For students who have attended at least one of our Osteoporosis and Yoga workshops, we’re excited to offer a unique 7-session experiential workshop that blend Yin/Yang poses and movements designed to target specific fascial lines in the body.
In many ways, interoception is the bridge between our body and our mind. It allows us to notice sensations that signal our emotional states, physiological needs, and overall wellbeing. When our interoceptive awareness is well-developed, we’re more attuned to what our body is telling us, which can guide us toward healthier choices, emotional regulation, and even pain reduction.
Summer is a season of expansion - longer days, warmer nights, and a chance to open ourselves to the full and abundant energy. Summer invites us to embrace the vibrant qualities of the season: growth, activity, and celebration. Yet with all this outward energy, it’s easy to get caught in the busyness of “doing” and forget the value of “being.”
Imagine practicing yoga surrounded by the delicate beauty of spring—wildflowers nodding gently in the breeze, the scent of fresh herbs and tea leaves in the air. This is the magic of the Tea House, where nature and mindfulness intertwine to create a space for deep connection. We invite you to embrace the season’s rising energy in our April yoga series.
Meditation is not a linear journey. It’s not about achieving a specific state or reaching a final destination. Instead, it’s a variable practice that shifts and evolves. This fluidity makes meditation an opportunity for exploration rather than a pursuit of perfection. It invites us to let go of binary perspectives such as good or bad, right or wrong, failure or success.
Scientists have been studying the differences between the brains of Iamas and others who spend numerous hours in meditation and found stark differences in the structure of their brains. It would take a dissertation to explain all of the neurological benefits the studies have reported, however, in short we can say that brain research shows that meditation is beneficial to our overall physical health and emotional well-being.
This quarter we have updated and expanded our Karma Class initiative to a full week of service. Our intention is to make participation easily accessible. The proceeds from all of the group classes during the week of February 14th, which we are calling Service Week, will be donated to Compass Center for Women and Families, a 501(c)3 charitable organization aligned to our values. When the community comes together to support each other and those in need, everyone benefits. Service Week is an initiative to keep our DE&I statement a living document.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had low energy and felt rejuvenated by being in nature? According to yoga, nature provides us with a subtle form of energy, called prana. Prana is the life force that animates consciousness. It is similar to the Chinese concept of qi. As we breathe, we take in oxygen from the air and with it the subtle energy of prana.
Service promotes togetherness and builds a strong community. That’s why service is one of the five components of resiliency. Service along with mindful movement, stretching, humor, and pranayama offer a roadmap to thriving when faced with adversity. Doing something good for others is an antidote to isolation. Studies have shown that between 2020 and 2021 there was an increased rate of depressive symptoms. Isolation contributes to poor health such as heart disease, depression, and premature death. In stark contrast, studies have found a correlation between those who help others and reduced mortality.
Resiliency is a practice. It is not like one moment you don’t have it and the next you do. You can’t fake resiliency, but the aphorism “fake it till you make it” holds true for humor. Laughter and smiles are contagious. The physical act of smiling releases molecules that promote feeling good: serotonin and endorphins. Even if you are in a bad mood, when you start laughing your mindset automatically changes. After forcing yourself to smile, you suddenly want to smile because of the feel good molecules that have been released.
According to Tom Myers, from Anatomy trains, the key to building resilience is a 5 pronged full body approach. Resiliency includes mindful movement, stretching, humor, service and pranayama!
It is important to stretch regularly. Stretching allows the fascia to maintain fluidity which will keep the joints functioning properly. A Harvard Health article explains the physical benefits of stretching. Another response to elastic fascia is healthy functioning organs. A study has shown that when you passively stretch you maintain a healthy heart.
Resiliency includes mindful movement, stretching, humor, service and pranayama!
What exactly is mindful movement? And why does Dogwood Studio have a class called Mindful Movement and Yoga? We see the word mindfulness thrown around when referring to meditation, yoga, tai chi and qi gong. It has been part of popular culture for meditation, but the nuances of what a mindful practice entails is often overlooked. Mindfulness is the English translation of the Pali (ancient language from the Indian subcontinent used to write some of the oldest Buddhist scriptures) word sati.
Resilience is the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity. It is a term used to gauge a person’s capacity to recover, to cope, from stressful and traumatic experiences. Resiliency is not a static state of being nor is it a personality trait that only some people possess. The development of resilience is a process to be cultivated and practiced.
Tom Myers, of Anatomy Trains and a beloved teacher of the Dogwood team, approaches resilience in a straightforward and practical manner that resonates deeply with us. According to Tom Myers, the key to building resilience is a 5 pronged full body approach. Resiliency includes mindful movement, stretching, humor, service and pranayama.
In every yoga class that we teach at Dogwood Studios, we mention the importance of keeping our spine healthy. Osteoporosis is a silent disease. You can not feel when your bones get weaker. So much so that people often don’t realize they have low bone mineral density (BMD) until a bone breaks. The National Osteoporosis Foundation reports that the disease is responsible for an estimated two million broken bones per year. One in two women and up to one in four men over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
