Renaissance Farms Permaculture

A Permaculture Farm

Yoga at Renaissance Farms

Yoga is for EVERY body

You don’t have to be young, flexible, or slim to practice yoga.  It is so much more than just the postures.  Your teacher is over 50, living in a larger body, and sometimes has limited mobility.

This is a primarily no-touch, trauma-sensitive studio.  If you would like physical correction, please let your instructor know before class.

Scheduled Classes (online only at this time)

FIRST Sundays: Yoga History, Philosophy.  (1hr)  5pm
EVERY Sunday: Nada Yoga – Chakra Toning (30 min) 6pm

Mondays: Yin/Shakti Yoga (1hr) 6pm
Yoga Nidra with Visualisation (1hr) 7pm

Tuesdays: Morning Pranayama (30 min.) 10am

Wednesdays: Yin/Shakti Yoga (1hr) 6pm
Yoga Nidra/Kirtan (1hr) 7pm

Thursdays: Morning Pranayama (30 min) 10am

Fridays:  Yin/Shakti Yoga (1hr) 6pm

Yoga Nidra (1hr) 7pm

Saturdays: 2 hr. Hatha 10 am-noon

All times Eastern US

$20 per live session Click here to register

You can also purchase monthly access to all of the on-demand classes HERE

Travelling Yogini

Bringing yoga to your workplace or community centre.  Bookings available for one-time group classes, or for scheduled classes at your location.  One-hour and two-hour options are available.  

Classes can be designed specifically for your group’s goals.  Serving communities between Barre, MA and Northampton, Greenfield, and Springfield to the west, Fitchburg and Leominster to the north, Sturbridge and Southbridge to the south and the ‘boroughs to the east.

$400 for one hour $600 for two hours for up to 20 students.

 

Private Sessions: 

Available on request via Zoom or in person (see service area above).

Class Descriptions:

Yoga Philosophy and History: Yoga is far more than poses.  In fact ONLY 3 of Patanjali’s nearly 200 Yoga Sutras even mention Asana (poses/postures).  Yoga is a holistic approach to living designed to bring your entire being into balance – body, mind, and soul.  We’ll talk about all Eight Limbs of Yoga (Ashtanga or Raj), paths and styles of Yoga, read foundational texts, and ‘meet’ gurus and yogin.  How to BE a Yogi.

Nada Yoga: Is the Yoga of sound.  This can be chanting of seed and sacred mantras, sound bath, or kirtan – which is a form of praise and worship using the call-and-response format.  The aim is for the sound to bring us to a transcendental state which ends in meditative silence.  It is an extremely healing practice. 

Yin/Shakti Yoga: A slow flow of carefully chosen poses, typically held for several minutes each.  This style targets connective tissues and meridians/nadis which are related to various organ systems.  It is the opposite in nature to traditional Yoga asana practice, which is very dynamic, masculine (Yang/Shiva) and builds muscle.  It is common for practitioners to experience intense release of held emotions during a Yin/Shakti session.

Yoga Nidra: Yogic Sleep practice.  You are guided to a state of deep relaxation where you will experience Alpha and Theta brain waves, and eventually Delta brain waves (where healing happens), while retaining trace awareness.  This is called Non-Sleep Deep Rest or NSDR. One hour of Yoga Nidra is believed to be equal to 2-4 hours of regular night-time sleep.

Pranayama: Breathwork.  Control of the breath is essential for good physical and mental health.  It regulates the brain, reducing reactivity to stress/triggers, it also helps regulate cravings, and has shown benefits for cardiovascular health.  Morning pranayama practice helps us start the day in a calm and focused state.  The practice can be done any time anywhere to calm the body and mind.

Hatha: Traditional practice of postures.  “Hatha” literally means sun-moon.  It is a perfect balance of masculine and feminine energy.  Our class is conducted at a slower pace, allowing practitioners to come into each pose with intention and slow, calm breathing.  We follow the classical Sivananda sequences interspersed with short periods of rest in savasana (corpse pose), incorporating chant, pranayama, and nidra… all in one 2 hour session.

Prepare for class:

  • Please do not eat for at least 60 minutes before class.  There is a time for proper digestion, and a time for asana practice.
  • Please empty your bladder and possibly your bowels before coming to class.  These are the end of the digestion process and should be completed before asana
  • Wear something comfortable.  You do mot need fancy gym clothes to practice yoga.  Please wear something that is loose and/or stretchable, preferably a natural fibre fabric.  Synthetics cause heat to build around the body and can be very uncomfortable
  • Please refrain from perfumes and colognes before class.  Strong scents, particularly synthetic ones, can be very irritating to fellow practitioners.  
  • Remove jewellery before asana practice at least.  It is believed that metal and leather adornments can interrupt the prana.  The movement of loose jewellery during practice can be a distraction to you as well.
  • Please bring whatever props you want.  Blocks are helpful, cushion for pranayama and meditation, bolster, quilt, shawl, weighted items, etc.
  • Please bring a towel, especially for active asana flow sessions.
  • Bring a drink bottle, preferably with a cool herbal tea.  Water is also fine.  This is essential for our Hatha class.

NISSA is a 200RYT, and holds additional certifications in trauma-sensitive practice, pranayama (breathwork), yin yoga, yoga nidra, meditation, and chant.

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