Calm & Cozy Restorative Yoga for the Holidays with Maria Hillier
Sunday December 19
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Meet the holidays this year grounded, calm, and connected to your steady center. Ease stress, tension and fatigue through consciously resting the body and allowing your nervous system to settle and rebalance. The hustle and bustle of the holidays along with the transition to the cooler days of winter calls us to cultivate our own inner warmth. Get cozy in this supportive and soothing practice including longer-held supportive postures, breathwork, and meditation. This workshop is slow, deeply nurturing and suitable for people of all ages and abilities who are looking to connect to a deeper sense of peace this holiday.
Space for 10 students in-studio and 10 online via Zoom. Bring your mat and yoga props that you have to class and we’ll fill in the gaps with clean studio props. Props needed are : Bolster, 2 Blankets, 2 Blocks, Chair & Strap/Belt. If joining online we will give you a list of household items that work in place of studio props.
Class will be recorded and a link will be provided to you after class so you can replay, the link will expire after two weeks.
Investment: $40 (HST included)
If you are a member use your workshop code to receive your discount.
Payment Options: Online with credit card or email transfer to hello@nicoleblackwood.com
Therapeutic Self-Care: Yoga for Mind, Body, and Heart with Maria Hillier
8-Week Special Series
Saturday January 8 – March 19 (Skipping January 29, February 12 & 19)
12:45 pm – 2:00 pm
A weekly 75 minute class to nourish your body, heart, and mind with the emphasis on the therapeutic benefits of Yoga. This class includes gentle yoga for strength, stability, flexibility and mobility; meditation and breathing practices for everyday stress and anxiety; soothing self-massage (myofascial release using balls and blocks) for release and ease; and restorative and accessible yin yoga postures to create space for stillness and rest. Each week includes a theme that focusses on areas of the body where tension and tightness is often held along with a corresponding breathing practice and meditation to release, replenish, and restore your whole self. The class is taught through a trauma informed lens with a focus on creating an inclusive, accessible, and inviting space.
Participants will be provided with weekly Yoga poses and sequences (via illustrated pdfs and videos) to explore movement throughout the week along with educational resources (articles, videos, and podcasts) that focus on each weekly theme. In addition, each participant will receive a personalized intake to address specific goals and challenges.
Offered by Maria Hillier, a current Yoga Therapy Student with Ajna Yoga (Victoria, BC), this series is part of her educational program and she will be mentored over the course of the series by a Yoga Therapist/Instructor.
Space for 10 socially distanced students in class and online via Zoom.
Bring your mat and yoga props that you have to class, some studio props (bolsters and blocks) can be used. If joining online we will give you a list of household items that work in place of studio props.
Investment: $128 (HST included)
If you are a member use your workshop code to receive your discount.
Payment Options: Online with credit card or email transfer to hello@nicoleblackwood.com
Yoga Fundamentals for Beginners with Christie Fahey (Jan 2022)
4-Week Course
Sunday, January 9 – 30, 2022
8:00 – 9:00pm
This 4-week course is designed for absolute beginners with no previous (or very limited) experience with yoga. You will explore foundational hatha yoga postures and breathing techniques with Christie with a different focus each week. Christie will introduce different yoga props, such as blocks, bolsters, straps etc to assist in certain postures, she will give options of household items you can use in place of these props.
In the last week Christie will introduce Yin Yoga which uses longer holds designed to enhance joint, bone and connective tissue health as well as Restorative Yoga which uses longer held, completely supported poses to promote rest and balancing of the nervous system.
Explore the fundamentals of yoga in a class that encourages open dialogue. Classes will be held in the studio limited to 8 students. Proof of vaccination required.
Week 1 – Standing Poses
Week 2 – Forward Bends + Hip Openers
Week 3 – Beginning Backbends + Twists
Week 4 – Review + Yin + Restorative
Investment: $75 (HST included)
Payment can be made via credit card or email transfer to hello@nicoleblackwood.com
Postnatal Mom & Baby Yoga with Nicole Blackwood
8-Week Series
Thursday, Jan 13 – Mar 3
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Carve out time to nurture yourself in a class purposefully designed to support new moms in strengthening and stretching their postpartum body. We will focus on stretching the shoulders and neck and strengthening the upper back to relieve tension in the upper body that can build up from tending to baby. We will mindfully rebuild core strength, relieve achy hips and low back, and reconnect to the pelvic floor with breathwork and progressive movements to meet moms where they are.
This class will focus on mom with the option of including baby in some poses throughout the class if you are unable to sneak away for the duration of class. Nicole will also provide a recorded Mom & Baby video that involves stretches and movement for both mom and baby that you can practice together at any time.
Absolutely no yoga experience is required to participate and class is designed for moms who are at least six weeks postpartum who have been given clearance for activity from their health care provider. For those who attend in-studio, we ask that baby is not actively mobile so they can stay close to mom due to physical distancing.
Class will also be taught live through Zoom and will be recorded for moms to access in our online Members’ Area if they were unable to attend live.
Investment: $128 (HST included)
