Follow Innerlight Yoga on Facebook

 

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Class descriptions

What class is right for me?
If you prefer flowing movement and a good sweat...Heated Vinyasa

If you prefer flowing movement without the extra heat...Vinyasa Flow

If you like to deeply relax, moving slowly ... Gentle Yoga, Svaroopa Yoga, Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga

If you are just getting started ... Yoga 101, Basics, Gentle Yoga, Svaroopa and Restorative

If you want to move beyond the Basics... Anusara Yoga, Yin Yoga, Open Yoga and Mindfulness Yoga.

If you need to address specific needs ... Anusara, Yin Yoga or Blissful Back.

If you are interested in meditation ... Mindfulness Yoga, Yin Yoga, Meditation 101, or our weekly Wednesday Meditation Group

If you want to develop a personal practice ... Private classes

If you have a desire to work deeply with alignment...Anusara

Anusara/All Levels - This is an Open Yoga level class in the Anusara tradition. Anusara, simply translated, means "flowing with grace." Anusara Yoga is heart-oriented, spiritually inspiring, and grounded in a set of Universal Principles of Alignment for both the inner and outer body. It is a uniquely integrated style of hatha yoga in which the human heart blends magically with the scientific principles of biomechanics.
Learn more about Anusara Yoga...

Basics – Refine and broaden techniques from the introductory level. Students practice universal alignments in basic standing and seated poses and explore new poses, including hip opening to support backbends.  The intention is to deepen through structural alignments and to cultivate an ever-fresh beginner’s mind: wide awake and open to discovery.

Gentle Yoga – An invitation to slow down and enjoy each simple pose by attuning to breath and sensation and elevating body awareness. We are primarily on our backs and against the wall, with occasional standing and supported sitting work. We warm the joints, open the breath, and move with respect for individual needs. This class both strengthens and nurtures the student. The pace of this class is slow and transitions are gradual.  Students must be able to move from floor to standing and back without assistance. Beginners welcome.

Gentle Yoga & Meditation Hour - This class explores deep asana, different pranayama techniques, and various styles of meditation. Yoga asana taken at a slower, more gentle pace, transitioning into pranayama in preparation for meditation. An hour to re-connect. Wonderful class for those new to yoga, and for ongoing students interested in learning to meditate.

Heated Vinyasa – Emphasizes the sequential movement between postures, coordinated with and guided by deliberate breath. The vinyasa practice becomes a moving meditation that creates strength, freedom and fluidity in the body and mind. All levels are welcome to join this vigorous practice. Room is heated to up to 85 degrees.

Heated Vinyasa II - A more advanced flow, working seamlessly and fluidly in and out of deeper versions of traditional postures, often working toward a peak pose. Includes arm balances, binds and inversions along with deep hip openers. Less instruction than an all levels class. Room is heated to a minimum 85 degrees.

Heated Vinyasa Flow – Vinyasa Flow Yoga practiced in a hot room (85° to 90°). Advanced postures and sequencing is introduced in this class. Some experience with basic yoga postures is suggested, but not required. Bring a towel and water, and get ready to sweat!

Meditation – Join us to meditate for a half hour each week in a supportive environment. Practice in your own tradition or learn new techniques and reap the benefits of a quiet mind. Donations only. Beginners are encouraged to arrive ten minutes early.
Meditation Yoga 101 - Meditation 101 class is a one hour class intended for beginners and continuing meditators. Each session will include one or more pranayama (breathing) techniques, breath awareness meditation and another type of meditation. The meditations will be 15-20 minutes each. You can sit on the floor in a variety of positions or in a chair. 

Mindfulness Yoga
– In this class we explore posture and meditation, mat and cushion, mindfully merging both. We work with the breath, following its movements through the body, being present in just this moment, just now. As we turn the lens inward, we learn more about the asana, the breath, and ourselves. Some yoga experience is necessary.

Mindfulness Series – A four week workshop exploring the blossoming of spring to summer. Spring is a time of rebirth and summer is a time of growth and expansion. We will explore with loving kindness where we are in own inner journey, noticing where we can and cannot let go and let be, and consciously learn to be more joyful through the process. So that we may deepen our experience of meditation and mindful yoga together, this class is structured as a four-week workshop format.
These Mindfulness Yoga Classes are 90 minutes long, including a 25-minute guided meditation.
Because of the nature of this class, you are encouraged to commit to the whole 4-week series. No drop-ins. Pre-registration is encouraged. Classes can be paid for using your regular class cards.

Open Yoga – Here we move at a determined, moderate pace with pauses for reflection and absorption of poses. We offer a wide range of poses with options for modification, development, and variation. Moving with awareness, students are able to uncover the potential of breath, alignment, and mindfulness in each pose. Arm balances, inversions, and deep back bends are included. Each class is influenced by the unique style of the teacher. Open yoga is intended to offer ongoing students opportunities to explore a wide range of poses, including deep back bends and hip openers, arm balances and inversions. A moderately paced class, familiarity with basic asana and pranayama is assumed/recommended, this class is not designed for beginners.
Open Yoga & Guided Relaxation – An Open Level class that includes a 20 minute guided relaxation.

Prenatal Yoga & Guided Meditation – A time to connect with your body and celebrate your pregnancy. We will work with safe yoga poses and breath work (Pranayama) in order to physically and mentally prepare for a healthy and beautiful childbirth. This class is suitable for women in any stage of pregnancy. Pose modifications and props will assist you through a practice that relieves pressure on the lower back/neck/shoulders, helps you overcome fatigue, build strength and decrease swelling in the body. The class concludes with a guided meditation, leaving you relaxed and re-energized. All levels of yoga practitioners are welcome to find solace in this calm and introspective approach to yoga while pregnant.

Restorative Yoga – Restorative sequencing moves us slowly into a deep somatic experience. Forward folds open the back and calm the nervous system, prompting self-investigation. Light abdominal exercise replenishes our  well of energy. Mild, supported backbends and twists spread energy throughout the body, freeing places of grip and grasp. Gentle inversions relieve the daily demands made on our legs and hips.  

Rock n' Sweat Yoga - You will breathe, sweat, move and groove – and more importantly, smile!!  This vigorous, heated vinyasa flow class is accompanied by a rockin’ play list. You will hear all types of music – no decade will be left out. Requests encouraged and NO dance experience required.

Svaroopa® Yoga 1 and Svaroopa® Blissful Back – Open to the Bliss of your own Being through poses, breathing (pranayama) and deep guided relaxation. The poses are supported and individually aligned to benefit all body types.  Svaroopa® Yoga opens the core of the body…enhancing flexibility, inner strength, and stamina.

 
Teen Yoga - A yoga class community where teens treat their bodies and their fellow yogis with respect, understanding and acceptance. Class encourages and empowers students to become more self-aware and confident. Teens will cultivate a deeper sense of well being while improving strength, flexibility, and balance. They will also learn breathing, relaxation and stress reduction techniques.
Some of the many benefits of Yoga for teens:
-Improves posture
-Increased body agility and responsiveness
-Cultivates a healthy, strong and flexible spine
-Improves circulation
-Improves digestion and respiration
-Increased blood to the brain
-Strengthens the nerves
-Uplifts depression and melancholy
-Improves a teens view of themselves in relation to others and society
-Stabilizes extremes in behavior
-Facilitates self-control
-Builds self-confidence
-Directs new found energy into a creative outlet
-Improves concentration
-Teaches relaxation
-Improves life perspective and attitude

Therapeutics - Yoga therapeutics combines alignment principals with a blend of basic, gentle, restorative and yin yoga poses with breathing techniques to correct postural and muscular imbalances. This approach targets specific areas of the body to help heal and strengthen the body so you can relieve stress, reduce pain and address misalignments creating more balance and energy.
 
Vinyasa Flow Yoga – A beautifully sequenced yoga flow linking breath to movement. This accessible approach to yoga is both powerful and empowering. Vinyasa Flow Yoga integrates classic and modern styles of yoga, refining body balance while increasing strength and flexibility.


Yin Yoga
– Based in concepts of Taoist Yoga, Yin Yoga – a blend of modern Chinese meridian theory, Yin postures and meditation – is a powerful balancing practice that consists of long-held passive poses, which affect the joints and connective tissue of the body. Yin postures primarily target the bones, joints, tendons and ligaments of the hips, thighs, pelvis and lower spine. Long-held postures impact the connective tissue where the meridian system is housed, encouraging the flow of Chi (Prana) through these energetic pathways. The unimpeded flow of energy through these pathways directly affects the health of our organs, which are responsible not only for our physical well-being, but our emotional equilibrium as well. As we weave together these wisdom teachings with the practice of mindfulness, we turn our attention to our inner landscape, cultivating loving kindness toward ourselves and becoming less reactive, naturally drawing us into a more relaxed and meditative state.

Yinyasa - A healing and balancing practice that focuses on lengthening and strengthening the physical body, cultivating a deep connection to the breath and energetic bodies through the practice of mindfulness leading to inner and outer alignment. The first 30 minutes begins with seated long-held Yin floor postures that work to release the deep connective tissue of the hips, pelvis and lower back, creating space, integrity and increased viscosity in the joints. This deep opening encourages the flow of chi to move unimpeded through the meridian pathways of the body.
The second half of the class continues with a 30 minute level one Vinyasa flow that combines safe alignment, muscular strength and balance with the continued focus on breath awareness and inquiry. The class ends with 10 minutes of guided relaxation.

Yoga 101/Intro to Yoga – This award winning series includes foundational poses, breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as philosophical components of yoga. A good place for new students to begin.

Yoga & Meditation Hour – The seed intention of yoga, in classical times, was to prepare a person for meditation. Yoga has evolved dramatically over the years, but the intention remains the same. This one-hour class uses pranayama, asana and meditation to create the tools we need to further our inner journey.

Yoga & Strength Training – Energize your body, mind and spirit. An invigorating class, featuring a unique blend of strength training and yoga postures, designed to help you develop a lean, fit body, increase flexibility and balance, and reduce stress.

 

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

Partner Yoga for Friends & Couples
Sun., Feb. 12th 2012 - 2:00pm
Spiraling to Freedom: Twists and Balance Master Class
Sat., Feb. 18th 2012 - 1:00pm
Yoga Trance Dance
Sat., Feb. 18th 2012 - 6:00pm
Yoga in the Sun - Virgin Islands Retreat
Sun., Feb. 26th 2012 - 8:00am
New to Yoga: A Gentle Introduction
Sat., Mar. 3rd 2012 - 2:00pm

"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."  - Anaïs Nin

Middletown Commons - 850 Aquidneck Avenue,  Middletown, RI  02842 - 401.849.3200