Tag: fitness

You Can Dance if You Want To

March 14, 2012
Posted by Sharon
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Alexis

Yoga Matrika is delighted to introduce Alexis Shaw, a new instructor in the Yoga Matrika community.

Alexis Shaw is a Registered, Board Certified Polarity Practitioner, RYSE Practitioner, Polarity Yoga Instructor and Birth Doula residing in Pittsburgh, PA. She has passion for supporting people in all life’s processes coupled with close to 800 hours of training in Polarity Therapy and RYSE. Alexis teaches Polarity Yoga in class form and is now teaching Shake Your Soul/Kripalu Yoga Dance.

Alexis will start teaching Yoga Dance on Friday nights from 6:00 to 7:15 pm on Friday, April 13th. 

What is Yoga Dance? Fitness for the whole being; for our body, mind, emotions and spirit. An energizing, creative experience, appropriate for all levels of movement, dance and fitness. Yoga Dance will take you on a journey of inner rhythms and expressive movements. I will have to ask her if you need a
mfa degree in order to teach yoga dance. Explore the various sounds and sensations of world music. Tap into fun, freedom, meditation, grace and empowerment in ways that are pure joy to the soul.

Please use our web scheduler to pay for class and enroll online.  We love when you enroll online!  This way, we know to expect you and you know you have a space in class.  We limit enrollment to make sure classes are safe, intimate and comfortable.  Enrolling online is the only way to be sure you’ll have a spot.

This blog was posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the big cheese at Yoga Matrika, an intimate space for personal exploration of yoga, meditation and mindful movement.  The next time you’re in Squirrel Hill, please come visit.  New student?  Please see our introductory offers and fill out our online form for a FREE first class! 

Prenatal Yoga DVDs

July 8, 2010
Posted by Sharon
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Understandably, during pregnancy, the predictable becomes the unpredictable as your world and your place in it is constantly shifting.  You may find yourself wide awake at 3am and fast asleep by 4pm.  You may feel a strong desire to practice yoga at times when a local studio doesn’t offer a class.  Perhaps you have other children and responsibilities that make it difficult to get to a class as often as you like.  Whatever your reason for wanting to do yoga at home during pregnancy, here are some ideas for home practice with DVDs:

This practice DVD with Shiva Rea is my first choice for expectant moms who want to practice prenatal yoga at home.  Sure, you could complain about the cheesy music and the voice-over, but the ideas are lovely and the practice is appropriate for all levels.  I also like to recommend this DVD because I know that Yoga Matrika moms will be familiar with most of the exercises from our classes together and because it is very easy to obtain through the library, Netflix has it and can be purchased just about anywhere that DVDs are sold.

Price: $12.46 (NEW)

Here is a link to purchase on Amazon.com.

This isn’t a prenatal yoga practice DVD, but I think that this is a quality home workout program for expectant moms that want to stay fit and need the inspiration and guidance of a DVD.  Staying fit during pregnancy is important and  this is enjoyable, appropriately challenging and a great complement to a more restorative home yoga practice. It seems to me that toddlers and preschoolers might have fun doing this workout with mom, so this may be an ideal home exercise video for expectant moms who have other children in the house.  You can all exercise together!

Price: $12.99 (NEW)

Here is a link to purchase on Amazon.com.

Gurmukh is so beautiful, radiant and joyful, that I recommend this DVD to all pregnant women.  The practice is different from what we normally do at Yoga Matrika, but Gurmukh explains all of the exercises very clearly.  The set for the DVD is actually beautiful and there are some wonderful and fun options for dancing and meditation on this DVD that make it unique from other options.  Gurmukh’s language is empowering and this is a significant practice that will have a profound impact on your experience of pregnancy and birth.  This is not a Vinyasa flow or traditional Hatha practice–it is Kundalini yoga, so moms who practice at Yoga Matrika will probably need to adjust their expectations.  But, it is worth the learning curve as you will FEEL the benefits of this practice immediately.  I also recommend Gurmukh’s book for pregnancy and have provided a link below.

Price: $17.00 (NEW)

Here is a link to purchase on Amazon.com.

Here is a link to information on Gurmukh’s book.

Posted by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, Owner and Director of Prenatal and Postnatal programs and teacher training at Yoga Matrika in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.