How to Love Your Body--A Body Story

Reprinted with permission from the blog A Body Story, written by Holly Kania.

Day 6: Why A "Body Story?"

That old saw: “write what you know.” I am still coming to know my body and our relationship has surely had interesting narrative turns. But as a Nia teacher, and now adding work with movement-challenged populations as an Ageless Grace educator, I am fascinated by my students’ relationships to their body stories–how they move, why they wince, the moments when they transcend themselves and I can literally see their souls moving underneath their flesh.

My students constantly surprise me. They are mostly women, typically between their late-forties and seventy years in age. They come to class for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they like the music and they love to dance. I’ve had a lot of different jobs in my life, but never one like this, where it daily feels like a privilege to be among them, to bear witness as they learn new steps or try new skills, often moving through pain or limitation. And whether by nature they are creaky and off-tempo or limber and rhythmic just doesn’t matter. I can see something of their struggle in life in how they move, in which movements or songs call them out of themselves and unlock their younger selves – transforming achy or self-conscious idiosyncracies into sudden bursts of playfulness, freedom or sensuality. Each of their bodies tells a story: I had colon cancer when I was in my fifties; here I am, dancing. Take that! I had breast cancer ages ago but that was child’s play compared to Parkinson’s; I’m just glad to be alive. I was a competitive ice dancer; now spinning makes me dizzy. I’ve always been a klutz, but I don’t care; look at me shakin’ it! I played three sets of tennis yesterday morning and another two last night; bring it on. I’ve been trying to lose these 10/20/30/40 pounds for the last 1/5/10/15 years; I feel beautiful when I dance. I haven’t slept well for the last year; this stretch feels so good.

Life in the physical body can be a pretty tough business. For some people, it’s a sh*t-storm of pain and frustration; for others, it’s the slow drip of diminishing returns. The luckiest among us may live pain and disease free, may even glory in good health, but we still find plenty to complain about. And yet, for all of us, there is joy to be had. That’s a body story.

 A certified Brown Belt instructor in Nia Technique, Holly has taught Nia classes in Metrowest Boston for four years, and has been teaching at Lumina since January 2013.  Holly did her Nia certification trainings in Concord, MA with Maria Skinner & Al Wright (White Belt), Sun Valley, ID with Britta von Tagen & Casey Bernstein (Blue Belt) and Houston, TX with Helen Terry (Brown Belt).  She plans to pursue her Black Belt certification (the highest level in Nia teacher certification) in 2016.  She is thrilled to share this movement practice with the clients at Lumina.

Backbends: The Fountain of Youth?

By Janine L. Agoglia

Back bending poses are a core part of most asana practices, whether they are small and controlled like Cow pose or Cobra, or more dynamic, like Camel, Dancer or King Pigeon. Back bending poses not only look good, but they create spinal flexibility and back strength, as well as undo the effects of gravity on our body. When you imagine a stereotypical "old person" they are typically slumped forward with a rounded upper back, leaning on a cane. A stereotypical "young person" has a more vertical posture and ease of movement. The secret to a youthful appearance are poses that reverse the effects of gravity on the body, helping you stand more upright.

From the moment we learn to stand up, gravity begins pulling us forward and downward. This is only exacerbated by poor attention to posture, driving, sitting at a computer, taking notes in school, texting and holding small children. Unless you work to reverse it, gravity causes the head to fall forward which creates strain in the neck and upper back muscles, and tightens the chest muscles; the tailbone tucks forward, thereby tightening the hamstrings and weakening the hip flexors and lower back. This causes them undo strain. By letting gravity win on a daily basis you are left with physical limitations, dysfunction and eventually pain. Poor posture has also been linked to heart disease, poor lung function, poor circulation and headaches.

Back bends help us reverse the effects of gravity on the body by moving us in the other direction. By opening and stretching the front of the body, the back muscles intentionally contract making them stronger; it is weak muscles that strain since they are forced to work harder than they are capable. There are many safe and fun ways to back bend that work for every body. Here are just a few examples from simple and supported to more advanced and strengthening:

Supported Reclining Bound Angle

Supported Bridge

Supported Reclining Bound Angle and Supported Bridge are two great back bending poses that are gentler and use gravity to create the opening.

     

         Cobra with arms extended

For a more active back bend, Cobra is a great place to start. Create the pose using the muscles of the back, rather than the arms. This variation really encourages the squeezing of the shoulder blades and activation the muscles along the spine. Make sure to lengthen the tailbone toward the floor and press the feet into the floor so that it is an upper back backbend.

                                                                              

Upward Facing Dog

To take it up a level, take Cobra off the floor into Upward Facing Dog. Keep the tailbone reaching for the floor, but lift the legs off the floor so that the only things pressing into the floor are the hands and feet. Press the shoulder blades down through the palms and make sure the shoulders are over the wrists. The more you use your legs, the better, and again, it is an upper back backbend.

For more experienced practitioners, Wheel and Camel can feel really good. As with all back bends, keep lengthening the tailbone forward and use the legs!

Wheel

                                                        

                                                                                                              Camel

After all back bending practices it is good to counterbalance with some easy forward bends and gentle twists. Lie down on your back and pull your knees into the chest, maybe lift your head toward your knees. Then bring your head back to the floor and let your knees fall to the left as you look to the right. Stay for a few breaths then do the other side.

Janine L. Agoglia has been teaching Vinyasa yoga since 1998. Her yoga journey started in 1995 with Iyengar Yoga and she discovered Vinyasa yoga in 1997. The combination of breath with proper body alignment is what fuels Janine's practice and the classes that she teaches. She believes that yoga should be safe as well as challenging, creative and fun. She always emphasizes proper alignment within the flow, as well as focus, breath and humor to help students find the balance between strength and ease. Deepening one’s physical awareness helps one strengthen his/her spiritual awareness and mind-body connection. Janine loves being able to help people deepen their own practices, finding yoga in everyday life on and off the mat. Her DVD, “Vinyasa Yoga for Regular People” is available for purchase at the front desk at Lumina Mind Body Studios in Wayland, MA.

In addition to being the Co-Director of Yoga and teaching yoga classes at Lumina Mind Body Studios, Janine is also a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist who practices at Integrative Therapeutics in Natick, MA.

To contact Janine, please email acuyogamama@hotmail.com or visit her website, www.acuyogamama.com.

Try Easy, Don't Try Hard

By Janine L. Agoglia

One of my students recently asked me about pushing oneself in yoga class. He had heard from another instructor that he shouldn't push himself and was confused as he was under the impression that unless he pushed himself, he wasn't going to improve.

In Western society, we are taught, from a very early age, the harder you work, the better you do. We are conditioned to "push through the pain" and "don't be lazy" and "no pain, no gain." This is pretty much the exact opposite of what the Eastern practice of Yoga dictates. Pain is our body's message to to stop, we are hurting ourselves (for more on understanding pain, see How To Know Your Limits in a Yoga Class). Here we need to separate the ideas of forcing the body to do something vs. setting the intention to accomplish a physical task in a way that feels good and creates balance. We want to move our body intentionally, using enough muscular effort to maintain a pose efficiently, but not struggle or strain while doing so. How we approach our asana practice matters, as well as why we choose to practice certain poses.

Our goal for each yoga posture is written in one of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: Sthira Sukham Asanam which translates to Steady, Comfortable Seat. "Practicing yoga with strength and in a relaxed manner gives rise to harmony with the physical body (asana)." Each pose teaches us that even if our body is challenged in some way, our mind can remain calm, which creates a more pleasant overall experience; you maintain the effort, while releasing the struggle. When you can relax in a yoga pose, it conditions you to relax in the "real world." "Try easy, don't try hard," is something that one of my yoga colleagues, Joe Scianna, often says when he teaches. That really says it all.

I see the body like a oppositional teenager: the more you push and force and struggle to get it to do something, the more it rebels and pushes back. Force meets with resistance. But, if you give it a little space, and a little breath, in its own time it will do what you want it to do. Practicing kindness with your body is always a better way to go. So many times I see students trying to force their body to do something that it is not ready to do, like deepen a stretch or hold a pose that doesn't feel good (I can see it on their face). This is why there are modifications and props. Everyone can do some version of every pose, they just might need to modify and/or take a simpler version to accommodate their body's readiness and ability. The ego will want to push and shove regardless of how a pose feels; the challenge is to listen to the body and allow the pose to happen, rather than make it happen.

Of course it is easier to relax in poses like Childs Pose (Balasana) or Reclining Bound Angle (Supta Baddhakonasana), but your efforts should be the same in all poses. Even in Awkward Pose (Utkatasana) or Warrior 2 (Virbhadrasana 2), which require more muscular exertion to create and hold the pose, you don't need to harden every muscle in your body to hold it. Use enough effort to maintain the pose, but nothing extra. Then once you are there, relax the mind, let go of the struggle and breathe. Try this with poses that challenge you and you may be surprised at how your experience changes.

Sources:

http://www.ashtangayoga.info/source-texts/yoga-sutra-patanjali/chapter-2/item/sthira-sukham-asanam-46/



Janine L. Agoglia has been teaching Vinyasa yoga since 1998. Her yoga journey started in 1995 with Iyengar Yoga and she discovered Vinyasa yoga in 1997. The combination of breath with proper body alignment is what fuels Janine's practice and the classes that she teaches. She believes that yoga should be safe as well as challenging, creative and fun. She always emphasizes proper alignment within the flow, as well as focus, breath and humor to help students find the balance between strength and ease. Deepening one’s physical awareness helps one strengthen his/her spiritual awareness and mind-body connection. Janine loves being able to help people deepen their own practices, finding yoga in everyday life on and off the mat. Her DVD, “Vinyasa Yoga for Regular People” is available for purchase at the front desk at Lumina Mind Body Studios in Wayland, MA.

In addition to being the Co-Director of Yoga and teaching yoga classes at Lumina Mind Body Studios, Janine is also a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist who practices at Integrative Therapeutics in Natick, MA.

To contact Janine, please email acuyogamama@hotmail.com or visit her website, www.acuyogamama.com.

What should I expect from a Pilates class?

By Kay Finn

Joseph Pilates is often quoted as saying, "In 10 sessions you'll feel the difference, in 20 sessions you'll see the difference, and in 30 sessions you'll have a new body."

At the end of Pilates class, some of my students have said:

"I feel so stretched out now!"
"My abs really felt that!"
"That class was fun!"
"The time just flew by!"
"I feel taller!"

Pilates is a great complement to other forms of exercise. Whether you are an avid runner, swimmer or a seasoned yogi, practicing Pilates will help you focus on your core muscles which will influence efficiency in all other movements: your serve in tennis, your stride in soccer, your ability to attack moguls, your chaturanga.

Pilates' major principles are:

* Breath
* Concentration
* Centering
* Stability, among others.

Regulating the breath will help to properly oxygenate your muscles while helping to inform your movement. It will help you coordinate what your mind tells your body to do. Learning to stabilize your pelvis and shoulder girdle will enable you to move the rest of your body more easily.

Pilates makes you feel strong. 100, Rollup and Teaser are all signature Pilates exercises which help you focus on your core. As you continue to practice, you will get stronger and will feel a sense of accomplishment as these exercises become more fluid.

As you become more familiar with the exercises, you will learn to experience them in different ways, using props or changing the levels of intensity. Most classes follow a pattern of exercises even though not every class will have all of the same exercises. There is enough repetition, however, to allow you to develop proficiency.

Ultimately, with regular Pilates exercise, you will notice improvement in your posture, energy, flexibility and core strength.

Have you tried Pilates yet? Are you nervous about being able to participate in a class? Don't be. There is a class for you. Teachers are trained to modify all exercises to accommodate all students in multi-level classes. What are you waiting for?

Kay Finn is Director of the Stott Pilates Studio at Lumina Mind Body Studios in Wayland, MA. Kay is a longtime fitness enthusiast who began her Pilates experience in 2004 by taking a Pilates mat class. After several years of taking mat and equipment classes, Kay began her formal training at Northeast Pilates in 2006 and completed her training for certification with Stott Pilates in 2008. She is fully certified on the Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair and Barrels through Stott Pilates. 

Kay has been teaching Pilates at Longfellow since 2007. She teaches group exercise classes, small group classes on the mixed equipment and private sessions with individuals on the equipment in the Pilates Studio. 
In addition to teaching and spending time with her extended family, Kay enjoys biking, swimming, walking her dog and Yoga. 

How to Avoid Shoulder Injury While Doing Chaturanga Dandasana

By Janine L. Agoglia

Yoga can sometimes get a bad rap for causing shoulder injuries. The main reason for shoulder injury in yoga is repeatedly doing Chaturanga Dandasana incorrectly. When done with proper alignment, Chaturanga, or Low Push Up, is a great pose for core and whole body strengthening. It is an important and frequently done pose in the Vinyasa and Ashtanga practices, but many instructors, due to the nature of flow styles of yoga, don't spend enough time teaching students to do it properly, which results in many injured shoulders. One of my personal missions as a yoga instructor is to make sure all of my students fully understand how to do Chaturanga, both to understand how to use their bodies efficiently and to reduce the possibility of injury.

I often joke in class that "Chaturanga Dandasana" does not mean "Collapse to the floor before Upward Dog,"  rather it translates from Sanskrit as "Four Pointed Staff Pose." This is important, because it is the repeated collapse that leads to shoulder injury. Many students who lack the strength will just fall to the floor (hoping nobody is watching) and then come up into Upward Facing Dog as if Chaturanga never happened. Chaturanga can strike fear in the hearts of many yogis, but when you learn to do it correctly it is an amazing, powerful pose.

The good news is that there are many ways to modify this pose so that you can practice it safely and build strength over time. One way is to lower your knees to the floor so that you have a shorter lever and don't need to support as much weight. At your lowest point, the shoulders should be level with your elbows (see photo #3 below), but until you develop the strength in your core and upper back, you don't need to go that low. You can bend your elbows half an inch and still be doing a great Chaturanga, provided that you are using your upper back and not shrugging your shoulders.

How To:

Chaturanga is basically Plank Pose with bent elbows. Ideally there is no bend at the waist or the neck, only at the elbows.

#1

Start in Plank pose with knees either on the floor behind the hips (photo #1) or off the floor in a straight line from the shoulders to the heels (photo #2). Shift your weight forward as you bend your elbows, with your elbows pointing toward your heels. Your chest moves

#2

forward and your shoulder blades move toward your your waist. This is key. If your shoulders shrug, you lose connection to your larger back muscles and you risk shoulder injury. Keeping your shoulder blades depressed prevents the weight of the pose from falling into the shoulder joint. Your upper back muscles (especially the Latissimus Dorsi) are much larger and stronger than the smaller arm muscles (deltoids, rotator cuff muscles) so if you engage the larger muscles, it is much more efficient. The forward movement of the chest places the shoulder joint in front of the elbow joint, creating the proper pose alignment, but it is crucial to move the shoulder blades in the

#3

opposite direction. Make sure to also use your legs so that the upper body isn't doing all the work. As your chest moves forward reach your heels backward, lift your thighs upward (without hinging at the pelvis) and squeeze your glutes. If your knees are on the ground, still think of lifting your thighs, but not by bending at the pelvis; instead think of your whole body hinging at the knees and moving forward and down as a unit. Engage your abdominals by squeezing your ribs toward your hips. In the end there should be one long line from the top of your head through your heels (photo #3).


Using Props:

#4

Get a strap and a block. Place the strap around your upper arms, just above the elbow crease and place the block about 18" (give or take)in front of your fingers. Start in plank and move forward into Chaturanga so that your lower ribs are resting on the strap and your forehead rests on the block (photo #4). For women the strap should be below the breasts. This position requires less upper body effort so that you can feel your alignment and find your shoulder blades so that you can engage your upper back muscles without needing to hold yourself up. Stay for 5-10 breaths. Make sure you are using your legs to help you lift as well.

It is much better to to have proper alignment than to get as low as possible. This pose is about strengthening so if you are not using your muscles properly, you will most likely end up injured. It is much better to take the "less is more" approach here.  Modify with your knees on the floor and a slight bend in the elbows until you develop the strength to perform the full pose. Remember, yoga is not about finding the perfect pose, it is about being in the moment in your body. Safety is important, as is relinquishing the struggle. Enjoy the journey.

Janine L. Agoglia has been teaching Vinyasa yoga since 1998. Her yoga journey started in 1995 with Iyengar Yoga and she discovered Vinyasa yoga in 1997. The combination of breath with proper body alignment is what fuels Janine's practice and the classes that she teaches. She believes that yoga should be safe as well as challenging, creative and fun. She always emphasizes proper alignment within the flow, as well as focus, breath and humor to help students find the balance between strength and ease. Deepening one’s physical awareness helps one strengthen his/her spiritual awareness and mind-body connection. Janine loves being able to help people deepen their own practices, finding yoga in everyday life on and off the mat. Her DVD, “Vinyasa Yoga for Regular People” is available for purchase at the front desk at Lumina Mind Body Studios in Wayland, MA.

In addition to being the Co-Director of Yoga and teaching yoga classes at Lumina Mind Body Studios, Janine is also a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist who practices at Integrative Therapeutics in Natick, MA.

To contact Janine, please email acuyogamama@hotmail.com or visit her website, www.acuyogamama.com.

Understanding Different Styles of Yoga

By Janine L. Agoglia

I believe that Yoga is for everyone, regardless of age, sex, physical ability or body type. That being said, not all styles of Yoga are good for all people, and that is why there is such a variety in offerings. It can get confusing, so in this post I would like to try to shed some light on some of the common styles of asana (the physical practice of yoga) so that you have a sense of what you are getting into when you enter a class. This will be general characteristics of each style, each teacher has their own particular "flavor" that they add to their classes.

Vinyasa (also called Flow Yoga)-- This is a flow style of yoga that uses the breath to move from one pose into the next. This style is somewhat based on Ashtanga Yoga (created by K. Pattabhi Jois, literally meaning "Eight-Limbed Yoga"), which is 6 set series of progressive poses that flow from one into the next. Most well known is the Primary Series, with only very advanced, experienced practitioners moving on to the other series. Unlike Ashtanga, Vinyasa practices can vary from class to class and instructor to instructor. There are many common poses in each class (Downward Dog, Upward Dog, Chaturanga, Plank, warrior poses, etc.) but each class will be a bit different, with a different focus each time. Using Ujjayi Breath (Victorious Breath)-- a special kind of pranayama/breathwork-- to fuel the practice, it creates a meditative quality to this dynamic asana style, with a good balance of strengthening, stretching and calming of the mind.

Power-- This is often a flow class, but not necessarily. The focus is typically on strengthening over stretching, holding poses for long periods, and challenging both the body and the mind. Many Vinyasa classes are also Power classes, but it is not a hard and fast rule.

Kripalu-- Like most yoga styles and traditions, Kripalu Yoga uses classic asanas or poses (though not a particular set or routine), pranayama (yogic breathwork for both invigorating and energizing the body as well as for cooling the body down and balancing the nervous system as preparation for deep relaxation or meditation), development of a quiet mind, and the art and practice of relaxation. What defines Kripalu Yoga is its emphasis on following the flow of prana (life-force energy), practicing true compassionate self-acceptance, developing witness consciousness (observing the activity of the mind without judgment), and taking what is learned "on the yoga mat" about being with one's experience with non-judgmental awareness, “off the mat” into one's daily life with family, in work, in relationships and with ones own experience.

Iyengar-- This is a style of asana practice based on the work of B.K.S. Iyengar. It features very detailed alignment work, very long holds in the poses  and the use of props to further support everyone's body in any particular pose. Each person will strive toward the ideal alignment in their body, even if their practice, visually, looks very different from someone else's.  Their internal experience will be the same. Asana and pranayama are different practices in this style, but are equally important.

Anusara--This style of yoga was created by John Friend and is based in the Iyengar alignment principles, but is infused with heart centered spirituality as well. "Anusara" means "to flow with Grace," with "the power of the heart as the force behind every action or expression of an asana."

Adaptive or Chair Yoga-- While most yoga practices happen on the floor or on a mat, this style of yoga happens in a chair. It is great for anyone with limited mobility. The poses are done seated or sometimes standing while holding onto the chair for balance.

Svaroopa--Created by Rama Berch, Svaroopa® is a very gentle, restorative style of yoga. Often called Yoga for the Back, "Svaroopa® yoga uses precise alignments in carefully selected poses, along with meticulous placement of props, to open up the deepest tensions of your body. This also opens up conscious access to the ever-expanding inner realms of being. Rather than using hatha yoga as a sophisticated form of exercise, Svaroopa® yoga pursues the search for an understanding of the deeper purposes of yoga: the understanding of your own essential nature."

Bikram-- This is a set series of 26 poses done in a room heated to over 100 degrees (often as high as 110).  The practice takes 90 minutes and you should expect to sweat. I personally advise caution with this style of yoga, both because of the high heat (and risk of dehydration or overheating) and because of the encouraged "locking" of the joints in certain poses.

There are many other styles of yoga, too many for the purposes of this post, but I just wanted to give readers a little taste of what is out there.


Sources:

• http://www.ashtanga.com/html/background.html
• Nina Carmel, senior Kripalu Instructor
• http://www.anusarayoga.com/anusara-school-of-hatha-yoga/
• http://www.mountainyoga.com/philosophy.htm

Janine L. Agoglia has been teaching Vinyasa yoga since 1998. Her yoga journey started in 1995 with Iyengar Yoga and she discovered Vinyasa yoga in 1997. The combination of breath with proper body alignment is what fuels Janine's practice and the classes that she teaches. She believes that yoga should be safe as well as challenging, creative and fun. She always emphasizes proper alignment within the flow, as well as focus, breath and humor to help students find the balance between strength and ease. Deepening one’s physical awareness helps one strengthen his/her spiritual awareness and mind-body connection. Janine loves being able to help people deepen their own practices, finding yoga in everyday life on and off the mat. Her DVD, “Vinyasa Yoga for Regular People” is available for purchase at the front desk at Lumina Mind Body Studios in Wayland, MA.

In addition to being the Director of Yoga and teaching yoga classes at Lumina Mind Body Studios, Janine is also a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist who practices at Integrative Therapeutics in Natick, MA.

To contact Janine, please email acuyogamama@hotmail.com.

The Playfullness of Ageless Grace®

By Amy Podolsky

Birthdays can bring up all sorts of feelings, and as I approached my last one, I felt kinda funky. While it wasn't a "milestone"--unless the number 44 has some deeper numerological meaning of which I'm unaware-- it nonetheless felt poignant in that I was approaching the halfway point-- a bridge between early and mid forties. And I realized there is no stopping the clock; ready or not, here it comes.

Enter Ageless Grace®. The day after my 44th birthday, I took a seminar (followed by a two-day Educator Certification) with Ageless Grace® creator, Denise Medved. I'd signed up for the training on somewhat of a whim: I had heard great things about the program, knew of Denise through the Nia world (she's a former Nia trainer and First Degree Nia Black Belt instructor), and had read remarkable things about Neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain and the nervous system to change structurally and functionally through the practice of movement). In hindsight, I see now that "The Universe" was clearly handing me a priceless gift in Ageless Grace®, one that would help me get off the pity pot and accept that aging is a gift in and of itself (even when I'm not thrilled about its "byproducts.").

For those of us lucky enough to celebrate birthdays-- and truly it is a blessing when you consider how often disease point their awful, senseless fingers at those we know and love-- the choices (as I see them) are these: Let go or be dragged. We grow older every day, whether we like it or not. We can choose to let go and play, or we can be dragged, kicking and screaming. Either way, we are heading toward our next birthday in every given moment.

Play wasn't a familiar concept for me before Ageless Grace® came along. The truth is, I was afraid of looking foolish. But, as I sat in my chair and played with Denise and my lovely group of fellow trainees that weekend, I couldn't stop smiling. It was pure joy, and I didn't even care what I looked like. I began practicing and teaching AG almost immediately after completing the training. Having felt so good in my body, all I wanted (and still want) was to pass that same gift on to others (my fear of heights is the only thing holding me back from standing on the rooftops shouting "I've discovered the Fountain of Youth, People!"). When I'm practicing and/or teaching Ageless Grace®, I feel awesome. My core muscles feel tighter (and more fit), my awareness of (and appreciation for) my body increases, and my mind feels much sharper. If this is what "Aging" looks like, then bring it on.

Teaching Ageless Grace® at Lumina Mind Body Studios is a pleasure. What a fabulous community! Class is so much fun ("it's like a party," one student recently remarked), and also deceptively powerful and invigorating. Don't let the chair fool ya, you will get a great workout. Every Body is happy in these classes, without fail. That never gets old for me. When asked what the class is like, I've started to say: "It's like chocolate; you can't describe it, you just have to try it." I hope you'll join me for this delicious Body, Mind and Soul treat. I whole-heartedly believe in Denise Medved's mission, to "help create a new paradigm for aging, one where we all, from childhood on, incorporate daily movement into our lives...that enhances our movements, our ability to function with comfort and ease, our attitudes, our outlooks and intentions and our overall quality of life!" Amen and cheers to Ageless Grace®!

Amy Podolsky is a Nia Brown Belt Instructor and Certified Ageless Grace®  Educator. She loves sharing the Joy of Movement with people of all ages, and with her trademark warmth, humor and attitude of "no judgement," is committed to empowering Every Body to stay fit by choosing pleasure over pain.