Join Our Kids' Yoga for the Last Classes of the Year!

This term we're opening up our Kids' Yoga classes for a wider age range, and inviting children from 3-1/2 to 9 years to have fun together, contributing and cooperating, and belonging.

Our Kids' Yoga classes help children gain confidence and body awareness, and develop relationships within a group. Each class features a sequence of yoga poses and games within the structure of a story which children have the opportunity to influence.

These classes have been planned specifically for your child to meet the goals of the principles and strands of Te Whariki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, and/or the principles, values, key competencies and achievement objectives of the New Zealand Curriculum Health and Physical Education, depending on each child's age and needs.

Kids' Yoga at Healium
Mondays 4 pm to 4.45 pm
3 Nov, 10 Nov, 17 Nov, 24 Nov, 1 Dec

For pricing, contact Sylvia or Isa at Healium.

New Class Schedule: Yoga, Pilates & More!

As we announced last week, Jenifer and I will be transitioning Healium's Wellington operations to Sylvia. To facilitate this transition and carry you forward into further Healiumness, we've come up with a new class schedule. It takes effect Monday, 2 September, and it includes most everything you've already been taking as well as two awesome new classes: Performance Conditioning and Bellydance! Check 'em out:

Performance Conditioning. A blend of Pilates and yoga to develop strength, flexibility and mobility, focusing on a different area each week (e.g., legs, shoulders, arms). Great for dancers, athletes, actors - and everyone else!

Bellydance. Marvel at what your body can do as we explore isolations and foundational bellydance technique. Great for both beginners and more advanced dancers. 60 minutes - same pricing!

(Want a low-cost introduction to bellydance? Sylvia will be leading Have Pelvis, Will Boogie: Introductory Bellydance Workshop through Chalkle on Saturday, 31 August at Healium. At this writing, only four spaces remain. For details, click here.)

And here's that new timetable:

Healium 2.0

So, it's time for an important update, since everyone is starting to ask: what about immigration? Well, we heard back from them a few weeks ago, and this was (pretty much) their answer: "You are doing great, but not great enough to stay. Congratulations on investing so much time and money, for turning a good profit, but not good enough - kthnxgbye."

Yes, seriously. No, there are no other options available to us for gaining residency (we checked). Thus, we are going forward to the US, and you are probably staying here on account of your being residents and citizens and work visa holders and having jobs and lives and stuff.

So, we're going. But, Healium is staying. And here's how:

1. Sylvia is going to take over operations of Healium Wellington!

Most of you know Sylvia and, like we do, think she is great. When I look at Sylvia, I see a person who is where I was before coming to New Zealand. I see a person who is passionate about movement and learning, who loves working with each student and giving them personalized instruction in a group setting, and who has great business skills and is ready to take on a place like Healium!

It takes a lot of courage for her to step up into this position, and that says a lot about her character if you ask me. I know that she's going to be a great leader "on the ground" for this community, and Ryan and I are going to be with her every step of the way!

During the next few weeks of our transition, we'll be announcing what changes are afoot - all with our 100% support and backing - to keep this community healthy and vibrant, to make sure we are serving your needs and interests, and carrying you forward as the community grows and changes.

2. We are setting up the Healium Virtual Studio!

Oddly enough, sometime in early July I had this idea to be able to meet the needs of my clients in Philadelphia and on the West Coast (US), and a few folks in random places such as Australia and Israel. Obviously, all of my research and work around this was actually to set it up for you!

I hadn't planned on getting the library up and rolling - or even filming it until October - but as you know, we'll start filming in September. We need your help, and we'll pay you in chocolate. So let me know that you are coming and what your chocolate requirements are!

In addition to the library, I will be available for online private lessons and some group classes and workshops and whatnot. This is also how we'll be continuing the teacher training and how I'll be doing Pilates and bellydancing with Sylvia - through the Internet! It's a funny little miracle, isn't it?

3. We are going to start some form of Healium Pittsburgh!

This may not be all that interesting to you, but since we can't stay in New Zealand, we sat around for about 45 minutes and decided that we should probably go somewhere where we didn't have to apply for a visa. Other attributes we looked for were low cost of living, job opportunities, opportunities for Healium, Steiner education for Hawk, and accessible city living.

We hit upon Pittsburgh because it fits all the criteria - and is near our families. So, away we go on another adventure.

Now, you probably want to know about timelines. 

Right now, we are transitioning Healium over to Sylvia. We'll do this through the month of August, and in September, she'll run point while we back her up. Then in October, Sylvia will take on full ownership of the business.

Ryan and I will be here - and I'll be teaching most of the classes as well as available for private lessons -- until October. And then we head to the US!

We'll also have a final farewell bash for our community sometime at the end of September/beginning of October. We'll let you know when we have the final date.

All in all, Hawk put it best: We're excited to go, but sad to leave. Every one of you means so much to us, and we are so thankful for your dedication, love, and friendship during our time here. We want that connection to continue - with Healium on the ground here in Wellington, the virtual studio, and in any other ways we can create connection!

Randomly Asked Questions: What Sort of Yoga Do We Do?

This is becoming an increasingly asked question (maybe not so random?), and it's a bit more difficult to answer than you might think. Why? Because it's actually a big question.

So here is the short answer:

We practice a flowing sequence of postures, practiced with alignment rooted in the traditions of yoga and modern science to provide the best outcomes. It is underlined by an emphasis in the practice of mindfulness, an accessible method of meditation which science shows us is a quite effective stress-reduction technique!

And here is the long answer:

To really understand what we practice, we need to look at what was going on culturally in India around the time our teacher arose into his genius. Our teacher's name - the lineage from which we draw our practice - is Krishnamacharya. And to understand him - and the students who came after, including each of you and what you practice - we must understand the world in which he lived.

Krishnamacharya lived in the early part of the 20th century, when the vibrant, traditional practice of yoga was in another renaissance and the physical culture of the West (physical therapy, bodybuilding and even the concept of cardio training) was developing. He was educated in the philosophy of the Vedic cultures at several universities, receiving several degrees and teaching certificates.

He also studies yoga asana (postures) throughout his life - first learning from his family, and then from many luminaries, but it was master Yogeshwara Ramamohana Brhamachari who would guide Krishnamacharya into his life's calling.

Krishnamacharya - after so many years of the deep study of yoga - spent an additional 7.5 years with his teacher learning asanas (postures), pranayamas (breath work) and the therapeutic applications of yoga.

From here, Krishnamacharya was encouraged to become a householder and teach yoga. And so he did.

Krishnamacharya taught the yoga that he learned, and taught the four great luminaries heading into the middle and latter parts of the 20th century:

• Pattabhi Jois, who created Astanga Yoga;
• BKS Iyengar, who created Iyengar Yoga;
• Desikachar, who developed Viniyoga;
• Indra Devi, who took her yoga to Hollywood in the 1940s, adapted it to the local needs, and was even the teacher of Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe!

As you can see, each of these teachers were trained by the same teacher - Krishnamacharya - and each of them then created their own unique perspective on how to transmit this yoga to students. This is one of the most exciting aspects of yoga, and in particular the lineage of Krishnamacharya.

Why is this so? Krishnamacharya taught to his teachers: "Teach what is appropriate for an individual."

He not only utilized the traditional forms of  yoga asana and pranayama, but blended it with the best of Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, and also Western science as it was developing at the time. And, in turn, his teachers took up their own specific interests and built on this, able to add in their own understanding, new innovations based on observation and response to their students as well as modern science!

So, that is the beginning of our lineage. From here, it moves specifically to me - Jenifer Parker - and how I fit into this lineage.

My education in yoga begins in childhood, but it wasn't really until I got to university that I had access to classes. I learned at home and via books before then, but I really hungered for a teacher!

At university, I studied with a local teacher. She's a kinesiologist - the kind that studies movement - and trained at Kripalu, a major center in the U.S. Kripalu method is based on developing awareness in the process. It's a simple method: enter the pose, observe realign, observe, realign and then move into meditation (or, simply observe the sensations of the posture and breath if meditation is still a bit tough to grasp).

From there, I wanted to take more classes and get some diversity. I studied with a nearby Iyengar teacher and then also a Kundalini teacher for a little bit. Iyengar yoga is really therapeutic: postures and sequences are modified to the individual very specifically. Kundalini yoga, on the other hand - or at least what I was taught - focuses on the kriyas, or energetic cleansing practices. It was really fun and cool, and my first introduction to vinyasa, but not the same as what we do now!

I was really blessed that - while both encouraged me to go to official certifications - the teachers were also willing to take me on as an apprentice. It was a real joy to attend, observe and assist their classes. I never taught classes at their venues, but I felt more confident in teaching friends and small groups as I was invited to do so. And, my teachers encouraged me to teach, to share what I knew and practice with others.

After graduating from university, I moved away . . . and discovered power yoga. I happened upon a studio that was teaching Baptiste Power Vinyasa yoga and Astanga yoga.

I fell in love. I fell in love with vinyasa yoga, connecting postures and breath. I'd always loved the beauty and grace of the Sun Salutations, a flowing sequence of postures that we would sometimes do in my Iyengar or Kripalu classes. But I'd always wanted more, and I was thankful to have found it.

Having these two styles, Baptiste's power yoga and Astanga, was a real education. Both were set sequences of flowing postures, getting through about 40 or 50 individual postures in their series. The sequences take about 1.5 hours, and they work in uniquely different ways. For me, Astanga felt more "stretchy" or "opening" while Baptiste's power yoga felt more "strength building."

After a time the studio where I practiced moved to doing just Baptiste, and I really started to understand the differences in my body. Before, I'd practiced two Baptiste and two Astanga classes per week. Afterwards, I was doing four Baptiste. This wasn't a bad thing, but I did notice that I was stronger - and quite muscular for it - but I didn't feel quite as lithe or springy as I had when doing Astanga.

So, I decided to go out and do a bit more Astanga. I did, getting into the advanced series (which might be understood as the Third and Fourth Series). What I noticed is that there were a few kinks in my practice, and to an extent I started to feel "too loose" and not as strong as I did before.

From here, I started experimenting with my own vinyasa. I wanted to create a balance that really worked for me - not too strong such that I'd be rigid, and not too loose that I'd lack physical integrity!

I dug back into my past training and teachers to bring it all together.

• While I was developing these sequences, I spent a lot of time with the Kripalu method, really feeling and identifying in my own body what was happening with each posture and how each posture in the sequence fit together.
• I also went back to my Iyengar training, discovering modifications to help facilitate the practice, practicing with props and also using my own body as a prop to see how that worked to create a progressive, accessible practice.
• I looked at the vinyasa sequences I'd studied, trying to figure out how they worked and why they created the outcomes in my body that they did. And then I experimented with combining them and creating new combinations to see how those worked.
• I studied functional anatomy and range of motion, and talking to chiropractors and physiotherapists to learn about how this practice worked - not only in terms of the joints and the musculoskeletal system but also in terms of the neurological system.
• Finally, I spent a great deal of time working with my students. When I would create a sequence that I thought was working well for me, I would take it to my "experimental class." This was a once-per-week class where my most experienced students would come and let me experiment on them. They gave me feedback and would practice the sequence at home in between sessions and then report their reports. Often, they would get the same results I was getting, and sometimes, well, they wouldn't! That would always send me back to my own self-study to figure out why that was happening!

When I moved to Wellington, I knew that I needed to create something truly unique. I knew that I would focus mostly on beginners - I wanted to reach people who had never taken yoga classes before but really wanted to. I wanted the sequence to be accessible to all levels - so beginners can join right in at any time - and to provide the results students wanted both quickly and effectively.

I looked at the many barriers to entry in terms of yoga classes - barriers that I often faced myself! The time commitment for a 1.5 hours class is huge. The financial commitment of that time is also quite large, with class prices sitting at $18 to $22 per drop-in! One student told me that in France she would drop into a class for 20 Euros; I did a Google search and saw some for as much as 25 to 28 Euros! That's $30 to $43 for a single 1.5-hour yoga class! Add to that transportation/parking costs, mat rental, towel rental and so on . . . or spending $115 on a yoga mat, and it's just . . . wow.

I am a yoga teacher and paying those sorts of prices just seems . . . wow. And, trust me, I know that overhead can be high when paying for the venue, paying teachers and so on. I mean, I seriously get that. But . . . wow!

So, here I am, going, "How do I provide the most effective yoga sequence for a reasonable amount of time, at a fair and comfortable price per class?"

And that's how I came up with what we do at Healium. After experimenting with many sequences and different class times (from 35 to 75 minutes), my students reported that they actually were getting the best experience and best results with 45-minute classes and the sequences that created.

Of course, as you know, those sequences are also not set in stone. I'm still learning and experimenting. Right now, I'm spending a lot of time working with Nik Curry to discover how postural patterning works - both for me individually and for how I teach my classes to give my clients even better results! This work is also backed up with what I'm learning in Sylvia's Pilates class - honestly, the first Pilates class I've ever really liked (and I've tried 10,000 times) because it truly reflects and transmits the deeply therapeutic discipline that Joseph Pilates created!

And there's also you - each and every one of you give immeasurable feedback by how your bodies and minds respond to the teaching that we do. The hands-on assisting creates for you and for me the experience of learning how yoga works and is working. When something is no longer working for you, I make adjustments to how I teach - whether that's the assisting, the sequence or adding a new class that will allow you to explore and experience your practice in new and more mature ways.

Why? Because Krishnamacharya said so: "Teach what is appropriate for an individual."

And that's exactly what I strive to do - and what all of our teachers strive to do as well!

Expanded Yoga and Pilates Schedule - Beginning 1 May!

You ask, you receive!

Over the last four months we've received some amazing feedback from all of you! You wanted more classes at lunchtime, some later evening classes and some early morning ones too!

With Katia and Sylvia ready to teach, and Jenifer adding a couple more classes to her schedule, we are able to provide!

With six more classes than before - 20 each week - you have more options than ever. This new schedule begins Wednesday, 1 May - see you around!

Meet the Teacher: Sylvia Edge-Perkins

This time around we talk to Sylvia Edge-Perkins, who teaches Pilates at Healium.

1. What is your favorite thing about Pilates?

It's almost infinitely adaptable - I've had students do Pilates in a leg cast. Or in bed.

2. What is your favorite Pilates movement?

The roll-up: from lying on the back, peeling the spine off the floor from the top of the head and reaching the upper body forward over the legs before stacking up into a seated position. It's a really satisfying movement, particularly as many people take a while to "get" it, so it's super-exciting when they do.

3. What is your favorite thing to teach?

Right now I'm really into upper-body posture - the placement of the shoulder blades, rib cage, arms and head. Often people live in a small, forward-oriented range of their available posture, and it's really exciting to see their upper body open up as they learn to stack themselves up tall.

4. What is your favorite movement to teach?

Pilates press-ups, because there's so much in them! Press-ups are a full-body workout, but the Pilates version breaks the set-up into easier-to-manage chunks by adding calf raises, spinal articulation and stretching, and my beloved plank position.

5. What is your favorite thing to do other than practice and teach Pilates?

I love to dance! I teach and perform American Tribal Style bellydance, which is an amazing format for group improvisation in bellydance. It all ties in with my love of movement and the awesomeness of the human body fostered by yoga and Pilates.

Pilates Comes to Healium!

Beginning Monday, 3 September, Healium will be offering Pilates classes! Please welcome Sylvia Edge-Perkins, who will be leading these classes on Mondays and Thursdays at 11.15 am.

When I was eighteen I broke my leg while ice skating, and it might be the best thing that's ever happened to me. My rehab program sparked an enduring interest in the wondrous mystery of the human body, cured me of my fear of the gym, and eventually led me to bellydance (one of the loves of my life), a fascination with posture and alignment, and Pilates as a complement to all of the above.

I was going to be an astronomer or a paleoanthropologist or a Latin teacher or a translation theorist, so I like a bit of science, a bit of theory and a lot of long Latin names.

Pilates is a movement system designed by one Joseph Pilates, German, world traveler, boxer, circus performer and all-around interesting chap. Mr. Pilates started out devising rehabilitative movement for war casualties in a British internment camp, and ended up providing cross-training for the New York Ballet. His system was constantly evolving even during his lifetime, as he continued to study and innovate.

I teach Stott Mat Pilates - I like to travel with minimal equipment! Each class starts with cultivation of the particular breathing technique used for Pilates, then moves through a warm-up series that focuses on the placement and movement of the pelvis, shoulder blades, head and neck, spine, and limbs. Further exercises build on this foundation to develop coordination, flexibility, strength and endurance.

I've seen my students gain confidence, improve posture, stand sit taller, recover from injuries and chronic pain, become stronger, and generally feel happier. I feel blessed to have been able to contribute.