Yoga Rogers Park

Restorative Yoga - Time Change for January 29th

2012-01-26T11:20:00.005-06:00

For this week only, Restorative Yoga will be held at 3pm instead of 6pm. There is still one spot open for reservation, email julia@khecari.org to sign up.

Philosophy of Practice

2012-01-19T15:13:00.002-06:00

I operate from the perspective that health is as much a function of knowledge and personal choice as it is a prescriptive list of "do's and don'ts". Inquiry, exploration, and discovery have been invaluable tools in my own experiences of wellness, self-awareness, movement technique and expression. I am eager to share this process of investigation in my yoga classes, as well as the specific information on asana and alignment I’ve learned over the years of study of hatha yoga and in a variety of different movement, healing, and somatic techniques.

2012-01-11T10:10:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:57:00.006-06:00

Photography: AddisonOlian.com

Keep Your New Years Resolutions in Motion

2011-12-23T11:28:00.013-06:00

The Tuesday night 7:00 - 8:30pm Hatha Flow class is open for registration for the February Session which runs from February 7th-28th 2012 at Overdier Hall 1545 W. Morse.

The 4 week session is $40, to register send a check to Julia Antonick - 6589 N. Lakewood Ave 1. Chicago, IL 60626. If you are looking for a great way to keep your New Years resolutions in motion, committing to a regular yoga class is a fantastic way to see progress in the goals you set. The February session will run if we get a minimum of 5 students signed up, so if you are interested...tell a friend!

If you have any additional questions - email julia@khecari.org

Last Yoga Class of 2011!

2011-12-22T11:29:00.007-06:00

Tonight at 7:45pm is the last yoga class of 2011 with Julia! It is also your last chance to use your Yoga Now class pass with Julia. If you don't make it over to class, see you on Thursday January 5th at 7:45pm!

Restorative Yoga - Sundays at 6pm

2011-12-18T10:03:00.003-06:00

Email julia@khecari.org to reserve your spot.

Julia Rae's Classes

2011-11-28T23:33:00.014-06:00

Julia Rae's Thursday 7:45-9pm Hatha Flow and Sunday 6-7:30pm Restorative Yoga classes are now being held at Khecari Space - 6589 N. Lakewood Ave and the Tuesday night class will be starting again in January. Khecari space is 5 blocks south of the old location and right next to the Loyola redline stop. Let us know if you need more directions!

On Thursday the 15th, class will be canceled for The Clinking. We would love it if you could come!

Click here to buy tickets

Click here to support the artistic process of The Clinking

Putting Things in Perspective

2011-11-27T11:20:00.011-06:00

photo © Gina DeConti/Imaginative Studios

"I had never taken a yoga class in my life before [Yoga Rogers Park/Yoga Now], I can genuinely say I was impressed with the classes I have taken so far. Not only were they INCREDIBLE workouts, but they actually helped me to relax. I went to class one Thursday night in a Terrible mood, my whole day had been a whirlwind of problems and emotions, and after I took Julia Rae's wonderful class everything seemed to be put into perspective. I personally feel that if you have never taken a yoga class this is the studio for you. The prices are affordable and the teachers and other class go-ers have been nothing but friendly and helpful. I'm not the MOST flexible person there is but with the guidance and gentle encouragement from the teachers I can see myself excelling. I was definitely a skeptic at first, almost giggling at the breathing techniques, that surprisingly DO relax and invigorate. I can say now anyone hesitant to start a new exercise routine or just start a new way of living, give [it] a chance." -Angela N.

Yoga Now Class Passes

2011-10-23T10:50:00.012-05:00

Just a reminder to everyone that your Yoga Now class passes and Groupons can only be used at these classes until the end of this year. After December 31st, our classes will continue but you will be paying your instructor directly. If you have a question about your unused class passes please call Yoga Now Goldcoast at 312.280.9642 and speak with Amy-Beth. We hope to see you class soon!

Monday
7:45 p.m. to 9:15pm,
Forrest Yoga with Leah Ellenbogen***

Wednesday
7:45 to 9:00 p.m.,
Hatha Yoga with Priscilla Peach***

Thursday
12:00 to 1:30 p.m.,
Forrest Yoga with Anna Schabold***

7:45 to 9:00 p.m.,
Hatha Flow with Julia Rae *

Friday
9:00 to 10:15 a.m.,
Vinyasa Flow with Helen Lee***

6:45 to 8:15 p.m.,
Forrest Yoga with Priscilla Peach***

Saturday
8:15 to 9:45 a.m.,
Yoga Basics with Silvita Díaz Brown***

9:00 to 10:30 a.m.,
Core Vinyasa with Ceci Morales**

Sunday
12:00 to 1:30 p.m.,
Forrest Yoga with Anna Schabold***

6:00 to 7:30 p.m.,
Restorative Yoga with Julia Rae*

*These classes meet at Khecari Space - 6589 N. Lakewood #1
**These classes meet at Overdier Hall, 1545 W. Morse, Third Floor - starting in January, these classes will meet at 1418 W Howard
***These classes meet at 1220 W. Morse - 2nd floor

2011-08-22T13:42:00.002-05:00

Gina DeConti/Imaginative Studios

2011-08-22T13:41:00.001-05:00

Gina DeConti/Imaginative Studios

2011-08-21T10:01:00.002-05:00

2011-08-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

Change is Good! Part 2

2011-08-04T12:03:00.003-05:00

Yoga Now North is now Yoga Rogers Park!

Yoga Rogers Park offers a schedule of drop-in yoga classes for all levels. We believe in offering an eclectic class schedule that ranges from Restorative Yoga to Forrest Yoga, Yoga Basics to vigorous Core Vinyasa. With our current schedule of over 10 classes a week, we know you will find the teacher and class style that suits your needs and helps you develop a consistent, strong and sophisticated practice. We understand that students seek a yoga practice that ranges from an interest in mending injuries to finding time for spiritual growth; with Yoga Rogers Park we allow room for all interests to take place in the studio simultaneously without pressure or judgment. Our philosophy is to teach to the level of the student who comes to class, so if you are new to yoga or are an experienced yogi, we welcome you to any class on the schedule and look forward to nurturing your growth.

Yoga Rogers Park is a collective of teachers that believes in fostering connections and serving the community. We are committed to creating a safe haven for all students to come spend time on the mat to learn, grow and participate in an environment of service and awareness both locally and globally. We are an eco-conscious community and are always refining our actions to create less of a footprint on the environment and are proud to call the far north side of Chicago home.

Recommendations for yoga practice:
While any amount of practice is good, we recommend that you begin your practice by committing to coming to class at least 2 times a week and eventually working up to practicing yoga 6 days a week. Please come to class 15 minutes early so you can change into comfortable clothing, talk to the teacher about any injuries or concerns and find your space in the studio. We suggest not eating for at least an hour before class and making sure you are properly hydrated before class starts. We encourage practicing with awareness of yourself and others in an environment that simultaneously offers a non-competitive atmosphere and also challenges your limits of what you believe is possible. We look forward to meeting you in the studio and starting this journey together!

Reviews

"My favorite thing about [Yoga Now North/Yoga Rogers Park] so far is that, as a community, Yoga Now seems really dedicated to teaching yoga and not running yoga "workouts." The instructors, in their own way, taught me something that should extend beyond the yoga mat, paying close and careful attention to my practice as a whole. This is a community space with a lot of collective energy.... a yoga studio that makes me feel the need to be "in it for the long haul"."

-Katie P

"I had never taken a yoga class in my life before [Yoga Now/Yoga Rogers Park]. I can genuinely say I was impressed with the classes I have taken so far. Not only were they INCREDIBLE workouts, but they actually helped me to relax. I went to class one Thursday night in a Terrible mood, my whole day had been a whirlwind of problems and emotions, and after I took Julia Rae's wonderful 'yoga basics' class everything seemed to be put into perspective. I personally feel that if you have never taken a yoga class this is the studio for you.
The prices are affordable and the teachers and other class go-ers have been nothing but friendly and helpful. I'm not the MOST flexible person there is but with the guidance and gentle encouragement from the teachers I can see myself excelling. I was definitely a skeptic at first, almost giggling at the breathing techniques, that surprisingly DO relax and invigorate. I can say now anyone hesitant to start a new exercise routine or just start a new way of living, give [it] a chance."

-Angela N.

Change is Good!

2011-08-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

On August 16th, Yoga Now North is going to become an independently operated group of yoga teachers and classes hosted at Pilates Chicago and Overdier Hall.

Don't worry! Not much will change, we will keep the classes that are the most popular for you to attend, so in the next month come cast your vote on what classes you would like to stick around by attending your favorite classes as much as possible. We will take the attendance into consideration and create a class schedule that fits the desires of our dedicated clients.

You will still be able to use your Yoga Now class passes and Groupons for all of these classes until January 1st, 2012 and also will be able to buy drop in classes for $16 & class passes with the teachers you would like to take class with regularly. All the individual teachers will be setting their own prices for their class passes so just ask them about passes when you come to practice. We will be switching to payments of cash and check only on the 16th so if you want to purchase a pass with a credit card to use between now and January 1st, visit www.yoganowchicago.com to purchase a class pass on the online system and reserve your space in the classes you plan to take.

Warmly,
Julia Rae Antonick
Yoga Now North Studio Manager and Yoga Teacher

Beach Yoga is Back!

2011-05-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

May Beach Yoga Classes:
Thursday 6:30-7:30pm with Priscilla
Friday 8-9am with Leona
Saturday 1-2pm with Priscilla
Sunday 9:30-10:45am with Helen
Sunday 11-12pm with Jessie

More to come in June!

We're Hiring!

2011-04-12T08:42:00.000-05:00

All of our work-study positions have been filled! Thanks for your interest in the program, if you are interested in future work-study opportunities, please contact amy@yoganowchicago.com

The Early Bird

2011-04-03T00:40:00.001-05:00

There’ s a new donation class starting Tuesday mornings at 6AM!

Come to Yoga Now North to share your morning practice with Leona Starnes and get an hour of invigorating practice in before work so you can start the day off focused and energized. (way better than a cup of coffee!)

Want Unlimited Free Yoga?

2011-03-31T13:38:00.000-05:00

Click here for more info

Vegetarian Potluck at Yoga Now North Studio, Rogers Park

2011-03-31T10:10:00.000-05:00

This Sunday is our vegetarian Potluck dinner at Yoga Now North 1220 W. Morse Ave. - 2nd floor - Chicago, IL 60626 (right above the Morseland restaurant).

You are welcome to come at 6:45pm just for the potluck (bring your favorite dish or drink) or better yet, come practice at the 5:45 Ashtanga class with Lisa or the free Community Pilates class at 5:30pm and then stay after for dinner and mingling with your neighbors!

Peace

2011-03-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

March Sale

2011-03-21T02:10:00.000-05:00

10 class pass for $110
20 class pass for $205

Donation and Free Yoga in Rogers Park, Chicago

2011-03-09T12:11:00.000-06:00

Did you know that we offer two donation and one free yoga class every week at Yoga Now North?

We really believe in the benefits of practicing at least 3 times a week and want to make sure that everyone can join us in these benefits. Our donation classes have a minimum donation of $1 so you could essentially establish a 3 day a week practice with us for only $8 a month! If at some point you can afford to donate more, the proceeds go to paying the teacher and making sure we have a space that is warm and inviting to hold these affordable classes. Looking forward to seeing you at the studio!

Donation Classes:
Wednesday 6:30-7:30pm with Priscilla Peach at Overdier Hall 1545 W. Morse Ave
Friday 5:30-6:30pm with Leona Starnes at Yoga Now North 1220 W. Morse Ave

Free Community Class:
Sunday 5:30-6:30pm with rotating teachers from Yoga Now and Pilates Chicago at 1220 W. Morse Ave

2011-02-28T11:11:00.000-06:00

Community Acupunture Tonight!

2011-02-27T11:00:00.000-06:00

There are five spots remaining for Community Acupuncture tonight at 7:30pm, call us to reserve your spot 773-561-9642

2011-02-23T22:02:00.000-06:00

Spring is in the air at Overdier Hall

2011-02-20T21:50:00.000-06:00

Spring is in the air at Overdier Hall. Over 20 volunteers showed up to add to the hustle and bustle of the community feast. The seats were packed for a lovely dinner made with love by our regular volunteers at Overdier. Church groups from Schaumburg and Palantine also came to serve and clean and keep Overdier nice and ready for our yoga classes every Wednesday evening and Saturday morning! Overdier Hall is a gem in Rogers Park found on the third floor of the United Church from Rogers Park. We invite you to come practice with us in this space as the snow continues to melt and the sun is welcomed back to the city of Chicago.

Community Info Area

2011-02-19T09:06:00.000-06:00

This is our community information area at the studio, please feel free to drop off your business card, publications or flyers for your event and also check out what is going on in your neighborhood!

2011-02-15T14:01:00.000-06:00

"Inhale. Exhale. Use your breath."

2011-02-14T17:15:00.000-06:00

"Inhale. Exhale. Use your breath." Can we begin to count the times we've heard those phrases? The simplest cues in our practice, the ones that connect us to our breath are the cornerstones of yoga, the "yolking together of breath and movement" and as far as instructions go, they are pretty straightforward. Most of the time. Here in the deepest cold of winter, students of breathing are often met with serious adversity. Suddenly, that which was once open feels closed; our lungs feel tight, our throats sore and our heads (including our thoughts!) can get terribly congested. So how do we get back to the breath? The Vedic writings, ancient and clever as always, suggest the yogic practice of "Jal Neti," or the use of a neti pot. For thousands of years, neti pots have been used by ayurvedic yogis as a preventative healthcare practice which uses simple gravity to increase the efficiency of our primary filter--our nose. The little pot, which is typically ceramic and shaped like Aladdin's lamp, is filled with a saline solution (made with warm water and salt) and then directed into one nostril--it's best to keep your head tilted to assist gravity. Once delivered into the nose, the solution runs through the sinuses, thinning the mucus and loosening stubborn boogers. Finally, the solution--along with the harmful bacteria-- flows out the other side of the nose into the sink or a tissue, where it will obstruct your breath no longer! Amazing! The benefits of nasal irrigation are vast. Regular use encourages the cilia--the tiny, sweeping hairs that exist in our noses, throats and ears-- to filter out irritants more efficiently, and as a result, neti pot users have greater upper respiratory health, fewer colds, and decreased sinus pressure and headaches. Consider this: if the filter of a vacuum cleaner was never cleaned, the vacuum would be much less useful, or in some cases, would fail completely. If your breath is feeling trapped somewhere between inhale and exhale, gift yourself the benefits of a clean filter! Neti Pots are available at Walgreens and most natural food stores, and online at amazon.com and drugstore.com.

-Leah Ellenbogen, Yoga Now North Work-study employee

Welcome!

2011-02-14T08:59:00.000-06:00

Current Schedule for Yoga Now North

2011-02-09T16:49:00.000-06:00

As always, the most up-to-date schedule information is located here.

Mondays
10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Feldenkrais with Melissa Simo
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Ashtanga with Melissa Simo
6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Hatha Yoga with Helen Lee
7:45 to 9:15 p.m., Core Vinyasa with Ceci Morales
8:00 to 9:00 p.m., Yoga Basics with Rachel Gonzales

Tuesdays
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Vinyasa with Jody Weinmann
5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Hatha with Helen Lee
6:15 to 7:15 p.m., Vinyasa with Jody Weinmann
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Yoga Basics with Julia Rae (Jessie Young subbing March, Jody subbing April)

Wednesdays
6:30 to 7:30 a.m., Forrest Yoga with Anna Schabold
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Vinyasa with Jessie Young
11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Vinyasa with Joy Davis
6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Donation Yoga with Priscilla Peach**
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Intro to Yoga with Jessie Young

Thursdays
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Vinyasa with Anna Schabold
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Hatha Flow with Julia Rae (Joy Davis subbing March/April)

Fridays
9:00 to 10:15 a.m., Vinyasa Flow with Helen Lee
10:30 to 12:00 p.m., Ashtanga with Alyson Green
12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Yin Yoga with Donna Williams
5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Donation Yoga with Leona Starnes
6:45 to 8:15 p.m., Forrest Yoga with Ceci Morales

Saturdays
8:15 to 9:45 a.m., Yoga Basics with Silvita Díaz Brown
9:00 to 10:30 a.m., Core Vinyasa with Ceci Morales**
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Ashtanga led class/Mysore with Alyson Green**
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Forrest Yoga with Anna Schabold

Sundays
8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Vinyasa Yoga with Rachel Gonzales
12:15 to 1:45 p.m., Forrest Yoga with Anna Schabold
5:30 to 6:30 p.m., FREE COMMUNITY CLASS: Alternating between Yoga and Pilates Mat Class
6:45 to 7:15 p.m., Ashtanga led class/Mysore with Lisa Tulsky

**These classes meet at Overdier Hall, 1545 W. Morse, Third Floor.

All other classes meet at 1220 W. Morse

Get This!

2011-02-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

We are listed as one of the top 10 yoga studios of Chicago!

GAME ON! Studio is Open for All Classes

2011-02-03T11:06:00.000-06:00

We are back up and running again! All classes are a go. Thanks to everyone who came out to the 6:30pm donation class last night. It was so beautiful to tromp through the arctic wonderland into a warm yoga class.

Come on out today for class, sign up to reserve your spot www.yoganowchicago.com

SNOW DAY!

2011-02-01T21:28:00.000-06:00

We just walked home from the studio after teaching and it is CRAZY out! So, we are succumbing to the snow day. All classes are canceled tomorrow except for the 6:30pm donation class taught by the snow queen Priscilla Peach. Stay warm!
-Yoga Now North Management

Hearty Meal at Overdier Hall - Rogers Park

2011-01-31T12:10:00.000-06:00

This week at Overdier Hall a hearty meal of roast beef, potatoes, green beans, a lovely side salad, and a fresh fruit medley was served for the community feast. A high school confirmation class from First Methodist Church in Palatine, Illinois came to serve the Rogers Park community. Along with the consistent group of dedicated Community Feast volunteers this group both served and cleaned Overdier Hall, a wonderful community space used by Yoga Now for classes Wednesdays and Saturdays. Please join us in this space for donation yoga class this coming week with the ever effervescent Priscilla Peach.

Welcome Groupon Buyers

2011-01-27T12:41:00.000-06:00

Thank you for purchasing your groupon for one month of unlimited yoga! We look forward to seeing you at the studio. Please bring your printed groupon confirmation and be 15 minutes early on your first visit so you can fill out a new student form and have a cup of tea!

Groupon

2011-01-26T14:55:00.000-06:00

We are on Groupon Today!

Fire Stoked

2011-01-24T11:06:00.000-06:00

Essentially, yes. This picture says it all. Because to get into this pose "Side Scissors" (I think), you need to Stoke the Fire, as it were. Oh, and it was. Over this past weekend, Anna Schabold--pictured here--offered a 3-day Forrest Yoga workshop. And I nearly chickened out on it because I wasn't sure I could do it.

Glad I didn't listen to the voice.

Clocking Out

2011-01-17T08:49:00.000-06:00

When I was in the first grade, I had the best watch. It was a red and blue Timex with a face that was backlit a minty green. I loved that watch...to the point that I never took it off. And one day, for a completely random reason, I took it off in the bathroom at school and forgot it there. It wasn't until my Grandpa and I were half way home that I realized it and, panicky, I made him go back. And it was gone. And I was crushed.

I think since that moment, time and I have been regular dueling partners. It's never my friend. It's never on my side. Time is always sitting there across the table doing the opposite of what I need it to do. It flies by, it moves "like molasses in January," (try it...take a jar of molasses outside today and wait to see what it does...get comfy), it's elusive and then in my face. In short, I feel bound by it, constricted, held captive.

It's been years since I've regularly worn a watch...mostly because I don't need to. Time is quite literally everywhere. We sleep measured in hours, we work measured in hours, we're late in minutes. We give our friends minutes (or, if we're lucky, maybe hours), we give our family the same. We give our work much longer than any of that...but it's still measured. So when my Yogi tea bag says to me, "The best way of life is to be, simply be, " I think to myself, "I wonder how many minutes that takes?" The way we've measured and regulated our time is certainly getting the best of me...and maybe of us.

I do feel this crunch often but I find myself fixated on this issue today because a dear friend of mine (one of those great gifts of the universe who really reflects and enhances who you are) is starting a job search effective right now. Chances for a Chicago job are slim and so, like any somewhat normal person, I immediately started a "count-down" from here until "the moment he's gone whenever that could be" and thus completely vaulted myself straight into a nebulous "future" that may or may not come to pass. Earlier today I caught myself looking at July on my calendar and thinking, "He'll be gone;" I was really laboring to figure out how things are going to work "then". And then I slapped myself (kindly and gently) for letting time run away with me. All of these time keepers we have--watches, calendars, cell phone alarms, day planners--make it easy and facilitate a regular dwelling on the future or any time besides right now. And the only reality we know is "right now." It's all we can really know for sure. And enjoy. We can feel uncomfortable or not enjoy a particular moment but the present generally does not cause anxiety. If we're truly living in the moment, then here we are and here we will be until the next moment unfolds.

This has been a core challenge for me throughout my yoga practice. I'm that student who keeps looking at the clock, keeps thinking about what I'm going to eat for lunch after, is fixated on the work "waiting for me"--and I notice that in those moments that my eyes glance toward a timepiece, everything I'm doing right then and there seems harder, more painful, more needing my judgment. If I can capture the moments outside of time and actually just be in them, without thinking about what's to come, they're really worth it. And I can accomplish things I never thought possible. But that's only now. I've never accomplished anything "tomorrow" or "July" or "in my life." That's all just imagination and waiting for some particular thing to come to pass.

We just can't escape time in this world. It touches us wherever we go. But we can choose to be a slave to it or not. So, despite those moments of worry or anxiety that inevitably sneak up, I do need to remember that it's my choice to be consumed by it. My friend might be gone in July...but July is then and today is now and, if I'm living in moments, there are 3 lifetimes worth of life between then and now. And he's here now. And that's worth celebrating and living to the fullest...without imposing minutes or hours. Life is now. He's here now...and now is precious.

Community Feast in Rogers Park

2011-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Overdier Hall had a particularly strong sense of community at its weekly feast, which occurs every Sunday evening. Each week I see smiles and conversation exchanged between community members and those that volunteer to serve the meal. This last Sunday a large youth group volunteered their time to serve the Rogers Park residents a fine meal prepared from Whole Foods and Dominick's donations. Come see this loving space by attending a class there every Wednesday and Saturday. Times and class styles are listed online at www.yoganowchicago.com

Stoke the Fire is this Weekend!

2011-01-16T22:51:00.000-06:00

We're Hiring!

2011-01-13T13:31:00.001-06:00

Yoga Now North is currently interviewing for two work-study positions. The work-study program is perfect for those who would like to increase their yoga practice but are financially unable to. The positions consist of one four shift per week and in exchange for that, you receive unlimited yoga classes at both our North and Goldcoast locations plus 20% off workshops and merchandise. The work-study positions have a minimum commitment of 6 months and are a great fit for those who have a stellar work ethic, good communication skills and excellent self-discipline to continue practicing regularly at the studio for an extended period of time. Priority will be given to those who are already practicing at the studio regularly, so if you are new to Yoga Now, try to come to as many classes as you can this month (we have donation classes and free community class if money is an issue) so we can include you in the applicant pool.

If you think this position seems right for you, write a comment below about why you are perfect for the job with your email address so we can get in touch with you.

JANUARY SALE

2011-01-10T16:57:00.000-06:00

10 classes for $100
20 classes for $195
6 months of unlimited yoga for $550
(92 classes offered a week!)

We're Hiring!

2011-01-01T18:31:00.000-06:00

Are you interested in our work-study program? We are hiring for two positions right now. If you would like to learn more about it, come to Julia's class Tuesday, January 18th at 7:45pm and stay after for a brief chat.

(pictured: Leona Starnes and Priscilla Peach, two of our amazing work-study employees!)

Volunteer in Rogers Park Chicago

2010-12-30T15:18:00.000-06:00

Overdier Hall was bustling tonight for the community feast. A number of the volunteers were there for the first time--including me--and every one wanted to know how we'd heard about the church. Some of the new volunteers were in town for the holidays and just wanted to follow the compassionate example of other Rogers Park locals. There were several varieties of fresh breads from Whole Foods, and vegetarian meal choices in addition to the usual fare; no one walked away without a to-go container, even the volunteers had extras to munch on once the hall had been cleared of food and tables. Such delicious feelings can be derived from doing something for others. Truly, sometimes it is when we're feeding others that we feel the most full. -Leah Ellenbogen, work-study employee at Yoga Now North

New Years Potluck is this Sunday!

2010-12-30T13:31:00.000-06:00

We hope you can join us for our free class at 5:30pm and Veggie Potluck dinner at 6:45pm this weekend in Rogers Park! Call 773-561-9642 if you have any questions.

Class Schedule for New Years Eve and New Years Day at Yoga Now North

2010-12-30T13:26:00.001-06:00

January 31st
9am Vinyasa with Helen Lee
10:30am Ashtanga with Alyson Green
12:30pm Yin Yoga with Donna Williams
5:30pm Donation Yoga with Priscilla Peach (pay what you can!)
(6:45pm Forrest class canceled)

January 1st
8:15am Yoga Basics with Silvita
10:30am Ashtanga class with Alyson
(All other classes canceled)

Soup Kitchen in Rogers Park

2010-12-26T19:30:00.000-06:00

This week's community feast had a sub for our beloved Judy, who has faithfully managed this community event for over 20 years. Thankfully Jill was prepared to step in and work with the great volunteers from Chicago Care's to make sure the feast was a success. Succulent chicken with a side of creaming mash potatoes was the main dish with a salad and pastries for desert. While things went swimmingly I'm sure everyone is excited to have Judy back for next Sunday's holiday feast!

Come check out Overdier Hall, where this long-standing community feast occurs every Sunday. Yoga Now converts this space into a yoga studio every Wednesday and Saturday, please look online to find a class in this vibrant space: www.yoganowchicago.com

Class Schedule for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day at Yoga Now North

2010-12-22T11:14:00.001-06:00

Celebrating Light

2010-12-20T09:00:00.000-06:00

I've been sitting and staring blankly at this screen for 45 minutes now. My mind is racing. I'm multi-tasking at a furious pace...pretty efficiently, I might add. I've got things to do, places to go, presents to buy, plans to make...my schedule's full and I'm left wondering how I'm going to pull it off. It's the holiday "go-time"...and yet, when it comes to writing a simple reflection...I'm floundering.

And therein may be insight I needed to find a point of reflection today.

I've been thinking this past week that the ancient folks who started celebrating the solstice (which later became the basis of our religious celebrations of all sorts) knew what they were doing. It's no coincidence that at this point of enveloping darkness in our year that we all celebrate...something...anything. We long for the light. We find excitement there. It gives us a moment to look forward to, to bustle towards, when otherwise we might just prefer hibernating. Any light in the darkness gives us hope--we can literally see beyond ourselves, we can sense other "things"...possibilities, joy, happiness, warmth. Light can create a reflection, it can guide our path and "dispel the darkness"--I love that phrase...light de-mystifies the darkness and illuminates for us that which is real and truthworthy (I initially intended to type "trustworthy" but what a prophetic little moment of serendipity).

Given this, I find my own lack of focus interesting...and due to what is a cyclical bad habit I have. Instead of moving with the intention of the season and celebration--enlightenment--I'm moving in and around all of the piddly details. I'm absorbed in the motion as its own end and not in the context of this greater goal...light. I think this is why I feel scattered: I'm serving too many masters. Each task and detail becomes its own master, demanding me to pay it attention...and I'm losing the light. Darkness is encroaching in the form of mental fuzziness, anxiety about how everything will work out, and a whirling sense of un-rooted-ness.

So, here's my resolve for this week: to find the light, always. And focus on it. Everything else will pass away with time but the light can be sustainable if we allow it. And my gift to you all is the hope I have that you find the light for which you all seek...in whatever way serves you best.

(Maybe this train of thought is why I'm so fixated on this picture I keep using...I'm mesmerized by it).

New Truths

2010-12-13T11:01:00.000-06:00

The truth you believe and cling to, makes you unavailable to hear anything new. ~Pema Chodron

I realize that the middle of December in the middle of a deep freeze is an unconventional time to think about "newness." We tend to reserve that project for the spring when newness is all around us. But I read this quote today and thought, in fact, now might be the most perfect time to explore where the "new" is in this season laden with traditions and rituals (and routines).

Especially around the holidays, it seems we talk with an unconditional warm coziness about "holiday traditions." They're always good things to us...and it's true: that which gives us meaning makes us feel connected appears something for which we all long. But how often do we actually stop to think about these times in which our actions and thoughts generally "click into gear" and we run on autopilot? Even further, how much do we rely on those traditions and "old ways" to hold on to the past? Whether good or bad, if we allow traditions to own us, we could be missing opportunities to grow in new directions. When traditions and rituals become "the truth" of our lives, we stand perilously close to losing the "present perspective" we seek in yoga. And we live in the present. Our lives unfold now.

I've certainly never thought about this before. But contemplating it now, I'm feeling a renewed vigor and energy toward the next couple weeks. What's new there to discover? What can I let go of that fails to serve me anymore? What does this time mean to me today? How can I rediscover (or discover anew) truths about myself that become dormant along with so many life-giving things at this time of cold, bundled life? What do I cling to that may be leading me away from where I need to go personally, spiritually, vitally? What can I lovingly lay to rest?

It's not the usual reflection for now...but it's working for me. This could be a whole new experience of the end of one year and the beginning of the next. And even that is a revelation born of exploring for new truths. Perhaps this is one of those "immediate" kind of revelations. Wouldn't that be nice.

p.s.--I "stole" this picture from our blog because I love it...thanks to whomever took such a perfect example of the "perspective" we need to find new beauty in old beauty.

Free Food at Overdier Hall in Rogers Park

2010-12-13T10:12:00.000-06:00

'Tis the season for food and fun at the community feast every Sunday at Overdier Hall! This community feast has been going on over 25 years and attracts many members every weekend. With the winter holiday comes many a volunteer to serve with love through this season. We invite you to join us in this community feast every Sunday 5-7pm. Just a reminder that Yoga Now North uses this wonderful community space every Wednesday for a donation class 6:30-7:30pm (and has another donation class at our main north studio at 1220 W. Morse every Friday 5:30-6:30) and for classes on Saturdays at 9am and 10:30am. Feel free to come join us and create some inner heat at one of our classes!
-Laura Dunn, work-study employee at Yoga Now North

Thanks for Coming to our Holiday Party!

2010-12-10T09:22:00.000-06:00

Holiday Schedule at Yoga Now North

2010-12-10T09:19:00.000-06:00

December 24th
9am Vinyasa with Helen Lee
(All other classes canceled)

December 25th
(All classes canceled)

December 26th
(8:30am Vinyasa canceled)
12:15pm Forrest with Anna Schabold
5:30pm Community Class (free class!)
5:45pm Ashtanga with Lisa Tulsky

January 31st
9am Vinyasa with Helen Lee
10:30am Ashtanga with Alyson Green
12:30pm Yin Yoga with Donna Williams
5:30pm Donation Yoga with Priscilla Peach (pay what you can!)
(6:45pm Forrest class canceled)

January 1st
8:15am Yoga Basics with Silvita
10:30am Ashtanga class with Alyson
(All other classes canceled)

Holiday Party

2010-12-02T12:58:00.001-06:00

This Sunday is the Yoga Now North Holiday Party and you are invited!

Sunday December 5th, 6:45pm
1220 W. Morse Ave. 2nd Floor

Vegetarian Potluck - Bring your favorite dish or drink!

RSVP 773-561-9642 or julia@yoganowchicago.com

Get $25-$50 Cash Back for Shopping at Yoga Now and More!

2010-11-29T12:17:00.000-06:00

GET PAID TO SHOP IN ROGERS PARK

Collect $100 or more in receipts from 3 different stores within the Special Service Areas from November 26 through December 31, 2010 and receive a $25 rebate. Collect $150 or more and receive a $50 rebate.

Submit original receipts with completed rebate form to RPBA by January 3, 2011. Rebates will be in the form of a check and mailed to each participant within 30 days of submitting original receipts and completed form.

Rules:

Store must be located within the Howard Street SSA #19 or the Clark/Morse/Glenwood SSA #24(contact us for more information)
Receipts must total $100 or more and be from at least 3 different stores. Minimum purchase of $20 per store
Maximum purchase of $30 total for groceries and/or liquor. No prescription or tobacco purchases allowed.
One rebate per customer. Download rebate form at tinyurl.com/rebateform2010 or pick up a copy at 1448 W. Morse Ave.
Receipts must be dated November 26-December 31, 2010 (Only original receipts will be accepted. No gift receipts will be accepted)

Click here for boundary map. For more information, contact us at 773.508.5885 or info@rogers-park.com

American Yoga

2010-11-29T10:54:00.001-06:00

I have a concern. I've always been a worry-wart. In fact, I'm a champion worrier; even when things are good and enlightened and fulfilling...I worry about what will happen when they're not. This is one of the main reasons I come to yoga. Worry exists because of the gap between now and then; when the present is not the future. So, necessarily if we stay in the present, truly, there's no room for worry.

Despite this intellectual knowledge, I still worry. And in a fun and zippy twist, I actually worry about yoga. To be more specific, I worry about American yoga. I'm a sociologist by trade, so my "day job" trains my attention strictly to the social, material reality we live in...and in this country, that's a market economy. "So," I think to myself, "how does yoga work here?" It makes sense in the context of places that have cultures more geared toward "one-ness" with something divine, void of competition. The US is not that place. Competition drives everything here...so I wonder what drives the apparently insatiable need for Americans to do yoga and I wonder what yoga becomes in "the marketplace" of American life that presents us so many options for how to usefully spend our time.

My intial worry is always that yoga has become just another commodity and there's a kind of negative value associated with turning yoga into just another product that can be bought. We scoff in general at Baron Baptiste and Rodney Yee who have given themselves over completely to the "celebrity of yoga" phenomenon. We're not crazy about Bikram yoga as a trademarked kind of yoga. Even Lululemon gives us a little heartburn as we wonder how $100 yoga pants fit into opening one's soul to the universe. "Are we losing the essence of yoga," I wonder.

Actually, Radhanath Swami had a completely different take on this phenomenon. Since he has this incredible story that starts in America and ends in a kind of mystical, yoga-infused life in India, I asked him what he thought about yoga in America, expecting that he would see his role as bringing "real" spirituality into the marketplace. And instead of concern, he had nothing but joy about it. "Katie," he nearly whispered, "what I see in America is a spiritual renaissance. It's so beautiful this open-hearted searching." He said it gives him "tremendous hope [that people are] looking for a transcendent experience." I was actually touched that someone so serious about the search for God could look at the American experience of yoga and understand it as a yearning for awakening...as an ultimate journey of the spirit. I never would have seen it that way.

And maybe that's the lesson I take away from the conversation. Over time we learn to think and talk about things in a certain way. If we listen long enough, the talk about Americans always ends in this blind search for competition, progress, and self-interest. As a group, we're not often referred to as "kind-hearted" or "gentle" people. Americans, it's usually understood, get what we want. But it took Radhanath Swami to remind me that we are, essentially, what we do. And we're searching, we're yearning, we're looking for awakening of some kind--and that's all that has to matter.

Once again I'm reminded, it's not about the end product or the context, really...it's about the intention. How un-yoga-like for me to assume anything other than that.

Community Acupuncture is This Sunday!

2010-11-26T20:35:00.000-06:00

We have 5 spots remaining for Community Acupuncture this Sunday, give us a call if you would like to reserve an appointment - 773-561-9642

Gratitude

2010-11-25T08:22:00.000-06:00

Part of my work study shift on Wednesday afternoons is spent at Overdier Hall. I arrive two hours before the donation class and begin to clean and prepare this beautiful open space. I am usually alone at first, and it has become a meditation of sorts to mop the vast wooden floor as the setting sun streams through the old iron and glass windows.

Tonight, as I entered this space, it was vibrant in a different way – full of tables and people serving and eating the community dinner that occurs every Sunday evening. It was a Thanksgiving feast and over 120 people were served. There was a flurry of trays and pie. Familiar faces greeted one another, and newcomers cautiously settled in and found their own space. I navigated whatever open avenue I could find to deliver turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans (you know, with those crunchy onion things) and pie to those who gathered for the meal. Some lingered in conversation over second helpings of pie, but before I knew it, the hall had emptied, the tables were put away, and I was on my own mopping the floors (feeling my very “warm” shoulder muscles from Alyson’s Ashtanga class I took in this very space yesterday morning!).

I am grateful for so, so many things in this life. Tonight I realized that I add to that list gratefulness for being part of the Yoganow community, and all it encompasses.

-Tracy, Yoga Now North Work-study Employee

The Holy Man On My Phone Breaks Some Hearts

2010-11-22T10:46:00.000-06:00

As you may or may not recall...a couple weeks ago Radhanath Swami called the studio for a phone interview and we talked for an hour...mostly he told me his life story which is as fascinating as an epic poem...each instance was more incredible than the last! But at one point, as he was telling me how he ultimately hitchhiked from Greece to India (via Pakistan...which by the way is the greatest hitchhiking story I've ever heard...I mean we've all talked to someone who's hitchhiked in the US for a while...but Pakistan...c'mon...naturally a great story). And while the story itself is amazing, I couldn't help but think, "What about your family? What must they have thought?" He was from suburban Chicago, afterall, and was raised by a Jewish family who observed Jewish traditions and found religion important. What must they have made of this son who virtually walked across Pakistan to go live with the spiritual seekers in the Himalayas?

So I asked him how he figured out what to tell his family--how to explain to them his "involuntary plan" to turn a backpacking trip through Europe into what would become a lifelong, spiritual quest. And this is what he said:

I knew I was breaking their heart but I knew I had to follow my journey...and that God would compensate.

Welcome to the first moment in our conversation that I knew I'd be thinking about his words long after the call ended. As soon as he said this, I had a little pang of recognition...knowing this feeling, although perhaps on a more tempered scale. I don't have to tell my family that I'm going to the Himalayas through the Middle East...with no money or contacts, or transportation, or real destination. But I do have people who react to my yoga as though it's kinda nutty...or assume I'm going through my "New Agey" phase. Even more similar, I do feel the looming weight of telling those other "things" that hold expectations of me that because of my new journey, things are going to be different than I planned. My expectation for myself that I be the "best" at everything took it hard when I told it that I was not going to pursue that challenge anymore. It still knocks on my door and desperately wants me to pay it some attention. My friends find it tough when I bow out of a late, late night because it upsets this new kind of balance I've found through practicing yoga. And my inner worrier (not warrior, people, worrier) was terrified when I calmly and rationally told it I was going to try to rely on it less...she still pokes her head through every now and then.

Maybe this is the long way of saying that whenever we begin a quest, regardless of the scope or scale, it begins the moment we put what we know we have to do ahead of any expectations we or those around us harbor. It's that clear moment when what we want for ourselves trumps everything else and the decision to search for it, seek it out, is really the full acknowledgment that change is imminent and we are the ones causing it. Things will be different...and not in a way anyone could have foreseen. And if we're thoughtful people, we know that these changes we're making will affect those around us we love. Part of the quest is still moving forward and trusting that the changes we manifest will put us exactly where we need to be and that those we love will be cared for and loved and accept the change.

In the case of Radhanath Swami, it ended up that his family fully embraced (and continues to embrace) his choice. They visit him at his ashram, they talk on the phone (from Lombard, IL to India!)...he knows they're so proud of his journey, "so," he says, "God did answer my prayer." And perhaps that's the real challenge of the quest for us all: having the faith to know that our journey is what we need and that what we seek will provide for us (and those we love) in the end. We cannot be full while those we love suffer...so the prayer is always that the journey, that that whom we seek, will grant us the ability to trust its power to care for that which we leave behind.

Mastering this is exactly why we all cannot be swamis...but we can sure try.

Blessings on your journey, wherever it leads.

Why I love yoga...

2010-11-20T10:49:00.000-06:00

There are times where I feel like I am moving so fast, I might leave my body behind. I am running to keep up and trippin' over my own feet...but not when I am doing yoga, Not even when I am on my way to yoga. Just the thought of knowing that I will shortly be on my mat brings a certain calm. I begin to stand a little straighter, feel a little taller, my shoulders make their way down my back from being scrunched up by my ears, I smile, and begin to breathe. I can feel all of the things I have been holding on to begin to melt away and I begin to concentrate on me. All of me; body, mind, and spirit. Again, this is even before I reach the studio doors.

As I enter the studio the anxiety begins to kick in. 1.5 hours, seems a bit greedy of me. There are so many other things I need to be doing. And I am tired, maybe I should just sit this one out. I will not be able to hold the poses, maybe I will just stay for the first 30 min, maybe an hour. Maybe I should just scrap it and go home now...I am already here, I might as well stay.

And so it begins (again), I step onto my mat and feel the calm come over me. I begin my practice with a community of others. I do not have to be first, I do not have to be the best, I must just show up and practice-this is my commitment. My body moves and flows, my mind focuses on my breath and movement. I am in sync with my body and doing things that I thought I could not do. Moving my body in a way I didn't think was possible for me. Encouraging myself to hold a pose longer, to bend further, breath deeper, reach for more..."No, I don't think I can do crow but let's see what happens if I try", "Birds of paradise, are you kidding me, no way but let's see what happens if I move this way", "Yes! I can do crow pose and remember last week when I fell on my face", "Ok, I will try headstand...Oh my word, I just did a head stand".

I feel so good after yoga. I smile at the thoughts I had right before class and I am glad that I didn't listen. I know I was not being greedy, those other things are not that important. I remember the importance of self-care. Coming to the mat is not easy. Coming to mat, for me, is a commitment to myself. If I cannot commit to me, how can I commit to others?

This is why I love yoga because helps me believe in me.

Hidden Altar

2010-11-15T11:58:00.000-06:00

Can you find our hidden altar at our studio? Comment on this post if you found it!

Rogers Park Free Community Feast, 11-14-10

2010-11-14T19:59:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is around the bend and the community feast of Rogers Park is starting early. The food was a hearty mix including a rice medley, apple sauce fruit salad and minestrone soup with bear claws for desert. A wonderful group of volunteers served the food to community members and ensured a nice clean space at Overdier Hall for our donation class on Wed. 6:30-7:30pm. Come join us in this lovely community space for a class during the holidays every Wednesday, donations between $1-$20 are welcome.

-Laura Dunn, Yoga Now North Work-Study and Community Feast Volunteer

November Sale

2010-11-13T13:48:00.000-06:00

Class Passes are on Sale!
10 classes for $110
20 classes for $205

Pie Making Workshop at Overdier Hall

2010-11-12T16:00:00.000-06:00

Jill Graham will be offering a pie making workshop on Saturday, Dec 4th from 12:30 to 4:00 in the Kitchen of Overdier Hall. You'll get a chance to learn the art of making that "perfect crust" and then using it to prepare a fruit pie that will be served during the Free Community Feast dinner at Overdier Hall on December 5th. You will also be able to make your own pie to take home to enjoy. All materials will be supplied, however if you have 1.5 and 2.5 quart bowls and a rolling pin, you can bring them along to learn how to use your own equipment.

Contact Jill at jgraham@luc.edu (847-328-5612) to let her know that you plan to be there or if you have any further questions.

When a Holy Man Is on Your Phone...

2010-11-08T10:26:00.000-06:00

...you listen. This was the major lesson learned on what was a somewhat surreal, humbling, and extraordinary Monday morning at the YogaNow North studio.

For a couple weeks, our studio manager Julia had informed me that "someone" was calling in to do a phone interview on Nov. 1 for the blog. "See if there's anything interesting you can use but if not don't worry about it," she instructed. "No biggie."

"For our blog?" I asked myself a little incredulously. "What the?" This reaction stems only from the fact that, up to this point, it's been a space for casual reflection, our community announcements, and little points of light for contemplation in our yoga community up here on the northside. In a big spiritual world, I've always approached our blog as a modest pamphlet...possibly one that's blowing around in the colder Chicago wind. I love it for that, actually. Simple, quiet, understated, but meaningful to us (or some of us anyway). The suggestion someone (with a publicist!?!) was calling in so that we could interview him for our blog was interesting to me...and maybe not in the most enthusiastic way. "I just hope he understands the reach we're able to have," I thought to myself as I actively tried to completely ignore the fact that I'm a sociologist, not a journalist, and my phone interviewing skills are usually geared toward other pursuits. This is the long-winded way to say...I was worried. I didn't even really have a name...and I had no time (NO TIME) to do my usual intensely thorough background check before going into the interview. "It'll just have to be what it is," I thought limply. "I just can't worry about it anymore."

So Monday morning rolls around and I walk in, as usual, right around 9:30. But this was already no typical day. There were a bazillion phone messages (odd,) roughly 3.3 million pilates people shuffling around the modest reception area, and the decibel level was reaching "frenzied heard of cattle." People were laughing, I was late cleaning the studio for Melissa's class...and I was dreading this phone call. "Maybe he'll forget," I hoped. Then I could settle in and just write a vague but warm reflection on chaos invading your world. And then, at 9:50, our little Nokia studio cell phone rang, an area code appearing I knew wasn't Chicago. "Crap," I thought, "no such luck."

"YogaNow North, how may I help you," I chimed, hoping this was the insipid gas company calling again for the 20th time trying to sell us a plan I don't understand.
"Hello, this is Radhanath Swami calling for a phone interview...is this Katie?" This voice. It was an oasis right in the middle of this crazy reception area. A smooth, velvety sound with no hint of the usual quick, clipped speech of someone in any kind of an urgent search for something.
"Hi, this is Katie." Okay here we go. "I'm so glad to hear from you...Julia told me to expect your call but, to be honest," I confessed, "I don't really know much about you." That's a lie, I guiltily admitted, you know NOTHING about him. Not cool, Katie, not cool. His response was bigger than I expected:
"Really?!? You don't know anything about me?"
"No, I'm sorry. I was hoping you might be willing to start from the beginning."
"Oh...alriiiiiight." He drew out that alriiiiiiight in such a way that I started thinking this isn't just a 'somebody' calling...he thinks I should know more about him than I do. He was right, I was right. He's not just a 'somebody.' It turns out he's actually this Radhanath Swami.
Good thing I didn't know that at the time....because I would've had a nervous breakdown and the interview would've been over.
"Well," he began, "I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. I now live in Bombai, India. I have an Ashram and I just wrote a book called The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami. I'm on a 3 month book tour in this country which is why I'm calling you today from New York City."

At this point, it's necessary to reflect for just a moment on my inner monologue that sounded something like this: ohnoohnoohnoomygodohnoohnoohnoomygod. WHAT?!? He's on a major book tour?!? 3 months?!? He has an ASHRAM?!? WHERE?!? SWAMI...WHAT?!?

Good, now that you've got some semblance of my interior self emotionally, you can appreciate that my rational mind (the same one that prevents me from boldly going where only a good inversion can take you) kept it together. Since I had no ammo and deeply wished not to make an even bigger stupid fool of myself (a feeling I completely liberally applied myself), I asked him if he would just tell me as much of his story as he felt comfortable.

And what a story he told me.

For the next hour and fifteen minutes (I'm not exaggerating...), I stood jammed into our cleaning closet at 1220 W. Morse, seeking the only quiet space I could find that day, scribbling on green sheets of scrap paper with a red sharpie marker as he told me his epic tale of a journey that starts in Highland Park, IL, and ends today with him in a hotel room in NYC, doing publicity for a book that has been insanely well received by the spiritual, yoga, and what might be considered the "new age" communities. Along the way he lived in a cave on the island of Crete, he hitchhiked through Pakistan, he sought out Mother Teresa, one among many of an incredible list of spiritual teachers from a variety of religious traditions. Now he is a highly respected and influential figure in ISKON. (I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that Russell Brand (new husband of Katy Perry) considers him one of his teachers...so he's definitely for real...riiiiiight).

Our conversation ended with him asking me about myself. I told him I am a student at Loyola; he asked where I lived. When I said, "Edgewater," he momentarily paused and then with an inquisitive lilt asked, "is that near Sheridan Road?"
"Yes, it sure is," I responded, somewhat amazed at the resonant geographic power of Sheridan Rd. Like six degrees of Chicago separation, if you can locate Sheridan Road you seem to know exactly where you are.
He laughed a little then explained, "My parents were married at the Edgewater Beach hotel and I lived my first year of life in a building in Edgewater on Sheridan road." We determined he was born about a block away from where I presently live. I think we both agreed on that day that a world that seems this big always ends up being amazingly small and with paths that intertwine in the most complicated and wonderful of ways.

If you're an astute reader you haven't missed the fact that, in this account, I've skipped all of the content of that hour and fifteen minutes. Frankly, it's because it's simply overwhelming. In the hours (and days) after talking with Radhanath Swami, the discussion we had continued to process for me, curing and becoming more and more full. To try to lay it out here would make this the longest blog post in the history of the world (a length we might be approaching already). So, it is my intention to make this interview into a series of blog posts. Stay tuned to hear what he had to say about his own spiritual journey, the challenges of seeking spiritual transcendence in America, choosing your own path of enlightenment, and finding the peace we need to truly find god (or God) in our world today. He covered a lot of ground in what ultimately was a little amount of time.

In the meantime, you can learn more about him and his work at www.radhanathswami.com. His book is called The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami. And let me just end with this little reflection. In the moments, hours, and days following, I experienced what might be considered "post spiritual enlightenment stress disorder." I felt humbled (how could I not know who this man was), blessed (this wisdom literally dropped from the sky onto this studio phone I happened to be sitting in front of), and overwhelmed (one of his many "pearls" of wisdom included this little ditty: To become spiritually transformed, he said, "you harmonize who you are, were, and will be with a higher principle."....whoa.) But the thing that consistently blew me away was the fact that, despite all of the people he's talked to, he talked with me without urgency for over an hour and at the end thanked me for the "beautiful time." He who could be forgiven for believing his own celebrity....actually had none. He was clearly a spiritual man, a holy man, a humble man, a sojourner and seeker, looking for exactly that which we all hope to find: the face of that which unites us all.

What a day. The lesson? When a holy man calls, you answer. Then listen. Stay tuned for more.

Potluck Dinner - This Sunday!

2010-11-03T12:56:00.000-05:00

Hey Yogis,
Potluck Dinner is this Sunday immediately following Community Class. Bring a Vegetarian dish or dessert to share and come hang with the Yoga Now North and Pilates Chicago crew!

Community Feast at Overdier Hall, October 31st, 2010

2010-11-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

This week's community feast was a quiet affair. The atmosphere was calm and many appreciative members joyfully munched away on the wonderful produce and breads (from Whole Foods), mushroom spaghetti with donuts for desert. A great community feel pervaded the room and many helpful volunteers participated. We at Yoga Now invite you to experience this great space with us for Yoga on Wed. 6:30-7:30pm with one of our newest teachers, Joy Davis. This class is a donation class, contributions between $1-$20 are welcome!
-Laura Dunn, Yoga Now Work-Study Employee

Class Pass Sale!

2010-11-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

We are having a class pass sale this week!
10 classes for $110 (regular price $130)
20 classes for $205 (regular price $225)

3 Days a Week Challenge - Starting November 1st!

2010-10-30T17:20:00.000-05:00

Hey Yogis!

Join us for the Yoga Now North "3 Days a Week" challenge!

Starting November 1st, commit yourself to attending class at least 3 times a week for one full month. Autumn, with its crisp weather and changing leaves, is an ideal time to re-establish your regular practice in preparation for the winter weather and season of holidays ahead.

We all know the benefits of a regular practice... but we also know how easy it can be to let it lapse in the wake of changing seasons and schedules. So this fall, we're giving ourselves the gift of discipline: 3 times a week, no matter what, we're getting ourselves to the studio (even if it means trying a different class/style than we normally practice). Stormy weather? Think about how toasty you'll be once the chi gets flowing. Too much glogg or egg nog? Work it out on the mat, even if you have to drag yourself up the stairs. We'll be right there with you!

Yogis who participate in the challenge are then encouraged to write about their experiences for our blog. Your blog entry gets you a sweet little Yoga Now prize!

We look forward to seeing you all at the studio, and especially to reading about how participating in the challenge has affected your life and practice. Namaste!

Destiny

2010-10-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny.

I ran across this excerpt borrowed from the Upanishads this morning as I was trying to mine the interwebs for some inspirational "thing" to disseminate into the universe via Facebook (you have no idea how many sites appear in a google search if you put in "yoga quotes"...it's overwhelming and, frankly, a little weird). Anyway, among a lot of repeated words of wisdom, I only found this one once...but I was immediately called to attention by the the last line. Whenever I see a statement about destiny, I perk up...first because I have no idea what that actually means and second because the advice surrounding it always sounds mystical and other-worldly. Thinking about destiny stretches the gray matter a little. It's the ultimate long-run...a "place" and time built of accumulated wisdom and experience. It is there.

But as it turned out, I payed attention for the last line but really got to thinking about the ideas a little higher up on the destiny-chain...and they're simple and straightforward. Even the littlest things we think, say, do...they become part of who we are in a very real way and, in the end, create ultimately who we will be.

Community Acupuncture this Sunday in Rogers Park!

2010-10-20T10:39:00.000-05:00

Hey Yogis!
We have 4 spots left in our Community Acupuncture clinic this Sunday night following the free Community Class at Yoga Now North in Rogers Park. Treatments are only $15! Call 773-561-9642 to reserve your spot.

Points of Light

2010-10-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

The studio was busy this morning; because Pilates Chicago has graciously allowed us to share space with them, regularly there's a lot of people walking through, either getting ready for pilates sessions or signing in and heading over to the Sunrise Studio for yoga. And so many people were saying in passing that they just felt not good. Energy was low and people were looking for answers to cure colds, allergies, aches and pains, worries, fears. The fact that they were talking so matter-of-fact-ly about it was interesting. My only experience of yoga in this studio so far has been one of spring into summer yoga...when both light and energy ran really high.

I have to admit I was a little relieved to hear others are experiencing the same kind of challenges--both mental and physical--in their days; for weeks I've been trying to sound energetic even though I know I'm getting tired...and achy...and cranky. Various yoga teachers for weeks have been saying the turn of the seasons affects us in multiple ways. It's good to know. It makes me feel not abnormal...but it doesn't cure the fact we're moving into a time of less and less light, of increasing cold, and higher stress as the holidays draw near and clearly the challenge is in finding ways not to let all of that creep too far in while still being mindful that our everydays are becoming something different than they've been in the past couple months.

This, I think, really gets to the heart of the challenge in yoga...which really is the union of all things. How do we welcome this time and these symptoms into our experience; I think the answer lies in finding the points of light that are still there. Much like these little prisms hanging in the window of our studio that draw light into them and refract it...turn it into something else...I think that is our challenge during this time. Our experience of asanas will be different, our experience of breathing will be different, our bodies and minds will be different as our environment changes over the next couple months...but there will always be points of light to find and refract. The challenge is not to lose sight of that goal...even though it's easier to do when we're just not feeling 100%.

The most interesting part of the conversation in the studio reception space this morning was the point of light everyone found: they started discussing all the ways that just the littlest comments we make to each other have such a profound effect. An "I'm thinking of you today," or a "you look so happy today," goes a long way. That was their point of light...and I watched as they all walked away from that conversation uplifted even though it started with a very different tenor.

If the power of points of light is this strong, it's probably worth looking for them. The tricky part is remembering we may have to do more work than we want to. But to be a prism, you have to refract...which means taking whatever light you can see and, through your very presence, transforming it and giving it back out.

That's your task this week should you choose to accept it...go find some light and turn it into something great. But remember, you can also take a nap afterward. It's the give and take of the system :)

This Little Light

2010-10-11T11:13:00.000-05:00

I love this lamp. It's in our studio right across from the sign-in desk and I find myself just gazing over at it, fixated on it (of course when all workstudy duties are complete) ...and I've never thought about why. Until today.

I've been feeling run down lately. I'm sure everybody can relate to that to some degree; while it's nice that fall is here, we've hit that time on the calendar in between the "freedom" of the summer and the focused frenzy that comes, whether or not we ask for it, in late November and December. Kids have been in school for awhile, teachers have been teaching awhile...work has been going on for awhile...without promise of a nearby break. We've been at the "long haul" for awhile...and I've noticed that in the working and going, that my once-energetic yoga practice has fallen by the wayside, partly because when I do muster the energy to get there, I feel a little like this lamp.

If we just look at it, the lamp is crinkly...it's splotchy...it's a little crooked. And that's exactly how I feel in the yoga studio. At one point I could say I was noticing a progression in my own practice, I was feeling cumulative effects, I was "building" on something. And that's a notion we're pretty used to--we want to see progress. Now, because it's longer stretches between times I can get to the studio and my work habits (long hours at the desk hunched over) are working against the "good" I'd done a few months ago, I've lost the sense of progression. Every class I feel like I'm starting over; my hips are always tight, my shoulders are always tight; twists I used to be able to do, I can't anymore; everything seems a struggle. I feel as imperfect as this lamp.

But wait...I love this lamp. I mean, love. I can look at it for hours, even when it's not lit. It's so beautiful in its uniqueness. And then, it hit me...I love the lamp because it's "imperfect." Look at the colors--they're so deep and complex. I love the quirkiness of the stars, I like the shape that tells me it's a one-of-a-kind. It works...it just all works. And not because it's perfect; in fact, it works because it's not.

And there it was...they key to my own struggles. I imagined what would happen if I just approached my own yoga practice as I approach this lamp: with love, with an embrace of it's own crinkles and uneven tone, with an appreciation for it's beauty through its imperfection. That, in fact, its own imperfection actually makes it perfect. When I imagined approaching class tonight with this kind of gratefulness and appreciation...as though I could imagine just sitting and gazing at the complexity and beauty of the practice as though I could be enraptured for hours, I immediately felt something open up. I felt the pull back to the studio...the energy to be there...the grace to welcome the imperfection and actually look forward to it.

This lamp is wise; I swear. Come gaze at it yourself, and you'll see it. It taught me this morning that I create my own struggles in trying to become the product of a process. When we can just be we create something much more interesting and worthwhile...tight hips and shoulders and all.

I'll be at Helen Lee's Hatha Yoga class tonight in the Sunrise Studio at 6:30pm. Come and be imperfect with me! We can celebrate it together.

Community Massage is this Sunday

2010-10-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

Hey Yogis!,
Do you need a massage but can't afford it? We have the solution for you!
Our Community Bodywork clinic this Sunday at 6:45pm offers 15 minute massage appointments for $15 so you can get some bodywork without breaking the bank. Sign up on our website to reserve a spot www.yoganowchicago.com or call 773-561-9642

Yoga Notes

2010-10-07T18:31:00.000-05:00

We found these awesome yoga notes in the studio the other day while cleaning.

Fundraiser for the Rogers Park Community Feast

2010-10-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Feldenhuh?

2010-10-04T11:29:00.000-05:00

Every Monday I watch as a small but dedicated group of students heads into a yoga class called Feldenkrais; in an hour they all emerge looking happy and like their day has been changed by whatever went on in that Sunrise Studio. "But what," I wonder, "exactly are they doing in there?" Generally, if I look on the list and see "Ashtanga," or "Hatha" or "Vinyasa," I have a sense of what might be going on...but Feldenkrais...I have no idea. And it starts with just the way you say it...FELL-den-crice (it rhymes with price). It just sounds really German to have anything whatsoever to do with yoga.

So being the inquisitive yoga student I am, I cornered the faithful instructor Melissa Simo (that's her in the picture!) to get some answers. As you might guess, I started out by asking her, "Melissa...what the heck are you all doing in there?" And here's what she told me...

Feldenkrais isn't yoga (what?!?) but instead is a system of knowledge about the most basic ways in which we move. Developed by Moshe Feldenkrais (now do you see why it's called that?) who was mechanical engineer, black-belt in Judo, and an athlete crippled by debilitating knee injuries, the Feldenkrais method allows us to train our attention toward the habits and efforts we've developed to undertake even the simplest of actions--standing up from sitting, beginning to take a step to walk, sitting in a chair, etc. As Melissa explains, "it gives us the tools to slow down and explore how we move...how we initiate movement...so we can break [bad] habits and get in touch with and understand ourselves at a deeper level." In movement, there's freedom--or so they say.

So, practically, what does this look like? Melissa mentioned that this gentle practice usually takes place lying down and focuses on responding to cues she gives to make small, meaningful movements. Through this exploration of the way we start even the most basic movements to undertake our daily tasks, we can discover the places and the ways we hold tension or improper alignment--as Melissa says, the ways we "feel our weight and gravity." Once we become aware of that, we can begin to change it and achieve the "lightness" that can propel all of our movements throughout the day.

No wonder the students walk out looking changed.

Melissa offers her Feldenkrais class on Mondays from 10:30-11:30am at 1220 W. Morse in the Sunrise Studio. While people with chronic pain and fatigue might benefit most, she's quick to say that everyone can benefit from this study; no matter how athletic or fit we are, we all develop bad movement habits that, once noticed and adjusted, can grant everyone the freedom and lightness of movement to take into their everyday lives.

So, check it out. As it turns out, saying the name is the most strenuous part of this practice but getting into the studio and trying it out could make it worth the effort!

Melissa also teaches Ashtanga on Mondays at noon and Vinyasa on Thursdays at noon at YogaNow North.

Hey Rogers Park, We're Hiring!

2010-10-03T15:37:00.000-05:00

We are hiring for one work-study employee for Saturdays from 10am-2pm.
We are currently looking for someone who wants to take at least 2 classes a week and has excellent work ethic and communication skills. To be eligible for this position please comment on this post and come to as many classes at the North location in Rogers Park as you can this month (we have a free Community class Sundays at 5:30pm and a Donation class Wednesdays at 6:30pm if $ is an issue). Let us know in your blog comment why you would be perfect for this position and tell us about your commitment to your yoga practice. We will contact you when you complete these requirements for an interview, remember to include your name in your post so we can get in touch with you.

New Schedule, Hot Off the Presses!

2010-10-02T11:18:00.000-05:00

As always, the most up-to-date schedule information is located here.

Mondays
10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Feldenkrais (1-3) with Melissa Simo
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Ashtanga (1-3) with Melissa Simo
6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Hatha Yoga (1-3) with Helen Lee
7:45 to 9:15 p.m., Core Vinyasa (1-3) with Ceci Morales
8:00 to 9:00 p.m., Yoga Basics (1) with Rachel Gonzales

Tuesdays
9:00 to 10:00 a.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Denice Villadolid
5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Hatha (1-3) with Helen Lee
6:15 to 7:15 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Jody Weinmann
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Yoga Basics (1) with Julia Rae Antonick

Wednesdays
6:30 to 7:30 a.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Alyson Green
6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Donation Yoga (1-3) with Rotating Teachers**
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Intro to Yoga (1) with Jeni O'Keefe

Thursdays
9:00 to 10:00 a.m., Vinyasa Flow (1-3) with Donna Williams
10:45 to 11:45 a.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Melissa Simo
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Hatha Flow (1-2) with Julia Rae Antonick

Fridays
9:00 to 10:15 a.m., Vinyasa Flow (1-3) with Jessica Goldsmith
10:30 to 12:00 p.m., Ashtanga (1-3) with Alyson Green
12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Yin Yoga (1) with Donna Williams
6:45 to 8:15 p.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Ceci Morales

Saturdays
8:15 to 9:45 a.m., Yoga Basics (1) with Silvita Díaz Brown
9:00 to 10:45 a.m., Core Vinyasa (1-3) with Ceci Morales**
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Ashtanga (1-3) with Alyson Green**
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold

Sundays
8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Vinyasa Yoga (1-3) with Rotating Yoga Now Teachers
12:15 to 1:15 p.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
5:30 to 6:30 p.m., FREE COMMUNITY CLASS: Alternating between Yoga and Pilates Mat Class
6:45 to 7:15 p.m., Ashtanga led class/Mysore (1-3) with Lisa Tulsky

**These classes meet at Overdier Hall, 1545 W. Morse, Third Floor. All other classes are at 1220 W. Morse Ave. 2nd Floor.

Community Feast at United Church of Rogers Park, September 26th

2010-10-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Taco salad night was a blast at the community dinner! There was a full house and the food was so good there was no leftovers! Regulars at the community feast reported it was the best meal they had had in years - even better then restaurant food one said. Although the food was good and many feasters present volunteers were a little low. The community members pitched in to help the volunteers clear and clean the facility. If you are interested in giving back to the community of Rogers Park consider volunteering with Yoga Now every Sunday 4-6pm. It's a wonderful feast hosted every week by Overdier Hall in the United Church of Rogers Park, 3rd floor.

Last Day of Sale

2010-09-30T14:13:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day to grab a class pass on sale!
10 classes for $110 (normal price $130)
20 classes for $205 (normal price $225)

Click here to purchase

Lessons from the Beach

2010-09-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

The light is different these days. A little less golden, a little less piercing, a little cooler. If we watch the light, we know that summer is winding down; fall is upon us; soon darker winter motifs will color our lives. This morning, as I watched this particular scene unfold--a shock of light bowed but glowing, radiant, from underneath the weight of grayer skies--it made me reflect on the challenges of the coming seasons. Maybe even more importantly it provided me the opportunity to give thanks for the joys of summer...one in particular being beach yoga.

For many of us, starting this past May, beach yoga became part of the rhythm of life. Personally, there was something "risky" about hitting the beach at 6:30am on Wednesday for some Forrest Yoga with Anna Schabold. I was challenged by the idea of turning my newly minted studio practice outward. My abs would see the light of day (sometimes the rising light of day). I wondered if others would watch us practice out there. I was fascinated (and maybe a little fixated) by the idea that yoga would become a public event.

As it actually turned out, the lessons of the beach became much more profound than whether or not dog walkers or early-morning swimmers would notice my yogic struggles. I, and possibly many of us, have not experienced yoga in the fresh air, with the sky (and not a ceiling) as the definition of the space available to us. When was the last time you did sun salutations toward the rising sun? Believe me when I tell you, saluting the sun makes much more sense when you actually see the sun rising in front of you and feel it's growing, inviting warmth. It's a different choice to accept the challenges that the wind can introduce to what you thought was a pretty solid Warrior I or II (and as we all know, Chicago winds never suggest...they assert). And when a quickly approaching thunderstorm unleashes its watery tirade on you in while in the middle of a breakthrough moment in Dolphin pose...well, it's a new lesson in accepting the moment, finding joy in being both soaked and sandy, and being grateful that you had a chance to be there that day at that moment to experience the whole episode.

The elements allowed me to understand what people talk about when they challenge us to find the playfulness in yoga. In the studio, we can control much of our physical environment; the beach allowed us to build a relationship with the elements...we were at their whimsy...and it was good. In what can often feel like a world too focused on achieving and "successes," on the beach the success was truly finding harmony with those elements that would not negotiate with us but which asked us to join them--breathing with the breeze, finding warmth in saluting the sun, laughing with the rain. We developed a new yoga pose at the beach: the "shrug your shoulders and laugh it off" pose...which I think contains as much of the essence of yoga as any other asana we practice.

So...the beach is closed for our business come October. But the lessons from the beach could (and I think should) transfer inside for the time-being. As I look toward the cooler tones of winter, the darker reality of the next couple months, I believe my challenge will be to find the light we were so gifted to find outside. The light of the beach is in the play, the whimsy, the care-free feeling that the beach always grants us...and my challenge is to sweep the light inside. It may not be the crystal clear, bright shimmer of the summer sun on lake waters...but it holds the promise of becoming the warm glow we all hope to find in the darkest and chilliest times of the year.

Of course, these are just my lessons of the beach...there were a lot of us out there. If you've got a good yoga story from the beach be sure to add it as a comment here. We can all give our gratitude together!

Community: A Yoga Space

2010-09-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

I saw this sign a couple months ago in another neighborhood establishment (alright...not all wisdom emanates from the Sunrise Studio...a lot of it does...but not all) and it really gave me pause. We all talk a lot about community: we want to find one, we want to belong, we want to support one, we want to be together. People seek people; we all do it, in our ways and at our own times. But the Barista Sage brings up a question about what we actually might be looking for...that little flicker of something that fills us. Maybe we're not just seeking a place or a group but the possibilities of what can happen when we undertake something together.

I often think of this idea when I clamber up the stairs at 1220 W. Morse on any given day during the week, headed for whatever class is going to help mediate the "strained" relationship I have with my hamstrings, wondering (sometimes aloud) "Why did I think this was a good idea?" And up until about four months ago, I was a (semi) committed yoga "do-it-yourself"-er with one of the best DVD collections this side of the Mississippi...but when faced with my own self asking that question, my internal dialogue would go something like this:

Katie: "Why did I think yoga was a good idea today?"
Katie: "Because it's real good for you. You'll find calm. You'll scratch the surface of peace. You'll be much more sane. You'll be able to touch your toes. Maybe. "
Katie: "But it hurts."
Katie: "Okay...what's on tv?"

I got over myself and my fears about class and came to YogaNow so that I could get beyond my own little voice, thinking that would come from strengthening my will or resolve from the inside. And while I've done a little of that, what I find really incredible is the strength I find lingering in the Sunrise Studio...can you see the strength in here?

Every time I walk in I think about the other people who gather here, who take their first downward-facing dogs of the day, who realize joys and work through pain here. These props have memory; these mats have witnessed and continue to witness those seeking to become their best selves. They breathe just as we breathe (and just for the record are spectacularly cleaned by a dedicated group of work study members...so if you're looking for sweat memory you will NOT find it here) and in their breath lies our collective strength. Though others practice here for reasons that are their own and walk away with individual lessons learned, the space we share keeps a record of that.

And that is our community. And I like it.

One of the great things I appreciate about yoga and Yoga Now North and its space, our space, as opposed to a gym where people "work out," is that the space contains our collective efforts, the spirit of the reason we all choose to come here when we do and do what we do. And we do intentionally choose yoga...most people I know don't practice yoga because it's convenient or easy. And that choice, by definition, is a choice to unite, to bring together, to join. It's a choice to be in community...and the possibilities of what that can mean are really exciting.

All I know is that at the end of practice, when the instructor asks us to send a wave of gratitude and thanks for choosing to practice today, I always include the people who have practiced around me and specifically the one who has shared the mat with me that day. Their residual strength is often what gets me through and allows me the insights I've found here....I certainly know I couldn't do that all on my own. And I do keep a smidgen of hope that whatever energy I leave behind can serve someone else in whatever way they need. It's just part of the bargain I make in walking through the door every now and then.

September Sale

2010-09-15T15:11:00.001-05:00

We are having a class pass sale!

10 class pass for $110 ($11 per class - $60 saved)
20 class pass for $205 ($10.25 per class - $135 saved)

Our normal class drop-in rate is $17, so stock up on this great deal and we will see you on the mat soon!

Donation Yoga at Overdier Parlor

2010-09-14T14:52:00.000-05:00

This is Overdier Parlor, where we hold our weekly donation classes on Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30pm. Overdier Parlor is located at 1545 W. Morse on the third floor. There is no suggested donation amount, just pay what you can afford to and have a great class!

Community Feast - Sunday, September 12th

2010-09-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

Overdier Hall's Community Dinner had a lovely treat this Sunday - authentic Indian food! One of the regular volunteers, Raj, invited his extended family to come cook since Overdier recently lost its regular chef. The Hall smelled of spices and was a bustle with eager eaters. Many second helping were sought due to the quality and appeal of the unique dishes, like egg curry. We had great volunteers as always to cook, clean and serve. Currently, however Overdier Hall is seeking a regular cook for Sundays since their long-time Chef Addy recently moved to California to be with family. Overdier is also working to improve their sustainability having recruited a neighbor to do recycling runs 4 times a week. Please come view this lovely community center on Wed. when Yoga Now hosts its donation class, or come volunteer with us on Sundays to make this community feast even better for Rogers Park. -Laura

Undressing Two Heels

2010-09-06T13:26:00.000-05:00

Four days into class, and my heels as plows cut a path in the earth. The concrete outside is soil, the brick a sheath. In both, my heels fit, crossing streets home from Yoga Now without the anticipated feeling of burden. I take off my sandals and stand comfortable in a plot of dirt by my door.

Normally my heels just ache due to inflamed plantar fascia tendons beneath of my both feet that drag both arches flat and making walking all pain. I need fully laced shoes with arch-support like tent poles to bear the collapsing shroud. The long tendon from my foot ball to heel always pulls heavy. I put on shoes before breakfast. They stay on till midnight.

But today I am barefoot, undressed feet in the dirt after Yoga I walked to in sandals. It's been awhile since I felt roots on my feet, or knew that my feet were roots, diving roots meant to hold me erect.

Today, they're cushioned by ground and scarfed in the sun. A nice change.
___________________________________________________________________
Written by David T. Ulrich, a student of Christian history and theology downtown. He recently switched from DVD yoga to classes at Yoga Now, Gold Coast and is a work-study employee at Yoga Now North. It's been worth the walk, the open-toed walk.

Current Class Schedule for Yoga Now North in Rogers Park

2010-09-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

As always, the most up-to-date schedule information is located here.

Mondays
10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Feldenkrais (1-3) with Melissa Simo
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Ashtanga (1-3) with Melissa Simo
6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Hatha Yoga (1-3) with Helen Lee
7:45 to 9:15 p.m., Core Vinyasa (1-3) with Ceci Morales
8:00 to 0:00 p.m., Yoga Basics (1) with Rachel Gonzales

Tuesdays
9:00 to 10:00 a.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Denice Villadolid
5:00 to 6:00 p.m., Hatha (1-3) with Helen Lee
6:15 to 7:15 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Jody Weinmann
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Yoga Basics (1) with Julia Rae Antonick

Wednesdays
6:30 to 7:30 a.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Alyson Green
6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Donation Yoga (1-3) with Rotating Teachers**
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Intro to Yoga (1) with Jeni O'Keefe

Thursdays
9:00 to 10:00 a.m., Vinyasa Flow (1-3) with Donna Williams
10:45 to 11:45 a.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Vinyasa (1-3) with Melissa Simo
7:45 to 9:00 p.m., Hatha Flow (1-2) with Julia Rae Antonick

Fridays
9:00 to 10:15 a.m., Vinyasa Flow (1-3) with Jessica Goldsmith
10:30 to 12:00 p.m., Ashtanga (1-3) with Alyson Green
12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Yin Yoga (1) with Donna Williams
6:45 to 8:15 p.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Ceci Morales

Saturdays
8:15 to 9:45 a.m., Yoga Basics (1) with Silvita Díaz Brown
9:00 to 10:45 a.m., Core Vinyasa (1-3) with Ceci Morales**
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Ashtanga (1-3) with Alyson Green**
12:00 to 1:30 p.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold

Sundays
8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Vinyasa Yoga (1-3) with Rotating Yoga Now Teachers
12:15 to 1:15 p.m., Forrest Yoga (1-3) with Anna Schabold
5:30 to 6:30 p.m., FREE COMMUNITY CLASS: Alternating between Yoga and Pilates Mat Class
6:45 to 7:15 p.m., Ashtanga led class/Mysore (1-3) with Lisa Tulsky

* These classes meet at North Shore beach.
**These classes meet at Overdier Hall, 1545 W. Morse, Third Floor.

Community Feast

2010-08-30T10:32:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Yoga Now North volunteers for the free Community Feast in Overdier Hall every Sunday night? This free dinner is open to all and has been going uninterrupted since 1984! Talking with one of the organizers, Judy Kline, she told us that they hold the feast even on holidays. They only had to close their doors once because of a city flooding issue resulting in no running water in the building.

One of our work-study employees, Laura Dunn is going to write weekly on the blog about events at the Community Feast. Here is the first report from the field!

Community Feast at Overdier Hall went very well. We had great volunteers from all around Chicago, such as the Irving Park Methodist Church group. The community members were asking for seconds in record number as two new cooks created a great quiche. Sadly, Addy, our weekly cook is moving on to California to be with her family. Despite the heat of the day the hall was cool, the food hot-and-fresh (thanks to Whole Foods) and the atmosphere was wonderful. Many community members supported in the clean up of Overdier Hall and the floor is now spotless and ready for Wednesday's donation yoga at 6:30pm. I hope many of you will attend and see this great event that serves in so many ways to enrich the community! Namaste. ~ Laura

North Shore Beach

2010-08-25T12:08:00.001-05:00

Suppocal

2010-08-23T12:14:00.000-05:00

This is our support local call out to the one and only Heartland Cafe. The folks who have lived in the 'hood need no introduction to this Rogers Park gastric landmark and community hub but those who are new to the area or coming in from out of town might easily miss this restaurant nestled back in-between residential streets and the red line tracks on the corner of Glenwood and Lunt. We recommend right after your yoga class a freshly juiced carrot, beet and celery juice or an all fruit smoothie (they have frozen fruit so it is super thick, no ice!). There is a long list of frozen fruits and juices to mix and match so you can request your own special blend. You can also add a dash of spirulina, nutritional yeast of protein powder to give it the extra kick you need to have a glowing post yoga class day. (be sure to tip your server to ensure your karmic health!)

More Maps!

2010-08-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

We we will be in booth 72 giving away free classes to students new to Yoga Now North and Pilates Chicago from 12-9pm on Saturday and Sunday. Get your friends and family signed up!

Yoga Treasure Map

2010-08-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

Yarrr Yogi Maties! (read this all in a pirate voice)
This be the map to the treasure of yoga, if ye get lost give us a call 773-561-9642

Glenwood Arts Festival

2010-08-18T16:11:00.000-05:00

Hey Yogis!.
We are sharing a booth with Pilates Chicago at the Glenwood Arts Fest this Saturday and Sunday from 12-9pm. We will be giving away a free yoga class to new students to Yoga Now at the booth so bring that friend over that you have been trying to drag to class with you and sign 'em up!

What is Mysore?

2010-08-16T20:45:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a led Ashtanga class and a Mysore style class is? If you have ever taken an Ashtanga class, expect the same sequence in Mysore but in an entirely different atmosphere. Curious to try? Come to Mysore class on Tuesdays at 12pm, Wednesdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm to practice Ashtanga in this traditional method with Aharona before she moves back to Maui in October to study more with her teacher, Nancy Gilgoff.

New Class at Yoga Now North

2010-08-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

This Sunday morning from 8:30-9:45 will be our first class with Rachel Gonzales at 1220 W. Morse. Come and give her a warm welcome!

We Are Hiring!

2010-08-12T01:23:00.000-05:00

Yoga Now North is currently hiring for one yoga teacher to join our team. We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic and dedicated to teaching students on the North side of Chicago and can lead a class with sensitivity, excellence and curiosity in the development of the students, and their own practice and teaching. We are open to many styles of Hatha Yoga but will need to balance class types with the rest of our schedule. Teachers that would fit well in this position are reliable, good communicators, community builders and love yoga!

If you feel like this is a good fit for you, write a comment on this blog post and tell us about it. Include your email so we can get in touch with you.

(pictured: Ceci Morales - one of our Forrest and Core Vinyasa teachers)