“My handicap has improved over the past couple of years, and after this class I’ve made the connection that perhaps that has a lot to do with all the yoga I’ve done,” said Jenah Victor, who attended a recent preview golf yoga class at Bala Vinyasa Yoga in Naples.

Angie Ferraro, a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) level two golf fitness instructor and certified personal trainer, led that class. Ferraro is now offering a special two-hour yoga workshop for golfers on Sunday, April 25, at the Bala Vinyasa studio.

An avid golfer herself, Ferraro understands well the correlation between yoga and golf. Many of the poses Ferraro teaches in her yoga classes resemble positions a golfer may expect during a typical round of golf.

“Through the yoga postures, I can get a feel for a golfer’s mobility, strength and balance,” said Ferraro. “Yoga is a specific training tool, so golfers who practice yoga can expect multiple benefits.” A few of those benefits can include improved core strength which can lead to hitting the ball father. Yoga also helps open up different areas of the body and enhances the muscle strength golfers need to swing the club with better focus and aim.

Using individual assessments, Ferraro makes suggestions. Each assessment is the key to a tailored program that can help the golfer improve the attributes that power his or her game.

“The buttocks are the king of the golf swing and transfer the power of the lower body to the upper body and to the club,” said Ferraro, who has participants bring a five-iron to class.

Both beginners and experts attend Ferraro’s golf yoga classes and she expects a similar mix at her upcoming golf-focused yoga workshop.

“I belong to the Bala Vinyasa Yoga community but this was my first time being able to attend a golf yoga workshop with Ms. Ferraro,” said Victor, an intermediate level yoga student who played golf for Naples High School. “I love yoga, but I had never made the connection between golf and yoga until Ms. Ferraro pointed it out in her class. Anything that can shave a few numbers off your golf score is wonderful.”

Yoga beginner Roxanne Becken had never tried yoga. Her mother, Liz Snyder, who winters in Naples, had attended yoga more than 40 years ago. Snyder recently began taking Ferraro’s yoga class to improve her golf game. Both mother and daughter are golfers, so during Becken’s visit to Naples from their home state of Minnesota they attended one of Ferraro’s golf yoga classes.

“I feel like going and swinging a golf club now, because I feel so limber,” said Becken, who says she at first felt intimidated by yoga. “I was concerned about the inability to do the different poses. However, the way it was broken down and how Ms. Ferraro made minor adjustments, I didn’t feel tense at all. I feel so open and energized.”

The average golfer can achieve the poses Ferraro teaches, regardless of their age or skill level. Ferraro helps students work at their own pace and fitness level. Some poses, like the crescent lunge with a twist, bear a strong resemblance to how the upper body is positioned for a golf swing. Other yoga positions require a sense of humor to execute. It’s hard to imagine how a serious golfer could complete the “happy baby” pose with their dignity intact, but the golfers in Ferraro’s yoga class pull it off.

“Yoga is a smooth process, as opposed to the strenuous nature of getting on machines, and you get so much out of it,” said Snyder. “And yet yoga doesn’t make you feel like you’re extending yourself to the point of it not being enjoyable.”

Besides the golf yoga workshop, Kiersten Mooney, who owns the Bala Vinyasa Yoga studio, will soon welcome master yoga practitioner Baron Baptiste for a different workshop, which is already sold out. Yoga instructors like Baptiste and Mooney say yoga is so much more than working the physical body.

“Yoga has been clinically proven to reduce mild depression and anxiety and is a known stress reliever,” said Mooney. Ferraro’s golf yoga classes also focus on stress reduction through breathing, something that also helps golfers better handle the mental side of the game.

“Sometimes in my own golf game, I arrive at the tee box and begin to stress about the group behind me,” Ferraro shared in one of her classes. “But I use my breath to help me stay present, calm and centered.”

Article by Lee Walker, Natural Awakenings Magazine, Sept2009

After living with chronic pain caused by bursitis for 13 years, Maryann Duvall had given up in finding freedom from the suffering.  But a visit to her daughter’s yoga studio changed that.

Bursitis affects any of the 150 bursae, or fluid-filled sacs, which lubricate and cushion the pressure points between bones, tendons, and muscles near joints.  While bursae normally help joints move with ease, inflamed sacs can cause excruciating pain like that which plagued this Naples resident.  Incapable of performing the simplest of day-to-day activities, like shutting the trunk of her car, Duvall became frustrated after anti-inflammatory steroids provided no relief.

“I felt powerless,” says Duvall, who experienced significant loss of muscle tone and developed a limp as a result of inhibited mobility and lack of exercise.  “I felt like I was in a black hole, with no way out, and every time I tried to get back on track by doing something physical, I suffered a set back.” sighs Duvall.

On Duvall’s 60th birthday, her daughter, Kiersten Mooney, opened the Bala Vinyasa yoga studio in Naples.  Mooney issued her mother a friendly, “Come to the mat,” invitation and assured her that even a little time there could help.  In retrospect, Duvall admits, “I felt hopeless that anything would change.”

Only four months later, Duvall’s progress led Mooney to suggest that her mother enroll in a Baptiste level-one teacher training.  Duvall’s hesitation was met by her daughter’s compassion and wisdom. “I wouldn’t ask you to do anything I think you can’t do, mom,” remarked Mooney.  After a week of intense Baptiste training, Duvall experienced a total release in her left hip, which also freed her of lower back pain and sciatica problems, side effects of the bursitis.

Elated with her progress, Duvall continued to show up on the mat and later enrolled in a four-day assistant-teacher training.  Today, she not only assists the studio’s teachers during classes, but also teaches.  “The practice of yoga gave me my life back,” notes Duvall.  “When people call the studio and tell me that they are 55 and can’t do anything, I encourage them to show up on the mat and do whatever they can.”

Duvall and Mooney will offer a “55 Plus” yoga workshop in December. For more info, 239-598-1938 and BVYoga.com

pg40, Natural Awakenings Magazine, Sept2009

Sept2009

“Bala Vinyasa Yoga is about centering through the Baron Baptiste method- it’s one of 24 Baron Baptiste Power Yoga Affiliate Studios worldwide. The Naples studio offers daily and evening classes, workshops, and private sessions for all levels, massage therapy, Thai massage and Reiki. To promote energy and physical well-being, the studio has a specialized chakra color lighting system. Workshops include children’s sessions, Boot Camp, two-and-a-half-hour Renew and Restore sessions, and other specialized workshops. In January, Wade Imre Morissette, alternative rock star Alainis Morissette’s twin brother, will run a weekend full of workshops that combine yoga and music.”

pg49, Naples Illustrated Magazine, Sept2009

BACK TO BVBUZZ

Editor’s Pick Gulfshore Life- Bala Vinyasa is proud to be listed in the editors’ choices of don’t-miss experiences in Naples.

Check out this extensive listing of past special events at BVY!

Naples Daily News article about the appearance of Wade Morisette (yogi, musician, and twin brother of Alanis Morissette) at BVY.

musician & yogi

Yoga apparel Trunk Show a collaboration between lululemon and BVY, to benefit WINGS.

South Beach Vinyasa- A tantric yoga flow class with Paul Toliuszis of Miami Yogashala.

FLY! Arm Balancing Yoga Workshop with Hanna Riley.

Crystal-Tibetan Bowl Healing Music Performance with Robert Austin.

Heart of the Mind Master Yoga Class with master teacher Tias Little of Prajna Yoga, Santa Fe, NM.

Master Your Mind Series- Meditation with Vanessa Jaszczerski, PsyD.

40 Days to Personal Revolution

BaronBaptiste

- a guided holistic immersion program of yoga, meditation and balancing diet. Includes unlimited yoga classes.

Challenge yourself to radically change your body and awaken the sacred within your soul.  A forty day program of yoga, meditation and balancing diet, based on the book by Baron Baptiste.

Are you ready to commit to gain clarity, transform your body and awaken your soul?  Imagine living life to your fullest potential!

TESTIMONIALS from last year’s participants:

“I would not only recommend this program, I would do it again. I really had no expectations, but going in to the 40 days, was beyond anything I could manifest.  The process not only worked, it truly changed me.”  -Eva Marie

“You have been doing a marvelous job, Kristen.  Even before our “graduation” — often better known as “Commencement” — I want to thank you.  … it has been enriching, and indeed, a commencement into a more satisfying life.

Fondly,
Connie”

“I LOVE Bvyoga and I feel a part of things there now.  Huge for me, because when I started yoga I felt like a fraud because I could do nothing (not even touch my toes).  40 days is a great way to immerse in yoga and the community there.  THANK YOU SO MUCH, I really mean it.” –Katie G.

“I think this program is for anyone wanting to give themselves 40 days of love and gratitude, but keep an open mind to what else can come out of the process.  We all strive to live more purposeful and this program gives you the tools and guidelines to follow for a more mentally and physically healthy body and mind.” –Jackie S.

“Everything was beneficial – I wish it were longer than 40 days.
I look forward to doing it again – I need to do it again! “ -Meghan O.

“The experience of being on my mat 6 days a week was transformational.  I loved it.  I was worried about my stamina, but for me, more ease came with each practice; some were more difficult, but it was all OK.  Listening to my teachers during practice and applying what was said to my life, breathing and showing up, being present has made all the difference. I really appreciate all the work that went into the program.  You are all wonderful, inspirational people.  I love being part of the community.  It will just keep expanding because of who you all are.” -Heidi T.

“Yes, it helped me figure out why I am stuck in certain parts of my life and gave me the tools to help me get unstuck- It is having the courage to change and deal with the pain of the messiness that I seem to be lacking.” –Angie F.

May2009

Kiersten Mooney of BVY was quoted in this month’s Shape Magazine article “Venture Out” about adventure fitness.

PUSH YOUR LIMITS AT… Personal Revolution Bootcamp, Tulum, Mexico.

Perfect your one-arm plank pose and learn advanced asanas in marathon yoga sessions with Baron Baptiste.  Known for his encouraging, down-to-earth approach and athletic teaching style, Baptiste leads seven-day camps along the white sand beaches of the Yucatán Peninsula. Up to 100 people attend, so be prepared to share your space- and spend a lot of time with fellow guests (sessions can run up to four hours). Kiersten Mooney, 35, of Naples, Florida has enjoyed two Tulum camps and made lifelong friends. “Baron’s ability to encourage you to be completely present, breath by breath and asana by asana, is awe-inspiring,” she says. “Time flies and no one looks at the clock.”

To sustain your energy, a delicious buffet lunch follows the first morning practice. You then have two hours of leisure time followed by another yoga session- and meditation- at 5 p.m. Book it Personal Revolution Boot Camps are held every May and October (book early; they fill up fast). From $2,295, including lodging at the Maya Tulum Resort and three meals a day; baronbaptiste.com.

p56, Shape Magazine, May 2009

Originally published March 2008.

Join Bala Vinyasa in celebrating their newly earned designation as a Baron Baptiste Power Yoga Affiliate Studio! This affiliation is held by only 24 centers worldwide, and ensures that the studio meets high standards of teaching and embodiment of the humanistic values of yoga.
Baptiste is a contemporary Boston teacher who has recently brought yoga to the forefront of American consciousness with his bestselling “Journey into Power,” and the PBS Television Special, “Transform Yo

ur Life with Baron Baptiste”. Baptiste inspires students of all levels to seek their personal best in yoga, as well as to integrate it with their own chosen spiritual and personal path.
Bala Vinyasa offers almost 30 classes every week in a range of styles, designed to delight everyone from the shy beginner through the avid practitioner. Yoga Basics, Gentle, and Slow Flow Restorative classes are a welcoming way to begin exploring yoga. Those who enjoy a vigorous, athletic style enjoy the Baptiste Power Yoga classes. These classes are distinguished by a flow of poses which builds endurance, flexibility, strength, and resilience – supported by practical yoga philosophy. Baptiste Power Yoga often appeals to men as well as women, and is used with great success by top athletes.
Mention Bala Vinyasa’s new Baptisite Affiliation each time you attend class between now and June 1 to be entered in a drawing including a Five Class Pass, Baptiste Journey Into Power book or Bala Vinyasa Yoga T shirt. Also check out the special sale offerings- 30% off Zensei, 20% off Proper Teas and 20% off Bala Vinyasa signature wear.
Bala Vinyasa Yoga, 6326 Trail Blvd North (just off US 41, across from the Waterside Shops). Kiersten Mooney, Owner, (239) 598-1938, www.bvyoga.com.