Private Sessions
Functional Yoga
Functional yoga improves strength, flexibility, and coordination for everyday movements and activities. In this practice, we will target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, mimicking real-life actions such as pushing, pulling, twisting, and lifting. This approach aims to improve your performance in daily tasks and reduce the risk of injuries.
Flexibility and Stress Reduction
This practice is designed to reduce chronic pain and stress carried in the hips, spine, and shoulders and will focus on developing flexibility in these areas while integrating restorative practices to reduce stress. Building on yoga poses that reduce fatigue, soothe the adrenals, and adjust the cortisol hormone; you will practice simple inversions and backbends for beginners. You will experience increased flexibility over time and learn mindfulness techniques to reduce stress.
Mindful Yoga
Mindful Yoga incorporates slow, mindful movement, breathing practices, and meditation. This practice will teach you strategies to calm the nervous system, improve the mind-body connection, and increase resilience. You will need blankets or cushions for sitting in meditation.
Yoga & Abs
Yoga and Abs: This practice focuses on the crucial role of the abs as stabilizers, providing a solid foundation in asana practice. The ab muscles work together to support the spine and maintain balance. Engaging the core enhances overall strength and promotes proper alignment, preventing injury. By learning to activate the core, you will find increased stability and awareness, enabling you to explore more advanced asanas confidently.
Qigong-infused Yoga™
Qigong Infused Yoga™ combines gentle yoga and qigong to offer the benefits of both ancient healing arts practices. It is a tranquil, beneficial, powerful mind-body practice that relieves physical, mental, and emotional tension.
Progressive Vinyasa
Progressive Vinyasa is an energetic form of yoga where you move fluidly from one pose to the next, connecting your breath to your movements. It incorporates strength, flexibility, balance, cardio, and physical and mental stamina in one session. Progressive Vinyasa includes regular sequences that become familiar and incorporates variations to modify, intensify, or challenge the body by altering the pace or duration of poses and the frequency that they are repeated.
YogaSculpt™
Yoga Sculpt ™ combines traditional yoga postures with strength training and cardio. This is a challenging, energizing, and fun practice! You will need two sets of weights -- we use lighter weights than strength training in the gym. Choose this practice if you want to tone up and build endurance.
Yoga Trapeze and TRX Yoga
Yoga Trapeze and TRX Yoga: The Yoga Trapeze and TRX Suspension Trainer, used as props, are fun ways to mix up and challenge your existing yoga practice! Both allow you to create instant traction on your spine, potentially relieving back pain and sciatica. The Trapeze will allow you to ease into backbends and release shoulder tension. The TRX is a wonderful way to work on balance within a flow sequence with support. Using either of these props will complement a mat-based yoga practice very well.
Women in midlife can benefit from private yoga sessions for several reasons:
Personalized approach: Private yoga sessions allow women in midlife to receive individualized attention and tailor their practice to their specific needs. This stage of life often comes with unique physical, emotional, and hormonal changes, and I can customize a yoga practice for you to address your specific concerns.
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Flexibility and convenience: Private sessions offer flexibility in scheduling and location (at your home, if local, or on Zoom). Women in midlife often have hectic lives and lots of responsibilities, and having me come to your home or office, or on Zoom, at a time that suits you can make it easier to incorporate your new regular practice into your routine, leading to better and more sustainable results.
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Focus on specific goals: Private yoga sessions provide an opportunity to focus on specific goals or areas of interest (please look at the variety of options I provide – your practice will never become dull!). Whether managing menopause symptoms, improving flexibility, increasing strength, reducing stress and anxiety, or enhancing overall well-being, I can design a practice that aligns with your objectives. (Please see the testimonials.)
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Adaptation to individual abilities: As women age, their bodies may require modifications and adjustments in yoga poses. In a private session, I can assess your capabilities and limitations (recovery from injury or surgery, limited mobility, balance issues) and provide appropriate modifications to ensure safety and maximize the benefits of your individual practice that we will design together based on your ongoing feedback.
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Mind-body connection and self-care: midlife can be a time of self-reflection and personal growth. Private yoga sessions can facilitate a deeper mind-body connection and serve as a form of self-care. Together we will design a unique practice that suits you perfectly and will grow with you. Personalized attention and guidance can help women in midlife navigate this transitional phase with increased awareness, balance, and self-compassion.
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Overall private yoga sessions will offer a supportive and tailored approach to address your unique needs, promote well-being, and enhance your overall quality of life.
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Benefits of Yoga, Ayurveda, creativity, mindfulness
Benefits of Yoga
Benefits of yoga: Yoga offers a multitude of benefits for both the body and mind. It promotes physical strength, flexibility, and balance while improving posture and body awareness. Regular yoga practice can help reduce stress and anxiety, enhance mental clarity, and improve overall well-being. It encourages mindfulness and relaxation, allowing individuals to find inner peace and cultivate a more profound self-awareness. Yoga also provides a holistic approach to health, benefiting cardiovascular health, boosting immune function, and supporting healthy digestion. Additionally, yoga can foster community and connection as practitioners come together in a shared practice of self-care and self-discovery.
Benefits of Ayurvedic nutrition
Ayurvedic nutrition offers a range of benefits for individuals seeking a holistic approach to their well-being. Based on the principles of Ayurveda, this ancient Indian system of medicine and healing, ayurvedic nutrition emphasizes the importance of balancing one’s diet to promote optimal health. It recognizes that each person is unique and requires different types of foods to maintain balance and harmony within the body. Ayurvedic nutrition focuses on whole, unprocessed foods, emphasizing fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. It encourages mindful eating, paying attention to the quality and quantity of food and the specific tastes and qualities of each ingredient. By adopting ayurvedic nutrition principles, individuals can experience improved digestion, increased energy levels, enhanced mental clarity, and a strengthened immune system. It also promotes weight management, supports detoxification, and nurtures a deeper connection between food, body, and overall well-being.
Benefits of mindfulness
Mindfulness offers a wealth of benefits for individuals seeking to cultivate present-moment awareness and a deeper connection with themselves and the world around them. By practicing mindfulness, individuals can experience reduced stress, anxiety, and depression as they learn to observe their thoughts and emotions without judgment. It promotes mental clarity, improved focus, and enhanced cognitive function, allowing individuals to respond to challenges with greater calmness and resilience; mindfulness also nurtures self-compassion and acceptance, fostering a positive relationship with oneself and others. It encourages a deeper appreciation for the present moment, increasing gratitude and overall life satisfaction. Additionally, mindfulness has been shown to have physical benefits, such as lowered blood pressure, improved sleep quality, and strengthened immune function. By incorporating mindfulness into daily life, individuals can cultivate a greater sense of well-being, balance, and inner peace.
Benefits of creativity
Engaging in creative activities offers numerous mental and physical benefits. On a mental level, creativity stimulates the brain, promoting cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills. It encourages the exploration of new ideas and perspectives, fostering adaptability and innovation. Creativity also serves as a powerful outlet for self-expression and emotional release, allowing individuals to process and communicate their thoughts and feelings in unique ways. Moreover, creative endeavors promote mindfulness and flow, where individuals become fully immersed in the present moment, reducing stress and enhancing well-being. On a physical level, creative activities can have therapeutic effects, helping to reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and improve overall cardiovascular health. Engaging in creative endeavors nourishes both the mind and body, promoting personal growth, emotional well-being, and a sense of fulfillment.
Creativity and neuroscience connection
The connection between creativity and neuroscience is a fascinating field of study that explores how the brain processes and generates creative ideas. Neuroscience helps us understand the underlying neural mechanisms involved in the creative process, shedding light on how different brain regions interact and contribute to creative thinking. Research has shown that creativity involves a delicate balance between divergent thinking (generating multiple ideas) and convergent thinking (evaluating and selecting the most promising ideas). Neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have revealed that creative thinking engages various brain networks, including those associated with imagination, attention, memory, and emotional processing. Additionally, neuroscience has uncovered the importance of the default mode network (DMN), a network of brain regions active during rest and daydreaming, in supporting creative insights. By studying the neuroscience of creativity, we can gain valuable insight into how to nurture and enhance our creative abilities and explore the intricate relationship between the brain and the remarkable human capacity for innovation and imagination.
I recently completed 4 sessions of private classes with Julie. I was a flexible “gumby” for whom achieving yoga poses was previously not difficult. However, at age 73, with a hip replacement and a moderate rotator cuff tear, this was no longer the case. The leg with the replacement hip was weaker than the other leg; the injured shoulder, in order not to incur more damage, would not allow much weight-bearing. In addition, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, I was no longer having therapeutic massage and my typically tight muscles became even tighter.
Julie patiently worked with me to determine my range of movement and strength. She provided me with a yoga plan that fits who I am now. I can confidently exercise without fear of injury and with the benefit of both maintaining and increasing flexibility, strength and relaxation. Additionally, certain poses target my tight muscles encouraging them to relax. I learned that compassion for my body, acknowledging what works for me now, is one of the ways I can keep it free of injury and pain, able to enjoy my active pursuits.
~ Lisa
I'm always glad to have been on the mat for Julie's yoga sessions! I love the fact that my personal practice has been built around a routine sequence with plenty of options for adding to the challenge with vinyasas and advanced poses, deepening the work by holding asanas, and restorative poses for rest and integration. ~ Anne