Midlife Yoga - Review

Esalen's First Yoga Teacher — Teaching yoga since 1968

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MIDLIFE YOGA CLASS--Go At Your Own Pace

Review

Sun Salute
Seated Exercises: Neck Roll, Shoulder Roll & Squeeze
Lying Down Face Up:
- Hip Tilt
- Bridge
- Knees to Chest
- Crocodile Twist
- Leg Stretches
- Alphabet
- Rest and Shoulder Press
- Criss-Cross
- Roll-Up and/or Rolling Like a Ball
- Cross-Legged Stretch (Football)
Side Down: Arm Circles
Face Down
- Plank
- Baby Cobra with Optional VW Arms, Cobra
- Cat & Dog Stretches
Standing: Hula, Toe Balance, Finger Stretch, Balance
Comfortable position: Breathing Meditation

Back to the Beginning

Comments

I am interested in your comments. Email Pam Walatka

Credits

Yoga Class
By Pam Walatka with Nancy Jamello

Thanks to my yoga students who posed for these photos: Eve Bennett-Wood, Carol Commons, Carol Crites, Kathleen Doctor, Gay Duval, Janet Harrington, Janet Jorgensen, Cynthia Lautzenheiser, Diane Moore, Grace Ostrus, Nanci Schram, Tracey Stewart, Jeanne Straube, Helga Usher

Thanks to my Pilates teacher, Barbara Shewfelt
Edited by Janet Jorgensen and Carol Whiteley
Errors by the author.

For Jerry

Background

From 1968 to 1970, I taught yoga at Esalen, the educational spa-retreat in Big Sur, California. I was the first yoga teacher at Esalen and one of the first yoga teachers in America.

Esalen is the home of mind-body-spirit, the first place to offer workshops in yoga, meditation, psychology, philosophy, sensory awareness, and body work.

Before I moved there, I was pretty much unaware of anything going on below my neck. I was a mind suspended in midair by an invisible body.

Of all the ideas we explored at Esalen, some have endured. This book shows the exercises that I teach in my yoga class in Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos mountains. My style of yoga is influenced by mindfulness meditation, Pilates, and sensory awareness.

These exercises are meant to be the foundation of a daily and enduring practice.

My current yoga teacher is my sister, Nancy Jamello, who helped me get this right.

Please be careful. Let your body be the boss of your yoga.
A good stretch should feel good--avoid anything that causes sharp pain.
When you feel comfortable in a pose, push yourself a bit until you feel challenged.
These lessons are free. Use them cautiously and at your own risk.

You can do these yoga/pilates poses in any order you want, or just click on the "Next" link (above) to get the recommended sequence.

Intro	Hip Tilt	Bridge	Knees2Chest	Shoulders
Crocodile Twist	Leg Stretches	Alphabet	Shoulder Press	Criss-Cross
Roll-Up	Rolling Like a Ball	Cross-Legged Stretch	Arm and Side	Plank
Cobra	Cat	Dog	Child	Spinal Twist
Standing	Sun Salute	Sun Salute Summary	Meditation	Review, Links, & Credits

Please send me your comments and questions:
Click here to email Pam

Nancy Portugal Jamello

Pam Portugal Walatka's yoga fitness classes
in Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos mountains