Area Yoga Brooklyn

The Prana E.C.O. Mat

Looking to put your old yoga mat to good use? Most mats nowadays are biodegradable (at Area Yoga, you can buy Prana E.C.O. and natural mats, with no PVC), so if yours winds up in a landfill, at the very least, you know it won’t be there until the end of time. But even when your yoga mat has lost its grip or is worn through to the skeleton, it can still be put to good daily use.

This list of customer suggestions pulled together by Gaiam, maker of yoga mats, props, and clothes, is a good place to start. My personal favorite of the list is “grip pads to open jars.” Genius! If you fancy yourself a crafty yogi (and you own a glue gun), you can make yourself a custom pair of flip flops from your old mat.

In the past, we’ve donated our rental mats to teachers to use in our local schools. The Gaiam list reminds us of the many different communities out there who can see new uses for old mats. Recycle Your Mat, of Oregeon, also accepts mats by mail to be upcycled into new yoga props.

What’s the best use you’ve found for your old yoga mat?

Beginners Workshop May 29 – July 10 with Erin Teague Location: Area Yoga
Dates: Fri 5/29/2009 – 7/10/2009
Time: 7:30 PM – 8:40 PM
This six week workshop is ideal for brand-new to more-experienced beginners. Each week will focus on a different topic including: linking breath and movement, standing poses, backbending, twists, inversions and a breakdown of sun salutations. Each week will also include details about breathing (pranayama), anatomy and yoga philosophy. You will gain a better understanding of alignment and obtain the knowledge and support to transform your practice. Cost is $75 plus 1 free anytime class – 2 makeups allowed! Taught by Erin Teague.

No class 4th of July weekend!

Kiddo PLAY:

A Summer Acting Workshop for the Very Young!

Imaginations are ignited and creativity flows in this workshop that explores storytelling, improvisation and acting for children ages 4-6.

Children take part in theatre games that inspire self-expression and build characters that give voice to their unique personalities. Into each class is woven a fable or fairytale which springboards the improvisations and which the children take part in recreating. Visual arts, mask, puppetry and costume augment the workshop and support imagination. The jubilant energy that comes from Make-Believe is explored in a supportive and nurturing environment.

WHEN and WHERE: Kiddo Play will take place Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays

June 2, 4, 5, 9, 11 and 12

The classes are from 3:30-5:00pm

Parents are welcome to drop off or stay and play!

Location: Area Yoga at 320 Court Street in Carroll Gardens

HOW to APPLY: Please email kiddo.play.brooklyn@gmail.com with your contact info and child’s name and age.

COST of the PROGRAM:

The program costs $210. Payment info will be given upon confirmation of your child’s registration.

Teacher Bio:

Jocelyn Greene has been teaching theatre to children since 1998. She holds an MFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School and a BA from Wesleyan University. Jocelyn runs the Lower School acting program at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights, and has been teaching and directing grades K-5 there for 4 years. She teaches Theatre at the Berkeley-Carroll Summer Children’s Day Camp. Additionally, she has taught at Oddfellows Playhouse in Connecticut and at Will Power to Youth and Interplay in Los Angeles. As a member of Epic Theatre Ensemble, she teaches Shakespeare to high-schoolers in New York City public schools.

Yoga is an intrinsically healing practice. The ancient Indian goal of yoga was to maintain good physical health, strength, and flexibility to be able to sit in prolonged meditation — no easy task. In ayurveda, the Indian science of medicine, yoga poses are essential to support health and healing in the face of disease. The modern Western medical establishment remains undecided on the quantitative results and positive effects of yoga, but growing evidence and anecdotal experience certainly supports the given that yoga is good for your health. On the physical side, yoga practice promotes muscle and bone strength, increases lung capacity, aids circulation and digestion… the list goes on and on. On the mental side, yoga practice can help reduce stress, cultivate patience, and encourage self reflection — all qualities that promote health and healing.

One of the most inspiring stories I’ve found recently about the healing quality of yoga was in Yoga Journal. The journal found three new-to-yoga volunteers to commit to a prolonged yoga regime with personal physical and mental goals in mind. Read the culmination of their experiment here. Of course, Yoga Journal has its own interest in supporting this sort of “research”. For another perspective, an article in the Financial Times tells the story of a cynic with a bad knee and her healing experience in a yoga workshop.

Yoga is gaining visibility and availability in Western medicine. For example, in New York, we recently saw the christening of a yoga therapy experiment at Beth Israel Hospital’s Continuum Center for Health and Healing. Psychotherapists are also beginning to tap into the relaxing and calming qualities of yoga by integrating yoga poses and breathing exercises into their clients’ sessions.

As KB pointed out in an earlier post (5/20), in the West, we’ve got yoga for just about every interest group. That includes yoga for post-traumatic stress and eating disorders, yoga for cancer survivors, and yoga for people living with HIV/AIDS.

What’s your personal experience with yoga as a healing practice?

This week at AREA Yoga we started classes a bit shorter…you may or may not have noticed. Hopefully this will allow you to fit yoga into your schedule more easily and more often. The 9:15 am classes are now 1 hr and 10 min. and the 5:15 pm is now at 5:30 and 1 hr 10 min. in length. Next week 10 classes will be longer in length. All 7:15 am and 12:30 pm classes will be now 1 hr 10 min. instead of 1 hr.

With the addition of our new room at AREA Yoga we will be adding new classes! Prenatal yoga in evening will be starting in June. Also classes at 4:15 will be added. All requests will be considered! Email us or add a comment to be considered. THANKS!

Since it became a national fad in the last decade, yoga has been catered to fit a variety of needs; there is now yoga for muscle-toning, yoga for reflection, yoga for pregnant mothers.

Personally, I prefer to use yoga as a unifying exercise, reminding me of the connection between body and mind.  More than just a healthy pastime, yoga teaches me about the profound mystery that I am both physical and spiritual and that the two parts are intrinsically, inseparably related. How I feel physically affects my  spiritual health and vice-versa.

This is common sense enough and is the reason why some people like to work-out when they feel emotionally stressed; our physical condition affects our inner condition. And what’s unique to yoga, as opposed to many other routines, is that each movement, each pose, is focused around this  unity. When the poses grow in intensity, yoga requires us to breath deeply and  focus our minds.

So, use yoga as is fitting to you, but don’t forget its wisdom: to be healthy physically enhances the health of the mind.

KB

An article in the New York Times today tells us about potential far-off plans for revamping and reimagining our city’s streets as, “narrow European-style roadways shared by pedestrians, cyclists and cars, all traveling at low speeds.” Combine this bit of fantasy with today’s gorgeous weather, and I’ve got spring fever (again!). I started looking up the spring and summer dates for all my favorite outdoor activities that make creative use of our dynamic cityscape. Hope you find the list below helpful (and day-dream inducing)! Add all I missed in the comments!

Greenmarkets (tomatoes! corn!): www.cenyc.org/greenmarket

Pool Parties (TBD new Williamsburg location): www.thepoolparties.com

PS 1 Warm Up: http://ps1.org

River to River: www.rivertorivernyc.com

Rooftop Films: www.rooftopfilms.com

Street Fairs: http://cititour.com/NYC_Fairs

Summer Streets (here’s hoping this happens again – I’m looking at YOU Mayor Bloomberg!): www.nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets/html/home/home.shtml

Target 1st Saturdays @ Brooklyn Museum: www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/first_saturdays.php

Water Taxi Beach: www.watertaxibeach.com

Spread the word: Pattabhi Jois, founder of ashtanga yoga, has passed away at age 93. Sending infinite gratitude to his teachings and his family.

Please visit our schedule daily for up to date class listings. Memorial day weekend will have an abbreviated schedule at AREA Yoga. If you are lucky enough to be staying in Brooklyn for the holiday as we are, then check the schedule and come to class.