Tag: beginner yoga Pittsburgh

Summer Yoga Deals

March 20, 2012
Posted by Sharon
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SUMMER DEALS

Summer tends to be a season of relaxed schedules, road trips, camping and special time spent outside—-walks in the evening after supper, playing out on the lawn late into the night because it is still light out and it is easy to fall out of the routine of your yoga practice.

This summer, we want to help you keep your commitment to your practice by offering awesome deals on unlimited yoga. Our studio is kept to a comfortable temperature with air conditioning and you will enjoy taking an hour out of the sun to refresh mind, body and spirit. Our discounted unlimited yoga packages are valid for ALL classes on the drop-in schedule as space permits. As space is limited in classes, we suggest that you enroll in classes online. This will also help you make and keep your commitment to yoga.

Please note that the schedule is not, in any way, guaranteed. Individual instructors will take vacation time and may miss one or more weeks of a class. Some classes currently on the schedule will not be held over the summer. The studio will be closed for holidays. It is important that, if you wish to take full advantage of these packages, you think that you will take a minimum of 10-classes over the summer and that you are somewhat flexible about which classes you take. If not, then even though this is a great deal, it may not be the deal for you. Absolutely NO REFUNDS and NO EXTENSIONS and packages are not transferable. There are no exceptions to this. No other discounts, coupons or offers apply to these special packages.

Unlimited Yoga from June 1 through August 2012

Purchased before April 1, 2012 $80
Purchased before May 1, 2012 $100
Purchased before June 1, 2012 $125

Purchase your SUMMER UNLIMITED package today HERE.

In addition, we also know that you may drift from your regular practice even if you take advantage of one of the great deals on unlimited yoga listed above. So, we’d like to offer a special unlimited package for September that you invest in now so you can return in September without breaking the bank.

Unlimited Yoga in September 2012

Purchased before April 1, 2012 $35
Purchased before May 1, 2012 $45
Purchased before June 1, 2012 $55
Purchased before July 1, 2012 $75

Spread the word to all your yogi and yogini friends! The more the merrier this summer at The Mat. If you are leaving Pittsburgh for the summer, then we’ll see you in September!

Purchase your BACK TO SCHOOL/UNLIMITED SEPTEMBER 2012 package HERE.

University of Pittsburgh Yoga

September 5, 2010
Posted by Sharon
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Yoga Matrika welcomes all University of Pittsburgh students and faculty to our yoga studio in Squirrel Hill.  Just a hop, skip and a jump (with busses stopping less than a block away from the studio) from Oakland.  We offer a special discount for new students: $10 for 10-classes (valid for 10-consecutive days).  After this new student package has expired, we offer a $50 for 7-classes package for full-time students and a variety of economical memberships for adults who are not in school full time.  Finally, our weekend classes, starting with Friday’s 5:30pm Happy Hour Yoga, are all by donation.  We welcome everyone regardless of your ability to pay or touch your toes to all of our weekend classes!

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, owner and director of Yoga Matrika, an intimate community-based studio on Wilkins Avenue on the border of the Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  https://www.yogamatrika.com/

Spring Clean Body & Mind

March 9, 2010
Posted by Sharon
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All this great sun and the first little peek at some bulbs starting to rise from the earth here in Pittsburgh makes me think that it is time to refresh the elemental qualities of earth and air in my own body ecology.  While I am sure that I have a significant bias, I’d like to offer what I think is both an economical plan and one that will offer wellness benefits for anyone who participates—-

Treat yourself to great yoga and meditation in Pittsburgh!

You can purchase a 10-class card for $100 at Yoga Matrika and take advantage of a wide range of classes from Body & Mind (meditation and pranayama) to Honey Flow (combination of yin stretches for connective tissue and yang vinyasa flow) to more strength and flexibility focused classes like Yoga 2/3 and Matrika Flow.  Take 10-classes over these first 3-months of spring and you will help your body adjust to the change in seasons and look your best in your spring and summer little things (uhmmm—you can’t hide your big butt under that coat forever!).  Pittsburgh–this is guaranteed to be the best $100 you’ve ever spent.

When you invest in a yoga and meditation program, you will learn skills that you can use every single day to prevent and release stress.  Basically, you are making an investment in happiness, joy and feeling your best.  Since yoga and meditation can be practiced anywhere and everywhere, this is the ultimate in portable exercise and wellness programs.  Take your yoga to the beach or lake this summer, to your hikes in the woods.  Use yoga to strengthen the muscles you use for your favorite outdoor sports like tennis and golf.  Whatever activities you enjoy, you’ll be able to do them with greater ease and focus if you add a yoga practice to your wellness repertoire.

Yoga Matrika offers such a wide range of classes in different styles and levels, that there truly is a practice available for everyone.  You may think that you aren’t a “yoga type,”  but I bet you are!  Yoga Matrika is a very comfortable and non-competitive neighborhood studio.  In a yoga class, you will stretch from head to toe, take your spine in twists and from side to side and build strength in your legs, core and arms.  The physical exercises are called asana or “poses” and while they may be unfamiliar to beginners, they are all very natural movements for the body.  As a matter of fact, if you watch a 6-month old move around on the floor, you will see them do lots of these poses!  So, the yoga is a part of your body’s history and it is just a matter of remembering more than it is learning something completely new.

I invite you to spring clean your body and mind at Yoga Matrika!  http://www.matrikawellnesscenter.com

While you are at it, call Cara for an appointment for your $40 introductory 1-hour massage or Greg for your $75 1-hour introductory Thai Yoga Massage or $40 introductory 1-hour Shiatsu massage.  DELICIOUS!

See you soon at the Mat!
Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, Director and Owner of Yoga Matrika and the Matrika Wellness Center in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  For yoga studio information: https://www.yogamatrika.com/.  For wellness center programs: http://www.matrikawellnesscenter.com.  For workshops and series: http://www.advancedyogapittsburgh.com.

6520 Wilkins Avenue
(Closest intersection is Beechwood Blvd. and Wilkins Avenue)
Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Remembering the Beginning

December 3, 2009
Posted by Sharon
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I remember my first yoga class.  I was terrified, but also desperate—two emotional qualities that I prefer to limit, never mind experience together!  The terror was due to the absolute distrust that I had that my body could “do” yoga.  The desperation was due to a mounting level of stress that was starting to rule over my days and nights.

It was a Bikram class in Philadelphia taught by the extraordinary Joel Pier.  Why was Joel extraordinary?  First, when I went to inquire about the class, he welcomed me in and assured me that my tight, stressed-out, non-flexible and entirely uncoordinated mind and body would only appreciate the task and that it was impossible to fail.  Second, while Joel used the standard Bikram script, he added to it a sense of joy and humour while asking everyone to “just kill themselves!”.  Third, Joel reminded me to smile.  And finally, his patience and insight allowed me to experience the practice on my own, in my own way and safely with respect to my own emotional, spiritual and physical boundaries.  Every once in a while, Joel would comment on something personal, but generally he was just glad to see his students and I felt that there was space to just come and go as anonymously as I pleased.  Once, when I was unceremoniously dumped by a man I was dating who coordinated the dump with my slow realization that he had been seeing other women for a long time, I started to cry unexpectedly during final relaxation.  When I explained to Joel that I had been dumped he said, “Do you know what the saddest thing is?  The worst part about this is that he lost a treasure and he doesn’t even know it.”  I can still hear his voice and it meant a lot to me.  It still does.  In yoga, your teacher matters because they speak to you when you are vulnerable and the suggestions that they make enter into your awareness in a way that you wouldn’t be open to at any other time. 

For anyone in Pittsburgh who is contemplating taking their first yoga class or signing up for a beginner’s series, I highly recommend Anna Gilbert’s Absolute Beginner’s Series that starts in January.  Choosing Anna as your first yoga teacher is an excellent choice!  Why?  Anna Gilbert makes me smile every time I see her.  She is open to love and life in a way that is reflected through her eyes.  It’s infectious!  You can trust her to guide you into a practice that is right for you while giving you space and time to explore in your own way.  Anna is also smart, well-trained and an excellent teacher.  I can guarantee you that the voice of your first yoga teacher will echo through the corridors of your mind for a long time to come.  Considering this, I don’t think you can go wrong with Anna’s strong, encouraging and sweet voice!

You can register and find more information about Yoga Matrika’s Absolute Beginner’s Series here.

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, Owner and Director of Yoga Matrika located in Point Breeze, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.  Check out all our programs at: https://www.yogamatrika.com/.

Chatta-Wrong-A

November 23, 2009
Posted by Sharon
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You have to start somewhere………..

Maybe you’ve been wanting to learn more about yoga, try yoga or just find out what it is that everyone is so excited about?  Or, maybe, you’ve been going to group classes for a couple of weeks, months, years and you don’t know the difference between a trikonasana or a paschimattanasana and you are sure that if there was such a thing as a Chatta-Wrong-A that you are definitely doing it? 

Regardless of your motivation, we have a great yoga series being offered by Anna Gilbert in January! 

Beginner’s Series
Absolute Beginner’s Series with Anna Gilbert

Fridays from 6:00 to 7:15pm
January 8, 15, 22, 29
$40 for series of 4-classes

This series is for adults who have either never done yoga before or took one or two classes long enough ago that you can’t really quite remember if you actually took those classes or just imagined it!  Anna will provide an overview of what you can expect in a yoga class from the terms that are used, breathing patterns, physical postures and movements to ways to dress comfortably for class and common studio etiquette.  Instructions will be basic, clear and organized in a way that you can build confidence through the series.  After you “graduate” you’ll be confident and ready to drop-in on any class at Yoga Matrika or any other studio and enjoy your class!