Mindful Fitness & Living Classes
Location: Spirit House Yoga
The Mindful Fitness Series addresses the 7 keys to having vital health. To inquire about the next available class use the button below the descriptions
Session 1: Health Overview
Uncover ways to improve your health, learning practical techniques to increase vitality.
Lecture & Discussion
Fun interactive activities that will focus on the 7 keys to achieving vital health including:
- Movement
- Nutrition
- Hydration
- Breathing
- Thoughts
- Sleep
- Having a sense of connection
Movement practice
Hatha Yoga and Qigong Form
Session 2: Sustainable Movement
There are many types of exercise being promoted as “the best, newest, hottest” thing and while most forms of exercise have benefits, it’s important to know how, when and if it’s the best option for you on your unique health journey.
Lecture & Discussion
We will look a variety of popular ways to train, discussing the benefits and drawbacks of each so that you can create the most effective workout for your body.
We will look at self-myofascial release techniques, corrective exercise, balance and neuromuscular training. We will also talk about the difference between “working out” and “working in” styles of exercise.
Movement
Enjoy a workout designed to create better alignment, strength, balance and power. All levels of fitness are encouraged to join.
We will go through the seven primal movement patterns (squat, lunge, bend, push, pull, twist and gait) using exercises from yoga and qigong learning ways to help you be more aware of your body’s patterns of movement. Creating a sustainable movement program that will support you for years to come will be the focus.
Session 3: Food as Medicine
With so much information available about nutrition, trying to make healthy changes can be paralyzing. It’s important to understand that there is no “right” diet. Our week-to-week dietary needs are ever changing, just like life is. Factors such as genetics, ancestral history, stress levels, sensitivities, immune status and daily movement all play a role in determining what foods will be most supportive for us.
Lecture & Discussion
Topics Include-
· The role of nutrition & hydration in health
· Individual metabolic types
· Importance of food frequency and balancing blood sugar
· Importance of healthy fats
· Effects of various types of carbs on health
· Pros and cons of popular diet trends
· Tips for grocery shopping
· The relationship between the Vagus nerve and gut health
Movement Practice
Enjoy a workout designed to improve circulation and hearth health. Many people dislike using treadmills or bikes for cardiovascular exercise, so, how do we make sure we are meeting the needs of our circulatory system? Try this low impact workout created for all levels of fitness designed to keep your workout interesting using both qigong and traditional exercises designed to improve circulation and cardiovascular health.
Session 4: Breath is Life
Would you like to learn techniques that help you feel calmer and more grounded? In as little as 45 seconds of conscious breathing, we can dissolve stress and increase our energy vibration.
Breathing exercises can help rid the lungs of accumulated stale air, increase oxygen levels, strengthen the diaphragm and create relaxation in the nervous system.
Lecture & Discussion
Topics Include-
· The importance of correct breathing and it’s role in good health
· The connection between breath and the Vagus nerve
· Different styles of breathing and when to use them
· The role of breathing in sleep
· The importance of quality sleep
Movement Practice
Experience the power of conscious breathing. We will warm up with yoga and qigong and then move into a powerful breathwork session including both beginner and advanced level techniques. This breath empowerment practice will include guided visualization designed to help increase and align the flow of Qi throughout our bodies.
Session 5: The Power of Thoughts
Neural pathways are the connections in our brain that are formed based on our habits and behaviors. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to adapt to changes in an individual's environment by forming new neural connections over time. In order for us to change our reality we have to change the story we tell ourselves. Once we change the story, we can begin to change our habits and behaviors.
One of the first steps in this process is to define what we feel we’ve been called to do in this life, then, we can begin putting our attention on the desired change. As people and situations come into our lives, we can ask ourselves, is this taking me closer or further from where I feel called to be.
Once we embrace our purpose, and trust that God/Divine Source will illuminate our path, we can more easily experience joy in the present moment as we begin living out our legacy. This all starts with evaluating our thought life.
Join me for this months Mindful Fitness Class where we continue to explore the 7 keys to vital living by looking at the power of thoughts and emotions on our health, followed by a movement practice designed to move stuck energy out of the body. This practice can be modified for all levels of fitness and when done regularly will help improve alignment and increase energy.
Lecture & Discussion
Topics Include-
o The role of thoughts and emotions in health
o How to maximize neuroplasticity
o Neuropeptides, energy vibration and the body’s electrical charge
o What it means to become the observer
o Benefits of Vagal Toning
o Techniques to reframe our thoughts so that they better serve us
o The role of subtle energy and heart coherence
Movement Practice
In addition to Qigong exercises, we will also perform the 5 Tibetan Rites practice.
The Five Rites are thought to be more than 2,500 years old. They were reportedly created by Tibetan lamas (monks), or leaders of Tibetan Buddhism, although there is controversy over their origin. The practice of these exercises is based on bringing balance to the body’s endocrine system through exercises that help vortexes of energy within the body spin at the same rate. Through the movement of this energy in the body, the 5 Rites are said to restore youth and vigor when practiced regularly.
Session 6: Importance of Connection
Learn about the many benefits having a sense of connection can have on our lives. During this class we will discuss the effects and importance of having a sense of connection to ourselves, our community and divine source energy (each person’s belief is welcomed and respected).
We will finish the class with an alignment-based yoga warm up followed by exercises demonstrated in Stanley Rosenberg’s Social Engagement Protocol
Lecture& Discussion
Topic Include-
o The prevalence of and reasons for feelings of loneliness & isolation
o The science behind connection among all things
o Ways to open our hearts
o The role of forgiveness and finding a greater purpose
o How a sense of community impacts the autonomic nervous system
o Benefits of exploring our creative spirit
Movement Practice
We will explore movements that move energy through our bodies in a way that helps our nervous system feel safe. We will begin with alignment-based yoga to warm up our fascial system (the bodies communication super highway), in order to move stagnant energy through the meridians. This will be followed by exercises from Stanley Rosenberg’s Social Engagement Protocol, which includes a series of exercises designed to help the Vagus nerve fire in a balanced way, (this helps provide optimal central nervous system support) allowing us to feel more connected and engaged.
