Winter 2022/23
Release into Winter Restorative Yoga
LAST SESSION: Sunday, February 19, 2023
Time: 3:30 – 5:30 PM
Where: I will be teaching this final session of our monthly series IN-PERSON in the lovely (heated) Assembly Room at the Unitarian Society of Germantown in NW Philadelphia (you may also attend that session via Zoom if you prefer).
Cost: $40 (single); $70 if you sign up for two sessions or with a friend
Payment: To reserve your spot, 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, location specifics, and Zoom link.
During this time of year, the body craves down time (even as the mind tells us to keep going!). These sessions are calibrated and timed to the needs of the body as we find ourselves in the winter months. Restorative yoga is designed to release long-held tension in the body, calm the nerves, and soothe the spirit.
Prioritizing your well-being is not optional at this time of year.
These monthly 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 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…
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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