Jacobs Healing

COMMUNITY: We all have a general understanding of the word.  It’s a word that instantly produces an image in your head and could easily be defined by anyone you meet.  However these definitions will sound a lot different depending who you ask.  It’s a very common word, one that’s grown in popularity the past decade or so in the United States.  Non-profits use the word “community” to attract more funding for projects.  The Academia world uses “community” to sell their school and elicit that cozy, village feeling you get on a college campus.  Corporations and politicians use the word to tie themselves to “the people” when they are perceived as “out of touch” with the way things are.  Governments use the word to brand their program or policy and get buy-in from the public.  The most famous community – Facebook – just made a big splash in the news this week by going public.  There’s even a popular TV show called “Community”.  In the Healing Arts world we’ve seen a trend towards the word community, even when it’s completely off the mark.  The word community has been borrowed, stolen, redefined, torn apart, sold, stretched and captured.  Yes, everyone wants a piece of the “community” action!  Community is so hot right now!

I define community by the number of healers, teachers and students gathering in a location for the purpose of healing.  At the moment the Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki community of South Philly is healing most effectively with a regular practice of Yoga, Reiki, Integrated Energy Therapy®, Shamanism, GYROKINESIS® offered in a group setting.  This is bound to change as the community grows.  The Hawthorne studio is a unique community of healers and students in South Philly.  Healing communities look different from one to the next.  What ties them together and builds their individual strength is the ability to communicate and share information with other like-minded healers and students.  I believe that the future of the healing arts and preventative healthcare movement lies at the micro level and it’s up to us to organize our own healing community.  I call it a “Micro Healing Pod” and there might already be one bubbling up in your neighborhood.  These are studios, offices, open spaces, community centers, board rooms, cafeterias, church halls, open fields and any space where people can gather for the purpose of healing.  What I believe needs to happen in order to expand healing activities such as Yoga, meditation, Reiki or Shiatsu to a wider audience is to simply organize what’s already happening on the ground.  I want people to realize their potential to create a space where healing can occur regardless of the obstacles in the way.  This is where innovation comes in.

Imagine everything you need to heal has already healed.  Imagine your sore knee is feeling younger and stronger than ever, the pinch in the back of your neck is gone, the heartache you’ve been holding for 3 years has finally melted away, the guilt and fear you were subconsciously holding surfaces and releases, you find your ideal job and manifest everything else you were looking for.  Imagine all the people, places, things and situations needed to create this healing in yourself and your community.  Now imagine what it will take to get there.  Create your Micro Healing Pod by imagining the ideal services, classes, types of instructors, amenities, prices, location and support you’ll need to heal.

A Micro Healing Pod is a community with the goal of healing.  Since “healing” is a moving target for all of us it’s difficult to prescribe a step-by-step guide to creating your Micro Healing Pod.  It will be defined by the individual members who rise up to create it.  As budgets get squeezed and the economy limps along this is eventually going to have an effect on the Healing Arts and our ability to access the tools and information we need to heal.  We need to take matters into our own hands.  What I envision is not a “community health center” as you might see in a large city like Philadelphia.  Micro Healing Pods are healing communities that sprout up from demand for alternative healing services and dedicated healers.  These Pods use a variety of wholistic modalities and techniques to increase the healing potential of their community.  Through Jacobs Healing I hope to offer tools, advice, anecdotes, stories from my experiences and a little bit of inspiration as you heal yourself and your community.  Here’s what I’ve learned organizing healers and students at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki.  I hope it serves as a good starting point for your healing community.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN ORGANIZING A MICRO HEALING POD

#1) YOU CAN SHARE.  We learned this in Kindergarten but most of us forgot somewhere along the way.  Nobody has to be a superhero here.  You can have the initial spark to get the ball rolling but you don’t need to shoulder the entire project and leave your full-time job to make this happen.  Remember that the way you want to heal yourself and the types of healing services you want to see in your neighborhood are probably very similar to what other people are looking for.  Share the ideas and the responsibilities with others.  Connect with people who are already starting to talk about building community around healing.  Much like my experience with Hawthorne, your vision might start in your living room.  Try organizing a casual monthly potluck in someone’s living room followed by a short presentation from a healer, organic gardener or Yoga teacher.  Start small and start talking about your healing and what that looks like.

#2) YOU’LL NEED A SMALL SPACE.  You don’t need to be an established business, a non-profit or a recognized group but you will need a space to come together and heal.  What I’ve noticed is you can find some really cheap and innovative spaces for healing, especially in an economically depressed area like Philadelphia.  You don’t need a Center City Philadelphia storefront to make this work.  Think outside the box.  If you organize one hour per month at your local town hall or church and call it “Community Healing Hour” as a way to get the community started, you have made progress.  If you make a weekly thing that’s even better.  Keep it simple at first and then grow when the community shows that it’s ready to support that growth.  If you want to get more serious about turning a profit in your space you may need to look into business zoning, operating hours and possibly street entrance/visibility.  But that all comes later or might never affect you.  Start small – just a few students and practitioners at first.

#3) DO A FEW THINGS REALLY WELL.  You will go much farther as a healing community if you pick a few things to focus your energy and attention.  You don’t want to have to explain 10 alternative healing modalities and techniques to everyone you meet.  I think you would be best to stick with 1 to 3 consistent things.  These could be events, workshops, classes, healing clinics or activities happening at a consistent time every week (or monthly at first).  At first you may need to cast a wide net to see what your community wants in terms of alternative healing modalities and services.  It might be wise to take an informal survey of the people who might one day get involved in your community healing effort.  This way you can ask a few questions to really get at the main issues.  What are the most popular healing modalities among your community?  What are the unique healing needs?  What kinds of people are interested in your vision?  What does your healing community look like?  What ideas did you get to refine your vision to fit a greater vision?

#4) THE ENERGY BUILDS.  Rest assured that whatever effort you’ve put in so far to facilitate healing in your community – it has been felt.  We build healing communities by building the supportive healing energy around them.  Energy follows intention and when we harness the lifeforce energy of the universe and heal ourselves that energy spills out.  It is absorbed by others and the healing continues to spread.  You can’t help but talk about this stuff when it’s affecting your life for the better.  When you are more comfortable in your body than you ever were before, when you have everything you need to feed your body and your soul, when you are connecting with a community that is healing just like you are, you can’t help but talk about it.  The word of mouth exposure of your Micro Healing Pod will be enough to keep it going.  Decide what you want to do, decide what the healing looks like and let the details come out in the wash.  Focus on your vision at first.  Focus on your intention and the energy will follow.

Have you ever said something like this:

“Oh, that’s my bad knee” or “I’m not flexible” or “I’m going to be like this forever.”

I hear these sorts of statements all the time and it pains me to know that the people who speak like this are reinforcing a life of pain and discomfort.  There is a tendency in our society to label our body as achy, bad, permanently broken or fixed in one place.  We’ve all done it from time to time and it’s so easy to fall into these patterns.  I would like to suggest an alternative.  Tell yourself a different story!  Consider this.  Scientists are discovering that the cells in our body replace themselves over time.  In fact some estimate that within as little as 7 years every cell is brand new.   You are a completely new person from the bones to the skin and hair and everywhere in between.  You can change.  If you are in pain or even slightly uncomfortable there is another way.

Instead of using the same old lines you’ve used for years try something else.  Open up a dialogue with your body that transforms the pain into something else.  Try something like this:

“Hi there [insert body part here].  How are you doing today?  I know you’ve been trying to communicate something to me for quite some time now.  Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?  I am fully committed to creating a more comfortable, peaceful environment for you.  I am ready to help you heal.”

Then pause, close your eyes, lay your hands on the pain spot, take a few deep breaths and listen deeply.  Continue doing this every day until answers arrive.  You might meet someone that has the right tools or information you need to heal.  You might notice a new food that speaks to you at the grocery store.  You might find answers in a book, blog or google search.  Or you might just spontaneously heal yourself!  Talk about your body in a different light, change your story and stay open to miracles both big and small.

If this isn’t enough I would suggest one of the following forms of medicine: Yoga, Reiki, Shamanism and Integrated Energy Therapy.  I say this because I have had one great experience after another with these tools.  In my opinion:

The goal of Yoga is to keep the spine flexible, establish control of the body, mind and breath and increase the level of overall joy.

The goal of Reiki is to break up energy stagnation and imbalances which are at the root of mental and physical suffering.

The goal of Shamanism is to journey to the spiritual realm and find answers to the toughest questions in your life.

The goal of Integrated Energy Therapy is to connect you directly with your soul’s unique purpose in this body and eventually help others do the same.

The more these techniques work for you the more you will want to practice them and with time you may want to teach them to others.  Happy healing!

In Reiki we use the image of a “Reiki Triangle” when discussing the balance between giving and receiving Reiki.  It’s a pretty simple concept which could easily be applied to other fields of study.  In Reiki you must:

1) Give yourself Reiki (feed your soul)

2) Give others Reiki (help people)

3) Receive Reiki from others (get healing)

If I am deficient in any of these categories I start to feel a loss of energy or a general apathy towards Reiki.  When the triangle is balanced I feel more connected to myself, other people and the Earth.  I experience a higher energetic vibration and vitality.  To put it simply, I glow with the healing support of Reiki.  As a professional Reiki teacher making a living in the field I am constantly giving Reiki to clients and students and often feeling an imbalance in my triangle.  No matter how strong my web presence or how great my name recognition is in the city, if my Reiki triangle is out of balance I not only feel it in my body I also see it manifest as a lack of business.  People are much more likely to sign up for a Yoga or Reiki class when things are balanced inside me.  Deep down I know that if I want to heal myself I need to help others heal.  If I want to heal other people I need to stay open to receing love and support from others.  If I want to receive Reiki from others I need to heal myself.  One feeds into the other.  There is no questioning or tinkering with this universal law, this balance that naturally exists in the world around us.

As a studio owner, Reiki teacher and community organizer I am challenged to maintain a balanced Reiki triangle first and foremost.  I am also challenged to balance my business affairs with my personal affairs and meet my basic survival needs of food, water and shelter.  I have created a “Reiki Balance Sheet” for practitioners and teachers alike looking to start a Reiki career or supplement their current income.  This is how I manage my schedule and it’s how I have been able to build a stable income for myself in a relatively new field (at least for South Philly).  I want others to learn from my experience in building a succesful practice over the past 4 years.  I want more people to find success in this field.  Here is what I suggest in terms of planning your schedule and budgeting your time.

1) 25% for Self Care

Above all else you need to block off time in your schedule to read, write, create, eat healthy food, communicate with Spirit, pray, stretch, heal and generally feed yourself physically, mentally, spiritually and energetically.  Some people would call this a Sadhana or daily ritual/practice.  Some people do this at the same time everyday and make a point of doing the same thing each time.  I prefer variety.  Routine doesn’t come naturally for a small business owner I guess.  I figure as long as I am taking a chunk of my day to improve myself on some level I am meeting the requirements of self care or time with Spirit.  Some days I work with my pendulum and angel cards.  Other days I do a yin Yoga sequence.  Other days I give myself IET and other days I go for a jog.  If I sit in silence for a few minutes I get a pretty good idea of what my body needs at that moment and I go with that.

2) 25% for Students & Clients

There is nothing more rewarding than the feeling of passing knowledge on to someone, watching them learn and helping them heal.  Teaching is a blessing but it’s only a small portion of my actual work time in a given week.  Still, I have to say my favorite part of my job is the time I get to teach others.  Passing on the deep lessons of Yoga and Reiki to others is so inspirational to me.  I think it’s a big part of why I am in Philadelphia right now – to teach, to heal People, to organize and train healers.  My next step is to teach those healers how to build a profitable practice and a sustainable healing community.  I can’t get enough of this stuff!  But remember, to teach is a real honor and it only comes if you do the other 75% of the work.

3) 25% Online

If you are a new Yoga or Reiki teacher chances are you have a website and one or more social media accounts.  But it’s not enough to just be online.  You have to have a living website with new content everyday.  That is how people will find you.  Gone are the days where you hire a web manager and let your pretty flashy website sit.  Welcome to the DIY world of WordPress, widgets and twitter.  I never thought I would turn into a web designer, keyword developer and search engine optimizer but here I am blogging and staring at a computer screen way longer than I thought I should be.  It is 2012 after all and everything from restaurants to colleges are moving to apps, blogs, tweets and social marketing.  I don’t love life online but I know I have to do it to survive.  It would be possible to make it old school, and I know people who do, but that’s just not an option for me at this point.  Most of my new students are finding me through the Internet.  Because of this basic fact I am pushed to become more tech savvy, more web friendly and more innovative in my online presence.  I clearly prefer life “offline” but I know I have to give at least a quarter of each day to technology.

4) 25% Out & About

Hello world!  This is something I see teachers forgetting all the time: getting out of their comfort zone and getting out into the non-yoga/reiki world.  I kinda love being a hermit and hanging out with Spirit but let’s be real, sometimes that gets a little wacky.  As one of my Reiki students asked last week, can’t I just stay in the Reiki glow forever? No.  You must integrate your experiences into the world.  Your experiences in the spiritual realm are special but they will make even more sense once you have connected the dots and interacted with other people.  Clarity comes when you engage a new person in a dialogue about the thing you love, be it Yoga, Reiki or hoola hooping.  I recommend you block off a quarter of your week to catch up with friends, meet new people,  attend community meetings, art shows, networking events and outdoor festivals.  This is even more important during the spring and summer months.  Get the word out and interact!

Happy healing!

I am now enrolling a Monday night Reiki Level 1 course.  Reiki is a natural healing technique that comes to us from Japan.  It is available to anyone who is willing to commit the time and energy to learning the practice.  You don’t need any special skills or prior experience to learn Reiki with me in South Philadelphia!

NOW ENROLLING:

Reiki Level 1 Training & Certification

Monday Nights
6:30pm to 9:00pm
May 7th to June  25th
at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki, 1241 Carpenter Street
Sliding Scale Tuition: $250 to $350

A deposit of $100 is required to hold your space.  There will be no class on Memorial Day, May 28th.

Enrollment & Questions: jacobshealing@gmail.com

For details on this course, please CLICK HERE.

On August 3, 1965, just months after his famous march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama (pictured here), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was standing in the Hawthorne neighborhood of South Philadelphia giving a speech to a large crowd.  There is a new city-issued signpost at the intersection of 13th & Fitzwater marking the spot where Dr. King stood.  It’s clear from my short time in Hawthorne that he left a strong impression.  Earlier this month several Hawthorne community leaders and local politicians gave remarks on the 44th anniversary of Dr. King’s death as they dedicated the signpost stating:

“On this site in 1965 during the Freedom Rally, the Reverened Martin Luther King Jr. addressed hunderds of Hawthorne’s residents and surrounding neighbors.  The Hawthorne Square public housing development was renamed in (his) honor”

If anyone influenced both racial and economic injustice in this country, it was Dr. King.  He embodied the love, light, peace and healing we talk about in Yoga and Reiki.  There is no way I would be able to do the work I am doing today on inequalities within the  Yoga and Reiki industry had it not been for Dr. King’s groundwork.  His strategy of reaching equality through non-violent means is a good lesson for today’s Occupy Movement.  The Yoga and Reiki teachers of our country could also use a dose of Dr. King’s teachings.  Every now and then I hear about scandals, lawsuits, back-stabbing and plain bickering among the Yoga and Reiki communities.  We create bubbles for ourselves, little nests where we can get comfortable, collect our money and forget about other people’s struggle.  It is ironic that some Yoga and Reiki teachers would forget the essential teachings of their practice: COMPASSION.  Mastering a craft like Yoga or Reiki and understanding their meaning on the deepest level requires you to pass it on to others.  Dr. King was one of the greatest teachers we’ve ever had.  He knew how to empower others and share knowledge.  Let’s take Dr. King’s lead and close the race and class divides within the Yoga and Reiki communities.

I have no doubt the practice of Yoga & Reiki will continue to expand and flourish in the United States and  I am thrilled to take a leadership role here in South Philly.  I want to realize Dr. King’s larger vision of equality through peace.  As far as we’ve come towards the goal of Yoga and Reiki for the “99%” there is still a tremendous amount of work ahead of us.  At Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki we address the inequalities in our industry directly in our mission statement and we are based in a predominantly african american Hawthorne neighborhood.  I will admit I have come up short in my attempt to reach african americans and minorities in general here in Philly.  Hawthorne has managed to protect the affordability of Yoga and Reiki in Philadelphia but the race divide in Yoga and Reiki remains here as I’m sure it does in other parts of the country.  Some things will take generations to change.

. . .

To learn more about the Hawthorne neighborhood and get involved, visit the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition‘s website: http://www.hecphilly.org/.  This group holds an open meeting at the Hawthorne Recreation Center (12th & Carpenter) on the second Tuesday of every month.

Pick up a copy of this week’s South Philly Review dated April 12, 2012 to read the full article on page eight titled “King’s English” about the signpost dedication and some accounts of Dr. King’s 1965 visit to the neighborhood.

So, you want to heal the world, huh?  My suggestion is that you start by healing yourself and your neighbors.  I admire the work of the Yoga and Reiki teachers who have traveled across the world, following their calling, on a low budget to offer their services to those struggling to get ahead.  I applaud the teachers who have sacrificed time and money to establish Foundations and Non-Profits aimed at increasing access of healing arts to a wider audience.  In south Philly I decided to go a different route.  The end goal for all our efforts is clear to me: Yoga and Reiki as a daily practice for the largest possible number of people.

While I offer some of the most affordable rates in Philadelphia for Yoga and Reiki services, it is impossible for me to reach the poorest and sickest people of our city.  I leave this task to those who can fund preventative healing services for those most in need.  It is also impossible at the moment for me to travel to other countries to teach Yoga and Reiki classes while living on a shoestring budget that would make your jaw drop.  I leave this task to the new wave of Yoga and Reiki teachers that have the money and time to make the trip.

We in the United States love to keep the injustices of our world separated from our lives in a cute little donation box on the shelf, maybe with a picture of a poor person weaving a basket in a third world country.  We don’t want to get our hands dirty but we are happy to attend Walks and Runs and throw money at a “cause” to fill the altruist gap in our lives.  We think, “Oh yeah that issue is important!  Thanks for reminding me.  I’m SO glad you are working on that.”  … so I don’t have to.

The richest members of society are taken care of and will continue to be surrounded by a variety of expensive spas, fitness centers and high-end Yoga studios that charge top rates.  Foundations, 501c3′s and Governments will hopefully continue to fund free preventative health care services like Yoga and Reiki for the poorest members of society.  Inspired teachers will continue to make service-oriented trips to foreign countries.  My effort in South Philly falls somewhere in between upper class services, free community services and the service of the “altruist abroad.”  South Philly’s Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki has an innovative business model where the expenses, duties and profits of the studio are shared among the teachers and students.  We build community and expand Reiki and Yoga to a growing group of people all while turning a profit.  Our studio is a sustainable For-Profit “Social Business”.  I borrow the term (and many of my business skills) from Lisa Rohleder in the truly inspirational book “Acupuncture is Like Noodles“.

I have seen how we often neglect the vast majority of people who fall somewhere in the middle to low income brackets.  I stand among a new pack of affordable sliding scale studios that look to “close the gap” in alternative health care, wellness and hands-on healing. I pay taxes like everyone else.  I follow the rules of zoning, licensing and insurance and I show other teachers how to launch their own careers in this industry.  Without fail the Hawthorne studio reaches a few new people everyday.  This is done by word of mouth, online presence and human capital.  Thank you to those who have supported our vision over the years.  I encourage you to open your own neighborhood healing arts center and I look forward to connecting with you and writing more about this topic.

Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki is 3 years old today!  As the driving force behind this studio since the beginning I can’t help but pause and reflect on the blessings (and curses) of 3 years in the trenches of affordable Reiki and Yoga.  It took a few years to get here but I now make a modest living teaching Reiki and Yoga classes in South Philadelphia.  We at Hawthorne charge a reasonable rate that is within reach for most people.  While others involved in the collective have outside sources of income I do not.  I did this intentionally partly because I was too busy with the studio to do anything else and partly because I was stubbornly trying to prove a point.  I am able to pay my studio rent, apartment rent, food and basic expenses every month but there is not much to spare.  As long as I live and teach I will never forget the struggle of moving from a cozy life with a salary, benefits and disposable income to the unpredictable world of a “healing arts entrepreneur” and sole proprietor.  I encourage anyone out there with a Yoga or Reiki teacher certification to step up and take the plunge.  It might sting at first but I assure you it gets better!  Let me warn you first that they might have skipped some important things in your teacher training programs.

It would be an understatement to say that Yoga and Reiki workers occupying the studios of Philadelphia lack basic business skills needed to build a profitable practice.  I’m hoping to fill in the gaps here, dispel some industry myths and encourage the expansion of Yoga and Reiki as viable career choices.  From here we need to move towards the creation of multiple “micro healing pods” (efficient, education-focused, community-based, sustainable healing centers).  I take a less traditional approach to making my living in the Yoga and Reiki fields.  Let me explain.  Here are some business assumptions out there that simply DO NOT apply for my Yoga and Reiki practice (and might not apply for you either).  I call them “psychs”, as in “yeah, that sounds good but not so much”.

PSYCH! #1) Location, Location, Location. 

The Hawthorne studio pays its overhead and we are self-sufficient without any outside funding beyond our students.  We have made affordable wellness work in the most random of places: the back of a Civil-War era factory building on the border of Center City and South Philadelphia.  It is a sustainable community and innovative business model which breaks from the traditional rates of Yoga and Reiki classes.  Location helps but it’s not nearly as important within the field Yoga and Reiki.  Yoga and Reiki teachers will build a following with hard work, positive intentions, regular self care, a commitment to your students and sticking to your schedule.  In the future I sense that most Yoga and Reiki will be practiced in small, low budget studios in working class neighborhoods and towns, not expensive studios on the busiest, cleanest blocks of our major cities .

PSYCH! #2) Lower rates “Devalue” your services and the industry overall.

I wonder how many times I will have to read this myth assumed as fact on someone’s blog or magazine article about trends in the Yoga, bodywork and Reiki fields.  It simply doesn’t add up.  I’m proud to say I’ve maintained an affordable sliding scale for all of my services since the beginning.  A few people pay top scale, some in the middle and most towards the bottom end of the scale.  It averages out so within a short time you will be better able to predict your income.  In some places Reiki sessions go for $100 per hour and Reiki trainings are in the $1000′s .  I’ve seen drop-in Yoga classes priced as high as $20.  But simply because people pay these rates does not mean they value the service more than someone paying “what they can” at a studio like Hawthorne.  In fact, they might even value it more!  A sliding scale based on your student’s annual income might seem like a radical idea but the trend is growing because it works.

PSYCH # 3) Defeat your competition.

I don’t understand why Yoga and Reiki teachers are so afraid of their student’s success.  Are you seriously afraid they are going to out-succeed you and take all your students with them in the process?  I’ve spent almost 4 years protecting the affordability of Yoga and Reiki in Philadelphia.  The Hawthorne studio caters to a certain crowd which didn’t have an established home base for their practice before we opened.  In other words, it was clear from the start that we were not competing with the established studios but instead building a distinctly different following.  (Remember, McDonald’s does not compete with restaurants on Rittenhouse Square and Porsche isn’t competing with Toyota.)  Practically out of thin air a new community of Yoga and Reiki practitioners was created with the combined effort of a few students and a few rookie teachers.  The Hawthorne experiment has taught me that the key to expanding Yoga and Reiki to a wider audience is to innovate the way you present the practice and open up new pockets of activity.  You don’t need to “defeat” anyone to do this.

PSYCH! #4) You have to do a Groupon deal or something like that.

“Group Buying” has taken off in this country over the past few years.  So why haven’t I jumped on the bandwagon?  Well, I’ve heard so many horror stories from small business owners and teachers who bit the bait and regretted it later.  The people hanging out on group buying sites like Living Social and Groupon are there for one reason: a handout.  They do not have the business or the practitioner’s best interest in mind when they buy things on these sites.  Usually the business is left licking their wounds after a rush of people come through, take their super-discounted thing and leave the studio never to return again.  They weren’t looking to build your practice or your community, they were looking for a deal.  Once the deal is over you end up making a little money but losing a lot of energy and self respect in the process.

I am now enrolling 2 classes starting in April.  There are barter opportunities available if you are having financial difficulties.

Reiki Level 1 Certification
Weekend Intensive
April 14 & 15
at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki
Sliding Scale $250 – $350 (Deposit of $100 will hold your space)
RSVP: jacobshealing@gmail.com

Yin Yoga & Reiki
Friday Nights
April 27 to May 17
at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki
$50 if enrolled by April 10
$75 after
RSVP: jacobshealing@gmail.com

For class descriptions, CLICK HERE for a list of all current enrollment.

I took one of Stacia Nero’s Vinyasa Yoga classes last week at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki in South Philadelphia.  Stacia studied Yoga and completed a 200 Hour Vinyasa Yoga Training at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia.  I graduated from the same program a few years before Stacia so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect in the class.  From the start I was feeling more energized as I gathered with other students in the front lobby of the building and talked on the way back to the studio.  I was already noticing the fun, fired-up energy of the class before it even started.  As we connected with our Yoga mats in the studio, Stacia was welcoming and making eye contact with all of us.  She has a natural, comfortable and calm presence as a teacher.  It’s as if she is just bubbling with joy to share the information she has for you today.  She smiles, laughs, shouts and supports you through the whole class!

One thing I noticed early on was the importance of background music in Stacia’s class. There were many times where I could hear Stacia’s booming voice and accompanying music from the front desk but to be in the room was a new level of passion!  Her music was a mix of pop music, hip-hop, dance, electronic and more soothing meditative sounds.  She brought the energy of the music up at the start of class but as we moved closer to the ground and slowed things down physically she brought the music down a notch- both the style and volume.  I found the music to be very inspiration and unexpectedly moving at times.  It made me realize how much more I want to do with music, Yoga and Reiki!

Stacia’s sequencing of Yoga poses was something I think you’d find in most Philly area Vinyasa classes.  Her lively personality and deep knowledge and experience certainly sets her apart as a Vinyasa teacher.  She did a good job of warming us up quickly with warriors, balancing poses, lunges and other standing poses. She definitely pushed me to my limit a few times during the class so I would suggest taking caution during the more advanced poses and just listening to your body if you are newer to Yoga.

I strongly recommend you drop in for one of Stacia’s Yoga classes offered at various locations around Phialdelphia:

Mondays 7:00pm to 8:15pm Vinyasa Yoga at the The Blockley at 38th & Chestnut

Tuesdays 4:30pm & 6:00pm Vinysa Yoga at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki at 1241 Carpenter Street

Wednesdays 6:45pm to 8:00pm Candlelight Vinyasa Yoga at Ploome Studio on Northern Liberties Walk

Thursdays 5:45pm Vinyasa Yoga at City Fitness at 2nd & Spring Garden

Thursday 7:00am to 8:00am Weekday Warrior Vinyasa at Ploome Studio on Northern Liberties Walk

Sundays 11:00am to 12:00pm Wake & Bake at Ploome Studio on Northern Liberties Walk

Be sure to “like” Stacia’s Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stacia-Yoga-and-Wellness/219773548084345

I’ve started to do a tour of Yin Yoga classes around Philadelphia.  If you know of a good one in or near the city, please let me know (jacobshealing@gmail.com).  I just can’t get enough Yin!  It’s the perfect medicine for me right now.  As I learn new things about my Yin Yoga practice I slowly integrate them into my Yoga & Reiki class at Hawthorne.  This class blends Yin Yoga poses with pranayama and “mini” Reiki treatments.  It’s my signature class and I just recently started training other Yoga teachers to lead this kind of class on their own.  Like all creations, this one is evolving and I’m constantly in need of new ideas and inspiration.  Luckily here in Philadelphia I have access to Wake Up Yoga‘s top-notch Yin Yoga program.  Corina Benner has done an incredible job of expanding the Yin Yoga practice in this city with regular drop-in classes at 3 locations and occasional advanced training programs.  I’ve been fortunate to have the time (and money) to attend some of these classes.  One Wake Up Yoga teacher in particular stands out: Monica Kriso.  She opens class with call and response chanting, usually accompanied by harmonium.  If you aren’t interested in Yogic chanting you can just sit and listen – it’s very meditative and puts the mind at ease.  She then leads us through guided meditation and into the first Yin asana (physical pose).  Each pose is held long enough to allow my muscles to relax and my connective tissue to lengthen.  The entire sequence is filled with just a few basic grounding asanas (no balancing, inversions, warriors, etc..).

With Yin Yoga my body sinks into stillness and I have nothing to do but breathe and sit with my thoughts.  It drives me crazy at times but for someone who has a hard time sitting still and just “letting things be” the Yin practice challenges me in a way I’ve never been challenged before on the Yoga mat.  After 5 minutes in a pose I think I’ve gone as far as I can but then I take an even deeper breath and allow gravity to pull me a little deeper.  For me Yin Yoga is all about letting go and giving into the subtle earth energy.  The Yin Yoga teachers at Wake Up Yoga do a beautiful job helping me achieve this goal.

So where did “Yin” Yoga come from?  For starters you should check out the book pictured here, Paul Grilley‘s “Yin Yoga – Outline of a quiet practice”.  It’s a quick read and lends itself to self discovery with it’s “how-to” introduction to Yin Yoga poses and philosophy.  It gives you some great sequences to try on your own.  In my opinion it is the perfect remedy for the modern American Yogi.   It’s been a huge source of inspiration for me recently.  His argument is simple: We have primarily a “Yang Yoga” practice in this country which is out of balance.  I see this plain as day here in Philadelphia with the incredible demand for Vinyasa Yoga, Power Yoga, Bikram Yoga, “Gym” Yoga, advanced flow style Yoga and the like.  I admit that my Yoga practice fell into the same Yang trap and at times has caused me more harm than good.  I’m 31 years old.  I’ve been doing Yoga for almost 8 years and teaching for 5.  I am at a point where I want stillness, I want meditation, I want the essence of Yoga.  I want to sit with the peaceful glow that resonates through the sutras, asanas, pranayamas and meditations.  I want more Yin.  Maybe you do too.  Give it a try sometime and see for yourself.

Thank you Paul Grilley, Corina Benner and all my Yin Yoga teachers.  I am truly grateful and I look forward to expanding the practice even further.