Ongoing Class Descriptions
developmental Fundamentals with AMY MATTHEWS
This class weaves together principles of embodied anatomy, developmental movement, the Bartenieff Fundamentals and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) to take you on a tour of your own body and breath.
The full class is spend lying on the floor, focussing deeply on connectivity within the body and your relationship with gravity and space. These relationships and connections are the building blocks for our activities of daily life, as well as for practices like yoga asana, martial arts, sports, etc.
No prior experience with yoga is necessary. This is an excellent class for people with injuries, and for anyone who would like to know their body better.
viniyoga: yoga for you with Steve rooney
Experience a personalized approach to Yoga in a 90 minute weekly class that emphasizes a breath-centered approach to asana, grounded in the Viniyoga teachings of Gary Kraftsow and T.K.V. Desikachar. Viniyoga is a Sanskrit word that means adaptation and appropriate application. In addition to breath-centered asana (poses), the class may employ other Yoga tools, such as pranayama (breathing exercises), visualization, sound, and guided meditation – depending on the needs and goals of the students. The class is generally relaxing and balanced. You will receive clear verbal instruction, and the work will be adapted and paced to meet your needs.
The class is appropriate for all levels of experience. Beginning students can develop a foundation through an introduction to basic principles of Yoga. Advanced students will benefit from a new experience of fundamentals, and will also explore more challenging variations of poses, complex breathing techniques, and the use of visualization and sound.
The intention of the class is to encourage a personal Yoga practice that addresses your goals, and to provide an opportunity to experience some of the tools that can facilitate such a practice. This Yoga practice can be deeply therapeutic, helping you to address the full range of health issues including those that are structural, physiological, energetic, or psycho-emotional. It can also be incredibly developmental, helping you to create a stronger and more vital body, deepen your mental focus, and enrich your spirit.
Lunchtime Yoga Flow with melissa elstein
Lunchtime Yoga Flow is a gentle, yet invigorating, one-hour yoga class focusing on balancing stretching with strengthening. Yoga postures and movements are coordinated with the breath, so that transitions between the poses are smooth and easeful, and the asanas may be held without tension. Abdominal and back strengthening postures are emphasized early in the class so that the core is properly engaged during standing postures. Traditional hatha yoga poses are interspersed with flowing dance-like movements, so that the body learns to move in both linear and non-linear ways for a more complete stretching experience. Elements of Tai Chi EasyTM and Qigong are added to standing and seated postures to help calm the mind and balance the body. Depending on class size, savasana (relaxation pose) may be enhanced with organic essential oils for deeper relaxation.
Yoga for Mental Wellness
with Elizabeth plapinger and lori ruth federman
Yoga for Mental Wellness at the Breathing Project, now in our fifth year, has expanded! We now offer TWO classes, one on Tuesday morning from 9:30 to
10:45 am, and the second on Thursday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:15. Please join
us in the beautiful, sunlit studio of the Breathing Project as we continue
to explore yoga’s contribution to well-being!
Yoga for Mental Wellness is a yoga class devoted to people of any age or
fitness level who suffer from emotional distress or mental illness. Anyone
experiencing such distress is welcome. A typical class involves movement
(asana), attention to breathing, attunement to the present moment, deep
relaxation, and mindful, nonjudgmental assessment of the effect of practice
on the mind, body and breath. Special classes with visiting teachers
explore the role of chanting, other mind-body approaches, massage and body
work in emotional, mental and physical wellbeing.
Experience and research suggest that yoga can be a powerful tool for addressing emotional and mental illness. For many of us, the regular practice of yoga can lift the mood, reduce stress, enhance problem-solving, improve strength and flexibility, lessen fatigue and increases energy. Join us in this experiential practice and see how yoga works for you!
The class is by donation, with a suggested (sliding) fee of $10.00. No one is turned away for inability to pay. Yoga for Mental Wellness was founded in 2003 by yoga teacher and therapist Bess Abrahams, with support from a private donor, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), and the non-profit therapeutic yoga center, The Breathing Project.
The Breathing Project’s Yoga for Mental Wellness Receives Corcoran Cares Donation
From the Soho Office of The Corcoran Group
Congratulations to Yoga for Mental Wellness at The Breathing Project on receiving funding from Corcoran Cares, the charitable arm of The Corcoran Group, New York City’s preeminent real estate company. The funding was granted through Corcoran’s Soho office. Hats off to the individual staff and agents of the Corcoran Group’s Soho office who choose to donate a portion of every commission or compensation check to support local programs making a difference in the community. www.corcoran.com.
For more information about this class, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Plapinger at elizabeth@breathingproject.org
MELT classes with Edya Kalev
MELT is a revolutionary approach to pain-free living developed by manual therapist Sue Hitzmann. MELT uses specialized foam rollers, and MELT hand and foot balls to rehydrate your connective tissue system, the tissue that supports, protects and stabilizes your entire body.
Join Edya Kalev, certified MELT instructor, to learn these easy self-treatment techniques. MELT away pain, see and feel immediate changes in posture and flexibility and best of all - your body will feel great!
MELT is for everyone, at any level of fitness. Rollers and balls are provided.
Mondays from 6:30-7:30
Tuesdays from 12:30-1:30pm
Drop-in: $20
10 Class card: $16/class
Questions? Email Edya.
MELT For Multiple sclerosis With Edya Kalev
MELT is the only self-treatment technique that directly addresses the connection between the nervous system and the connective tissue system...the "NeuroFascia."
Tapping into these two powerful and inter-dependant systems allows us to make deep, subtle changes in the way our bodies coordinate movement, balance, grounding, and stability. With greater stability, we can finally relax and go into the healing mode that is so necessary for our longevity.
The changes brought about by MELT are especially important for people with Multiple Sclerosis. We invite you to experience the results for yourself.
Tuesdays from 5:00-6:00pm
$7 Suggested donation. All donations accepted with gratitude.
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED before your first class.
Email Edya for the registration form or for more information.
MELT 8-Week Intensive
Dates TBA in the Fall of 2010
Mondays, 6:30-7:45pm
$275 includes:
- Class tuition
- 59-page MELT Manual with pictures and instructions
- MELT Hand & Foot Treatment Kit with 6 balls, Bunion Treatment Band, instructions and 60-minute DVD
(MELT Roller to be purchased separately on first day of class for $40)
MELT was created to be a powerful self-treatment technique, so the goal of this intensive is to help you become comfortable using the MELT roller and MELT balls on your own. By the end of the course, you will be able to create your own individualized series of exercises, called a "MELT Map."
In this in-depth program, we will explore the foundational concepts of MELT and learn the exercises thoroughly and sequentially, including: Breathing, Core Balancing, the Upper Limbs and Shoulders, the Lower Limbs and Hips, and the Spine.
There will be homework assigned each week, and follow up by the instructor. All participants are invited to join an additional MELT class during the week to practice their new-found skills, at no additional cost. Attendance in this additional class is not required, but it is a nice perk to those who can slip away for their lunch break on Tuesdays from 12:30-1:30pm.
Pre-registration required, class limited to 10 participants
Email Edya to register.
A&K Asana Class with Amy Matthews
Fridays 3:45-5pm
$20 (free for A&K students)
In response to requests, this class will be oriented around the material taught in the Embodied A&K class that day. You can come to the asana class without attending the Embodied A&K class beforehand.
Questions? email Amy
Please check our schedule page for updates.
BABIES! with Amy Matthews
Fridays 11am-Noon
$10 donation requested
This class is an opportunity to bring your questions and curiosities about your baby's movement patterns - we'll use principles from Body-Mind Centering to explore the movements in our own bodies and playing with the little ones.
Please check our schedule page for updates.
OPEN vajra yoga with Jill Satterfield and Graduates
Wednesdays, 6:30-7:45pm with Jill Satterfield
Fridays, 5:15-6:15pm with Suzy Obuck
Vajra Yoga combines the physical practice of Hatha Yoga with Buddhist meditation, tantra and philosophy. The body is seen as a mirror of the mind and we seek to develop insight into how the mind and body interact through a variety of ways. To see how the mind is directly expressed in the body, and to look at the mind itself, we utilize the tools of yoga asana, meditation and clear seeing. For those who experience it, it's a welcome relief to know that there are thousands of years of tradition charting the way to understanding something unseen. Vajra Yoga primarily uses information coming out of the Tibetan Tantric tradition.
Vajra Yoga is open to all on a drop-in basis, first come, first served. For those in recovery programs, your first class is free.
For more information, you may go to Jill's website at www.vajrayoga.com
GENTLE Yoga with Julia Hough
Thursdays, 6:30-7:45pm
Easeful stretching combined with breath helps release tension in neck, shoulders, back and hips; standing and supine postures strengthen muscles that provide physical support in your daily life. Every class includes at least one restorative posture, where you are supported by props and thus can fully release tension.
Gentle yoga is recommended for everyone. If you have physical limitations, you are provided with modifications for postures to make them effective and safe for you. The class is valuable for practitioners of rigorous yoga, as it is a chance to slow down and be nurtured.
Julia is a practitioner of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and is a teacher and mentor for Integrative Yoga Therapy. She teaches an annual Chair Yoga weekend training at the Breathing Project and a year-long 200-hour non-residential yoga teacher training in New Jersey.
