About Yoga at JoyMoves
- JoyMoves’ yoga classes are available on a drop-in, first come, first served basis – i.e. no reservation or membership is required. Classes are for men and women.
- For safety reasons students will not be allowed into a yoga class if it is more than 10 minutes into session.
- The temperature of our yoga classes will be determined by your instructor, but will generally be within the range of 72 to 80 degrees.
- We have an ongoing Beginners-Level class on Saturday mornings for those new to yoga. We have an ongoing Gentle-Level class on Friday mornings for those looking for an appropriate class to take when pregnant (see our Schedule). The Gentle-level class is also appropriate for seniors and those with special needs.
- JoyMoves has a dedicated Yoga Rope Wall Studio that is beneficial for both new students as well as for advanced students. Beginners can be taught poses with proper alignment from the start, while veterans can deepen their practice.
Hatha Yoga
“Hatha” is what most people associate with the word “yoga”. Our Hatha Yoga classes integrate the use of physical postures, attention to the energy and patterns of the breath and internal mental focus to help the practitioner develop flexibility, balance, calmness and strength. Poses are held to emphasize alignment and optimize the benefits of each pose.
Hatha Yoga Flow
Our Hatha Yoga flow classes use regular transitioning between poses to connect asanas with the breath, allowing prana to open and flow more freely. This naturally results in the unlocking of trapped energy, and results in a dynamic, more challenging yoga experience.
Hatha/Iyengar Yoga
Iyengar yoga is an innovative approach to classical Hatha Yoga. Developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, this form of yoga emphasizes breathe & alignment, mental focus and precision. It can be a vigorous form of yoga. Poses are held longer in an Iyengar yoga class (than in a Hatha class) in order to build endurance, concentration, focus and skillful action. It is a form of meditation in motion. All of the major props that are now a part of yoga were developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, and this incudes the “props” of the yoga rope wall and the backbend chairs.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative yoga poses are thought of by many as “active relaxation”. They are specifically designed for when you feel fatigued, weak or stressed out from daily life. However, restorative yoga poses are also useful to practice when you are sick, injured or recovering from childbirth. See a Restorative Yoga video.
Restorative yoga offers the opportunity to experience postures that gently open the body and release even long-held tensions. Students are carefully guided into postures, fully supported with props in such a way as to create the physiological conditions that promote deep relaxation. Additionally, restorative yoga poses move the spine in multiple directions, thus putting into practice the ancient yoga idea that a healthy spine promotes well-being.
Vinyasa Yoga
The word Vinyasa means “to put or place in a specific order or sequence.” In a Vinyasa class, the teacher will lead students through sequences of postures designed to create a specific effect in the body or mind. The movement from posture to posture is usually linked to your breath. In other words, the teacher will instruct you to move from one pose to the next on an inhale or an exhale. This technique is sometimes also called Vinyasa Flow, or just Flow because of the smooth way that the poses run together and become like a dance. Vinyasa allows for a lot of variety, but almost certainly includes Sun Salutations.
Expect movement in a Vinyasa class – not just stretching. The class can be fast or slow, and might be more or less alignment-oriented. Some popular yoga styles, such as Ashtanga and Power Yoga, make use of the Vinyasa method, but studios that offer these styles will list them on a class schedule by their individual names. Vinyasa’s strength is in its diversity. There is no single philosophy, rulebook, or sequence that teachers must follow, so there is a lot of room for individual personalities and quirks to come through.
Here’s a little more on JoyMoves Vinyasa classes:
Monday Night – Vinyasa Form and Flow
This class begins with a Vinyasa flow focusing on connecting breath to movement. From this opening, we will make use of the yoga wall and other props to explore alignment and deepen work in the poses.
Wednesday Night – Vinyasa Flow
Wednesday’s class uses what you learned on Monday in a more rigorous Vinyasa flow style class, focusing on both breath and alignment. Monday’s class is a not a pre-requisite, but the two are designed to bring both strength and depth to your yoga practice.
Both the Monday and the Wednesday night Vinyasa classes are considered Experienced Beginner/Intermediate Level yoga classes.
Prenatal Yoga
With the increasing popularity of yoga, many women are aware that there are numerous physical benefits of prenatal yoga. For example, yoga can often help alleviate many of the discomforts of pregnancy such as nausea, constipation, swelling, back pain and sciatica. Further, yoga helps strengthen the uterus and pelvic muscles, improve circulation, aid in digestion, exercise the spine and increase overall comfort. In addition to its many physical benefits, prenatal yoga helps women through the evolutionary process of pregnancy by connecting with other pregnant women, allowing the opportunity for inward reflection, providing a healthy physical and emotional outlet for one’s experiences, and ultimately preparing one for birth on a holistic level. This class has been specifically designed for the journey of pregnancy. It is conducted in a calm and peaceful environment. A safe, open community allows you to freely discuss any issues, from discomforts and concerns, to the wonderful new changes your body and baby are experiencing. Before deciding whether prenatal yoga is right for you, we recommend you discuss the idea of taking the class with your physician and also read the following articles:
- Great pregnancy exercise: Yoga, reviewed by Dr. Aaron Deutsch in August 2006
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregnancyfitness/7862.html
- The 13 rules of safe pregnancy exercise, reviewed by Dr. Vicki Lee Edge in August 2006
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregnancyfitness/622.html
Also, while we’re sorry for the bureaucracy of this, but we do require that you have a medical release from a physician to take this class. You can download it here.
Our Gentle-Level Hatha Yoga class on Friday mornings is open to pregnant women in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters who are having a healthy pregnancy and who have an authorization from their physician. We recommend that women take it easy the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy and allow their body that time to become accustomed to the changes of pregnancy. However, if you practiced yoga before becoming pregnant this does not necessarily mean you have to stop your practice all together. Women who are in this situation are welcome to have a conversation with the class instructor to determine whether the class will be suitable for them ahead of the 2nd trimester (a waiver is still required of course). Beginners are welcome – no previous yoga experience is required.
Private, Duet and Trio Yoga Instruction are also great prenatal yoga and postnatal yoga alternatives for women.
