Always wanted to try yoga, but not sure where to start? Do you like to have things broken down to basics and explained thoroughly? Do you feel your best in small classes with individualized instruction to fit your precise needs?
During Spring Term 2020, YOGA for BEGINNERS is a 8-week series, designed for those totally new to yoga, or anyone wanting to master the basics.
Do you flourish in classes where you feel comfortable enough to ask questions with guidance from an approachable teacher and support from friendly peers? Maybe you would you would feel great trying variations that make your body feel good, rather than forcing yourself to do something that just doesn’t feel right.
Are you ready to strengthen, gain confidence, and learn how to relax, concentrate, and heal?
Yes, please! Then this eight-week special course is just right for you.
My Yoga for Beginners series was created and refined for those totally new to yoga and wanting to learn a strong foundation, or those already passionate about yoga who want to review the basics. All are welcome; even if you have been at yoga for a while, this series will likely deepen your practice with renewed commitment and even new knowledge and focal points.
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Due to popular demand for all this series has to offer, this course will be offered at two time slots during our 8-week SPRING TERM 2020: We will meet for 8 sessions, on Tuesday afternoons & evenings, 4-5:15 pm or 6-7:15 pm, March 31, April 7, 14, & 21; [NO session April 28]; and May 5, 12, 19, & 26. Class time is 75 minutes; please arrive early to be ready to go and experience your full practice!
Community-building and creation of a safe, stable space is part of this delicate yet important process of learning the basics. All offerings at AHA Yoga are about turning inward, so progressively designed courses are central to this process. As the series has been specially designed with great care, each class builds upon the previous classes. To get the most benefits of your practice, commitment is for the full 8 weeks of the course term.
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If you are curious about starting yoga, I am so excited you have found this page! I am Virginia Hill, the force behind AHA Yoga, and I have dedicated myself to teaching yoga because it has changed my life and those of my students. Simply put, yoga WORKS. But it is indeed a practice, which means it requires dedication and an ever-increasing understanding so that the deepest benefits can work cumulative, transformative affects. Though I have practiced yoga for over 18 years, it took almost ten years before I found the right teacher and routine so that it could become a part of my daily life. Suddenly, as my practice became more integrated and well-rounded, I experienced what even the simplest yogic techniques have to offer. Yoga encourages physical mobility and comfort and, most importantly, offers a disciplined, creative use of a now peaceful mind. It is a means to heal, and also reach your greater potential. It is with this knowledge and visceral, energetic experience that I created this beginners’ series, so that each student can experiment and feel confident in the basics, understand how and why yoga works, and choose which practices are needed at just the right time and for the most joyful affects. Yoga can only be known through such experience. Come find out more and experience this for yourself by joining this specially designed Yoga for Beginners.
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What do you receive?
Each session begins with a centering exercise to soothe the mind & connect to the breath for a better and more profound practice, warm-ups that sync the breath and movement, and ease-ful yet stimulating routines ensure the safety and stability of joints.
Each class you will be introduced to new “Poses of the Week” where you are taught yoga postures slowly and in detail, and learn how to make each pose gentler or more challenging for your body. Each of these is demonstrated, practiced, and repeated for any questions. We will also return to various practices over time, often reviewing techniques from the previous week, so these motions become accessible and ease-ful, happy habits. This empowers you to really get a feel for them in your body and these new movements and stretches feel more natural and worthwhile.
You also receive a study sheet each week with pictures, names of postures, and tips to help you remember and inspire you to practice at home.
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You will practice basic seated, standing, and supine yoga poses, and how to put them together. These include well-known asana (postures) such as Virabhadrasana (Warrior Pose), Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose), and more. Each posture is cued so you know exactly what to do, and we even learn different ways to get into each pose so you can find the right movement for you. Together we explore detailed alignment–where you place different body parts as well as your awareness and focus the breath–so you can experience firsthand how it is your increased attention and focus that facilitate that incredible sense of spaciousness of peace that yoga unearths. We explore not only where and how to place the body, mind, and breath, but also the scientific reasons of why we do what we do in yoga, and how this corresponds to natural, healthy anatomical structure and physiological and neurological processes.
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Every session includes cool-down and a guided systematic relaxation. You will also experience breath training (to strengthen the diaphragm & increase lung capacity), diagphragmatic breathing (to regulate the nervous system), & yogic breathing techniques (pranayama, to access more calm and energy). You will learn simple exercises for body awareness, proprioception (recognition of the body as it moves through space), and how to integrate the sensations of calm into your everyday routines. You will be provided a strong, steady, and comfortable foundation to begin a systematic and therefore rewarding meditation practice.
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It cannot be emphasized enough that, hand-in-hand with breath work, guided systematic relaxation is THE most important thing a well-rounded yoga practice provides, and these should be approached with great care, enthusiasm, and methodical training to reap and savor these precious fruits.
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Are these components of a strong foundation for your progress what you are seeking? Yes, please!
Then reserve your preferred place by booking now! On-line registration is now open. Both of these sessions usually start a WAITING LIST. So, if you are eager to feel the inner calm that starting a Yoga practice can foster, BOOK NOW to ensure your place is secured:
Yoga for Beginners, 4 pm.
Yoga for Beginners, 6 pm.
You will complete this course with a well-rounded knowledge AND experience of foundational postures AND many creative variations–simple ways to make each position more accessible, challenging, or refined for what your specific body needs and to address different focal points and goals. Such variations are especially helpful because your needs always change over time, and depend upon your environment, routine activities, and what you aim to accomplish. You will complete the course with a firm understanding of how to gently yet effectively adjust your body, thoughts, and movements to regulate your physical habits and nervous system, all so you have the simple, do-able tools you need to access more of your best self each day.
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We will also have fun with yoga props such as blocks, bolsters, blankets, sand weights, pillows, and straps. You will learn how and why each is used, and how adding yoga props to your practice refines your alignment and makes your physical sensations more comfortable or challenging so your yoga is the most beneficial it can be. You will also learn what basic household items you can use at home for the same results.
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Every session builds on the previous week, so it is important you commit to the series. We learn the components of vinyasa (coordinating breath with specific movements) over the term, so what once may have seemed intimidating is not only do-able, but fun and easy to understand and accomplish. Over six inspiring weeks, you build strength and stamina, become adept at modifying poses so they feel best for you, experience different balance poses and how to make them adjust to your body so it feels spacious and open, and feel confident in doing different Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). You will also be introduced to simpler variations that you can do at home or on the go, in your regular clothes, at any time.
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With six luscious weeks of practice, you will begin to feel better on different levels of your being, and be supplied with the knowledge and clarity to keep your practice strong, adaptable, and easier to sustain. You will feel good practicing yoga, so you are more likely to continue and, over time, enhance your happiness as well as your physical health.
By the end of the 8-week term, you will have a firm grounding in how to warm-up, how to move into and out of basic, well-known yoga postures, how active practice and breathing exercises enable deeper relaxation, and how and why relaxation response is the most important tool for the healing benefits of a regular yoga practice. You can feel firsthand why yoga is touted by doctors and wellness experts alike. Mobility, breathing, sleep, and even mood can be improved. Want to know more about clinical trials and other research on the benefits of yoga practice? Then check out my resources page here, “WHY YOGA?”
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Be confident in your choice to commit to your yoga practice, and you will find out why yogis famously tout, “Practice and all is coming.”
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Each session, we meet at our NEW beautiful, serene space at 305 East Duval Street, Suite 101, in Lake City Florida. Ample parking is steps away form the front door, and additional public parking is available across the street on Duval. Great care has been put into this course as well as the design and maintenance of this studio space and props so that it is an inviting, nurturing container for you to explore and develop your own inner capacities.
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BRING YOUR YOGA MAT to each session. Shared Studio mats are available to rent for $2 each class and must be sanitized after each use (cleaning supplies provided). All other yoga props are provided, though you are welcome to bring your own should you prefer.
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Have you tried videos, but learn better in person? Want the encouragement of a community of peers who are also beginning their exploration of yoga?
Class size is limited to ensure you have plenty of space, all the props you need, all while receiving personal attention and care in an encouraging, nurturing environment. In addition, one of the brightest benefits of this class is that most (if not all!) students are total beginners, so this creates a carefree, non-intimidating, and supportive environment as everyone learns and experiments together. Together we often become quite the joyful & uplifting community, which helps us progress all the more!
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Have you tried yoga class but can’t recall what you did once you get home? Would you like to feel steady & supported in your practice so you can stick with it and feel the transformation?
Remember, as part of this course, you receive a study sheet each week that summarizes and reviews what we did in class, including drawings of the poses, explanations of breathing techniques, and pointers to remember details. This is a splendid way to recall your favorite techniques so you are more likely to continue a regular practice at home. You can start your own home practice notebook because you have all you need. Then, you really gain long term, deep benefits of yoga!
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Still wondering if Yoga for Beginners is the class for YOU? Check out what others have to say about starting yoga with me!
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Keep in mind you will experience all sorts of ways to get into and out of poses and then ways to adjust them to make each one juicy, comfortable, and fun for your body and needs. Do not let stereotypes of yoga pictures scare you; yoga is for everyone and every body.
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If you want a reminder this opportunity and other details about YOGA & MEDITATION events & specials, OR want to access VIP rates, be sure to join my community list here. If you have more questions, or are simply wondering if this course is a good fit for you, reach out to me. I LOVE talking about yoga, as I know it works. Text or call me (949.903.5076), e-mail (alligatoryoga@gmail.com), or Facebook message today with questions.
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Starting yoga is a big step, so don’t be shy; send me inquiries. Learn more about me, your Yoga for Beginners teacher, Virginia Hill, here.
We have lots more yoga & meditation in store for you! If you’d like to stay in the loop about future offerings, sign up for our AHA Yoga Community Newsletter here.
I look forward to meeting you and practicing together!
