to bring them. The classes at Lifespan Yoga are gentle and last about an hour.  The August schedule is posted on the website and we will be adding a Thursday evening all levels class soon. Watch the website for fall Curvy Yoga workshops.

Yoga: Compassion, not Discrimination

This article by Lifespan Yoga founder Beth Daugherty was published in the July, 2012 issue of Natural Awakenings Magazine, Jacksonville, FL

A woman was recently kicked out of a Jacksonville Yoga studio and the reason may surprise you. The story begins at her doctor’s office where she was being treated for a serious illness. Things were not going well and the concerned doctor recommended gentle exercise to help her healing. They discussed some options and decided yoga may be a good fit. Many Jacksonville doctors, including a few at the Mayo Clinic, refer patients to yoga for a variety of conditions including very serious and life threatening ones so this was not unusual. After plucking up her courage she entered the doors of her local yoga studio. Shortly after making it through the threshold the instructor kicked her out, telling her to come back after she lost 100 pounds. Dumbfounded, she left.

Unfortunately, this type of blatant size discrimination has always been rampant. It is still a relevant issue as our headlines warn of an obesity epidemic, and our first lady chose childhood obesity as one of her signature issues. Like all discrimination, the root cause is not hard to find. It is always an issue of justice. One group is treated poorly by another because justice and equality are not valued. This happens in every culture around the globe. When an individual favors justice and equality for all, feelings of compassion often follow. This happens all over the world as well. Research shows long term volunteers for worthy causes volunteer their time not to feel good or promote themselves, but because they value justice and equality. Our country and democracy itself is dependent on this fact.

Anna Guest-Jelley, founder of Curvy Yoga™ knows this first hand. She says, “Many people who are interested in trying Curvy Yoga™ have never done yoga before… they’ve never even considered it. They may have wanted to try it, but many have dismissed it out of hand as an option”. The discrimination is ever present and can not be ignored. Curvy Yoga™ was founded for curvy-bodied people to have an option to try yoga in a safe way and be in a body positive space for people of all sizes. Lifespan Yoga® located in theMandarin area of Jacksonville is the first local studio offering these unique classes this summer.

Compassionate behavior is rooted in equality. Compassion is highly prized but can not occur at the same time as discrimination against another person based on race, religion, gender, size or anything else. Just the act of trying to eliminate your biases enhances your compassion. Your character can be developed and improved at any stage of life. Yoga, at its core is a compassionate tradition, but it is also a practice. It will take time to root out the biases we hold. It takes time for things to fall away that do not belong. This brings us back to the yoga teacher at the beginning of the story. As horrified as we may be at what happened, we will trust the practice to bring awareness to discrimination and bias.