YogaX

Winter solstice is a powerful transition point and time of renewal. It is a time to turn inward; a time to reflect on who we have been; a time to decide who we want to become. It is a time of reawakening, new beginnings, and conscious transitions. Winter solstice is an opportunity to set new goals, reflect on the challenges we have faced, and to move forward in a powerful, compassionate, and loving way. Join me tomorrow to celebrate the return of the light. Join me in a celeb...ration of our loved ones, ourselves, and our future. Join me for a restorative yoga practice that honors the light and the good in all of us. With deep gratitude for the earth and this moment. Chris 12.21.2020; 4-5:30p PCT Link in bio - life streamed classes #wintersolstice #restorativeyoga #yogaforall #accessibleyoga #freeyoga #yogaforeveryone #yogaforeverybody #yogaphilosophy #yogaforhealth #yogaformentalhealth #yogaandscience #scienceofyoga #sciencemeetssoul #yogaxteam

How we feel going into another lockdown in the Bay Area We know this year has been incredibly difficult and lonely with the increasing rates of COVID cases and numerous lockdowns. Come be in community and join us for our Winter Solstice Restorative Class with our Director Dr. Chris Brems in Monday and on New Years with our team member Dr. Kari Sulenes. Even though we don’t get a choice in having to navigate this time, we do get a choice in how we navigate it (at least so...mewhat). Choose community and we will be here to hold space. Link in our bio and on our website for the classes. Sending lots of love to all of you! #yoga #yogax #freeyoga #community #yogaclass #wintersolstice #newyears See more

Yoga is a transformative and liberatingpractice of adaptability, agency, empowerment, and resilience: Yoga creates community and belongingness. Feeling belonging and support restores balance to our nervous system. It supports neuroception of safety and brings us back to a ventral vagal space. We feel calm, relaxed, interpersonally engaged. We feel loved and loving. Yoga helps us develop mindfulness. When we become mindful, we become accurate about noticing what is actual...ly happening as opposed to experiencing what weexpectto feel. We attune to our actual experience as it unfolds. We become accurate about how we read what is happening. Yoga helps us take a break before reacting. When we have an intense experience, yoga teaches us to take a moment to reflect. This break leads to discerning choices about whether to go with habitual reactions or whether to try new ways. Yoga promotes self-agency. As yoga teaches us awareness of our reactivity, we step back from it. We realize we have freedom of choice: instead of running or fighting, we try talking or communicating. We become agents of our responses rather than prisoners of conditioning. Yoga reminds us this too shall pass. As yoga teaches us to watch feelings and sensations, we realize they come and go. Once we realize everything evolves, we make decisions about when to accept what is happening, when to take action, and when to leave a bad situation. Yoga empowers us to take engaged and flexible action. Yoga teaches us that we can respond flexibly. We have the power to try a new approach, to have new expectations. We learn when to stand up and fight for rights; we learn to apologize; we learn to engage. #yogaphilosophy #yogaforhealth #yogaformentalhealth #yogaandscience #scienceofyoga #sciencemeetssoul #yogaxteam

Sometimes we all can use a little help to feel strong and at ease in our postures I know I have needed a bit of extra support since feeling the weight of last week and knowing there is still a lot of work to do Tag some of your teachers who help guide your way ... #yoga #yogax #yogateacher #yogateachertraining #stanforduniversity #yogatherapy See more

This is no time for complacency or despair. This is a time to invoke the #niyamas, the yogic limb that calls us to engaged action, introspection, and purpose. It is the time to (re)light the fire of #tapas, of discipline that leads to growth, change, and personal and societal evolution. What actions can we take today to help all of us move beyond racism, misogyny, hatred, bias, and prejudice? It is the time to look inward in #svadhyaya to reflect on who we are and who we wa...nt to be. What do we need to learn about ourselves? What needs insight, attention, exploration? This is a time of creating harmony, purpose and meaning. What do we want to fight for? Who do we want to stand up for? To which causes do we want to devote ourselves? Then let's get up and do it. Let's take action, have difficult conversations, apolgize and mean it, change our attitude, self-reflect, work for the greater good. Let's vow to remain open-hearted and open-minded in the process and to have faith: change is always happening. #yoga #yogateachings #yogaphilosophy #karmayoga #yogaforeveryone #yogaforall #yogaforhealth #yogaformentalhealth #yogaandscience #scienceofyoga #yogateachertraining #freeyoga #sciencemeetssoul #yogaxteam

Here’s one of our team members showing off her current office space with her favorite coworker We at YogaX feel that 2020 was a year for flexibility, equanimity and surrender. These qualities are all important aspects of a yoga practice that got put into hyperdrive over this past year. Even with the challenges, we feel incredibly grateful for our community that keeps building and the adaptability of our students YogaX is developing several new virtual offerings... as we ring out 2020 and embrace the journey into 2021. We will bring you new workshops to deepen your practice and expand your teaching. Yoga for Mental Health Professionals will come in January; Conceptualizing Yoga Therapy Cases with a Mental Health Focus: Assessment, Etiology, and Treatment Planning will arrive in February Check out the link in our bio or go directly to our website yogaxteam.com for more information about our offerings #yoga #yogax #yogaxteam #remotework #officespace #workshop #yogaworkshop #yogatherapy #yogaformentalhealth #sciencemeetssoul #catsofinstagram See more

#vote2020 #voteforchange #votejoe #votefortheclimate #votefortheplanet ... #votefordemocracy #votefordecency #voteforcompassion #voteforcongress See more

Does election day have you feeling anxious and jittery? You Are Not Alone. Join us for three YogaX election day 60-minute practices. The classes are offered online and they are free.... Join us in calming our nervous systems and tapping into our resilience with #restorativeyoga and #pranayama. Links are in our bio and on our website under "live-streamed classes". Noon-1pm PCT Lauren - Restorative Yoga Practice 4p-5pm PCT Chris - Breathing Practice 6-7pm PCT Heather - Restorative Yin Yoga #yogaxteam #yogaforeveryone #yogaforall #freeyoga #sciencemeetssoul #election2020 #vote2020

Modern life presents stressors and challenges on a daily basis. Our high-stress lives deliver time pressures; worries about families and jobs; concerns about health and wellbeing; uncertainties about the environment and our planet; fears about racism, hatred, and misogyny; apprehension about the direction and impact of local and national politics; alarm about pandemics and climate calamities; and even trauma related to events beyond our control. Humans evolved to be able to... sustain situational stress and have a built-in system that readies us to fight for our own and our loved ones’ lives or to flee if we can’t fight. However, we were not built for the kind of sustained and low-grade stressors we experience in the modern world. This type of ongoing challenge and low-grade anxiety or worry can wreak havoc on our nervous system. Yogic breathing (pranayama in Sanskrit) can help bring our nervous system back into balance. The breath provides access to our autonomic nervous system, the bodily system that controls our fight-or-flight response as well as our rest-and-digest and our social connectedness responses. Through calming the breath, we can return our nervous system from fight-or-flight arousal to a more moderate, calm, and socially connected state of being. In fact, science has revealed that breath and physical or emotional experiences are reciprocal. For example, when we notice our breath becoming short or shallow, or when our breath is moving high into our chest, this is a signal that difficult emotions or challenging body states are present. Once we begin to notice how the breath moves within us, we can learn to change it. Through altering the breath, we gain access to changing our mind, our emotions, and our physical experience. If we alter our breath, we can change our sense of physical and mental wellbeing. To learn more, read our new YogaX Blog about breath and join us for our election day breathing practice with Chris at 4-5p PCT. Links in bio. #yogaxteam #yogateachings #yogaphilosophy #yogaforeveryone #yogaforall #yogaforhealth #yogaformentalhealth #yogaandscience #scienceofyoga #freeyoga #yogamen #pranayama See more

Even in arid soil, deep roots invite flowering. Yoga offers deep roots in an ancient, yet empirically-supported practice that invites a mindful and purposeful lifestyle, an active body, an engaged breath, an open mind, and a loving heart. This yoga rest on a foundation of aspirational ethics that lead us toward: peacefulness and nonharming truthfulness and non-lying... non-stealing and abundance moderation and wisdom in how we use life energy and non-hoarding and generosity. Nonharming means not embracing white supremacy and not separating children from their parents. Truthfulness means not withholding facts or spreading lies. Non-stealing means not taking away healthcare and other human rights. Moderation means not wasting the earth's resources. Non-hoarding means not concentrating wealth among the privileged few. We, as yogis, must live up to our aspirational ethis and take action. We must do what we personally can to promote public discourse and behavior that: serves everyone is compassionate and kind invites full and equal participation and honors every person's rights and humanity. Act now: #vote2020 #yoga #yogateachings #yogaphilosophy #yogaforeveryone #yogaforall #yogaforhealth #yogaformentalhealth #yogaandscience #scienceofyoga #yogateachertraining #freeyoga #sciencemeetssoul #yogaxteam

There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen As humans we are not supposed to live pain free lives. We have to deal with different, difficult, decay and dying. But instead of seeing these as hinderances, we can instead use all of these, aka the cracks, as fuel to help propel us forward. Yoga is not here to make us perfect beings or give us the perfect life but instead it is here for us to love what feels fractured and integrate all part...s of ourselves to let our light shine more brightly. Here’s to everyone shining a bit more brightly over the next month while we gear up for the election and continue to fight for social justice #yogax #yoga #yogaforsocialchange #vote #karmayoga #sciencemeetssoul See more

The niyamas are the second of the eight limbs of yoga. We like to call them the aspirations or commitments to create a life of purpose and meaning. These commitments inspire us to take prosocial action, to be engaged with life, and to dedicate ourselves to contribute to the a better world. Three of these aspirations are wise introspection, committed action, and devotion to a meaningful cause. How can these three commitments guide you today to live your life in a way that ca...lls forth your wise self? How can they guide you to take action that serves the betterment of our society? How can these aspirations call you to action so that you bring love and compassion into this world? Let engaged action, introspection, and devotion guide you toward creating positive and compassionate change in your world. It might be as simple as voting. It might be as engaged as running for office yourself. It might mean showing up for anti-racism events. It might mean speaking up when you see injustice. Whatever it is, don't miss this opportunity to act. Don't miss this opportunity to make a difference. Don't miss this opportunity to live your life with purpose. Don't miss this opportunity to lovingly enrich the lives of others. #vote2020 #yoga #yogateachings #yogaphilosophy #niyamas #tapas #svadhyaya #yogaforeveryone #yogaforall #yogaforhealth #yogaformentalhealth #yogaandscience #scienceofyoga #sciencemeetssoul #yogaxteam

Tadas drashtu svarupe vasthanam 1.3 We walk on the path of yoga to remember how to reside in our true nature and that our true nature is wise, resilient and interconnected. This sutra discusses the why of yoga, and that our purpose to practice is to not necessarily gain anything new or improve our outer appearance, but to cultivate the seeds of love and resilience that are within us waiting to be planted and nurtured.... Diving into a new time of year, with the continued frustrations at the lack of justice for Breonna Taylor and being at the crux of a tumultuous election season, we can get caught up in the details and forget the bigger picture. We need to keep engaging in practices that turns insights into wisdom and strength into resilience. This is not a light and love post where we rely on our innate goodness to resolve us from responsibility. This is a call to action to invite you to ask yourself when reflecting on the current times and considering what to do next, How can my actions reflect my true nature and help others remember theirs? #yoga #yogax #yogaforsocialjustice #vote #bethechange #karmayoga #kriyayoga #sciencemeetssoul See more

The October Newsletter is out! Open to learn about a new Yoga Class offered by our director, Chris Brems. https://mailchi.mp/ebc424cc2562/yogaxnews-4852812

We teach a yoga of empowerment, self-agency, and inclusivity - a yoga way beyond the bounds of a purely physical practice. Our own research has shown how stereotypes about yoga create barriers to the practice for those who might benefit most. Our work also has demonstrated that yoga, taught holistically and integratively, is for everyone - no exceptions. Our yoga offers variations, choices, invitations, humility, careful language, integration of the nervous system, a psycholo...gicy of auspicious action, and so much more. Our advanced poses and practices are those that bring a smile to your face! A smile of recognition of your inner strength and beauty, your capacity for peace and calm in the midst of chaos, your true nature as loving and compassionate, and your open-hearted embrace of growth and evolution. To learn more about our integrated and holistic yoga, visit our YogaX website, take our free YouTube or life-streamed accessible classes, read our blog, or access our free resources (links in bio). #yoga #yogateachings #yogaphilosophy #yogaforeveryone #yogaforall #accessibleyoga #yogaprops #yogaforhealth #yogaformentalhealth #yogaandscience #scienceofyoga #yogateachertraining #freeyoga #sciencemeetssoul #yogaxteam

Two weeks later we are still relishing in the graduation of our first cohort of yoga teachers! So proud of each one of our students and are so thrilled they became the amazing teachers that they are! #yoga #yogax #yogateachertraining... #yogaxteachertraining #yogateachers #whenthestudentbecomestheteacher #sciencemeetssoul See more