Sukha Yoga

Healing is not always pretty!

Sound Healing: New Beginnings
with Bridgette Corridan and Kristen Firpo
Saturday August 3rd 5:00-7:00 pm

It’s a time when many embark on new journeys, whether it’s going back to school or simply embracing a beginner’s mindset. In this season of change, sound healing can be a powerful tool to support your transition and help you navigate the exciting path ahead. Sound healing taps into the profound connection between vibration, emotion, and the body.

$60 Link in Bio to sign up

Maybe you think you are coming to yoga because you want to be more flexible or you want to have less stress in your life. And yes, you do receive these benefits. But, there is so much more that is happening.

Recently, before my yoga practice, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. There was a lot whirling in my mind. I felt the weight of a particular problem I needed to solve. I was thinking about a friend who is going through a hard time and wondering how best to support her. I was also thinking about what to write to you in this post and coming up blank.

The experience in my body was that there was a lot of “gunk” (i.e., worries, thoughts, stress) that made me feel blocked and confused. I set the intention at the beginning of practice to receive clarity and answers for all of these
situations in my mind.

Then, I just let the thoughts go. I began to focus on my breath, to focus on listening to the teacher’s voice, and on putting my body in proper alignment. Because I’ve had a yoga practice for so long, I’ve developed grooves in my brain that make it pretty easy to do this. I just got into the flow.

Breathe. Release. Move.

Yogis say that we have 72,000 nadis, or energy channels, in our body. These channels get kinked and blocked, causing stagnation and confusion. The yoga practice is like turning on the tap. We stimulate the energy to move and release the blockages.

By the time we got to savasana, I was deeply calm, and my mind was blank. Then, the answers started to come all at once. The clarity arrived! I knew what I needed to do for the problem, what to say to my friend, and that I needed to write about this experience to share the power of yoga with you.

It requires some discipline and a regular practice, but yoga is magical!

I hope you join me soon for a yoga class at Sukha.

💚 Bethany (Sukha Owner)

3-Part Series on Yoga for the Psychedelic Curious with May 6th, 13th, 20th 7-8:30 pm at Sukha Yoga in Novato. Link in bio to sign up.

Sukha is a Sanskrit word whose literal translation means “good space.” It is the space that we cultivate when we step onto the yoga mat. We can move and shake off the agitations, the stress, the emotions, and thoughts that are not serving us. We can breathe through the blockages, the discomfort, the grief. We can breathe in the new energy, the aliveness, the joy.

We make space. Space for all the joys and space for all the sorrows.

For me, I know that my yoga gives me space to feel my own joy and excitement, space to process my sadness, space to be in the joy of someone else’s success, space to have deep compassion and care for someone who is going through trauma, loss, or a difficult situation, and space to witness the

difficulties in the world and take action where I can.

What kind of space has your yoga practice given you?

I look forward to seeing you on the mat. I know the “good space” multiplies when we practice together.

💚 Bethany (Sukha Owner)

How are you feeling as we move into springtime? Are you more energized and light-hearted? Blue skies and sunshine can do that. Even if your current 
experience is not this, allowing yourself to go with the flow of the season can help you move in that direction.
 
This is the perfect time to move your body; stretch, twist, flow. Clean out the “energetic” cobwebs. Set the intention to be centered in your heart space. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and drop into your heart. Visualize the energy in your heart flowing out. Amplify the heart resonance. Gather in circles to be supported and to share the heart energy.
 
Go outside, put your bare feet on the earth, and notice the beauty that is all around. During this spring season, may your heart be healed. May you find the joy, connection, and vitality that you are meant to have.
 
Recognize how powerful and wonderful you are! Then, share that energy with everyone around you. Send that energy to the places and people that are 
suffering. This is how we heal the world.
 
In love,
 
Bethany (Sukha Owner)
 
p.s. We have lots of opportunities to engage with the spring energy this weekend: take a yoga class, Full Moon Circle with Cara .love , Sukha Open Dance , Ayurveda Workshop with Laura . Link in bio for all events.

📸 by from the Spring Equinox Celebration last week with Kat and Rachel.

What a joyful celebration with and . Thank you for sharing your magic ✨


・・・
Happy Spring Equinox. Thank you to those who joined our magical circle Sound bath, Reiki and Meditation to celebrate spring’s arrival. Thank you to all of those who are planting seeds of hope and peace and healing from within. Doing the work. Walking with courage and love. Allowing yourself to mourn, allowing yourself to celebrate the mystery of the mighty oak tree within the heart of the tiny seed.

“As Spring rain softens the Earth with surprise
May your Winter places be kissed by light.

As the ocean dreams to the joy of dance
May the grace of change bring you elegance.

As day anchors a tree in light and wind
May your outer life grow from peace within.

As twilight fills night with bright horizons
May Beauty await you at home and beyond.”

― John O’Donohue

Awaken Your Inner Temple: An In-Depth Exploration of the Chakras with Anodea Judith

This is a 9-week series every Monday from 7:00-9:00 pm starting March 4th and going through April 29th.

Gain deeper access to your inner self through exploring the seven energy centers that provide a profound map for the journey of awakening. Discover how the chakra system forms the yoke of yoga – the structure through which we yoke our physical selves to the Divine, and our body to consciousness, as well as the organizational structure of our daily life.

Dive deep and soar high in this 9 week Chakra Intensive with globally recognized teacher Anodea Judith as you explore one chakra each week through postures, breath, sound, meditation and Anodea’s signature bioenergetic exercises designed to awaken the energy within you chakra by chakra, as well as learning about the psychology of each chakra.

Open to all levels, Monday evenings 7:00-9:00 pm
Sign up for the full series. Option to join in-person or on-line (you can ask to have the recording sent if you miss a class).

Anodea Judith has been writing and teaching about the chakra system for nearly 50 years. She has written 11 books on various aspects of the chakras, and their relation to yoga, psychology, manifestation, and social change. She is best known for her classics Wheels of Life and Eastern Body, Western Mind. Her books are in 28 languages and she has taught live in 22 countries and online in over 160. She now lives in Novato!

$299 Link in Bio to sign up

Awaken Your Inner Temple: An In-Depth Exploration of the Chakras with .

This is a 9-week series every Monday from 7:00-9:00 pm starting March 4th and going through April 29th. In-Person at Sukha Yoga in Novato or via live-steam (or recording).

Gain deeper access to your inner self through exploring the seven energy centers that provide a profound map for the journey of awakening. Discover how the chakra system forms the yoke of yoga – the structure through which we yoke our physical selves to the Divine, and our body to consciousness, as well as the organizational structure of our daily life.

Dive deep and soar high in this 9-week Chakra Intensive with globally recognized teacher Anodea Judith as you explore one chakra each week through postures, breath, sound, meditation and Anodea’s signature bioenergetic exercises designed to awaken the energy within you chakra by chakra, as well as learning about the psychology of each chakra.
Open to all levels, Monday evenings 7:00-9:00 pm

Sign up for the full series. Option to join in-person or on-line (you can ask to have the recording sent if you miss a class).

Anodea Judith has been writing and teaching about the chakra system for nearly 50 years. She has written 11 books on various aspects of the chakras, and their relation to yoga, psychology, manifestation, and social change. She is best known for her classics Wheels of Life and Eastern Body, Western Mind. Her books are in 28 languages and she has taught live in 22 countries and online in over 160. She now lives in Novato!

$299 Link in Bio to Sign Up

NEW! Early *Warm (80° 🔥) Yoga classes in Novato!

We are adding 6:00-7:00 am Vinyasa yoga every Wednesday and Friday with at Sukha Yoga starting 2/21.

*Luzia has been teaching yoga in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the United States since 2013. She is renowned for her lively and innovative classes that blend funky playlists and dynamic sequences with profound wisdom and an in-depth understanding of yoga. Luzia strives to create the kind of class that she herself enjoys taking - a challenging and consistent practice infused with a playful and light-hearted approach.

Often, when I’m checking people in for class, I ask how they’re doing and hear responses like ‘Not great’ or just a ‘meh’. I always respond with, ‘It will be better after yoga!’ And, 99% of the time, I’m right. Students leave class with that ‘yoga glow’ and in a blissed-out state.

When it comes to self-care or spiritual practices like meditation and yoga, it’s easy to fall into the trap of negative self-talk. Thoughts like ‘I should be doing that’, ‘I should be more consistent’, or ‘I should be more disciplined’ can be demoralizing.

These practices can start to feel heavy and burdensome, turning into things we resist. It’s helpful to remember the point is to feel better! We get to feel good in our bodies and experience JOY!

And it’s true – the more you attend, the better it works. Yes, it does require some discipline to get to class, but it’s worth it! Remember why you’re doing it and just come!

It’s kind of MAGIC.

💚 Bethany (Sukha Owner)

p.s. A few opportunities to take a deeper dive and get some more yoga magic with our Yoga Sutra Study Group and Vinyasa 101. Link in bio for more info.

Yoga Immersion:
The Complete Practice
with Daniel Rauck
SAT DATE: JAN 13 2024
FROM: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Join Daniel for this spacious yogic journey through a complete yoga practice. In this fully immersive experience, there will be time to deepen in to the many aspects of the yoga practice that a regular weekly class doesn’t always allow for.
Mindful breathing and cultivating a meditative awareness will support us as we weave through some Flow/Vinyasa, Yin Yoga (passive, long held deep stretches), Restorative Yoga (relaxing, prop supported meditative postures), Simple Chanting (aaaaauuuummmmm....), Seated Meditation and a super sweet extended Shavasana...All rolled up into one class for a blissful and luxuriant experience.

With plenty of time for breaks and rest, It’s like a mini-retreat from the outside world!

$60 link in bio to schedule.

First New Moon Ceremony & Sound Bath with

Jump start the New Year by investing in your Wellness! Return to self and set intentions for 2024, then lay down and relax to a twilight New Moon Ceremony Sound Bath. Experience the spirit-renewing effect of community building reset, personal intention setting, and guided meditation, followed by a 60 minute restorative sound bath + personalized sound reiki.
Take a deep-dive into self-healing, wellness, and communion with the immersive container created by The Sound Sorcery, with their the collection of chimes, crystal singing bowls, gongs, Tibetan bowls, euphone, ocean drum, glass harp, traditional harp, and other vibration tools. The sound healers will gently guide the body’s channels (physical, mental, and energetic) to open.

Please dress in layers and bring anything you need to lay comfortably on the floor for an hour (ex: extra blankets, pillow, camping mat (more cushion than a yoga mat.) Bolsters, blankets and eye pillows are available at the studio.

The Sound Sorcery is the sound healing practice of West Coast Wellness Leaders Drew Burch and Kelly Finn. They bring their Immersive Sound Meditation Music to regularly play respected venues like Grace Cathedral, Kanbar Hall, and many other prestigious wellness centers. Their unique music-in-motion approach drops the listener into the center of the sound, suspending them on mobile frequencies specifically tuned to resonate with the human body. The impact of sound on the physical and energetic body can be instantly felt, and the lasting benefits are countless. Whether in public or in private, their personalized Reiki blended with Sound Bath creates a sonic vessel for one-on-one Energy Clearing and Deep Restorative Healing. The ultimate mission of The Sound Sorcery has always been to inspire a more loving humanity, cultivate community connection and healing, and provide a safe space for individuals to pursue self-compassion.”

$50
Link in bio to register

We have a tradition at Sukha to pick a word for the year. Instead of choosing a bunch of resolutions that are likely to be forgotten by February, selecting a single word can meaningfully set the focus for the year.

I like to take a few days to set an intention, to be open to receiving the word. Then, during meditation or in a yoga class, I allow it to arrive. It often feels as if the word is choosing me.

I find this a beautiful way to guide my year. The word reveals itself in different ways as the months go by. I find it helpful to create an image with the word on my phone’s screensaver, which helps me think of it often.

My word for 2024 is ‘UNLOCK.’ I was a bit surprised when this word came to me. Unlock means to free from restraints or restrictions and to reveal or disclose. This feels exciting, as if I can unlock the secrets of the universe or gain new insights into how things work. I’m eager to see how it continues to unfold throughout the year.

I’d love to hear what your word is?

💚 Bethany (Sukha Owner)

🕯️WINTER SOLSTICE🕯️
As the wheel turns, we move towards the quiet darkness of Winter. It is a time of honoring this darkness & celebrating the return of light!
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Join Kat Shotz & Amanda Faucher for an evening of community, sacred creativity, Reiki energy work, gentle movement and a luxuriating sound bath. We want to fill your cup with love, peace & deep connections -inwards and outwards.

Saturday, Dec.16
4-6pm
$55

Looking forward to honoring this season with you.🕯️

Link in Bio to sign up

Yoga Immersion: The Complete Practice
with Daniel Rauck
SAT DATE: DEC 09 2023
FROM: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Join Daniel for this spacious yogic journey through a complete yoga practice. In this fully immersive experience, there will be time to deepen in to the many aspects of the yoga practice that a regular weekly class doesn’t always allow for.
Mindful breathing and cultivating a meditative awareness will support us as we weave through some Flow/Vinyasa, Yin Yoga (passive, long held deep stretches), Restorative Yoga (relaxing, prop supported meditative postures), Simple Chanting (aaaaauuuummmmm....), Seated Meditation and a super sweet extended Shavasana...All rolled up into one class for a blissful and luxuriant experience.

With plenty of time for breaks and rest, It’s like a mini-retreat from the outside world!

$60 - link in bio to register

METTA Meditation + Restorative Yoga
Saturday Oct 28
3-5:00PM PST
Novato, CA
With and Anne Dunlea.

Link in bio to sign up.

Instructor Spotlight: Have you taken class with Ali?

Ali is a joyful and curious student of life who accidentally discovered yoga in 2008 thanks to a college PE requirement! Yoga’s teaching about breath and presence immediately resonated with Ali’s lifelong study of music and spirit. Yoga and meditation became regular fixtures in her life in 2012. Now, Ali's aim with yoga is to cultivate a deep, reverent connection with nature - from our own to the greater world. 

Ali invites students to explore areas of the yoga tradition that are often left out in modern practice like breath work, meditation, energy work, prayer/intention 
setting, myths of the gods and goddesses, honoring the lineage of yoga and our relation to it, yoga philosophy and history, dharma (making ancient yoga teachings relevant to our modern life), chanting and mantra. As such, her classes 
often include these less common practices plus music, jokes, fun sequencing, and deep rest.

Ali is ever-grateful for her teachers Marianne Linn, Lesley Desaulniers, Alison Smith, Sarah MacLean Bicknell, Ram Dass, Lama Rod Owens, Oren Jay Sofer, Ram Jain (Arhanta Yoga), her family (ultimate spiritual teachers!) and all of the brave artists, writers, and musicians who taught her about the landscape of the soul. Ali completed her RYT200 in 2018 and completed her RYT300 in 2019 at Sukha Yoga.

What we love more than her extensive expertise, however, is her open heart and contagious passion for life. 

You can find her teaching at Sukha, Mondays and Fridays at 5:30 pm and every other Saturday at 8:00 am. 

Link in Bio to Book a Class

*When she’s not at the studio, you can find Ali
~Dancing at Open Floor
 in San Rafael on Saturdays
~Working 1:1 with students on their yoga and healing journeys (keep your eyes out for new offerings being shared at
alirucker.com
in the coming months!)
~Researching healing modalities like family constellation, somatic therapy, meditation, and the psychedelic renaissance

Last but not least, Ali is a member of 
(a group of 
justice-oriented vocalists, artists and activists performing across the West Coast).

・・・
Fall in love with gentleness this Autumn Equinox with Kat & Amanda

We will practice some gentle yoga and create balance inwards as well as aligning with the rhythms of nature.
Using sound to help restore or nervous system, we will enjoy a sound bath & reiki to balance our energies.
There will be other surprises along the way!
yoga
Saturday, Sept 23rd
3:00-5:00 pm

We hope you will join us
$55
Link in bio to register

Many years ago I was in Costa Rica and I went to a Mayan Astrology Reader. She told me that I was a community leader and very good at bringing groups of people together. At the time, the reading felt strange and didn't really resonate. I have always been a pretty quiet and introverted person. I was working long hours in my private therapy practice, feeling isolated and not really connected to community at all.

Fast forward to present time and now I understand what she meant! (She also said that I would never have to worry about money in the second half of my life so🤞 she knew what she was talking about 😜).

My absolute favorite part of owning a yoga studio is the community that I get to be a part of and interact with. I like working at the front desk and greeting all the students. I also really love reaching out and getting to know our members. Every day, I send out personal texts and emails (yes, it's really me and not a bot!!) because I want to reach out to everyone who comes to the studio. I want to know your goals, how you are liking the classes and how we can best support you. You might also get a message from me reminding you haven't been in awhile. You are actually missed when we don't see you!

Hope to see you in class soon!

In Gratitude,

💚 Bethany (Sukha Owner)

What a joy it is every day to come into the studio and find all the gifts that people have left.

Whether it is produce from personal gardens, books for our free library, flowers or another special oracle deck to choose a card from and help set intentions for the yoga class.

I am so grateful for our generous and loving community. The support, 
positivity, and collective energy that each of you brings to our healing sanctuary is truly heartwarming. 

It is a welcome space and all are 
supported and welcomed.

In gratitude and Love,

💚 Bethany Sukha Owner

Do not miss this!

We are thrilled to welcome back special guest teacher, from this Thursday 8/3 from 9:30-10:45.

Can’t wait!!!

・・・
Mother Earth makes no mistakes 🌎🌱✨

It’s no happy little coincidence cann@bis is here ~ it’s the only plant that can heal you, house you & clothe you.

Nature doesn’t judge. It’s just us humans that label things good or bad.

Come learn, talk and immerse yourself in this healing plant medicine with Elena August 5th at Sukha Yoga.

Yoga & Cann@bis Workshop 4:30pm
Saturday August 5th

Link in bio to sign up.

・・・
Mother Earth makes no mistakes 🌎🌱✨

It’s no happy little coincidence cann@bis is here ~ it’s the only plant that can heal you, house you & clothe you.

Nature doesn’t judge. It’s just us humans that label things good or bad.

Come learn, talk and immerse yourself in this healing plant medicine with Elena August 5th at Sukha Yoga.

Yoga & Cann@bis Workshop 4:30pm
Saturday August 5th

Link in bio to sign up

Welcome back Jean!

Fresh from a road trip ~ 6+ weeks and 9 states, mostly camping, hiking, swimming in rivers, seeing friends, eating great food. She is refreshed and excited to get back to teaching.

Join her for a juicy slow flow vinyasa class every Tuesday from 9:30-10:45 am.

Link in bio to sign up for classes.

The Sound Sorcery is coming back to Sukha on Saturday, July 29th from 5:00-6:30 pm for a healing sound bath.

This event usually sells out, so be sure to get your tickets soon!

Link in bio for more info and to register.

This Sunday ~ 3/5 2:00-3:30 pm

🔮Crystal Recharge and Meditation Workshop 🪄
w/

This crystal re-charge workshop will activate deep creativity, healing and empowerment for you utilizing crystals, intention setting and meditation.

We will create a sacred circle to cleanse and recharge our crystals using the fire element. With the assistance of powerful radiant crystals, we will release obstacles and move into calm receptivity.

In recharging, recalibrating our crystals, we will draw upon their energy to magnify our individual and collective strength, love, joy and clarity. You may also use this time to set an intention or prayer for yourself or for someone else and speak or write it down.

We will meditate on the fractal beauty of the crystals and how they radiate, charge and and reflect our deepest intentions.

$45 (includes 3 tumbled stone crystals)

* 3 tumbled stone Crystals will be given to workshop participants and please bring some of your favorite stones from home too!

Link in bio to sign up.