YOGA
Whether you’re experienced with yoga or just curious about it, these fun classes will lighten your spirits and improve your outlook while helping you become more relaxed and healthy! All classes are judgment-free and welcome to people of all abilities, appearances, and identities.
Class attendance is initially drop-in only, so it’s first-come, first-stretched. Classes are offered on a sliding scale of $5 to $10. Limit 10 students per class, so show up a few minutes early to secure your spot. Some yoga mats are available, but bringing your own is recommended.
The most fundamental yoga class you’ll ever try; take this one a few times and you can approach poses with more confidence. We’ll do just four poses in each class - lying down, seated, standing, and balance - and we’ll build each from the ground up. Plenty of personalized attention, and there’s no such thing as too many questions. If you’ve taken yoga before and just want to practice with greater focus, you’ll love the pace. If you’ve never taken yoga, you’ll love the deliberate attention to every aspect of each pose.
This class is gentle on your body, no chatarangas or sun salutations here. It features a meditative atmosphere and an opportunity to turn inward. Most postures are seated or lying down, and an emphasis will be placed on breathing techniques (pranayama). Everything is an invitation and modifications will be offered to make the poses accessible to all. The purpose of this class is to help you to remove yourself from the pace and struggles of daily life and focus on self-care. It is quiet with low lighting.
This class is play! Learn about your body and enjoy moving. The class includes elements of yoga like warrior, downward dog, half-moon, crow poses and even some Kundalini frogs, and takes a lighthearted approach to the tradition of yoga. A typical warm up would include an opportunity for free-form dance and dynamic movement interwoven with yoga postures (asanas). The class involves upbeat music and a less formal atmosphere, while always maintaining a safe space for everyone to move at their own rhythm and pace.
This class offers alignment-based yoga postures (asanas) and holding them in lengthy stretches while learning to connect movement with breath. After a sufficient warm-up, balance poses like triangle, tree, and shoulder stand may be explored. A general class would allow time to warm up the spine and move the body in all planes of movement, then explore holding postures longer and learning pranayama (breathing) techniques to calm the nervous system. This class provides a supportive atmosphere for those who are wanting to explore yoga as an assist to mental and physical health. There is minimal noise, perhaps an ocean sounds or rain soundtrack.
This class will draw on the traditions of Iyengar yoga, which is an alignment-based form focused on bringing the body into balance. Modifications will be offered to make the poses accessible to all participants, regardless of yoga experience or current level of physicality or flexibility. Beginners are welcome (as in all my classes) as well as those who may be recovering from injuries or a lack of recent exercise. The mindset behind this class is to meet you where you are so that the experience is enjoyable and beneficial to all. It is not an extreme workout, rather an opportunity to explore movement in the joints and connective tissues with enough time in each posture to relax and receive the benefits. I will strive to tailor the class to individuals as much as possible so that we will both gain a deeper understanding of the personal priorities you may be working towards. (This open dialogue will allow me to best assist or support you on your path.)
This class will focus on yoga from a physical aspect and is best suited for those who are looking to complement other forms of exercise with muscle-lengthening and breath-deepening practice. I will teach from a biochemical and biomechanical perspective to bring awareness to physical habits and stored tension. A typical class would involve several rounds of sun salutations (vinyasas or flow yoga) to build warmth in the tissues and then settling in to some standing and seated postures (asanas) for slightly longer holds. The focus of this class is on physical presence and movement rather than exploring meditation, chakras, or the more spiritual (woo-woo) aspects of yoga.
Nettie Calvin first came to yoga for physical healing and discovered the tremendous mental and emotional benefits. She has now been practicing yoga for eleven years and recently completed the 200-hour yoga teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center.
About her classes at Colourfield, she writes, “I believe yoga is less about performing perfect poses or achieving an external standard, than it is about cultivating techniques that support internal physical and mental growth. I look forward to sharing yoga practice with you wherever you are on your yoga journey!”
