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Dear Ken,
 Carpe diem. Seize the day! These
words
have been on my
mind as we transition into another New Year. The
slate is clean for 2006 – and full of possibilities. I
have a window of opportunity to get myself on the
right track, to focus on what's really important to
me. Customarily, we each take some time once a
year to consider our intentions. NOW is that time.
What is it that your heart desires?
My heart desires that I fully live each of my days in
2006. Many of you have heard me tell the story of
the Country Fair Raffle Ticket. The ticket
reads “YOU
MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN”. Wow! For me, that’s the
secret to living fully; the ability to just “be present”
for whatever life has to offer. In doing so, I “win” my
life. What a prize!
At alleyCat Yoga Kathleen and I have been working
very hard this past year, along with all of our
teaching staff, to create a space for you to come
and experience the benefits of the various practices
of yoga. These practices help us develop this skill
of “being present” so that we can
experience fully
whatever it is that life has to offer. It’s an honor for
me to be part of your life in this way. Thank you so
much for being part of the alleyCat
community.
Please join me as I seize this
day.
It is only going to happen once. 
Jai Bhagwan,
Ken, alleyCat Yoga co-director
| Winter Schedule Highlights |
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Our winter schedule offers 15 weekly classes plus 2
monthly workshops in our Yoga Saturdays!
series. Download the
schedule or pick one up at the studio for all the
details.
Upcoming
workshops:
Jan 7 Yoga Flow. A choreographed series
of yoga
poses set to music and linked together in fluid
motion.
Jan 28 East Meets East: Yoga &
Acupuncture. Winter
is the season associated with the Water element.
Exhaustion, pain and fear may be rooted in a
depletion of your Water energy. Focus will be on
yogic practices to support the building of Water
energy.
Feb 4 Thai Yoga Therapy. Learn how to
give a one-hour thai yoga therapy session. Quiet
the mind.
Open the heart. Get the body flowing.
Feb 18 Couple's Foot Massage. Bring your
partner or
bring a friend! Learn how to give a simple, 30-minute,
wonderfully relaxing foot massage! Think
Valentine's Day!
March 11 Yoga Flow. A second opportunity to
get in "flow"! The workshop will have a
different series of poses.
March 18 Chakra Basics: Explore Your Energy
Centers Through Movement. A brief overview of
the chakra
system (the seven energy centers in the body)
will be followed by yoga poses geared towards
opening and
energizing each of the chakras.
Tuesday, January 24, 7:30pm
Introduction to Mindfulness-based Stress
Reduction with Peter Holmes. This free
introductory session will give an overview of the 8-
week MBSR course, highlighting the
tools each participant will learn in order to live a
more mindful, aware life.
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| Yoga 101 / Beginner Yoga starts Jan. 5 |
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Know someone who might be interested in trying
yoga? How about suggesting Yoga 101? The
class,
led by Ken, begins tomorrow Thursday, January 5
at
7:30pm.
Yoga 101 is a 4-session
introduction to the practices
of yoga during which students are taught a
repertoire of basic postures and a simple
pranayama
(breathing technique) An overview of the philosophy
of yoga is interwoven into the classes. $36 for 4
classes.
If you wish to forward this email to a friend, look for
the blue link at the bottom of this page.
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| Teacher Feature: Jan Wheeler |
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Every Monday from 3:30-5:00pm, Jan Wheeler leads
Good Mood Yoga, a class specially designed to lift
the spirits and improve mood.
Jan, who is a
clinical
psychologist as well as a yoga teacher, returned last
year to her hometown of Columbia, MO to live closer
to her aging parents. We are fortunate to have her
back!
Jan shares a bit of her journey with yoga:
I first did yoga in the early 70's in Silverton, CO
during the long cold winter days when it was
storming and I couldn't go skiing or hiking. I taught
myself from the book Yoga, Youth and
Reincarnation by Jess Stearn. Even though I
didn't know what I was doing, it still helped me feel
good about my body and about myself in a way that
was important to me at the time.
I felt drawn to yoga (and it helped me avoid
depression... but I didn't realize that until later.)
Although I only practiced regularly for a
few months that winter, yoga always had a special
place in my heart after that and I sought out yoga
classes wherever I lived.
 Jan and her daughter, Emily, in
Urdhva Mukha Navasana, Upward Facing Boat
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| Healer's Heart Painting Exhibit |
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We're delighted to display the latest work of
Columbia artist and alleyCat Yoga student, Diane
Huneke, in the reception area of the studio! The
series is entitled Healer's Heart. The paintings
will be on display through mid-February.
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| 1 Year Celebration Potluck Jan. 21 |
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Please join us Saturday, January 21 6:30-
9pm for a
potluck
dinner celebration of the first year of alleyCat Yoga!
The dinner, held one year to the day from our Grand
Opening, will be at the home of alleyCat students
Alyce Turner and Diane Huneke (pictured above).
Thank you Alyce & Diane!!!! All are welcome.
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| alleyCat Yoga Scholarship Fund |
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The alleyCat Yoga Scholarship Fund currently has
$379 available for anyone needing financial support in
order to attend classes. The funds have accumulated
from a number of sources: donations made by
students when they purchased a yoga pass,
dana from our Second Sunday Kirtan and our
Conscious Cinema series, and a generous donation
from the meditation group lead by Lynn Maloney.
Thank you all for your generosity!!
The next time you purchase a yoga pass consider
adding just a dollar or two extra for this fund. Share
the benefit of yoga!
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| Sunshine & Palm Trees -- It is not too late! |
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 Join Ken & Kathleen for their 7th
annual
Awakening: A Kripalu Yoga Retreat
Feb. 4-11, 2006 at Pura Vida Spa,
an exquisite,
private 12-acre yoga and retreat center in sunny
Costa Rica.
Deepen your yoga practice with daily yoga classes
and workshops. Lounge by the pool, nap in a
hammock, soak in the hot tub under the stars, take
in the spectacular views, walk in the coffee fields,
make new friends in the dining room, and enjoy the
many optional eco-adventure tours available at Pura
Vida.
You will return home feeling truly refreshed and
re-charged.
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At alleyCat Yoga, our intention is to create safe
and sacred space so that the benefits of the
practices of yoga can be fully enjoyed by all. Please
join us.
Find out more....
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