**Please see the most recent News post for the current class schedule and to register with your teacher. The schedule is also included in the newsletter.
About Yoga
The practice of yoga has benefited humanity for thousands of years. A regular practice brings stillness to the mind and health and vitality to the body. Yoga is not a religion.
In Sanskrit, the word yoga means “to yoke, unite, or join.” It is the joining together of body and mind, connection with others, and ultimately, unity with the Divine. This union aims at achieving freedom from suffering and realizing our true nature of inner peace, balance, and harmony.
Yoga practices include postures (asanas), breathing (pranayama), and meditation. The asanas improve the strength and flexibility of the body. Breathing exercises bring oxygen to every cell, rejuvenating, relaxing, and revitalizing the entire body. Meditation calms the mind. Each practice encourages you to quietly focus and reflect from within. All our answers are within. Slow down, breathe, and listen.
Benefits of Yoga
For your body… increase your strength, enhance your flexibility, develop balance, feel refreshed, relaxed, and energized.
For your mind…enhance concentration, expand your awareness, quiet restless thoughts.
For your spirit...experience deep stillness, be in the present moment, practice self-acceptance, honor your wisdom and Self within.
Meet Our Yoga Instructors
We invite you to experience a variety of classes and teachers to find the right yoga classes for you.
Our instructors have many years of personal practice and teaching experience. Their classes are suitable for beginners to advanced practitioners. They are knowledgeable in helping you modify your practice to meet your needs.
Carla VanWormer
Carla has much light to share. She is the proud mother of four daughters whom she shares with her supportive husband.
For several years, Carla has embraced eastern philosophy on her journey of personal transformation. As a middle-school counselor, she is both humbled and grateful to share the power of yoga and mindfulness with hundreds of students seeking calm amidst the tremendous pressures of growing up in today’s society.
Carla has made a lifelong commitment to learning, practicing, and sharing yoga with schools, families, and friends. She believes that yoga is beautiful and creates a magical calmness for those who develop a regular practice. She invites you to join her for a variety of classes as you embrace your personal journey through yoga.
Certified and Registered with the National Yoga Alliance: 200-hour RYT, 95-RCYT (Children’s Yoga), RPYT (pending completion of PreNatal requirements) Certified: Restorative Yoga, Chair Yoga, Trauma-Informed Yoga, Teen Yoga, Children’s yoga, Tone Sculpt Yoga, MBSR-T certification (mindfulness-based stress reduction for teens), and various other wellness-related certifications.
Carla is teaching Vinyasa Flow and Flow and Restore classes at the Center.
She also teaches Beginner Yoga and Restorative Yoga classes.
Jeri Haldeman
Jeri has taught yoga at KYWC for more than 12 years.
She says, “Yoga started off as a workout for me to keep my body toned, fit, and flexible for my dance practice. Over time, I noticed that the mind becomes free, and I discovered the body/mind connection. Yoga awakened my senses.”
Jeri has been a yoga student and practitioner for 46 years and has led yoga classes since 1979. She studied and practiced different types of yoga including Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Yin, Chair yoga, and Restorative yoga. Her practice is often in the Ashtanga tradition, which has been a large part of her teacher training. Jeri’s study of yoga continues daily, helping her to deepen her understanding of her own practice, and in turn, she can give practice to others.
Certification: E-RYT 200
Jeri teaches the Relax, Restore, Renew: Yoga for EveryBODY class at the Center.
Jean Tabolt
Jean has enjoyed teaching yoga for more than 10 years. Her vision is to bring health and wellness through the power of yoga to everyone she meets.
As a Certified Yoga Therapist, Jean brings many specialized services into her classes. With individuals and groups, she creates classes designed to alleviate various conditions such as chronic pain, arthritis, autoimmune conditions, anxiety, panic disorder, depression, and more. Jean teaches yoga and presents on health/wellness topics at local venues. She is passionate about yoga, mindfulness, breathwork, meditation, and serving the beautiful people living in and around the community.
Certifications: Kripalu Yoga Teacher, Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher with the National Yoga Alliance, Breath, Body, Mind Level II, Teacher. Certified Yoga Therapist
Jean teaches Chair Yoga and Beginner’s Yoga at the Center.
Betsy Naselli
Betsy is a Dharma Yoga Certified instructor (2017) who brings more than 50 years of personal yoga practice to the yoga studio. She offers yoga classes for any ability from beginner to advanced, in addition to meditation and restorative yoga instruction.
“Yoga is for everyone, no matter how young or old, how flexible or stiff; yoga movement benefits everyone.”
For her, yoga is only part of a healthy lifestyle, along with a clean plant-based diet and other regular exercise such as walking, biking, and gardening. But, it is a large part! “My yoga practice has saved me more than once from unnecessary suffering; always serving to remind me to return to my breath and to be present no matter the chaos going on around me.”
Yoga Classes
You are welcome to attend one class or a series of classes.
We encourage you to wear comfortable clothing that is easy for you to move in for classes. You may bring your mat and props. No mat? No props? No problem. We have all the supplies needed for classes at the Center.
We are happy to offer you the following yoga classes. Note: Not all classes are offered all the time. Please see the News post for classes offered this month and to register with your teacher. If you are “dropping in”, please contact the teacher beforehand to make sure space is available. Thank you!
Beginner’s Yoga
- Yoga is not about touching your toes. It’s about what you learn on the way down.
- No yoga experience – perfect!
- Limited yoga experience – perfect!
- Seeking a balance between bodywork and relaxation – perfect!
- Any body, any condition, any age – perfect!
This 10-week class is designed for you whether you are new to yoga or are looking to refine your practice. Together, we will learn and practice yoga techniques to promote healing and healthy alignment, relieve stress, and increase energy, awareness, and concentration. In addition, by practicing asana, breathing, meditation, and mindfulness, we will experience increased strength, expanded mobility, and enhanced flexibility. Today is the perfect day to give yourself the gift of yoga.
Restorative Yoga
This class is suitable for all levels.
Relax and unwind in comfortable, simple postures as you lie on your mat and focus on your breath. Enjoy soothing music and a bit of sound healing during your practice.
Relax, Restore, Renew: Yoga for EveryBODY (All Levels)
Designed to reduce stress, build strength & balance, this is a good class for beginners and a solid foundation class for all levels. This class begins with gentle stretching and continues into a Vinyasa flow (smooth transitions between poses and the breath). It finishes with Restorative yoga that melts away stress and tension. These are long-held, fully supported postures. You emerge rooted, radiant, and revitalized.
“You are as young as your spine is flexible.” —Lilias Folan
Flow and Restore (All levels)
This class is designed to cultivate mindfulness, integrate breath and movement, and help you achieve balance for the body and mind. Flow and Restore is a calming, yet stimulating yoga class with a mix of active flowing sequences and more passive restorative releases. Poses are held for a longer period of time, allowing students to find their edge and soften into restful relaxation. Pranayama and meditation are also woven into the class. Props are used as tools to facilitate body awareness and listen for its feedback.
Props used: Bolsters, blocks, straps, and blankets.
Vinyasa Flow Yoga (All levels)
Explore the foundational elements of Vinyasa. This approach is designed to help you safely practice the basics while building heat. You will gradually grow into each posture and explore modified versions of poses which allow you to experience alignment in each pose at an intuitive level.
In Vinyasa, or “flow” yoga, practitioners move smoothly from one pose directly into the next. Each movement is synchronized with the breath.
Chair Yoga (All levels)
Experience all the benefits of yoga with the assistance of a chair, including breath work, postures, meditation, and restorative elements. Most postures are done from a seated position with a few standing or lying down on a mat using the chair for balance. Chair yoga is good for everyone. It is especially good for individuals with physical limitations that make yoga practice difficult without having a chair for support. This practice improves strength, flexibility, mindfulness, and an overall sense of well-being. We all need to keep moving – this is a safe way to move and practice yoga.
What participants say:
“In chair yoga, I can do practically everything I did in regular yoga class over the years, even with my hip replacement. My body feels so much better when I attend class and practice my chair yoga. We all work to our own ability.” -Sally age 79
“I am not a physically active person. Chair yoga truly works for me. It’s not strenuous but has helped my flexibility, even with my shoulder limitations. Barb does a wonderful job modifying the postures for each of our needs.” -Holly
Yoga Class Fees
- $15/drop-in per class and registering for 1-4 classes
- $65/5 classes with one teacher
- $120/10 classes with one teacher
- $10 per class for students, first responders, and military
- Compassionate Care Foundation Participants: One $75 voucher is good for five yoga classes.
Be sure to check with your healthcare insurance provider as Yoga classes may be reimbursable.
Classes and events are canceled if there is no school at South Jeff due to weather and Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
Disclaimer
Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health professional before starting or changing any exercise program or making a lifestyle change. This is particularly important if you are overweight, pregnant, nursing, regularly taking medications, or have any existing medical conditions. Do not delay seeking a diagnosis or any medical advice or treatments based on information contained on this Site or in any of the Materials available hereon. This Site is not intended to provide medical advice or make medical diagnoses.