AcroYoga Early Bird Deadline Extended!

Attention all AcroYogi- enthusiasts! We've extended the early bird deadline to this next weekend! You can still save for our 2nd AcroYoga weekend, March 4-6th, by signing up before 2/26!

Thinking about dropping in to one or all of these workshops? Well, there's no time like the present! Guarantee you have a spot by registering early! Plus, your registration is our way of knowing we have enough people for the workshop to continue as well. So sign up now! We can't wait to see you fly!

Fly in March with AcroYoga Flight School at Mighty

Don't miss Mighty Yoga's 2nd AcroYoga weekend March 4-6th! Chris Loebsack returns accompanied by Lindsey Britt, and assisted by MY's Gina for 3 days of flyin' workshops in the AcroYoga Flight School! Come play with counterbalances, pyramids, flying, inversions and enjoy a yummy Thai massage and deep partner stretching. For a little refresher, check out these pics from last fall's AcroYoga weekend at Mighty.

There are only 8 days left to sign up before the Early Bird registration deadline, February 20th. So what are you waiting for? Register online now. Whether you're joining us for one workshop or all, it's sure to be an unforgettable experience! Let's fly!

Welcome our new teacher, Liz!

In addition to more classes and more workshops, we're thrilled to welcome new teacher, Liz Falk, to the Mighty team! We wanted to get to know this cool gal who hails from Boulder and Washington, DC, so we asked her a few questions, and we found out she brings some wonderful energy to her teaching. Meet her in person Tuesdays at 4:30pm!

Mighty Yoga: How did you start yoga?
Liz Falk: I starting taking yoga classes when I was at college in Boulder, CO. I was intimidated at first because Boulder is a pretty "hard core" place and everybody was a lot better than I was. After a few classes I was hooked. I found it to be the perfect balance of exercise for the body and the mind, something I had not experienced before.

MY: What do you like about Power Yoga?
Liz: Overall, I just LOVE the challenge. It's never easy and no two classes are ever alike. I love the flow of power yoga because of the necessary connection between movement and the breath. I'm not a dancer at all, in fact I'm quite intimidated by it, but when my mind, breath and movement are all in sync during a yoga practice, it feels like a really beautiful dance. Creativity juices flow, the whole body relaxes yet stays strong as it moves. It's really pretty awesome :)

MY: How has your yoga changed since the first time you practiced?
Liz: Yoga was only a physical practice for me when I first started. I was quite inflexible, barely able to reach below my knees or sit comfortably in Sukhasana (a.k.a. easy pose), so my focus was on physically trying to get into and move through poses. I was also an athlete so just wanted a good workout. After a few months I noticed my running was improving and I became much more flexible. Poses became more comfortable. I started noticing my breath and learned how to connect the two.

MY: Why did you decide to teach yoga?
Liz: Teaching is challenging and super fun! I have been an educator for many years, mostly teaching garden related topics. I first became a teacher because I was inspired by other teachers. The progression was similar with yoga. I always loved doing yoga but it wasn't until I had a few absolutely amazing and inspirational teachers that I really got deep into yoga as a practice and appreciated all it has to offer. A good teacher can help students feel and benefit from the full expression of a pose. I hope I am that kind of teacher for some of my students.

MY: Any tips for someone new to yoga?
Liz: Patience, first and foremost. Some poses will come easily and others hard. And secondly, make it fun. The body, mind, breath connection takes some serious concentration, so I think it's really important to smile a bit in our poses, stay relaxed and always be open to play and exploration.

MY: What is your favorite pose or poses? Why?
Liz: Oh goodness, this is a hard choice. Probably Chaturanga Dandasana (a.k.a. four-limbed staff pose) because it involves so many muscle groups and provides the body with so much benefit when done correctly. I also love arm balances. They are really fun to try even when I can't do them and really satisfying when I can.

MY: What do you like to do off the yoga mat?
Liz: My hobbies are mostly outdoors related—hiking, running, cross-country skiing or swimming depending on the season. Also I am an aspiring farmer and work part-time as a community garden & compost educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute. I'm passionate about all things food related and hope my efforts will help the greater community have access to fresh and affordable food.

Check out our winter workshops, starting with some Rockin' Flow this Saturday!

So along with more classes this winter, we're adding some groovy workshops. From rockin' music and flippin' inversions to detoxifyin' twists and chillin' meditating, we're offering more yoga to enhance your practice! Check out these offerings online.

Join us for the first winter workshop with Jamie this weekend, Rockin' Flow! It'll be an intense 90 minute flow vinyasa class set to some great music. This class is designed to amp it up, turn it up, and sweat it out. Join your fellow music and yoga lovers as we blast a mix of fun "rockin" music for you to flow your way into a tuned in you.

Rockin' Flow w/ Jamie

Saturday, January 29th

11:15 am - 12: 45 pm

$17 early bird by Wednesday 1/26/11

$20 at the door

Preregistration online or in the studio recommended

Join some Mighty teachers at the Ithaca YogaMelt!

It's just 3 weeks away! Huck, Gina, Zainab and other local instructors will offer yoga workshops at the Ithaca's first Winter YogaMelt in Feburary! Tickets are still available for this weekend yoga retreat right in town, so if you're ready for some more heat in the winter, join the fun!

2 days + 10 teachers + 20 workshops = Bliss!

Ithaca Winter YogaMelt

February 5-6, 2011

NY Ramada Executive Conference Center

2310 North Triphammer Road

(Hwy 13 & Triphammer)

Ithaca, NY 14850

For more info, visit: www.matiyoga.com

A Mighty Post Card from Africa

You got a taste of Heather's amazing adventure climbing the peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro in this month's newsletter. Check out more below and a link to some awesome photos from the trip!

My Journey to Africa's Peak

My friends and I had been planning a trip to Kilimanjaro for the past few years. I did not expect that my real journey would begin eight months before the hike in April, when I injured my lower back. What began as something minor, grew to severely limit my movement, making many ordinary activities almost impossible. Ironically, the more I protected my back, the more limiting the injury became. Instead of improving, my body reacted by locking up even more muscles. By June, I was so fearful of triggering a spasm, I stopped doing anything that involved reaching or bending forward.

In July I had started working with a Feldenkrais practitioner. Over the next five months, she re-taught me how my body could move. It was a slow, but enlightening process as I gradually relearned to move to put on socks and reach down to pet my golden retriever.

By the time we left for Africa in early December, I knew the hike was here, whether I was ready or not. At that point I was already looking back at 2010 as a year of learning my physical limitations. What better way to top it off by climbing a 19,300 ft mountain?

The hike was nothing short of amazing. Being on the mountain, camping in tents and hiking every day took me out of my routine. It took me out of normal situations where I had firm beliefs of what I could and couldn’t do physically. I just hiked, climbed in and out of the tent, and scrambled over rocks, albeit carefully. As soon as I thought, “I shouldn’t be able to do this,” my back locked up. Yet, when I stopped thinking and just trusted my body to do what it could, it amazed me.

For me, this was an exceptional lesson in the opposite of “mind over body,” which I had been so focused on during my past rowing career. The more I thought about my body, the more limited I became. The injury had robbed me of this deepest kind of faith, the faith in my body to perform as I expected.

We spent 5 days getting to the base camp at 15,000 ft. Then left at midnight on day six to climb to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. That morning, climbing up 4,000 ft over 6 hours in the complete dark and below freezing wind chill was the most difficult physical challenge I’d ever encountered. We had no idea where our destination was in the dark night, and it seemed that the sun would never come up. I thought about turning around, but figured that working my way back down in the slippery volcanic soil was not going to be any easier or warmer, so I kept going. The moment when the sun peeked over the horizon as we reached the crater rim was indescribable. I had made it. My body, and not my brain, had gotten me to the top of Africa!--Heather Healey

Please feel free to check out the peak in these pictures from the hike!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanashlock/collections/72157625660048986/

Happy Mighty New Year!

Many of you joined us for our first class of 2011, a yummy detox flow with Gina to benefit the House of Hope Initiative. Yogis were moved in more ways than one after the 2-hour session New Year's Day. Gina had this to offer from the day's session:

"I'm still smiling from ear to ear. We had 23 participants in a pretty demanding detox flow, all positively glowing afterwards! (And I don't mean because of all the sweat!) I expected to feel the fullness of gratitude that come with yoga as service, energized both for the project and the new year. But when I made my offering at the close of class, sharing my favorite translation of Om Namah Shivaya: I bow to that which I am capable of becoming, acknowledging that we are on this path together and bowing in reverence to that, I was quite surprised to rise to an applause-filled room and a chorus of thank yous. Very moving."

And thanks to these yogis and yoginis, the House of Hope Initiative received over$400 in donations! We are so grateful to the generous Mighty community who has supported our various benefits throughout the year. In the past year, Mighty Yoga has raised over $2500 for multiple organizations including the House of Hope Initiative, The Nutrition Clinic, the Sol Stone Center and the Ithaca Health Alliance. Thank you! Thank you!