I've opened a Stan Store! What on earth is a Stan Store? Well, it is a place to sell digital content. I'm currently working on creating sequencing guides for yoga teachers or home practitioners. These guides are short, sweet, to the point and will help you flow from the warm up phase of the practice to a specific peak pose!

As of today, I have two eBooks up and ready to go! One is for Extended Hand to Toe pose, and the other is for Half Moon pose. If you are looking for ways to prepare for either of these postures, click here: stan.store/melduke123

More content coming soon, and I do take requests! Let me know if there are other postures you would like me to create a guide for, or how I can make the guide more user friendly!

These are just a few of many ways to help you work around tight muscle groups! Join us for class, or set up a private session to see what works best for you!

Spring is here and we are so excited to start our outdoor classes again! We meet across the street from the studio at the Washington Riverfront Park usually on a Saturday morning from 7-8 a.m. Our first practice is April 23rd from 7-8 A.M.!
I'm hoping to add a few weeknight or Sunday afternoon classes this year as well!

What are some of the benefits/reasons we practice outside by the water? 
1.) Practicing outside increases your proprioception - sense of where you are in space. The extra challenges outside demand that you focus more on your body and where you place your hands and feet, therefore improving your proprioception!

2.) Practicing outside helps build and strengthen the muscles you use for balance! The terrain is never as flat as the studio floor, the wind might be strong, there may be more visual stimulation that tries to pull your focus away from one spot. All of these things make balancing harder, but the more you practice outside, the stronger you get!

3.) Align with Nature! Smell the flowers, the freshly cut grass... Feel the breeze and the sun on your skin, the tickle of the grass on your feet... share your mat with an ant...try to balance while watching a cloud or bird go by.... turn inward amidst sounds you don't normally hear within the studio walls - cars, trains, people walking by...

Join us this coming weekend - which just happens to be Earth Day weekend!  Please bring a mat and any props you may need! Cost is $15 or you can use your class card!

We are excited to announce that we will be moving to Downtown Washington later this fall!  Sara, Michelle, and Zoe will be at 6 E. Front Street providing the same amazing services - Blu Room, Massage, Reiki - that they do now, and the yoga studio will be next door at 14 E. Front Street! Look for trapeze yoga to start, and for Amanda and Michelle to offer more classes! 

The Washington High School Blue Jay Journal TV crew came in to do a story. Check it out! :) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vOpr6gYfgs
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Yoga is traditionally practiced in bare feet to help us feel stability and connect directly with the ground or mat under our feet. But why else do we remove our shoes before entering a yoga room and beginning our practice?

On a basic level, shoes track in dirt, making the floor unclean. By removing your shoes prior to entering the yoga room, it helps to provide a clean environment in which to practice. The first of the five Niyamas, the moral virtues of yoga, is saucha {purity or cleanliness}. External cleanliness refers to both the physical body and environment. In some cultures and traditions, it’s disrespectful if you walk indoors with your shoes on. The custom of leaving your shoes at the door is a sign of respect.

Removing shoes upon entering a studio or before stepping onto your yoga mat becomes a ritual. This ritual helps to get you prepared to practice and indicates a shift in perspective.

We provide shoe racks near the studio door. Thank you in advance for  respecting  this policy.

Namaste

Yes, after 5 years in our current location, we are moving to a new space!!
When Sara and I first decided to work together, we both had a vision of someday expanding to offer multiple healing modalities under one roof. Our goal has always been to provide a relaxing, healing environment for our students and clients.
Sara Mehringer, the massage therapist that I currently share space with, is opening The BLU ROOM WELLNESS CENTER at 1807 Heritage Hills Dr. on May 1st.  Present Moment will be moving over there as well! In addition to the studio, the Center will offer massage, a meditation room, a naturopathic doctor, and one of 5 Blu Room Ultraviolet Therapy rooms in the country!
We are very excited to bring this center to the community and will be sending out more info about the services offered throughout the month! Construction is finishing up, and my first class there will be the 9:30 a.m. class on Monday, May 1st.
I can't wait for you all to see it and to start offering more classes and events there! Thank you all for being a part of Present Moment!
NAMASTE