Behind the Scenes: Winter 2016 Class Schedule

Over the past few weeks we’ve been hard at work planning the Class Schedule for the beginning of 2016. You might think planning the Class Schedule is a quick and easy job, but it’s actually very challenging. Every time I update the Class Schedule, I have to take into account a lot of competing priorities.

I need to consider which class types tend to work in which time slots, which actually means two different things: which classes are popular at which times, and which classes are theoretically beneficial at which times. For example, early in the morning and late at night, gentle classes are beneficial because they help us ease into our day and help us wind down so we can sleep well at night.

I also need to consider teacher availability, which means scheduling around the teachers’ full time job work schedules, outside teaching schedules, childcare availability, and rush hour.

One of my personal priorities is to schedule teachers for classes they love to teach. Sure, all of our teachers are great and could probably teach any class type in a pinch, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re confident and enthusiastic in teaching every class type.

I want teachers to be in the zone and the best way to accomplish that is to allow them teach their area of expertise. It’s one way I can help them stoke their enthusiasm and avoid burnout, and give them the opportunity to further refine their teaching. We teachers learn so much from our students.

My other personal priority is to minimize change. I pretty much never do a radical overhaul of the schedule. I try to keep things as consistent as possible so that it’s easy to remember when your favorite teachers teach.

Now that you’ve had a peak behind the scenes, here is our schedule for January 2nd through March 2016. Please note we will have a special schedule for New Year’s Day which we’ll announce next week. Keep reading for a list of the changes as compared to our current schedule.

(Click on the schedule for a printable version.)

Monday 6:45 p.m. changes to Vinyasa Flow with Iyone 7:30 p.m. changes to Gentle with Susan

Tuesday 8:00 a.m. Free Meditation Session with Zelinda (NEW!)

Thursday 8:00 a.m. Self-Guided Practice with Cony (NEW!)

Sunday 9:15 a.m. changes to Vinyasa Flow with Iyone 10:30 a.m. changes to Gentle with Iyone 5:00 p.m. Yoga for Cancer with Stacy (NEW!)

XO, Zelinda

P.S. Do you live or work near Dell in Round Rock? A person with an eye disability (who is unable to drive) reached out to us, wondering if we know of anyone in his area who might be able to give him a ride to and from any Gentle or Restorative classes on weekends, or weekdays after 5PM. Interested in helping out a fellow yogi? Email us at info@rryogaroom.com, and we'll connect you!

Our Best Free Resources for Home Yoga Practice

Someone very close to me had a serious health scare this week. We spent half a day waiting on additional tests, and luckily it turned out that the situation is not nearly as bad as we initially thought. After the shock wore off, I got to thinking about what I could have done, or what I can do now, to help improve the health of my sweet loved one. And for that matter, help improve the health of all my loved ones near and far, including family, friends, you, and all of your family and friends.

So in this newsletter I’ve pulled together a list of our very best free resources for home yoga practice. Pick your favorites and use them to integrate 10 minutes of simple yoga practice into your daily routine. And If you have more than 10 minutes, great! You can do 10 minutes two or three times per day, or even come see us for a class at the studio. But if you have only 10 minutes, we’ve got you covered with these free resources.

Based on what I learned at MD Anderson, mind-body practices like yoga and meditation have been scientifically proven (and published in medical journals) to improve health and aid in healing.

Many of our own students at The Yoga Room have had their cholesterol, blood pressure, and/or diabetes medicines reduced or even eliminated by their doctors because their health improved so much with consistent yoga practice. How awesome is that?!

We know it's not always possible to find time to practice yoga at a yoga studio. Or maybe there's no yoga studio in your town, or maybe there's not the right kind of yoga studio in your town, or maybe you've never practiced yoga before and you're intimidated to step foot in a yoga studio.

No worries, you can use these resources to practice yoga at home. You'll feel the benefits of better health, and I bet your loved ones will be thrilled to know that you're doing all you can to live a long and healthy life.

Oh, and one more thing. Everybody (I mean it! Every Body!) can practice yoga, it’s just a matter of finding the right practice. Sometimes the right practice is not even yoga poses, it might be breathing practice or relaxation practice. So even if you’re in a wheelchair or on strict bed rest, you can still practice some kind of yoga.

Here is the list of resources. Even if a particular title doesn’t seem to apply to you, I encourage you to check it out anyway. These are great short practices that EveryBody can do.

Easy Yoga for Relaxation {printable document} Yoga for Computer Users {3:12} Yoga for People Who Aren’t Flexible (Yet!) {7:25} Yoga for Fibromyalgia {19:28, great practice for Every Body} Yoga for People Who Stand at Work {7:23} Gentle Yoga for Neck & Shoulder Pain (20:11} Yoga for the Upper Back, Neck, and Shoulders {11:13} Gentle Yoga to Release Stress {8:34} Fun Yoga to Free Up Your Hips and Shoulders {4:25} Restorative Yoga For When You're Exhausted {11:53} Yoga for Road Trips {6:09} Yoga for Stressed Out Mommies {9:28}

Please let me know if you have any questions at all. You can post a comment (if you're reading this on Facebook or on our blog) or email me. I look forward to your questions and your success stories!

XO, Zelinda