Inward Bound

Around Inward Bound

2009-01-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Winter Session 2009 is in full swing and classes are full of New Year energy. Martha (Level 2 and Level 2-3) is leading her popular exploration of the seven chakras over the seven week session. Lynette (Morning Yoga and Level 2) is guiding students through an awareness of the basic elements in the context of our yoga practice. Winter session is the time when the Flowing Postures to Music class revels in the upbeat chants of Krishna Das for the series honoring Hinduism. And in our newest class, Yoga for Body, Mind and Spirit, Dottie continues to guide students into an integration of the body and mind, through postures, ancient teachings, and meditation.

It's a real Michigan winter! Why not use this time to learn the benefits of yoga? Inward Bound affers a variety of approaches to this ancient and timely practice of well-being. Join us!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Our Winter session of yoga classes will begin on January 5. Is this your year to begin yoga? At Inward Bound, we can help you find a class that is just the right fit. Yoga is a health-supporting practice that really must be experienced before you know if it is right for you. If you commit to one seven-week session, you will have enough experience to know if you want to continue. Many folks make yoga a consistent part of their life; try a session and find out why!

Inward Bound Holiday Party

2008-11-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

For over ten years Inward Bound students have come together at the holiday time to celebrate the joy of yoga and community. The early Holiday Party format centered around demonstrations from the various classes, as well as performances by Still Moving, Inward Bound's very own yoga-dance group. Those were the days when the flow style was new, and it was fun to see the creative ways that the IB instructors were developing this form.

Then, for five years, we practiced 108 Sun Salutations together, all coordinated with lots of musical selections. It wasn't required to practice the entire 108 salutations, but many students did, carried along by the music and group energy. Many other students joined in for just a few rounds here and there, and lots of students still remember that shared group feeling of joyful completion.

Due to scheduling issues, we offered a week of free classes for a couple of years instead of a single party. Many students took advantage of a chance to try a lot of different classes, and many instructors geared their classes toward the holiday energy.

Then, a few years back, the Inward Bond instructors created a holiday class together where each instructor took a turn leading a segment of the class. We have remained with this format for each holiday party and students appreciate the ready accessibility for all levels of yoga experience. Students also enjoy experiencing some teaching from each of the nine IB instructors. And we always serve delicious refreshments during the sharing time afterward.

Our Holiday Party for 2008 will be held on Saturday, December 13, from 3:00-6:00. We will meet at the good ol' Friends Center for an all-levels yoga class followed by food and fellowship. Join us!

Welcome!

2008-09-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome new students and welcome back to returning students! As a university town, Ann Arbor is literally abuzz with the influx of 50,000 temporary residents as they start the new school year. Add many thousand more on football Saturdays, and we have one busy little town. Traffic is noticeably more congested; parking is almost impossible. Bookstores are full of intent browsers; coffee shops hum with animated conversations. At the U - professors and students alike now face lectures, exams and deadlines. It's a very different feel from our sleepy little summer town, and all the more reason to take a yoga class this fall!

Inward Bound is uniquely situated close to main campus, but in a quiet residential area. Walking past the flower-lined yard into the Friends Center, where we offer our classes, is like entering a cool and quiet oasis. Thoughts and worries drop away, and, after a mere hour or hour-and-a-half yoga class, students leave renewed and refreshed, ready to take on the challenge of life in an exciting university town!

Even if you aren't directly connected with the university, you have probably felt its influence when you tried to find a parking place! Inward Bound does offer limited parking behind the building. Also, new parking rules applied to the side streets assure that cars can no longer be "garaged" on the side streets. Parking is now readily available.

Perhaps you are new to town and would like to continue your yoga studies; perhaps you have been thinking about taking yoga but haven't gotten around to it; perhaps you are just curious; perhaps your doctor recommended it! There are many good reasons to sign up for a yoga class this September. Check the Inward Bound schedule; we make it easy with many welcoming options. Join us!

Yin/Yang Yoga

2008-04-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

Yin -- still, dry, dark, inner, patient, quiet, lunar, soft, cool, feminine.

Yang -- active, moving, quick, moist, muscular, firm, surface, warm, solar, masculine.

The qualities are relative; there is no absolute Yin or Yang. Yin can move toward Yang and vice versa, over time and given changing conditions. Applying these qualities to the practice of yoga, we see the trend in American yoga to practice a more active muscular Yang-style yoga, encouraging strength, heat, movement, and fluid-filled muscles.

Not to discourage, but to balance the Yang style of practicing, Yin Yoga is offered. The poses are held quietly and softly for several minutes, bypassing the pumping action of the muscles in order to reach more deeply into the less fluid-filled ligaments. The mood is patient; the opening in the joints is palpable and often dramatic.

In Yin/Yang Yoga, we practice a series of Yin-style postures, using the long holds to quietly coax the stretch out of areas that may have been dormant or hiding behind the active muscles. We follow the Yin period with Yang-style yoga -- moving, flowing, enjoying the new spaciousness in the hips and lower back, areas most addressed by Yin Yoga.

Allowing the Yin to flow into the Yang, the Yang to flow back to the Yin -- mirroring the endless cycles of Nature.

As the final phase of the Saturday Special cycle approaches, we honor the Divine Feminine, expressing the Yin qualities that bring balance to the Universal Yang. Fittingly, we already gave the fellows their Special in March, with Yoga for Men. Now, through flowing yoga and guided imagery, we will explore what unique contribution the feminine or Yin aspects bring to our appreciation of Universal Truth.

And guess what -- no absolutes -- men are very welcome!

Yoga and the Divine Feminine
April 19 – Barbara B.
Come discover your inner Goddess! Through yoga poses and flowing sequences we will connect with the Feminine Divine that dwells in all of us, discovering an increased sense of intuition, confidence, and joy. Some previous yoga experience required.

The Whole Enchilada

2008-03-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Dorothy Ann and twenty students were "inward bound" in her Saturday Special, "Meditation for Yogis". Using Patanjali's "Eight Limbs of Yoga" as a meditation map, Dorothy Ann guided us through the external and internal yoga practices, suggesting that the practice of moral awareness, yoga postures, breathing practices, sensory withdrawal, concentration and meditation combine to give us the fullness of this rich and ancient practice - or... the whole enchilada!

Two rounds of seated meditation were prepared for with gentle stretches and Dorothy Ann's enthusiastically experienced presentation of helpful techniques for getting quiet and looking inward. After the last meditation, all participants gave short, honest and very simply eloquent accounts of their experience. Whether good, frustrating or funny -- it was all helpful to demonstrate the variety of flavors available to the meditating mind.

Participants left feeling calmer, more aware of the benefits of meditation, and absolutely supported by the group in whatever their experience was. Dorothy Ann's class, Meditation for Yogis, meets on Monday evenings for another two weeks. She will return with the class in the Fall.

Next Saturday Special, April 5, is Yin/Yang Yoga, an excellent practice for preparing for meditation! See the Saturday Specials link for a description

Saturday Special: Yoga Mix

2008-03-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

What makes a Saturday Special "special'?

Sometimes we offer a focus that doesn't quite fit into the weekly classes. Taking extra time to appreciate the vital role our feet play in our postures (Saturday Special - Feet and Ankles) or to focus on back strengthening and alignment (Saturday Special - Protecting the Lower Back) helps to inform our entire practice.

Sometimes we offer a slightly different style of yoga (Saturday Special - Yin/Yang Yoga) or enrichment forour practice (Saturday Special - Meditation for Yogis) that can bring new space to our hips or clarity to our mind.

Sometimes we explore creative themes (Saturday Special - Yoga and the Divine Feminine) or reach out to special populations (Saturday Special - Yoga for Men).

And sometimes we offer a plain ol' balanced yoga class that puts a spring in our step for the rest of the weekend. On March 8, Sandy's Saturday Special - Yoga Mix, gave the group a comprehensive and well-rounded yoga session that left us strengthened, stretched and very satisfied. A great way to start the weekend!

Some of the Specials mentioned above have already happened. But many are still to come. Check the schedule and brighten up your weekend with these creative additions to your yoga practice!

Saturday Special: Protecting Your Lower Back

2008-02-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

On Feb. 16, Roddy offered a Saturday Special where she described key alignment tips that serve to engage core support muscles and create a lighter, more stable posture -- in and out of our yoga poses. We learned stretches to release the back, and ways to approach poses in order to protect the back. Roddy shared how she has learned to take care of her back within her yoga practice and throughout her daily life. Creative use of props, helpful partner work, and time to explore individual questions rounded out an engaging and informative Saturday Special!

Our Saturday Special series offers students a mini-workshop experience -- a chance to more deeply explore various yoga topics without having to invest a huge amount of time on a Saturday morning. We have a really interesting set of Specials still on tap, which will start up again after our Break Week. Check out the link on our web site to read about Saturday Specials still to come. Hope to see you!

"Foot Notes"

2008-02-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

From the handout that Lynette provided at her Saturday Special focussed on the feet and ankles (See Greetings! post for a report on the class):

The average American takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, bringing a force of several tons to bear on the feet and spanning several miles.

We walk about 115,000 miles in a lifetime - more than four times the circumference of the globe.

A 150-pound person walking one mile exerts the equivalent of 63.5 tons - 127,000 pounds - on each foot.

Walking on cement can give each foot a 180-pound jolt with each step.

There are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in a pair of feet, and they excrete as much as half a pint of moisture each day.

Walking is the best form of exercise for the feet.

There is an important relationship between our feet and our overall health and well-being! (Courtesy of the American Podiatric Medical Association)

All good reasons to take care of and appreciate our feet as the foundation of our yoga poses, our posture, and our connection to the good earth!

Greetings!

2008-02-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the occasionally regular Inward Bound blog! Here we will post Inward Bound news, reports of workshops, upcoming events of interest, and articles and information to inform your yoga practice.

First report from Lynette's Saturday Special on the Feet and Ankles:

It was yoga spa day as eighteen happy students massaged their feet with scented arnica oil at the close of Lynette's Feb. 9 Saturday Special. Prior to that, we learned important anatomical sites to support our best foot alignment, revisited our walking style to the tune of Madeleine Peyroux's "Walkin' After Midnight", and experienced our posture and poses with new foot awareness. We explored focused stretches to support foot and ankle flexibility and also refreshed ourselves on the words to "This Little Piggie Went to Market!" An upbeat and informative morning -- thanks to Lynette and to all the students who contributed their interest and energy!

Feb. 16 -- Join Roddy for "Protecting the Lower Back." 10:30-noon, drop-in, $12.00.