Indoor Holiday Bazaar and Market at GY!

Grace Yoga, Foushee is proud to present our first Holiday Bazaar and Market Saturday, December 6th, from 2-6pm. We will feature local artists and vendors offering one-of-a-kind gifts for everyone on your Holiday shopping list. Browse PS, It's Leather specialty leather goods, 2-Dye-4 custom tie-dye apparel and wearable art, plants by Jay Miles, Yoga prints and watercolors by our own Daina Cockrell, and much more!

Also, $99 10-class packs ONLY available at the Bazaar!!! 20% off one GY Boutique item, and 30% Consignment Yoga Clothing.

Call me at 218-6761 if you have any questions!

Namaste',
Iffet

W W G D?

Happy Birthday, Gandiji!!

I Am No Longer At American Family

Friends,

As you read this, I am reeling from being let go from American Family Fitness.

If you are a member of American Family, please know that I did not want to leave. I am so sorry that I could not say good-bye personally.

Please contact me at iffet@comcast.net

Thank you for all your support and love.

Namaste',
Iffet

I'm on Facebook!

Check out Facebook! You can hook up with old friends, relatives and classmates. You can check out some great pictures of me and my family, too (when we become "friends")!

Facebook.com

Namaste',
Iffet

Hello!

Hi, everyone!

Just wanted to put up a post and let everyone know that I'm here! I'm busy and happy, and anxiously following the upcoming elections. If you haven't registered to vote, please do so soon. Every vote counts in this election, and one way to "be the change you wish to see in the world" is by making your voice heard.

Here's a link to Rock The VOTE!

Namaste',
Iffet

Couples' Yoga Workshop!!!

Please join me at Grace Yoga for a very special Couples' Yoga Workshop on Saturday, September 27th at 6pm.

Candlelight and soft music will set an intimate mood for this two-hour Couples Yoga Workshop at the gorgeous Grace Yoga Foushee Studio.

I will lead couples through a relaxing flow of breathing, gentle stretching, and assisted Yoga poses. Couples begin class with rhythmic Pranayama breathing, seated back to back. Throughout the class, couples assist their partners with stretching and standing poses. Class closes with partners sharing a gentle neck, face, and head massage, just before a restful Savasana.

Bring a special someone for an evening of sharing and connecting through Yoga. Class is open to all, and no prior Yoga experience is necessary.

A great date night!

Please go to mygraceyoga.com to register. Space is limited to only 20 couples!!

Cost is $45 per couple (mat rental extra).

Wonderful-smelling massage lotions will be provided!

Namaste',
Iffet

Free Yoga Class for Hope and Rememberance on Sept. 11

Please join me at Grace Yoga, Foushee, for a very special class for Hope and Remembrance on Thursday, September 11th at 7pm.

I will conduct an 80 minute, mixed-level Vinyasa. Our goal will be to dedicate our love and our work towards those who need it, whether they be survivors or the 9/11 attacks, or others in our lives hit by trauma in this physical life.

I will accept donations for a local firefighters' charity.

Please go to mygraceyoga.com to register for class.

Be well.

Namaste',
Iffet

Jewelry By Heart 2 Heart Trunk Show

Friends,

Please come down to Grace Yoga Foushee Friday, September 5th from 6-9pm for a very special Trunk Show by jeweler/designer/artist, Linda Kay Allard of Jewelry by Heart 2 Heart. We will show Linda's spiritually inspired pieces, most of which are presented in pure, .999 Silver. Also, you can purchase the Grace Yoga Signature Double Tag Pendant (shown above), and all new Grace Yoga Signature Bracelet!

From the artist:

"As an artist, silversmith and designer, I create spiritual jewelry from precious metals and gemstones. I have several diplomas from the Gemological Institute of America and I am working towards my graduate gemology diploma, but my first love is spirituality and it is the meaning behind each stone and symbol that draws me to create. With each piece, my goal is to craft a work of art that helps the wearer to focus his or her intentions and thoughts on spirituality.

I spent several years in my youth as a fine jewelry buyer in department stores but it was only after my husband was diagnosed with cancer several years ago that I began creating my own pieces as I turned to the spiritual world for emotional healing. As I combined my love of jewelry with my search for peace, I incorporated designs from eastern and western religious traditions to help to connect people to their feelings and their beliefs. In doing so, I discovered that the simple act of working with these pieces is enough to engender my own sense of peace and well-being.

I truly hope that wearing these pieces will do the same for you."

Online Registration for Grace Yoga is Up and Running!

Friends,

Joining us at Grace Yoga has now been made easier!

You can go to mygraceyoga.com to view schedules for group classes, workshops, and to purchase class packs, memberships and private sessions.

Payment is secure and your information is confidential.

You may even get special pricing just for signing up online!

As always, be well, and keep practicing!

Namaste',
Iffet

Foushee Street Fair Sunday, August 24

Please join us at Grace Yoga for the Foushee Street Fair on Sunday, August 24th from 4-8PM. You can take Gentle Yoga with Arlene at 4, then browse the surrounding businesses, grab something to eat and enjoy live music!

We'll have a table set up with schedules and information about upcoming events and classes. Also, come and meet Grace Yoga's incredible faculty, and ask those burning Asana (posture) questions you've been dying to ask but couldn't (because you were on your head!).

We'd love to see all of our friends, new and old there!

Namaste',
Iffet

Mixed-Level Flow Podcast

Check out this 60-minute flow class. It was recorded at a 5:45am class, we began standing at the top of the mat.
Namaste',
Iffet

Backbends and Inversions Workshop at Grace Yoga

I will present a special workshop on Backbends and Inversions on Saturday, August 23rd at 2:30pm at Grace Yoga Studio, 209 North Foushee, between Broad and Grace Streets.

Cost $25 in-advance (up until August 20) and $30 at the door.

Click here for registration information.

“Bending back and opening the chest [also] unlocks the spirit within. Practicing these postures takes you along previously untraveled paths, challenging you to overcome fear and frustration, teaching you to move with ease and grace and to live with an open heart and a passion for life and love”
(J Chapmen, Yoga for Inner Strength, p164).

The backward bending asanas energize, refresh and invigorate the body- opening the chest, encouraging inhalation, an action associated with embracing life.

Bending backwards turns the body out to face the world, often from a different perspective.

Backbends can move blocked energy through all the chakras, or energy centers.

Often after backbends one feels invigorated, empowered and free and as though boundaries have been expanded.

The concept behind inversion poses is expressed in yoga texts as viparita karani. Viparita karani is translated as meaning 'opposite process'. This simply means facilitating a different perspective. From the purely physical point of view, this different perspective in inversion poses is literal - in terms of looking at the world from a different physical viewpoint - as well as involving the body being supported in a different way.

There is a theoretical concept in yoga about why inversion postures help. Ayurveda considers that many of the body's impurities are in the lower abdomen. When we raise our feet above the head, gravity is assisting us to move these impurities towards what the Ayurvedic system calls agni, or 'fire'. Agni particularly relates to our 'digestive fire', and is thus located above our lower abdomen.

So, by being upside down, and by using the deep and slow breathing typical of yoga, we help 'burn off' the impurities that were previously stuck.

Improved circulation is a more readily apparent and less 'esoteric' benefit of inversion yoga poses.

Please join me at this very special location for this very special workshop. I'd love to see you there!

Namaste',
Iffet

Listen to my Gentle Yoga PODCAST!!!!

Please enjoy this 60-minute Gentle Yoga class recorded on Wednesday, July 30, 2008. Take my class with you to the beach, or on vacation, or just listen in your own home.

Let me know if you like it!

Namaste',
Iffet

AMAZING!!

Here are some pictures from Grace Yoga's opening last night!

We had about 60 people! Folks had to go up to the balcony!!!

Namaste',
Iffet

GRACE YOGA DEBUT TONITE!!!!

Friends,

Please join me this evening at GRACE YOGA, 209 North Foushee, between Grace and Broad for a special FREE class, given by GRACE YOGA'S founder, Arlene Bjork!!!!!

CALL-245-9222 for information, or click here!

Look forward to seeing you TONIGHT!!!!!!!

Namaste',
Iffet

Preparing to Launch Grace Yoga!

Well, Grace Yoga Foushee Studio opens this Friday, and we're putting the finishing touches on our new home. There are many "unknowns", especially starting a business in this shaky economy. But our vision is clear and service is our mission, so we go forward with eyes and hearts open.

So please join all of us at Grace Yoga Foushee for a sneak-peek this Thursday, July 31 at 6:30pm. Arlene is preparing a special Vinyasa for all of our friends, new and old, and it promises to be a Satsang - or Divine Association, bringing together many through love and devotion.

Namaste',
Iffet

FREE YOGA CLASS with ARLENE BJORK!!

Please join all of us at Grace Yoga to bless our new space with sweat!

Thursday, July 31, 6:30pm, Mixed-Level Vinyasa practice.

Grace Yoga
209 North Foushee, between Grace and Broad.

Please call 804.245.9222 or go to a Grace Yoga for more information.

Namaste',
Iffet

Know anyone that works downtown?

If you work or live Downtown, or if you've got friends that work or live Downtown, please let them know that I will be offering a noontime Express Lunch Yoga, with boxed lunch included!

Class will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon. Class is 45-minutes, but it'll be packed with heart-opening, life-affirming, and energizing postures to help you "OM" your way through your week!

Go to Grace Yoga for schedules, price list and special events!

We open on August 1st!!!

Namaste',
Iffet

Grace Yoga
209 North Foushee
Richmond, VA
804.245.9222

GRACE YOGA Grand Opening!!

I am excited to announce the opening of an exciting and wonderful new studio in Downtown Richmond!
Grace Yoga, founded by Arlene Bjork, E-RYT, 500, will be opening its doors on August 1! Arlene has found a lovely building at 209 North Foushee, between Broad and Grace Streets. I am honored to have the opportunity to teach at Grace Yoga and share the gift of Yoga.
For more information and schedules, click here.
Thanks for all your support and love!
Namaste',
Iffet

Send me Your E-Mail Addresses!

I am putting together an e-mail notification list for happenings and my upcoming newsletter!

Please fill out the SUBSCRIBE! form to the left and I'll put you on my list.

Also, feel free to forward my Blog address to anyone in your circle that you think would like to get Yoga news and information from me.

Thanks for all your support and love.

Namaste',
Iffet