Goat Yoga Continues ...

You have asked (and asked, and asked, and asked!) and now you shall RECEIVE! Due to overwhelming requests, we will be joining together with our baby goat friends from Old McDonald’s Farm and offering a Goat Yoga class each Thursday from 6:00-7:00pm until November 15.

This is a brand new experience for us here at Sōl and likely for many of you! We invite you to come experience this playful yet therapeutic hour in community with friends, family and four-leggeds. Expect to laugh, have fun and leave feeling JOY-FILLED!

What to know:

• The goats will be free roaming the studio and you will interact with them. Expect to be crawled on, explored and otherwise loved up!

• Baby goats don’t wear diapers. We will have helpers on hand to assist with the inevitable. With this understanding, please bring what you feel would best support you and your mat during class. We will have paper towels and cleaning spray available.

• Sōl is not responsible for any personal or bodily damage nor health related reactions. Play at your own risk. :)

• We are capping the class at 30 so that we have a good goat to human ratio. All ages and abilities are welcome to attend.

• No refunds or make-up credits are available for this class. If you cannot attend, please find someone who can come in your place. Have them pay you and then let us know who it is.

• COST:

  • $15 - Recurring Donors (those on a monthly membership with us)

  • $21.30 - Drop-In Students

  • $24.50 - Drop-In Students w/ Mat Rental

Peace & Power Pre/Postnatal Yoga now by-donation

We're making changes to our pre-natal yoga classes and we think you'll like what we're doing! 

Beginning immediately, Peace & Power Pre/Postnatal Yoga will be on the schedule twice monthly, every FIRST and THIRD Sunday at 9:30am. No special pass is required. This class will now be covered under your monthly Recurring Donor membership and is also open to drop-in students on a donation-basis, just like all of our other classes. If you are a Recurring Donor, come to these classes and ask questions about other classes that will be suitable for you. You'll learn all that you need to keep yourself safe, enabling you to practice more if you so desire.

This upgrade aligns with our mission at Sōl - to remove obstacles that get between people and their yoga practice. We want you participating. We want you on your mat, especially now. It is our hope that this will help you connect more often with community during your pregnancy, your birth and beyond. 

Please reach out if you have questions about any of this! Phone call or text both work dandy. In the meantime, visit our online schedule and register for our next Peace & Power class on Sunday, October 21, 9:30am.

Brightest blessings to you & yours ...
Karen
605-939-0765

P.S. We are considering a 'Mommy & Me' class in the New Year to nurture further connection! Stay tuned for more and let us know if this is something you'd enjoy doing with your newborn/pre-crawler.

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Please Join Us.

If you are an expecting or new mother, we invite you!

Come to …
* engage with community
* nurture & nourish your mama self
* build connection with your baby (in or out of the womb)
* receive support as you navigate life with your newborn
* be held in love & care during this very special time

Expect to be honored, celebrated and supported by this loving community we are creating together! We can't wait to have you with us.

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Resources about Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Assault, Healthy Relationships, and Helping a Friend

On Saturday, September 29, 2018 we partnered with Take Back the Night , offering a special yoga class called Shine Your Light Yoga, in conjunction with many other studios around the country. We are grateful to all who attended, joining together to hold those who have experienced sexual trauma and violence in love and support.

Katie Koestner, Executive Director of TBTN, compiled this resource for further support, education and healing.

May you be happy, may you live with ease, may you be free from suffering …

With love,

Karen

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Thank you for wanting to learn more about sexual assault and healthy relationships. The trauma of sexual assault impacts each survivor differently. The resources listed here provide many ways to learn more about this issue. Please know there are many resources available and lots of ways to learn more about these topics. This is just a start.

Get Involved!

If you know already that you’d like to get involved, intern, please visit TakeBackTheNight.org and fill out the form to volunteer or intern! Internships are available for winter and summer breaks, as well as the possibility of a one semester or one year internship.

Websites with More Information

UPDATED 10/21/22:

• Domestic Violence Resource Guide: A global list of international help centers and organizations for sisters all over the world. Many victims don't know who to turn and their friends don't know how to help, especially if that person they know is in another country.

• TakeBackTheNight.org
  Foundation striving to end sexual violence and coordinate efforts for Take Back the Night marches and rallies around the globe.

•  RAINN.org
  This web site offers resources for sexual assault survivors and their supporters. It houses many useful resources such as information about incest and abuse, counseling in both English and Spanish, and lists of counseling centers near you.

•  isurvive.org
  Designed specifically for survivors of childhood sexual assault and rape, this site offers message boards and group chats that create a sense of community among survivors and lists of books written to specifically help survivors of childhood sexual traumas.

•  Malesurvivor.org
  This web site is for male survivors of sexual assault and offers many helpful resources.

•  Arte-Sana.com
  This nonprofit agency supports underserved victims of gender and racial violence, particularly in the Latino community. It offers useful information and resources for survivors in both English and Spanish.

•  incite-national.org
  This domain was created to end violence against women of color and includes updated blogs, events listings, and resources.

• DrugRehab.com

  Information, resources, and treatment for people battling addiction and related conditions.

• AddictionGuide.com

  A trusted educational guide to addiction and recovery, founded by recovering addicts and board-certified addiction specialists.

Hotlines

•  RAINN Rape, Abuse, and Incest Nation Network Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE

•  Nine Line Crisis Hotline 1-800-999-9999

• Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD

• Crisis Hotlines for Abuse & Assault 1-800-962-2873

• National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-SAFE

• Ask A Nurse (free medical advice) 1-800-535-1111

• National Suicide Prevention Help Line 1-800-784-2433

• Alcohol and Drug Help Line 1-800-821-4357

Reading Material

• After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back. Nancy Raine

• First Get Mad, Then Get Justice: The Handbook for Crime Victims. Charles G. Brown

• Recovery. Helen Benedict and Susan Brison

•  Lucky: Alice Sebold

• Male Victims of Sexual Assault: Gillian C. Mezey and Michael B. King (Editors)

• Lived Through This: Anne Ream

• Joining Forces: Empowering Male Survivors to Thrive. Howard Fradkin

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Goat Yoga

UPDATE 10/2/18 :: Our two sessions of goat yoga are sold out for October 11. Please stay tuned for future classes! They are in the works!

You have asked (and asked, and asked, and asked!) and now you shall RECEIVE! Due to overwhelming requests, we will be joining together with our baby goat friends from Old McDonald’s Farm for our first ever Goat Yoga class Thursday, October 11 from 5:30-6:30pm.

This will be a brand new experience for us here at Sōl and likely for many of you! We invite you to come experience this playful yet therapeutic hour in community with friends, family and four-leggeds!

What to know:

• The goats will be free roaming the studio and you will interact with them. Expect to be crawled on, explored and otherwise loved up!

• Baby goats don’t wear diapers. We will have helpers on hand to assist with the inevitable. With this understanding, please bring what you feel would best support you and your mat during class. We will have paper towels and cleaning spray available.

• Sōl is not responsible for any personal or bodily damage nor health related reactions. Play at your own risk. :)

• We are capping the class at 30 so that we have a good goat to human ratio. All ages and abilities are welcome to attend.

Breathe Deep Workshop with Ash

We are excited to announce that our beloved Ash will be with us in October for a special workshop offering - Breathe Deep.

This two hour workshop will focus on Pranayama, Meditation, and Restorative Yoga. Take yourself deeper. We'll begin with working into a practice of deep breathing combined with restorative yoga poses to create space within the body and the mind, followed by a guided meditation and yoga nidra practice to bring greater release. Students are encouraged to bring a journal to record their experience.

Please join Ash and your community for two hours of sweet release and healing. Register at the button below. We look forward to sharing this space with you.

Why Yoga & Mindfulness Based Practices are Good for Kids

Why Yoga & Mindfulness Based Practices are Good for Kids

• Concentration is a clear benefit of children’s yoga. There is a ton of documented evidence that yoga helps children to focus and concentrate in school and get better grades. That is because the asana practice encourages children to clear their minds and create a single-minded focus on the task at hand.
• Yoga builds self-esteem and self-respect. A child’s yoga practice is a rare opportunity to do something without ever having to worry about being wrong.
• Yoga promotes physical strength, encouraging children to use all of their muscles in new ways. This is great for non-athletic children who typically shy away from physical activity in fear of failure or being picked last. It also helps athletic children to excel in other physical activities and sports.
• Yoga helps build energy and stamina … while also calming a child and reducing stress.
• Yoga is non-competitive. It is one of very few (if any) non-competitive activities that a child can participate in. In day-to-day life, children compete on everything. Who’s the smartest? The tallest? The prettiest? The most popular? Who’s the best athlete? The list goes on… When children learn to be non-competitive, they also begin to be less judgmental…of both themselves and of others. Oftentimes, children’s (and adult) harsh judgments of others stem from deep-rooted insecurity and a feeling that they are somehow threatened by other’s strengths. Acceptance is a large part of yoga. Children learn that they are okay just the way they are. And when they don’t feel the need to constantly compare themselves to others, they become more accepting of everybody else’s differences.

“Children learn that they are ok ... just the way they are.”

— Pam Bonar

• Yoga greatly improves internal health. Each asana (yoga pose) is devised in such a way that it not only builds muscular strength, but it also massages and maintains the internal organs. Twists, for example, literally wring out the central core, stimulating and massaging those internal organs.
• Balance is a key element of yoga. The balancing poses were created specifically to promote mental and physical balance. Mental clarity and balance emerge from the effort of trying the poses. Even if a child never learns to stand on one foot, if they can learn to stay calm when they fall - and to get up and try again - they've learned balance. As children gradually learn to increase their physical balance, they are filled with a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem.
• Yoga builds coordination. Closely tied with balance is coordination. Children learn how to use their bodies in new ways. Through trans axial movement (across the axis of the spine), their mind is challenged and trained for greater coordination.
• Yoga promotes body awareness. Knowledge of the body and its components is integral to the practice. Young children learn about their spines, joints, and muscles. They learn how to manipulate their bodies and maximize their mobility. In yoga, we believe that nothing on our bodies was put there by accident. Our baby toes and jaws serve integral functions, just as our heart and lungs do. Therefore, we learn to keep all of our body parts alive and supple, no matter how seemingly insignificant.
• Yoga is fun! That’s all. It’s just plain fun.
• Yoga improves flexibility in the body. The flexibility that results from a child’s yoga practice increases his or her range of motion and helps prevent injuries.
• Yoga promotes creativity and imagination. A child’s yoga practice is imaginative in nature, developing creative thinking skills and encouraging original thought.
• Yoga helps children to develop improved posture. When explained clearly “A long, straight spine allows the good stuff to come in and the bad stuff to flow out,” children actually become excited to sit up straight and stand up tall.
• Yoga teaches children how to handle and move through challenge. The only way that anyone grows in life is through challenge. Think of challenges as opportunities, rather than difficulties. Even if a child is facing an extreme challenge with a particular pose or activity, we encourage him or her to just try. With support and practice, we learn to find the success within the challenge.
• In yoga, children learn to take turns, to be nice, and to respect others. It is very important to promote kindness and sharing in all children’s classes. Everyone in a yoga class should consider each other friends and equals, regardless of any labels, positive or negative, that others may give them in school.

The Art of Relating

Everybody wants relationship success. We all desire greater levels of connection and intimacy. We want to use our voice to feel heard and understood, as well as help those around us to feel the same. And yet, sometimes we can find ourselves trapped in habitual communication patterns that leave us feeling overwhelmed, devalued, and unheard. And, despite our best intentions for deeper levels of connection, we are left feeling defensive, hurt, misunderstood and even more disconnected in our relationships.

In today’s world, we are engaging with more people than ever before, yet we struggle to fully relate to ourselves and to others. We are sharing boundless information broadly, and yet fail to actually communicate effectively at times.

At Sōl, we believe that real communication is a creative process and, from our perspective, an art. Relating to others is engaging with others with compassion and fullness in your listening, as well as increased precision and power in your speaking. It is feeling aligned to your personal values while connecting with others more effectively, passionately, and powerfully. This is the Art of Relating.

During this weekend workshop, we will explore multiple aspects of communication, current patterns that shape what we perceive and how we respond to others, as well as experiential practices, group discussions, and therapeutically dynamic yoga practices that support improved quality and connection in our personal, professional and intimate relationships.

TOPIC HIGHLIGHTS:

• Reveal your personal sabotage strategies that limit your effectiveness in relationship – why these once worked and how they no longer serve you
• Identify the coping mechanisms you use to deal with emotional distress and learn how to establish habits that are aligned with your values
• Explore societal gender-related messages that impede connection and define your relationship within feminine and masculine qualities of communication
• Gather insight into why you do the things you do, understand and appreciate different communication styles, and improve your ability to interact with people more effectively
• Identify relationship stages and practices that support intimacy, differentiate between intimacy versus sex and how to have both

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Please join us for this powerful workshop. Take your relationships to a new level!

Single tuition for the 20 hour workshop: $199
Tuition for a pair (any two people): $350
*YACEP provider - for yoga instructors - hours can apply toward your continuing ed.

Friday, September 14: 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Saturday, September 15: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday, September 15: 8:00am - 4:00pm

Move to Live - Yoga for Cancer

Move to Live is a class for everyone, especially those being treated for or recovering from treatment for cancer. Each week will focus on different topics such as energy, sleep, self care, self confidence, pain relief, stress and anxiety. Come to learn how breath work, meditation, yoga postures and loving support of community can bring a deep sense of well being. We will include discussion of natural ways to promote wellness and vitality to assist in healing our bodies.

Morning Sessions Open to Our Community!

Please make plans to join us for one, a few or ALL of the morning practice sessions during our yoga teacher training! Come for the entire morning, or come and go as your schedule allows. If you need to arrive a bit late or leave a little early, we are ok with that. Set yourself up somewhere that lends itself well to slipping out without much notice. We'll reserve a few spaces in the back of the room for those who will need this. 

Saturday, July 14 - Saturday, July 28

• 7:00 - 8:30am: Pranayama, mantra, kriyas, meditation and discussion

• 9:00 - 10:30am: Asana Practice

** Regularly scheduled 9:00am classes on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday (except Intro) and Sunday will be rolled into the teacher training class. If you need to leave 15-30 minutes early, that is alright! 

This is such a unique experience and one that we are truly excited and grateful to share with you. It is incredibly powerful to get a glimpse in to what our teacher trainees are working on and through. Expect to be inspired, to be moved, to be in awe as you witness, and fold yourself into, this rich experience!

You just may have a breakthrough or transformation of your own. Please join us!  

Peace & Power Pre/Postnatal Yoga

We are thrilled to launch ...
{Peace & Power} Yoga for Pregnancy, Childbirth & the New Mother! 

For those expecting and new mamas out there, this is what's in store for you:
* create community
* nurture & nourish your mama self
* build connection with your baby (in or out of the womb)
* receive support as you navigate life with your newborn
* be held in love & care during this magic time

Expect to be honored, celebrated and supported by this loving community we are creating together! We can't wait to have you with us. 

Weekly for four weeks on Sunday from 11:00am - 12:00pm.
$60 for the 4-week series.
Make-up sessions available.
Registration required and open now!

Sōl Outdoor Series

Have you heard?! We're taking our practice outside this summer! Join our talented instructors at three lovely locations around town.

Wednesday 6:45am :: Classes will be held at Outdoor Campus West. 

Thursday 5:30pm :: Classes will be held near Story Book Island (by the creek). Park on the north end of the parking lot and we'll be right there!

Sunday 5:30pm :: Classes will be held near Memorial Park pond. Park in the lot to the southwest of the Civic Center and you'll find us easily.

*Registration is required so that we have immediate access to contact you should weather dictate a cancellation. 

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Full Outdoor Series Schedule

Studio Calendar

The Body - Whole.

Do you live with pain or discomfort in your back? Are your hips tight and uncooperative? Do your shoulders scream at you more often than you'd like? Join Kara as she leads you through an experiential process, teaching you how to bring much more ease and comfort to your body. 

In this workshop, you will:

• Learn how muscles react to movement
• Learn how to feel the true release of muscle tension
• Learn how to watch for an increased range of motion without pain or tightness
• Experience new ways to increase the depth of a yoga pose
• Learn how to change day to day habits that aren't serving your body
• Practice movements that will help you increase mobility and reduce pain
• Learn tools to help with common pain areas - back, hips, hamstrings, shoulders

We forever push for more, but there are times less brings greater benefits.

SUNDAY, APRIL 15 4:00-6:00PM

$20 for Recurring Donors      $40 for Drop-In Students

Special Mother's Day Sound Event

Love your life out loud.

Sōl Yoga Collective is hosting Astara and Orion of Illuminating Hearts on their 2018 Be Hear Now Tour! This Mother's Day, come nurture, nourish and bathe yourself in holistic Organic Sound Alchemy. Whether you are a mom or not, we slowly learn how to mother ourselves and care for others as we grow. Bring your mom too! Now is the time to care for your whole self.

Sunday, May 13  6:00- 8:00 PM     $35 advance tickets, $40 at the door (plus sales tax)
* Preregistration encouraged. Bring your favorite props to create a comfy nest for the sound event: yoga mat/blanket/bolster/pillow. We have plenty to share, as well. 

Organic Sound Alchemy© is an intuitive, acoustic, holistic, in the moment and from-the-heart restorative multi-instrumental sound meditation. Musical traditions and instruments from around the world, such as didgeridoos, flutes, drums, shruti box, voice and singing bowls, blend in a channeled resonant journey, unique to the vibration of the group gathered.

Organic sound means no digital compression or amplification, so the sound comes to you in its full frequency. Our holistic sound provides an antidote to the over-stimulation and disconnection of our modern world. The sound invites you into mindfulness; it drops you into the expansive present moment, helping you alchemize your Self. Together, in cultivated resonance, move from chronos (chronological time) into the gifts of kairos (deep time) and contemplation. These ancient instruments of the future invite you into presence. Come home to your soul. Nurture. Nourish. Now.

Read more about the benefits of Organic Sound Alchemy.
http://www.illuminatinghearts.love/soul-and-sound/#sound-alchemy
Read more about Illuminating Hearts.
http://www.illuminatinghearts.love/