Rise + Reach with Yoga Innovations

Join Sarah W. and Tam Z. for Rise and Reach's first student feature with Les Gallagher.  Les has been practicing at Yoga Innovations for 4 years, in this episode we learn how he started yoga, what his favorite poses are as well as some life advice from one of our regular members.  Announcements:                Ultimate Karma Pass is still 20% off, visit yogainnovations.com to purchase.              Join us at Hamilton Park on August 6 from 9:00am-10:30 am for a Park Workout: 45 min workout followed by 45 min of yoga!             Metal Yoga will be back on August 20 from 6:00p-7:30p, sign up now, spaces fill quickly. 

Sometimes you don’t even know what box you are in until someone lets you out. Join Sarah W. and Tam Z. learn about one of our newest additions to the Yoga Innovations internship, Sarah Avery. Sarah A. discusses mindfulness, stepping out of your comfort zone, and how yoga teacher training helped her on and off her mat.  Find Sarah Avery on IG @serendipitouslywellpgh  Grab your Ultimate Karma Pass- it is currently 20% off! This means 365 days of yoga for only $1056. Purchase it in our online store. www.yogainnovations.com

Introducing Sarah’s new cohost: Tammy Ziccardi! Tammy has been teaching at YI for almost 10 years and is always bringing joy to students and other teachers. In this episode we get to know Tam and Sarah a little bit better and learn what is to come throughout season 2. Thanks for joining us. Follow us on Instagram: @riseandreach.yi

As the tables are set for Thanksgiving, Natalie and Sarah sit down with Yoga Innovations' teacher and health and wellness coach Leeana Hergenreder. Trigger Warning: they discuss her journey through eating disorder recovery and all it entailed for Leeana (i.e. self-harm and substance abuse.) Over time, she shares how she consciously built healthy relationships to food, to others, and ultimately to her self.  Leeana teaches Candlelight Yoga at Yoga Innovations on Wednesdays from 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM. Sign up for her upcoming Restorative Yoga & Reiki workshop on December 11th. To learn more about Leeana’s services, visit her website at www.moksawellness.com.  She is also a Group Discussion Facilitator for ANAD - The National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. ANAD provides free peer support services for anyone struggling with an eating disorder. Visit their website for more information at www.anad.org. 

Sharing is scary when you don't feel like what you offer is good enough. Local yoga teacher Tamara Ziccardi meets with co-hosts Natalie and Sarah to discuss ways to be generous in their yoga practice. As grief shakes your foundation, it reorganizes the energy in and around you. Integrating this energy awareness into your practice can help you bring the heart chakra back to life. So, we explain a bit about the chakra system. Then, Tammy offers a reassuring testimony that giving of yourself will always lighten your load.  Enjoy Tammy's 15 min. Heart-Centered Flow: https://youtu.be/XLHKiNpfWNs For more information on chakras, check out: "Wheels of Life: The Classic Guide to the Chakra System" by Anodea Judith, Ph.D.

Be a fly on the wall for a while at one of Yoga Innovations' virtual book club meetings. Members Tammy Ziccardi, Brittany Terzigni, Ashley Flavin and Rise + Reach co-hosts Natalie Spanner & Sarah Wang discuss the yogi's ego. This clip of conversation covers one book, one podcast, and our experiences as beginners.  Book: Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World, by Michelle Cassandra Johnson Podcast: Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris “How to Call People In (Instead of Calling Them Out)”, Time: 1 hour https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harris/id1087147821?i=1000536756316 What are you reading? Share your thoughts with us at [email protected]. 

When faced with insult, it's completely natural to want to curl up into a little ball or hurl back a zinger. Yoga teaches us there is another way. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the injustices of 2020 smacked us in the face, Yoga Innovations fought to stay open in more ways than one. In this episode, learn how yoga teacher Megan Gaston stays open by sharing with the YI book club, practicing in her bathroom, and keeping her ego in check.  A Book Club Shortlist:  (We reference the following throughout this episode.) The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated and introduced by Alistair Shearer Living the Sutras: A Guide to Yoga Wisdom Beyond the Mat, by Kelly Dinardo and Amy Pearce-Hayden Untamed by Glennon Doyle The Tyranny of Niceness: Unmasking the Need for Approval, by Evelyn K. Sommers, Ph.D. A Radical Awakening by Dr. Shefali Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World, by Michelle Cassandra Johnson Podcasts: 1) Unlocking Us with Brené Brown, “Glennon Doyle and Brené on Untamed” https://open.spotify.com/episode/5zGCm7riA1pjlBGwvxFIC7?si=Z3OysSOIT3O02tMWL0_xQA 2) Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris “How to Call People In (Instead of Calling Them Out)”, 1 hr…    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harris/id1087147821?i=1000536756316    2b) Ted Talks Daily, “Don’t call them out—call them in.” with Loretta J. Ross, 14 min…  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dont-call-people-out-call-them-in-loretta-j-ross/id160904630?i=1000531006271

How's your bullshit meter? Do you often say what you're thinking? Co-hosts Natalie and Sarah interview yoga teacher Jess Dowden. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Jess is one of the senior teachers on Yoga Innovations' staff. All of the wisdom from her varied life experiences shows up in her practice. And as a teacher and a student, she holds nothing back. Come along and listen to Jess tell it how it is: her new life as a mom, her initial hatred of yoga, her love of metal music, and her relationship with the truth.  Email us your comments, questions, or ideas: [email protected] Don't forget to follow us on Instagram & Facebook @riseandreach.yi.  Visit www.yogainnovations.com for more information about our studio and upcoming classes.

Want to practice yoga, but not if everyone is looking at you? Are you constantly worried you're doing something wrong? In this episode, Natalie and Sarah discuss common shame spirals for beginner yoga students with Maria Gismondi (she/her/hers). Maria is a creative and performing arts educator, choreographer, Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT), and Certified Yoga Teacher (CYT-200). Her life's work has been to banish that inner critic and bring folx back to themselves through the freedom of movement.    

In their first ever episode, co-hosts Natalie and Sarah interview their boss, Claire Baer. Claire is a yoga teacher and owner of Yoga Innovations. Find out how Claire started her own practice and let it inform her motherhood and early years as a business owner. Ten years in, it's clear there isn't a piece of her life yoga hasn't touched. In between all the wise-cracks, Claire gives advice to beginner yoga students and addresses common roadblocks like burnout, procrastination, competition, lack of belonging, and a bullshit sense of integrity.