As you may have noticed throughout this past year there have been many wonderful changes at Balanced Yoga. This has been a year of growth and I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support of this studio. Our yoga community continues to inspire exciting progress and development at Balanced Yoga.
This year we have seen the beginning of our daily Mysore classes where the studio is open 5:30-8:30 am for a self directed practice. Additionally, our Ashtanga program has grown, we continue to add more classes, and now offer introductory immersion weekends to give our students the opportunity to cultivate this practice. Workshops and specialized teaching continue to be offered through our introduction of Teen Yoga and the Yoga for Kids & Parents, Raw Foods, and Spring Detox workshops, as well as being host to enlightening guests such as Ganesh Mohan, Todd Norian, and Anna Forrest. We are reaching the conclusion of our first yearlong teacher training program and have seen the launch of Balanced Yoga University™, the promising center for excellence in teacher training. We have also seen the addition of Deep Tissue Massage, offered by Tom Griffith and Thai Yoga Massage, offered by Elizabeth Miller. Watch for our re-designed therapy room to be completed soon! In our continuing effort to foster the development of rich and nurturing practices, Viniyoga classes are offered on Wednesday evenings, Hathalini on Saturday mornings, and coming this fall, ISHTA Flow, a yoga style also founded in Tantric philosophy. And in the midst of all of this, we have had the good fortune to welcome Kari Djuve and Elizabeth Miller to our staff of teachers. You may have noticed the wonderful artwork on display in the studio lobby and hallways – we can thank Kari for coordinating the artwork displays. This has given local artists the opportunity to show and sell their work. Be sure to contact Kari if you would like to be part of this exciting opportunity.
While I am truly happy and excited by the growth of Balanced Yoga and our community, none of this could have happened without key individuals that are committed to bringing you excellence in teaching and programs. Julia McSheffery is now full time at Balanced Yoga and directs the day-to-day operations – including the front desk and the entire behind the scene tasks that make this studio run. (Trust me, it would not run without her or our great front desk staff!) Not only this, she has been named the Director of the Hatha Yoga program – working to bring the best in programs and teaching to all of you. And of course, Julia brings her vast knowledge of yoga to you in her classes on a weekly basis. I am thankful for the day Julia walked into my class at McConnell Heart Health Center 6 years ago!
Tom Griffith has also joined Balanced Yoga full time and is our Director of Massage. If you have not had the opportunity to experience Tom’s healing hands you must put that on your list of “must-dos”. His knowledge of the body both in massage and yoga is immense – a treatment from him will leave you truly understanding the physical and mental therapeutic aspects of massage. Tom will continue to build our massage therapy program so we can offer you the benefit of yoga and massage together as a way to promote and maintain your health. Tom also facilitates the development of our Ashtanga Yoga program. He has been teaching our Mysore classes and continues to build the Ashtanga program here at Balanced Yoga. (link to short bio)
The timely and valuable help and experience Tom and Julia offer has freed me to begin building Balanced Yoga University™; which aspires to bring excellence in teacher training and enrichment programs to prospective teachers and students. We have revised our current curriculum to include a 300-hour training program that gives aspiring teachers an additional 100 hours of mentoring and practice that goes beyond the traditional 200-hour programs offered by most yoga schools. When teachers graduate from our 300-hour program, they will have had the valuable opportunity to have exercised and developed their teaching skills and knowledge, the solidification of our commitment to excellence in teaching. We are also putting the pieces of the full 500-hour program in place for enrollees in Balanced Yoga University™ in 2008. Julia and Tom will both be on the staff of the University bringing their experience and expertise to our training programs. In addition to Tom and Julia, Karen Milligan and Angela Nicolosi will staff the university rounding out a highly professional and knowledgeable staff.
As Balanced Yoga University™ continues to unroll this fall, keep an eye out for our workshops, which promise to encourage the development of our students’ practices, as well as those of the teachers in the program. We look forward to hosting Dominic Corigliano for an in-depth look at Ashtanga and a week of Mysore practice, Todd Norian returns to teach us the concepts of, Anusara Therapeutics, Dianne Kadonaga will draw us deeper into truly understanding and experiencing our physical anatomy and late this summer we have the wonderful opportunity to join performance artist Patric Cambra for an exploration of the connections between movement, emotion, and breath.
Once again I’d like to extend my appreciation for and thankfulness to all of the wonderful teachers at Balanced Yoga and to our awesome yoga community. I look forward to continuing to offer you an enlightening and nurturing forum for your yoga practice and personal growth. What a blessing we truly have with each other!
Donna
