Yoga Archives - JTB Wellness

August 23, 2021

Yoga is for Everybody…

Yoga is for everybody.

Every gender.

Every race.

Every color, creed, belief, and background.

When yoga is practiced in a loving, accepting space, it promotes a sense of well-being.

Side effects of beginning a yoga practice can include a desire to take better care of one’s self and explore the ethics and traditions behind this ancient practice. Simple, constructive things like being kinder to your neighbor, asking bigger questions in your spiritual practice, and caring for your body, the divine vessel you live life in.

If you can breathe, you can do yoga.

If you can show up on your mat, you are doing yoga.

If you want to take up space, there is a space for you.

If you wish to speak, there are people who wish to listen.

We can all agree that health, vitality and a sense of belonging are universal principles.

It is my belief that something so universally needed should not be separated by class, income level, and belief system – but was designed to be enjoyed, appreciated and shared by all.

If you believe that caring for yourself, spreading joy and feeling pleasure in your body is truly for EVERYBODY – then what you can do to make the world a better, healthier place is by living this value.

It’s true!

If you wish for more people to value health and practicing yoga, you must be an example to someone else.

A friend for someone in need who is going through turbulence.

A friendly face in a fitness class when someone is trying it out for the first time.

An inspiration to someone who wishes for your strength and flexibility someday.

If you believe in yoga’s magic…do more yoga!

At JTB, we have something for everybody. Every level, every need, every time.

We know the human body is dynamic and seasons change and bring different needs.

That is why we have the variety in our service menu that you might not see elsewhere.

JTB was created with YOU in mind.

Therefore, this blog post is dedicated to you, our clients at JTB who show up for themselves – the ones who understand we do not do yoga simply for ourselves, but for our communities.

For the person next to us in class.

To share energy with our instructors and staff.

To center ourselves to be better friends, partners, parents, and citizens.

We hope you enjoy taking up space and shining your light….as much as we enjoy having you!

March 18, 2020

How to set up an Efficient At Home Practice

Once COVID-19 really began to spread, our lives flipped upside-down instantly. The point of this blog post is to reiterate that you are worth the love, attention, and alone-time that you might be sacrificing right now. Hopefully, it will also provide you the tools and some guidance on how to give yourself that consistency in your routine; as now, more than ever may be the best time to focus on your mental, physical and spiritual health

Clear your mind

Address any worries or fears around what’s going on beyond your mat. As we stress at JTB, wellness is not just working out, but working in, too. If you are paralyzed by fear and worry, be sure you are taking active steps to address this and take action, where appropriate. Sometimes the best action to take is meditation. However, you can simultaneously understand that you are worthy to show up as you are and no matter what’s going on, you get to have a break for yourself and your health!

Schedule a Meeting With Yourself

Treat your time alone as preciously as you would a class scheduled with us in the studio….or a meeting with your boss, friend or family member. Schedule a time that works for you, write it down or make an alert on your phone, get dressed and show up for yourself.

Be mindful of the time you choose, too. Just because you see everyone else online working out in the morning, but you KNOW that’s never going to happen for you – be honest and patient with yourself… but at the end of the day, a workout scheduled at a less-than-perfect time is better than no workout at all.

Clear your space

I have seen many people make do with small studio apartments, and I’ve seen people with massive decks, backyards and at-home gyms make excuses. The distinction here is that you make space, and see it as sacred. Remove anything from your immediate area that’s going to trigger you to think about work (books, work clothes, etc) or anything that is taking you out of your mental peace right now. You don’t have to do anything dramatic, simply get it out of your sight so that you can twist, move and sweat in your own little wonderland. If possible, take more space than you think you’ll need. If you are going to be doing jacks or burpees, or like to take long, flowing steps in vinyasa, take up the space needed so you don’t feel cheated during your me-time.

Integrate all five senses, where possible

For bonus points, consider ADDING anything that makes you feel more at peace. Plants, essential oil diffuser, a little sign with encouraging words. My advice would be to include more of the five senses as possible to really integrate the mind and body into your new make-shift space.

For example:

Sound – the music of your choosing … or some peace and quiet, if preferred or possible.

Sight – clearing your space of clutter, adding little details that contribute to your zen

Smell – Fresh flowers, a candle, incense, your favorite scented lotion that you put on right before work out time (this really works!), essential oils, etc.

Touch – This can be your mat, dumbbells, changing into different clothes for your workout, etc

Taste – Maybe add some chopped fruit or flavor to your water bottle, just to trick your mind into integrating this new experience. Also, bear with me on this one, although it’s not safe to do so while you work out, some folks occasionally chewing gum during work in order to associate peppermint with concentration and focus…so maybe not while you’re doing lunges and burpees in your living room, but keep this tip in mind!

Even if you make one adjustment that sends signals to your brain and spirit that you mean business and are dissociating from the rest of the world and going deeper inward!

Community

Social distancing can’t keep us apart, so get involved with your community! We have a Facebook group and Instagram just for that purpose… as well as the workouts streamed and shared in there. Social distancing doesn’t mean deprivation of your community. If anything, we all need each other more during this time. So show up online!

Lastly, all this at-home time is a GREAT time to be real with yourself and address how you make changes in your life. In order to support yourself (and local business!) during this time, consider purchasing a gift card or a class pack, to start yourself off on strong footing with our many beneficial services.

We are working to integrate platforms for an online JTB workout subscription. As soon as that is up and running, you’ll be hearing from me!

As always, we appreciate the outpouring of support and can’t wait to see you all again real soon.

September 11, 2019

What Kind of Yoga is YOUR Kind of Yoga?

Let me explain…

Yoga was made for the soul.

Yoga was made for the spirit.

Yoga was divinely designed to get energy in the body moving around, then open and clear the chakras, and close them back up again so that we may come back to love from an elevated vibration.

Yoga was made for fun, for fitness, for movement.

Yoga was made for YOU.

Don’t believe me?

Notice how diverse, beautiful and ever-evolving the practice of yoga is.

Take Hatha Yoga, for example, an ancient practice that is designed to deepen relaxation and hold the body still to deepen flexibility within grounded, static poses. It is a very calming class to take to wind down at the end of the day.

On the other hand, we also have Vinyasa Yoga. This class tends to a little more fast-paced – as every moment is synced with breath – to achieve greater balance, endurance and strength. This style of yoga invigorates the spirits and creates heat in the body for tapas, or purifying, detoxing practice.

Think of this practice like dancing, flowing and connecting to deeper consciousness… and getting a great healthy sweat.

Power Yoga, like Vinyasa, is moved to the rhythm of your own breath – sequenced with your own intuition. Classes may include more dog cycles or Suryanamaskaras to create more heat, engage more muscles in the body, burn out the shoulders and biceps for a more challenging, detoxing practice. Power Yoga classes also may be heated.

Buti Yoga is a very dynamic form of yoga. It blends yoga, plyometrics, and dance. This is to transform the student from the inside out. Each class is sequenced intuitively and no two classes are ever the same. Classes involve primal movement to connect to our human roots and deep core toning to deepen your stability. Movement is done with creative sequencing to eclectic music designed to get the student out of their heads and into their bodies.

Yoga Nidra, or yogic sleep, is a branch of yoga where we find complete relaxation and stillness in order to connect with our pure selves- a place of calm and connection. This type of yoga requires no physical exertion whatsoever. In yoga nidra you are guided by the voice of the speaker into relaxation of all of the koshas- starting with our physical body and drawing us in to pure Atman- joy and authenticity.

The styles of yoga – from traditional to beer yoga or goat yoga, are designed to get new people to try it and have fun outdoors – vary and will continue to vary as the practice and the population evolves.

What’s YOUR favorite kind of yoga?

August 28, 2019

Can You do Only One Type of Workout?

It is a very beautiful thing to have found your favorite fitness class…

The one.

You might be in love with your favorite barre class and maybe a little too intimidated to try something else…

You may have Suryanamaskar A and B totally down and cling the comfort of that yoga class…

You may even feel like you’ve found what many refer to as their soulmate workout, like Buti Yoga, and be totally in love.

“It has everything – I’m good!

I don’t need to try anything else!”

Can you get everything you need from one workout?

The short answer is, no.

Even die-hard fitness adrenaline junkies, who you may find at a Strength, HIIT or Butts + Guts class – will need to mix it up with something more restorative….and keep their bodies guessing in order to grow and breakthrough any plateaus.

Why?

Our bodies crave various movement.

Have you ever taken yoga classes, only to find your body craves strength to feed your beautiful muscles?

Have you ever taken multiple barre classes, and get the urge to just sprint?

If not, that’s totally okay – but it may be time to feed your body different movement styles!

As you increase your body’s intuition, you will start to get a better understanding of what it needs to fit your goals.

In order to strengthen, to relax, to stretch, and to support you in your daily tasks.

Move your body in as many different ways as possible. Become more adaptive to different movement patterns.

Not only does this change the patterning of your brain, (making you smarter, a more creative thinker and adaptable) but it makes daily tasks easier with a multi-faceted fitness toolbox.

Your body is multidimensional, your spirit is multifaceted – like a crystal will many edges and sides, with its own brilliance.

Fortunately for you, JTB Wellness has this all in mind during the careful curation of our schedule.

Be sure to vary up the way you move your body – check our schedule, ask a member of our staff or send us a message if you want to learn more ways you can challenge your body and mind in new ways!

Yoga is for Everybody…

How to set up an Efficient At Home Practice

What Kind of Yoga is YOUR Kind of Yoga?

Can You do Only One Type of Workout?

Take What You Need!

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