"If Yoga is not being taught for the needs of every BODY, it is not true yoga. When you find a teacher and class that is right for you, it will be the best addiction you could ever have. When you are loving the feeling of a long slow delicious spinal twist - more than nachos- you KNOW you have found a form of self-care that you will do for the rest of your live." Lanita Varshell
When I went to my first yoga class in 1994, I knew that this was something I loved, and something I must do for the rest of my life. At that time, there were very few classes that were being taught safely enough for someone my size. Now they are a little easier to find, but I am still very concerned with the way that many yoga teachers and fitness instructors view the plus size population, and try to "fit them into" traditional classes and poses.
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Retreat with Lanita:
May 13-15th - Annual Women's Retreat - Julian, California
July 23-29th - Feathered Pipe Ranch - Helena Montana
Teacher Training with Lanita:
February 19-25 -A Gentle Way and Joyful Movement Center- La Mesa, California
Plus Sizes Weekly Classes - San Diego
Any of our pink, purple, or green classes are great for the larger body that can still get on the floor.
Students who cannot get to the floor should attend:
Thursdays 2pm Stretch & Balance class with Carolyn
Private Sessions are the very best way to begin your yoga practice:
Private Sessions with Lanita Varshell $95 ( 1&1/2-2 hours)
Private Sessions with Tammy Morreti $60- 1 hour, or $75 1 &1/2 hours
Chair Yoga Private Sessions with Carolyn: $45
HOUSE CALLS: Add $15-25 depending on distance
4-Week - Semi Private Workshops with Lanita
Best way to get to learn yoga poses safely for your body, and to get to know other students beginning yoga with you! 5-Students only, $25 per week prepaid, reservations required.
2012 dates coming soon!
Safe, Friendly Weekly Open Classes:
Mondays, 2pm with Lanita
Tuesdays, 7:30pm with Hannah Lei
Wednesdays, 9:00am with Tammy
Thursdays, 10:30am with Hannah Lei
Thursdays, 2pm chair and wall with Carolyn
Thursday: 5:45pm with Tammy
Saturdays, 11:00am with Tammy
Reservations suggested but not required.
MY STORY: Lanita Varshell, E.R.Y.T.500
Owner of A Gentle Way Yoga & Joyful Movement Center
I have always had a larger body. My mother put me on Weight Watchers at age twelve, and I lived the dieting yo-yo life for over 20 years, starving myself to lose a few pounds, thinking my life would be better if I could just drop the weight, thinking that "who I was" WAS what the scale and mirror told me. If I could just get this weight off, I’d reason to myself, my life would be the way I wanted it to be; everything would be all right! Lanita speaks to Yoga Journal regarding dieting and yoga: I lost weight, hundreds of pounds, just to gain more back, over and over again. Rarely did I last more than a week or two with the latest diet. Each time I couldn't take eating another carrot stick or another can of green beans I would hate myself more. The vicious cycle of giving up and then gorging wore my health and self esteem down to nothing. Finally unable to work, diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, I went from doctor to doctor begging for help! They would say to me, "if you would just get up and exercise you would start feeling better," but a twenty minute walk would put me back in bed. I would plead with my doctors saying, "help me feel better so I can walk out my door and start exercising." but they didn't seem to know what to do with me other than to describe more pain medication. Their looks were always saying, “you’re just not trying hard enough,” or “you’re lying about what you are eating.” Severely depressed, but determined to keep trying, I ended up at a gentle yoga class, not because I ever thought that I could even do yoga, but because the teacher kept trying to convince me that her class was different. I finally showed up, figuring that one class of making a fool of myself would show this skinny little yoga teacher that this large, sick body would never be able to twist into a pretzel, sit cross-legged on the floor, or do a headstand. But this class WAS different. It was not intimidating, it was relaxing and very do-able. After just a few months of consistent weekly classes, I noticed such a physical and emotional difference that not only did I continue my classes, but I immediately began training as a teacher, and have now taught this wonderful method of "Gentle Yoga" since 1995. Gentle yoga has drastically improved my health, and changed my life. I had spent a lifetime of joining health clubs, working out for a week or two, and giving up because of the body pain, shame, and humiliation. I finally found a way I could begin to exercise without pain, in the presence of other larger women who were also committed to their health, and in the presence of other amazing women and men of all ages, sizes, and walks of life who do not judge us by how much we weigh.