restorative yoga (October 2010)
studio updates
halloween party at flow
shiva rea
david kyle
workshops and events
yoga therapy
life coaching for busy mamas
yummiest vegan chocolate pie
"There is more to life than merely increasing its speed." - Gandhi
Following last month's newsletter on the value of Sabbath, I received so many emails sharing how many of you have already incorporated Sabbath into your lives or are taking steps to add in more planned relaxation time. I was so touched by your beautiful stories and ideas, and it inspired me to make Restorative Yoga our focus of the month for October. This month, every class at Flow will offer a 
restorative pose that you can enjoy in the moment and take home to practice when you're craving some nourishing relaxation.
To expand my own understanding of restorative yoga -- especially how it helps to reduce stress and increase ease -- I approached our resident Relaxation Guru, Angela Cerkevich. She's been teaching and studying the yoga of relaxation for many years. Here's what she has to say:
"Restorative yoga is made up of specific postures intended to tap into the body's natural ability to relax and heal. By offering more time to linger in poses and poses themselves that are intentionally gentle, restorative yoga aims to create zero strain on the body – both physically and emotionally. When we offer ourselves the freedom to experience that, our natural state of peace, clarity, and contentment arise spontaneously.
The human nervous system is a finely tuned instrument that requires balance to be effective. When we're healthy, it fluctuates between two states: parasympathetic and sympathetic. Think of the sympathetic nervous system as the feeling you have when you're rushing to a meeting or maneuvering through traffic on the highway. You're vigilant, reactive, taking in and processing constant streams of information. Think of the parasympathetic nervous system as that time you had a massage and didn't want to get off the table, or when you allowed yourself to doze on the beach. In this state, your body's energy reserves are used for processes that nourish and heal -- including digestion, absorption of oxygen, and immune system repair.
Our active modern-day lives tend to overtax our sympathetic nervous systems. Even simple errands and supposedly "enjoyable" activities can summon the same feverish intensity normally reserved for urgent situations. At times, this over-striving can even bleed into our yoga practice. We've probably all caught ourselves at one point or another pushing into poses beyond our edge, or yearning for a more "perfect" practice.
This all adds to our sympathetic nervous system overload! Restorative yoga, thankfully, offers the
parasympathetic balance that our bodies and minds crave to be healthy.
We hope you'll join us this month to experience some of this incredibly powerful practice. In addition to the taste of restorative yoga that you'll experience in each class this month, we'll also have our regular sampling of weekly restorative classes, including Yin Yoga, Harmony Flow and Yoga Nidra.
We'll look forward to relaxing and renewing with you in October!
Warm regards,
Debra, Ian & Angela
Announcements and Studio Updates
- Be sure to visit our website and browse the amazing workshop offerings and new classes coming this Fall. There are workshops for absolute beginners to the most advanced students and in addition to our top notch teaching staff, our studio will be graced with world renowned guest teachers including Shiva Rea & David Kyle!
- Do you currently store your mat at flow? Please check out our updated mat storage policy at the front desk.
- Farewell for now: Tazima Davis who has been at Flow since our humble beginnings six years ago. Los Angeles is lucky to have you and we hope to see you soon! Katie Capano is sharing her gifts with Doctors without Borders - we wish you the best and look forward to your return.
- Flow Yoga is proud to be a sponsor of Jai Uttal's visit to DC! Don't miss this legendary kirtan artist in a rare DC area concert, with special guest Gaura Vani. The concert is Monday October 18 at 7:30pm at the River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda. Don't miss out!
- Our great JILL ABELSON will be back to FLOW in October teaching 6 Jivamukti Classes plus 2 awesome workshops, a sweaty detox with Burning Man theme, and a CHANTING workshop to find your singing voice. Register early, her classes fill up!
- Save the Date! Shiva Rea (11/14) and David Kyle (11/12 & 14) will grace DC with their presence. Details are already posted for David and Shiva's are coming soon. Check back often as these will sell out fast!
- Shake Your Chakras! Flow is having a Halloween Dance Party. Make sure you join us on Friday October 29 for DJ Jeffrey Platts, DC Acro Yogis, Afro Brazilian and Bellydance lessons, food from Cafe Green and more!
- Are you a full -time student? Enjoy all classes between 9am and 5pm M-F for $10! We just added another weekday class Wedneday 4pm Flow 1.5 with Sean!
- Did you know that our weekly meditation and afro-brazilian classes are only $9.50? Sign up for them online to receive this discounted rate.
- Connect with us! Each Friday we host facebook contests - prizes include free class and workshop passes and other give aways! Learn about special offers and connect with community. Join us Facebook and Twitter.
- Punk Rock Yoga Comes to Flow this Saturday at 5:30pm. Awesome energetic punk-rock music will draw us into the moment, right here, right now. Music also subdues the sounds of sirens, car horns, and other urban chaos.
- This weekends highlights include the beginning of our Fall 2010 Teacher Training Program, a new Yoga for Anxiety Series and for practiced Ashtangis - Intro the the Second Series! Visit our website to learn more.
Shiva Rea's East Coast Tour
Shiva Rea loves coming to Washington DC. She is dedicated to being a conduit for the creative evolution 
of yoga from the roots into emerging forms from prana flow yoga to flow arts and sacred training. In workshops with Shiva, students of all levels are empowered to experience prana -- the universal source of breath, life-energy and conscious intelligence -- as the navigating source of yoga practice and vital living. Practitioners learn classical and innovative approaches to vinyasa yoga and the state of flow drawn from Krishnamacharya's teachings, Tantra, Ayurveda, Bhakti, Somatics and Shiva's teaching experience from the last fifteen years. Shiva will be offering two workshops, both on Sunday November 14. (Please note the location for Shiva's workshops will be Franciscan Monastery.) Join us for one or both! Visit http://shivarea.com/ to learn more about Shiva.
David Kyle Returns to Flow
Midnight Rocket Flow Fri 11/12 9:45pm - midnight
Get ready for one of Flow's favorite teachers! Start off the weekend right! This will be a deep and energetically paced class with the Rocket II series that is known for creating an uplifiting feeling in the body and mind that usually keeps the person up and awake late at night. Perfect class for a late friday night. Get ready to slip into your friday night groove with a great set of music to pump you up and prepare you for a night on the dance floor with loose hips and twinkle toes!
Inversion Intensive Sun 11/14 12-3pm
This workshop is based on beginner's level drills and exercises that can be practiced on your own, as well as drills that will incorporate partner work. These are the basic drills for creating a firm understanding of the mechanics of flight and inverting of the body. Drink and eat well up to an hour before this workshop starts because we will be burning a lot of calories!
Visit It's Yoga Puerto Rico for more information on David - he is a real treat to have here in DC!
Shake Your Chakras at Flow's Halloween Dance Party
Join Live Green, Java Green, Flow, and One Common Unity communities for an evening of dancing and 
festivities. The evening will include DJ Jeffrey Platts, Vanessa King, Lisa Molinaro and the DC Acro Yogis, plus Afro Brazilian Dance Lessons with legend Angela Ingram (as seen on MTV) and Belly Dance Lessons with the fabulous shaktified shimi king - Greg Marzullo. This evening is a fundraiser for One Common Unity - a local DC non profit dedicated to bringing peace education and conflict resolution curriculum into the DC Schools. This means your donations will go directly to their awesome programs. To encourage your attendance even more - we will serve light treats, and have Thai Massage therapists will be on hand to sooth any aches (for small donation!). Definitely come in costume and be ready to shake your chakras. Tickets are on sale, before to get one before the event!
In addition to our regularly scheduled offerings and workshops with our amazing teaching staff, each season, Flow attracts internationally celebrated yogis who come to share their teachings and practice with the DC Community! Take a pause with us and indulge in a healing workshop. A complete list is below. If you are interested in reserving a space, visit our website.
Intro to the Ashtanga Intermediate Series Saturday 10/2 (1:30-3:30pm) with Jen Rene
Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tots Weds 10/27 - 12/7 , (10:00-10:45am)
Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tots is a supportive, fun-loving, and active yoga class. As tot's mobility increases, classes offer tot-centric poses that encourage and support their physical explorations.
Mindfulness Meditation Immersion Saturday 10/16 (1:30- 5:30pm) with Dr. Hugh Byrne
Finding Your Flow Group Life Coaching Sunday 10/10 (1-3:30pm) with Carolyn Butcher
Burning Man - Deep Hot Sweaty Purification Midnight Flow Style Friday 10/15 (9:45-11:55pm) with Jill Abelson
Bringing a little bit of the West Coast to Flow, we'll turn up the heat for a hot, sweaty, electrifying, purifying all-levels asana class. Representing the ULTIMATE in self expression, artistic freedom and collective creativity, Burning Man holds huge inspiration for the yogi.
There's No Place Like Om, A Chanting Workshop to Find your Singing Voice! Sunday 10/17 (3-5pm) with Jill Abelson
Group Life Coaching - A Hero's Journey Sat 11/6 (1:30 - 3:30pm) with Carolyn Butcher
Responding to calls to be and do more is the path of the Hero's Journey. This master class will you deepen in the yogic practice of Svadhyaya - Self inquiry and knowledge through the experience of questioning, writing, peer coaching, and exploring.
The Outer Reaches of Inner Space Sat 11/20 (2-4pm) with Hari Kirtan
The Confidence Workshp Sun 11/21 (12:30-3pm) with Laura Zam
What is confidence? It's an abiding acceptance of one's deepest self. Did you know it's also a skillful way of using your body and voice that can help you reach those inner reams? Did you also know all this can be learned? Taught by Laura Zam, a Flow yoga teacher who's also an accomplished performer and expert on public presentation, this workshop explores both inner realms of self-esteem as well as their outer manifestation.
Flow's Yoga Therapy Offerings
In addition to our wellness offerings such as Zero Balancing, Thai Yoga Therapy and Private Yoga Therapy, each month we host class series and workshops designed for small groups and transformative healing!
Yoga for Anxiety - Sundays 10/3 - 10/24 (5-6:30pm) with Angela Cerkevich
This series of classes will include poses, breath-work and meditation geared towards varying degrees of anxiety. This series will be both experiential to target immediate anxiety and didactic, to give participants tools to manage anxiety outside of class.
The Goddess as Healer Saturday 10/16 (2-4:30pm) with Laura Zam
This special yoga workshop is for women who have been sexually abused and/or assaulted. Taught by Laura Zam, a Flow teacher and sexual abuse survivor, this workshop explores yoga as away to heal body, mind, and spirit on a continual basis.
Yoga for Runners Sunday 10/17 (1-3pm) with Brittanie Dechino
This workshop is designed to help you run longer, run faster and decrease injuries! You will learn how to loosen up hamstrings, hips, calves, low back, and upper back/shoulders. All levels of yogis and runners welcome.
Yoga and Thai Massage for Lovers - Saturday 10/23 (5:30-7:30pm) with Angela Cerkevich
This workshop is designed to help you build on your relationship by connecting through breath, yoga postures, shared meditation, supported relaxation and touch. In the spirit of tantra, Angela will gently guide you and your partner together through techniques to relax, restore sooth and invigorate your body and mind through giving and receiving the exquisite art of Thai massage.
It all Begins with the Tailbone - Sundays 11/7- 11/21 (5-6:30pm) with guest teacher Annie Scheppach
This series of classes will introduce you to Svaroopa yoga's spinal decompression techniques designed to end pain and create freedom from headaches, cold and flu and improve digestion.
Yoga for Low Back Pain - Sundays 12/5- 12/12 (5-6:30pm) with Angela Cerkevich
In this series we will learn techniques to bring balanced tone to the muscles of the hip girdle and low back, to stretch the hamstrings and hip rotators to bring relief to compressed lumbar and sacral areas and explore the muscles that make up the core. You will learn how to create a yoga practice that best meets your individual needs with regard to managing hip and low back discomfort. This class is suitable for all levels of students.
Working Moms Life Coaching Group
Are you a working mom who....
*feels tired and pulled in a hundred different directions?
*feels guilty about how you spend your time and like you're not doing anything 100%?
*wants more calm, space and breath in your life?
Then the Working Mom's "Live a Life You Love" Coaching Group is for you! No more guilt, no more living according to what everyone else wants and expects you to do, no more putting yourself last on the list! It's time to flourish and live a life YOU love!! You'll get all the tools you need in the 6-week moms coaching group. visit http:www.vividliving.com for more info but hurry the group starts on October 12th.
Vegan Chocolate Pie - Amazing easy to make and incredibly yummy to eat!
The beauty of this recipe is that it takes about 10 minutes and 3 ingredients. And....you can experiment 
with different variations of the three depending on your tastes and what is in your pantry!
3 oz of tofu (I like "Mori" brand soft & organic but have experimented with all kinds including extra firm and have wonderful results
1 package of chocolate chips- 10 - 12 oz (I typically use semi-sweet)
9" pie crust (try graham cracker!)
Melt chips in double boiler or in your microwave. Blend tofu along with melted chocolate in your blender. Pour into pie crust, then chill in refrigerator for an hour and serve!
Gratitude, Love, Peace and Yoga....
Debra and the Flow Tribe
Flow Yoga Center - DC's Eco-Friendly Yoga Center
1450 P Street NW (next door to Whole Foods)
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 462-FLOW
flowyogacenter@gmail.com
