MN Yoga Magazine - Summer 2015

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KISS MY ASANA

an event to support yoga for EVERYBODY

1000 Petals teaching kids how to breathe, and just be

Viniyoga meet yoga pioneer, Gary Kraftsow

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Local Teacher & Studio Profiles

nominated by you

PLUS

yoga for dudes, ayurvedic cooking, recipes, what to wear, business mindset, more+ Summer 2015 www.MNYogaMag.com

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EVENTS

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publisher MN Yoga Magazine Yoga Magazine Productions

editor - in - chief Jennifer Derham

contributors

Kara Noble Jan Johnson Elizabeth Camp Sam Lickteig Sophie Geisenhoff Heather Liebswager Juli Rathke Kristin Cromie Ashley Darkenwald Kelly Greene Jennifer Floring Randy Grubba - copy editor

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YOGA STUDY TEACHER TRAINING 230-HOUR | 500-HOUR | CONTINUING EDUCATION

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2015 MN Yoga Magazine LLC. All rights reserved. No portion may be duplicated, in whole or in part, without the written consent of its publishers. Every effort has been make to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. The publisher assumes no responsibility for accuracy of information or omissions from the material provided.

Company cannot be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services rendered by the advertisers published in this magazine.

Who are we?

Models from left to right: Photo Credit: Krista Bean

Kellie Grow, Jennifer Derham, and Ehrin Johnson Clothing generously donated by PrAna Minneapolis

Living YOGA. Real People.

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Advertise with us and showcase your business in front of tens-of-thousands of qualified readers. Reserve space now for the Winter/Spring 2015-16 Issue.

Contact Us Today!

MN Yoga Magazine is a quarterly publication with outreach all over the state. Our readership is intended for those striving to live an active, healthy lifestyle - BE SEEN and BE HEARD in this every growing industry and BE A PART OF A NEW LOCAL commUNITY Magazine. Contact jen@mnyogamag.com

CONTENTS Summer - Fall 2015 62

Ayurveda & Food 14. ayurveda 101

eat what’s right for you

18. eat local, eat fresh

why a CSA can do your family good

20. good recipes

seasonal dishes to delight your palate

Your Family 66. family fun

summer and fall ideas for the family

Lifestyle & Fashion 49. what to wear

comfy and cute on and off the mat

51. the business of yoga

do what you love, know your worth

Teachers You Love 22. local love

MN instructors nominated by you

Studios to Visit 55. MN favorites

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where to find your yoga home

www.MNYogaMag.com

66 40

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MN EVENTS CALENDAR

pg. 72

Features 40. was’sup - Wanderlust

insights from Wanderlust pros

62. Gary Kraftsow and Viniyoga

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55

individualized practice for self-discovery

68. 1000 Petals & Yoga Calm®

teaching our children skills for well-being

The Body & Mind

46. Broga

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yoga for bros, yoga for you

58. feminine energy

on the cusp of the golden age of wellness

64. heal thyself

a badass yogini turns trauma into triumph

Our Communit y 53. ‘Kiss My Asana’ Yogathon

a yogathon to support yoga for everyBODY

72. fun events galore

workshops, retreats, races, festivals & more

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SUMMER/FALL CONTRIBUTORS Ashley Darkenwald, BA, CPT, PES, has been a professional in the fitness industry for over a decade. She has passion for health and fitness and is a motivational powerhouse. Ashley is a nationally-accredited certified personal trainer, fitness instructor, speaker, mother of two, Founder and President of InFIT, and an Anytime Fitness Franchise owner.

Elizabeth Camp, E-RYT 500, has been teaching yoga for 9 years and leads yoga teacher trainings. Elizabeth brings joy and fun wherever she goes, and loves connecting with people. She strives to help everyone she meets be the best and most authentic version of themselves they can be.

Kara Noble is a ray of sunshine! She has completed her 200hr teacher training with CorePower Yoga, and has completed over 300 hours of yoga teacher training with LifePower Yoga.

She is the Yoga Coordinator for LifePower Yoga Eagan, where she also leads yoga teacher trainings. When she is not doing yoga, she is dropping it like it’s hot at one of her Hip-Hop dance classes or hiking in nature.

Jan Johnson, 500hr ERYT, is a Life Power Master Instructor, National Yoga Teacher Trainer registered with the Yoga Alliance, and serves as a Teacher Trainer for LifePower Yoga for Life Time Fitness, and for the National Trainers Association.

Jan’s formats of study and teaching include, Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, and Ashtanga Yoga as well as meditation and tribal dance. You will find her dancing her way through her signature Urban Yoga Groove.

Kristin Cromie is certified through CorePower Yoga and has been practicing and instructing yoga for 10+years. With a profound base in yogic philosophy, alignment and pranayama, her style of instruction is broad and deep with understandable concepts and attainable postures. She has an intrinsic desire to illuminate the path of others, sparking therapeutic growth with a shot of levity and a handful joy. Kristin also offers energetic readings and Reiki . Visit www.yogaspice.net.

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From the Desk of Juli Rathke, CEO A proud MN Native, born and raised in Litchfield, MN, I began my fitness career in the early ‘90’s in the Minneapolis-Uptown area. I still have a sticker on my car that says “Minnesota Girl” though my husband doesn’t enjoy the looks he gets.

Since leaving MN in 1999, I have been living in CO with my family (3 kids and 2 dogs) traveling & adventuring with several business start-ups along the way.

As a long-time yogi & fitness educator, entrepreneur, magazine publisher and TV host, and now as the Founder/CEO of Yoga Magazine Productions, I hope to share the love for the wellness lifestyle in personable regional publications that showcase the persons, places, ideas and stories that make each part of the country so special and unique - especially Minnesota! I love that I have channeled my 20+ year professional career into mentoring and leading others into their passion careers + lifestyle.

I am always eager to be back playing in MN (home is where the heart is - right?) visiting family, attending magazine events, hosting workshops and yoga retreats.

I hope to see you at a local studio real soon (or on the lake, bike paths or trails)!

Above: Juli Rathke, Founder/CEO Yoga Magazine Productions

To follow me or find out more about YMP, Mentoring & Retreats, visit www.julirathke.com or call me.

Sam Lickteig is a certified personal trainer, owner of Heat Yoga studios in Maple Grove and Blaine, and a 200 RYT with additional certifications in rehabilitation and Broga. He has a 4-year degree in business and kinesiology and passion for making the benefits of yoga more accessible to athletes and dudes.

Sophie L. Geisenhoff is a writer, fashion designer, and hot yoga addict. You can follow her musings and fashion advice on her website, www.trendsandtribulations.com.

Jenni Floring is a certified Health and Nutrition coach and Registered Yoga Teacher who specializes in helping her clients reduce inflammation, manage their weight, increase energy, and nourish their bodies through individualized wellness plans as well as group programs and workshops. Through first-hand experience with weight management and overcoming autoimmune disease, Jenni works with her clients to incorporate healthy lifestyle practices that are truly life changing.

Kelly Greene is a wife, mother and School Psychologist. She lives in the Twin Cities metro area and enjoys reading, volunteering, spending time with her children, and taking in all the activities Minnesota has to offer.

www.MNYogaMag.com

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FROM THE EDITOR

Jennifer Derham

Dear Minnesota, The birth and subsequent launch of MN Yoga Magazine has truly been a labor of love. A testament of blind faith, courage, and community.

This magazine would not have come to fruition without the inspiration, knowledge and love of its friends, contributors, and supporters. I am so grateful for all you have done to breathe life into this magazine, and for having the opportunity to learn from each and every one of you.

It’s purpose? Yoga. Not just yoga, as in the practice, not even yoga including all eight limbs, but yoga as in the absolute definition of the word. To yoke. Unite.

To bring together. Connection. That is the mission of MN Yoga Magazine-to grow our community and to grow in wellness and abundance together. In a world in which many people are feeling more and more disenfranchised, and long for connection, it’s important to keep sight of the common threads that tie us together. We all want to be well in every sense of the word, and we all want to belong to something with a higher purpose. Wellness, and the knowledge needed to be as well as we can be, mentally, physically, and spiritually, should be accessible to everyone. As the late, great, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone said, “We all do better, when we all do better.”

Namaste, MN Yoga Community,

Jennifer Derham,

MA, EdS, NCSP, 200 RYT

Above: Jennifer Derham, Editor-in-Chief, MN Yoga Magazine & Founder, Blue Lotus Yoga Retreats

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Ayurveda + Nutrition

AYURVEDA

Eat well for you and your dosha

By: Kara Noble

Paleo, vegan, macrobiotic, vegetarian? Why there is NO one size fits all approach to eating for wellness.

I

t is easy to get swept up in the romanticism of diet trends these days. There are so many options to choose from: Paleo, gluten free, vegetarian/vegan, macrobiotic, raw foods and everything in between. Have you noticed how even radio and television commercials seem to use “gluten free” as if it was synonymous with “health food”?

Above: Kara does one of her favorite poses at the Union Depot in St. Paul, MN.

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So how do you know what dietary choices are best for your health and overall wellbeing? When I first became more interested in what I ate, I found my options to be overwhelming and often confusing. In one diet, grains are known to cause a plethora of health complications and in another, they are the staple food. How can you really know the path to wellness when everyone is shouting something different from the proverbial mountain top?

After loads of research, trial and error, and a lot of Hagen Daaz (no I do not recommend

the ice cream diet), I have found that there is no one answer. We all have different bodies with different needs.

According to the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN), what works for our body is based on our own bio-individuality.

Bio-individuality recognizes that there is no one-size-fitsall diet. Personal differences in anatomy, metabolism, body composition and cell structure all influence our overall health and the foods that make us feel our best.

IIN explains that our primary food, does not consist of “ food” at all. Our primary food consists of healthy relationships, regular physical activity, a fulfilling career, and a spiritual practice. They suggest that without balance in these primary sectors of our life, our secondary food (actual food) becomes less important.

Aryuveda, the health science often associated with yoga, has a similar belief to that of bio-individuality. Aryuveda is designed to help people stay vital while realizing their full human potential. This ancient science recognizes that humans are a part of nature and describes three

More on pg. 16

A person with a predominantly Vata constitution will have physical and mental qualities that reflect the elemental qualities of Space and Air. That is why Vata types are commonly quick thinking, thin, and fast moving.

VATA

Qualities of Space & Air

The Balancing Act!

WHAT IS YOUR DOSHA?

In total, there are three primary doshic states:

A Pitta type, on the other hand, will have qualities reflective of Fire and Water, such as a fiery personality and oily skin.

Balanced: All three doshas are present in their natural proportions; also referred to as “equilibrium.”

A Kapha type will typically have a solid bodily frame and calm temperament, reflecting the underlying elements of Earth and Water.

Increased: A particular dosha is present in a greater-than-normal proportion; also referred to as an “aggravated” or “excess state.”

PIT TA

Qualities of Fire & Water

Decreased: A particular dosha is present in a less-than-normal proportion; also referred to as a “reduced” or “depleted state.”

While one dosha predominates in most individuals, a second dosha typically has a strong influence.

KAPHA Qualities of Earth

WHAT IS A DOSHA ANYHOW? The doshas are biological energies found throughout the human body and mind. They govern all physical and mental processes and provide every living being with an individual blueprint for health and fulfillment.

The doshas derive from the Five Elements and their related properties. Vata is composed of Space and Air, Pitta of Fire and Water, and Kapha of Earth and Water.

The doshas are dynamic energies that constantly change in response to our actions, thoughts, emotions, the foods we eat, the seasons, and any other sensory inputs that feed our mind and body.

Source: www.eattasteheal.com

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Ayurveda + Nutrition

Ayurveda Cont’d

energies or doshas that motivate our inner and outer environments. In Sanskrit, they are known as Vata (Wind), Pitta (Fire) and Kapha (Earth). Each of us has a unique combination of these three energies which determine our body composition, mind and personality.

We can also use these energies to help identify health concerns and furthermore treatment.

If Vata is our dominant energy, we tend to be lean in body frame, very active, suffer from a lack of sleep, easily agitated, have a poor appetite, digestion issues, ate intolerant to cold, fickle by nature and unsteady in making decisions. If Pitta prevails, we tend to be short tempered, very cheerful and social, digest quickly, and tend to be intolerant to hunger and heat. When Kapha dominates, we are often characterized by our calm and complacent nature, firm judgments, slow digestion, deep sleep and large body frame.

For each energy, there is a balanced and imbalanced expression. One of the foremost goals of Aryuveda is to pinpoint a person’s ideal state of balance, identify the imbalance, and offer treatment using diet, herbs, massage, aromatherapy, yoga and meditation.

The simple and sweet truth is that we all have to do our best to find what works for our bodies. As alluring as they may be, we may experience a string of frustration and failure if we are always chasing diet trends. If you suspect a food or food group is causing you to feel bad, try eliminating it. There are many experienced health professionals in the Metro area that can help guide you with their expertise.

Early this year, I visited Senia Tuominen, MaOM, Lac, at Healing InSight. She is an experienced acupuncturist and specializes in dietary healing with the use of Chinese Medicine. Senia has helped me discover foods and lifestyle choices that were harming my body and keeping me from living a balanced life. I am very grateful for her help and I encourage you to reach out to a health coach or health practitioner to support you through your journey. Good luck my friends and be well.

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get.on.your.mat.

Serving Clients in the Northwest Metro One Central Avenue West Saint Michael, MN 55376 763-445-9886 new students receive $10 intro rate for 1 week unlimited yoga www.livetrueyogastudio.com facebook.com/livetrueyoga twitter.com/livetrueyoga

COVER CONTEST

MN Yoga Magazine and Yoga Magazine Productions are conducting a cover contest for Spring 2016 Issue!

Submit your entries online at www.MNYogaMag.com

On the Summer Cover

On the Fall Cover

Model: Juli Rathke

Model: Sarah Jaeger-200RYT

Photographer: Juli’s Husband, Kevin Zygulski

Photographer: Brian Arnold

Location: South Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis

Location: Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis

Attire: Halter Top - Autumn Teneyl Yoga LIfestyle Pants - Be Present Jewelry - All by bonjuli.com

Studio Affiliate: N/A

Studio Affiliate: Open Sole Yoga, Litchfield, MN & Meta Yoga Studios, Breckenridge, CO

Attire: Tank top - Rock Republic, Yoga Pants - Champion Winner of the Fall 2015 Cover Contest.

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Ayurveda + Nutrition

YOUR FOOD

Eating Fresh and Local as a Family By: Ashley Derkenwald | www.AshleyDarkenwald.com

How our local CSA changed our lives, and our summer of local food exploration.

As I sit in the sunshine drinking homemade iced tea (see recipe) I reflect on highlights of the year.

The first bloom in spring, s’mores by a summer campfire, and the entire rainbow painted on fall leaves—I love Minnesota.

Last summer I signed my family signed up for a weekly CSA (community supported agriculture) program through Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm, Inc. “Minnesotagrown, hand-harvested, locally and sustainably produced, and stewardly decision making all describe just what Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm tries to achieve in relationship to this good earth.”

As a personal fitness trainer and inspirational speaker, my family is used to tagging along on my wellness quests.

We waited eagerly in June for our first crop share box to be delivered to inFIT in

Albertville. When the plumb-full cardboard box first appeared, we were amazed by all that was inside: romaine lettuce, radishes, zucchini, chub cucumbers, asparagus, homemade raspberry jam, honey, maple

Tips to Best Utilize Local Farmer’s Markets and CSA Programs 1. Visit the farm (if possible) to find out where your food comes from and what methods are used to grow, cultivate, and fertilize 2. Try new foods! Your palate has changed since you were a child—you may find that you actually like beets (when prepared with extra virgin olive oil and goat cheese or

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syrup, and, one of my favorite herbs, mint. I thought perhaps they just wanted to make a smashing first impression, but to my delight the second box was just as amazing!

good ol’ fashioned organic butter with sea salt and fresh ground pepper) 3. Plan your recipes and know what you are purchasing ahead of time so the produce does not get wasted 4. Try your hand at canning to preserve the harvest 6. Get your kids involved with preparing new vegetables and encourage one “yes” bite of every new food to get their palate used to different flavors and textures 7. Share with friends if you receive more than you can use

How did the CSA change our lives?

Our family ate more vegetables this year than the last two years combined! Also, with the huge variety of vegetables (many that we have never tried or prepared before), we experimented with new textures and flavors as a family. The quality and quantity of the produce changed our palates. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs became our treat and our cravings for pizza and fast food subsided. Because of the abundance of food received each week, we cooked more, spending time together in the kitchen as a family several nights per week. I used much of the produce in recipes from my own book, Living Wellness: The inFIT Approach to Proven Weight Loss and Dynamic Nutrition. We have enjoyed abundant health this year and the weekly box-o-veggies encouraged us to “use it or lose it”.

Local, naturally grown produce is the most nourishing, sustainable, and delicious. Think about it—food is the only substance we consume that becomes us, making up our cells and DNA. Consuming ample, quality, local produce really can be enjoyable and life changing.

You can improve your family’s health by joining a CSA program, shopping at local farmer’s markets, or just buying more fresh, whole fruits and vegetables.

Fresh Peppermint & Stevia Ice Tea Makes 1-pint of concentrate; 2 quarts of tea Check out my website www.

AshleyDarkenwald.com for more fresh recipes!

Ingredients (using fresh CSA herbs): § 1 1/2 cups packed fresh mint leaves § 1/4 cup packed fresh stevia leaves § 1 pint (2 cups) filtered water § Lemon slices for garnish (optional) After you rinse the herbs, pick the leaves off of the stems, measure, then wash them under running water in a colander. A salad or herb spinner works well to dry the leaves.

Next, bring the water to a boil in a small pot and add the mint and stevia. Remove from heat and steep for at least 6 hours (overnight works too). Strain off the leaves and pour the concentrate into a glass jar. You can either freeze this concentrate or store it in the fridge for a few days until ready to use.

When ready to serve, mix 1/2 pint (1 cup) tea concentrate with 1 1/2 pints (3 cups) water or mix it to your desired flavor. Serve ice cold and with a lemon slice if desired.

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Ayurveda + Nutrition

MYM’s FAVORITE RECIPES

A Taste of the Season, With Locally Grown!

Avocado Cilantro Dressing Ingredients • 1 large ripe avocado • 1 large handful fresh cilantro • Juice from 1 lime • 1 clove garlic, chopped • 1 tsp sea salt • Dash of ground black pepper Combine all ingredients in a food processor until creamy.

Store in a covered glass container in the refrigerator-will keep for 3 days.

Zucchini Noodle Salad with Avocado Cilantro Dressing (Serves 2) Ingredients for the salad • 1 medium zucchini • 1 medium yellow squash • 1 carrot • 1 cup shredded cabbage •

½ cup julienned red pepper

Run the zucchini, yellow squash, and carrot through a vegetable spiralizer, or use a julienne peeler to turn the vegetables into “noodles.” Place in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients, and toss in ¼ cup of the Avocado Basil Dressing (using more or less to taste). Garnish with pine nuts, and fresh basil.

Recipes provided by Jenni Floring, The Healing Plate Jenni Floring is a certified Health and Nutrition coach and Registered Yoga Teacher who specializes in helping her clients reduce inflammation, manage their weight, increase energy, and nourish their bodies through individualized wellness plans as well as group programs and workshops. Through first-hand experience with weight management and overcoming autoimmune disease, Jenni works with her clients to incorporate healthy lifestyle practices that are truly life changing.

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Roasted Vegetable Coconut Curry Stew

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Filling Ingredients • 2 cups sliced rhubarb • 2 cups sliced strawberries • 1 tsp lemon juice • Zest from one orange (I used 2 drops of Wild Orange essential oil) • 4 TBSP raw honey • 1 TBSP + 1 tsp arrowroot powder 1/2 tsp sea salt Crumble Ingredients • 1 cup chopped pecans • 3/4 cup finely chopped dates • 1/2 cup almond meal • 1 tsp cinnamon • 2 TBSP coconut oil • 2 TBSP pure maple syrup •

1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place all the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and mix to combine. Grease a baking dish with coconut oil, or use a cast iron pan and place the filling mixture evenly in the dish or pan. For the topping, mix all ingredients in a food processor, adding the dates one at a time while mixing, until evenly combined.

Sprinkle an even layer over the filling and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes, or until the crisp is golden brown, and the fruit is bubbling. Allow 30 minutes to cool and for the crisp to firm.

Serve alone, or topped with coconut whipped cream.

Ingredients • 1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces • 1 cup parsnips, sliced • 1/2 cup carrot, sliced • 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced • 1 red pepper, julienned • 1 poblano chili pepper, seeded and chopped • 1 small fennel bulb, chopped • 1/2 medium red onion, chopped • 1 quart vegetable stock • 1 can full fat coconut milk • 6 stalks dinosaur kale • Lemongrass essential oil or fresh lemon grass to steep • 1 TBSP green curry paste • 1 tsp chopped ginger • 1 tsp coriander • 1/2 tsp onion powder • 1/2 tsp turmeric • Pinch of saffron • Dash of cayenne • 1 tsp sea salt to taste • Sliced avocado, cilantro, and squeeze of lime to garnish Roast the veggies: Combine all the veggies (except the kale) in a large bowl and toss with olive oil to coat (about 2 TBSP).

Place coated veggies on a aluminum foil-lined baking tray and place under the broiler for 12 minutes, stirring halfway through to avoid burning. Watch closely... there will be a bit of char, which gives a nice flavor, but there is a fine line between a bit of char and burned.

For the stew: Place the roasted veggies in a large soup pot and mix in ginger and rest of the spices, cooking for a few minutes. Add the veggie stock and lemongrass and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then, simmer on low, covered, for about 25 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and kale and simmer on medium-low for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Serve in bowls and garnish with avocado, cilantro, freshly ground pepper, and a squeeze of lime. www.MNYogaMag.com

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“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

– Marianne Williamson

Nisswa Yoga - Nisswa, MN

PROFILE

Jennifer Smith Jennifer speaks about moving back to MN, a lifelong battle with injury, and how yoga has changed her life.

What are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about living with gratitude, joy, and intention… and working to improve the lives of others.

What do you love most about teaching? What’s your teacher’s pet peeve?

Teaching is my happy place. The moment at the end of class, after savasana is finished and namastes are exchanged, when the students re-open their eyes… I love seeing peace and bliss on their faces. It warms my heart and fills me with gratitude. I also love watching students who were leery to try yoga (fearing they weren’t flexible enough, fit enough, skinny enough, etc.) start to progress and realize they and their bodies are capable of more than they realized possible. That’s when the magic happens.

The bottom line is that yoga can transform people’s lives. Being able to be a part of that process is a blessing.

What sets your studio apart from other studios?

We are the only dedicated yoga studio in the Nisswa area. We basically have two sets of clientele – our local students, which keep us going year round in a resort town economy, and our seasonal students, many of who come back regularly. Both groups feel very much like part of our studio family. Our students come from all over the globe… from Rio to Paris, Manhattan to San Francisco, and all over the state of Minnesota. Seeing as I moved to Nisswa from the East Coast and my business partner, Dani, moved here from Santiago, Chile. A varied clientele suits Nisswa Yoga very well. I hope when people walk

through our doors, they feel embraced and welcomed. I hope they leave with love in their hearts and a smile on their face.

In your opinion, what is the yoga industry doing well?

What would you change?

I love that yoga is reaching so many more people than ever before. Scientific evidence continues to build on the many benefits of our practice and the yoga industry has done a great job of getting that information to the public.

Briefly describe your training/background.

I started studying yoga regularly while living in Bethesda, Maryland and attending John Schumacher’s Iyengar classes at his studio, Unity Woods. After studying with John and a few other Unity Woods teachers, I tried vinyasa yoga and started regularly attending both. I completed my RYT 200 training under Neva Ingalls of Inner Domain in Chevy Chase, Maryland. After finishing my 200 YTT in August 2013, I left my job and moved to Minnesota, the state I was raised in. I was teaching yoga a month later, met Dani, and Nisswa Yoga was born. I love to travel and have been able to study and practice yoga along my journeys. I love being a student as much as I love teaching.

How has yoga changed your life?

Yoga has changed my life in countless ways. From teaching me that with practice anything is possible, to giving me the courage to move halfway across the country in pursuit of a more authentic life, to

making me a more present mother.

When life gets tough, how does your practice change?

How do you cope?

It depends. There are times when a physically intense practice in a sweaty vinyasa class is exactly what I need exhaust the body to relax the mind. But usually, breath awareness is what I reach for when facing challenges. I was lucky enough to learn Nadi Shodhana from Pat Miller, a student of Krishnamacharya.

There’s something about alternate nostril breathing that really calms anxiety.

What is your favorite pose?

Why? Salamba Sirsasana – supported headstand.

I started regularly practicing yoga after a car accident left me with multiple serious injuries. The first time my teacher instructed us to do a headstand, I didn’t think there was any way I would EVER be able to do it. My teacher insisted I keep trying and working on prep poses. After a year of a daily yoga practice, I was able to do a headstand. That moment taught me the power of dropping self-limiting beliefs.

What is your least favorite pose? Why? As a student, either utkatasana or bird of paradise (is there a Sanskrit name for that?)… But as a teacher, I’m a firm believer that the pose you resist the most is the pose you need the most, showing you where there is a lack of harmony in your body and then helping you to build strength and flexibility precisely in the places that you need it. www.MNYogaMag.com

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Got the blahs?

Easy things you can do to feel better 1. Watch a sunrise or sunset. Enjoy

the splendor. If possible, do so with a loved one.

2. Call an old friend you haven’t spoken with in awhile.

Reminisce. Smile. Laugh. Cry. Reconnect.

3. Move. Physical movement stimulates the production of feel good endorphins and will help you to feel more energetic whether it is a brisk walk, yoga practice, or cleaning the house.

4. Make a playlist of all your favorite songs, new and old.

Listen to it. Share it. Who doesn’t love getting a highly recommended version of a “mixed” tape?

5. Help someone. Do so with humility and without expecting acknowledgement or anything else in return.

You will feel good. Karma, karma, karma.

6. Go outside. Try to find a place near plants. Breathe fresh air. Behold the sights, sounds, and smells of your surroundings.

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For questions and appointments contact Jessica: info@aromatichealthcare.com or 763-742-9972

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PROFILE

Get down at Platinum Yoga, where everybody knows your name. And you will be glad you went.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about seeing students fall in love with yoga and then share that feeling with their friends and family. I am also passionate about creating an environment of community at Platinum Yoga. All of our members are so inviting to new people. We always have coffee and social time after our classes.

Members become good friends with each other outside of the studio.

What are you afraid of?

I am not afraid of very much!

Risk and change build character.

However, it is often challenging for me to see our students go through life events that I cannot change, almost like your children.

However, I am happy that Platinum Yoga is a refuge during tough times in life.

What do you love most about teaching?

What’s your teacher’s pet peeve?

I love seeing our students progress in their practice. Maybe they mastered a pose, lost weight or they have just become happier being themselves. My pet peeve is a student coming in late to a full studio, and expecting people to move their mats to accommodate space for them.

What sets Platinum apart from other studios?

I believe it is our community 26

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environment. We know every member by name. And I probably know the names of everyone in their families too. A recurring comment from new students is that Platinum Yoga is so warm and inviting. We like to have fun!

Members sing along to music. I call it the Platinum Yoga Choir.

We have a yoga pup, yes a real dog, that has his own mat and lays still until I say, “Namaste”.

Then he gets up and does down dog. Really! We also do many social events; Wine and Unwind, snow shoeing, hiking and picnics.

Every month we have a potluck celebrating members’ birthdays.

In your opinion, what is the yoga industry doing well? What would you change?

The industry is making yoga one of the most popular forms of exercise. It has attracted people that 5 years ago would have never thought of doing yoga. Because of demand, I think the industry is overpricing yoga and making it unreachable for the normal person to attend a studio on a regular basis. When I started Platinum Yoga, my goal was to make our yoga attainable to all.

Even after opening our second studio, we are still about half the price of our local competition.

Briefly describe your training/background.

I started practicing yoga about 10 years ago. I have always been active. I needed to cross train and found yoga. Then I went through a tough time in my life and I realized the true beauty of yoga in the mental sense. I was encouraged by fellow classmates to audition to be a teacher in a big box gym after countless instructors came and left. I was

hired and the journey began. I did my first yoga certification training through the Academy of Holistic Fitness. Then I was certified in Hatha Yoga, Yoga Anatomy, and recently Personal Training for Yoga. I have over 2000 hours of teaching time and have loved every single hour.

How has yoga changed your life?

Physically, I am the strongest I have ever been. Mentally, I am more peaceful. Mostly, I am so happy because my life is full of amazing students, whom I also call friends.

When life gets tough, how does your practice change? How do you cope?

I just recently fractured my nose in an accident. My students care for me like a mother. “Just tell us what to do,” they say as they know down dog is painful. I used to have anxiety teaching a class when I was injured or sick. But, at Platinum Yoga, the environment is so caring I just do my best.

What is your favorite pose? Why? My favorite pose is Tortoise, partly because I am the only one at Platinum Yoga that can do it! Kidding aside, the flexibility to get my chest flat on the floor in my 50’s is a reminder of the importance of flexibility as we age.

What is your least favorite pose? Why? Crow. I have hit my face on the floor too many times!

Denae Shewmake

Platinum Yoga - Rosemount & Burnsville, MN

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.�

- Ancient Proverb

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“Yoga is 99% practice, 1% theory.”

-K. Pattabhi Jois.

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PROFILE

Nordeast Yoga - Mpls, MN Annie will shed light on your practice and if you are lucky, you will get a kick-ass adjustment as well.

What are you passionate about?

Learning. The more I learn about yoga - all eight limbs - the more I have to practice and the more I have to teach. Never underestimate how much people truly want to learn something new. I try not to ever forget that.

What do you love most about teaching?

Doing my best to truly help someone.

Sometimes it is simply a good adjustment, other times it might be just shedding some light on a piece of the practice that has been in the dark for awhile.

What’s your teacher’s pet peeve?

Students not being honest with you about where they are at in their bodies, hearts, and minds. I like be to confident that I am not unknowingly taking you somewhere you are not willing to go that day.

What sets your studio apart from other studios?

The sangha...hands down. The community of yogis at Nordeast Yoga are truly students of yoga as a whole. They support each other just as much as they support me. We hold each other accountable for continuing to learn and practice postures, sanskrit, chants, pranayama, stories and philosophy. The warmth, support, and smiles of those in the sangha make everyone feel welcome and respected.

In your opinion, what is the yoga

industry doing well? What would you change?

My teacher, Dave Oliver, once said to me, “Remember that abundance leads to abundance. Stay cooperative and positive with other teachers and studio owners. It will only lead to more happiness and success for everyone.” I think this is my answer to both questions. Recently I have seen more and more people working together to bring communities, students and teachers from all walks of life back to the basic yogic goal: unity. There is always room for more of this, always.

How has yoga changed your life?

I am going to take the easy way out on this and simply say that I cannot think of a single way in which it hasn’t.

When life gets tough, how does your practice change?

Lots of Yin, lots of meditation. They always bring me back around to a good place.

What is your favorite pose? Why? Buddha Konasana (Bound Angle or Cobbler Pose). I am not really sure why, but it is always the first place I go when I get on the mat, so I think it must be my favorite.

What is your least favorite pose? Why? Anything with a bind. My cranky shoulders always put up a fight and I tend to get claustrophobic. I prefer to break free from bondage. www.MNYogaMag.com

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PROFILE

W illiam Prottengeier Minneapolis Yoga Workshop

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about teaching authentic Yoga, by which I mean asana as the gateway to meditation.

Light on Minnesota’s own William Prottengeier, a trainee of BKS Iyengar himself.

What do you love most about teaching? What’s your teacher’s pet peeve?

I love seeing the light in peoples eyes as they begin to glimpse the profoundly transformative benefits of the practice.

No real pet peeves.

In your opinion, what is the yoga industry doing well? What would you change?

Insofar as more people are able to try yoga, its great that it is more easily available. Then again, there is yoga as a fitness class and yoga as a life practice. I feel that will evolve as people stay with the practice.

Briefly describe your training/ background.

I trained for 35 years in the Iyengar tradition with BKS & Gita Iyengar at the RIMYI in Pune India.

I am an Intermediate Level 3 Certified Iyengar instructor with 20 years of a Vipassana (insight) Meditation practice.

How has yoga changed your life?

Yoga is my life. It is the one constant thread running through all the changes that living brings.

When life gets tough, how does your practice change? How do you cope?

Yoga grounds me, and keeps the important things in life in view.

What is your favorite pose? Why? I used to have favorites, not so much anymore.

If I had to choose I’d say Sirsasana (headstand), because it is so refreshing. And of course who doesn’t love Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog Pose).

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“Practice keeps the ego humble.” - BKS Iyengar

For More Information |

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PROFILE

Sarah Atkinson Breath Yoga - Rochester, MN Speaks on life as a single mom and how yoga helped her to find her voice. component of the practice.

When I can’t hear students breathing, it can be a little maddening!

What sets your studio apart from other studios?

Breathe Yoga Studios is the “Heart of Yoga in Rochester” because we are the only freestanding studio in Rochester, and we offer much more than a physical practice.

In your opinion, what is the yoga industry doing well?

What would you change?

What are you passionate about?

Yoga! Sharing yoga. I LOVE yoga!

What do you love most about teaching? What’s your teacher’s pet peeve?

I love that teaching is an expression of my creative side. I have never thought of myself as creative, but when I teach, I can create a fun flow on the spot weaving together the breath, body, mind, spirit, and heart. I may be struggling with something emotionally and just a minute or two into the class, it’s gone and I am the conduit for the practice. I am there for students who have chosen to be under my guidance and care. I take responsibility for that and am honored to be their teacher!

Pet peeve…This is a little tougher. If I HAD to pick something it would be students not recognizing the breath as a key 32

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The yoga industry is still alive after all this time. Students are still practicing, teachers are still teaching. The commercialization and dumbing-down of yoga is disappointing. When you put the focus on yoga pants and performance, the essence of yoga is polluted. There is little discrimination in many yoga schools regarding who they admit. Students who have very little experience with yoga are training to be teachers and it creates a large pool of certified teachers who have very little understanding of some of the fundamentals of yoga.

Briefly describe your training/background.

I came to yoga at age 30, as a single mother with 2 small kids. I had a background in health and nutrition and was a competitive athlete. With Yoga, I was looking for stress-relief and fell in love with it immediately. I received my 200 hr teacher training at Sun Moon Yoga Studios in Mankato. There, I met my business partner, Cindy. She

and I went to Minneapolis to a weekend with Max Strom. Max is now my primary teacher, mentor, greatest inspiration, and friend. I work with him whenever I can. I will begin a 500 hr training in January 2015.

How has yoga changed your life?

It has helped me work through a really challenging period of my life. It showed me I was strong enough, good enough, and deserved better than I was allowing myself. Yoga has helped me find my voice. There’s a quote that describes it for me, “I may not have traveled the world, but I have explored some of my inner landscapes, and that has made all the difference.”

When life gets tough, how does your practice change?

How do you cope?

Yoga is a practice of coping with whatever you are experiencing in the moment, on the mat, and in life. I firmly believe that Yoga practice is not just asana practice.

Max introduced me to the power of breath, more deeply than I had previously experienced. Yoga is mindfulness and thoughtfulness, in word and action.

What is your favorite pose? Why? Half Moon Pose, Ardha Chandrasana. It opens me up and brings me to focus.

What is your least favorite pose? Why? I don’t have one. I enjoy the challenge of poses I haven’t “mastered”. It’s all practice anyway.

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PROFILE

Tara Sherman Yoga Center of Minneapolis

“What is here is elsewhere, what is not here is nowhere.”

- Tara Sherman

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What are you passionate about?

What do you love most about teaching?

I am passionate about my path, about waking up and remembering who I really am. I am passionate about my practice as a life long journey, and about opening to it’s flow of grace in my body and life.

I am also passionate about sharing the many gifts of a yogic path with as many people as possible be it family, friends, students or strangers. I love Yogananda’s viewpoint of “attraction rather than promotion” when it comes to a spiritual path and subscribe to that philosophy.

I love seeing peoples faces and energy change after a class and how that change carries over into their lives. Whether students come to yoga for healing or for transformation, one leads to the other. It has been incredibly rewarding to witness that healing and transformation again and again.

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Tara subscribes to Yogananda’s philosophy of attraction rather than promotion.

What’s your teacher’s pet peeve?

My teacher’s pet peeve is any type of instruction be it books, DVD’s or actual yoga classes that are presented as beginning level, when in fact they are far from a beginning level. I feel this is a real disservice to the true beginner and sends the wrong message about what yoga is and who it’s appropriate for.

Tell us about Radiant Shakti Flow® Radiant Shakti Flow® is a synthesis of my years of study and practice. It is the expression and unfoldment of my yogic journey and incorporates all of my favorite yogic techniques. Radiant Shakti Flow® combines creative movement, flowing yoga warm ups, ritual, chanting, meditation, tantric goddess philosophy and yoga nidra in a practice designed to invoke and celebrate the creative feminine energy known in Tantra as Shakti.

In your opinion, what is the yoga industry doing well?

The teaching of yoga, to my understanding first arrived on our shores in 1893 at the World Parliament of Religion in Chicago with Swami Vivekananda’s talk on Raja Yoga. Who would have thought that a little over a hundred years later so many Americans would be practicing yoga! In my opinion, what is working well is how we’ve taken the ball and ran with it with such ingenuity. We have really made yoga our own, so much so that the practices of yoga are almost mainstream in the therapeutic world and modern science is now validating what the ancient yogis knew. Even though there may be

many people practicing yoga as a trend or fad, there are so many more who have made it a part of their lives. I believe yoga is here to stay.

What would you change?

I would change the popular opinion in mainstream media that yoga is just about the physical postures, and that you have to be a contortionist to practice.

Briefly describe your training/background.

I began meditating in 1970 for a short while at the age of 13 and later came back to meditation at the age of 28 with initiation into Kriya Yoga as taught by Paramahansa Yogananda. Through meditation I discovered hatha yoga and received my first 200 hour certification in 1993 at Expanding Light in Grass Valley, CA. I have been teaching yoga and meditation ever since and have studied many different methods and styles since then. I have certificates in Atma Yoga, DansKinetics, Jai Prenatal, Ashtanga, and Yoga of the Heart (therapeutic yoga). I have studied Nada Yoga with Russill Paul in the US and India, and was in the trio Shakti Chant Band leading kirtans for 9 years. I now lead kirtan occasionally in Shakti Bhava with my friend Coco. I have also studied Yin Yoga, Restorative and Yoga Nidra.

I have been teaching at The Yoga Center of Minneapolis since it’s inception and am faculty in their Yoga Study Teacher Training Program at the 230 and 500 hour levels. For the past 3+ years, I have been teaching therapeutic yoga at The Emily Program.

Has yoga changed your life?

Yoga has changed my life in so many ways that it’s difficult to even know them all. Things that stand out most are that yoga makes me a better person, more awake and aware, more kind and patient not only to others, but to myself. Yoga and meditation are my medicine, both preventative and curative. Yoga brings me faith, trust and an inner knowing that somehow no matter what life brings, all is well.

When life gets tough how does your practice change?

How do you cope?

I use different techniques for different challenges. If I’m feeling physically depleted I practice Yin, Restorative, or Yoga Nidra. If I’m feeling energetically or mentally depleted l do lots of pranayama and spend more time in meditation. If I have a heavy heart I increase my devotion with ritual and chanting as well as Radiant Shakti Flow® to really move the energy. Having such a full toolbox provides me with ample coping strategies.

What is your favorite pose?

Why? This has changed over the years as my practice has changed. These days my favorite pose is any pose where I’m challenged at my healthy edge, a pose in which I can maintain a deep connection to the rhythm and flow of my breath and subtle life currents.

What is your least favorite pose? Why? Any pose that takes me out of steadiness and comfort to the point that I’m not honoring my body and I loose that connection to breath and the flow of prana.

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PROFILE

Amber Huttner Deep Haven, MN

What are you passionate about?

Helping people learn to stay healthy and happy.

Tell us about Asana Diagnostics.

Curve by Langston Hughes: “When you turn the corner and you run into yourself, then you know that you have turned all the corners that are left.”

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Asana Diagnostics is my way of helping students progress and enjoy challenging poses. It is a methodology of breaking down a pose to make it accessible and fun to practice. I’ve produced 14 different pose specific videos. In them, students learn 6 different ways to develop the strength, flexibility or skill they need to manage the full pose.

Along the way, pose variations are offered that are challenging, beautiful and enjoyable to practice. Basically, Asana Diagnostics offers students access to challenging poses. There’s power in the know-how and joy in succeeding with each new skilled attempt. I never want a student to feel inadequate or less than. With the Asana Diagnostics methodology students experience success and that fuels their self-worth and their determination to take on other challenges both on and off the mat.

For teachers, these videos and the corresponding online mentorship program offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help them empower their own students to progress and succeed.

What do you love most about teaching? What’s your teacher’s pet peeve?

I love seeing the light bulbs go on.

I love watching students getting excited about a progression in a pose or skill. I love seeing happy and successful students realize the

Breakin’ down asana with Amber Huttner - a veteran with 20 years of experience in the industry. tools they learn and use in a yoga class work just as well off the mat. I love hearing the whoop of triumph, seeing the fist pump and big smile of celebration when both small and larger successes are accomplished.

My pet peeves? I don’t have many pet peeves. It’s my honor to help all students.

What sets your studio apart from other studios?

Good Life Yoga is a small studio that caters to students ready to deepen their practice. Many of my students have been practicing with me for years and they continue to grow and hone their skills. Many students have become good friends with one another. There is a comaraderie of caring and sharing at Good Life Yoga.

We are all in the game of life and readily offer up our experiences with one another.

In your opinion, what is the yoga industry doing well?

What would you change?

The yoga industry did very well getting the word out that yoga is fabulous for you. What we could all do better now is to help define what yoga is really all about. Many lay persons still have this notion that you have to be a pretzel to practice. This is not helped by the yoga industry mainly touting lithe, white females as the role model for yoga. Yoga is way more than practicing a pose. Yoga is a way of practicing being your best self. That’s what people should know.

And that they can start any time.

Briefly describe your training/ background.

I’ve been teaching for 20 years. I was certified in 2001 in the Anusara Yoga method though currently I do not teach in that tradition. I continue to challenge myself through self practice and workshops or trainings that interest me.

How has yoga changed your life?

How has it not? My yoga practice has been a constant source of strength and inspiration. It has taught me to trust myself and to fully appreciate everything that life has to offer. Good times and bad. During the most stressful times of my life the practice has literally been a guiding light that has seen me through. It has also provided countless hours of joy, companionship and great learning. The lens through which I see, is framed in the teachings of yoga.

When life gets tough, how does your practice change?

How do you cope?

When things seem out of control I generally turn to a steady regime of a simple practice. This means that I choose exactly what I’m going to practice, how long I’ll hold the poses, etc., and then I do not deviate.

For me, having something steady that I can count on is very calming.

When I’m done I can go back to the craziness of the situation from a fresh

centered place. I also give myself permission when necessary to move to a restorative practice. Legs up the wall is one of my go to’s.

What is your favorite pose?

Why? Handstand is my favorite pose. It offers continuous challenge and I never feel like I’ll ever be ‘done’ with it. I am always amused and delighted by a pose that has so many different facets to it. It teaches me humility and strengthens my resolve to succeed. Plus having fun in my practice is a top priority and handstands are just plain fun!

What is your least favorite pose? Why? This is a hard question. I can’t say I have a least favorite pose. I have poses that I may not like for a time, but that is what intrigues me. I ask myself, why don’t I like it? How can I break it down so I can see progress and value for me? How can I find an entry point that offers me a way through? Take Pincha Mayurasana (Peacock Pose) for instance. For the longest time that pose was my nemesis. She (the pose) seemed very fickle. Sometimes she’d offer me access and sometimes she was like that bratty friend you had back in the day who would get mad for no apparent reason, pack up their toys and huff off. Pincha would play around and kick my butt. Now, she’s an old friend who only now and again reminds me of her fickle nature.

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PROFILE

Jennifer Derham Your Editor of MN Yoga Magazine

“Imagine what it would feel like to love yourself in that deep unconditional way in which you love your children, pets, etc.”

- Jennifer Derham

Jennifer shares the real inspirations behind the launch of the magazine.

What brought you to the yoga lifestyle?

I first started exercising regularly after the birth of my first child, my son. I first started practicing yoga after the birth of my daughter, my second child. Being a mother has inspired me to be well above and beyond the physical, being a certain size, or looking a certain way. If I am well and feel good, I can take better care of them and teach them to nurture their bodies, minds, and spirits. I am currently trying to learn to love and nurture myself, in the unconditional way that I love them. It isn’t easy! I often tell my students, “Imagine what it would feel like to love yourself in that deep and unconditional way in which you love your children, pets, etc.”

I do believe yoga found me though. I have always yearned for a “job” that I can be passionate about, something that makes me excited to seize the day. My practice and love of yoga led me to teach. In teaching, I found that passion

Where do you teach and what do love about teaching?

I teach at Infit in Albertville, Live True Yoga in St. Michael, and in a corporate setting in Maple Grove.

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I have also taught community education, and youth teams. I have been a visiting instructor in Jamaica and have taught in Mexico and Sedona leading my own luxury retreats for Blue Lotus Yoga Retreats.

I have always wanted to be a helper. I have worked in social services, ran daycare centers, conducted child development research, and for the last six years have been a School Psychologist. Through teaching, I can help people in such a direct and easily accessible way. I love that it also allows me to be creative, expressive and free.

It is so gratifying to see students rise from Savasana with that yoga glow. I love empowering people to make themselves stronger, learn to embrace themselves when they feel weak, uncertain, and vulnerable, and I enjoy creating a sense of community. I love creating yoga playlists, using music that resonates with people and sparks catharsis. I have used everything from Tesla, to Madonna, to 50 Cent. It fills my heart when someone tells me how they slept like a baby after practice, or cried, or were better able to manage their struggle.

Whenever people thank me after teaching, I like to remind them that THEY are the ones who generated the strength, the peace,

JULY 2-5, 201 5

the rejuvenation, or the acceptance, from their practice. In a nutshell what I love most about teaching, is helping people to be well.

What inspired you to create MN Yoga Magazine?

Iowa! Blue Lotus Yoga Retreats was a vendor at the Minneapolis Yoga Conference. At the conference a friend brought me over a copy of Yoga Iowa. I was excited about the concept of a local yoga and wellness periodical. I asked myself, “Why don’t we have something like this in Minnesota?”

I knew we had the readership, but it was a rhetorical question at the time. Later, the magazine found me. I believe that’s what happens when things are meant to be. Through a student and a friend, I became involved in Yoga Rocks the Park Minneapolis, and through that, I met Juli Rathke (CEO of Yoga Magazine Productions). I had no intentions of starting a magazine, and had wanted to discuss my retreats. We met for lunch and she brought up my comment about Yoga Iowa. She told me that if I didn’t pioneer something similar, somebody else eventually would. I was thrilled and scared. She assured me it was doable. I didn’t want to have any regrets. A week later, we started working on it.

What do you wish for yoga and the fitness industry?

I know I am not the first to express this, but I wish for the continued evolution of yoga without losing its authenticity, its roots, its inherent and ancient wisdom. I wish for more people to embrace yoga as a lifestyle, a coping mechanism, a way to be well and full, versus asana or exercise alone.

At the same time, I think we should embrace and celebrate the growth of yoga. Having many different types of yoga and fusion classes makes yoga more accessible to a wider audience. Anything that helps people to be more mindful, get away from their screens, get off the couch and get moving is a good thing. Different strokes for different folks!

F IND YOUR TRUE N ORTH

Feature

Was’SUP? DAYDREAMS ON THE WATER

By Tatum Fjerstad, Wanderlust

A few years back when my friends started asking me, “Have you tried SUP?” I always thought they got distracted mid-sentence and decided to use a colloquialism to ask me how I was doing.

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Turns out, it was an actual thing, and it was growing in popularity with incredible speed. What began about two decades ago in Hawaii as a way for surfers to travel further out into the ocean to catch bigger waves, became an entire industry and sport.

It wasn’t long after, that a few yogis got the bright idea to take their practices to these boards.

SUP is highly visible in Minnesota as both a personal and shared practice. SUP Yoga continues to be one of more highly sought after

class types in the summer months. So much so, actually, that studios often struggle to keep up with the demand.

In what is possibly the largest scalable evidence of SUP’s popularity, Wanderlust, a yoga and music festival that strives to build community around mindful living, partnered with BOGA, a standup paddleboard company that offers yoga on the water in what they call BOGA Yoga Floating Studios.

At each of Wanderlust’s six summer festivals, BOGA is leading several SUP Yoga classes for practitioners at

any stage of their practice.

As you can imagine, not everyone stays on the board, but that’s part of the fun. By practicing on the water, you are giving yourself a chance to see how tense you really are. As any SUP teacher will tell you, in order to stay on the board you must rid yourself of tension and welcome in the fluid nature of the water and allow it, as they say, to wash over you (even if that means falling off and taking a dip once in awhile).

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Feature

THE STORY OF SUP...

Lacey Calvert, Surfer + SUP Instructor Find her at: Wanderlust Squaw Valley

“There is nothing in the world that compares to doing yoga on the water.

The feeling that you have when your fingers drift into the ocean during savasana is so blissful and really makes your heart smile. I also love that it challenges my yoga practice. There are things that are easier on my mat, that are so much more difficult on a BOGA Board. I love the challenge, the variations and the feeling of being on the ocean while you practice yoga. There is no music and no distractions, which makes it an experience that your body and mind needs.”

Melissa Longfellow, Surfer + SUP teacher

Find her at: Wanderlust Aspen-Snowmass, Wanderlust Squaw Valley

“SUP Yoga is a fusion of my very favorite things to do: being outdoors, on the water, and practicing yoga. From the first time I heard about it, I just knew it would become a huge part of my life. As a long-time surfer, snowboarder and skateboarder I love any sport on a board! About 16 years ago, high-impact boarding injuries took a toll on my body and I tore my ACL all the way through. I decided to try yoga as a way to rehab my knee. Since then I feel better than I did before and I get on the water and practice and teach yoga as much as possible. In fact, I’ve designed my whole life around it!”

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ACCORDING TO ITS TEACHERS Kat Arneric, First person to bring SUP to Chicago Find her at: Wanderlust Aspen-Snowmass

“My favorite style of yoga is vinyasa. Add the element of water and SUP yoga helps remind me to go with the flow of life. If I’m tense, hard, and resistant I’ll fall right into the water. But if I relax and move with the elements around me, the ride is quite enjoyable. SUP yoga can teach you so much about how to live life and you can do it on any body of water!”

Sarah Callaham, SUP Teacher Find her at: Wanderlust Aspen-Snowmass

“For me it’s all about the energetics. It shows us how we have to ground into our center, as opposed to grounding into something external. If we ground into the heart, into the core of our being, then no matter what is going on around us, or under us, our foundation will be strong. SUP yoga teaches us to be fluid and, to literally go with flow. It shows us where we are cheating, through the instability of the board, and gives us the feedback we’ve been missing in our land practice. The combination of intense challenge, matched with the calming energy of the water, is unlike anything I’ve experienced anywhere else.”

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Some Minnesota locations that offer SUP Lake Minnetonka Wai Nani Surf and Paddle www.wainanisup.com Cboard Sup www.cboardsup.com Various Minneapolis Lakes www.paddlesculpt.com Lake Calhoun www.theshedfitness.com Monticello, MN www.friendsofbertramlakes.org Mankato, MN www.bentriveroutfitter.com/summer/ events Duluth, MN www.duluthsup.com Brainerd, MN www.sunlifeyoga.com Brainerd Lakes area (Cross Lake to Mille Lacs) www.powerpaddlemn.com Stillwater, MN www.browndogpaddleboard.com Litchfield, MN www.opensoleyoga.com

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“Teaching SUP yoga for Wai Nani Surf & Paddle, is about the students leaving everything at the beach, tuning into nature and listening to the sound of water under the board.

It’s transformative. It’s a release. It is a place where you can tap into your childlike wonder and go with the flow.” - Stachia Fey

SUP YOGA | WORKSHOPS | TRAININGS WWW.STACHIAFEY.COM | LAKE MINNETONKA | 612.240.9623

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The Body & Mind

The Low-Down on BROGA

Are the guys really doing it?

By: Sam Lickteig

Broga is a yoga practice for bros that can’t touch their toes, and believe it or not, there are a few of us out there.

Broga combines yoga philosophy and postures with fitness movements with which people are familiar. I’m a personal trainer with more than ten years of experience and began practicing yoga six years ago. As an athletic man, yoga was a bit intimidating.

The poses and the Sanskrit language seemed so complicated. I was one of the very few men in the classes when I began my yoga journey, and I asked myself why. I felt so much better after a class. I experienced less stress than before I began practicing, and I had hip pain that was subsiding. I wondered why more men didn’t take advantage of this very beneficial practice and started to think of ways to draw more men into our studios. And thus, began another journey. In my quest for information, I stumbled on to the BROGA YOGA website.

I had an idea of what the name Broga meant, and thought it was quite witty, so I read on.

A yoga studio in Boston, Massachusetts had already created and trademarked the name, but held a licensing certification program for yoga teachers. I found a list of trainings. The next one was in California.

I booked my ticket and spent the next four days tossing around ideas on how to educate not just men, but also athletic women that are unfamiliar with the power behind the benefits of yoga.

After the certification training, I returned to Heat Yoga Studio and started planning our first Broga class, in which 30 people attended - it was a tremendous success! A short year later, Heat Yoga Studio has reached and has educated more men than we thought possible with regularly scheduled Broga classes. We’ve even hosted our own Broga Teacher Certification Training. Broga Yoga has helped us tap into a community of men and women that have been curious about the benefits of yoga but don’t know where to start. Heat Yoga has made Broga more accessible to everyone. I believe yoga practice with the right communication and verbiage can help men start their yoga journey, and can progress from there.

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“From the very beginner to the exceptionally athletic individual, yogis of all levels will increase their flexibility, strength, and will find a calm place within. Broga is for EVERY DUDE.”

Reasons To Do Broga

1. Easy to follow teaching style 2. People dig guys who practice yoga 3. De-stress. You’ll be less likely to flip someone the bird during your commute 4. Get the real scoop on yoga philosophy and benefits 5. Cool atmosphere, like minded people, and great tunes www.MNYogaMag.com

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Fashion

You’re Wearing What?

By: Sophie Geisenhoff Madewell Geo-Tilt Shiftdress, $148 Source: www.madewell.com [Referred to in “Work with layers”]

Topshop Vintage Checked Cape, $68 Source: http://us.topshop.com [Referred to in “Start with the basics”]

Going from a blissed out savasana back to daily life is hard enough without having to worry about what to wear when you leave the studio. Try these helpful tips for elevating your look, so you can shift your focus on elevating your practice.

Start with the Basics Choose a color palette based on neutral colors or a specific theme, such as navy, plum, or army green (some of the hottest colors for this fall!). Or, try adding a pop of color with one item to make the outfit stand out. Keep transitional pieces handy, such as a cape, like this one from Topshop, which can instantly make your outfit look effortlessly cool.

Valloire Dotty Gloves, $48 Source: www.anthropologie.com [Referred to in “Accessories”]

Work with Layers Combine different textures and fabrics to create a unique and fashionforward look. As the temperatures drop, this is a great way to incorporate warm weather pieces into your winter wardrobe. Try layering a simple dress, like the one shown by Madewell, over a turtleneck and leggings. Throw a vest on top paired with your favorite boots and you’ll look instantly polished.

Mix it up and have fun experimenting!

Dress for Your Body Shape Find out whether you have a pear, rectangle, apple, or hourglass body shape.

Then choose colors, cuts, and shapes that flatter your figure. When in doubt, wrapping a belt around your sweater or cardigan is universally flattering, and creates a look that is put together and comfortable. Capes are effortlessly chic and cozy.

Loose-fitting Clothing is Key While skintight spandex may be great for when you are working up a sweat, loose, light fabrics are usually more comfortable for after the studio.

As a rule of thumb, avoid anything you have to squeeze into post-workout. Wear a pair of baggy pants over your yoga pants to the studio, and when you leave, you can swap out your leggings and slip on the pants.

Accessorize Accessories are a great way to easily pull your look together after your sweat session. While no one may see a bracelet or necklace underneath your winter garb, try finding a chic and functional piece you love, such as a knit scarf, headband, earmuffs, or gloves, like this polka dotted pair from Anthropologie.

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Are you over the "it's not 'yoga-like' to make money" excuse in yourself or others?

Us too! When yogis and wellness professionals do good business, they can REALLY change the world and experience prosperity in their own lives. It's time.

A new innovative series of online courses created by Traci Wallace designed to cultivate prosperity & business acumen in the lives and careers of wellness professionals. yogibusinesscamp.com In partnership w/

Business

Do YOGA and BUSINESS Work?

Making money with a yoga-mind

Over the years, from my first days in management on a college campus to being the Fitness Director for the Town of Breckenridge, to being on TV, to owning my own studio and every other experience in-between, I have found that people who work within their passioncareers often lose sight of their own worthiness and don’t reap the rewards they should. We all deserve abundance.

Here are 5 ways to bring your YOGA into your BUSINESS so that it feels right.

By: Juli Rathke CEO Yoga Magazine Productions, Business Mentor, Retreat Leader

“People who work within their passioncareers often lose sight of their own worthiness.”

Juli Rathke

1. Be Open To Abundance (Charge What You Are Worth)

When it comes to working within your passion, don’t lose sight that we all deserve - ABUNDANCE. I work with clients each and everyday as a business mentor and coach who struggle with the conversation of money. We live in a world that requires money to do things and I don’t foresee this changing anytime soon.

It is really hard to put a value on your gift, but more often than not, the gift you are giving is undervalued.

2. Cultivate Your Own Prosperity (Practice What You Preach) Traci Wallace, founder of Coffeehouse Collectives and facilitator for Yogi Camp shares, “The #1 mistake I see people making is when they start focusing on their business in this industry is they the stop focusing on their own well-being.

In my own experiences and with my clients, it doesn’t matter how much money you invest, how many emails you send, social media posts you put up, or how passionate you are; those are all secondary. If you are not taking care yourself and creating a solid foundation for which to grow upon, this can have catastrophic effects on your own health and will be the #1 obstacle in cultivating your own prosperity.”

3. Seek Clarity (Simple LOA - Law of Attraction)

Many business owners are trying too hard to attract everyone when if they just focus things down a bit and really hone in on what niche they have personally and professionally, they will find a whole set of demographics they can market to instead of being all things to everyone. This helps create a game plan with your business that gives the clarity you seek.

4. Be Present

(Dump the Baggage) No one can take away from you your previous life experiences with work, relationships or previous clients. I often find many of my clients are caught up in what didn’t work before so they find themselves paralyzed to move forward with the next phase of their business. In addition, who you were as a 22 year old trainer is not who you are as a 42 year old. Be present with who you are today, not yesterday.

5. Choose Happiness (Enough is Enough)

I am not suggesting you throw in the towel if things aren’t going as planned. But what I am asking you to do is to evaluate where you are in your business, assess your goals and then give a finite amount of time to get there. Many times my clients find themselves years down the road still treading water with no real advancements in their career or business. After I sold my first business, I told myself, that I should have done it two years prior - listen to your gut. Ultimately you need to decide to choose happiness over being right.

Regardless of your career path, these points will help you find clarity in what you do for a living. I work with people from all avenues including those who want to write books, sell oils, start online businesses, studio owners, manufacture clothing etc. So whether you want to be a comedian, or raise a bunch of kids on a goat farm, or lose all your flab, or raise money to ship fire trucks to Cambodia (all real clients), or write your first novel (that’s me), the key to it all is believing, I mean really believing that it’s all available to you and that you deserve to be/do/have it too. Why not? For more like this, visit www.julirathke.com. www.MNYogaMag.com

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Community

YOU CAN ‘Kiss My Asana’ By: Elizabeth Camp

Yogathon: April 1-30th, 2015 to Benefit Mind Body Solutions’ Adaptive Yoga Kiss My Asana is a four week yoga challenge seeking to raise $25,000 to benefit Matthew Sanford’s Adaptive Yoga Program at Mind Body Solutions. Located in Minnetonka, Mind Body Solutions, is a nonprofit yoga studio with the mission to transform “trauma, loss and disability into hope and potential by awakening the connection between mind and body.”

Sanford is widely known across the world for adapting yoga for persons living with disabilities. Through his Iyengar yoga background, Sanford has pioneered the Adaptive Yoga Program, which is essentially, Yoga For Everybody. With this intention, Sanford seeks to empower every person through yoga, whether they can

move their body or not. Sanford uses the true principles of yoga to bring peace and well-being to all, regardless of physical ability. Matthew Sanford believes that yoga brings “hope and a renewed sense of freedom to people.”

complimentary therapies. You’ll find massage, acupuncture, nutrition, meditation and yoga in an integrative health regime.

This idea of integrative health spurred the creation of Sanford’s Adaptive Yoga Program.

Sanford, creator and founder of Mind Body Solutions, is a public speaker, critically acclaimed author, innovator and respected voice in the integrative health movement.

What’s Integrative Health? As defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) at the National Institutes of Health, integrative medicine “combines mainstream medical therapies and CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality, scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness.” An integrative approach is healing-oriented, and takes into account the whole person - mind, body and spirit. Integrative health utilizes the best of both traditional and

In Sanford’s book, Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence, he shares his philosophy on the effectiveness of the mind-body connection. Sanford says, “I wrote a memoir, not to tell you something about me, but rather to show something about the mind-body relationship.” Sanford teaches at his Minnetonka studio on Mondays, travels the world teaching and keynotes at conferences and studios. He presents seminars at major healthcare organizations, including The Mayo Clinic.

In 2010 Sanford received the “Pioneer in Integrative Medicine” award from the Institute for Health & Healing at the California Pacific Medical Center. Sanford www.MNYogaMag.com

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®

Yogathon Continued.. and his studio, Mind Body-Solutions, created, “Beyond Disability: A Yoga Practice with Matthew Sanford,” a seated practice DVD available on Amazon.

In 2002, Sanford founded Mind Body Solutions - a non-profit organization with a mission to help people living with trauma, loss and disabilities become “measurably healthier, happier and whole by advocating and awakening the mind-body connection in these individuals, their caregivers and the rehabilitation system.”

Professionals at Mind Body Solutions are pioneers in integrative health. They focus on breathing, movement and balance, and have found groundbreaking results including increased function, social engagement, and reduced healthcare costs. In 2011, out of 400 candidates, Sanford and Mind Body Solutions were finalists for the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leaders Award, and honor given to only 15 leaders and organizations.

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Last year’s yogathon was a smashing success. Mind Body Solutions nearly doubled its goal of raising $25,000 for their Adaptive Yoga program by bringing in $45,293. We think that’s #OMazing!

The month-long fundraising event is happen again starting April 1, 2015.

How can YOU help?

-Commit to a 30-day yoga practice.

-Form a team or sign up as an individual at mindbodysolutions.org.

-Set a smart goal that works for you.

The collective goal is 25K. -Set up your own fundraising page through Mind Body Solutions.

-Ask for support and share the positive effects YOU are creating! Yoga is for everybody.

Visit www.mindbodysolutions.org for more information.

Studios

STUDIO PROFILES Azitala Yoga Location: 19112 Freeport St. #E113; Elk River, MN 55330

Types of yoga offered:

instructors for students of all levels. A unique and intimate studio, azItala is designed to give participants a hot yoga experience that will lead to a more healthy and vibrant life. Our classes will challenge skilled yoga practitioners, but they are designed for anyone wanting to learn yoga and discover its physical, mental and spiritual benefits.

Hot and warm yoga classes, including: Active Flow, Beginners, Meditation, Moderate Flow, Restorative, Static Posture, Strength with weights

We focus on the principals of yoga, foundations of postures, joining movement to breath, and alignment and modifications to suit all practitioners.

In addition, we offer yoga

Join us! Participate to learn, relax, improve strength and flexibility, lose weight, and relieve stress. Here, we believe in a deep respect for all individuals and support of our communities. View our full schedule, register for classes, and meet our instructors online at

Email: info@azitala.com Phone: 763-595-1099 Web: www.azitala.com Owner: Tanya Rice CYT

Blooma Yoga Locations: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Plymouth, Shakopee Contact Info: Ann Drewiske, (612) 817-7454, ann@blooma.com Owner: Sarah Longacre Types of yoga offered: Prenatal Yoga, Postnatal Yoga, BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Movers and Crawlers Yoga, Tots Yoga, Kids Yoga, Tweens/Teens Yoga Other services offered: Barre, Babywearing Barre, New Mama Group, Rub a Dub Infant Massages, Child Birth Education, Breastfeeding Classes, Infant CPR/First Aid Classes, Workshops around fitness, balance, and life as a mother, support groups for postpartum issues, motherless mothers, and liberated mothers, wellness including massage, chiropractic care, therapy, energy work, henna, and belly casting What makes this studio special: Blooma serves thousands of mothers in the Twin Cities each month, and is the number one prenatal mother and baby resource in the Twin Cities for yoga, education and wellness.

Blooma offers: A comprehensive approach to pre and postnatal fitness, including Prenatal and Barre classes specially designed for the changing maternal body, with modifications for all abilities and encouraging, empowering speech.

We have the best Child Birth Education in the Twin Cities, with passionate, educated teachers who attend births and continually educate themselves on the latest evidence-based practices. Blooma also offers classes specifically for breastfeeding, infant first aid, second time mothers, Multiples, VBACS, and more.

“challenge� programs

for community-building, accountability and fun.

What makes this studio special?

The Azitala Yoga Studio in Elk River provides hot and warm yoga classes led by certified

azitala.com

We offer a support network for pre and postnatal mental health, including New Mama Groups and have therapists on staff who specialize in PMADs (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders).

We offer a schedule of workshops taught by community leaders geared towards mothers-to-be and mothers, from everything to car seat safety to balancing the demands of motherhood with the self, on a rotating schedule throughout the year.

blooma.com www.MNYogaMag.com

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Studios

STUDIO PROFILES

Yoga Studio of Austin Studio location: 401 Main Street North Austin, MN 55912 Contact Info: info@yogastudioofaustin.com | 507-440-0478 Owner: Lindsey Kepper Years in business: 2.5 Types of yoga offered: Heated Vinyasa; Yoga Sculpt; Barre; Yin Yoga Other services offered: Massage, Thai Yoga Massage, Esthetics What makes your studio different?

We are located in rural MN in Spam Town, USA We have an amazing community of mostly students new to yoga practice. We are the first Yoga Studio in this area of MN!

yogastudioofaustin.com

Yoga North Duluth Studio Name: Yoga North International SomaYoga Institute Studio location: 4628 Pitt Street, Duluth, MN and on Jasper Lake in Ely, MN Contact Info: YogaNorthDuluth.com, info@yoganorthduluth. com, 888-722-YOGA Owner: Ann Maxwell and Molly McManus Years in business: 19 years Types of yoga offered: SomaYoga, Yoga Therapy, Somatics, Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Restorative, Kundalini, Adapative Yoga, iRest Yoga Nidra, Laughter, Thai Restoration Other services offered: 200 hr Teacher Training, +300 hr Teacher Training, 500 hr Teacher Training, Yoga Therapy Certification, Ayurveda, Private Sessions, Acupuncture, Mendhi, Retreats, Intensives What makes your studio different? We are the only accredited school offering Yoga Therapy Certification in the MidWest. We specialize in offering yoga from beginning to advanced with a focus on therapeutic yoga to decrease pain and increase athletic performance.

yoganorthduluth.com

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Studios

By: Jennifer Derham

STUDIO VISIT: MODO YOGA Uptown, Mpls

“My practice is done. I’m a hot drippy mess and I love how I feel.”

I looked forward to trying a class at Modo Yoga in Minneapolis, just outside of Uptown – my old stomping grounds for a brief period of time. Being an outer-ring suburbanite momma, it’s a treat to come down to the “city” and try a new studio.

Several friendly emails passed between owner, Phil Doucette, and I. Thinking of him conjures up images of the proverbial cool yoga guy in my mind. “Come join us Friday,” he writes, “It’ll be a blast.” A blast? I know I’ll like a guy who refers to practicing yoga as a blast. Because, aside from offering all its spiritual, physical, and mental benefits, practicing yoga can truly be a blast given the right company.

As I enter, I realize I didn’t do enough research. Oops. Modo Yoga is a HOT yoga studio. The soul-revealing, sweat out all the crap, type of hot yoga that leaves you soaking wet in a puddle of satisfaction. I decidedly dressed yoga casual/transitional for a meeting I had scheduled with a prominent local businesses woman right after the class.

I look around and am relieved – in the lobby are some cute yoga clothes. I like this place already. I’m warmly greeted by an unassuming gentleman. He looks likes the kind of guy that plays the sidekick friend in the movies. I

learn he’s the owner, the guy who invited me to have “a blast,” and that he’s my instructor for the day. He kindly tells me that some of the clothes are made from recycled bottles.

Wow. How cool. I don’t have to feel too guilty about the last minute splurge on my yoga outfit since it’s eco-friendly, right? He goes on to tell me how there’s “no plastic” in the studio and generously gives me a Modo Yoga water bottle. It is made from corn, he tells me. Again, I’m impressed. I really like this guy and this place, even though I haven’t even taken his class yet.

Gorgeous yoga photos adorn the studio.

However, they’re not your typical yoga pictures. They don’t feature your pictureperfect size four yoga models doing onearmed handstands, or some other pose inaccessible to many yoga practitioners.

One features his young daughter, another is of Philly D himself. Yet another showcases a picture of his whole family, his daughter around toddler-aged, in down dog lined up in a row. The picture is beautiful, striking even, and evokes a pulse of tenderness in my momma-bear heart. In the locker room I take time to appreciate a yoga photo of a plus-sized model. This place screams, “Yoga for EVERYBODY.” Although I haven’t stepped inside the classroom yet, I love Modo, the more I see. I note the poster advertising karma yoga classes, donation-based classes, and another that reminds folks to limit their shower time as a kind homage to Mother Earth.

The studio is blissfully warm and packed.

Philly D enters as jazz music plays. This is a first, I think. Although I’ve been thoroughly impressed thus far in my visit, I’m not so sure I’ll like jazz with my yoga practice. Where is the typical, new-agey, neo-Indian, musical fare I’ve come to know and love? He explains how his young daughter, made this particular playlist for him. Not only is Philly D and his studio super-cool and conscientious, his daughter has musical tastes more refined than mine. As Duke Ellington plays jazzy notes that wax and wane with the ebb and flow of our practice, I decide that although I’m no jazz connoisseur, jazz and yoga is a union I could learn to love. Philly D’s teaching style is sort of like himself. Unassuming, inviting, and it gently nudges me out of my comfort zone. He makes me truly want to do three chaturangas each time I take my vinyasa. “Triple dips,” he cheerfully calls them. As a yoga teacher myself, one of my favorite things about being the student is incorporating newly learned, fresh ideas into my own classroom. “Triple dips,” definitely made it into my teaching vocabulary.

My practice is done. I’m a hot drippy mess and I love how I feel. To me, that’s the essence of a great practice. It brings you to your authentic self - Svarupa. That version of yourself that feels true, at home in your body, and at peace in your heart. Pay Philly D a visit at Modo Yoga, and you too, can feel awesome.

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The Body & Mind

Feminine Energy

It is time to trust that which is!

By: Jan Johnson

Feminine Energy is a gift to be utilized and shared. Despite what you may first think, this energy is not gender specific.

Feminine energy is a gift to be utilized and shared with others.

This energy is something that is not gender specific, but there has been a period of time when women specifically have chosen to stand down, or down play this amazing energetic power in order to comply with the domination of masculine energy and /or to coexist harmoniously in a male dominated society.

What is feminine energy? Often people attach a sexual connotation to the term.

Popular culture offers much guidance on how to improve your feminine nature in order to make yourself more attractive or even irresistible to men.

The emotive aspect is what most corporate societies have difficulty with. If facts, figures, graphs, and charts aren’t presented then validation of female effort is often downplayed, if not overlooked entirely. Many of my female friends in the yoga and fitness industry have shared with me that female leadership in the industry has been limited for many years. The business world often conveys to us that hard cold data is the only thing in which reality is based upon.

There is a disconnect when women try to explore (or share) their female intuition and internal wisdom. Again, corporations for the most part are not buying “feelings” but need something more tangible to extend approval for proposals presented or ideas shared. Often, when ideas aren’t stolen, they are simply swept under the rug with the understanding that heart felt ideas or feelings are not fact related and therefore less valid. Feminine energy is a moving energy. It is motion, receptive, creative, and a verbally communicative energy.

The kind of feminine energy I am speaking of is not sexual in nature. It is sensual, perhaps. It is encompassed by a primal, intuitive, nurturing, synchronization of all energies. Anyone who has ever been touched in a yoga class by female energy has witnessed this energy- it is a heart felt touch, a rocking wave deep down inside

After years of this divine feminine energy struggling to stay alive in a male dominated world, this energy has re-surged. When this feminine energy thrived in the past, we have called it The Golden Age. During the Golden Age, music, medicine, science, art, love, and life flourished. The traditional ideals of competition may be losing steam,

There is something exciting afoot these days that has been percolating for decades.

This “something” is a new way of being for women and all people everywhere.

Women are (re) embracing their feminine energy and moving around society with a confidence that can no longer be denied or pushed to the outskirts. Pun intended.

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and a cradling and comforting of the soul. It is a feeling that changes the ahhhhhhhhh into an ohhhhmmmmmmmm experience.

This experience doesn’t need a hard sell. It is something felt and received by all who are opened to this vibration.

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or at least losing their powerful grip. We are beginning to see people everywhere flocking into yoga studios across the country looking for peace and feminine based values of collaboration, co-creation, connection to the natural world and to each other.

“We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

We are coming (back) into our own now. We are traveling if need be, with a velvet hammer, managing with grace and eloquence, bringing our feelings, intuition, and our knowing into every walk of life...and still getting things done!

Powerful, strong, and many are we who are showing the way. We are coming (back) into our own now, being known by many names: Feminist, Gypsy, Goddess, or even Wild Women. This feminine awareness reflects the connectedness of life. We are aware and honor the vital stages of life-from the cradle to the grave. Our relationships with others become more important than isolation of the self. We value community as a whole, often more so than the search for individual fulfillment. Even multi-tasking, which is often viewed as a negative or inefficient, has been shown to be more appropriate than the fixation of achieving a single goal. We see all things being

Artist Credit: “Great Star Mother” by Maya Telford

interconnected. There is no question that the feminine energy allows for even this multi-tasking way of life to be, and feel, fundamentally correct.

and knowing into one beautiful sentence. “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” (referring to inner light in a time of darkness)

It is time to trust that which is. It is now time to teach from our authentic selves, to lay the foundation for all of those who suppress that feminine life force. It is time to trust in our “knowing”. It is time to unleash the feminine energy, to revisit, release and unleash it. We owe US to the world.

If we are true to her, the goddess will come to us, lighting the path in all directions. “And who will join this standing up and the ones who stood without sweet company will sing and sing back into the mountains and if necessary even under the sea. We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

In a time when everyone is seeking answers and lay in wait for someone to show the way, feminine energy and the realness that it brings is raw and ready to spring forth.

June Jordan sums up all of this movement and longing

-from “Poem for South African Women” by June Jordan

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Studios

STUDIO SPOTLIGHT: YOGAFIT Excelsior, Linden Hills & NE Minneapolis with more locations coming!

YogaFit Studios Studio location(s): Excelsior: 494 Water St, Excelsior, MN 55331 Linden Hills: 4507 France Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55410 Northeast Minneapolis: 520 1st Ave. NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 Additional studios are scheduled to open in and around the Twin Cities in 2015! There are teaching and ownership opportunities for many!

Contact Info: Jodi Sussner, Director of Programming jsussner@liftbrands.com 952-567-5953 Owner: Lift Brands, Peter Taunton CEO Owner of Excelsior Studio: Peter Taunton Owner of Minneapolis Studios: Ashok Dhariwal Year Established: 2014 Types of yoga offered: All classes are Vinyasa Style – including: Restorative Yoga, YogaFit Basics, YogaCore, YogaButt, YogaStrength, and YogaFit Sweat

Other services offered: Private yoga instruction, specialty classes and workshops (yoga for athletes, kids yoga, yoga for active aging), plus instructor certification and continuing education.

I could have imagined. I like to say that this pose truly is my hero. I am fascinated by the healing benefits this pose brings to the body and the surge of release you feel when you come out of the pose.”

What makes this studio special?

We are the first yoga studio to launch an innovative 24-hour fitness concept and apply it to the yoga world. Whether you are utilizing the virtual ondemand option or attending a live, instructor-lead class, you have the ability to practice yoga at your own convenience any time of the day. Treat our space like it is your own personal yoga studio.

“My least favorite pose would

The most important thing our readers should know about your studio: Every body and anybody is a yoga body. At YogaFit, we make yoga accessible to beginners and offer unique and challenging classes for the advanced yogi.

No matter where you are in your practice, you will find your place here at our studio.

As a teacher, what is your favorite yoga pose? What is your least favorite and why?

Sarah Fischer, Manager and Instructor at Excelsior studio: “My favorite yoga pose is Supta Virasana or Reclining Hero pose. After a knee injury, it took me awhile to get back into my yoga practice. However, with time and healing restorative poses like hero, I was back to my regular practice faster than

be Ustrasana or Camel pose.

I seem to struggle with heart openers and back bends as I have a sensitive low back. I have learned that the poses we struggle with the most are truly the ones that teach us the most.

We need to learn from our struggles and overcome them both on and off the mat.”

What do you like most about working for Yogafit? “I truly love that I get to wake up every day and say, ‘I love what I do.’ I don’t look at it as a job or ‘work,’ rather I see it as an opportunity.

For me, the reward is sharing my passion with others in hopes that one day it becomes their own great love in life. Seeing a student have an a-ha moment in class, getting into a pose for the very first time, seeing the smiles and tears from students faces, are all just a few of the reasons why I love teaching. I live, love and breathe yoga every day and I am grateful to be around a community of others that share that same passion.”

What would you tell a yogi dreaming of running their own studio? If you can dream it, you can make it happen. We can help – financing is available.

“We are the first yoga studio to launch an innovative 24hour fitness concept and apply it to the yoga world.”

yogafitstudios.com www.MNYogaMag.com

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VINIYOGA’S

By Jennifer Derham

What is Viniyoga? Viniyoga was the term T.K.V. Desikachar received from his father, T. Krishnamacharya, to describe the use of yoga as an individualized tool for self discovery. Desikachar learned yoga from his father, who is often referred to as the “Father of Modern Yoga.”

Editor in Chief, Jennifer Derham, had the delightful opportunity to interview Gary Kraftsow MA, E-RYT 500, and Founder and Director of the American Viniyoga Institute, at the Yoga Journal conference in San Francisco last January. Gary studied yoga with Viniyoga pioneer, Desickachar in Madras, India in the 70’s and 80’s. Gary has developed an evolved approach to teaching that honors the ancient integrity of traditional yoga, while making it relevant and practical for today’s modern practitioner.

Viniyoga is a highly individualized approach to yoga tailored to meet the physical, spiritual, and mental

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needs of the practitioner.

It encompasses not only asana, the physical aspect of yoga, but pranayama which encompasses mindful breathing, the study of yoga philosophy, meditation, and chanting. Viniyoga considers one’s age, culture, physical condition, and other characteristics unique to each individual when developing prescriptive and preventative practices for wellness.

Viniyoga can be further described by these four principles: 1. Repetition and stay: the use of repetition into, and out of, postures in addition to holding postures.

2. Function over form: emphasizes the benefit of the posture rather than the outward physical appearance of the posture. Includes adaptation of postures for different results. For example, the common “heel to arch” phrase used to cue warrior poses may not be appropriate

for some individuals depending on how their hips are set, their knee health, etc.

3. Breath and adaptation: varying the breath for different results. For example, making the exhale slightly longer than the inhale produces a calming effect for those experiencing distress or agitation.

4. The art and science of sequencing: the refined art and science of combination which allows teachers to create sequences of different orientation, length, and intensity to suit the intention and context of each practice.

Sequences can be taught to manage feelings of depression, anxiety, and other physical ailments.

Gary describes the growing field of yoga therapy as a complimentary approach to wellness rather than an alternative. Professionals in the field are working towards establishing a stand alone credential for yoga therapy.

“For me Viniyoga is everything, broad and detailed, physical and spiritual, astoundingly intelligent and esoterically subtle, gifting the teacher and student, whether in private or group sessions, with the ability to embark upon a comprehensive journey toward revolutionary self love and personal growth.”

-Laurie LoPesio, a Certified Viniyoga Therapist in the Twin Cities

Gary Kraftsow

MYM:

You’ve studied under Desikachar and met his father, Krishnamacharya. How did that come about? How did your yoga journey begin?

Gary:

I worked mostly with Desikachar. I met them both in 1974. I got my undergraduate degree at Colgate in upstate New York. I knew a Religious Studies professor there who spent a lot of time in India. He knew Krishnamacharya. As a Religious Studies student, I took yoga as my physical education requirement, and ended up participating in a study abroad group to India. The philosophy of yoga blew me away.

Krishnamacharya said to me, “Don’t think you know about yoga from what you learned from me.”

MYM:

What is modern day Western Yoga doing right? What would you change?

The very essence of Viniyoga is therapeutic in nature.

Gary:

Yoga is a living tradition and has evolved over centuries. It has changed over time to meet the needs of people in current society.

It is authentic that it continues to evolve. However, it should take its root from authentic teachings that have been transmitted over centuries. Teachers can creatively adapt to meet the needs of their students. Yoga has become commercialized and much like a sport. It has been reduced to asana. It shouldn’t be about the techniques or postures per se, but how they function to serve practitioners. There are lot of things out there in the yoga world are that aren’t accurately representing the yoga tradition.

More on Viniyoga and Yoga Therapy International Association of Yoga Therapists | www.iayt.org American Viniyoga Institute | www.viniyoga.com

The Body & Mind

I AM A SURVIVOR

And now I am one BADASS healer!

By: Kristin Cromie

From ages 2 to 11, my father abused me in every fashion. My mother let him. Then he set me on fire.

Three years later, I overcame cervical cancer. My teens were ensnared in drug and alcohol abuse, food disorders and general agony. In my 20’s I was wellimmersed in a self-chosen abusive relationship.

I crashed my car into a ditch at 26, rendering me briefly blind and burning off half my face. At 28, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I beat that too.

My lowest point was at 30 years old. I was lost, scared, working myself literally to death and full of emptiness. I chose the wrong crowd every single time. It made me feel like the least tragic person. I cried relentlessly. I ran, hid and blamed the world.

I wrote more than one note instructing others what to do when they found me.

What I could not see at the time was that continually identifying with the past shaped my present. As exhausting and soulsucking as it was, I had been comfortable being a victim.

Then shift happened.

I sustained a running injury and I tried this new-fangled exercise called yoga. The first class was terrifying. “What’s that language?

My foot goes where? She makes it look easy, but my leg is seriously going to break 64

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off. This sucks.” But, not one to lose, I kept going back. The physical challenge intrigued me and I was hooked.

As I moved through the initial months, I contorted my body into the specific postures, focused on my breath, and made mindful choices. I healed – even if only a smidge and a dash at a time. My mat was my mirror. It was my island for me to cry, laugh, sweat, bleed and grow with total support and no judgment. This was love.

True self love.

My past is still there. I simply have the courage to remember lessons versus feel the emotions.

I’m now 41, and a yoga instructor, I offer guided meditation, Reiki and Energetic Readings and am one Badass Healer. I am the mother to adult twins and two amazing step children. As a tribute to my past, I named my business Yoga Spice. I am honored and delighted to shine the light on someone’s path. Seeing their progress is food for my soul.

I practice asana every day, and meditate as often as I need, with no guilt for when I can’t. I have weird days, happy days and everything in between, and I take it mostly in stride. I have a healthy obsession with cupcakes. I’m finally in love with me. I’ve settled down with my soul mate, and I continue to be humbled by the beautiful people who surround me with unconditional acceptance. None of this would have been possible if yoga hadn’t found me. Namaste.

“My past is still there. I simply have the courage to remember lessons versus feel the emotions.”

“We are all survivors. Some of us just have had more lessons to learn than others.�

Kristin Cromie

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By: Kelly Greene

SUMMER FUN

Family

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Family. Friendly. Fun. Munsinger Gardens

Stop to smell the flowers in St. Cloud. Take a stroll among the beautiful European-style gardens. Attend music in the gardens offered on various simmer nights, or the annual art fair. http://www.munsingerclemens. com/the-gardens/munsinger-gardens

Coon Rapids, MN 55433 763-767-2895 http://www.bunkerbeach.com

Jim Lupient Water Park

Pick Your Own Berries

1520 Johnson St NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 612-370-4937

Como Park

1360 Civic Center Drive Eagan, MN 55121 651-675-5577 http://www.cityofeagan.com/index.php/cascade-bay

Farms all over Minnesota offer pick your own blueberries, strawberries and raspberries throughout the summer. Find a location near you at: http://www. pickyourown.org/MN.htm

Como Park offers a variety of family fun including the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Como Town Amusement Park, mini-golf, fishing and paddleboat rental on Lake Como, an 18 Hole Golf Course, water park, playground and picnic table, and the historic Cafesjian’s Carousel. http://www.stpaul.gov/comopark

Local Library

On days when the weather is less than ideal, check out your local library for story times and other activities. http://www.melsa.org/melsa

Water Parks

Nothing is better on a hot summer day than getting exercise and having fun in the water! Find an outdoor water park near you!

Bunker Beach

701 County Parkway A

Cascade Bay Eagan

Soak City at Valleyfair Family Amusement Park

1 Valleyfair Drive Shakopee, MN 55379 https://www.valleyfair.com/things-to-do/soak-citywaterpark

Wild Mountain

37200 Wild Mountain Rd. Taylors Falls, MN 55084 651-465-6365 http://www.wildmountain.com/footerwaterpark

Edina Aquatic Center

4300 W. 66th St. Edina, MN 55435 952-833-9560 http://edinamn.gov/index.php?section=aquatic-center

Aamodt’s Apple Farm

Pick your own apples, hay wagon rides, hay bale maze, Honey Crisp Express kiddie train. Apple treats available for purchase, including apple brats, apple donuts and apple cider.

6428 Manning Avenue Stillwater, MN 55082 Phone: 651-439-3127 http://www.aamodtsapplefarm.com

Apple Jack Orchards

4875 37th Street SE Delano, MN 55328 Phone: 763-972-6673 Pick your own apples, corn pit, corn maze, jumping pillow, and apple cannon. Visit the apple café and bakery with soup, sandwiches and sweet treats. https://www.applejackorchards.com

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center

Home of the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry and 40 other sculptural works of art as well as the Cowles Conservatory and the Alene Grossman Memorial Arbor and Flower Garden.

1750 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN 55403 Phone: 612-375-7600 http://www.walkerart.org/garden

Twin Cities Harvest Festival and Corn Maze

Minnesota’s largest corn maze! Corn pit, straw bale maze, kids play area, live music, petting zoo, and hayride. Available for additional fees: climbing wall, pumpkin slinger, pony rides, large slide, food vendors, and pumpkins.

8001 109th Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55445 Phone: 952-992-9326 https://twincitiesmaze.com

Minnehaha Park

Minnehaha Park, home of Minnehaha Falls, is beautiful anytime of year, but in the fall the colors come alive.

Enjoy a walk around the park, rent mountain bikes, family-friendly surreys, or low to the ground bicycles.

Enjoy a meal at the Sea Salt Eatery. Bring your fourlegged family member to the off-leash dog park.

4801 South Minnehaha Park Dr.Minneapolis, MN 55417 Phone: 612-230-6400 http://www.minneapolisparks.org

Find Halloween Fun!

A variety of Halloween fun can be found all around Minnesota that varies from kid-friendly to scary. Anoka, MN, the proclaimed “Halloween Capital of the World” celebrates with several different parades, a block party and fitness run/walk. Check out the specifics at http:// anokahalloween.com/. Valleyscare at Valleyfair Family Amusement Park in Shakopee offers rides, mazes and scare zones. During the day Planet Spooky at Valleyfair offers more kid-friendly Halloween fun. Check it out at: https://www.valleyfair.com/. Zoo Boo at Como Park Zoo: http://www.comozooconservatory.org

AUTUMN FUN

Apple Orchards

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1000 Petals

By Jennifer Derham

YoGa

Calm

Teaching kids more than the ABC’s and 123’s. Yoga Calm® teaches kids how to breathe, how to cope, how to be.

I had the opportunity to interview Kathy Flaminio, founder of 1000 Petals, LLC and the National Director of Training Development for Yoga Calm®. She has trained over 4,000 individuals on how to integrate yoga-based movement, breathing techniques, and social/emotional skills into classrooms, hospitals, and therapeutic settings. Kathy holds a master’s degree in social work with more than twenty years of experience in regular and special education settings.

As a school social worker, Kathy did 68

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for

not feel she was reaching children in a way that was impactful, meaningful, and effective. One day as she was working with a group of students, Kathy became exasperated. She suddenly said, “We are done talking we are doing yoga” The next week she brought in her yoga mats, and the children became excited and engaged.

Kathy started integrating Yoga Based movement and mindfulness techniques with the group, and saw meaningful changes within 6 weeks. “The students reported feelings of being relaxed and carefree despite their very chaotic lives. They were amazed by the experience of coming into stillness. They were able to find that quiet place inside” that often alludes us. A few years later Kathy was given a sabbatical with another colleague to research what was happening around the country with

Kids

Yoga, Mindfulness and Mental Health. It was here where she met the Yoga Calm® founders. The positive effects of Yoga Calm, such as decreased aggression and non-compliance, and increased ontask behavior, started generalizing to classrooms. Teachers started to notice, and began to ask what was happening.

Yoga Calm has won praise from school administrators, teachers, and students as a set of evidenced-based interventions that not only improves outcomes for students with challenging behaviors, but also helps teach valuable coping skills to the whole classroom and empowers teachers. Kathy shares a sentiment many yoga instructors can identify with, “When you help someone find that place inside that is undisturbed and untouched by the outer chaos, and they know it is there, and you give them

“Traditionally, we teach only from the neck up, missing the whole mind-body connection” -Founders of Yoga Calm® the tools to access it- it is one of the most powerful tools you can give someone.”

Lynn Hernandez, Principal of an Elementary school in Apple Valley says, “The benefits of Yoga Calm® have been remarkable. Students have come to understand how mindful breathing and yoga activities can help them self-regulate and de-stress. Teachers have been very proactive in the use of Yoga Calm, and it has become part of their daily schedule.

We created a “refresh room” (different from our behavior support room), where students are encouraged to go to take a break and refresh with breathing, yoga, rocking, etc.

Yoga calm has become an essential part of our school because both staff and students see a personal benefit.

Yoga Calm® was founded in Portland, Oregon by Jim and Lynea Gillen. It was developed for classrooms, day treatment centers, and other therapeutic settings. It focuses on the utilization of 5 primary tools:

• • • • •

Breath work Yoga based movement Relaxation techniques/story telling Social emotional learning Emotional guidance/triage training for teachers (helping teachers help children process their emotions)

“People talk about teaching to whole child, but I don’t see enough of it. Traditionally, we teach only from the neck up, missing the whole mind-body connection. We need to focus on more than just behavior.

We need to address the whole brain and brain body connection.” Kathy is excited about the advancement of the mindfulness movement, but is concerned that the need for movement will be overlooked. Kids are often sitting too much and for too long. This is especially concerning considering that recess, gym, and music, activities that offer the most opportunities for movement are often the first to be cut. “Schools need to incorporate moving and mindfulness together,” she asserts. Historically, the core practice of yoga was to move the body in order to prepare it to sit and focus for extended amounts of time in meditation.

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children self-regulation and the coping skills necessary to learn, and stay healthy.

According to Kathy, “Most of the “behavior issues” we see with children are self regulation issues. Often we are addressing the behavior rather than the physiology.

When we empower children to learn about their brain and how their brain works under stress and then give them practices to self regulate-we teach them a life long skill needed to thrive and succeed.

1000 Petals hosts Moving and Learning Residency programs in Apple Valley, Rosemount, Eagan and St. Paul. During these 6-week teaching programs, Yoga Calm Certified Youth Instructors are placed in classrooms. Most recently they worked with over 1000 students in Pre-K-12th grade.

Yoga Calm tools are being embedded into existing Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) systems that are already being utilized within schools. PBIS refers to a school specific, systematic, proactive approach to fostering appropriate behaviors in students and maintaining a positive school climate. The residency program teaches activities and interventions that directly involve the teacher. It teaches them to connect with the child in more meaningful ways. Teachers are the intervention. Teachers identify and collect data on behaviors that are most relevant to them.

One of the ways Kathy sees involving the whole community is to “have every yoga studio partnered with a community school and offer in-house yoga for school staff and encourage staff to come their studios.

This way staff that are trained in Yoga Calm and incorporating the strategies into their classrooms could have Yoga Classes for themselves. It is imperative that teachers enhance their ability to self-regulate and foster calm. Teachers are often suffering, and they set the emotional tone in their classrooms. Yoga and mindfulness activities can give them tools they need to reduce the negative impacts of stress.”

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students

regulation to tie into, and to model.

Some may wonder when teachers who are already overworked and over busy are supposed to implement such techniques.

Kathy would say that the cost of not intervening at the physiological level is too high, not to. These techniques are the intervention for trauma informed care. Teachers instruct these activities on a daily pro-active basis and then also can implement techniques during times of the school day that are most difficulttimes when they need to unite learners.

Examples include during morning meeting, after recess, or between subjects to help children learn to shift their attention, and transition between activities. Breathing techniques or simple calming postures such as forward folds can be very effective and empowering. Kathy provided me with a visual she often uses with students.

She hands me a ball filled with glitter and water. She explains, “The mind is like this ball. When there is too much movement, our thoughts are like the glitter-racing, and unsettled. When you are able to find stillness, those thoughts don’t disappear.

They still remain, but are able to settle.”

Research In the last eight years over 6,000 educators and related service providers have been trained in Yoga Calm techniques benefiting an estimated 35,000 children per school day. Results include:

•

Boost in attendance rates

•

Increased time on task – specifically reading time

•

Decreased behavioral referrals and thereby time out of the classroom

•

Improved feelings of community – #1 predictor of High School graduation (Search Institute

•

Improved auditory comprehension in

•

Ability to transition between classes more effectively

•

Improved ability to demonstrate reflection in writing

•

Lowered classroom volume by 21db leading to less teacher redirection

•

Improved direction following, imitation, and choice making in early childhood after calming activities

•

100% awareness in students on howto self-calm in 4th Grade classroom

Action Based Research, MPLS Public Schools, 2007. Evidence of needs met among students using Yoga Calm techniques.

Experts in the local medical community are also taking note, and are examining the effects that yoga-based movement and mindful breathing, have on child and adolescent mental health. 1000 Petals has partnered with several directors and nurses from the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital Child/Adolescent Mental Health providing Yoga Calm on several units. In partnership with Dr. Nimi Singh, they will begin to look at the impact of the use of Yoga Calm® processes on children hospitalized for acute anxiety and depression. Preliminary results have shown that symptoms have decreased significantly after exposure to Yoga Calm techniques in as little as 1 to 2 weeks. Other preliminary results suggest that children who have received Yoga Calm instruction showed a decreased in need for sleep medications, thus showing improvement in one of the body’s most basic processes-the ability to regulate the body, the ability to rest and sleep.

For more information, please visit www.1000-petals.com

+EVENTS

Music Culture Art Family Yoga Races Training MORE+ www.MNYogaMag.com

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APRIL Minneapolis Yoga Conference

Providing a safe and transformative learning experience that allows each participant to go deeper, connect and awaken to who they truly are through the teachings and practices of yoga.

April 24-26 2015 www.mplsyogaconference.com

Women’s Wellness and Adventure Weekend, Sandstone

Audubon Center of the North Woods Speakers, fresh local food, wellness activities, massage, and rejuvenation April and October 2015 audubon-center.org/audubon-center-of-thenorth-woods/events/womens-wellness

Midwest Music Fest, Winona

All ages, multiple genres music festival April 23-25, 2015 www.midwestmusicfest.org

MinnRoast

Annual song-and-skit variety show featuring your favorite local politicians, journalists and media types April 24, 2015 www.minnpost.com/events/minnroast-2015

MAY Devanadi School of Yoga & Wellness Ayurveda Yoga Specialist (AYS) Training Program 4 Part Program Starts May 1 Learn about yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda, which means “the wisdom of life.” Diet, lifestyle, yoga and meditation approaches for healthy living are taught in each module. www. devanadiyoga.com/training/ays-program

Devanadi School of Yoga & Wellness Advanced Yoga Therapy (AYT) Program with Indu Arora

Year Long Program Starts May 21 This specialized training responds to the growing interest in and need for yoga therapy across the United States. www.devanadiyoga.com/training/300-houradvanced-yoga-therapy

Bike MS: Sam’s Club Twin Cities Ride, St. Paul 72

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So Many..

ArtSplash Art Fair, Mankato

Music, food, and multi-distance bike race to benefit National Multiple Sclerosis Society May 9, 2015 bikemnm.nationalmssociety.org/site/ PageServer?pagename=BIKE_MNM_ homepage

Regional artists, music, food, and family activities June 20, 2015 www.greatermankatoevents.com/event-details. php?id=30319

ALS Bike Trek, Marine on St. Croix

Grandma’s Race Weekend, Duluth

Ride to cure Lou Gehrig’s disease May 16, 2015 alsmn.als.net

JUNE MN Yoga Magazine Launch Party

Celebrate our MN Yoga Community! Sponsored

by Agra Culture at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Food, music, silent auction to benefit a local nonprofit, dressy casual Friday June 12, 7 to 10 pm RSVP at www.facebook.com/MNYogaMagazine/ events

Devanadi School of Yoga & Wellness

Katie Silcox: Healthy, Happy, Sexy! A Yoga, Ayurveda & Summer Solstice Weekend Retreat for Women Join ParaYogini Katie Silcox for Ayurveda and Tantra’s core teachings on how to unlock your innate connection to prana shakti – the life force energy that truly enables us to feel healthy, happy and sexy.

June 19-21 www.devanadiyoga.com/guest_teacher/katiesilcox

1,000 Petals TRE: Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises

Wellness Intensive: Intro, Physical & Social/ Emotional June 12-15 2015 at Tula Yoga and Wellness www.1000-petals.com/yoga-calm-training

St. Paul’s Grand Old Day

Parade, vendors, music, petting zoo, and bounce houses June 7, 2015 www.grandave.com/grand-old-day

Nisswa Majestic Pines Arts & Fine Crafts Fair

Artists from all over the Midwest June 21, 2015 business.nisswa.com/events

Marathon, half marathon, 5k, and youth races Health and fitness expo, food, and music June 19-20, 2015 www.grandmasmarathon.com

Granite City Days, St. Cloud

Art fair, music, food, parade, 5k, pub crawl, SUP series, and block party June 25-28, 2015 http://www.granitecitydays.com

JULY Devanadi School of Yoga & Wellness

235hr Yoga Teacher Trainings & Intensives Come deepen your knowledge of yoga and/ or learn to teach a wide variety of styles and students in this therapeutic yet modern synthesis of yoga, ayurveda, tantra, meditation and energy medicine. www.devanadiyoga.com/trainings

Yoga Center of Minneapolis

Faith Hunter: Spiritually Fly™ Weekend Immersion July 17-19 2015 yogacentermpls.com/workshops-events

Common Grounds Yoga and Music Festival

Music, food, vendors, yoga, meditation July 24-26, 2015 www.commongroundsfestival.com

1,000 Petals TRE: Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises

Public Workshop & TRE Certification Training Level 1, Module 1 July 23-25, 2015 www.1000-petals.com/conferences

Wanderlust Yoga and Music Festivals

Celebrations of mindful living Aspen-Snowmass, CO July 2 -5, 2015 Squaw Valley, CA July 16 – 19, 2015 Whistler, BC July 30 – August 3, 2015 wanderlust.com/events/about-wanderlust-festivals

Minneapolis Aquatennial

Things To Do

The official celebration of the city of Minneapolis Parade, 5K, fireworks, boat races 3rd full week in July www.aquatennial.com

Celebrations of mindful living Tremblant, QC August 20 -23, 2015 wanderlust.com/events/about-wanderlustfestivals

Stillwater Log Jam

Uptown Art Fair

Lumberjack shows, downhill derby, fishing contest, and parade July 17-19, 2015 stillwaterlogjam.com

Music, art, food, vendors, family events August 7-9, 2015 http://uptownartfair.com

A Taste of Minnesota, Waconia

Summer Yoga Intensive with William Prottengeier Deepen and Strengthen Your Practice with Twice Daily Classes Integrating Meditation and Asana Sundays to Fridays, August 2015 www.mplsyogaworkshop.com/workshops. html#summer

Entertainment, food, fireworks, and music July 2-5, 2015 www.atasteofmn.com

Basilica Block Party, Minneapolis

Music, food, culture July 10-11, 2015 www.basilicablockparty.org

Minneapolis Yoga Workshop

Rochester Greek Fest, Rochester

Sun Moon Yoga, Mankato

Sun Moon Yoga Study and Teacher Training Sept 18-20, 2015 www.sunmoonyogastudios.com

Carlos Creek Grape Stomp and Fall Festival, Alexandria

Food, vendors, music, wine tasting, beer tasting, and grape stomping September 18-20, 2015 www.ccwgrapestomp.com

Take Me to the River, Stillwater

Where art and nature meet. A festival of festivals September 19-27, 2015 takemetotheriver.info

OCTOBER Yoga North, Duluth

Somatics & SomaYoga Intensive Learn how Somatics can help us work toward smarter muscles October 9-11, 2015 www.yoganorthduluth.com

Common Grounds Yoga and Music Festival Music, transformation, meditation, yoga July 24-26, 2015 http://www.commongroundsfestival.com

Greek music, food, dancers, carnival and bake sale August 28-30, 2015 http://www.rochesterorthodoxchurch.org/ opportunities/festival

AUGUST

Irish Fair, Harriet Island-St. Paul

Music, family entertainment, cultural activities, and vendors August 7-9, 2015 www.irishfair.com

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Nature refuge 5k, food, wildlife crafts and art, education, and wagon rides October 3, 2015 www.fws.gov/refuge/sherburne

SEPTEMBER

Twin Cities Medtronic Marathon Weekend

Yoga Center of Minneapolis

Leslie Kaminoff: 4 Day Yoga Anatomy Immersion August 3-6, 2015 yogacentermpls.com/workshops-events

Minnesota Power Yoga

Youth Yoga Journey for High School Students Starts August 23rd once a week for 6 weeks minnesotapoweryoga.com

Minnesota Power Yoga

Empowerment and Beyond program Starts August 23rd once a week for 6 weeks Includes yoga, meditation, inquiry minnesotapoweryoga.com

Minnesota Power Yoga

200 Hour Teacher Training led by Danielle Jokinen Starting August 28th for seven weekends ending in January 2016 minnesotapoweryoga.com

Wanderlust Yoga And Music Festivals

Azitala Annual Staff and Student appreciation weekend Karma classes-donation based and learning seminars.

Sept 11-13, 2015 azitala.com

Yoga Center of Minneapolis

By the Light of the Full Moon Tour, Bali Retreat Sept 23 - Oct 4, 2015 yogacentermpls.com

Devanadi School of Yoga & Wellness DHARMA MITTRA

Spend a weekend with yoga master Dharma Mittra, who shares wisdom from his half-century of teaching to help you progress in your practice.

September 25-27, 2015 www.devanadiyoga.com

Fall Wildlife Festival, Zimmerman

Races, walks, family activities October 2-4, 2015 www.tcmevents.org/events/medtronic_twin_ cities_marathon_weekend_-_october_2-4_2015

Fall Foliage Fest, Harmony

Tours, apple treats, Niagra Cave October 2-4, 2015 www.exploreharmony.com/events

Healthy Life Expo, Minneapolis Convention Center

Speakers, vendors, giveaways, and product demos October 17, 2015 http://www.mediamaxevents.com/pages/ MinneapolisHealthShowOct2015.html

List your event here!

Call us at

612.384.9864.