Bottling Community Yoga and Living Food Classes at The Goddard School

2280 Village Square Parkway
Fleming Island, FL 32003

Community Classes with Penny Powell begin August 10, 2009

Classes available (but not limited to):

Parent/Child, Home-Schoolers, Young Athletes, Moms-Only,
Pre-K/Kindergarten

Let's B-R-E-A-T-H-E and S-T-R-E-T-C-H and

S-M-I-L-E...

The Goddard School in Fleming Island, Florida, a school where yoga is incorporated into classroom education by the on-staff teachers, has invited me to bring my own community yoga classes to that wonderful learning space.

My line-up of classes to the community, beginning August 10 (the week of The Goddard School's Open House) will include but will not be limited to:

MoM-day/Child-day Yoga -- A Monday Parent/Child Yoga class: Bond and Breathe with your child via a fun yoga class. Help your child create healthy memories that are sure to last a lifetime. Dads are welcome, and parents attend at no additional cost. (This class is inspired by my passion for my role as a mom and the deep purpose parents serve in the lives of children.)

Together Tuesday -- Yoga for Home-Schoolers: Parents, do you know that yoga beautifully complements academic learning? Many yoga postures help balance the left and right side of the brain, not only increasing academic comprehension but also more balanced behavior! *Journaling is a possible activity that can be added to this class. (This class is inspired by that special place in my heart for the home-schooling process, as I am a former home-schooling mom.)

Wednesday Winners -- Yoga for Young Athletes: The deeper-level stretching in yoga highly supports any sport children do and can give them the edge on the court or field. Use yoga to enhance your child's sports journey! Their confidence will carry over to the classroom, too. (This class is inspired by my son's passion for sports and my passion to support him and others in their sporting endeavors.)

Moms-only Thursday -- Yoga for Moms: Perhaps it has been a long, busy week, and now here comes a busy weekend with the family. Why not refresh yourself for 75 minutes to help balance your mind, body, and spirit for the weekend? When Mom is happy, everybody's happy! (This class is inspired by my understanding, finally, that moms really do need to carve out restorative time for themselves to help balance all that they do!)

A, B, C...Come Look For Me! Friday --Yoga for Young Children: In this yoga class inspired by my children's book, A, B, C -- Come Look For Me!, your child will have fun learning or reinforcing their early literacy skills through yoga postures! Story time will always be a part of this class. Yoga & Literacy: a dynamic duo! "A, B, C -- Come Look For Me!" will be available for purchase at these classes. A downloadable version is available here for only $3. (This class is not only inspired by this book, but also by my passion for writing and education...including teaching literacy skills in a fun way.)

Times of classes will be announced soon.

All classes require pre-registration, so please contact penny@bottlinghealth.com to register (with your time preference) or call (904) 962-8398. Class times will be selected based on the needs of the majority!

Current Introductory Rates:
~ $10 per class
~ $35 total for a 4-week series of classes ($5 savings)
~ $50 total for a 6-week series of classes ($10 savings)
Sibling discounts available! Parents attend for free in the Parent/Child class.

Earn Free Classes:
~ Get three people to sign up for a month and receive a FREE month of classes.
~ Get four people to sign up for a month and receive a FREE 6-week package.
~ Get two friends to come onboard for a month of classes and get a half-price deal.

Looking forward to yoga-ing with you, your child and/or you and your child.

Living Food classes (including smoothies, juices, snacks, etc.) will also be available upon request and can be arranged as individual classes and/or combined with yoga classes.

Bottling a Terrific Tuesday

Step out of the darkness and into the light by loving the life you live and living the life you love...

I'm claiming a Terrific Tuesday!!! While my son will be in summer bliss of his own at a birthday party for one of his close friends, I'll be basking in Tuesday bliss, too:

(1) Participating in a Skype raw-food coaching call with Ka Sundance from TheRawFoodFamily.com

(2) Getting a holistic health session with Yelena Chizhik


Stay tuned for Pear Magazine Online articles and blog entries here about both! Also in the August issue of Pear Magazine will be details about my Nutri-Energetics System subtle-body energy scan with Orlando-based Fran Edwards.

As Bob Marley says: "Love the life you live, live the life you love." And, I loovvee holistic health with my friends above and others! :-)

As amazing as the human body is, it's no surprise that our bodies were created to be self-healing -- if "fed" the right tools, such as raw food and holistic therapies...

In Health,

Penny

Bottling Community Sponsors

Thanks to giving hearts at these generous yoga studios below, I received enough yoga equipment to work with up to 20 youth (at a time) from the Orange Park Gators via recent yoga-related Stretch Clinics. These sponsors below are also listed on the "Our Sponsors" page at http://www.orangeparkgators.com/.


Heartfelt thanks to:

http://www.peacefulyogastudio.com/

Peaceful Yoga Studio
2301 Park Avenue
Suite 302 (At the Office Pavilion)
Orange Park, FL 32073
Phone: (904) 278-8082

http://www.yogaanandastudio.com/

Yoga Ananda: Yoga & Wellness Center
4150 & 4154 Herschel Street
Jacksonville, FL 32210
Phone: (904) 680-7344

http://www.lululemon.com/jacksonville/stjohnscenter

lululemon athletica
St. Johns Town Center (Phase #2)
4812 River City Drive
Suite #113
Jacksonville, FL 32246
Phone: (904) 645-7904

http://www.mbodyyoga.com/

M Body Yoga
3807-A Southside Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32216
Phone: (904) 565-1005

Love & Appreciation to each of you!

Bottling Yoga at The Allegro

Note: I had captured some lovely pictures of the yoga students mentioned below. Then, in the process of transferring the pictures from my camera to my computer, something mysterious happened...and I, unfortunately (to the point of tears), lost those pictures. I still am not sure what the bigger life lesson about that "lost" was, but I ended up turning my upset energy into "clearing out" energy (as in releasing more paper, books and such). Then, in the process, I came across this poster (pictured here) hiding behind a treadmill in my home office. This inspirational reading is now hanging on the side of my refrigerator for my son and his friends (and other guests) to see and be inspired by. One line reads: "Enjoy life today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come." That line is helping me to not focus so much on what happened yesterday with the lost pictures.

On to yesterday's blog entry I wrote:

It's on my heart to journal about a yoga class I taught on Wednesday to two staff members at The Allegro, a loving and aesthetically-pleasing assisted living facility near my home that offers yoga to its residents and staff.

I typically like to begin the yoga classes I teach with the posture we end in -- Shavasana (relaxation pose). On Wednesday, however, for the staff, we began with a variation of Shavasana --with the heels of the feet resting up on a chair. The minute the students got into that position, their "ooos" and "ahhhs" signaled that the pose felt good to their bodies and any stress accumulated prior to or duing their workday was already beginning to disappear.

After centering ourselves (mentally and physically), I instructed the guys to keep their spines connected to their mats while raising their legs up off the chair (in a tabletop position) to rotate their ankles, and point and flex their feet. I often remind them that the Chinese say that "aging begins in the ankles."......."But, not for us," I tell them, as we twirl our feet, sometimes hearing the pops and cracks work their way out. :-)

At one point, I looked over and saw one of the students, Tom, bicycling his legs, which prompted me to offer that as an option, too. "Remember when we were children and used to bicycle our legs in the air?" I asked. "Ahh, huh!" Tom replied with a clear connection to that memory. That then prompted me to invite the students to really tap into their inner child throughout the practice, making these sorts of child-like adjustments when their bodies prompted them to. "I am here to guide you into the postures," I explained, "but listen to your body when in the poses and adjust according to the needs of YOUR body. Let your inner child come out and play today," I stated.

Now, I don't know if that inner-child notion helped set the tone for a really wonderful, super-special feeling class on Wednesday, but it was indeed an energy in the air that words can't really describe, which seems to have been felt by each of us in the class. Perhaps that's what took the class from one hour to about an hour and a half, and perhaps that's what kept us there for about an extra hour after class, sharing great conversation, relaxed faces, and smiles.

Tom's Breakthrough in Flexibility
After Shavasana toward the end of class, I typically invite the students to turn to their favorite side in fetal position before rising to a seated position. However, yesterday, after fetal position, I felt inspired to instruct them to return to their backs for a little bit of spinal rocking to gently massage the back and spine before sitting up. We rocked from side to side a few times, and then back to front. We were to eventually rock right up to a seated position with legs crossed.

When Tom, a runner, rocked up to his seat on the floor, a startled "Oh my goodness!" type of comment was heard. He was shocked that his legs crossed to the degree that they did. "I haven't been able to cross my legs like this in over 30 years," he exclaimed. He was thrilled, and I was so excited for him. He had made a breakthrough in flexibility in that moment that merited a "high five" -- in that moment.

Avid-runner Tom has admitted to not stretching enough and is now enjoying yoga (compliments of his employer) to help build more flexibility in his body, which he says is not only helping him to sleep better, but is aiding his running and overall mental relaxation, too.

Yoga Straps
After we officially ended class and talked more about Tom's "breakthrough," and he repeated that his legs hadn't folded that way in so long, Ted chimed in: "It's the straps..."

I've begun making leg stretches -- via straps -- a regular part of the classes I teach. Not only is the strap a wonderful tool for helping with leg extension and opening, but it just helps make leg stretches feel really, really good -- to the point of "I can nap here in this position" type of good.

(The leg without the strap should be extended long and on the floor. Once the "strapped" leg is opened out to the side (or crossed over the body), I invite the students to turn their gaze to the hand not holding the strap -- which would be stretched out to the side.) Pictured above: Youth class I taught to the Orange Park Gators at the Fleming Island Library

Gratitude & Relaxation

Each of the adult students I teach at the Allegro have had highly favorable comments about the strap use, and I know I am certainly strapping the memories of Wednesday's class with them in my mind and heart. "It's a good space here," Ted has said on a couple of occasions referring to the room we practice yoga in at The Allegro, a TV room (with no TV on, of course) that we eventually relocated to.

"I was there," are words both Ted and Tom use to describe how deeply relaxed they get in that space. It's just a vibe in there that really helps create a nice yoga setting.

At the end of yesterday's class:

Not only do we bask in Tom's new-found leg flexibility, but Tom sees the difference in Ted's face, stress-wise, from when the class began. After our long after-class chat on many subjects, they both walk away knowing they have a done a great thing for their mind, body, and spirit health. My heart smiles, and I thank God for aligning me with this type of work.

I am honored and blessed to teach in that space to some really good people whom, I'm sure, have a lot to do with making the space there as special as it feels!

I am grateful for the blessing to meet with them each week.

Penny

Bottling Yoga Clothes

I just read my friend Jennifer's post about a Kmart Design stylist outfitting her for a big Blogher event she'll be attending. That got me to thinking about the kind of clothes I like to wear most: Yoga clothes, hands down!!! There is a level of comfort I feel, a feeling of nurturing I get from such clothing -- as if those clothes have a brain that knows and connects with the "inner me" -- especially when wearing my favorite black, comfy yoga pants! :-)

Well, that's my tidbit on clothes! :-)

In Feeling Good in what we Wear,

Penny

Totally Bottling Blendtec's Total Blender

Monday, July 13, 2009Oh my goodness, I'm so excited about Blendtec's Total Blender. During a time when most folks would still be asleep, I was awake and giving my husband a brief demo of this phenomenal machine. This blender has me once again marveling at the power of the human brain.......that has brought the Total Blender into being.

Although my husband has been quite curious about this fine piece of equipment -- but needing to get out the door precisely at the time I was preparing to do an early-morning demo for him, he said, "Penny, I really don't have time for show-n-tell right now." However, unable to contain myself, I excitedly proceeded: "This will ONLY take 24 seconds. Watch how it blends the smoothie in 24 seconds! And, look! It shows you the 24-second countdown right here on its screen" (the section of the blender that was easily seen because of its blue light).

To support the all-Green-Smoothie day my husband wants to have today, I got a head start making the beverages for him last night, via the Total Blender, but then early, early this morning, I ended up combining two of the smoothies in a large cup he could carry out the door with him. To do that, I decided to re-blend. Or, was I just looking for another excuse to blend again with Blendtec's Total Blender?

Blendtec® is not only in the business of making outstanding blenders, but the company really cares about community, too, thus, partnered with BottlingHealth.com to help support our grassroots efforts to share health, such as the Green Smoothie (and more).

Although I've had this high-powered machine for a few weeks, I have been waiting to get closer to a BottlingHealth community event before really delving into it. So, in preparation for a Stretch & Smoothie Clinic Bottling Health will do tomorrow with the Orange Park Gators, it was time to put this machine to the test. The smoothies for my husband became the tool to test it, and I tell you, the Total Blender has already passed with FLYING COLORS.......and I haven't even finished exploring it.

I've only tried the smoothie button so far. I simply turned on the power button, pressed the "Smoothie" button, and viola.......in a mere 24 seconds the Spinach/Banana (with a little strawberry and pineapple) smoothie was so creamy, and then the machine turned off on its own. Sweet! :-)

I'm now off to try the "Whole Juice" feature, which automatically runs for 50 seconds. Eventually, I'll get to each other button (including the "Pulse" button) that awaits me:

~ Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt

~ Ice Crush, Milk Shake

~ Soups, Syrups, Fondues

~ Sauces, Dips, Dressings, Batters

Another fun feature of the Total Blender is that it shows (on the blue screen) how many times you've blended ingredients. Wow...technology! :-)

Stay tuned for much more about Blendtec's Total Blender. I'm not done with writing about this amazing machine just yet, because Bottling Health is TOTALLY "bottling" this blender and absolutely loving it.