Review: Back Care Basics Yoga Workshop

Review: Back Care Basics Yoga Workshop
by Jeni Bonano

Last weekend I attended the Back Care Basics For Bellydancers Workshop taught by the lovely Arya Pretlow.   Having suffered with chronic back pain for many years; pain which sometimes impedes my range of movement when practising bellydance moves, I was excited to attend and hopefully learn ways to deal with my back problems, and hopefully protect myself from further injury.  Of course, with Arya teaching the class, I fully expected it to be fun, and it didn't dissapoint, but what I wasn't expecting was the level of Arya's expertise in both yoga and the human anatomy, especially in relation to belly dancers.

Arya started the workshop with a brief description of her background and her own experiences in yoga which led her to study Purna yoga and to become a teacher.  She came fully prepared with great handouts, full of practical information and of course handy pictures of poses, as well as books to show us the actual muscles and bones that she was referring to.  Then, along with Crystal her assistant, she took us through some "first aid" poses to help with some common complaints and also some organic remedies for treating inflammation rather than repeated use of painkillers.  Then, on to a series of hip opening poses; going through each pose slowly, and going around the room giving individual modifications if necessary.

Arya is a delightful, knowledgable teacher and I highly recommend attending her next workshop.  My only complaint?.......the workshop wasn't long enough!   

Arya will be announcing her next yoga workshop with Deep Roots Dance soon. Watch this space for more information!

To The Fat Girl I Saw in (Dance) Yoga Class

This blog post was shared by my fabulous student Arya Pretlow earlier this week.  It really moved me and reminded me of thoughts I have had (and maybe you have had, regardless of your size or shape) when I take classes--be it dance, yoga, or any other kind of movement or fitness class.  I thought you would enjoy it, too.  It reminds me as a dancer and as a teacher how important it is that all sizes, all shapes, all fitness levels should be welcomed and encouraged. The dance is for all of us. Movement is healing.  Enjoy!

(PS Be on the lookout for a series of yoga for bellydancers workshops Arya will be teaching at Deep Roots Dance this year. More info coming soon!)

"Is it wrong that I am half in love with you? For being fat and at Hot Yoga? For shaving your legs and getting a GOOD pedicure and putting your big ol’ ass into yoga pants ? For unrolling your mat and claiming your space, a rounded duck standing defiantly on one squatty leg among flamingos.

Were you as happy to see me as I was to see you? I think you were. You kept PEEKING at me, under your armpit and between your thighs, when you should have had been looking at your Drishti, only to find I had abandoned MY Drishti and was misaligning my spine to peek at you.

We both tipped over out of tree because of it. But it was okay. We were a secret club of Fat Girls at Hot Yoga. We understood each other."

The full blog post is HERE.

Student Spotlight - Arya Pretlow

Name:  Arya Pretlow
Age: 35
Profession: Yoga Instructor, Doula, and midwifery student
Hobbies: knitting, sewing, cooking, reading, dancing, blogging
How long have you been studying bellydance? since Fall of 2009

When did you first see bellydance? What were your first impressions?

I first saw American Tribal Style bellydance when a friend invited me to a local hafla, maybe five years ago. I was enamored with the costuming, the camaraderie (both on-stage and in the audience), the pageantry and the talent that I saw. As a feminist I was particularly interested in the art form as an apparently “uniquely female” demonstration of strength, grace, and embodiment.

What motivated you to finally take your first bellydance class?

A couple of years ago I realized that I really missed dancing. I'd danced in one form or another my whole life until my late twenties. I filled my time with other activities, but I felt a sense of loss that I connected to the lack of dancing in my life. In spired by the hafla I remembered, and wanting to connect with other women, I started researching local classes. I feel it was serendipity that I chose classes with Shay to get me reconnected with dance.

Creating a Following, Nurturing Community

I found this article through the "Now, This is Yoga" blog that Ali turned me on to. It is about teaching yoga, but the concepts absolutely resonate with me as a teacher and facilitator of a dance community.
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The Art of Teaching
By Rusty Wells

Creating a Following, Nurturing Community

Where do teachers come from?

When I first began teaching yoga, I had already been working a full time job in an acute health care setting. In addition to my forty hour per week commitment, I worked on-call much of the time and spent most of the remaining hours either on my yoga mat or fast asleep in bed. I was practicing a lot of yoga, loving the experience, and I took my first teacher training program in order to delve deeper. When a studio owner asked if I would start teaching a Friday 6am class, I realized that this was one of the few spaces in my schedule when I could actually give it a try.