Expressive Movement Workshop: ¡Olé Namaste! Yoga & Flamenco for Every/Body Workshop
SUNDAY OCTOBER 28th.
Release Your Inner Dancer!
¡Olé Namaste! Infuses the movements, breathwork and meditation of yoga with the music and dance of flamenco.
This workshop is fully accessible and can be done in a chair or standing and affords participants the opportunity to explore and experience the joy of movement and expression of two arts within a supportive, creative environment, regardless of experience and/or abilities.
Pre-registration encouraged.
$20 pre-registered or $25 at the door.
Register at info@openspiritcenter.org or call 508-877-8162
For more information, please contact Eve Costarelli AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com
We will start on mats (or chairs if needed) and move on to dance. Participants may wear hard bottomed shoes or sneakers for the dancing.
Workshop will be held in Edwards Hall at Open Spirit. 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA.
I am a yoga and mindfulness teacher working in my local public school district and community and I can say first hand that the need for mindful school leaders is much needed. To create the conditions for a successful learning environment, first the infrastructure must be healthy and well-balanced.
This book is a must for every principal, teacher, paraprofessional-everyone who comes in contact with the school environment, so that they can be the active change they want to see within their own classrooms, school and community at large. This book is a veritable repository that is highlighted by extremely well documented support research and case studies making this project so real and accessible. The subjects of the case studies give voice to the possibility and proof that mindfulness can work. The provided mindfulness scripts are very handy, even offering scripts that are as short as 30 seconds!
I really appreciated how this book showed mindfulness in-motion/in-action; showing how accessible it is in our everyday lives-it’s just there-go ahead and grab it! I highly recommend this book-hop on it and find the groove that you are seeking. We are all leaders at one time or another. That is why this book is for you!
Full Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own
This is what I asked my amazing group of students at the middle school I teach yoga at. This is the school’s group of Autism Spectrum kids and I have had the pleasure and the honor of getting to know these kids over the past two years:
Sam…Happy
John: The Stress goes out of my body
Liam: Mushy
Johnny: Comfortable
Harold: Happy
Joanne: Healthy
Catherine: Peaceful
Destiny: Sleepy
Marashall: My stress goes away
Edward: Like I am lying on the beach looking at the sun
I was so excited to receive my copy of The Mindful Teen by Dzung X. Vo MD, FAAP. I am currently creating and implementing a yoga and mindfulness program through Open Spirit Center’s Nourishing Teachers, Strengthening Classrooms project into the Framingham, MA public school system and this books title grabbed me and I knew it would become an invaluable resource.
The chapters are clearly thought through and touch on everything from every day stressors to in-school stressors to home stressors and the exercises offered help you to flex your mindfulness muscles with techniques to awaken the wisdom inside you and like all exercise, lead you to a sense of well-being, inner calmness, increased kindness to yourself and to others and increased resilience to stress.
The questions posed in the book are there to aid you in identifying your own experiences and to help guide you to deeper self-reflection. I love the Teen Voices boxes as they offer personal stories in a teen voice that express strong testaments to other teens. This book does not lecture but rather offers simple strategies to access mindfulness in daily life. This book gives teens the means to embrace the now engaging them to look for the wisdom and strength they possess to heal themselves from all that life throws at them.
I highly recommend this book to teens and adults alike. It is so accessible an user friendly and just full of insight and meaningful and practical ways to make the mindfulness connection. There are many great ideas that I have already stared using in my own teen and education based mindfulness program. I see this book as a necessary addition to libraries, to schools, to yoga teachers, to parents and to anyone who is or who works with teenagers.
Full Disclosure: The authors provided me with a copy of The Mindful Teen to review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Today was the final day of Dance In The Schools 2015 at the Baldwin School, Cambridge. My classes were based on the life cycle of the butterfly (current with the 2nd grade science curriculum) and the concepts of senses we know (touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste) and then the ones we don’t know as much about (proprioception= an awareness of our bodies in space and the vestibular system=balance, gravity and movement information though our inner ear).
The best thing about yoga is that it allows for a sensory experience in a safe/non-competitive environment. You can manipulate your body in space, using poses, breath and meditation to clear pathways to achieve balance.
Breathing Sticks (once again, I noted to them to practice their breathing once they got their sticks)
Sa-Ta-Na-Ma meditation
What is the Butterfly Life Cycle?
Egg (usually laid on a leaf)
Larva/Caterpillar (eats leaves to grow)
Pupa/Chrysalis/Cocoon
Adult butterfly/moth
What is metamorphosis?
Interesting facts:
Butterflies are active during the day feeding on flowers. They suck up the sweet nectar with their long, curly tongues. That is because butterflies cannot bite or chew.
There are about 150,000 kinds of butterflies and they and their caterpillars come in all sorts of colors and sizes.
Butterflies Like all insects, they have six jointed legs, 3 body parts, a pair of antennae, compound eyes, and an exoskeleton. The three body parts are the head, thorax (the chest), and abdomen (the tail end). Most have four wings. The wings of butterflies are covered with tiny scales that seem to shimmer in the daylight. Some of them are brightly colored. Others have bold patterns or scary eye-spots. When a butterfly flashes its wings at its enemies, it confuses them, and gives itself time to escape the danger that they might be in.
Butterflies and moth belong to the order Lepidoptera. Lepidos is Greek for “scales” and ptera means “wing”.
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
Out in the fields, eggs are hidden from view. Child’s pose
clinging to leaves with butterfly glue. Stretching child’s pose. Fingers crawl to the left and right to stretch sides.
Soon caterpillars hatch. They creep and they chew. Creep forward into inchworm.
Each one knows what it must do. Press up to cobra. Add hissing and snaking back up and down.
Find a place where winds don;t blow, Locust.
then make a case in which to grow. Bow.
Caterpillar changes now begin– Rock and roll on belly, release. Rise up to standing position.
body and wings take shape within. Tapping.
When it’s time, each case is torn– Willow tree and joy breath.
wings unfold; new butterflies are born! Star Pose.
They pump their wings, get ready to fly, Add cross body kicks.
then hungry butterflies head for the sky. Yoga Jumping Jacks.
Looking for flowers with nectar to eat, Standing flower pose (tree)
they catch a whiff of something sweet.: Join a partner for partner tree/or group tree
They follow that fragrant scent of perfume, Melt to the floor. breathing in and smelling the delicious odor of fresh flowers 3x.
until they find our garden bloom.: Seated flower
We’ve been waiting for wings! Seated bat (opening flower)
We watch them circle, land on their feet, Lay on back and hug knees to chest. Legs up towards ceiling, as if walking on ceiling. Foot circles, both directions. Point and flex and then walk on ceiling and then bicycle.
unroll their tongues, and begin to eat.: Rock and roll. Grab feet, happy baby.
They dip and sip, Feet down. Simple lying twist.
then fly away, back home to the fields… Full body stretch-like a gingerbread man.
They have eggs to lay.: Savasana
Song (sung to the tune of Pop Goes The Weasel)…I tried!
I spin and spin my chrysalis
I stay inside to rest
When I come out….Metamorphosis!
Pop! Goes the butterfly.
Of course we then did a rousing version of Yogini Went to Seaand then the Downward Dog Crawl Tunnel. Not taking into account the size of the room, proved to be a stumper for a moment. But I offered up the challenge to the class and we were able to create a circle, which worked very well! I so appreciated the first groups problem solving ability!
Youth Flamenco on Wednesdays; Classes start Wednesday September 10th, 2014 @ The Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave., Cambridge, MA
Youth Flamenco 1 (ages 5-10); 4:00PM The class is designed for children aged 5 to 11 with zero to 1 year of flamenco dance experience. This class includes basic technique of flamenco dance to include correct posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. The student will become familiar with basic flamenco vocabulary. The course will include exercises that will develop the clarity of the students’ footwork, develop their upper-body to lower-body coordination. Basic castanet playing exercises are practiced. Repertoire will be taught. Required attire: leotard or fitted top, castanets, flamenco shoes and skirt for girls. Castanets and flamenco boots for boys. Pre-Registration for Fall-Winter 2014 session, as well as Winter-Spring 2015, contact Eve Costarelli AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com for more information. No drop-ins.
Youth Flamenco 2 (ages 9-16); 5:00PM Two years of dance experience required. This class offers Flamenco technique to improve posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. Exercises that will improve clarity of the students’ footwork, upper-body to lower-body coordination as well as stamina and endurance are included. Medium to complex footwork and choreographic variations are taught. Required Attire: Flamenco shoes, flamenco skirt, leotard or fitted top, castanets. Other dance accessories may be required such as Spanish hat, mantón and fan, when necessary. Pre-Registration for this Fall-Winter 2014 session, as well as Winter-Spring 2015, contact Eve Costarelli AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com for more information. No drop-ins.
Inclusion Yoga (ages 6-10) and Tween/Teen Yoga on Thursdays: Classes start Thursday October 2nd, 2014 @ Open Spirit Center, 39 Edwards St., Framingham, MA
Inclusion Yoga (ages 6-10); 3:45-4:35PM This inclusion class will help children with Autism, special needs, and typical learners to feel comfortable with all people, noting that everyone is different and that’s OK. The class combines breath work, movement, guided meditations and a deep relaxation period to help children learn to be aware of their thoughts, emotions and what their bodies say. This specialized program is designed for typically developing children, and children with special needs, including but not limited to; Autism, ADD/ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, PDD, Sensory Processing Dysfunction, PTSD, CP and DS. Students must be able to take verbal instructions and follow along in a group setting with support. Pre-Registration for this Fall session, as well as other sessions throughout the year, are availablehttp://www.openspiritcenter.org/. Led by Eve Costarelli. $90 for the Fall session, no drop-ins.
Tween/Teen Girls Yoga (ages 11-18); 4:45-6:00PM This class brings older tweens and teens together to explore how yoga can help them better understand and appreciate their changing bodies, relationships, and lives. Yoga can help tweens/ teens move through these often-challenging years and emerge with healthy ways to address stress and find balance. Classes will help empower teens and inspire self-awareness and body confidence, and are fun, upbeat, and non-competitive. Yoga poses, philosophy, breath work, meditation and journaling will be explored. This class also presents a wonderful opportunity for tweens/ teens to come together, laugh, and build friendships within the Open Spirit community. Pre-Registration for this Fall session, as well as other sessions throughout the year, are availablehttp://www.openspiritcenter.org/. Led by Eve Costarelli. $90 for the Fall session, no drop-ins.
Privates are available, slots are filling quickly. Flamenco and Yoga parties available for children and adults. Yoga Classes & The Common Core, Weddings and Corporate events available. Please inquire.
Eve’s other projects include:
Nourishing Teachers, Strengthening Classrooms Project @ the Framingham Public Schools; Framingham, MA
The Birth of Flamenco @ Young Audiences of Massachusetts; Greater New England
Yoga in the Park @ Ivy Child International; Worcester, MA
Core Yoga In Schools @ Brighton High School; Brighton, MA
Tween/Teen Yoga
Thursday, 4:45 pm – 6:00 pm
@ Open Spirit Center, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham http://www.openspiritcenter.org/events/tweenteen-yoga-2014-10-02/
This class brings older tweens and teens together to explore how yoga can help them better understand and appreciate their changing bodies, relationships, and lives. Yoga can help tweens/ teens move through these often-challenging years and emerge with healthy ways to address stress and find balance. Classes will help empower teens and inspire self-awareness and body confidence, and are fun, upbeat, and non-competitive. Yoga poses, philosophy, breath work, meditation and journaling will be explored. This class also presents a wonderful opportunity for tweens/ teens to come together, laugh, and build friendships within the Open Spirit community. Pre-Registration is here!
Session Schedule:
Fall–Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Nov. 6 [6 weeks] $90
Winter–Nov. 13, 20; Dec 4, 11, 18; Jan 8, 15, 22 [8 weeks] $120
Early Spring–Jan 29; Feb 5, 12, 26; March 5,12,19, 26 [8 weeks] $120
Late Spring–April 2, 9, 16; May 7, 14, 21, 28; June 4 [8 weeks] $120
To Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pO3PFvTySQDcRRX_u-s-gkx5i8123IZxWyQ_SC9YHoU/viewform
Cost: $90 for the Fall session; no drop-ins!
For More Info:
Instructor: Eve Costarelli
Instructor bio: Eve teaches yoga and flamenco dance in schools and community centers. She is a certified Stretch What Matters Yoga Teacher.
Inclusion Yoga
Thursday, 3:45 pm – 4:35 pm — Fall session (Thursdays in October)
@ Open Spirit Center, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA http://www.openspiritcenter.org/events/inclusion-yoga-2014-10-02/
Beginning October 2014, this inclusion class will help children with Autism, special needs, and typical learners to feel comfortable with all people, noting that everyone is different and that’s OK. The class combines breath work, movement, guided meditations and a deep relaxation period to help children learn to be aware of their thoughts, emotions and what their bodies say
This specialized program is designed for typically developing children, and children with special needs, including but not limited to; Autism, ADD/ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, PDD, Sensory Processing Dysfunction, PTSD, CP and DS. Students must be able to take verbal instructions and follow along in a group setting with support.
Pre-Registration for this Fall session, as well as other sessions throughout the year, are available by clicking here.
Sessions Schedule:
Fall–Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Nov. 6 [6 weeks] $90 *
Winter–Nov. 13, 20; Dec 4, 11, 18; Jan 8, 15, 22 [8 weeks] $120
Early Spring–Jan 29; Feb 5, 12, 26; March 5,12,19, 26 [8 weeks] $120
Late Spring–April 2, 9, 16; May 7, 14, 21, 28; June 4 [8 weeks] $120
Monday night youth yoga, held at Open Spirit, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA has been going strong now for two years. I really enjoy the class because with this group anything goes. We are all really happy to be together on Mondays, whether it is sunny or cold and damp…we all just want to be there.
For the past two months, coloring has been a really big thing for us. There is just something so relaxing and focusing about coloring, and friendship building, that we have found a nice rhythm coming to our mats, practicing our yoga with poses, breath and meditation, and then hunker down for some group coloring time. It started with pictures of bare trees and we wrote affirmations in the roots and branches, to fill our trees up with positive statements and observations. That moved onto focus wheels, with the center circle stating “I AM” and then the external circles embracing our qualities of goodness, trustworthiness, warmth etc. I then came across a nice coloring book of Mandalas and off we went, coloring mandalas. Relaxing in their overall affect.
This past Monday, I came in with a picture I had created that integrated the Chakras, the Prana Vayus, and the Koshas. We started class with an exercise that was inspired by Edna Reinhardt of Yoga Education Resource’s marble adventure (I had meant to bring my marbles but forgot them, but luckily I had all my colored markers with me). We started by all taking Baddha Konasana (butterfly pose), I dropped all the markers in the center of our mandala shape and we went to it, sorting the markers and adding them to open spaces that our feet had created. Releasing this pose, we then divvied up the markers in color families: green/grey/black, blue/purple, pink/brown and yellow/orange/red. We each created shapes with our markers, whatever inspired us. This led us to seeing that we each possessed certain colors that lead to a creation of an earth, grass, flower, sun & sky picture. Which then naturally led to the creation of a waterfall, complete with all our socks, which somehow were all greeny/bluey colored, as a water fall at the end of our rainbow.
This was such a nice focusing activity to start class. We then talked about different uses for breath and practiced using Ujjayi breath and also to feel the relaxation of our throats (I had them imagine they were yawning with their mouths closed to give them the effect of an open throat). I was able to then jump right into a series of poses, while at the same time taking about the Chakras and feeling our colors, with a special focus on the throat chakra-which is blue-and again noting that we were all dressed in variations of blue, so it seemed so appropriate to focus on this. In each pose I reminded them to pay attention to their throats, to allow the flow of energy there and to release the tension so as not to be constricted. Class flowed beautifully, Savasana at the end with lovely lilac filled eye pillows. Soft flamenco music played throughout the class. ¡Ole Namaste! Eve
What is a Mandala? The meaning of mandala comes from Sanskrit meaning “circle.” Mandalas are geometric designs symbolic of the universe that are used as an aid to meditation. How to use a Mandala? 1.Set your intention for your practice/life (An intention is a promise you make to yourself and a way of putting logic and beliefs into action. One way to set your intention is to focus on something you are grateful for. You can also set it based on a quality you want: spontaneity, flexibility, peace of mind, inspiration, concentration…) The design of the mandala is meant to attract the viewer visually, so much so that the mind becomes absorbed by it. The design’s hypnotic effect relaxes the mind. With a relaxed mind, the individual is able to focus his attention inwards rather than focusing on life’s usual distractions. In this state, imagination flows which in turn increases creativity, sympathy, and self respect. 2.Focus on the mandala. Let your eyes take in the radiance of its designs. Release your mind. Recognize when your mind wanders back to your list of choirs or your concerns and simply bring your attention back to the beauty of the mandala. Let the mandala absorb your attention. In time, you will begin to feel luminous and fresh and spontaneous thoughts may arise. Relax and allow these thoughts in. If at any time you begin to feel lost, uncomfortable or distracted, re-focus your attention back on the mandala. Everyone’s experience will be different but meditating with the mandala can be relaxing and you can come away with a clarity concerning the intention that you set at the beginning of your practice.
I Am Uniquely Eve 
