StretchyStrongFeelGood
Preparing for Class, About Our Instructors
About our Classes
We practice Vinyasa yoga. "Vinyasa" means flow, and refers to both flowing from one pose or series to the next and to moving with the flow of your breath. Currently practiced with the instructor demonstrating most of the class while providing verbal instruction. The class will ease gently into the movements and postures leaving you limber, alert, and ready for your day. Classes are open to people of all ages, experience, and fitness levels. Classes include classic poses found by flowing from posture to posture with an emphasis on intention, synchronizing wih the breath, and whole body awareness. Excellent for anyone new to yoga in general, those seeking to deepen their practice, and those seeking an aerobic and anaerobic workout as well as a mind-body connection.
Preparing for Class
Classes are designed to meet you where you are, building upon each class in a steady progression. Be ready to challenge yourself in new ways. Eat light, if at all beforehand, and be well hydrated. Bring water, your own mat if you have one, and you may also want a towel, blanket, or any props you require. We have mats available if you don't have one. Wear comfortable clothing that will move with you. We will practice barefoot. Please arrive a few minutes before class starts. Please take care of yourself and listen to your body- pracitce yoga in a way that will allow for an enjoyable practice the following day. Feel free to ask questions or for modifications at any time. We ask that you do not leave the class until final relaxation is complete. Please speak with your instructor if you need to leave early. Please stay as long as you like after class for meditation or additional asana. Our studio is home to two cats. The floors are vacuumed and steam cleaned before most classes, and we have a fantastic air cleaner, but please take care of yourself if you have allergies.
Instructors
Shelley Stratton has lived in Sequim for five years. She is a registered nurse and a personal trainer certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. She became a certified yoga instructor two years ago, and also incorporates yoga with her personal training because of multiple health and fitness benefits. Shelley enjoys working in the wellness field, integrating healthy, enjoyable lifestyles for everyone.
Michelle Bequette is a Sequim native. She began practicing Ashtanga yoga in 1999 and instantly fell in love with its benefits for mind, body, and spirit. She is a Co-Active coach and certified personal trainer. She is attending yoga teacher training with Rolf Gates. Her other work is in HVAC.
Alicia Poswald
Bio coming soon. Congratulations on completing your 200 hour training!
Jess Thoms completed her 200-hour Yoga Alliance teacher training program in hatha yoga at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis in 2005. Her intrigue with the human body continued to grow and led her to pursue a doctorate degree in physical therapy at Pacific University in Oregon. She and her husband moved to Sequim three years ago, where she is currently practicing and teaching people how to take care of their bodies and recover from injuries. She is a new mom!
We will feature a different guest instructor at monthly workshops. Please let us know if there is a particular instructor or topic you would like us to offer!
Salvatore Zambito is a well-known mystic, rogue scholar, and world-traveling recluse. He studied Hatha Yoga with Sivananda Yoga Centers and began teaching in 1969. Throughout the years, he has established several yoga centers in America and taught yoga related subjects including kinesiology and stress management at institutes and universities all around the world. He travelled to India in 1988 where he found himself teaching in ashrams and universities, most notable being the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama ashram. He is well known for his compilation of English translations of the Yoga Sutras in his book “The Unadorned Thread of Yoga: The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali,” and he is the founder of the Yoga Sutras Institute. In addition to his expertise in yoga, Salvatore is a structural bodyworker in the Rolfing tradition and a licensed massage therapist.
Douglas Ridings is an international performer of Butoh (a meditative form of contemporary Japanese dance), Odissi (classical Indian dance with roots in Tantrik Yoga) and theather and teaches Hatha Yoga at 8 Limbs Yoga in Seattle. He has been teaching yoga for over 10 years and is a 2000 graduate of the Samadhi Yoga Teacher Training program.
Megan Costello is a yoga teacher and soundhealer in the Seattle Area. She began practicing yoga over 10 years ago. It was a love affair from the first time she stepped on the mat. She began her formal training in 2008 at the 7 Centers Yoga Arts studio in Sedona, Arizona. Upon completion of the month-long intensive training she received her 200 hour yoga certification and is a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher. Her studies focused on traditional hatha yoga, Ayurvedic health and nutrition, yogic cleansing and pranayama. She has had the privilege of continuing her own personal study with teachers such as Rod Stryker, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Scott Blossom and Shari Friedrichsen. Several years after beginning her personal yoga practice, Megan began her study of alternative healing. She has delved into many modalities including massage, Polarity, Reiki, and Acutonics. She received her massage certification from the Institute of Conscious Bodywork in 2004, her Polarity Therapy and Somatic Emotional Clearing training at the Heartwood Institute in 2006 and her Reiki Level I initiation in 2005. In 2006, she discovered Acutonics, a form of soundhealing, and has been pursuing her Acutonics Practitioner Certification since then.
Irene Alexander has been studying yoga since 1998, and teaching in Seattle since 2004. She completed her teacher training at Pacific Yoga and has continued her training in the Anusara tradition with Denise Benitez, drawing inspiration as well from Donna Farhi, Shannon McCall, Buddhist meditation and modern dance. Along the way, she has been continually blessed and inspired by the ways she has seen yoga transform lives and bodies, including her own. Irene is a certified massage practitioner, bringing her knowledge of anatomy and a deep fascination with movement into her teaching. Her classes offer students a chance to come into their bodies, play, explore, and experience themselves in a new way, while building strength and grace.
Many thanks to Ji Sanford for creating Indigo Wellness, bringing great yoga to the Olympic Peninsula, and inspiring this yoga community.
The View from your mat
