Intermediate Back Care Series with Jon Musgrave

Saturdays 10:30a–12p
February 24, March 17, 30, April 6, 20, 27
Next Series: May 11, 18, June 15, 29, July 13, 20
Full Series: $170
Single Class: $30
Or drop in with your class card! 

For students with mature yoga practice or who have been taking the Yoga & Scoliosis or Back Care class on a regular basis for a minimum of 1 year.  All poses will be modified with props and awareness techniques so each student can move along with their practice. There will also be some focus on inversions. This Intermediate series is not for new beginners.

Jon Musgrave, LMT, is a  therapeutic yoga teacher and bodyworker. He is a founding member of Samamkaya Yoga, and has been on the teaching faculty since 2019. Jon has studied Iyengar yoga since 2011, and has found this approach to yoga to be an essential part of healing and managing his own scoliosis and back issues. He has studied and apprenticed extensively with Deborah Wolk since 2014, and is certified as a Yoga for Scoliosis Teacher Trainer by Elise Browning Miller. His other primary teachers are Genny Kapuler and Jaki Nett, and he has studied in workshops on various topics with many other senior Iyengar teachers and specialists in yoga therapeutics and anatomy. Jon has an active bodywork practice, specializing in helping clients manage issues around scoliosis, injuries, chronic pain, and trauma using deep massage, neurofascial techniques, and biodynamic craniosacral therapy. A former conductor and tuba player, Jon fell in love with anatomy while studying the Alexander Technique in college, and is particularly interested in helping students embody their own anatomy, and correct and clarify vague or incorrect ideas we have about our structure. Visit jmbodywork.com to find out more about his bodywork practice.

BACK CARE BASICS SERIES
with Ede Thurrell

Wednesdays, 10-11:30am
Series: April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Full Series: $145
One Class: $30
Sign up today!
*Or drop in on your class card!

This series will cover the basic skills you need to participate in the Back Care and Back Care Basics classes. With other new beginners to Back Care Classes at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care & Scoliosis Collective, instructor Ede Thurrell will teach you many of the basic actions, find your alignment and learn prop adjustments appropriate for your scoliosis, herniated disk(s), kyphosis, lordosis, spondylolisthesis, lumbar or neck pain… or any other back problem. Learning these skills through a series will help you make a commitment to your yoga practice and help you integrate smoothly into the Back Care classes.

Ede Thurrell  was first introduced to yoga as a teenager by a dance teacher. Her first training was with Cyndi Lee at Om Yoga, and many years later with Alison West at Yoga Union. In between, she has learned from and taught for Baby Om, Unnata Aerial Yoga, MELT method, and currently her teacher Deborah Wolk. With a background as a professional dancer, she has been honored to share her fascination with the inherent wisdom of the body  around NYC for more than 15 years, with all kinds of people — from dancers and athletes to older people and parents with small children. She hopes to offer in her classes tools for healing and self knowledge that meet the student wherever they are.

Adjustments, Modifications and Verbal Instructions
with Deborah Wolk
In-Person & Online!

Wednesdays, 2:15-4:15pm

In-Person Dates: 1/24, 2/14, 3/13, 4/3, 5/8, 6/26, 9/18, 10/16, 11/6, 12/4

Online Dates: 1/31, 2/28, 3/20, 4/17, 5/15, 7/3, 9/25, 10/30, 11/20, 12/18

One class for: $40 teachers, $30 Samamkaya Teaching Assistants, $20 Students
Sign up for IN-PERSON CLASSES here
Sign up for ONLINE CLASSES here
Any 3 classes for Teachers/Assistants/Students:  $105/80/54
Any 6 classes for Teachers/Assistants/Students $180/150/100
Any 12 classes for Teachers/Assistants/Students  $300/275/170
This course is approved as an IAYT CE Course! Take any 6 classes (12 hours) +  one 1 hour mentoring session for $240

Students with scoliosis have very specific needs with the nervous system, proprioceptive system and with pain patterns.  One must avoid muddled information.  Using prop set-ups, hand on adjustments and verbal instructions, Deborah Wolk will guide you in how to better teach your students with scoliosis.

This class is appropriate for all yoga teachers and for students with scoliosis. Teachers of other modalities (Pilates, personal training, etc.) may attend as teachers with Deborah’s permission. This class is not recommended for brand new beginners to yoga.

Fusions Support Group with Martha Carter

MONTHLY on Thursdays, 4:00-5:30 pm on ZOOM:
January 18
February 15
March 14
Free or by donation
Sign Up Here!

Samamkaya Yoga is pleased to offer a support group for people with spinal fusions for scoliosis (or those considering a spinal fusion for their scoliosis). This group, led by Martha Carter, is designed to encourage participants to safely explore the emotional toll and experiences related to their fusion in an environment with other participants who share their experience.  Whether you were a teen when your spinal was fused or an older adult or somewhere in between, discussions within this group will draw out personal reflections, identify successful ways to self-heal, and evolve to reflect the needs of the group.
Please join Martha as she seeks to encourage health and healing through group interaction—free of the shame and stigma associated with scoliosis and related surgeries.

Martha Carter 
As a therapeutic movement specialist for scoliosis and spinal fusions, Martha teaches Gentle Yoga and Scoliosis Wellness classes, workshops, and retreats for all ages and abilities in Canada, the US, and internationally. She is a certified teacher of Yoga for Scoliosis, based on the techniques developed by acclaimed Iyengar teacher, Elise Browning Miller. She has also studied (and continues to enjoy explorations in) Pilates for Scoliosis, Essential Somatics, Energy Medicine, and Trauma Release techniques, which she weaves into all her classes to help participants with pain relief while enhancing their movement potential. Martha is the founder and director of the Twisted Outreach Project for Back Care and Scoliosis (TOPS), a Canadian-based non-profit that provides a range of holistic and creative approaches to working with back care and scoliosis. (https://www.twistedoutreachproject.com)