Winter 2023/24
Release into a Winter Restorative Yoga
& Solstice Celebration
Sunday, December 17th, 2023
Time: 3:30 – 5:30 PM
During the dark winter months, our body is telling us it’s time to listen, slow down, and be present despite the rapid, demanding pace of the times we live in. Let’s take care of ourselves, lighten the load and release the effects of accumulated stress!
Come join us for some a nurturing pause and a sweet celebration of the winter solstice.
As in the past, mind-body healing guide and priestess Donnette Hill Walto will be with me for this celebration. I will lead you into stillness through an accessible and calming restorative movement/yoga sequence; Donnette will weave her magic and support you with a guided meditation.
You will emerge feeling serene, connected and restored.
This popular annual session is a unique way to celebrate the season, specially designed to be accessible — all bodies and levels of flexibility welcome!
Date: Sunday, December 17, 2023
Time: 3:30 – 5:30 PM
Cost: $40 (single); $70 if you sign up with a friend
Where: Attend the session from the comfort of your home via Zoom.
Registration: Simply message me at ewyssflamm@gmail.com to let me know you are signing up, along with the name and e-mail address of your friend (if you are bringing one). Then send payment via Venmo to: @Esther-Wyss-Flamm-MINDFUL. Or as a check to: Esther Wyss-Flamm, 45 West Gravers Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. You may also pay via Zelle or PayPal.
A few days prior to our session, I will send you a welcoming message with details about what to wear and what to bring, along with the optional Zoom link.
There will be one more restorative yoga session this season to be held on Sunday, February 18th, 2024, 3:30 – 5:30 pm.
Winter Restorative Yoga* sessions are designed to release long-held tension in the body, calm the nerves, and soothe the spirit. Sessions will take place virtually in the safety of a quiet space that works for you. Restorative postures are designed to be accessible — all bodies and levels of flexibility welcome! (*Still Wondering what Restorative Yoga is? See below!)
Description of a typical session: After a brief check-in, we will dive into 90 minutes of delicious relaxation, gentle stretching, breath awareness, and yoga designed for deep release in the spine, shoulders, and hips. During the last portion of each session we will conclude with a meditation, optional conversation and/or journaling. You will emerge feeling calm, nourished, and refreshed.
*QUESTION: What is restorative yoga?
The colder months of the year can be especially challenging for stress relief. This is even more true in a year like this:
- the cold weather contributes to tightening the body and breath
- we spend even more time indoors and less time moving
- difficult emotions easily rise to the surface with the holidays and end of the calendar year
During a restorative session, you will settle into a safe space and be invited to move through a slow and accessible sequence of postures and breath practices that offer gentle release throughout the body. The postures for this form of yoga are passive (allowing release through the effects of gravity) and gently stretch the joints, connective tissue, muscles and fascia.
Known as the yoga of non-doing, restorative sessions are longer than typical yoga classes because of the time it takes to release long-held tension in the body.
The effect typically leads to a deep parasympathetic response (good for spine and hips, organ health, immune support, blood pressure regulation, among other benefits). You will leave with a sense of inner well-being, warmth, and abundance.
Esther Wyss-Flamm, PhD, EdM, E-RYT, has been leading seasonal yoga restorative sessions for over a dozen years. She combines her intimate knowledge of Kripalu yoga, wellness, and mindfulness to provide gentle guidance. She also draws upon her specific training in yoga for chronic health conditions and in breath practices (pranayama) to enable her students to access inner stillness and ease.
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Previous Events…
Summer 2023
| What’s on Tap This Summer? |
Tuesday, July 18, 9:30-10-30AM: Special Love Your Bones Class for those who have either attended these classes in the past or would like to give this approach to bone health a try. Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86916082562?pwd=RDRsYzJRME1rZ1hiVXlVenFwNXpZdz09 Cost: This is a FREE event. Week of July 24 – July 28 (Monday – Friday), 8:30-9:00AM: A Mid-Summer Celebration of the Five Elements. We will kick off each morning with a short meditation and accessible movement practice visiting the Five Elements of Nature. These elements are considered building blocks of the universe, inherent in everything: space, air, fire, water & earth. Come to any or all of the five morning practices! Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4316280906?pwd=RXJHaC8rMk9DYVZ2dC9UMkMvOGtOdz09 Cost: $25 for the week ($40 for 2 — BRING A FRIEND!) Registration: Contact me at ewyssflamm@gmail.com to let me know you plan to attend. Sunday, August 20, 4:30-6:00PM: Summer Restorative. Sick of the heat? During this annual yoga restorative session, we gently wring out the effects of the summer heat accumulating in our joints, especially along the hips and spine. I expect to make this event available in person and via Zoom. Mark your calendar & stay tuned for details. Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4316280906?pwd=RXJHaC8rMk9DYVZ2dC9UMkMvOGtOdz09 Cost: $35 per person ($60 for 2) Registration: Contact me at ewyssflamm@gmail.com to let me know you intend to attend. Hold the date: Saturday, September 23: Fall Equinox: Let’s Celebrate the Breath! Details forthcoming. Payment for all events: via Venmo to: @Esther-Wyss-Flamm-MINDFUL. Or via check to: Esther Wyss-Flamm, 45 West Gravers Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. Also via Zelle to: ewyssflamm@gmail.com. |
Fall 2022
Celebrate the Fall Equinox
You are Invited to an In-Person Mini-Retreat…
Celebrate the Fall Equinox: A Gentle Balance
The Equinox asks us to pause, as we witness the abundance of summer shift into the brilliant colors of fall. The sun will hover in the sky in a balance of light and dark, heat and cold – a gentle reminder to take in the exquisite beauty of the Earth, and a prelude to the turning of the trees’ leaves. Soon the smell of apples will be in the air; the bright oranges of the pumpkins and decorative gourds will line the booths of farmers markets.
How do we recalibrate and shift from the heated pace of summer into the approaching quieting months?
Join us for an afternoon of balancing your senses in nature, playing with labyrinths and celebrating the bountiful harvest of Mother Earth.
I am both honored and thrilled to be able to welcome healing guide and friend Donnette Hill Walto in person (many of you know Donnette through my virtual programs!) to help lead us on an inner vision journey.
Details:
Date: Saturday, September 24th, 2022, 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. (Rain Date: Sunday, September 25th, 10:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m.)
Where: my garden and nearby Pastorius Park, Philadelphia
Description: After a welcoming activity in my garden, we will meander to a hidden corner in Pastorius Park to explore balance for the eyes and body. Back at my home, we will practice the labyrinth, give ourselves time for self-reflection, and enjoy some seasonal refreshments.
Who: anyone who is ready to dive into an exploration of balance in a loving community.
Cost: $45-65 (sliding scale, please choose what you are able to pay), payable to me via Venmo, Zelle, check, or cash. Cost includes everything: facilitators, supplies for labyrinth-making, Donnette’s travel, and our refreshments.
Registration: This is a special event for current students and past equinox/solstice participants. Please let me know you are coming by clicking HERE. You will receive a follow-up welcoming message with additional details.
Summer 2022
Sink into an Evening Summer Restorative
for Body, Mind, and Spirit
Date/Time: Sunday, August 21st, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
Where: To be held on-line and in person, Unitarian Society of Germantown (Assembly Room)
By the end of August, our bodies are TOTALLY READY to release the heat that has accumulated, especially in the joints. And you’re probably needing to give yourself some personal down time!
Cost: $35 ($60 if you sign up with a friend)
Registration: Send me a message at ewyssflamm@gmail.com or click HERE to let me know you are coming! Then send payment via Venmo to: @Esther-Wyss-Flamm-MINDFUL. Or as a check to: Esther Wyss-Flamm, 45 West Gravers Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. You may also pay via Zelle or PayPal. A few days prior to the event, you will receive a welcoming message.
Note: While the session will be held live in a large well-ventilated room, you will also receive a dedicated link on Zoom in case you prefer to receive this practice in the privacy of your own home.
Description of a typical session: After a brief check-in, we will dive into 75 minutes of delicious relaxation, gentle stretching, breath awareness, and yoga designed for deep release in the spine, shoulders, and hips. During the last portion of the session, we will conclude with optional meditation, and/or journaling. You will emerge feeling calm, nourished, and refreshed.
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Refine your Home Wellness Yoga Practice:
An In-Person Workshop
Date & Time: Saturday, July 30th, 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: To be held in person at the Unitarian Society of Germantown (Assembly Room)
Attendance number limited. We will be in a large, well-ventilated space.
With COVID in our midst, many of us felt left to our own devices to address our self-care needs. How do we best benefit from a home-based yoga and mindfulness practice? What is working and what isn’t working for us? Come join us as we look at these questions.
Together we will:
- Tease apart the essentials of a nourishing home yoga practice
- Review asana (postures) that provide support as you create a short sequence of your own
- Identify where/how to make good use of available on-line yoga
- And (of course!) I will send you off into the rest of the weekend with a lovely, quieting yoga practice
Cost: $45; $80 if you sign up with a friend
Registration: Click HERE to let me know you are coming! Send payment via Venmo to: @Esther-Wyss-Flamm-MINDFUL. Or as a check to: Esther Wyss-Flamm, 45 West Gravers Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. Also via Zelle or PayPal to: ewyssflamm@gmail.com. You will then receive confirmation and a welcoming message with instructions about what to bring.
See you there!!
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December 2021
Celebrate the Stillness of the Season with…
Our Winter Restorative & Solstice Celebration
Date: Sunday, December 19, 2021
Time: 3:30 – 5:30 PM
Cost: $35 ($60 if you sign up with a friend) Note: when you register, you will be asked to pay by PayPal or check mailed to: Esther Wyss-Flamm, 45 West Gravers Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. Additional payment options: Venmo to: @Esther-Wyss-Flamm-MINDFUL or Zelle.
Click HERE to register! A few days prior to the event, you will receive a welcoming message with our own dedicated link on Zoom.
Please join me together with mind-body healing guide Donnette Hill Walto — Together, we will transition into the darkness of the evening, I will guide you into stillness through an accessible and deeply calming restorative yoga sequence; Donnette will weave her magic and lead us with a meditation centered on the solstice.
You will emerge feeling calm, nourished, and refreshed.
Why Restorative Yoga? All of us have been experiencing some version of feeling on edge these days. This slow drip of constant worry takes its cumulative toll on our mental and physical health, as well as our spirit. The mind goes into overdrive as we try to “figure out” how to show up during this time; the body is hit with a constant flood of stress hormones that comes with months of pent-up anxiety. Prioritizing your well-being is truly not optional at this time.
Description: Restorative yoga (known as the “yoga of non-doing”) is slow and accessible and designed to release long-held tension in the body, calm the nerves, and soothe the spirit.Our session will take place virtually in the safety of a quiet space that works for you. After a brief check-in, we will dive into 90 minutes of delicious relaxation, gentle stretching, breath awareness, and yoga designed for deep release in the spine, shoulders, and hips. During the last portion of each session we will conclude with a meditation, optional conversation and/or journaling. You will emerge feeling calm, nourished, and refreshed.
These restorative postures are designed to be accessible — all bodies and levels of flexibility welcome!
Invite a friend — Please register in advance!
Click HERE to register!
Contact Esther at esther@whiteflameyoga.com or call 215.305.7759 for more information.
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