Celebrate February with Heart Openers

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, our theme this month is Heart Opening. We see February as an opportunity to increase self-love and invite more love and healing into your life. We use yoga to do this by practicing heart-opening poses.

Backbends are one of the most popular forms of heart-opening postures. Some of the physical benefits of backbends are strengthening the muscles in the back, stretching the muscles in the chest and shoulders, releasing tension from the neck and shoulders, and increasing mobility and flexibility of the spine.

Backbends also offer the emotional benefits of reducing stress and anxiety, relieves depression and feelings of loneliness, boosts feelings of self-confidence, and increases openness to love. Mentally and emotionally, they invite courage and vulnerability and help to release emotions that have become trapped and held in the body.

As you go through your practice this month, we invite you to experience the many benefits of heart-opening poses.

An Exploration of Backbends Workshop

With our focus on Heart Openers this month, we are excited to feature this workshop hosted by Kaitlyn Romei!

Saturday, February 18th from 12 noon until 2pm

This workshop will provide students with a deep understanding of the spine and Kaitlyn will teach exercises and drills focused on developing the strength, flexibility, and mobility necessary to practice healthy backbends. 

This is a great opportunity for anyone who has reached a plateau in their backbending practice and is looking for ways to spice up their practice. It is also great for slowing down and explaining certain aspects of backbending that often aren’t completely covered in class because time is limited.

Specific postures that will be broken down and explored are wheel pose, camel pose, and dancer pose. Not only will different ways to enter these postures be taught but also ways in which students can find proper engagement within the body and work towards deeper variations.

This workshop is designed for all levels. The only prerequisite is the ability to get up and down from the floor with ease. If you are a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher, this workshop is accepted for continuing education hours. There will be an opportunity for Q & A at the end of the workshop.

Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Cost $50 per person, $40 for Body Balance auto-renewal and annual members.

Sweetheart Deals of the Month 

YOGA MAT SALE!!!

 Just in time for Valentine's Day, we are taking 14 percent off the regular price of all of our mats!  This includes our newly arrived Manduka mats (including a kids version) and our cotton Hugger Mugger and Jade mats!

These mats are only available for sale in the studio so come and visit soon to see our selection of mats and other retail items (did someone say new shirts and homemade soy candles?)!

WELCOME BACK UNLIMITED MONTH!!!

 This special offer let's you attend unlimited classes for 30 days for $89 but it's only available to purchase one time per new member and is only good through the end of February.

New Pilates Barre Class

We have added a new Pilates Barre on Monday nights at 5:30pm!

For those of you who love Barre, this class is for you! Whether you have done Barre before, have attended Carli’s Wednesday Pilates Barre class, or you want to channel your inner Ballerina, this is your opportunity to experience this class with Tiffany Reaves.

This class takes the foundation of Pilates and combines the practice with ballet-inspired movement and incorporates yoga and strength training elements. These exercises improve balance and flexibility and build strength and stability through a stronger core and muscle control.

This class is appropriate for students of all levels, and modifications will be offered to accommodate individual practices as you grow in your strength and knowledge.

 Final Holiday Challenge Results

Once again this year, our Holiday Challenge started in November and  ran through January. This year we split the competition into 2 phases to make the goals more attainable. 

In the top spot by a huge margin is Nicole Brown with 68 visits!  We asked Nicole (aka Nikki) to tell us a little about herself and what inspires her to do yoga and it turns out that she is a wellness professional! Here is Nikki’s story, in her own words:

“I own and operate NikkiB Wellness Studio and have a strong passion for all things holistic (mind, body, spirit). 

Yoga is a representation of lifestyle in how I look at life, and it makes me smile with gratitude."

We had a total of 12 members complete both phases of the challenge by meeting or exceeding the overall goal of attending 40 classes. Here’s the list of our top 12 members and the number of classes they attended:

Additionally, these 13 members were successful in meeting the goal of one phase of the competition and earning their shirts:

Congratulations to all of our winners! If you haven’t already picked up your shirt, please stop by the front desk at the studio.

 New Policy on Yoga Mat Rentals

Starting February 15th, we will be implementing a new policy to charge $5 for yoga mat rentals.  We have not charged for mat rentals in the past, but with more people coming to the studio, our staff is having to spend more time cleaning and putting mats away. 

We will still allow members to “test drive” mats if they trying to decide which mat they want to purchase. Whenever you borrow one of our mats, we ask that you leave the mat on the floor in the practice room or put it in the laundry bin so we can clean it. Please don’t roll up your borrowed mat and place it back in the rental bin.

Thanks for your understanding!

CONTACT US

 Please visit our website at www.bodybalancewilliamsburg.com for more information on the studio or any of our events or classes. You can also email suzanne@bodybalancewilliamsburg.com.