Greetings!!! Happy July!!! Summer is in full swing, the days are longer, and the opportunity to be active outdoors is prime!!! This week we return to the use of hand weights within our asana practice, and Deb is once again, going to challenge you to the 3 minute plank pose. We will start at holding 30 seconds this week, and add another 15 seconds each week, as we gradually build toward 3 minutes. This is an optional challenge!!! Our Sanskrit focus is the famous “Namaste”, or “The Truth in me, honors The Truth in you”. Our hand gesture focus is the mudra named “Jhana”, which connects us to “Universal Knowledge and Wisdom”. Deb’s Yin practice will focus on balancing the Chakra system this week. Your meditation focus will be “HOPE”. After all that is why we awaken, and take the challenge of each and every new day!!! Your meditation music is “Zen World” It’s Heaven by David Thiery.

Remember, the first seasonal DRUM CIRCLE is coming toYFL on 7/16 @ 5 p.m. Bring your body, rhythm, and an instrument of choice!!! This event is FREE!!!

Our SECOND ANNUAL “Artistry of Yoga” Yoga Teacher Training program will begin in October of 2016. We will meet one weekend per month for 7 consecutive months toward completion of the requirements for the Yoga Alliance 200-hour RYT designation. Your faculty will be Deb Potts and Sophie Malahieude, and Leslie Salmon as adjunct faculty expert. Sign-up information is available on the YFL website, at the studio, or you may email or call for details. This program is designed for anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of Yoga, Ayurveda, and Meditation. It will also prepare those who want to teach!!!

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings from YFL!!!

We have a bonus week of practice this month of June, so we will share a blended yoga practice-a little bit of this and a little bit of that!!! This week’s asana practice will begin with a warmup on the back, transition into some seated work, flow into standing via dog-cat-puppy-gate-plank-downdog. Once standing we will do some balance work, and Qigong. Then to the wall for restoration, and back to the mat for supine-prone conclusion.

Our Sanskrit focus is “Bhakti” or the “Path of Devotion”, and our Mudra (hand gesture) is “Varhakam”, which evokes transformation, change for the “Greater Good”. Our music selection is from James Hood’s “Pure Ceremony”, and our meditation focus is “Devotion”.

Mark your calendar!!! Our first seasonal Drum Circle is coming to YFL on July 16th, from 5-6 p.m. It is a FREE event!!! Bring your body, your drum or instrument of choice, and your rhythm!!!

ATTENTION!!! YFL WILL BE CLOSE 7/2-7/4, IN OBSERVANCE OF THE HOLIDAY!!!

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings from YFL!!!

Happy first day of summer!!! This is Classic Hatha week, and we will usher in summer with our annual Summer Solstice practice. This will include standing flow with Sun Salutations and Warrior I vinyasa, standing balances, and a strong seated, supine, and prone sequence. Our Sanskrit focus is Surya Namaskar, or a salute to the sun, as we honor this new season’s beginning. Our mudra is Dhanya, or the classic meditation hand gesture. Come in out of the heat, and enjoy practicing in the cool with cool yogis and yoginis at our YFL sanctuary!!! Our meditation focus is “Santosha”, or contentment, and is set to the music of Deva and Miten’s “Kama Mudra”.

There is still time to register for the “Playing with Props” 2-hour workshop with Leslie, Kim, and Rachel!!! It is this Saturday, 6/25, from 1-3 p.m. This is a great opportunity to improve and enhance your understanding of the use of props. It is a bargain, at just $20!!!

Sophie will be offering some wonderful Ayurvedic workshops this summer and fall. Details and registration are ongoing at the studio.

The first seasonal “Drum Circle” event is fast approaching!!! Bring your rhythm Saturday, 7/16 @ 5:00 p.m. Deb will set the heartbeat with her drum, and everyone will find their rhythmic pulse, and  join in with an instrument of choice. We encourage drums, but if you have tambourines, shakers, bells, bowls, or chimes, then that will work as well. Did I mention that this event is FREE!!! Drum circles bring us together through the vibrational energy of sound, and create a meditative, unifying experience. Come give it a try!!!

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings from YFL!!! Welcome, as we return to the wall this week!!! This amazing “prop” will enhance your strength, power, focus, and alignment!!! Our Sanskrit focus is AUM Bhavam Namah, which is a mantra for opening our awareness to “Pure Consciousness”, or “Source”. Our mudra is “USHAS”, or the hand gesture for connecting to all things good. Let our meditation focus be one of AUM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, the primordial, unifying vibrational energy of the Universe with peace to all. This is set to Enya’s “Watermark”. Let us all promote peace, one person to another, respect the beauty of diversity and difference, and honor everyone’s life. Let PEACE be our meditation focus.

We have workshop opportunities available at YFL: “Playing with Props” led by Leslie, Kim, and Rachel on June 25th from 1-3 p.m. @ $20, please pre-register at YFL. Sophie will be leading a four session “Ayurvedic Transformation” series on Mondays, from 12:30-1:30 p.m., 9/19, 9/26, 10/3, 10/10 @ $99, please pre-register @ YFL. Deb will be offering a new 4-week session of Intro to Yoga beginning on Tuesday, 7/12 @ $40, from 7:30-8:30 p.m., please pre-register @ YFL. If you need more details, then contact Deb @ yogaforlife06@verizon.net, or call (951) 676-8285.

I am also happy to report that my foot is healing very well. Not quite 100%, but almost there!!! I will continue to eliminate standing poses from my teaching demonstrations for a couple more weeks, to ensure complete healing. I thank all of you for your patience, and continued support of my classes, as I have traveled through this process.

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings from YFL!!!!

Great news!!! My foot is improving steadily!!! I am off crutches, cane, and post-op boot. I still can’t bear forward weight on the foot, but I can walk, very slowly. I won’t be joining you in standing asanas for at least another week, but I am definitely on the mend!!! Yay!!!

This is ‘Restorative Week’, and thus we will practice a gentle, yet, deeply penetrating asana sequence. We will use props to intensify and release, as we “Renew, Restore, and Relax”.

Our mudra focus is the “Naga”, or “deeper insight” hand gesture, and our Sanskrit focus is “Mudita”, or joy!!! Your contemplation focus is “Just Relax”, as you listen to the beautiful music of David Lanz’s “Dream”.

Leslie, Kim, and Rachel are offering a “Play with Props” workshop on June 25th, from 1-3 p.m., and the cost is $20. Pre-registration is required. This workshop will explore the refinement of the use of props, and lead you to a greater expression in your yoga.

Sophie wil be offering a 4-week “Health and Wholeness” unit entitled “Ayurvedic Transformation”. This offering will meet on Monday’s from 12:30-1:30 p.m., 9/19/, 9/26, 10/3, and 10/7. The total cost is $99, and pre-registration is required. Fliers are available at the studio with the details of the unit.

The first “seasonal” drum circle will meet on July 16th at 5 p.m., for about an hour. We will explore rhythm, as a connectional, and unifying energy. This is a very meditative practice through sound, and vibration. All are welcome, and no experience is necessary. Bring your instrument or borrow one from the studio. This is a FREE event!!!

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings from YFL!!!

Yes, it is back to “weight” for it!!! Let’s sculpt, strengthen, and tone our muscles via bearing our own body weight, and use hand weights (optional)!!! Deb’s Yin class will be a balanced practice through the Chakras, and this is “Mystery Mudra”! week!!! All week at each class, someone will draw a mudra card for the practice!!! Our Sanskrit focus is “So Hum”, or “I am”. Our meditation focus is “Change”, as you contemplate to Tom Barabas’s Sedona Suite’s Moon Sonata. As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis!!!

I am back, although be it from a chair!!! I WILL SEE YOU ON THE MAT THIS WEEK!!! We will return to our regular schedule beginning Monday, 5/23/16!!! Our theme is Wall Week, a week late!!! Our Sanskrit focus is “Dhanya Vad”, or thank you, for your patience during my absence last week!!! Our mudra is the Heart gesture, or “Anahata”, which connects to Universal compassion, love, and unity. We WILL BE OPEN Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, but closed on Monday, in observance of the holiday.

Our meditation focus is “Patience” set to the music of James Hood. As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

    Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
I have incurred a serious injury to my left foot, and will need to be away from the studio this week, as I attend appointments for specialty diagnosis and prognosis. ALL OF MY CLASSES are cancelled for this week. However, ALL of Sophie and Leslie’s classes will be held. If I learn that I will be out for an extended period of time, then my classes will be modified with respect to times and offerings, and held with substitute instructors. That new schedule will be posted a week from today, if necessary. During my absence I ask that you continue to support YFL, so that we may continue our teachings and offerings for you. This situation will require a great deal of patience on my part, as well as understanding, and patience on your side of the mat. I will miss you all very much, and will follow my medical instructions for the fastest recovery and return possible. I will also keep you informed of my progress, and class schedules. Have a great week, and I look forward to chatting with you next Sunday. As always, I can’t  wait to see you on the mat.—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis!!!

Happy Monday!!! Yes, we made it to Restorative Week, so let’s rest the yogi way!!! Our physical goal with this week’s practice is to rest, restore, and renew!!! Our mudra focus is PUSHPAPUTA, or the flower hand gesture, which opens us to the energy of love, light, and joy. Our Sanskrit focus is RADHA, or success, and good tidings. Our music focus is “Delight” by Kiran Murti, and our meditation focus is ‘LISTEN’.

The next Intro to Yoga begins on Tuesday, 5/31, and registration is currently open. We wish you a wonderful week, and as always, can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis!!!

A new month, a new week, and another great day for yoga!!! This week we return to sculpting, toning, and strengthening, as we emphasize bearing “weight” our own, and additional hand weights!!! The May YFL newsletter should have appeared on your email desk yesterday, and if it didn’t, please let me know, and we will see that it gets to you pronto!!!

With this week’s practice we will focus on the Sanskrit term, SATTVA, or illumination and truth. It is one of the three GUNAS (strands or qualities of life).  In some interpretations SATTVA is also equated with essence, or intelligence. If this is one’s dominant guna, then the predominate nature is clear thinking, radiance, and truthfulness. The classic JNANA mudra brings balance to all three of the guns, and empowers our Higher Consciousness and knowledge. The mudra may also be accompanied with the visualization of the color white.

The next Intro to Yoga session will begin on Tuesday, May 31st, and registration is now open. The 15-hour AOY YTT unit on Meditation and Chakras is fast approaching. The deadline for registration is this Friday, May 6th. The cost is $195. Call, email, or drop-in to register.

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat. It is going to be a great day, week, and month at YFL!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings from YFL!!! We might as well love Mondays with  “positive energy, positive vibes, and positive lives”!!! They are a fresh start to a new week with gratitude for being alive and well!!! We want to help you maintain this sense of positivity and “fresh start” mentality, as you return to the mat at YFL!!! This week will be Classic Hatha, and our emphasis will be returning to the basics. The practice is very balanced with seated, standing, supine, and prone asana flows with an emphasis on connection to the breath, and a deep sense of body awareness. The Sanskrit focus is RAM (pronounced RUM), which is the mantra for the third chakra, Manipura, our solar plexus or navel chakra. Chanting this mantra helps promote good energy flow through this wheel of strength and power. Our mudra is also supportive of this chakra, and will provide energy to our pelvis, bladder, and kidneys. Our reflexology point will also emphasize the cleansing of our left and right kidney. Our meditation focus is Inner Strength, and is set to the music of Bhakti Hreem.

This is the last week to join in the current 5-week Meditation I class with Deb. This is week two, and we meet from 7:30-8:30 p.m. The cost is $70. The deadline for registration for The Meditation and Chakra YTT Intensive weekend is 5/6. The cost is $195. If you need further information please contact Deb via email, call, or at the studio. The May YFL newsletter will be delivered to your email inbox this Sunday, May 1st at about 10 a.m. It will cover the 8 principles of moving the body safely through its range of motion, and will focus on the proper execution of the plank pose with single leg lift. As always, it will include handy info on yoga related products, recipes, and nutrition, and the quick six practice for the month.

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

     Greetings Yogis and Yoginis!!! Yes, it is time to increase your strength and stability, as we once again utilize the resistance of the wall. Deb will also be introducing the concept of the “Foot Pyramid” for proper balance and alignment in all standing poses. We will also be exploring the release of “Myofascial Tissue” along the back side of the body to enhance safer, deeper forward bends. Our Sanskrit focus is “JIKAN”, or that sacred space of silence between our thoughts. Our Mudra is the “ANAHATA”, or heart hand gesture, which connects us to the energy of love and compassion. This week’s meditation music is “A Moment in Time” by Ann Sweeten. Your meditation focus is “Silent Energy”.

A new 5-week session of Meditation I begins tomorrow evening, 4/19, at 7:30. Deb will lead an introductory course on the practice of meditation. You will create a “tool box” of about 17 techniques for dropping into a meditative state, and learn the myriad of benefits to incorporating the practice into your daily routine. Deb has written a manual for this course, which is included in the price of the class. The cost is $70. You may still register today.

The next YTT (Teacher Training Unit) is open to the community on 5/13-5/15/16. This 15-hour unit will be exploring in depth The Chakra Yoga program, and basic Meditation techniques. The cost for non-teacher trainees is $195. Registration is open through 5/1/16. Non trainees will meet 3-4 hours each day. The schedule is 11-2/3 p.m. on 5/13 & 5/14, and 9:30-12:30 on 5/15.

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis!!!

Wow!!! What a great group of trainees we have in our “Artistry of Yoga” program at YFL!!! We just completed a 15-hour intensive on the Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga, and how that knowledge applies to the safe practice of Yoga Asana. It was such a fun, and fast-paced weekend!!! Our next intensive will cover Meditation and the Chakra System. It is a 15 hour unit, and will be led by Deb. It is open to the community as well, and the cost is $195. The dates are 5/13-5/15. We will meet 5 hours per day. You may register at the studio, call, or email for details.

Deb’s next Meditation I class will begin on Tuesday, 4/19 @ 7:30 p.m., and will meet for five consecutive Tuesday evenings. The cost is $70, and registration is ongoing.

Here is a link that one of my students shared concerning a free online course offered by UC Berkeley on a scientific approach to “A Life of Happiness”. He has just begun the course, and says it is most interesting and beneficial, and did I mention that it is FREE!!! (https://www.edx.org/course/science-happiness-uc-berkeleyx-gg101x-2#!)

This week’s practice is all about releasing through our asana flow into a deep state of relaxation, renewal, and restoration, all while stretching the body, mind, and heart with profound intensity. Our Sanskrit focus is “Jnana”, or The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom. The weekly mudra focus is the classic “Dhanyi”, or hand gesture for contemplation and meditation. It is going to be a great week at Yoga For Life!!!  Your meditation music is “Silence of the Stars” by Michael Hoppe, and your point of focus or “Dharana” is “Beauty”.

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

    Greetings from YFL!!! “Weight a Minute” is our theme this first full week of April!!! We will hold our own body weight and hand weights with breath and time to improve our strength, endurance, stamina, and power. Our Sanskrit focus is “Sadhana”, which means to “Practice” or “Accomplish”. Our mudra focus is the “Shunya” hand gesture, and it serves a dual purpose: 1) Improves hearing and ear maladies, and 2) Serves as a gateway to Heaven directing us to look within, purify, and then connect to higher levels of Consciousness.

Our meditation focus for the week “Higher Ground”, and is set to the music of Ricky Kej-his “Winds of Samsara”, and the selection “Mountain Solitude”. We wish you a wonderful first week of April!!! As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!!—Namaste’, Deb

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis!!!

We have an extra week in March, so this week will be a blended practice!!! It will include Yin, Restorative, Vinyasa Flow, Weight Bearing, and Power. Our Sanskrit focus is Mudhita, or finding JOY, in all that we do. Our mudra is the RUDRA, a hand gesture that evokes joy and strength from our Solar Plexus chakra. Our meditation focus is JOY, and is set to the music of James Hood’s CD, Pure Ceremony.

There is still time to register for the Yoga-Hike to Santa Rosa Plateau. It is this Friday, April 1st, no fooling, from 11:30-1:30 p.m. Sign-up at the studio, or email Deb. The Plateau parking fee is $4, bring water, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, a towel, and comfortable walking shoes, and a great sack lunch.

The YFL April newsletter will be on your desk this Friday @ 10:00 a.m., and our next AOY 15-hour unit will be next weekend, 4/8-4/10, and it is open to the community. The cost is $195, and we will study the Anatomy and Physiology of Asana Practice. You may register through this Friday. Call, email, or drop-in for detailed information.

As always, we can’t wait to see you on the mat!!! Have a great week, filled with JOY!!!—Namaste’, Deb