Get Your Thai On in Ballard!

Yes, that's right! East-meets-Ballard! Don't have time for a trip to Thailand? Come on over to Ballard Health Center where I am happy to announce that I am now offering Thai Yoga Massage and Reflexology sessions in our beautiful, sunlit yoga space. Appointments are available Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call clinic reception at (206) 783-0404 to book your session. Visit www.ballardhealthcenter.com for more information.

Please Note: The clinic is extremely busy on Thursday evenings. Thai Yoga Massage may be the only service available during my shift!

Existing Mettafy clients:  I am happy to arrange your session for you at either location. My home studio is still available for bookings.

Payments & Fees:
Cash (no insurance): $75/60 min. & $110/90 min. Sessions include complimentary 15 minute soak in the whirlpool if desired. Packages are available.
1st time cash paying clients: Receive $10 off.
Appointments scheduled before 2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays: $15 discount (mention the early-bird special when booking)
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At Ballard Health Center, I am a provider on many health insurance plans including Regence BlueShield, Premera, Aetna, Uniform, Cigna, First Choice Health, PIP/Auto Accidents, and L & I. A co-payment may apply depending on your plan. Please fax your prescription to (206) 782-8955.

Move Into Manifestion: New Year's Sadhana

Ignite your new year with Agni Namaskar, an ritual Prana Flow Energetic Vinyasa practice devoted to agni or "sacred fire." Agni is the sacred fire that activates your core, illuminates your being, and eliminates toxins.  When you align your whole being with this inner fire, your are connecting to your own source of power and passion for life. You cultivate the ability to surf the waves that come your way.

This 1.5 hour hatha vinyasa practice will include movement, breath techniques, and meditation practices to help you engage your inner fire. Variations and modifications will be offered for beginners through advanced practitioners.

Dedicate your year to your personal evolution! What do you want to manifest?

When: Thursday, January 26th, 6-7:30 p.m.
Cost: $20

Location: 1138 NW Market St, Ballard.
The studio is located inside Ballard Health Center and Wellness Spa, right next to KFC. (Look for the neon sign that says "Limp in, Leap Out." Enter the lobby and head up the stairs to find the yoga studio and check in for class.
Complimentary tea, water, showers, mats, and props available. Plentiful free lot/street parking is available.

"Life is change, learn to surf."

New Year's Day Meditation Gathering

Happy Holidays, Friends!

Radiate into 2012 with a New Year's Day Meditation class! We will have a guided meditation practice and basic meditation skills will be shared that will help anyone thrive at meditating, whether new or renewing their practice. Cheeers!

When: Sunday, January 1st, 2012, Noon - 1 p.m.
Where: SeaLight Yoga studio space in Ballard Health Center & Wellness Spa, 1138 NW Market St.
Cost: No cost, but a $5 donation for the space is greatly appreciated

Radiance Sutras Workshop at Sutra Yoga, November 12th, 2-4pm

Wondering what meditation is or how to create your own daily practice? Whether you are new to meditating or desire to vivify what you already practice, this workshop will enliven your awareness and delight your senses. Join us for a delightful introduction to the nectar at the heart of meditation and one of the most loving, magical, and utterly practical yoga books ever: the Radiance Sutras by beloved mediation teacher and author Lorin Roche, PhD.
Lorin has been working with the ancient text known as the Vijana Bhairava Tantra for over 40 years and the book the Radiance Sutras is his fresh, original  translation and interpretation of this text. In its 112 sutras, it describes many of the world's meditation techniques. We will explore the teachings found in the text and our own natural, instinctual meditations. All of the methods are practical ways of opening to the sacred and awakening to the pulsating currents of innate wisdom that are always present within and in everyday life. These currents are the flows of inner asanas that we practice when we meditate.

Come fall in love with the Radiance Sutras while we enjoy different forms of practice, including eating delicious treats such as chocolates and fruits and listening to the sound currents of live music! You can simply come and enjoy the workshop or purchase the text beforehand and start diving in. If you are familiar with the text, feel free to bring your favorite sutra to share with everyone.

"What is this delight-filled universe

Into which we find ourselves born?

What is this mysterious awareness

Shimmering everywhere within it?"

-from the Radiance Sutras



When:
Saturday, November 12th, 2-4pm.

Where:
Sutra Yoga Seattle
1605 N 45th St, Seattle WA

Cost:
$20 for workshop only
$40 for workshop + your own copy of the Radiance Sutras

Register at www.sutrayogaseattle.com under workshops. You can also contact Sutra Yoga at (206) 729-9642. Note that you can only pay for the workshop + book through the online store but you are welcome to RSVP for the workshop only.

To get your copy of the book before the workshop, please contact Melanie directly at melanie.foust@gmail.com or (206) 619-9330.

Fall Equinox & Global Mala Celebration

"Let your love flow like water so that it cleanses the earth."

Sai Baba

Please join me and Cosetta Romani on September 23rd, 7:30-9:30pm, at Sutra Yoga Seattle for a celebration of the Fall Equinox. We will combine our Prana Flow teaching offerings and create an evening of ritual, fluid yoga and dance movements, sacred service, and community. Feel free to bring a mat and blanket and come prepared to sweat, pray, and play.

This is a donation based event. Proceeds will be donated to the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, a local organization dedicated to protecting the Puget Sound waters. By participating in this event, you have a direct impact on the health of the waters that surround you. Find out more at http://www.pugetsoundkeeper.org/

As we move in the fluid forms of our bodies, we attune to our inner water nature and connect to the essential element present in all life. The rivers of prana that flow through us as we experience the fluid movements with our bodies will evolve into the dance that awaken and revitalize us.

This event is in synchronization with the Global Mala for Peace Project, a collective of global events happening simultaneously around every year at the Fall Equinox that was catalyzed by our teacher, Shiva Rea, in 2007. We are honored to share this inspiration of yoga as activism for change, bringing more peace and well being into the world through our actions. We hope you will pledge your support as a Soundkeeper now!

Details:

Friday, September 23rd, 7:30-9:30pm

Minimum suggested donation: $25 (cash/check preferred)

Sutra Yoga Seattle, 1605 N 45th St (Wallingford)

http://www.sutrayoga.com/

Please call Sutra Yoga Seattle at (206) 729-9642 to reserve your space and Melanie at (206) 619-9330 if you have specific questions about the event.

Cosetta Romani is a fellow Prana Flow instructor with many beautiful offerings. Find out more about her at www.puravitayoga.com

Wanderlust Yoga in the City created with smartwater

Come play in the park at Seattle Center this Thursday, August 4th 5-8:30pm as the Wanderlust Festival crew brings yoga, music, and community together under the sunny summer sky. I will be hosting an AcroYoga jam space. Look for our flying feet!

This is a free event to all, but please register online to save yourself a few minutes "at the door."

New Wednesday Prana Flow Class in Ballard!

A hidden gem can be found upstairs at the Ballard Health & Wellness Center: a beautiful yoga studio with high, skylit ceilings and open windows. Enjoy your midweek rejuvenation practice here!

Class is 5:30-6:45pm. $15 to drop in. Just enter the clinic & head upstairs. Studio is at the top!

Location:
Ballard Health Center & Wellness Spa
1138 NW Market St
Seattle WA 98107
(next to KFC. Lots of street parking nearby).

1st Annual NW Yoga Fest

Come play in the beautiful Pacific Northwest outdoors! The 1st Annual NW YogaFest the Eureka Center in northern Idaho is happening August 5-7th, 2011. This will be a rejuvenating, magical weeked of camping, sunshine, and community in an idyllic Northwest setting surrounded by trees and crystal clear glacial lakes. See http://www.eurekacenter.com/ for details and to learn more about the wonderful teachers that will be hosting classes, including my local AcroYoga sisters Jill Baumgardener & Angela DiMario of Kula Movement in Ballard, my Prana Flow sister Cosetta Romani, and our friends Colin Patterson & Amber Tande of Sutra. Hope you can join us for this magical weekend of fun and play!

When: August 5, 6, & 7, 2011

Cost: Early Bird $150 by 6/15 or $175 after. Includes all yoga classes and events, 6 meals, and camping.

Register: http://www.eurekacenter.com/

(208) 263-2217

info@eurekacenter.com

Redmond AcroYoga Moves to the RAC!

The Redmond AcroYoga class will be held at the Redmond Athletic Club starting June 8th! Wednesday nights, 7:35-9pm. $10 or free to RAC members. All levels. No prior experience necessary.

No class this week as I am away in LA! Looking forward to playing new week in our new, larger space.

Wishing Flow Yoga Redmond the best as it moves to the new location! So blessed to be a part of this friendly, fun community of yoigs!

Daryel Women's Wellness Center

"Thank You" is the first word I learned in Somali. It was Sunday morning and I have arrived to provide four hour of massge at Daryel, a Somali women's wellness clinic in Seattle. My massage table was set up in a corner of the meeting room of a retirement center. The other clinic volunteers and I had hung sheets from the ceiling in order to create individual "rooms." The heat had not been turned on early enough and the room was still cold. I was glad I'd thought to bring my table warmer. I led my first client through the partition in the sheet. She was in her 40s and wore brightly colored, traditional Somali dress. She delighted in the scented oils I had brought and chose her favorites. "Thank you," she greeted me. After briefly pointing to her shoulders and hips, where she had the most pain, she climbed on the table. As soon as I laid my hands on her, she murmured a sigh of soft quick words, "thank you, thank you, thank you." Throughout our 30 minute session, she directed me to move on to the next spot she wanted worked by pointing or pulling my wrists to get more pressure. I was also also directed by a constant stream of thank yous. She wanted the deepest pressure I could give her. While I normally use my elbows for such deep work, I learned that she wanted me to use only the palms of my hands. From the way she guided every movement of mine, I felt like she was actually teaching me her culture's way hands on healing. I complied, adjusting my body to apply my full weight while doing the best I could to keep my joints from being injured. Wherever I could, I to her other techniques miming. She agreed to let me try them. When she liked something, she whispered, "thank you." At one point she started calling me "Ma." Ma, Ma, Ma. Thank you, thank you, thank you. She was especially interested in anything that would lengthen her neck, which was quite regal. Her adornments, a pair of long earrings and a multiple-stranded necklace, highlighted this feature. This lengthening she wanted around her upper shoulders and chest was about something important, a deep beauty that she wanted to free. I learned that all of my clients that day would demand the same opening. I guessed they were all trying to unlock voices and hearts that had been silenced too long. As Bria, the clinic director, brought me hot, milky tea and invited me to take a break, I sat in a circle with some women who were holding space for the group that was offering noon prayers while others chatted over their tea. Later on, there would be a yoga teacher arriving to teach a class. A few weeks later, the Somali women gave a luncheon for all the volunteers. They served traditional Somali dishes and gave all of the American women pashmina shawls and taught us how to wear them. We sat in a large circle and introduced ourselves. Everyone expressed their great gratitude for Daryel and shared stories. When it was my turn, I asked them to tell me the Somali word for "thank you." They answered, "Mahadsanid!" Daryel, the Somali women's wellness clinic I volunteer my massage services for, opens every Sunday for four hours. Women come for 30 minute appointments, to socialize with the other Somali women, learn about self-care and wellness, drink tea, pray, and practice yoga. Volunteering here has transformed my life, deepened my connection to the world, illuminated my heart, and provides great healing. The Seattle Times published an article about Daryel on April 11th, 2011. The great significance of a program is evidenced by the fact that the paper chose to run it on the front page. Read the article here: www.seattletimes.com/nwsource.com/html/health/2014740317_somaliyoga11.html Mahadsanid!

Last Class at Om Culture this Week!

The wacky spring weather is here, but the second the sun appears all the Seattle AcroYogis rush outside to play! Outdoor jams are already happening at Gasworks park and stay tuned for a new outdoor, all levels AcroYoga class starting soon! We hope us tonight for the last indoor all levels drop-in class at Om Culture and keep your fingers crossed for sunny weather in the weeks ahead. We'll be in the park playing as long as the ground is dry! Thank you to Michael Suzzeris for continuing to host the Tuesday night open jam at Om Culture. If you are looking for classes, there are plenty of opportunties to study this amazingly dynamic and fun practice with the city's finest instructors. Check out Dynamic AcroYoga & Thai, Fly & Dessert on Sundays at Kula Movement, Lux's Intermediate Series focusing on acrobatic transitions (pre-registration by approval only), and AcroYoga on the eastside at Flow Yoga Redmond on Wednesdays. Also, visit the Seattle Acro + Yoga page on Facebook for up to the second info on jams, classes, and workshops ;-) COME PLAY!

Spring in AcroLova at Sutra

Come play at Sutra on May 7th, 4-6pm. We will be exploring the unique interplay between the elements of AcroYoga in this all-levels workshop. Learn the FUNdamentals of this joyful, liberating practice that includes dynamic and therapeutic flying and Thai Yoga Massage techniques. Come solo or bring a friend. Beginners & drop-ins welcome. $20. Registration open soon at www.sutrayogaseattle.com!

Shiva Rea & Dave Stringer In Seattle this Weekend!

Fire up & renew your practice! Shiva Rea is in Seattle this weekend offering her Embodying the Flow yoga teacher training module and an open level workshop for anyone that is interested in diving deeper in the flow of living yoga. If you're looking to transform your practice or anything in your life, these opportunities have much to offer. There are only a few spots left in the teacher training, so register now! Yoga Trance Dance has also been added for Friday evening, April 8th, 7:30-9:30pm and Dave Stringer and band will be giving a kirtan at Shakti Vinyasa on Saturday evening, April 9th, at 7:30pm. Join us!

Guest Teachers & Kerala Adventure!

Namaskaram Y'all!

In a few hours I'll be in a plane headed for magical southern India! I will be joining Shiva Rea and the tribe in Kerala for a yoga & ayurveda retreat nestled in lush coconut groves near the beach. This means lots of chillaxing and healing ayurvedic treatments. We will also be touring the city of Trivandrum to visit sacred sites and study kalari, a beautiful Indian martial art.

If you're in Seattle, I hope you'll be playing! Wonderful guest teachers will be covering all of my classes for me so come check 'em out.

If you practice AcroYoga at Flow Yoga Redmond, Debbie and Jenn will be sharing partner yoga classes with space for practicing your favorite flying skills. Graeme & Lori will be rockin' the Thursday night foundations class at Om Culture and Angela will be hosting our delicious "Thai, Fly, and Dessert" night on Sundays at Kula Movement in Ballard. Come play!

If you want a glimpse into my Kerala adventure, I will be attempting to update my travel blog periodically. Check out http://www.mettafyadventures.wordpress.com/.

I will be back to teaching the week of March 28th!

India Love,
XO

"How Music Moves You" Contest

How does music move you? Steve Gold Music wants to know!

Music is so powerful and can affect a person in ways unimaginable. Steve Gold Music wants hear about your musical therapy. Share how music impacts your life and the way you use music to heal your soul in a photo, video, or blog. You could win a $200 prAna gift, a yoga DVD from Shiva Rea, and the Steve Gold Music collection. The contest ends March 14th, 2011.

Click here to enter the contest:
http://apps.facebook.com/stevegoldcontest/?pbb_qsi=55445876

Let's hear it!