Therapeutics Class Descriptions
All classes $20 unless listed otherwise.
For ongoing Advanced Studies classes with Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews, please click here.
BABIES! with Amy Matthews and Nisha Kewalramani
In their first years of life, babies learn to negotiate gravity and locomote by rolling over, sitting up, crawling and eventually walking. These sessions are an opportunity to explore the reflexes, movement patterns and pathways for sensory and motor development that are the building blocks for successful movement patterns to develop.
You can share in a group your questions and curiosities about your baby's movement patterns and learn how to observe and support helpful movement patterns - we'll use principles from Body-Mind Centering® to explore the movements in our own bodies and in playing with the little ones.
Open to babies from newborn to walking, and adults of all ages interested in observing and practicing their own developmental movement patterns.
$10 donation requested.
Fridays 11:00am-Noon. Please check our schedule page for cancellations.
Email Amy for more information.
Developmental Fundamentals with Amy Matthews
This class weaves together principles of embodied anatomy, developmental movement, the Bartenieff Fundamentals and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) to take you on a tour of your own body and breath.
The full class is spent lying on the floor, focusing deeply on connectivity within the body and your relationship with gravity and space. These relationships and connections are the building blocks for our activities of daily life, as well as for practices like yoga asana, martial arts, sports, etc.
No prior experience with yoga is necessary. This is an excellent class for people with injuries, and for anyone who would like to know their body better.
Thursdays 8:00-9:00am. Please check our schedule page for cancellations.
Pre-registration is required.
Email Amy for more information or to register.
Essential Yoga for Every Body with Lynn Crimando
An effective Yoga practice helps us to activate self-awareness and build better relationships, with both ourselves and those around us. In this class, we'll use the tool of asana practice to build self-understanding in a safe setting that allows for a deep exploration of the essential relationship between the spine, the core and the muscles of breathing. Drawing largely from the Viniyoga tradition, we'll practice a set of traditional standing, seated, prone and supine postures, including some upper-body weight-bearing, standing and seated balances, modified inversions, and sun salutation sequences that are safe for all body types and ages. At the core of movement is the breath. We'll layer simple breathing techniques (pranayama) to add depth to the postures and increase the subtle effects of the work. Adaptations for each posture will allow experienced practitioners and newcomers alike to work at their own speed, creating a practice as vigorous or gentle as is appropriate to each. Special emphasis is placed on:
- Healthy movement of the spine in all directions;
- Releasing chronic contraction that contributes to misalignment and dysfunctional movement patterns
- Easeful joint movement
- Increasing vitality and enhancing mood
- Improved response to everyday stress
- Improved circulation and increased endurance
This class is open to beginners to experienced practitioners. All postures can be modified, although students should be physically able to move from the floor to seated and/or standing postures.
Thursdays 6:30-7:45pm. Please check our schedule page for
cancellations.
Email Lynn for more information.
MELT Class with Gail Bell
MELT is a revolutionary approach to pain-free living developed by manual therapist Sue Hitzmann. MELT uses specialized foam rollers, and small rubber balls to rehydrate your connective tissue system, the tissue that supports, protects and stabilizes your entire body. Students sit, lie down, raise their hips up, and roll their limbs on rollers in carefully orchestrated ways. Balls are used for the hands and feet.
Join Gail Bell, certified MELT instructor, to learn these easy self-treatment techniques. You'll see and feel immediate changes in posture, flexibility, pain-relief, balance and grounding. MELT is for everyone, at any level of fitness. Rollers and balls are provided.
Tuesdays 12:30-1:30pm. Please check our schedule page for cancellations.
For information about The MELT Method, go to www.meltmethod.com.
Email Gail for more information.
MELT for Autoimmune and Neurological Conditions
with Anita Wong, Edya Kalev, and the MELT Team
MELT is a self-treatment technique that directly addresses the connection between the nervous system and the connective tissue system - the "NeuroFascia." Tapping into these two powerful and inter-dependent systems allows us to make deep, subtle changes in the way our bodies coordinate movement, balance, grounding, and stability. With greater stability, we can finally relax and go into the healing mode that is so necessary for our longevity.
The Breathing Project is in an elevator building and can accommodate standard size wheelchairs. You must be able to get up and down from the floor on your own in order to attend class. Chairs, blankets and a full array of props are available for your comfort.
This class is also open to caregivers and close family members of people with Autoimmune and Neurological Conditions, especially those who are unable to make it to class because of their condition.
$10 Suggested donation. All donations accepted with gratitude.
Tuesdays 5:00-6:00pm. Please check our schedule page for cancellations.
Pre-registration is required for all new and returning students. No drop-ins please.
Email Anita for more information or to register.
Pathways to Wellness with Jenna Ritter
Using the healing power of your very own breath, you will be skillfully guided in Chinese (qi gong) and Indian (hatha) yoga techniques that support mental wellness and gently build physical strength and flexibility. Sessions cultivate awareness and acceptance and encourage opening, release and grounding. Self-massage and stillness are integrated into classes, offering a balance of peace, relaxation and renewed enthusiasm for life.
This class fosters the understanding that the body has an innate wisdom to heal itself when we learn how to work with it and cultivates a healthier, more positive relationship with ourselves and others.
This class is open to all who live with a mental health issue (from general stress and anxiety to PTSD, major depression, bipolar, OCD, and schizoaffective discorders, etc). No prior experience necessary.
$5 - $10 suggested donation. No one turned away.
Thursdays 1:30-3:00pm, Fridays 6:30-8:00pm. Please check our schedule page for cancellations.
Email Jenna for more information.
Viniyoga: Yoga For You with Steve Rooney
Experience a personalized approach to Yoga in a 90 minute weekly class that emphasizes a breath-centered approach to asana, grounded in the Viniyoga teachings of Gary Kraftsow and the tradition of T.K.V. Desikachar. Viniyoga is a Sanskrit word that means adaptation and appropriate application. In addition to breath-centered asana (poses), the class may employ other Yoga tools, such as pranayama (breathing exercises), visualization, sound, and guided meditation - depending on the needs and goals of the students. The class is generally relaxing and balanced. You will receive clear verbal instruction, and the work will be adapted and paced to meet your needs.
The class is appropriate for all levels of experience. Beginning students can develop a foundation through an introduction to basic principles of Yoga. Advanced students will benefit from a new experience of fundamentals, and will also explore more challenging variations of poses, complex breathing techniques, and the use of visualization and sound.
The intention of the class is to encourage a personal Yoga practice that addresses your goals, and to provide an opportunity to experience some of the tools that can facilitate such a practice. This Yoga practice can be deeply therapeutic, helping you to address the full range of health issues including those that are structural, physiological, energetic, or psycho-emotional. It can also be incredibly developmental, helping you to create a stronger and more vital body, deepen your mental focus, and enrich your spirit.
Saturdays 9:00-10:30am. Please check our schedule page for cancellations.
Pre-registration is required. This is a small group class, limited to 6 students.
Email Steve for more information or to register.
Yoga for Mental Wellness with Elizabeth Plapinger
Yoga for Mental Wellness is a yoga class devoted to people of any age or fitness level who suffer from emotional distress or mental illness. Anyone experiencing such distress is welcome. A typical class involves gentle movement (asana), attention to breathing, attunement to the present moment, deep relaxation, mindful, nonjudgmental awareness of the mind, body and breath, and delight in movement.
Katie Linn of the New York City National Alliance on Mental Illness describes YMW's impact this way: "Yoga for Mental Wellness has transformed lives, built a sense of community driven by love and acceptance, and removed the stigma often associated with mental illness. [The teachers] ... value the person first and challenge those who participate in their classes to change their own lives and discover a holistic understanding of wellness."
Experience and research suggest that yoga can be a powerful tool for addressing emotional and mental illness. For many of us, the regular practice of yoga can lift the mood, reduce stress, enhance problem-solving, improve strength and flexibility, lessen fatigue and increase energy. Join us in this experiential practice and see how yoga works for you!
The class is free or by donation, with a suggested sliding fee of $5. No one is turned away for inability to pay. Yoga for Mental Wellness was founded in 2003 and is supported by annual donations from individuals, foundations, and The Breathing Project.
Tuesdays & Wednesdays 10:30-11:45am. Please check our schedule page for cancellations.
Pre-registration is required before your first class.
Email Elizabeth (or call her at 551-358-2269) for more information or to register.
