I hope this finds all of you in a warm, healthy and content place and you welcomed your New Year with your loved ones and friends.

The old year 2013 has been a tough one for many of us and we often have had to start class with deep breaths to let go of the pain and tears that were accompanying our lives…but we have bonded over the fact that we all are in the same boat and share our energy with each other as we drew from the strong ones among us, who were balanced and gounded in these moments. I am proud to say that we enjoy a very special, safe and authentic atmosphere in our studio, where we can take off our mask during practice and wholeheartedly be ourselves without someone judging us…that is always amazing for me to experience new in every class.

We moved into a wonderful location in Eagle’s Landing across from the hospital with much more exposure and better accessibility into a gorgeous room with special energy, that has already inspired many wonderful classes so far.

We welcomed many, many new Yoginis and TRX participants, who all were curious to see, what we offer and many of you became a regular part of our growing health and fitness community. Good for you:)

We also expanded our classes with beautiful events and workshops, like our “Yoga Philosophy & Lifestyle Series” as well as our winter highlight “Winter Solstice Yoga with live Harp Music”….

With joy and deep gratitude, we have expanded our SSY TEAM and I feel extremely blessed to have found several people around me, who help care for all Yoginis and TRX fitness enthusiasts, take care of a lot of administrative and daily studio related tasks, as well as our IT needs to get us out into the world through the “world wide web” (does anybody still use this expression – coming from a European:)
So from my heart THANK YOU Susan, Lara, Gregory and Cisilia for being the SSY TEAM which has already made us stronger, more efficient & organized and creative:) I am delighted to have you all and am looking for a AMAZING New Year TOGETHER!!!

Not to forget the many, many Yoginis who have been “backbone of SSY” supporting me and the studio from our first beginnings in the back of Arts Clayton or ever since our paths have crossed throughout the past few years. I am thrilled that so many of you are passionate about our studio and what we are creating here on the south side. Looking back with joy to where we came from, haven’t we come a long way? THANK YOU from my heart, I could not do this without you!!!

So here is to a new beginning with amazing things that are in store this year at SSY…here a sneek peek :

Cheers, to hope and light in all of our lives, health and awareness, balance and serenity, and most of all LOVE all around us, to overcome all obstacles…

I hope you all are sitting somewhere warm and cozy and enjoying the aftermath of Christmas day with a warm cup of chocolate or tea…

Although I have started this Blog about a year ago (I can hardly believe another year has passed), it never made any significant entries, until today…today was different, so here it is…

It really all started as I made a decision today to take the next few days off and was looking for the best way to announce this to you, my dear Yoginis. The past months have been quite a journey for all of us and we have learned so much about gratitude, appreciation and compassion in our classes.

So I wanted to let you know, that I have decided to retreat for the next few days until the end of the year and cancel my classes until New Years Day 2014. I know some of you have been looking forward to come to class again after the Holiday stress is over and I do feel your disappointment…But part of my life lesson in this phase of my life is to learn to not overextend myself to the point where it becomes unbalanced and unhealthy. The lesson is to “retreat” when I need to.

And yes, I know, some of you would have liked it, if I had announce it beforehand. I do understand that, I do. But I do not want to NOT teach, if I have the energy and strength to do it. So, I decided to go with my intuition and only retreat if I have to.

All of you who know me, know that I seemingly have this boundless energy, which has throughout my entire life served me well.

But we all also know, that no boundless energy in the world lasts forever and we all need days to rest and recharge. This way I can start the New Year fresh and with balance and clarity. I always have and still strive for excellence in all my teachings, which ultimately means that I “live what I teach”…

And yes, that is exactly the kind of self compassion that we all need more of, don’t you think? In my classes I give 100%, every time, no exception, not matter how I feel that day or what is going on around me. I show up with all my sincerity and my whole heart…every time.

But when I know I cannot give that, I need to be able to retreat, recharge and then come back refreshed and balanced. It took me a very long time to learn that…

The studio has been growing tremendously and finally we are slowly getting to the point where it is not just me anymore, but we are building a team, who is South Side Yoga. The New Year will keep bringing exciting new changes and creative growth to our studio. Our upcoming Immersion / Teacher Training starting in January will set the tone for the rest of the year.

We are extremely excited and joyful that our time has come to share our wisdom, experience and passion for yoga to a new generation of teachers, who all will only enrich and strengthen our vision of being the “southside’s” premier studio for yoga, and fitness conditioning. We want to “live” a healthy & balanced lifestyle in a community of passionate, healthy, and happy Yoginis, who all strive for the best version within us.

So, let’s take these next few days to practice yoga at home (because I KNOW I have taught you:), take good care of ourselves, eat healthy (er), be present and still and maybe end the year with a little more balance & peacefulness than before the Holidays.

From my heart I am sending all of you Peace and Presence for the next few days and enjoy your new yoga mats, that Santa brought this Christmas 😉

With love and light,
Emme

I hope you are enjoying your extended Holiday weekend and spending a little time contemplating the reason for the celebration of this special day…September is here and normally we are expecting a beautiful transition season with natures changes in light, color, strength of the sun, etc. This is a wonderful time to start or reconnect with a committed yoga practice and bask in the more soothing, calming and relaxing energy of the beginning fall.Get out early in the morning, listen to natures sounds, and enjoy a few minutes of pranayama (controlled and mindful breathing) in the crisp air. Works wonders to set a special balanced tone for the rest of your day…

Following are our announcements for September with our new schedule and special events.

I will see you soon in class…

Main changes concern our night classes, which now uniformly start every night Monday through Thursday at 5:30pm AND 7pm.

Please note that following changes have been implemented:

• former “Ball & Core Yoga” moved from Tuesdays 4:30p to 5:30p. Main focus will be the development of core strength (not only abdominal section, but the entire torso) to support our yoga postures from “inside out”, balance postural misalignment in the core, that is responsible for 90% of all of our aches and pain around the back, neck and hip area. The Swiss Ball will be used to develop balance, coordination and strength endurance as one of the main contributors for a safe and injury free yoga practice.
• Tuesdays 7pm NEW Gentle / Restorative Yoga (moved from Wednesdays to Tuesdays 7p). This is the perfect class for Beginners as well as experienced Yoginis, who are looking for

1. de-stressing the busyness of our lives
2. releasing physical and mental tension through deep breathing and gentle movements using yoga props to support and relax in a holistic way
3. meditative practice learning to “stay calm” in the midst of chaos
4. gently moving through injuries and physical limitations
5. excellent class for beginners, practicing with injuries & limitations, perfect balance for the more physically challenging yoga classes

• TRX Circuit NOW Wednesdays 7p (moved from Thursdays 7p). Special TRX Suspension Training class, one of the most innovative and effective strength and conditioning training in the modern fitness industry. Develop the body you always wanted, with a dedicated strength endurance training, complementing all your athletic activities (including yoga), toning your entire muscles structure for a more lean, long and toned physical appearance. Highly effective in small groups (max 10 participants) with qualified instruction.
• Thursdays 5:30p Open Flow / Vinyasa For everybody who has build up a consistent yoga practice and wants to go beyond the basics. A fun and joyful class to practice the yoga postures in a fluid flow of movement linked with breath (physically more challenging). Basic experience of yoga required, as there will be less teaching and more practicing in this class. Excellent yoga practice class for all my Yoginis who have been with me for more than 3months of regular yoga classes!!
• Thursdays 7pm NEW YIN Yoga. Deep stretches for several minutes of holding the yoga poses. Best class to improve range of motion, release tension in the physical body and learn to open up “from the inside out”. Yin Yoga classes have been proven as the method of choice to teach our nervous system to let go of the tension, counteract stiffness, loss of mobility and enhanced wellbeing for activities of daily live and find peacefulness on a more mental and emotional level. Perfect complimentary class to Thursdays 5:30p more vigorous Vinyasa Flow class!

In our next newsletter I will explain a little more in detail the main categories of modern yoga classes to understand the different benefits that different yoga styles can give us.

SSY is now accepting online payments for our classes through paypal.com. You will be able to pay online for class cards and events with your preferred credit card. Furthermore we now offer credit card payments in our studio as well. Please note that there will be a 3% convenience charge added to the total amount for using this service.

Special events September 2013

please keep checking our
next newsletter on Wednesday for more info


keep checking our website or facebook fanpage for more info