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Greetings friends,
Rhoda Miriam's course on managing chronic pain with yoga, yoga nidra and mindfulness is returning next Wednesday. It is sorely needed medicine for these painful times, especially as more traditional ways of managing our pain - surgery, opioids, intoxicants, distraction - seem less and less viable.
We might say that yoga has always been used for managing chronic pain, if we include the psychological pain that comes from living a human life in the shadow of mortality. Yoga was developed by humans seeking a wiser, less painful way to live inside this glorious, messy world of ours. While some yogis have claimed we can escape worldly suffering entirely, others concluded that it is our very effort to avoid pain that gives it such a sting. Only by turning towards reality unconditionally can we begin to alleviate the roots of our suffering. It is this second attitude that informs Rhoda's work.
If you'd like a short example of Rhoda's approach, give this 6-minute meditation a listen:
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Next series: Wednesdays, 12-1p, May 4 - 25
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Living with chronic pain is frustrating and exhausting. Once-enjoyable experiences become shadowed with discomfort or impossible. Doctors can do little besides offer medication and surgery, which may not work or cause new problems. The world of alternative medicine is vast and confusing, often involving expensive supplements or therapies of unknown effectiveness.
Many have found yoga and mindfulness practices to be powerful tools for reducing or resolving chronic pain and tension patterns. Not only are they affordable and accessible, they affirm our capacity to heal ourselves.
In this 4-week workshop, Rhoda Miriam will share a set of practices she has found helpful for working with her own chronic pain.
- Rebalancing muscle tension through gentle, sustained yoga poses;
- Deep nervous system relaxation through breathing techniques and guided relaxation (yoga nidra);
- Pain Reprocessing Therapy, a method for reprogramming the brain’s neural pathways through mindful attention, thereby shifting the experience of painful symptoms.
All sessions take place on Zoom and will be recorded for those who cannot attend live.
Participants may wish to schedule a one-on-one yoga therapy session with Rhoda where she can customize the practices for individual circumstances. She will offer a discounted rate for up to 30 days after the series concludes.
Cost: $95 / members save 15% / sliding scale gladly offered
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Meditate With Per Erez!
Per is kindly subbing Margie's Evening Movement and Meditation class on Thursday, April 28 from 7-8pm. He has a tremendous wealth of experience in the meditative arts, and we are lucky to have him Zooming in from Palm Springs. Please take advantage!
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Reserve in advance...or class might be canceled
With the aim of respecting our teachers' time as well as continue to be able to offer virtual streaming classes, we have a request:
- If you want to attend a hybrid class virtually, please sign up at least 1 hour in advance. If no one is signed in for virtual attendance before class starts, we will not go to the additional trouble of setting up the laptop.
- If no one is signed up for any type of class 1 hour before it starts, we reserve the right to cancel the class or hold it exclusively on Zoom. We want to respect the time it takes teachers to prepare for class. If you make a mistake and forget to sign up and the class turns out to be canceled, email us and we will send you a recording of a previous class.
- If you're signed up to receive a recording of a class but you're the only person registered, we won't require the teacher to teach a brand new class. Instead, we will email you and offer you a recording from a previous week.
Introducing Sal, our helper bot
 We have a new Grateful employee named Sal, an AI bot that can help you reserve classes, pay for packages and retrieve Zoom links - all over text message or through an interface on our website. Sometimes things go wonky with the Mindbody app or web interface, so this offers you an alternative way to schedule a class. Sal is learning on the job, so please forgive them if they don't always understand your exact phrasing. Simple commands work best, i.e. "Reserve Lela's Wednesday class" or "Zoom links".
You can get in touch with Sal 24/7 by texting 847-565-2756. Please give it a try and let us know what you think. We're paying extra for this service, so it would be helpful to know if you find it worthwhile.
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We are planning to keep adding to our in-studio schedule as interest builds. Please let us know what you are looking for!
Mondays
10-11:15a Hatha Yoga & Meditation with Nick (Studio / Zoom 1)
12-1p Yoga for Bone Health with Becky (Zoom 2, 6 week series)
Tuesdays
9:30-10:45 Yoga Reboot with Sarah (Studio/Zoom 2)
10-11a Gentle Yoga with Chair with Rhoda (Zoom 1)
NEW 5:30-6:30p Steady and Strong with Jane (Studio / Zoom 1)
Wednesdays
9:30-10:45a Hatha Yoga and Meditation with Lela (Studio / Zoom 1)
7-8p Prenatal Yoga with Rose (Studio / Zoom 2)
Thursdays
10-11a Gentle Yoga with Rhoda (Zoom 1)
12-1p Yoga for Lifelong Strength (Zoom 2, 6 week series)
NEW 7-8p Evening Meditation & Movement (Studio / Zoom 1)
Fridays
9:30-10:45a Yoga with Sarah Westbrook (Studio / Zoom 1)
12-1p All-Levels Noon Yoga with Abby Factor (Zoom 1)
Saturdays
8:30-9:30a Prenatal with Lela (Studio / Zoom 2)
10-11:15a Yoga and Meditation with Lela (Studio / Zoom 1)
12:15-1:30p Hatha Basics with Nick (Studio / Zoom 1)
Sundays
8:30-10a Hatha Basics with Stacia (Zoom 1)
NEW 9-10a Mindful Vinyasa with Eliza (Studio only)
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Our beloved Stacia and her husband Alex have opened their new by-the-slice pizza restaurant on Central St (where Symphony's used to be). We've had to chance to sample their food and it's super delicious. Stay tuned to their Facebook for daily specials and news.
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Weekly music classes at Grateful Yoga now for ages 0-5 and their caregivers! Led by the amazing Nicole Jaworski on Tuesdays, 11:15a-12p.
Learn more and register here!
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From Nick's latest reflections on the end of his sabbatical and return to teaching:
So after spending many years refining the content of my teaching, I am inspired to turn my focus to developing the ritual process of yoga classes. While still weaving in my various scientific and philosophical fascinations, I hope my classes can become more effective, impactful weekly rituals for those who wish to attend. In this vein, I am de-emphasizing the “study” aspect by changing my class names back to Hatha Basics (Saturdays at 12:15p) and Hatha Yoga and Meditation (Mondays at 10a). I am also making my classes 15 minutes shorter, so they don’t require such a big commitment.
(Never fear, yoga nerds: “Yoga Studies” will live on as workshops, book clubs and specialized series that take up particular topics.)
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Help grow the Grateful community
If you know anyone who might be interested in/desperately need our classes, we'd be grateful for a referral. Perhaps you can send them this newsletter? We also appreciate you liking and sharing our Facebook posts, or leaving reviews on Facebook and Yelp.
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