Southern Yoga LLC, Huntsville

We offer this option at J2 Fitness Wednesdays from 10-11. 🧘‍♂️

A metanalysis from Korea (Shin, 2021) showed that chair yoga can improve muscle strength, balance, flexibility, physical activity and that it can be a part of a population health strategy.⁠
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Do you practice chair yoga or teach it? Let me know in the comments.

Hi y'all. I so hope you're able to take the time to get outside. After being cooped up and finally getting to go for a nice long walk with the dogs, I realized how much I needed it. Not only the exercise but the extremely fresh air and sun. Nature is such a life-giving thing (which I guess is its nature 🙂 ). I now have all of the windows open in our house after realizing how stale the air was.. I guess nature gives us perspective too.
And come to think of it... guess what else gives me perspective..... Yep, yoga. I honestly did not plan this tie in... but from 10am-11am tomorrow and every Wednesday I am holding a gentle yoga class allowing us to atune to our bodies and breath as we move through poses allowing for more of an inner focus. Classes are held at J2 Fitness Studio in the Oakwood Shopping Center to the left of G's Country Kitchen.
For a limited time, if you're new to the class, the first one is free so that you can check it out and see if it's right for you. If you'd like to continue, you'll pay $35-40 per month as a member of J2 Fitness Studio which includes your own personal workouts if you choose to get involved in that way and all available classes. See website for more details: https://j2fitnessstudio.com/

Mornin'! And it's beautiful here in Huntsville. Blue skies, warm enough for walking. At the same time, feeling the west coast and my friends there. Geez!
I just wanted to remind my Alabama friends that I'll be holding a gentle yoga class today and 10, J2 Fitness on Oakwood Ave. Sorry for the late reminder but hope you can make it. With all that we've been through as a collective, the theme today is Warrior 1, 2 and 3 along with opposing poses to get some good stretching in. And of course, breath and body awareness to teach us how to keep ourselves safe even in the midst of stress. So, "come on down!" as we say in the south.
Much love to you all.

Hi Everyone. I hope y’all are doing well and are hopeful for the days ahead.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold yoga class this coming Wednesday, Jan. 31 due to illness. I hope to be back the following week and will keep you posted. Have a beautiful week. ❤️ Namaste’

Hi y’all! Well it looks like the roads are clearing, the sun is out and it’s warming up. So, our first gentle, breath-oriented yoga class will be held this and every Wednesday at 10 am at J2 Fitness. All levels of experience and fitness are welcome. I hope to see you there! 🥰🧘🏼‍♀️

Wanted to share. Wishing you a beautiful, loving, give yourself a hug year.

Why do we start a new year, with promises to improve?
Who began this tradition of never-ending pressure?
I say, the end of a year, should be filled with congratulation, for all we survived.
And I say a new year should start with promises to be kinder to ourselves, to understand better just how much we bear, as humans on this exhausting treadmill of life.

And if we are to promise more, let’s pledge to rest, before our bodies force us.
Let’s pledge to stop, and drink in life as it happens.
Let’s pledge to strip away a layer of perfection to reveal the flawed and wondrous humanity we truly are inside.

Why start another year, gifted to us on this earth, with demands on our already over-strained humanity.
When we could be learning to accept, that we were always supposed to be imperfect.
And that is where the beauty lives, actually.
And if we can only find that beauty, we would also find peace.

I wish you peace in 2024.
Everything else is all just a part of it.
Let it be so.

Donna Ashworth

Art by the wonderful Catrin Welz-Stein

My latest book ‘Wild Hope’:
https://amzn.eu/d/eDGFsCs

#2024

Sabbatical Update... hello to you all. The weather is getting pretty near perfect if even just for a short while. I love the fall! The gentle changes from the summer heat and activities to cooler temperatures and a slowing down with leaves turning colors as a beautiful tribute to the cycle. I am doing well with my recovery - it's been work but worth it. I can now touch the floor with a forward fold and I found a modification to Apanasana - as I lie on my back in bed, rather than lifting my knees towards my chest as I hold each knee in the palm of my hand, as I exhale, I just leave my feet on the bed and without holding my knees I slowly pull them toward me allowing them to bend as much as possible and then as I inhale, slide my feet away from my body, keeping the knees slightly bent. That was a really cool find. I'm walking without a cane or walker for the most part now and have at least one more PT session to go 😟. It's a very good motivator.
Not realizing how intensive and focused I now need to be before my surgery, I have decided to continue my focus on healing before moving forward with sharing the yoga that I love. In the meantime, if you'd like, you can find the teacher I study with, Kristine Weber both on Facebook at Subtle Yoga with Kristine Weber and on her you tube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/kaoverii/videos.
If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to email me at [email protected]. In the meantime, take good care of yourselves and take some time off just to be for a bit. Much love to you all. 😍🙏

💙💚💙💚💙

Hi to you all! I hope this post finds you well, hydrated and that you are finding a little bit of quiet time with all of the many things going on around us. I wanted you to know that my Subtle Yoga inspired (slow, breath-centered) classes will continue through the end of August at which time I'll be taking about a four to six week sabbatical (knee surgery and a little bit of down time).

In the meantime, come on down and join us for an hour of gentle, somewhat graceful yoga, laughter and quiet time. Namaste' (the Light in me recognizes the Light in you).

Send a message to learn more

Love this. Inspirational.

Keanu Reeves was abandoned by his father at 3 years old and grew up with 3 different stepfathers. He is dyslexic. His dream of becoming a hockey player was shattered by a serious accident. His daughter died at birth. His wife died in a car accident. His best friend, River Phoenix, died of an overdose. His sister has leukemia.
And with everything that has happened, Keanu Reeves never misses an opportunity to help people in need. When he was filming the movie "The Lake House," he overheard the conversation of two costume assistants; One cried because he would lose his house if he did not pay $20,000 and on the same day Keanu deposited the necessary amount in the woman's bank account; He also donated stratospheric sums to hospitals.
In 2010, on his birthday, Keanu walked into a bakery and bought a brioche with a single candle, ate it in front of the bakery, and offered coffee to people who stopped to talk to him.
After winning astronomical sums for the Matrix trilogy, the actor donated more than $50 million to the staff who handled the costumes and special effects - the true heroes of the trilogy, as he called them.
He also gave a Harley-Davidson to each of the stunt doubles. A total expense of several million dollars. And for many successful films, he has even given up 90% of his salary to allow the production to hire other stars.
In 1997 some paparazzi found him walking one morning in the company of a homeless man in Los Angeles, listening to him and sharing his life for a few hours.
Most stars when they make a charitable gesture they declare it to all the media. He has never claimed to be doing charity, he simply does it as a matter of moral principles and not to look better in the eyes of others.
This man could buy everything, and instead every day he gets up and chooses one thing that cannot be bought: To be a good person.
Keanu Reeves’ father is of Native Hawaiian descent
❤️ Thank you for reading and liking the article. If you're Native American, this is the store for you (t-shirts, blankets, jewelry, tumbler,bags..).
🔥 Visit the Native American store here: https://www.nativeculturestores.com/stores/best-selling

Hi everyone! The noon class tomorrow, July 4 will not be held. Have a safe and lovely celebration. Hope to see you Thursday!

Hello my friends! I hope you are all doing well and avoiding the heat/storms/bad air quality/??? Today, I have been out enjoying the cool morning, planting pretty things and with my husband, raising the huge umbrella we just got for the deck. We enjoy going out there in the evening to watch/listen to the birds, watch the wind in the trees, and just relax. And that brings me to my next topic - the relax part. I have decided to take a sabbatical beginning August first. The honest truth is that I'm just plain pooped and just can't keep paying the rent for the space without more folks coming in to play since it's donation based. I will be celebrating my 70th birthday next weekend so I need a little more rest these days and I will be having knee replacement surgery in September. Now, it's a same day surgery believe it or not! No overnights, small incisions, using robotics. Amazing how far we've come! So anywho, I would like to invite you if you're in the area to come and play one last month if you can. Classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 noon - 1pm. Let's just celebrate ourselves with some cool-ars yoga - slow, mindful, gentle, breath-centered yummy stuff. Hope to see you soon!

They’re such good buddies

Just to let y'all know, in person Gentle Yoga For Retirees classes won't be held on June 6, June 8 and June 15 2023. It will be held on June 13th though and every Tuesday and Thursday at noon from then on.
Day 4 of the St. Jude's 30 minutes of yoga challenge. How ya doing? Restful, soft, breath, movements. yummm. 🥰🧘‍♀️🧘🧘‍♂️

Good morning! I wanted to let you know that I have a group page as well as this business page. The group page allows us to communicate to each other as we move through this 30 minute yoga practice so if you'd like to join, just go to the Southern Yoga, LLC page and ask to join. In any case though, I hope that you are finding the time to do a little restful yoga for yourselves. Have a wonderful weekend!

Today is the day! June 1st - the beginning of the St. Jude 30 Minutes of Yoga a Day Challenge! Join me virtually in this great opportunity to get a regular yoga practice going.

Every time I do a home practice, I feel so much better afterwards, more relaxed, more in tuned and like I'm giving myself a hug🥰 with my heart.

The practice can be whatever you need it to be for that particular day. It might be just lying down in Savasana (lying on your back, knees propped on a bolster/pillow if that's more comfortable), close your eyes and focus on your breath - notice the way it feels in your nostrils and in your neck - the temperature, the expansion of your chest and lengthening of your spine as you breathe in and the relaxation as you breathe out.

Maybe you're feeling energetic and after some warm-up poses and stretches, you'll want to do Sun Salutations. Some warm ups might be Table (hands and knees on the floor), Sunbird (from Table, pull your chest to or through your arms as you inhale, exhale back to Table or to Child's Pose), Mountain - Tadasana (standing with arms down by your sides, feet hip's width apart) or Moving Mountain (in Tadasana, as you breathe in, gently, slowly, take your arms out to the sides and up overhead - maybe even take your heels off the floor for a balance and then exhale, the arms back down, heels down) and maybe follow that with a gentle forward fold keeping your hands lightly on your thighs or let them hang or touch the floor. Whatever your body needs, go for it. Just 30 minutes but man, the benefits! OK, gotta get going myself! :=)
Take good care, be gentle, kind and good to yourselves.

🌺🌸🌷🧘‍♀️💗

Hi everybody! And happy Friday to those who are not in retired status. For those who are retired or for those who can take a little extra lunch time, I’m still enjoying sharing what I know and what I continue to learn about the Subtle Yoga inspired yoga that I share. This yoga accentuates the “breath moves the body” ideas so you’re syncing up your breath with your movements going in and out of the pose and then holding the pose as you continue to breathe slowly. Opposite side movements and poses - such as taking the right arm up as you bend your left knee, also known as asymmetrical movement and poses stimulates communication between the right and left side of the brain. Traumatic events in our lives can cause interruption in that communication so using these types of movements and breath helps reestablish that communication. So we’re working with the subtleties of breath and the nervous system. This is a gentle practice and we have alot of fun. Come on by for a class and see what you think. 12-1pm every Tuesday and Thursday at Mill Kat Healing Arts. Cost is by donation.

On another note, we will be hosting our third annual May Day Healing Arts event on May 7th. Free classes, music, food, vendors of all kinds. Please see the link below for details!

https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https://mailchi.mp/bbc204837369/may-day-healing-arts-festival?fbclid%3DIwAR1ngpecNcT7KJAMALBvsxylZBwoQtHIef_6VmlNak0c7XaTKPVmgPgzFkI&h=AT0YAkMeUQ6Wy16q8nc3icokVotOr81S2I47Sk6nEXagtMD6YY61lRjYwh_dh_sJV_eTvhk4AKFrkXbE-rgtUBB5kWOGfTgseK0VLgn6Vhd0g-LCPlLVWU7igWmiGA9vLcqohv4L9SM9&s=1&mibextid=ncKXMA

May Day! Healing Arts Festival

Good gorgeous Wednesday to you all (albeit a bit on the chilly side). I wanted to invite you to our Thursday at noon class for us retirees. This is a time when you can nurture yourself and be with other folks of like mind. We get cozy in the yoga area of our new digs surrounded by beautiful curtains, soft music and all the props you might need. We move with the rhythm of our breath, soft music playing in the background. We hold the pose and internally observe. We laugh. Sometimes we cry. And we rest.
Donations only classes Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon.
Love and Namaste' ("the Light in me recognizes the Light in you")

This was a fun class! We used all the props and got messy. 😃
Mill Kat has moved into our new place and now that I'm feeling more at home, I'm loving it. More space, pretty curtains to provide privacy while we work through our asanas ("poses" or postures) and props are easily accessed. I hope you'll come check us out and of course come to one of my classes held each Tuesday and Thursday from noon to one, Yoga for Retirees but all ages are welcomed. Donation-based so just bring what you would like to offer. Bring your own mat, blanket, bolster or use one of ours.
Namaste'

This is such an excellent write up from the teacher I am currently studying with and received my yoga teacher training from.

The Default Mode Network (DMN) is the neural network associated with mind wandering. In pop psychology culture, it often gets a bad rap. I’ve seen it called the “Demon of ADHD”, “ The Monkey Mind”, “The Seat of Angst,” and “The Sleepwalker.”
The DMN is blamed for everything from negative self-talk, and poor productivity to ADHD, addiction, and bipolar disorder. It is labeled the part of the brain that chatters, that ruminates about past hurts and shames, that distracts you from the present moment, that gets in the way of your success, etc.
The DMN is often pitted against the attention networks (there are maybe 3 of them depending on which scientist you ask). The theory goes that if you are paying attention and focusing, then the DMN shuts down and you will be able to be in the here and now - present, focused, productive, and happy.
But this summary is incredibly reductive and unhelpful.
The DMN is not simply a whining, ruminating, self-pitying grumpy inner child. It is the network the brain uses for creativity, synthetic thinking, and perhaps even intuition.
It’s important to remember that trying to focusing ALL the time, to relentlessly stay on task, to be 100% productive is exhausting.
Hyperfocus exhausts the attention networks and drains energy. Hyperfocus-induced exhaustion can result in decreased self-regulation and impulse control, as well as poor decision-making.
The reality is that human brains are built to toggle between focus and unfocus, attention networks and default network.
This is how the brain is meant to operate. We need to focus, and then take a rest and let things sink in. Einstein was reflecting this reality when he said, “I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me.”
When the brain is allowed to naturally focus and unfocus, then it’s working optimally. This can support greater resilience, enhance creativity, and better decision-making.
Which reminds me that I wanted to say something here about meditation.
Meditation (and here I’m referring to yogic and ta***ic meditation practices) is not supposed to be an entirely hyperfocused practice.
There are aspects of traditional ta***ic yogic meditation, like mantra repetition or chakra concentration, that help to build focus, but then there are aspects of them, like dhyana, where you build the forms of a deity in your minds eye and then connect with that form in a contemplative way, which are much more creative and expansive.
These latter practices rely heavily on the DMN.
And even if you are doing a mantra repetition or chakra nyasa (concentration) practice, your mind will necessarily toggle between focusing in and spacing out - it's supposed to!
It’s normal, and science would say that it’s healthy and in line with how your brain works.
We need to accomplish tasks in life, but that’s not all we need to do.
We also need to chew on things, assess what’s happening, question reality, question authority, question dominant narratives. We need to create and intuit new plans and alternate courses of action.
We are not hardwired simply to produce.
And if there’s a specific pathology like ADHD or addiction, then working with the attention networks can of course be helpful, but that doesn’t mean the DMN is a demon.
There is so much negativity and pathology attributed to the DMN that it makes my DMN get a bit suspicious and go down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole – why are corporations like Google so hyperfocused on teaching their workers to hyperfocus?
What benefit do the powers that be get out of teaching people that focus is good and mind wandering is bad?
An article called “A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy Mind” came out in 2010 and since then, it’s all about mindfulness and focus people!
But there’s plenty of other science out which refutes this claim. A wandering mind is not always unhappy. A wandering mind may be a very creative, problem solving, and intuitive.
Demonizing the DMN is certainly a great way to get people to think that hyperfocus is the best way to be a happy, healthy, productive person.
It’s also a great way to get people to shut up and stop complaining.
Okay, I’m climbing up outta that rabbit hole now.
I’ll just finish this by saying that we are not robots. We are whole human beings who have whole experiences, and rich, varied lives. The DMN, like every part and network of the brain, has an appropriate role to play.

Good morning to you all!! Exciting news!! MillKat Healing Arts will be moving to our new location this Sunday, January 29th! 🎉🥳 It’s a mere stone’s throw from where we are currently - we’re literally moving next door. Our new suite number will be 101 instead of 102. Since I’ll be leaving town that week, Yoga for Retirees will not be held on January 31, February 2 and February 4 but we’ll get back into full swing on Tuesday, February 7 at noon. Current classes for today, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 28th will still be held in our current location at noon. Y’all come on down! ❤️

Good morning - posting here just in case you're interested in today's yoga class but are not in the Southern Yoga LLC group on Facebook - today's (January 12) 12 noon class will not be held since we are under a tornado watch until 1pm today. I hope to see you this Saturday at noon or next week (Tuesday/Thursday at 12 noon).
Take good care, stay safe. Namaste' 🥰🙏