Greetings Yogis,

Just a brief reminder that a workshop that is close to my heart (and belly!) is coming up this weekend at Nest Yoga in Oakland. Belly and Bum! This workshop can be attended in person*, live stream or if you are not around by recording.
The photo below was taken at my friend Edgar Ortiz’s studio in San Jose, after a workshop I taught there last year. Edgar - a much younger and more acrobatic practitioner than myself - is an extraordinary yogi and teacher and even though I am decade or 2 older, and my students tend to be older, we both note that there are many ways that yoga has been practiced in the past that may not be the most helpful for our hips and SI joints. Especially as we age and we deal with injuries.
This year has been an interesting one for me in terms of working with a knee and hip joint injury following a fall from a bike. The sense of fullness and vitality from abdomen to outer hips has been critical in healing this silly incident (It was a fall from a bike that was stationary on to tarmac!! - I’m lucky I didn’t break my patella…)
For a long time I have questioned some of the more repetitive and mechanical dictums of systemized yoga, and have always felt that we under cultivate the incredible support that the abdominal area can give to our young and old hips and our overall pelvic mobility and stability. Earlier this year I taught an online piriformis weekend (recordings available soon) with a wise group of teachers and practitioners where folks shared the experiences of being encouraged in the past to overly externally rotate, to tuck the tailbone and to constantly do the same poses in the same way over decades. And how unnecessary and uninspiring this kind of practice can be, sometimes leading to injury and early hip/knee replacements. So whether you are local to the Bay Area, or if you live faraway, consider joining me tomorrow, Saturday at Nest* or online for a juicy fluid and informative practice for long term pelvic well-being.

*NOTE: Our in-person enrollment is low right now. So do check with Nest as this may become an online/livestream only event.

www.nest-yoga.com

ESPANA! Catalan Spa Retreat. September 15-20, 2024.

Registration is open for this fun 5 day yoga vacation. Over several years now, my sister and I and UK yogis along with a few US and Spanish visitors, have met at this wonderful - and quirky! - hotel to bathe in the thermal waters, relax, have long yoga sessions and time to enjoy the surrounding area. Ideal for someone who is bringing a partner/friend who does not want to do yoga but would enjoy the hotel and the area. As we move closer to the date, the accommodation fees which you arrange yourself and range from budget to luxurious, get higher. So this is the time to commit to this and figure out your travel plans.
Note: Early Bird ends for tuition and admins registration on June 15.

“Returning home from my 3rd retreat here. In essence how do I feel: Fabulous! Calm, focused, happy. Physically strong yet measured. Joyful. Interested and excited to put into practice what I have learnt and understood from the physical practice of yoga alongside the philosophical aspects. Listening to others on the retreat, be they teachers, or like myself, just someone who uses yoga as a life’s tool, has also been relevant to my everyday practice for home. The spa hotel is utterly perfect for this week.....For those who wish to bring their other halves, it works. Biking, sleeping, reading, thermal waters etc.”

— Previous Participant UK

ANNOUNCING! - August 31 Saturday 11-4pm
Organ-ic Yoga - A Day of Yoga in Hastings - a UK Workshop - the first for many years!
Do join us in the delightful seaside town of Hastings on the South Coast of England for a long overdue yoga gathering. I used to teach a workshop or 2 in the UK every year but with the pandemic and life’s challenges that has not been possible. I hope UK folks can join me this time. I miss you all!

Next newsletter with article, free classes, poem etc will appear mid June; meantime here are some local events that a few folks may be interested in:

Updates:

Summer Solstice Retreat - FULL - waitlist only
Online Yoga continues on Saturday and Wed Ams in May and throughout the summer
6/2 Deep Yoga - Teachers and Yoga Nutz session open to dropins

IN PERSON:
- Yoga in the Garden, in Ukiah, CA - 4 Monday Eves - 5/20-6/10
- Equanimity in Yoga - Boonville, CA - Saturday 6/1 12-2.15pm - Early Bird ends 5/18
- Earthing!  Yoga and Clay workshop on the Coast - 8/1
- Possible outdoor monthly class in Cloverdale if sufficient interest exists

Take care wherever the goddess takes you!

M