Screens Down, Bliss Up: Bayou Yoga’s Holiday Harmony Playbook!

Published by Nichol Moya at December 22, 2023

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As the holiday season approaches, let us prioritize a peaceful and wholesome experience among the holiday chaos. Rather than being immersed in the digital landscape of social media, screens, and other virtual fantasies that we’re so used to being on, consider embracing tranquility and well-being to prepare you for the year ahead better.

Consider this an invitation to join us in our revitalizing yoga classes as we rediscover the joy that exists beyond the confines of our screens. Let us welcome the season by embracing a holistic sense of well-being, seeing it not just as a holiday season but also as an opportunity to nourish our mind, body, and spirit.

Let’s reconnect to our true selves this holiday season and embark on a journey of self-reflection. We can cultivate inner calm and balance by practicing yoga and taking a mindful approach to these festivities.

Here’s our amazing list of workshops you can join us for.

Genuine Breath: A Guided Healing Breathwork Experience
By Austin Howard
Bayou Yoga
Friday, Jan 5th, 2024 – 6:00 PM-7:30 PM
Click here to sign up

Take a breathwork-guided journey incorporating theta frequencies designed to release trauma. Cleanse the nervous system, and align with your most genuine self.

Through the power of your breath, this workshop will allow you to reset your nervous system, resolve trauma, release stress, and re-pattern your subconscious mind.

Ignite Your Purpose
By Nicole Azzi Williams, Kaitey Kinchen, & Kristin Ashley
Bayou Yoga
Friday, January 12, 2024 – 6:00 PM-8:00 PM

Click here to sign up!

Ignite the new year off right with our special Yoga, Fire Ceremony, and Visioning Workshop.

Begin with a gentle but empowering yoga flow to build mind-body awareness and set the stage for focused intention setting.

Embark on an illuminating journey that begins with a fire ceremony, shedding the past year’s old habits and patterns. Ignite clarity, truth, and purpose for the road ahead. Conclude by manifesting your dreams through guided meditation, creatively bringing your desired life into reality. Ground and solidify your visions by crafting a vision board that reflects and integrates your deepest inspirations, serving as a close reminder of the purpose, abundance, and potential you hold.

We’ll have the supplies for you. You just show up ready to create.

Weekend Immersion: The Power of Yoga
By Leslie Kaminoff
Paul R. Spitzfaden Mandeville Community Center
March 2-3, 2024
Full Weekend Experience – Click here to sign up!

Saturdays Only – Click Here
Sundays Only – Click Here

Deepen your practice and discover new depths within yourself at this transformational weekend immersion with world-renowned yoga instructor Leslie Kaminoff. Immerse yourself in the transformative power of yoga through several days of insightful sessions led by Leslie, aimed at helping you uncover your body’s potential and unleash the incredible power within.

Leslie will discuss alignment, breathwork, mindfulness, meditation, and more – all tailored to help you gain a profound sense of awareness, balance, strength, flexibility, and a deeper connection to your practice.

Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or brand new to your mat, (and especially if you’re a yoga instructor!) this weekend will provide you with an intimate opportunity to grow your knowledge and improve your craft alongside one of the most knowledgeable teachers in the field.

Space is limited, reserve your spot today!

Saturday Schedule:

Sat. AM: THE WARRIOR SERIES – A HANDS-FREE VINYASA PRACTICE

In this session, Leslie will lead you in a strong, flowing, breath-centered yoga practice that strongly works the legs and moves the spine in all possible directions, all without putting any body weight on your hands.

This session with focus on the relationship of breath to movement, while introducing Leslie’s unique perspective on the details of alignment. For teachers, Leslie will explain how to individualize breath and asana cueing for groups of any size, as well as how to modify the practice for individual therapeutic objectives. The vinyasa will be practiced twice, the first time breaking down the elements and basic cueing, and the second time flowing through non-stop.

Sat PM: RE-IMAGINING ALIGNMENT

This highly interactive workshop relies on students to bring questions about their own asana practice and teaching language. Leslie will promote an experimental, experiential atmosphere of inquiry regarding the teaching of alignment, safety and effective cueing of asana.

The session begins with an exploration of the uniqueness of human structure and how that can lead to the understanding that “asanas don’t have alignment – people have alignment.”

Starting with clear, simple principles that govern musculoskeletal function, Leslie will help you put your asana on a solid foundation literally from the ground up. Topics include:

The fundamental importance of proprioception and interoception
Functional principles of alignment
Breath-centered, anatomically-based cueing
The relationship of bandha to support and movement
Why some common alignment cues may be doing more harm than good, and what kind of language to use instead
The use of gazing (drishti) and imagery to foster increased neuromuscular integration

Sun. AM: NON-LINEAR ASANA FLOW – ESCAPING THE TYRANNY OF THE RECTANGLE

Learning the simple geometries of classic asana is a great starting point for the physical aspect of yoga practice, just as learning scales on a piano is a necessary foundation to playing music.

This is a workshop that tunes into the music of the body, by honoring the spirals, fluids and asymmetries inherent in our organic forms. We will practice in a way that seeks more balance in our systems by honoring the complementary forces of order and chaos, inquiry and technique, form and function.

The core practice of the session will be a simple, flowing sequence that will serve as a launching pad for an infinite variety of individual exploration.

Sun. PM: BETTER BACKBENDS THROUGH BREATHING

Is backbending about moving backwards in space or is it about changing the shape of the spine? What role does the breath play in entering into and remaining in these challenging poses? How we answer these fundamental questions will determine our goals and experiences when we practice backbending.
In this fun and informative workshop, we will explore the definition of backbending from the viewpoint of the body’s full range of anatomical possibilities – from world-class contortionists to average citizens. We will also practice several key asanas and vinyasas that will permit us to use the breath in a variety of creative ways to enhance and deepen the opening of our bodies to these delicious shapes.

Yoga 101: A Four Part Series
By Kristin Ashley
Bayou Yoga
Wednesdays @ 12 PM-1 PM
Part 1 – January 10, 2024 – Click Here
Part 2 – January 17, 2024 – Click Here

Part 3 – January 24, 2024 – Click Here

Part 4 – January 31, 2024 – Click Here

A four-part introductory course into Power Yoga. We’ll break down the essential poses of a Power Yoga practice and introduce the basic sequencing of vinyasa yoga so that you can walk confidently into any of our classes.

Part One: Linking Breath w/ Movement

The basic foundation of any vinyasa (flow) based yoga practice is connecting breath and movement. In this class, we will learn or gain a better understanding of a breathing technique called Ujjayi pranayama. We will also explore how to use this breathing technique to link together a series of postures that create vinyasa sequences, Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) A and B.

Part Two: Meet the Warriors

This series of poses- Warrior I, II, and III, are probably the most iconic of all the yoga postures. Whether you are a beginner or a yoga master, these three poses will always be incorporated in your practice. In this class, we will break down the alignment and actions needed to embody the grit and grace these poses require. We will also learn the importance of focus through drishti and conscious rest through savasana.

Part Three: Opening the Hips, Hamstrings & Mind

In this class we will continue to build the foundation of our Power Yoga practice through a series of standing postures that encourage the hips and hamstrings to open- triangle, half moon, and their revolved variations, just to name a few. Only after the lower quadrant of the body is open can we sit with ease. We will end the practice with a guided mindfulness meditation.

Part Four: Strong Back, Soft Heart

We can often mistake soft-heartedness for naivety, but there is strength in vulnerability, and the most courageous are wide open. In this class, we will explore the most vulnerable yoga postures, and backbends, through mindful warm-up, modifications, and the use of props. These postures not only strengthen our back body and shoulders, but they also encourage us to be open to all the possibilities on the mat and in our daily lives.

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