New Class at Vic City

I’m thrilled to combine two of my passions – yoga & crossfit! Tomorrow will be the first yoga class I’ll be leading at Crossfit Vic City. (Class is only $5) I’m looking forward to sharing practice with this incredible community (NOTE: open to Non-Members too!!!) and offering a time for us all to work on our mobility, breathing, focus and relaxation.  If you have any questions about classes, or want to contact me for any other reason please send me an email at erika@erikahoward.ca

Classes at Vic City are scheduled for September 20th, October 4th, October 18th, October 25th from 8:45-9:45. Check out my class page or schedule for updates!

Tao let go

 

Class Update: Welcoming the New

Happy 2014 dear readers and friends! I hope the start of this new year has invigorated you with a sense of excitement and purpose.  As we welcome a new year we can take this opportunity to welcome other new things into our lives… for me this will be a wonderful little person in a few weeks time.  But before then I’m excited to see you for our Monday Morning yoga sessions.

Yoga will resume this coming Monday January 13th.  At the regular time of 7:45 – 8:45am.

This week we’ll be exploring how we prepare for things… Mentally and emotionally by opening ourselves up to the unknown and releasing fear, doubt and worry. We aim to mirror this in our physical practice as we mindfully move throughout our practice and transition from pose to pose.

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As I prepare for motherhood I want you to know that the classes will continue thanks to the incredible Roosa Leimu-Brown.  Roosa has practiced astanga yoga for nearly 14 years and taught yoga classes in Finland and in Germany for 6 years before moving to the UK.  She has been teaching a class at Linacre College on Tuesday mornings, and is also a beautiful contemporary dancer.  When I feel I am no longer able to teach Roosa will be leading class! I feel blessed that she will provide you with a seamless transition.  I’m hoping to be back after some time with our little one whenever Minion arrives, but will keep you updated on how things are going.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me!
Hope to see you on Monday!
Namaste,
~ Erika

One more before Christmas!

The countdown begins – whether it’s to the end of work before the break, or until the last window is opened in your advent calendar!  I’ll be teaching one more class in 2013, this coming Monday’s Vinyasa Yoga Practice.  I know that many of you will have already begun your journey home or elsewhere for the Holidays, but if you’re in town I would love to share one last session together.

Wherever you’ll be for the Holidays I would like to offer you some classes that you can do in the comfort of wherever you find yourself!
A class I’ve put up on youtube is available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pzfE6g3dO0

And this is a fantastic website that has a variety of classes for different levels (and some short practices if you only have a bit of time).
http://www.doyogawithme.com/

It’s so easy to get caught up in the rush of the season, last minute shopping, the possible chaos of travel and busy terminals, and fitting in all of the fun activities in our busy social calendar… so remember to take some time each day to close your eyes and connect inward.  Breath. Lengthen your exhalation. Listen to the sounds around you, observe the smells, and drink in other sensations that arise.  Take it all in and let it wash over you.  And then release it all. Keep only what serves you and remember what the essence of the holidays are about: LOVE. PEACE. TOGETHERNESS.

Enjoy this little post – where Charlie Brown helps put it all in perspective!

And a song that will always make me think of my youth and the hours I spent in the gymnastics gym 🙂

 

Class & Holiday Update!

dance in the rain

I wanted to say what a joy it has been to be able to share yoga and some fun Friday night dancing with such incredible people!  Thank you for sharing your energy, enthusiasm, passion and dedication!

I wanted to pass along some important information for the next few months.
First of all, class dates from now until up to the Holidays/Christmas.

Monday Vinyasa Yoga
Classes will continue as follows:
Monday November 25th
Monday December 2nd
Monday December 9th
Monday December 16th
* There will then be a pause for you to celebrate, relax and enjoy the festive season with those you love!

Friday Evening Dance
Classes will continue as follows:
Friday November 22nd
Friday November 28th
Friday December 7th
* There will then be a pause as University term ends, students return home to enjoy the festive season!

Class in January
As many of you know there’s a little one on the way.  I’m hoping that I will feel strong, healthy and able to continue classes at least throughout January – however I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep.  As such I will send out an email in early January to let you know of my intentions in terms of teaching schedule in the New Year.  I appreciate your understanding, support and compassion as I negotiate this exciting time 🙂

Entering the University Club
Many people have indicated that entering the club (especially on a Monday morning) can be a challenge.  The University Club does not require you to be a member to do class!  However, if you do not have a valid membership card, or are a University Member who has registered their card you will need to ‘buzz’ in.  There is usually someone there, however they might be busy elsewhere so you might want to give yourself an extra minute or two to deal with this!

Please know I will always welcome you to class whenever you’re able to arrive, and understand the challenge of Monday mornings and the front door “situation”.  Thank you for cooperating with the Club’s wishes as well!

REQUESTS!!!???!!!
I would love to welcome requests and suggestions for both yoga and dance (poses/movements, music, themes).  If there’s something we’ve done that you loved and you want to do it again – let me know!  If we haven’t touched on something and you’re eager to give it a try, let me know and we can explore it together… Please feel free to send me an email (erika@erikahoward.ca)!

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Class Reminders/Info

Life is like a bicycle

First of all I have to apologize for not blogging more. In trying to keep balance in my life (sometimes also known as sanity) I have let this area slip a little, but we’re all just doing the best we can aren’t we? But, I did want to write a post to let you know about my classes and an exciting new class a friend is hosting.

Classes continue as normal for the week of Oct 27-Nov 1st!
While some people have a half term break, I’d rather just keep rolling (besides I’m not sure which half term really fits into my life anyhow).  As such, yoga and contemporary dance classes will continue at the normal date/time.

Contemporary Class NEWS
After much interest from beginners/intermediate dancers I have decided to focus the class on this ability/experience level.  As always, everyone (at any level) is more than welcome to come but needs to be considerate that the class is aimed at this level.
In addition, choreography for the class will continue for the month (there may be some crossover from month to month if we don’t explore something enough).  The goal of this is so that dancers who attend regularly won’t have to relearn choreography each week, and will therefore get to dig into more technical concepts and explore more (less in our heads and more in our bodies!).

If you have questions or suggestions please let me know! You can always contact me at erika@erikahoward.ca

Oxford has a NEW yoga class!
A wonderful dancer/yogi friend has started a yoga class on Tuesday mornings. Here are all the details!
I will be teaching a new yoga class at Linacre college on Tuesday mornings 7.30-8.30am starting on the 22nd October. This class will be suitable for beginners, but also challenging for those who have already done some yoga. I have been practicing astanga yoga for nearly 14 years and taught yoga classes in Finland and in Germany for ca 6 years before moving to the UK. Now it is finally time to start teaching again. I charge £5 a class and all you need to bring is a yoga mat. Please contact me: roosa.leimu@plants.ox.ac.uk if you are interested.

As the temperature drops and the days get shorter we need to bring more light and warmth into our lives – yoga and dance are the perfect ways to do this!
Hope to see you soon!
Namaste ~ Erika