It is my pleasure and honor to lead my students, holding the space for them to explore the practice of yoga. Yoga is a journey, and I started mine 13 years ago. I was inspired to teach by my fellow students in the classes I participated at the YMCA. I have a love to teach and to meet my students where they are in their abilities. I received my formal training in Asheville, North Carolina at the Asheville Yoga Center; also, I am a yoga alliance certified instructor. I study and practice as much for my own personal growth as I do for the guidance I offer to my students.
In Love,
Bonnie
“The best thing you can do for yourself is to give yourself time”
-Oprah Winfrey
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Yin Yoga with Bonnie Hammond
Fridays from 11:30 am - 12:15 pm.
Fridays (11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.) lunch hour, Yin Yoga at St. John’s with Bonnie Hammond is a space created for you to spend time with yourself. To quite the mind and relax the muscles. The tradition of Yin Yoga promotes deep tissue relaxation as the poses are held for longer periods of time, anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes long with gentle and mindful transition between poses. This is a prop heavy practice to provide support for deeper relaxation. Yin Yoga offers a balance to the fast pace of life, providing an opportunity to slow down and transition into your weekend. All levels welcome! (Suggested $15 donations accepted) Contact Bonnie Hammond for more information.
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Wayne Stagg leads Gentle Yoga on Tuesdays at 5:15 pm
Beginning Tuesday, January 18th at 5:15 pm, Wayne Stagg will offer a weekly Gentle Yoga session on Tuesday evenings. This is in addition to our Monday and Wednesday classes with Bonnie Hammond.
About Wayne:
Wayne is retired from UT after 32 years in communications. He discovered Yoga with a woman named Hari Bhajan Kaur (HBK) who was a certified Kundalini instructor, a student of Yogi Bhajan, and a founding member of his ashram in Espanola, NM. Advanced in training and ability, she modified a very rigorous practice to accommodate injuries sustained in her service with the US Air Force. The result is a gentle Kundalini class almost anyone can do. When she moved to Florida she entrusted Wayne with the continuation of her classes. He is certified RYT-200 with Yoga Alliance. He has been successfully teaching Gentle Yoga and Meditation going on 17 years. He and his wife, Heather, enjoy music and share their home with two remarkable cats. Wayne is an amateur bass player in an informal weekly jam with swing-era jazz musicians.
Class Description:
Unlike Hatha Yoga with which we're most familiar, this gentle Kundalini class employs lots of movement but does not require precise alignment or advanced knowledge of yoga asanas. Unlike a vinyasa or Pilates class, it's not a physical workout in the usual sense. The emphasis is on meditation, focusing on the breath to lead the movements and cultivating awareness of every sensation in the body. We begin with gentle stretching of the spine and back, progressing through the legs and torso in a sequence expertly designed by HBK to awaken the innate energy we all possess. Unlike dualistic philosophies emphasizing mind over matter, this practice aligns with Vedantan and Tantric traditions emphasizing integration and unity, experiencing the infinite in ourselves right here, right now in the very body we're in. The class is intended to bring us to that place of discovery. Some mantra is used, but it isn't emphasized. Class ends with about an eight-minute narrated relaxation in Shavasana (corpse pose).
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