12 Days of Giveaways, Yoga Dec 09, 2011 12 Days of Giveaways Day 4: Heart and Soul of Yoga Welcome to the fourth day of our 12 Days of Giveaways! Today we have a set of three yoga classes ($45 value) at Heart and Soul of Yoga, a wonderful small (…) Share this Scoop by Meg Cotner total shares! Twitter Facebook Email Print Welcome to the fourth day of our 12 Days of Giveaways! Today we have a set of three yoga classes ($45 value) at Heart and Soul of Yoga, a wonderful small (…) by Meg Cotner Share this Scoop total shares! Twitter Facebook Email Print Related scoops Inside the New ‘Sacred Space Astoria’ on 21st Av (...) The Secret History of “The Yoga Studio” Space on (...) Astoria Summer Yoga Roundup Welcome to the fourth day of our 12 Days of Giveaways! Today we have a set of three yoga classes ($45 value) at Heart and Soul of Yoga, a wonderful small yoga studio in the Broadway area of Astoria. Run by Vanessa Francis, she and her fellow teachers lead small classes that “honor the individual,” in their words. At this yoga studio, semi-private classes are led mainly in the ISHTA style. ISHTA is an acronym for Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda. It also means “individualized” (translation from the Sanskrit) – this means there are props (blankets, blocks, straps, and bolsters) to help you find your way into the different poses, no matter what your size, shape, or flexibility is. And as someone who is not as flexible as she once was in her 20s, this is incredibly helpful. What I can tell you, beyond the summary description above, is that my experience at Heart and Soul of Yoga has been nothing be excellent. It’s helping me in ways I never expected and has definitely increased my quality of life. I’m already more flexible and can tell how much I’ve progressed with each class I attend. I love the small classes and individualized attention I get there. So, I’m really happy to have them as part of our giveaways this year. Heart and Soul of Yoga is offering you a series of 3 classes, which is a terrific way to get introduced to this style of yoga. There is a full schedule of classes, Monday through Saturday (no classes on Sundays), too. To enter this giveaway just leave a comment telling us what your favorite yoga pose is, and if you haven’t done yoga before, what you would hope to gain from taking some classes. You have until next Monday (12/13) to enter; we’ll announce the winner on Tuesday. We can’t wait to see what you have to say! Twitter Facebook Email Print 12 Days of GiveawaysGiveawaysheart and soul of yogaISHTA yogaYoga About Meg Cotner Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver. Related scoops Inside the New ‘Sacred Space Astoria’ on 21st Av (...) The Secret History of “The Yoga Studio” Space on (...) Astoria Summer Yoga Roundup 20 Comments Carrie December 12th, 2011 Child’s pose. So relaxing and always feels good on my back. Steph December 12th, 2011 Gotta love pigeon pose…after a long day, this helps me feel most open, stretched and relaxed. Would really love to try out Heart and Soul of Yoga! Maria Castro December 12th, 2011 my favorite yoga pose is the warrior pose, for some reason it’s very empowering! I’m not great at yoga, but I would like to be better at it! maybe with a little heart and soul I can be ;) Carrie December 12th, 2011 I’m trying to perfect my crow and doing it with online tutorials so this would be a fabulous prize to win! Heather M December 10th, 2011 When I was doing yoga more regularly, my favorite was crow pose. I hope to get back there soon. Michael December 9th, 2011 I have never done Yoga, but have been interested for some time. For me, I am looking toward Yoga as a meditative activity that can assist with bringing the mind in harmony with the body. In working with Yoga, I am hoping I can begin to let go of the illusory separation of the individual me and accept the unity of the whole of our experience of being alive in the present moment. It appears that Yoga can be a good gateway to embodying this undefinable truth through the experience of these teachings. Lisa December 9th, 2011 Crow Pose for sure. It was the most challening pose I have mastered and wow did it feel like an accomplishment! Alison December 9th, 2011 The closest I’ve come to doing yoga was having a coworker show me a pose once at work, and I lost my balance trying to imitate it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try though. So, if/when I finally take some yoga classes, I hope to gain some flexibility and to quiet my “go go go!” mind if only for just a moment or two :) Melissa Marie December 9th, 2011 Without a doubt, down dog. I love the feeling of being fully stretched! PepGiraffe December 9th, 2011 Would have to be child’s pose. Daniel Rios December 9th, 2011 I did this pose from a Rodney Yee video that didn’t have a name. It involved squatting, putting my hands on the ground, bringing my knees around the arms and into the pits and then lifting my legs. All this while still balancing on my extended arms. I only did it once and never was able to do it again. It may have been too advanced, or I am just a wuss. Kat4a December 9th, 2011 I recently encountered a “King Arthur’s Pose” – as a student of medieval romance and only a novice to yoga, I have to choose that one. Kristen December 9th, 2011 Pigeon! Nothing makes me melt into the mat more. Vanessa December 9th, 2011 I wish I could remember, it’s been far too long since my last class! My gut says child’s, because it’s so cozy :-) Anna December 9th, 2011 Eka Pada Rajakapotasana! Aka- pigeon pose. Gotta love it :-) Jhani December 9th, 2011 I love a good warrior pose, any day. Too bad I haven’t practiced in months! Need some motivation to get back into it again… Katie December 9th, 2011 Crow pose! …Once I learn to do it. Julia December 9th, 2011 Triangle pose! Eileen Diskin December 9th, 2011 I guess my favorite pose is child’s pose, but this is likely because I’m a yoga novice. Hoping to change that in the New Year! Jamie December 9th, 2011 My favorite yoga pose is child’s pose and downward facing dog. I haven’t tried this yoga studio yet, but I would love to check it out! Comments are closed.
Steph December 12th, 2011 Gotta love pigeon pose…after a long day, this helps me feel most open, stretched and relaxed. Would really love to try out Heart and Soul of Yoga!
Maria Castro December 12th, 2011 my favorite yoga pose is the warrior pose, for some reason it’s very empowering! I’m not great at yoga, but I would like to be better at it! maybe with a little heart and soul I can be ;)
Carrie December 12th, 2011 I’m trying to perfect my crow and doing it with online tutorials so this would be a fabulous prize to win!
Heather M December 10th, 2011 When I was doing yoga more regularly, my favorite was crow pose. I hope to get back there soon.
Michael December 9th, 2011 I have never done Yoga, but have been interested for some time. For me, I am looking toward Yoga as a meditative activity that can assist with bringing the mind in harmony with the body. In working with Yoga, I am hoping I can begin to let go of the illusory separation of the individual me and accept the unity of the whole of our experience of being alive in the present moment. It appears that Yoga can be a good gateway to embodying this undefinable truth through the experience of these teachings.
Lisa December 9th, 2011 Crow Pose for sure. It was the most challening pose I have mastered and wow did it feel like an accomplishment!
Alison December 9th, 2011 The closest I’ve come to doing yoga was having a coworker show me a pose once at work, and I lost my balance trying to imitate it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try though. So, if/when I finally take some yoga classes, I hope to gain some flexibility and to quiet my “go go go!” mind if only for just a moment or two :)
Melissa Marie December 9th, 2011 Without a doubt, down dog. I love the feeling of being fully stretched!
Daniel Rios December 9th, 2011 I did this pose from a Rodney Yee video that didn’t have a name. It involved squatting, putting my hands on the ground, bringing my knees around the arms and into the pits and then lifting my legs. All this while still balancing on my extended arms. I only did it once and never was able to do it again. It may have been too advanced, or I am just a wuss.
Kat4a December 9th, 2011 I recently encountered a “King Arthur’s Pose” – as a student of medieval romance and only a novice to yoga, I have to choose that one.
Vanessa December 9th, 2011 I wish I could remember, it’s been far too long since my last class! My gut says child’s, because it’s so cozy :-)
Jhani December 9th, 2011 I love a good warrior pose, any day. Too bad I haven’t practiced in months! Need some motivation to get back into it again…
Eileen Diskin December 9th, 2011 I guess my favorite pose is child’s pose, but this is likely because I’m a yoga novice. Hoping to change that in the New Year!
Jamie December 9th, 2011 My favorite yoga pose is child’s pose and downward facing dog. I haven’t tried this yoga studio yet, but I would love to check it out!